Archives

So here it is, the theme song single for Final Fantasy XIII. Or, at least, the Japanese version of it (Leona Lewis is doing a new English theme song called “My Hands”). And what can I say? After listening to Sayuri Sugawara‘s “Because You’re Here,” I’m underwhelmed. Don’t get me wrong. The song is good,… Read More »

I should preface my review by stating that I have not played Infinite Undiscovery, but the soundtrack makes me wish that I had. Yet more incentive to purchase an Xbox 360. Although many reviews of Infinite Undiscovery vary in their recommendation of the game, I can assure you that the soundtrack is sure to not… Read More »

After playing Borderlands, I was hard pressed to remember more than two or three of the game’s music tracks. After starting up the OST for a listen, however, I began to think I had been mistaken in writing off the soundtrack as forgettable. That’s because the first few tracks are actually decent. The rest? Forgettable,… Read More »

Ah, Lunar. RPGFan’s first namesake. Noriyuki Iwadare’s brilliant, flowery masterpiece. How can I not be excited about a new version of the soundtrack? Lunar: Harmony of Silver Star (Silver Star Harmony in North America) is a remake of Silver Star Story, which was a remake of Lunar: The Silver Star. The first Lunar has been… Read More »

License to Doujin received. It’s time for a bunch of remixers with clever monikers to take on classic Squaresoft music. If you really know your Square music history, you’ll know that there have been approximately four albums to attempt this same sort of style. First was Final Fantasy Mix, which had unreleased tracks and fan/artist-based… Read More »

Intentionally retro soundtrack, from Naoshi Mizuta? Sign me up! Final Fantasy Gaiden DS, the 4 Warriors of Light, (later localized as Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light) features a blend of today’s MIDI-synth mixed with emulated NES and Game Boy chiptunes. Yeah… that’s right, sometimes it sounds like you’re playing a Game Boy game.… Read More »

Unless we are quick enough to forget that Japan has come up with such quirky RPG hybrids as the “racing RPG” (Racing Lagoon) and the “soccer RPG” (Inazuma Eleven), we won’t be surprised at the existence of Dun-Dam, a DS title labeled in all Japanese ads as a “Dam Management RPG.” I always wanted to… Read More »

If you are anything like me, when the trailer for White Knight Chronicles surfaced, you were instantly intrigued. Besides the visuals, which provoked the possibility that this may well be that big next gen RPG that PS3 owners have been waiting for, it also featured a track that instantly just drew you in. This track… Read More »

Kai, how do you do it, man? The ex-composer for Piranha Bytes (he very recently went freelance) worked on the Gothic series, as well as the new Action RPG “Risen” for PC and Xbox 360. The soundtrack was included as a bonus with the game. And yes, in case you were wondering, it is as… Read More »

Sakura Note is a new DS RPG, with music by Final Fantasy veteran Nobuo Uematsu. Every time a new project from Uematsu crops up, the community seems either hopeful or nervous. Will this project be another flop? Will it be “average?” Or might it actually meet and surpass our expectations? After a few listens, here’s… Read More »

Kenji Kaneko level-up! I’ve been following Kaneko’s work with Idea Factory for some time now. And it seems he’s slowly but surely getting better. I said as much in my review of the “Record of Agarest War” OST review. Between that, Cross Edge, and now Trinity Universe, it seems Kaneko is looking to increase his… Read More »

A Witch’s Tale is a turn-based DS RPG from Hitmaker and NIS. This charming, if flawed, RPG looks and sounds like a Halloween episode of any given cartoon. The music certainly complements the game’s vibe, but listening to this soundtrack outside the context of the game feels like having eaten too much candy corn after… Read More »

One of the oldest graphic adventures to come from Japan has somehow managed to escape any presence in North America. Originally released for PC60 (the precursor to PC88) in 1984, the game was ported and re-released many times in the 1980s, culminating in the 1987 release on the Famicom, which many Japanese gamers consider to… Read More »

One of the oldest graphic adventures to come from Japan has somehow managed to escape any presence in North America. Originally released for PC60 (the precursor to PC88) in 1984, the game was ported and re-released many times in the 1980s, culminating in the 1987 release on the Famicom, which many Japanese gamers consider to… Read More »

I’m not sure I even have to write this review. Listen to the audio sample of the first track, and I think you’ll realize just how disturbing this album is. But heck, let me at least give you some history. This Japanese-only RPG for the Nintendo (Famicom) featured a little orphaned prince who travels the… Read More »

Xak is one of those old-school MSX RPGs that Americans would never get to play. But many Americans have heard the work of composer Ryuji Sasai from Squaresoft’s SaGa 3 (Final Fantasy Legend 3) and Final Fantasy Mystic Quest. The type of synths and chiptunes used for the game’s score are, in and of themselves,… Read More »

Among the three Xak soundtracks, I personally think Xak II is the weakest of the three. Though there are some decent arranged tracks at the beginning of the disc, I felt that the melodies aren’t interesting, for the most part. Throughout the OST portion of Xak II, there are lots of boring/droning track, even with… Read More »

Alright, so here’s my take on the soundtrack for Xak III: it is the best of the three, despite the noticeable lack of Ryuji Sasai. There are awesome arrange tracks at the end of the disc. The CD’s packaging sports some cool artwork. The game was released on Microsoft’s “MSX2” console in 1993 in Japan,… Read More »

Editor’s Note: RPGFan has not reviewed Retro Remix Revue Vol. 1 because the tracklist did not have any RPG music, save for one Zelda track. Future coverage of the Retro Remix Revue series on RPGFan will hinge on the individual tracks chosen for arrangement. Retro gaming has become quite trendy lately. Perhaps with the state… Read More »

So here’s a neat trick. Take the “live recorded” portions from two extremely old albums and repackage them on this one disc as part of a massive Dragon Quest / Sugiyama library reprint on King Records. Yes, the “Suite Dragon Quest” and “Suite Dragon Quest II” orchestral/jazz/live recorded tracks (from albums with catalog numbers BY30-5121… Read More »

This is a reprint of the first Dragon Quest Symphonic Suite from the NHK Orchestra. It’s the old CD (catalog number BY30-5181) with the 11th track (the “original sound story”) removed. It’s also one of 22 Dragon Quest albums to be reprinted in October 2009. Though I am not a huge fan of the composition,… Read More »

Alright, now I’m just annoyed. Among all the Dragon Quest Symphonic Suites, none had as many prints, reprints, and re-recordings as Dragon Quest IV. And you’d think we’d finally had enough of it. But no, of course not! What was I thinking! This particular release is nothing more than the first disc of the old… Read More »

Look, we all know that Koichi Sugiyama’s orchestrated compositions for the Dragon Quest series are fantastic. We also know that every game in the series has had at least three prints of the Symphonic Suite. Dragon Quest III and IV each had more recordings and printings of the Symphonic Suite than the other titles, so… Read More »

Two different recordings (London Philharmonic, Tokyo Metropolitan) didn’t do it for you, eh? You say you want the original, 1990 recording from the NHK Symphony Orchestra? You got it! And hey, let’s tack on a second disc of OST music (just like the 1990 print from Apollon); but this time, let’s use the synth from… Read More »

The original, first recording of the Dragon Quest V Symphonic Suite from the NHK Orchestra, is finally back in 2009. This is a reprint of APCG-9004, but with the second disc (the “Original Sound Story”) cut from the release. Anyone who’s seriously studied Sugiyama’s work usually has their own preference as to which of the… Read More »