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Yasunori Mitsuda is one of the giants of game music composition. From early on in his 20-plus-year career, he has consistently demonstrated his penchant for small and large scale ensembles in both contemporary and traditional styles. He has coached stellar performances out of world-class and in-house orchestras and garnered the imagination of countless musicians and… Read More »

Among the indie darling games out there, perhaps none have gone from “who?” to “YOU KNOW WHO!” as quickly and as radically as Undertale. The game’s chief development (story, programming, most art assets, and music) was performed by one-man wonder Toby Fox. Fox has been very generous with his fanbase, happily interacting with them and… Read More »

This lovely collection of chiptune music was made available, in physical (CD) format, as a first press/preorder bonus that came alongside the NieR: Automata OST. I am not sure how many copies of this album exist, but we do know that day-one sales of the physical OST were at nearly 20,000, so an educated guess… Read More »

How do I start a review for such a great soundtrack? It is a difficult task, but certainly not as difficult as attempting to surpass the quality of NieR: Automata‘s predecessor. Which, somehow, Keiichi Okabe and the rest of MONACA managed to do. Maybe that’s not quite right. When I go back and listen to… Read More »

It’s difficult to discuss Pillars of Eternity (PoE) without comparing it to the Infinity Engine (IE) classics that inspired it: it’s because of said inspirations that I backed PoE during its crowdfunding campaign! For many, including the fine people at Obsidian, these games provide a lens through which to make sense of the game. By… Read More »

In a year where Zelda is a prevalent subject on many people’s minds, Hero of Time (Music from “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time”) arrives at a very opportune moment. But there is more than good timing to generate interest in this release. Besides Hero of Time having the backing of the Materia Collective,… Read More »

I have a lot of opinions about STEINS;GATE 0. The game itself, that is. Those opinions are mixed…plenty of good, plenty of bad. That matters, because my time spent with the game adds context to my experience with its soundtrack, and you, dear reader, ought to know that as a sort of disclaimer. That said,… Read More »

TPR’s “Melancholy” albums never fail to surprise me by defying conventions. It’s always the pieces that I, on a visceral level, don’t immediately think would lend themselves well to the “melancholy” treatment that make the biggest impression on me. For example, Fragments of Memories: A Melancholy Tribute to Final Fantasy VIII was a fantastic album… Read More »

I’ve been a fan of Shoji Meguro for as long as I’ve been a Persona fan. His ability to establish mood through his music is a sound to behold. That said, his jazz has never struck me as very engaging: as a jazz fan, his Reincarnation albums felt like bland, hollow shells of what jazz… Read More »

It’s no surprise that an Ace Attorney soundtrack is spooky, considering all the murder, lies, deceit, and ghosts in every game. But with the sixth main installment of the series featuring a story so heavy with ghosts, death, spiritual possession, political corruption, and a constant fear for your life, the composing team of Noriyuki Iwadare,… Read More »

I love Fire Emblem, and I especially love Fire Emblem’s music. Fire Emblem Fates had some fantastic tracks, too many to count, while Awakening before it carried some great tunes as well. But I’ve always felt that the series has never been given its due in the musical remixing/arrangement department. For every ten Zelda remixes… Read More »

What? A new SaGa game, you say? “Never again”, you say? Whatever your thoughts on the perpetual RPG experiment the SaGa series may be, one area where it has never flagged has been in the music department. Kenji Ito is one of those who has defined the JRPG sound, and when I saw a new… Read More »

SUCCESSOR: Final Fantasy VIII Remixed is an enormous album, crafted lovingly by Materia Collective and its staggering number of contributors. Released to celebrate the 17th anniversary of Final Fantasy VIII, it features 91 songs, 5 hours and 49 minutes of playtime, and over 150 top-notch composers, arrangers, and performers. Everyone from Lauren the Flute to… Read More »

Yuzo Koshiro delivers another Etrian soundtrack that continues the trend of his hybridization of cinematic score styles and fantasy themes infused by contemporary rock and easy listening. For those unfamiliar with his style, Yuzo embraced a mode made popular in 60s and 70s mythical-epic films such as Ben Hur and The Ten Commandments, which features… Read More »

Atelier Firis: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Journey is out, and that means another fanciful soundtrack to go along with your obsession for RPG crafting systems. Asaco Nasu, Tatsuya Yano, Daisuke Achiwa, Kazuki Yanagawa, and Ryudai Abe come together as the Gust Sound Team for this latest entry into the Atelier series. Daisuke has been… Read More »

In recent years, there have been some very impressive rearrangements of Yasunori Mitsuda’s classic soundtrack for Chrono Trigger. With Piano Collections: Chrono Trigger, Trevor Alan Gomes is the latest to take on the challenge. The release is also the first CT release for the Materia Collective, so expectations are likely to be very high. Fortunately,… Read More »

It is getting more and more difficult for me to script creative openings to my Tokimeki Memorial soundtrack reviews. The sheer quantity of Tokimeki Memorial soundtracks out there outnumbers the fleas on an Old English sheepdog who’s been lost in the woods all weekend. I know I’ve used that analogy several times before (because it’s… Read More »

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel is a superb RPG that stays true to the series’ talent for deep stories and endearing characters while also making improvements to the graphics and battle system. What stood out the most to me during my playthrough, however, was the fantastic soundtrack, with its beautiful field music,… Read More »

Somnus, translated from Latin, means “sleep.” But nothing about the original soundtrack of Final Fantasy XV is restful. Anxious? Yes. Intense? Absolutely. Forceful? Without question. Yoko Shimomura and company were given the momentous task of adding their personal touch to the upper-echelon of music that comprises the Final Fantasy canon. If you’re like me, you… Read More »

I was excited for World of Final Fantasy when the first trailer was released. Beyond the cute characters and celebration of Final Fantasy as a whole, what had my attention the most was the music. I couldn’t wait to see how Masashi Hamauzu would use his style on the remixed versions of classic Final Fantasy… Read More »

It has taken me a long time (far too long) to come up with substantive thoughts about the Ultra Despair Girls soundtrack. And yes, that is what this is. “Zettai Zetsubou Shoujo,” if you find this prefix tossed around, is the Japanese equivalent, which more accurately translates to “Absolute Despair Girls.” NISA went with “Ultra”… Read More »

The Gust Sound Team has a long history, mostly on the Atelier series, of composing a blend of what could be called RPG world music. Like the genre from the 90s, there is a strong Celtic flair, with nods to middle eastern, old European, and feudal east Asian themes and instrumentation. While I have long… Read More »

Ah, MIDI. The reigning champion of sequenced and/or programmed music. Today, even the best MIDI trackers, with the best sound sources, cannot beat the real-life instrumental recordings that make it into video games. But there was a time, not so long ago, when a “MIDI Collection” was an upgrade: an arranged album improving upon the… Read More »

When people think of Konami, they think of Castlevania, Suikoden, or Metal Gear, among others. Tokimeki Memorial is one title that may not spring to Western gamers’ minds, but it is probably familiar to Japanese gamers. This prolific, acclaimed, and popular dating sim series (some installments of which even have turn-based RPG-style battles) has been… Read More »

Shiori Fujisaki is a name synonymous with Tokimeki Memorial. Considered the true heroine/”hardest-to-date” from the first game, her lasting presence makes her something of an icon for the entire franchise. As such, it should come as no surprise that Konami made multiple Shiori Fujisaki vocal albums. Now, what if the songs written uniquely for those… Read More »