Archives

One of the bigger complaints about Mass Effect 3’s endings was the lack of diversity between your three given choices (implied consequences aside). BioWare not only addressed this issue with the Extended Cut DLC, but also in its accompanying soundtrack which, like the EC, has been provided for free. Composer Sam Hulick, who contributed to… Read More »

Unlike some of the other Mass Effect 2 DLCs, Lair of the Shadow Broker introduces seven new music tracks, quite a large number for several hours of gameplay. Not unlike some of the other DLCs, however, the overall quality doesn’t hold up to the standard of the core game’s soundtrack. There are a few pieces… Read More »

The Symphonic series of performances and albums are already a well-beloved staple of live video game music arrangements. Those who have had the pleasure of attending the perfomances have had nothing but praise for both the performance and the arrangements. Symphonic Fantasies, in particular, was a fantastic recording of a fantastic performance by talented performers.… Read More »

Naoshi Mizuta has become one of Square Enix’s most prominent musicians in recent years, thanks in large part to his work on Final Fantasy XI. The game’s alienating nature as an online entry in the long-running franchise extends to its soundtrack, a collection of memorable compositions that are criminally overlooked. Though the Star Onions have… Read More »

Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom is a game that pleasantly surprised me. Sure, some people might snicker and refer to the game as “hock a loogie” or something like that, but they’re just mindless haters who never even played the game and probably should. Anyway, my sonic experience with the game was certainly not… Read More »

Skyborn is a steampunk-fantasy RPG by Dancing Dragon games, and although one would expect a steampunk soundtrack to be filled with percussive industrial sounds like gears grinding or smokestacks puffing, Skyborn defies those expectations with a primarily classical-inspired soundtrack, albeit with a few subtle nods to modernism. When you’re playing a good quality SNES-inspired JRPG,… Read More »

I guess Falcom didn’t feel right continuing their Vocal Collections that they published in the ’90s with King Records. That four-volume set is lovely in its own right. But instead of naming his album “Falcom Vocal Collection 5,” they just restarted and simplified the album title to simply “VOCAL.” And guess what? It’s awesome. As… Read More »

On VOCAL 2, Falcom samples the best of “old Falcom” and “new Falcom.” Representing the new Falcom, we have almost exclusively the work of vocalist Kanako Kotera. Her voice is brilliant, and she represents the Sora no Kiseki trilogy as something of the series’ vocal mascot. She has four tracks on this album: “Dive into… Read More »

There’s been a lot of interest in LIVE A LIVE, at least among Square Enix’s current music (and music marketing) team. Almost all of the “SQ” arrange albums feature a track off of LIVE A LIVE, and there are two tracks from the game featured on the fantastic Shimomura orchestra album drammatica. One cannot help… Read More »

FF XIII-2 was a pretty big deal for Square Enix. In many ways, it fixed the problems of XIII and made the game a whole lot more fun. This may have come as a surprise for some people. But, for me, the biggest surprise was its soundtrack: less serious than XIII, but still an amazing… Read More »

What would be “Falcom Vocal Collection 7” (if I had my way and life were always consistent) is the latest, and in many ways the most consistently good, of the VOCAL series. Of course, it wouldn’t really be collection 7, since each of the VOCAL albums dips from the VCs 1 through 4. Let’s take… Read More »

This Atelier Meruru bonus soundtrack just makes me angry. Why not include this on the full OST? I mean, I get it. Bonus item for the people who bought the limited edition. Spiffy artbook, bonus music CD. But why is the bonus music entirely a full grade better than the rest of the soundtrack? I’m… Read More »

For some, it may be an unholy marriage, but in my mind, this game (and its soundtrack) come from a match made in heaven among developers. Atelier Elkrone is one of many side-story spin-off games in the Atelier series, but this one is different in that it’s a visual novel. Not only that, it’s an… Read More »

The last game in the Arland trilogy, and the 13th main title in the series, Atelier Meruru packs in more music than any previous Atelier game. Proof positive: the soundtrack is three discs. The total time for the three discs combined is 3 hours and 30 minutes. That’s a lot of music. The soundtrack is… Read More »

Perfectly condensed. The full import OST for Atelier Meruru consisted of three discs. The first disc was the first five tracks of this disc (all the vocals), and then various karaoke/instrumental versions of each. Disc two had most of the “standard” OST. Disc three had some special tracks, including arrangements of themes from previous Atelier… Read More »

This is it, the Atelier that changed it all. At least, musically. Up to this point, Tsuchiya-san (who eventually went on to become a senior producer with Gust) was the lead composer. And he had not one, but two Kobayashis as his musical henchmen. It was with Atelier Viorate that both Ken Nakagawa and Daisuke… Read More »

Just a quick revisit here. I listened to the Atelier Totori soundtrack before the game had even come to the US. Yeah, I’m just that hip. Importers unite, yada yada, etc etc. In that review, I expressed my extreme pleasure with Kazuki Yanagawa, who was learning not only to fit the paradigm laid by Ken… Read More »

It’s so good, it makes me angry. No, not the jealous kind of anger. Though there is some jealousy in there too. This is the kind of anger that comes from being wrong—from when you thought there wasn’t much room for improvement, but clearly there was. Piano Opera Final Fantasy I/II/III was a much-needed addition… Read More »

I don’t envy Russell Brower or any of the team that worked on the soundtrack for Diablo III. Following up on Matt Uelmen‘s legendary work on the first two titles in the series, in particular the iconic Tristram theme, can’t have been an easy task. Fortunately, Brower and co. have managed to craft a follow-up… Read More »

Mass Effect is a series near and dear to my heart, and a big part of that comes from the fantastic music that a large number of exceptionally talented composers have created for it. Memorable character themes collide with Blade Runner-esque sci-fi soundscapes, and what emerges has been some of the best space RPG music… Read More »

The soundtrack to Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance is one of the biggest surprises I’ve had so far this year. Not because it’s good — I expected that much. What surprises me most about this album is instead how fresh and different it sounds while still retaining the essence of the series. Yoko Shimomura, Tsuyoshi… Read More »

When it comes to RPG music, I think the most important pieces are battle themes. After all, RPG players spend more of their game time locked in combat than anywhere else. Boss music is especially important because a great piece of music makes a major battle that much more memorable. This brings me to Tales… Read More »

At this point, Square-Enix has practically squeezed every possible note out of the rock that is the Final Fantasy series. With several piano, orchestral, remix, and vocal soundtracks vying for elbow room on collectors’ shelves, Square has found itself relying on the ridiculous for fresh ideas. Sporting two thirteen minute tracks, SQ Lovers ranges from… Read More »

What is a vocal-heavy soundtrack without the voice? What is a talking book without the talk? Grimoire Rubrum is the book featured on the front cover of this new piano arranged album. Unlike Noir and Weiss, Rubrum (“red”) is unable to talk. Fitting that she be given the nod on this fully instrumental album. Somehow,… Read More »

Nobuo Uematsu ought to have a catalog of tribute albums at this point. The man is a legend, and even if he hasn’t lately eclipsed his older work, he still deserves recognition and attention. It’s a shame then that Symphonic Odysseys, a tribute to the grand master of RPG music, isn’t infused with the same… Read More »