Archives

I’ll come right out and say it: Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth is one of my candidates for soundtrack of the year, 2015. I never really paid much attention to the Digimon games or their soundtracks, but Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth looks like it has the potential to revitalize the franchise, thanks in part to the… Read More »

If you’ve found your way to this review, it’s likely you already know what Langrisser is. For those of you who don’t: sometime between Nintendo releasing Fire Emblem and Sega releasing Shining Force, there was a new tile-based strategy RPG on the scene entitled Langrisser. The first game in the series was localized as “Warsong”… Read More »

It’s difficult to explain why, on most days, when I listen to “Unknowable Truths” I hear a beautiful, sparkling soundscape, undulating slowly as the melody marches steadily towards resolution, but, on occasion, hear a wanting, underproduced attempt at minimalism. In the same way, I have heard “Double Dimension Battle” change from a predictable quantity that… Read More »

The video game world is lucky to have the team of Yuka Tsujiyoko (the main Fire Emblem series composer), Hiroki Morishita (Paper Mario: Sticker Star), and Rei Kondoh (Okami, Bayonetta). If they ever decide to write for films, they will surely win Academy Awards and reach a wider, more accessible audience. Luckily, we get to… Read More »

I’ve had mixed feelings about Gentle Love’s Prescription for Sleep albums in the past; the arrangements were rather pleasant, but I found the use of different source material for every track to be jarring. The style of music was consistent, sure, but the way each track would put me in a different headspace proved counterintuitive… Read More »

I loathe multi-volume soundtrack nonsense. It makes sense if the game itself is being developed and published over time, but if you release one PS2 game in 2003, you don’t get to span your soundtrack across two volumes. Unless, of course, you do just that, presumably to make more money. It’s nonsense though! Who in… Read More »

Released in North America as “Etrian Odyssey Untold, Unseen, Unheard,” this combo mini-artbook and mini-soundtrack was shipped with the 3DS game. The game itself is a beefed-up remake of the very first Etrian Odyssey game; the game now features life-like music a la Etrian Odyssey IV, as well as a character-driven story (also like EO4…).… Read More »

If My Heart Had Wings is a cool visual novel that I enjoyed. There were some hiccups here and there due to the US version having the H content edited out, but the edits did not hinder my enjoyment and it was still a good flight. Upon first glance, one would think that this visual… Read More »

I find everything about Final Fantasy XIV‘s life and development fascinating. Nothing about Square Enix’s MMORPG has been by the books. Typically, you see a game released, often alongside a soundtrack, and that’s the end of the story. However, FFXIV was released in bad shape, enough so that the game was torn down and rebuilt… Read More »

It’s no wonder the Gyakuten Saiban/Phoenix Wright directors keep bringing Noriuiki Iwadare back. Iwadare (who composed the music for Gyakuten Saiban 3/Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations, Gyakuten Kenji 2, and some of Gyakuten Kenji/Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth) is extremely talented in juggling genres while maintaining his own style. Between all the tense… Read More »

If it’s possible to be oversaturated with Masayoshi Soken‘s immense talents, I have yet to reach that level. After composing most of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn‘s 120-track album, XIV‘s Sound Director has continued to create new music for the game’s several major updates. Since ARR (aka 2.0) released in August 2013, every three… Read More »

Have you ever had a jam session with your friends where everyone starts playing video game music? Legacy Sessions: GAME Generation 5 sort of sounds like that, except that your dinky friends are replaced with extremely talented musicians. Co-created and arranged by Casey Ormond (pianist for Final Fantasy XII Piano Collections), Legacy Sessions: GAME Generation… Read More »

Whenever I’m introduced to a new group that arranges/performs video game music, I generously give my ears to them so they may slather it with their honey-filled notes. I listen, I enjoy, and I applaud. Within a short time, I go about researching the group, checking who the performers are and what they play. When… Read More »

Secret of Evermore is a game I don’t have a whole lot of experience with. Aside from a very brief detour taken back in middle school, it has always been “the other action RPG Square made” in my mind, which is more a testament to my Sega-heavy upbringing than a knock on the game itself.… Read More »

I was a big fan of Zack Parrish’s work on the Valdis Story: Abyssal City OST, so I was pretty giddy when he released a ten track supplemental album for the game’s update. My biggest concern was that ten tracks might not be satisfying after the 45 tunes in the original OST covered so much… Read More »

With the Xenoblade Chronicles X OST being my only notable exposure to his work, my impression of Hiroyuki Sawano is that he’s a madman. It’s one thing to make four discs of great music, but it’s another thing entirely to ignore traditional expectations of structure, instrumentation, and genres. The result is a wealth of music… Read More »

When it comes to RPG music, the most important pieces to me are the battle themes. Considering that I spend more time in combat than anything else and hear battle themes multiple times over, they have to be so good that I never tire of them. I’m not all that familiar with the SaGa games… Read More »

The world needs more Chrono albums; it also needs more piano music. Laura Intravia preps a mouthwatering entrée mixed with both of these ingredients and slides that dish right in front of us. It takes great effort not to throw this savory meal into the air and catch it in my mouth, inhaling it in… Read More »

Last time I reviewed a Legend of Zelda cover album, I was disappointed. I wanted more passion and creativity. I wanted to feel the energy and taste it in every note. Well, good news for me! Taylor Davis hits the mark! Each track in ViolinTay’s album Melodies of Hyrule: Music from The Legend of Zelda… Read More »

Last Spring’s Prescription for Sleep: Game Music Lullabies, a collection of low-tempo twists on beloved game melodies, ranked among my top albums of the year. It was a standout album, reverent to the source material yet unafraid to experiment with bold deviations in instrumentation and pacing. GENTLE LOVE duo Norihiko Hibino and AYAKI returns with… Read More »

Tsuyoshi Sekito‘s works are perhaps not the first that might come to mind when thinking about Square Enix’s stable of regular musicians. He’s been around for years and occasionally seems to fly under the radar despite the scope of his contributions, which range from the Final Fantasy XIII sequels and pre-A Realm Reborn XIV, Kingdom… Read More »

I have a lot of affection for the Persona 4 Arena duology; they are kinetic, beautiful, fundamentally sound fighting games that recently supplanted Street Fighter IV as my arcade fighting fix of choice. Persona 4 Arena Ultimax also has a brief visual novel story mode, an RPG-esque single player Golden Arena mode, and a soundtrack… Read More »

If you think this is a jazz album, you are wrong. If you think this is a brass ensemble album, you have made an appropriate guess, but you are also wrong. For the right answer, you need to know that The Siena Wind Orchestra (which means not just brass, but also woodwinds, percussion, and the… Read More »

The Final Fantasy Type-0 HD soundtrack has a huge amount of music to offer. In the space of over 60 songs, Takeharu Ishimoto builds and expands on a few different musical styles that together form his take on Final Fantasy music. And although it’s a new take on Type-0, this OST sits comfortably alongside much… Read More »

While it seems hard to believe, with the steady flow of releases from Square Enix Music, the bluntly-named Kingdom Hearts Tribute Album is the first full disc of remixes dedicated solely to the beloved Disney mashup series. While many KH arrangements tend to focus on an orchestral or piano style, or on refining the music… Read More »