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After hearing composer 2 Mello flex some amazing musical skills in his soundtrack for Read Only Memories, I immediately wanted more. I had to wait a few years, but in 2020, Annapurna Interactive published the indie visual novel If Found…, wherein 2 Mello led the way with another sublime, layered soundtrack. It then took me… Read More »

Revenge may be a dish best served cold, but this soundtrack is on fire! It’s the Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance Original Soundtrack! Four hours of music written exclusively for the updated version of Shin Megami Tensei V launched nearly three years after the base game. This album was a huge surprise to me. SMTIII:… Read More »

Shin Megami Tensei V‘s music honors the SMT series’ musical tradition: strange, intense, funky, boundary-pushing. And, in honoring the boundary-pushing tradition, lead composer Ryota Kozuka has taken the baton passed from Tsukasa Masuko, Shoji Meguro, and others as he reshapes the SMT soundscape. As I listen to all five discs of the Shin Megami Tensei V Original Soundtrack, I… Read More »

I decided to familiarize myself with the music of Shin Megami Tensei IV: Final (known as SMTIV: Apocalypse outside Japan) after listening to the expansion content for SMTV: Vengeance. One thing Final and Vengeance have in common is the singular focus of one composer: Ryota Kozuka. The base soundtracks for IV and V feature Kozuka… Read More »

Many gamers long for the classics. And yes, many developers have capitalized on that by making games with pixel art and a retro aesthetic that often hearkens back to the NES or SNES. In the case of developer Julia Minamata, the retro inspiration was classic Sierra graphic adventures. We’re talking about the glory days of… Read More »

I wasn’t familiar with Flint: Treasure of Oblivion upon release in late 2024. In early 2025, however, the soundtrack (by Wizardry remake composer and Grammy award winner Winifred Phillips) dropped, and I had to check it out. Phillips’ past works, going well beyond Wizardry all the way back to early LittleBigPlanet and God of War… Read More »

If you had told me a year ago that SHIFT UP’s Stellar Blade would be offering up one of 2024’s most compelling soundtracks, I might not have believed you. And yet, not only did the soundtrack intrigue me, the whole game did. Its futuristic, glossy aesthetic and story and setting that is exactly to my… Read More »

After dashing (sans Pegasus Boots) into the jazz scene with their debut Zelda & Jazz in June of 2024, The Deku Trio are back with a bigger and broader sophomore release, appropriately titled Zelda & Jazz II. If the debut’s twelve tracks of largely classic, if low-hanging, picks from Ocarina of Time was proof of… Read More »

When I read the news about the digital EP YIIK: Electric Soul Archives featuring SuperSweep artist Ayako Saso, I leapt for joy! Ayako Saso is one of my all-time favorite composers, but I rarely get to write about her work on RPGFan, as much of her music appears in arcade games (fighters, racers, shmups). Saso,… Read More »

Visions of Mana is the latest game in the long-running Mana series and the first new entry in several years. I was particularly excited to dive into this game, having only experienced a couple of other entries but enjoying my time with them very much. In terms of this game’s soundtrack, I had a decent… Read More »

Released one year after the original Slay the Princess, Black Tabby Games published Slay the Princess: The Pristine Cut, a massively upgraded version of the original in every way. This upgrade was a free content update for existing players. The Pristine Cut also expanded the game‘s release from PC to all current consoles. This was… Read More »

Unused and early concept tracks from Slay the Princess? Don’t mind if I do! Seriously though. It is rare for a composer to pull back the curtain and share what didn’t make it past the cutting room floor with listeners. If there’s any game where I appreciate the endeavor of documenting the draft, in-process, and… Read More »

When Metaphor: ReFantazio launched in late 2024, I was immediately smitten. However, I was less smitten with the woefully incomplete Special Soundtrack: pay 150 USD for the game’s limited edition, get a two-disc set of music when the full OST is actually five discs. Not exactly a winner in my book. Therefore, I decided to… Read More »

For the past few years, Square Enix Music has been producing some exclusive arrangement/performance content on their YouTube Channel. Then, for the 2024 Fall Tokyo Game Show, Square Enix compiled 15 piano solo performances from their channel and put them on one CD. That CD is, of course, Piano Cover Collection from Square Enix Music… Read More »

Well folks, here’s something I didn’t have on my 2025 bingo card: a Glory of Heracles III: Silence of the Gods and Glory of Heracles IV: Gift from the Gods orchestral music concert, all live recordings from September 2024, across three discs! These Super Famicom titles have never had official English language releases, but these… Read More »

As the Nintendo Switch goes into its later years, I find myself reflecting fondly on one of its earlier titles: Pokémon Sword & Shield, the entry that ushered in Pokémon‘s eighth generation. Despite the game releasing in 2019, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company saw fit to delay the publication of the game’s soundtrack until early… Read More »

NieR Orchestral Arrangement Album – Addendum Special Disc is essentially an addendum to the addendum. It’s addendum squared. And in some ways, this disc’s existence is especially cruel. With a runtime of 14 minutes, it could have easily fit on Addendum as one complete single disc. Instead, it’s a first-press bonus disc that has become… Read More »

In 2018, Square Enix dropped the massive NieR Orchestral Arrangement three-disc box set. And while it was a great set of music, it was lacking in one department: vocals. Thus, it came to pass in the year 2020 that a follow-up album, NieR Orchestral Arrangement Album – Addendum, was published for fans to enjoy. This… Read More »

It’s time to check in on the mobile/live service title Romancing SaGa Re;univerSe: now back with a third collection of music! It’s a good one, but it could be the last collection released as well. I am writing this review while grappling with the frustrating news that the global version of Re;univerSe is shutting down… Read More »

Prior to listening to the Unicorn Overlord Original Soundtrack, I had heard good things about Unicorn Overlord. The latest in the unique, creative lineup of games from development studio Vanillaware has received a great deal of praise, including my colleague Joshua Lindquist granting the game a 92 out of 100 and an Editor’s Choice award.… Read More »

Sean Schafianski released Jazz Arrange Version: Chrono Cross on November 18, 2024, coinciding with the game’s 25th birthday (its Japanese launch date was November 18, 1999). Alongside being a well-timed release to celebrate the game’s anniversary, this album also comes approximately ten years after Schafianski’s Chrono Trigger: Jazz Arrange Version, one of the earliest albums… Read More »

SaGa series composer Kenji Ito returns with a cavalcade of musicians in the latest series entry: SaGa Emerald Beyond. Released nearly a decade after its predecessor, SaGa Scarlet Grace, was originally published in Japan, Emerald Beyond takes a leap from medieval fantasy to a multi-realm fantasy including sci-fi, modern, gothic, and other settings, very much… Read More »

Among the plethora of top-tier RPGs in the last five years or so, Disco Elysium stands as one of the more innovative and unexpected critical and commercial hits. It drew a huge range of industry and critical accolades, and the immersive graphics, exceptional narrative and voice-acting, and meaningful decision systems still resonate as strongly today… Read More »

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth was one of my most anticipated releases of 2024. The original and the two other PlayStation Final Fantasy entries, FFVIII and FFIX, are three of my favourite games. They each hold a special place in my heart, and I revisit them regularly. Playing them gives me a serotonin boost and makes… Read More »

I came into Sea of Stars and its music with some prior context: Sabotage Studio’s 2018 title, The Messenger. That particular indie gem featured action platformer gameplay akin to Ninja Gaiden and an incredibly catchy soundtrack by Eric W. Brown (who utilized the moniker “Rainbowdragoneyes” at the time). The Messenger OST featured two parts: “The… Read More »