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I’ll admit it, I’m a sucker for the Japanese digital comic/visual novel genre. My first taste of this genre came in 1999 when I played a localized version of C’s ware‘s EVE burst error. This game was originally a Hentai game but the localized version is devoid of all the H content; though some vestigial… Read More »

For those unfamiliar with the title, Gyakuten Saiban is the Japanese name for the US game Phoenix Wright. Many of the songs from the first CD of this collection should be familiar to anyone who’s ever played the US release of the game. The second CD in this album is comprised entirely of music from… Read More »

Please note: This particular review is actually a reprint of the original Gyakuten Saiban 3 OST. This reprint included a special second disc. The original print, while having the same catalog number (CPCA-1089), does not include the second disc. Noriyuki Iwadare replaces Akemi Kimura as the composer for the third game in the Gyakuten Saiban… Read More »

Note: “Gyakuten Saiban” is known in America as “Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney.” The literal translation is “Judicial Reversal”, and “Yomigaeru Gyakuten” can be translated as “Reversal Revival” or “Revival of the Reversal.” A special-order item from Capcom, the Yomigaeru Gyakuten soundtrack contains all 27 tracks from the first disc of the “Gyakuten Saiban 1&2 Original… Read More »

Konami’s Tokimeki Memorial is one of the premiere games in the dating-simulator genre; a genre that has pretty much stayed in Japan. Tokimeki Memorial shares something in common with traditional RPGs in that you have to micromanage your character’s development in a variety of statistics in order to woo a particular girl. Fancy the girl… Read More »

You probably haven’t ever heard of (much less played) Depth Fantasia, Asia’s Enix-published MMORPG. One reason for this may be because of the game’s unpopularity. In 2005, Enix shut down the servers for the game, so it’s probably not being played by…anyone, now. As for the game’s quality and fun factor, I wouldn’t know. I… Read More »

So you think you’ve heard all that Koichi Sugiyama has to offer from Dragon Quest. You’ve heard his compositions in Brass, on Electone, on Koto, even put to lyrics. His works have been performed by NHK, the London Philharmonic, and the Hungarian Philharmonic. Now, get ready for pure class, as Sugiyama takes all your favorite… Read More »

Of all the months in 2005, I can already safely say that none of them will have as much hype as August did. During the second to last week in the month, the “big five” soundtracks were released (Grandia III, Shadow Hearts:FTNW, Near Death Experience, FFXI: The Star Onions, and Tales of Legendia). Of the… Read More »

Let’s begin this review by making a few clarifying statements. A great number of online shops advertised this single as an FFXII single. This is only a half-truth. The FFXII theme song is called “Kiss Me Good-Bye,” and is found only on the DVD portion of this single. Hence, if you purchase the regular edition,… Read More »

Nobuo Uematsu, Kenji Ito, Hiroki Kikuta, and Yasunori Mitsuda represent Square’s first generation of composers. They helped to shape game music from an amorphous, unfocused mass into a viable art form independent of other genres. All of these, as well as a few others, have since left Squaresoft to either work freelance or fade into… Read More »

Front Mission 4 was Hidenori Iwasaki’s first composing project. It was a very impressive first effort; he proved more than adequate for the task of composing for one of Square Enix’s major franchises. Front Mission 5 ~Scars of the War~ was also given mainly to Iwasaki, and it represents both the progression of his style… Read More »

Note: the limited edition includes a bonus music video version of “In The Sky.” Click on the link to watch a clip of the music video, which includes scenes from Grandia III. Performed by “Miz,” the Grandia III theme song single is one that I frankly do not care for. These are standard pop songs… Read More »

Noriyuki Iwadare has never let Grandia fans down. Even the soundtrack to Grandia Xtreme was excellent (athough the game wasn’t). The newest soundtrack, Grandia III does not disappoint. Fans of Iwadare will be pleased to know that he still has the “Grandia feel” down pat. GIII isn’t quite as spectacular as the original Grandia, but… Read More »

Already an obscure find after only two years on the market (thanks to DigiCube’s fallout), the Hanjuku Hero VS 3D OST is not the sort of album you purchase for pure musical enjoyment. Its value comes through its quirkiness, its humorous references to Final Fantasy tunes, and, on the third disc, its powerful and nostalgic… Read More »

The “Colors” single, while not relevant to any videogame on its own, does contain the English version of “Hikari”, called “Simple and Clean.” this song was used in the American version of Kingdom Hearts, and that’s why we’re talking about it. (In case you were interested in my thoughts about “Colors”: the song is not… Read More »

Hikaru Utada has been described by fans as a no-nonsense non-Western version of an American pop star. Take Britney Spears, cut out all the weird stuff with that Kevin guy, add decent lyrics, give her the ability to write her own songs, and cut the “slut” factor: you’ve got Hikaru Utada. The young lady previously… Read More »

I wasn’t too great a fan of the original Kingdom Hearts, nor its music. It often felt too understated or quiet, too willing to be soft and boring. Little outside of the opening song caught my attention, and it’s a shame too, since music is such a huge part of what makes a game. Thankfully,… Read More »

I always felt that the best sounding recordings of the Dragon Quest Symphony series have been performed by the London Philharmonic, as is the case with this CD. It was released alongside DQ Symphony III, V and VI, shortly before OST VII (if I’m not mistaken they were also released together with the OSTs before).… Read More »

Released in America by Working Designs as Vanguard Bandits, Epica Stella was a PS1 RPG that managed to slip under the radar of many gamers. Not that I know much about the game, but I am certainly familiar with its soundtrack. Let’s talk about it. First of all, there are a fair number of vocal… Read More »

Even one listen through Hiroshi Fujioka’s score for Growlanser III will reveal one simple truth to the listener: Fujioka likes to use strings. He likes to use them a lot. In fact, Fujioka seems to like all of the traditional western instruments found in an orchestra. Unfortunately for Fujioka, Growlanser III didn’t make use of… Read More »

Growlanser was composed by Noriyuki Iwadare. Growlanser II and III were composed by Hiroshi Fujioka. Growlanser IV brings us to our third composer for the series, Tatsuyuki Maeda. Dare I say that this is the best Growlanser soundtrack yet? No, I cannot deny the genius of Iwadare. But Maeda sure beat the pants off of… Read More »

This is the second CD Single released by Victor Entertainment at the same time as the PlayStation remake of Tales of Phantasia. Featuring Yukari Yoshida — who sang the title-tune on the SNES Module and the first single release in 1995 — this CD contains the ending theme, a very nice quiet ballad, already featured… Read More »

Tales of Phantasia was one of the best SFC RPGs. Most memorable of course was the music – the game even had its own sound-menu. At the same time as the Playstation remake Victor Entertainment released 3 CDs: The original soundtrack and 2 CD singles. This CD-single features the intro music from the Playstation version… Read More »

Bonjour! Welcome to Paris! Take in all the sights and sounds, and enjoy your stay. What’s that you say? You didn’t expect to hear Japanese imperial ballads in Paris? Then clearly you haven’t exposed yourself thoroughly enough to Red Entertainment’s “Sakura Taisen” (Sakura Wars) series. In the series’ third title, “Is Paris Burning?”, the Teikoku… Read More »

Sakura Taisen 4 ~Maidens, Fall in Love~ is the fourth title in the popular Japanese Sakura Taisen series from Sega/Overworks. Composed by Kouhei Tanaka, this is fourth installment he has worked on. The soundtrack comprises of 17 tracks, 5 tracks being Bonus Tracks (the last 5). The soundtrack has 2 vocal songs, the Declaration! Imperial… Read More »