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The PS1 game “Tokyo Majin Gakuen Kenpuchou” made a lot of waves, and the ripples of those waves affect us even today. The hit game saw several remakes, as well as a sequel, some gaiden titles (such as “Tenshou Gakuen” and “Kamiyo Gakuen”), and even had anime and radio drama made after it. This album… Read More »

In 2004, the Action RPG “Sacred” made its way to the PC, and quickly found itself being called another Diablo clone. Clone or not, Sacred’s soundtrack definitely packs a punch with its passionate instrumentals. I must admit–I have never played Sacred, but after listening to this soundtrack, I regret not giving it a shot. If… Read More »

When RPG fans think of developer Gust, thoughts initially go to their alchemy-themed 2D RPGs such as Atelier Iris, Ar tonelico, or Mana Khemia. What if I were to tell you that Gust released a 3D adventure game years ago for the Playstation One? As hard as that may be to believe, Gust certainly released… Read More »

NIS America presents fans of the Ar tonelico series a treat with the recent release of the Ar tonelico II: Melody of Metafalica. The sequel comes with a soundtrack, which helps to promote the themes that series is known for. Composers Akiko Shikata, Akira Tsuchiya, Ken Nakagawa, and Daisuke Achiwa contribute to the soundtrack, providing… Read More »

We were burned once by a low-quality Atelier soundtrack for the DS once, and frankly, I didn’t want to get burned again. Atelier Lise, however, was composed by a new team. In this new Atelier DS game, Atelier Annie, the composer is exclusively Daisuke Achiwa, part of the regular “Gust Sound Team” as we know… Read More »

Atlus USA has been kind to us fans, in giving many bonuses when purchasing their games. One such gift is the Eternal Poison Soundtrack. Unlike its Japanese counterpart, Poison Pink, this soundtrack only contains twenty-five tracks on one CD. I find it interesting that when you see the tracks listed for the Eternal Poison Soundtrack… Read More »

When RPG fans hear the name Shoji Meguro, many know exactly who he is. Meguro uses the same instruments and style for nearly every soundtrack he composes. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4’s Side A soundtrack resembles his previous works, but becomes updated with a more upbeat and catchier tone than usual. The composer’s main focal… Read More »

In the past half-decade, there have been two different VGM concert series that compete for “top spot” in the niche market. One is “Video Games Live,” led by game music veterans Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall. The other, led by conductor Arnie Roth, is “PLAY! A Video Game Symphony.” The latter takes the more traditional,… Read More »

Chance Thomas, the film, television, and game music composer from Utah, actually had his “humble beginnings” in game music with this 1997 soundtrack. But, among the savvy soundtrack collectors, we know there’s nothing “humble” about this album. Quest For Glory V was a half-decent game, but most people who know anything about the game will… Read More »

Chance Thomas, a game composer known for his ability to take licensed work (be it film, television, book, comic book, whatever) and create a unique score for that franchise’s game. Thomas had done soundtracks for other Lord of the Rings games, but if you really want to see him shine, you’ll want to listen to… Read More »

There have been a few versions for a few soundtrack releases in the “Lord of the Rings Online” franchise. Turbine releases different CDs in different packages, in different regions. But if you want a full OST for the Mines of Moria expansion, this is the closest thing you’re going to find. And if you can… Read More »

Here’s a lovely joke: you buy the Mines of Moria expansion, and you get a nice little bonus CD. If you’re buying the game’s expansion, you probably already own the original game, so you already have that Shadows of Angmar soundtrack CD. But you think “oh goodie, now I’ll have the full soundtrack for Moria… Read More »

I love the accordion and related instruments. If there ever existed a soundtrack that would subdue my love for such an enigmatic sound, however, it would be Professor Layton and the Curious Village. This is not to say that it is a poorly composed soundtrack, only that it is a simple and incredibly repetitive one.… Read More »

The end of the Layton trilogy marks the end of a series of strange, enigmatic tunes written by Level-5’s in house composer, Tomohito Nishiura. But I promise you, Nishiura goes out with a bang, as I feel this is without question the strongest of the three soundtracks! Why? For starters, there’s the opening track. All… Read More »

Why do I suddenly feel like I’m in France? …It must be all the accordion and orgel (music boxes) coming from this CD I bought. Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box (or Pandora’s Box), eh? Who would’ve expected Tomohito Nishiura (Dark Cloud, Rogue Galaxy) to compose such traditional, Western European pieces? The man is good… Read More »

Though this tiny promotional album contains no unique, elsewhere-unreleased music, I wanted to get some coverage and visibility of the album. Because, in one key way, it is the best CD you can own among the Layton albums. Each of the three games in the Professor Layton trilogy had a full, one disc OST release.… Read More »

Once upon a time, Falcom published Dinosaur, a subpar game with even more subpar music. Over a decade later, in an act of total randomness, Falcom decided to remake said game. A dungeon-crawler about dinosaurs? Really? Now, this soundtrack isn’t for the remade game. Rather, this soundtrack is a reissue of the old Music From… Read More »

Falcom, I would guess, is best known for two things: awesome music, and the Ys series. I, and many like me, have taken the time to become familiar with many Falcom games and soundtracks. They are a unique developer, to be sure, and their emphasis on high musical standards has helped their games succeed. But… Read More »

Dear Falcom, why not let sleeping dinosaurs lie? A full decade passed after Falcom released one of their least-known games, “Dinosaur,” to the Japanese public. The game itself was mediocre, and the soundtrack was (in this reviewer’s opinion) downright awful. But a PC remake was on the horizon, perhaps as a method for Falcom to… Read More »

One of Falcom’s best “promotional” CDs, this soundtrack was for Falcom Classics II, a collection of games for the Sega Saturn. The first Falcom Classics actually had a CD printed and published separately. Not so with Falcom Classics II. What was to be found on this collection? Well, other “part 2” games, that’s what: Ys… Read More »

So recently I reviewed the OST for Zwei 2, wherein I stated that I was a considerable fan of the music from the first game. My sole “complaint” leveled against it was that it was an album best listened to one song at a time, rather than straight through. In 2008, however, Falcom produced a… Read More »

It’s the gaiden of all gaidens! Romancia is a cute side-story from Falcom’s Sorcerian series, which is itself part of the Dragon Slayer family of games. This eight-track arranged album covers the music from this light-hearted piece of Falcom fantasy. What makes the album appealing? Well, for starters, it’s one of Falcom’s earliest releases. That… Read More »

Hiroshi Nishizawa released his own contributions to the Sorcerian series in an indepently-published two disc set in 2000. The album maintained a low profile until recently, likely due to the revived interest in the series thanks to Sega’s “Sorcerian Mega Drive Version” OST. What is “Selected Sorcerian,” you ask? These were actually add-ons to Falcom’s… Read More »

Vantage Master was released in the latter half of the 1990s by Falcom. The closing thing it had to an OST was a promotional/preorder item that came with the game, and track 1 was a “data track,” holding other bonuses on it. Now, for the first time, the Vantage Master OST appears in full. And… Read More »

I was always a fan of the music of the original Zwei. Not in the typical sense, I didn’t put the whole album on at once. It was a soundtrack I approached in more of a piecewise fashion, certain songs for certain situations. Overall it was pretty relaxing, a huge departure for Falcom, and was… Read More »