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Noriyuki Iwadare has never let Grandia fans down. Even the soundtrack to Grandia Xtreme was excellent (although 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 on… 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: you’ve got Hikaru Utada. The young lady previously recorded both the English and… 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 »

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, Tomoyuki Hamada. Dare I say that this is the best Growlanser soundtrack yet? No, I cannot deny the genius of Iwadare. But Hamada sure beat the pants off of… Read More »

Released around the same time as Sakura Taisen 2, Red and Konami brought “Mitsumete Knight” to Japan. The game had elements of gameplay similar to the Sakura Taisen series and dating sims such as Tokimeki Memorial. It also had music from three relatively unknown composers who took a courageous move in attempting to create this… Read More »

Editor’s Note: Thanks to “Ogawa Burukku” of Strawberry Sherbert for allowing us to use excerpted portions of her review for this special box set at RPGFan. While the collection covers not only game vocals but also vocals from various anime episodes and live performances, we at RPGFan felt it fitting to cover the box set… Read More »

Sakura Taisen 3 Music Collection Paris Music Hall is the soundtrack to the third major installment of the Japanese anime, mecha RPG Sakura Taisen series from Sega/Overworks. Sakura Taisen 3 ~Is Paris Burning?~ is composed by the Japanese music composer Kouhei Tanaka (composer of the Alundra Original Soundtrack). Ever since playing Sakura Taisen Atsuki Chishio… 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 »

Co-developed by Red (Sakura Taisen) and Atlus (Shin Megami Tensei), this traditional RPG / dating sim title that somehow managed to reach the US was one of the most unqiue PS1 titles I have ever played. Atlus was also kind enough to package together a soundtrack CD as part of a limited bonus for Americans… Read More »

KID is a Japanese game developer well known for their excellent love adventure games. One of their more compelling series is called Infinity, which includes the likes of Never7 and Ever17. The characters and plots in these games are not connected in any way, but some elements remain true, such as intellectually stimulating storylines and… Read More »

The Ever17 vocal collection is a collection of songs from a bunch of vocal singles released in a two year span. “LeMU ~Far Away Continent of Lemuria~” and “Aqua Stripe” are the two vocal numbers that are used in the game itself. A nice addition to this soundtrack is the instrumental versions of “LeMU ~Far… Read More »

Ar tonelico: Sekai no Owari de Utai Tsudzukeru Shoujo (translated as The Girl Who Sings at the End of the World) is the most recent title from Gust and Banpresto, makers of the Atelier series and Super Robot Wars series respectively. So recent is this title, actually, that I am writing this review before the… Read More »

Hiroshi Tamawari, one of Konami’s many composers in the late 1990s, put together over fifty songs for the under-the-radar simulation RPG (Other Life) “Azure Dreams.” The game, which is a primitive version of the much more successful PS2 title “Dark Cloud,” featured a unique cast of characters, beautiful environments, and a score that ought not… Read More »

Once upon a time, I asked one of my fellow VGM-loving friends, “what is the worst non-mainstream / obscure soundtrack you’ve ever heard?” His reply was, “Saiyuuki. Without a doubt, Saiyuuki. It sucks.” If the soundtrack were really all that bad, I thought to myself, then perhaps I should pick it up and review it… Read More »

Real quick – Disc 1 and 2 = Great. Disc 3 and 4 = WHOOOOAAA! Digital Devil Saga. Out of nowhere, we get this incredible tale from Atlus. A story of Serph and his friends, it’s unique, touching, haunting and epic on a hundred levels. Part of that can be attributed to a certain Shoji… Read More »

Being a rabid Kouhei Tanaka fan, I hunted down this album after reading that it was composed by Kouhei Tanaka. Unfortunately, I had been misled. Tanaka had only composed the vocal theme song; the rest was done by a relatively unknown composer. So here I was, stuck with another obscure album that I may or… Read More »

Released 3 years after the OST (and 4 years after that accursed “mini” album), the Azel -Panzer Dragoon RPG- Memorial Album was basically a reprint of the two disc “Complete” album, but with a bonus track tacked on to the end of each disc. So let’s start this review by talking about those bonus tracks.… Read More »

Now this is a complete Persona soundtrack, unlike the other OST I reviewed. Every track from the game is in this collection, along with a bonus disc with a few preview themes from Persona 2: Innocent Sin. Though the sound quality isn’t quite as good as the first OST, it’s still quite good. The completeness… Read More »

Old school or not, I really enjoyed this soundtrack. I recently went on a Shining adventure and grabbed every soundtrack I could find, and I decided to start with this one. I couldn’t have been more pleased. If you’re accustomed to old school RPG soundtracks, then this will be familiar to you. From the self-titled… Read More »

I have been more than pleased with the work of the publishing company “Sumthing Else.” Not that I have enjoyed all of their releases, but I do appreciate what they’re doing. Many of the Xbox-developed titles are developed in the US, which means the only way they’re getting a soundtrack release is if Americans publish… Read More »