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Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly, also known by its Japanese name “Kokuchou no Psychedelica,” is a dark and haunting visual novel in the “otome” subgenre (female protagonist with the majority of the other cast as males that may or may not have “romantic” endings/routes). There are two Psychedelica games: this, and “Haitaka no Psychedelica” or… Read More »

The Kingdom Hearts series has a rich musical legacy. Artists like Yoko Shimomura, Takeharu Ishimoto, and Hikaru Utada have left their mark on the franchise, creating memorable motifs and refrains that call back to certain characters and their struggles. It’s no surprise, then, that something like Project Destati should exist: a triumvirate of talented musicians… Read More »

Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly was released in Japan in early 2015. Its spiritual sequel, Psychedelica of the Ashen Hawk, came along about 18 months later. However, there was a bit of a soundtrack printing snafu along the way. The OSTs for both Psychedelica games were published on November 30, 2016, and Ashen Hawk was… Read More »

What a great concept for an arranged album, to take the specific terminology of the battle to combine two genres of music into one arranged album. I mean … you get it, right? Oh wait, you don’t? You mean you haven’t actually played Octopath Traveler before? If I’m describing you, then please stop reading this… Read More »

I have absolutely no idea how this game (and soundtrack) slipped under my radar. It is especially shameful for me because I am actually a self-professed Jeff Ball megafan. I make no apologies for this, and if my review shows any bias as a result, I do not care. Jeff Ball is a great person… Read More »

Here’s another one… Included in the limited-edition release of Persona 4: Dancing All Night in both US and Japanese regions (the “Disco Fever” edition in North America), the full 2-disc soundtrack was an easy find at first. These days, the price of the full LE set has risen, but not to an astronomical degree. At… Read More »

Editor’s Note: though this album is six tracks in length, a bonus digital download track is available via a download code published with the CD. At the time of this review, said code still worked. The 7th track, “Voice Drama ‘Precious Lost Item,’” is a monologue performed by the character Tsukasa Mikuni (voice actor Nobuhiko… Read More »

Months after the first Corpse Party Whisper of the Nightmare drama/vocal album Scorpion was released, 5pb published the girl-side counterpart Tarantula. Like its predecessor, Tarantula gave equal share to the primary cast and the secondary cast. Most players will remember Naomi, Ayumi, and Mayu. But do you remember Ran Kobayashi? I’ll admit, huge fan that… Read More »

Editor’s Note: The first section of this review, which considers the history and background of this game and its music, is found verbatim in the Vol.1 review. A subheading below denotes when the unique review content begins. I don’t know what it is about Corpse Party that keeps bringing me back. One could easily dismiss… Read More »

Largely at the hands of indie developers, the gaming industry has seen a return to form. With the continued development of retro-style roleplaying games, studios seem to be attempting a return to the “golden age” experienced in the mid to late ’90s. Square Enix was a frontrunner in the aforementioned period of gaming history, so… Read More »

Editor’s Note: The first section of this review, which considers the history and background of this game and its music, is found verbatim in the Vol.2 review. A subheading below denotes when the unique review content begins. I don’t know what it is about Corpse Party that keeps bringing me back. One could easily dismiss… Read More »

A Note Regarding Tracklist Translation: Square Enix has not offered an official English translation. A quick glance at the album’s back cover reveals a kind of symmetry in the tracklist titles. However, the middle character, whether it be “no” (backwards “of”), “to” (“and”), or something else, can appear in Hiragana or Katakana form. The use… Read More »

The Eightfold Road is an arrange album of incredible music from the acclaimed JRPG Octopath Traveler. Octopath Traveler won several awards in RPGFan’s Game of the Year proceedings, including one for Best Music or Sound Design thanks to rising star composer Yasunori Nishiki’s evocative creations. Another rising star in the world of music is Jules… Read More »

At this point, I think it would be an understatement (heh) to say that Undertale was the biggest surprise hit of 2015. Not only that, but it also ranks right up there with Cave Story as one of the all-time most successful and beloved indie projects in the video game industry. And to be honest,… Read More »

After the initial launch of Final Fantasy XV, Square Enix kept a steady stream of DLC coming along, culminating with the March 2018 update that brought some finality to the multiplayer “Comrades” DLC, as well as the bevy of small updates that came with “Royal Edition.” This “Volume 2” soundtrack was also released that month.… Read More »

After 4+ years of “will she or won’t she” based on confusing Twitter exchanges involving her father, we finally got confirmation in 2018 that Hikaru Utada would once again lend her immense talents to the vocal theme song of Kingdom Hearts III. We’d all hoped she would return, but given how long it has been… Read More »

GENTLE LOVE, a duo consisting of Metal Gear Solid series composer Norihiko Hibino and Etrian Odyssey pianist AYAKI, continue their long-running Prescription for Sleep series by taking on boss/battle themes in a collection titled Fight for Your Dreams. Considering their standard smooth jazz sound, as seen in their Undertale album and Game Music Lullabies series,… Read More »

Note: In both the packaging (DVD Insert) and the menu of the DVD, tracks 6 and 8 are mislabeled. Both list “F.D.D.” as the background audio track, when in fact, the song used is “fake me.” This review page lists the correct songs for those movie files. Before STEINS;GATE, there was CHAOS;HEAD. This visual novel… Read More »

Last year’s controversial Secret of Mana 3D/HD remake came with some funky tunes. Over a dozen arrangers contributed to the project, making for a unique, though jarring, collection of audio. However, Japanese consumers who were willing to spend significantly more money and preorder direct from Square Enix were treated to this album. Though only four… Read More »

Why did it have to come to this? Because we were drunk on our success with NieR: Automata, that’s why. We just couldn’t stop ourselves from releasing that damn big budget orchestral album. Hey, it wasn’t my idea in the first place! It was that SQUARE ENIX Music Publishing Business Division rep that assured me… Read More »

I had ended my review of NieR: Automata Piano Collections with a word of warning to the Square Enix Music team: don’t milk the same material forever. I know of no greater fan of the NieR franchise, and especially its music, than myself. But even I was nervous that if Square Enix kept pushing the… Read More »

It has become exceedingly rare for new game music to get full orchestral arrange albums. Typically, the orchestral goodies are all recorded for the game itself, and any arrange albums tend to be specific to a genre or to a stripped-down set of instruments (even solo instruments). In the days of chiptunes and software-supported sequenced… Read More »

I first dipped my toes in Falcom’s Legend of Heroes series when I played through Trails in the Sky FC back in 2015. At the time, I didn’t understand what I was getting into. Not only was this 40-hour RPG just the first episode in the Trails in the Sky (Sora no Kiseki) trilogy, but… Read More »

I always find it hard motivating myself to try out new mobile RPGs. I know at some point if there’s not enough interest or money coming in, it’ll more than likely cease to exist. And just the thought of all that time and money going down the drain, leaving only sweet memories to remind me… Read More »

It’s not often I come across a game that leaves such a strong, lasting impression. A love letter to the Italian Renaissance, Masquerada: Songs and Shadows examines our need for social dissembling through a world plagued by an endless masquerade. Quite fitting, don’t you think? Keeping consistent with its Venetian motif, Masquerada is the first… Read More »