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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 »

Note: Being a compilation album, this release shares many common tracks with previous Zelda soundtracks. Some RPGFan reviews of these contain audio samples of tracks featured on this compilation. If you’re interested in hearing these in order to better understand the music offered here, check out our music reviews of Majora’s Mask 3DS, A Link… Read More »

When I first started listening to this soundtrack, I was immediately struck by how easily it took me back to my childhood, even though I played through this game when I was in college. Granted, this is partly because the soundtrack tastefully incorporates some classic themes from older games in the series, but I think… Read More »

7th Dragon III code:VFD is a mouthful of a title, which matches the massive amount of music present in the game’s soundtrack (two and a half hours!). I enjoyed 7th Dragon III code:VFD as a competent and comfortable RPG. My opinion on its music is a different story—which is to say, I love it. Yuzo… Read More »

Eight is great! I have been anxiously awaiting this soundtrack’s publication since Ys VIII was first announced. Falcom has put a lot of time and effort into the ever-branching Kiseki franchise; meanwhile the last Ys OST release was for the re-visioning of Ys IV, Foliage Ocean in Celceta (AKA Memories of Celceta), in 2012. I… Read More »

Grand Kingdom takes many cues from Vanillaware’s Grand Knights History and shares much of the same team. This includes subcontracting the music to Basiscape, who brought back all but one of Grand Knights History’s composers, and then complemented the roster with two more. All of them — Mitsuhiro Kaneda, Azusa Chiba, Kazuki Higashihara, Yoshimi Kudo,… Read More »

Legend of Mana represents an interesting point in the Seiken Densetsu series, in that however you may feel about the title in terms of its gameplay, its music has always been heralded as some of the best in the PlayStation era of RPGs. This is in no small part thanks to the legendary Yoko Shimomura,… Read More »

Have you played 5pb. / Nitroplus’ visual novel STEINS;GATE yet? If not, you should. Why? One: because it’s a high-quality visual novel (we awarded it an Editor’s Choice Award with a score of 91%). Two: because this box set will probably mean precious little to you and then you’ll have no reason to read my… Read More »

Let’s talk about visual novels and their respective soundtracks, shall we? In general, your average visual novel is going to get an OST release, a vocal single, and a whole bunch of drama albums. If the game expands, maybe a full vocal collection will be released, or a piano collection. But a symphonic arrangement? I’ve… Read More »

Okay, before we get to the nature, quality, quantity, etc. of the Summon Night 5 Soundtrack, it’s worth recalling the history of Summon Night and its various localizations. Namely, the fact that this is the first game in the actual numbered/sequential series to come to the US. About a decade prior, Atlus localized a pair… Read More »

Recent iterations of the Star Ocean series have been lackluster, alternating between bad and good at every turn. The soundtrack for the fifth Star Ocean game is similar, with great music interspersed with weak, or even annoying, compositions so that half the album is outstanding, and the other half poor. Motoi Sakuraba brings all of… Read More »

Are you ready to get your obscure-album-hunt on? If so, then you’re ready for RE:Danganronpa ~Super Danganronpa bitbitbit TKD Remix~!! To clarify, this is an arranged album for Danganronpa 2, originally titled “Super Danganronpa” in Japan. It was originally released at Comiket 83, and has since become a hard-to-find item. This is a shame, because… Read More »

It’s about time that Japan and the English / US / NA localization package got the same limited edition CD. But only four tracks? No, I shouldn’t complain. It may only be four tracks, but each track is a sizable heap of music with plenty of production value to go around. These packed-in mini-soundtracks, including… Read More »

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter and its soundtrack escaped my attention due to the game falling outside of my very narrow gaming interests. When I discovered, however, that Mikolai Stroinski (a composer for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and its expansions) was behind the music and that the soundtrack was nominated for a number of… Read More »

This rare arrange/drama CD comes with the Japanese Super Limited Box Edition of the “budget re-release” of the PSP game. Yes, I said PSP. Danganronpa was originally a PSP title, but it was not localized in the US until Japan had ported the first two games into one set for the PS Vita. What all… Read More »

Beneath the gazing starsVales deep and forests darkBetrayed by loyal hands, Her wrath stirredBound fast unto our fateOne path, one burden greatYet ever do our aching souls point HeavenswardEver rings out our songYes, ever do our aching souls march HeavenswardAs they’ve done for so long To their trespassWe are WitnessHere to pass thisFinal sentenceNo forgivenessNo… Read More »

Danganronpa 2, the sequel to the breakout cult hit, is in many respects bigger and better, but it is also generally more of the same. The game’s mechanics are refined, the setting has changed, and the plot has its own twists that would be hard for any gamer to predict. The soundtrack, likewise, has plenty… Read More »

Note: the vast majority of this import soundtrack is available via iTunes: all of disc one, and the first 18 tracks of disc two, are present. Track 19, “Reconstruction -rebuild-,” is the end vocal credits, and then tracks 20 to the end of disc two are all “jingle” pieces, ranging from 5 to 30 seconds… Read More »

It wasn’t long after I had fully digested the six-disc MASAYA / Langrisser I~III soundtrack box that the 3DS remake/re-visioning of the very first Langrisser title hit the market. Specifically, we’re talking about the international market, since Aksys localized the game. In Japan, the LE bonus with the game was the full two-disc soundtrack. In… Read More »

From the album covers featuring soldiers marching in single file across a wintry landscape, to the opening bukkehorn notes, The Banner Saga 1 and 2 have unsurprisingly similar soundtracks. If you’re acquainted with the first release then you’ll be well prepared for what’s offered here. However, the transportation of the soldiers from nocturnal plains to… Read More »

Tenpei Sato is true to form in Nippon Ichi Software’s latest release, Coven and Labyrinth of Refrain. While the team takes a lot of creative risks with the design of the game, Sato’s contribution is largely what I have come to expect based on his other works with NIS. This similarity has some benefits and… Read More »

Japanese gamers who bought Atelier Ayesha directly via the Gust Shop received a special CD/DVD combo Atelier Ayesha Recollection Archives. The DVD has video footage and other data; for review purposes, we’ll be talking about the CD specifically. The 30 minute bonus album has two collections of music. In the first half, additional tracks written… Read More »