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(Editor’s Note: Nearly 15 years after the release of this book+CD combo, the two unique tracks found on this disc were included in a reprint of the Live A Live Original Soundtrack). It was a semi-common practice for NTT Publishing, in the early-to-mid 1990s, to throw together a little 8cm disc to come along with… Read More »

NOTE: Thanks to Namco USA making the single-most idiotic name-changing decision ever, you may be reading the wrong review. If you want a review for the American release of a game called “Tales of Destiny 2” for PlayStation, you’ll want to head over to the Tales of Eternia review. Tales of Eternia is the name… Read More »

Before reviewing the music, I do feel obliged to clarify all the packaging issues between the special edition and the regular edition. If you get your hands on the special edition, you are blessed with one of those mini-CDs which includes 57 ten-second tracks with sound effects from the game. I’m sure that’s an incredibly… Read More »

Back in 1987, Nobuo Uematsu took part in the game that saved Square from financial crisis: Final Fantasy. His music certainly had an impact of the success of the company as he became the main composer until a few more joined later. Final Fantasy II was released in 1988, and was as much as a… Read More »

Nobuo Uematsu, once the sole composer for any game in the Final Fantasy series, has been handing over the title to different composers. First, Uematsu teamed up with Masashi Hamauzu and Junya Nakano for Final Fantasy X. He teamed up with Naoshi Mizuta and Kumi Tanioka for Final Fantasy XI. Noriko Matsueda and Takahito Eguchi… Read More »

The first Final Fantasy Tactics (FFT) Original Soundtrack (OST) by Hitoshi Sakimoto and Masaharu Iwata was highly praised for its exceptional composition and its ability to grasp the listener into the games setting. In the second game, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (FFTA), Hitoshi Sakimoto takes over the reins for composing the soundtrack of the game.… Read More »

Editor’s Note: Mewt’s “Acorstic guitar version” is displayed as such on the album’s packaging. As a typographical error, one can assume the album’s creators meant to write “Acoustic guitar.” After playing through the PSX original “Final Fantasy Tactics,” I had hoped greatly for a full-orchestra arranged album. Sadly, this never came. I settled for what… Read More »

When one mentions the name “Front Mission,” many immediately think of Front Mission 3, the last title for PlayStation. Unfortunately, most of the Front Mission series remained in Japan, and only serious importers would get the chance to see what the fuss was about. It’s an amazing series featuring strategic combats involving futuristic mechs. There… Read More »

I love Konami’s Genso Suikoden series, but have never played either of the Genso Suikogaiden games, primarily because I do not read Japanese fluently and would have no clue what is going on in these two text adventures. That being said, I can still enjoy the music from both games, and I do, mostly because… Read More »

If you are a video game music aficionado, then you have very likely heard of Falcom. Falcom is the company responsible for the Ys series on the Turbo Duo console, which is famous for its music. The games used Redbook audio to yield CD quality sound and you could even put the game disc in… Read More »

I love Suikoden music. I love Celtic music. I love Suikoden Celtic music. This album is a must have for any fans of either genre. There are no bad tracks in Genso Suikoden Celtic Collection, from the beautiful “A Chill Wind” to my favorite, “To the Sealed Land.” I was very surprised to find so… Read More »

Last year, Konami released the first Genso Suikoden Vocal Collection ~La passione commuove la storia~ and it was, frankly, pretty bad. You can take a look at my review to see just what I thought about it, but here’s a brief synopsis: the vocalists were, for the most part, simply awful with one exception, yet… Read More »

When Love Songs was released as one of the first PlayStation 2 dating sims in April 2001, very few people took notice. However, both the game (developed by HuneX and published by 3D Publisher) as well as its soundtrack deserve some attention. The soundtrack comes on one disc containing a total of 28 songs, with… Read More »

This soundtrack slaughtered the expectations I had for it. I once owned the Mitsumete Knight OST, and wasn’t impressed. Most of the melodies were completely forgettable, or so I thought. The game, developed by Red (of Sakura Taisen fame), is a cross between a dating sim and a strategy RPG. In other words, it’s Tokimeki… Read More »

To date, Revelations: Persona and Persona 2: Eternal Punishment are the only two installments of Atlus’ revered Shin Megami Tensei series to have reared their demonic heads on console systems outside of Japan. As many hardcore MegaTen fans are aware, however, Persona 2 was actually a game consisting of two parts, Innocent Sin and Eternal… Read More »

To the surprise of no one, when the Star Ocean 3 soundtracks were announced, an arranged album was also planned soon after. Keeping in mind Motoi Sakuraba’s brilliant arrangements found on Star Ocean: Second Story Arranged, Valkyrie Profile Arranged and Star Ocean: Blue Sphere (three of his most recent arranged albums) I preordered the album… Read More »

What an absolutely interesting album this one is! Of all the Dragon Quest music out there, it is rare to find a vocal pop/ballad album to match up with the music! As far as I know, there is a vocal single for Dragon Quest III, and maybe one for IV and V. Other than that,… Read More »

It seems that every time I go to New York (invariably via Mitsuwa) I stop in the Kinokuniya there and wind up coming home with a new Genso Suikoden album. While I have been less than pleased with half of them, the other half have been superb. Genso Suikoden III ~Rustling of the Wind~ is… Read More »

Going into this review, let me say that I am biased. For a long time now I’ve been a huge fan of the Suikoden series and its music. Miki Hagishino, Tappy, Masahiko Kimura, and Keiko Fukami of the legendary Kukeiha Club have successfully brought more joy to my ears than almost any other musical entity.… Read More »

I VERY randomly stumbled onto this soundtrack. While searching on Yahoo Japan for the Langrisser II OST (TYCY-5403), I accidently searched for TYCY-5401 and this appeared. Having recognized the name Startling Odyssey II as one of the more obscure PC-Engine RPGs, I decided I’d get it. So I did, and here’s what I think of… Read More »

Vandal Hearts is a little known SRPG found on the PSX. It tells the story of Ash Lambert, a good hearted soldier who uncovers a diabolical plot to destroy the world. He begins his quest with 2 fellow soldiers, but is eventually joined by others who all follow him for their own reasons. Some are… Read More »

With perhaps the most unique game in Square’s ever so famous Final Fantasy series, comes what might as well be the most unique soundtrack of the same. Final Fantasy X-2, the first ever sequel in the series, is accompanied by the first FF soundtrack with no contributions whatsoever by Square’s key composer, Nobuo Uematsu (FFXI… Read More »

There are a few sure things in this world. The sky is blue. The sun is bright. RPGFan is green. Zelda soundtracks reusing familiar themes. But is that such a bad thing? Not at all. The soundtrack to Nintendo’s latest Zelda game is an interesting combination of old and new. Fans who play The Wind… Read More »

Like Working Designs’ first Lunar release, Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete came with an extensive assortment of packaging. One of the five discs inside the gargantuan box was a soundtrack. Twenty-four tracks from the PlayStation game, with much better sound quality than what is heard on the PlayStation, and of course the English vocals created… Read More »

Consider that the Megami Tensei (Goddess Reincarnation) series has not caught on for US players, publishers or audiences. Not much of an introduction between the game and its music in this review. To sum up, the battle music style differs from other Japanese RPG soundtracks you have listened before, whether it be good or bad.… Read More »