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The Ar tonelico hymmnos musical was and is probably the biggest letdown of the year for me. I knew it was going to have drama tracks on it, based on the credits posted before the album’s release. But…it basically is a drama album. When you go see a musical, there are generally two things in… Read More »

After the sterling presentation provided us by the original Potion: Relaxin’ With Final Fantasy, I truly did not expect a sequel. It seemed to be one of those one-shot deals, a collection of timeless works in one package. You can imagine my surprise, then, when I noticed the sequel, Potion 2, while I was walking… Read More »

I got into RPGs a long time ago playing Final Fantasy II (Final Fantasy IV) back on the Super Nintendo. For its time, I found the story and characters to be very engaging with simple, yet addictive gameplay. This was also the game that got me into RPG music. Even during the time when audio… Read More »

Despite my love of Tactical RPGs, I’ve never really ploughed into the genre with much gusto, and have never played Yggdra Union. This made it difficult to consider the soundtrack in the same way as a player, who would no doubt recognise tracks left, right and centre. Considering the soundtrack in relation to other work… Read More »

This album is a reprint released six years after its original. Due to the PSP’s remastered sound, Team Entertainment reprinted the OST and Arranged album to Valkyrie Profile, adding the subtitle “Lenneth” and slapping on a new front cover. The thing I understand least about this reprint was that, even if the sound was remastered… Read More »

Motoi Sakuraba seems to think that if he keeps publishing enough content, the day will come that RPGFan can’t keep up with reviewing all his work. If he thinks he’ll win that battle, he’s dead wrong. Released less than a month after four discs worth of OST material, the Valkyrie Profile 2 -Silmeria- Arrange Album… Read More »

The Valkyrie Profile -Silmeria- OST was split into two soundtracks. The first of the two is titled Volume 1: Alicia Side. Composed by Motoi Sakuraba, it combines a full orchestra with a familiar progressive rock front on some of the more “action” based tracks. Two CDs long, the album starts off with Overture to the… Read More »

The second half of the Valkyrie Profile -Silmeria- Soundtracks, Silmeria side is another two CD compilation containing all the songs that didn’t make it into Alicia Side. If you’re reading this, that means you have most likely read part one already. Since no introduction is really needed, let’s go straight into the music. CD 1… Read More »

Probably the most unique arrangement concept in VGM history, the “voice mix” albums take clips from in-game dialogue and randomly throw them into some arranged music tracks. Sakuraba’s done this with the first Valkyrie Profile, as well as the third Star Ocean title. I highly enjoyed both of those voice mix albums and expected to… Read More »

Released in Japan as a promotional bonus with the limited edition print of Valkyrie Profile 2 -Silmeria-, this short CD gives a small taste of the glorious prog-synth-rock from above. Yes, Sakuraba’s tunes can get old, but many agree that some of his best works are for the Valkyrie Profile series. The first four tracks… Read More »

Talk about a monster. The Breath of Fire Original Soundtrack Special Box covers the series’ complete range of music, from the SNES original right up to Dragon Quarter on the PS2. At 11 CDs and 327 tracks, the sheer size of the soundtrack is both daunting and delightful, a work of truly monolithic proportions. Breath… Read More »

Notes: This album had two separate releases. The first was a limited “TGS Version,” released September 22 and featuring the “alternate cover” (see link above). The wider release was known as the “Tanomi Board Version.” Despite being released one week later, it has the earlier catalog number (10178) and features the cover displayed above. “Gyakuten… Read More »

Having only played the original Myst on PC years ago, I entered the aural realm of Myst III with preconceptions of vague etherealness and expectations of a more Avant Garde approach. At this time, the old adage “don’t judge a book by a cover” was quite relevant. This soundtrack astonished me with its grounded and… Read More »

Beginning with the enriched vocals of the main theme, the Myst IV soundtrack envelopes its listeners with a brilliantly effective soundtrack with practiced dissonance, instrumental ambiance and clear definition of purpose. While the second track, “Yeesha’s Joyride” falls within the unorthodox for instrumentation and clarity, the third track “Enter Tomahna” was everything one needs in… Read More »

Myst V: End of Ages was released last September as the final chapter of the Myst saga. It seems like the publisher, Cyan Worlds, pulled out all the stops for this game. Now, I haven’t actually played Myst V, but from what I have seen of the trailers and heard from friends, it is a… Read More »

Note: “Dirt” does not appear on the back cover’s tracklist, and appears to be a bonus track. The song is used on the enhanced CD portion of the album as background music. Due to a delay in the print for Jack Wall’s Myst IV: Revelation Soundtrack, one would think Tim Larkin jumped in and out… Read More »

The OST for [eM] -eNCHANT arM- included an instrumental version of the theme song, “Reborn,” performed by Mai. I hesitated to review this lovely little single because I wanted to see how each of the two songs were used in the game. Unfortunately, Ubisoft cut the song from the American release altogether and I was… Read More »

The ending theme “for boys” (i.e. – you’re trying to date girls) for Tokimeki Memorial Online is a great single for anyone who wants to experience a bit of light-hearted, family-friendly Japanese pop culture. The first song, “A Couple’s Wings” (Futari no Tsubasa) is a mid-tempo ballad featuring vocalist Yuki Makishima. This song is pretty,… Read More »

Don’t be confused: “for girls” doesn’t mean “if you’re looking for girls, come here.” It means “if you’re a girl, play this version because you can go after animated boys.” Of course, boys could play this side of Tokimemo Online as well, if they’re into that sort of thing. The ending theme song “Thank You”… Read More »

After Tokimemo 1, 2, 3, and “Girl’s Side” (where you can try to date various young men), Konami released Tokimeki Memorial Online. “Door to the Heart,” or “Kokoro no Tobira” when left untranslated, is the opening theme song for the Japanese online dating sim RPG. The single features vocals from the vocalists who perform the… Read More »

After SSH (Saitama Saishu Heiki) completed his first arranged album for the Atelier series, DECEITFUL WINGS, fans anticipated a second album. I, personally, fell quickly in love with the Deceitful Wings album and its many rock arrangements. I have not stopped loving it. Of course, I made sure to preorder Atelier Iris ~Eternal Mana 2~… Read More »

Sorcerian Super Arrange Version: pretty much the biggest disappointment in my Falcom listening experience. This is, however, more my fault than Falcom’s. Allow me to explain. Over the years, Falcom has produced a lot of games, but they have produced even more music for those games than they have produced games. I’d like to see… Read More »

This single, along with the Vocal From Ys and Falcom Plus Mix Version, was reprinted in the Falcom Millenium series under the name The Vocal from Ys +. However, the real REVIEW of the single is found here, so you’ve come to the right place. This Maxi-Single was one of two “Surround Theater” dramas that… Read More »

Michiko Naruke has devoted her compositional works to one series: Wild Arms. With four main installments, as well as a remake and an anime series, everyone knows that the series would only be half as fun and “western” thematic without Naruke’s lovely scores. Yet, it’s taken ten years for us to see any officially arranged… Read More »

This single, along with Surround Theater Sorcerian and Falcom Plus Mix Version, was reprinted in the Falcom Millenium series under the name The Vocal from Ys +. However, the real REVIEW of the single is found here, so you’ve come to the right place. This Maxi-Single is essentially two songs: Lilia, and In Adventure World.… Read More »