Archives

The Sorcerian Perfect Collections are, for the most part, pretty darn good. While they lack the power rock that is present throughout the Ys Perfect Collections, they make up for it with plenty of great synth arrangements. They will really grow on you if given the chance, as their takes on the original music can… Read More »

The Ys series has never ceased to amaze me. It’s one of the few RPGs that uses rock as its main style, yet manages to produce as epic a sound as any other RPG I’ve played. Unfortunately, with the not-so-popular Turbo Duo as its main source of delivery, not many people have had the chance… Read More »

When most people hear the name Falcom they think of hardcore, blazing synth that simply rocks! However, as the newest game from the company, and one of the few original, non-arranged albums to come out of Falcom for quite a few years, Zwei!! breaks this image, and does so with grace and a certain amount… Read More »

Two years ago I stumbled upon a website of a small US project dedicated to creating a CD of remixed Final Fantasy songs. Immediately I was interested, so much so that I decided to respond to the producers’ call for donations from the fans, because without it the project would ultimately die. Pulling out my… Read More »

Project Majestic Mix, an arranged album in dedication to famed Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu, was a fan operation that began under the watch of Stephen Kennedy a four of years ago. Thousands of delays later, the album finally saw its release, and it was definitely worth the wait. The sixteen tracks on the Silver… Read More »

I have to admit that with all of the negative and skeptical press Final Fantasy XI has received ever since being announced at Square’s infamous Yokohama Millennium Conference in January 2000, along with the fact that I didn’t consider myself a fan of Naoshi Mizuta, whose score of Parasite Eve II was a truly monotonous… Read More »

Despite the lack of interest in Final Fantasy XI Online, it doesn’t mean there should be a lack of interest in the soundtrack as well. Not much was known at all about the score to Squaresoft’s first online game other than that Nobou Uematsu would return; as well, Yasunori Mitsuda had been asked to contribute,… Read More »

For anyone who has actually wondered what it would be like to experience Final Fantasy music in a live orchestral setting, here it is. Recorded live by the Tokyo Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo’s International Forum on February 20th of 2002, (hence the title) who would have guessed this concert would have made it to… Read More »

I’ve quietly fallen in love with the music to a game called Legaia 2: Duel Saga. I did not love the music the instant I first popped the CD into my CD player, nor did I absolutely hate it after the first play through. But, as I listened to it more and more, I realized… Read More »

Hailed as Sony’s rival to Square’s Final Fantasy VIII, when Legend of Dragoon was first released I was intrigued to say the least. The visuals alone looked spectacular, so it had to be an excellent game, right? Well, after reading review after review, I’d realized that it was merely a mediocre attempt by Sony to… Read More »

I often bring game soundtracks to the office to listen to while I work. And, sometimes fellow employees happen to hear some of the music I listen to. It so happens that one day a co-worker was listening in on one of my soundtracks that featured a pipe-organ. From that day forward he jokingly referred… Read More »

Dracula X: Nocturne in the Moonlight is one of my favorite game soundtracks of all time, so I met MIDI Power Pro 6 with much enthusiasm. The album is what seems to be most of the game’s tracks arranged using different MIDI instrumentation. However, the end result turned out to be a lackluster soundtrack. MIDI… Read More »

The Front Mission OSV is a very good soundtrack featuring my two favorite female composers: Yoko Shimomura and Noriko Matsueda. The music has a clear futuristic-militaristic style to fit the kind of strategy-RPG that Front Mission is. I think it would be fair to say that the FM OSV is one of my favourite SNES… Read More »

I’ve loved the concept of the Mysterious Dungeon series ever since I played Torneko no Daibouken (Torneko’s Big Adventure) for the Super Famicom. Though the music and characters were more of an Enix staple, Chunsoft managed to make it a product all their own. However, Chocobo’s Mysterious Dungeon has a sound that is totally Square,… Read More »

Note: “Maou” was renamed “Magus” in the American release of the game. When you see “Maou” in the tracklist, know that it is synonymous with “Magus.” Although he was originally hired by Squaresoft as a game music composer, Yasunori Mitsuda spent the first few years working there as a sound engineer and other various small… Read More »

I’m usually not one to like arranged CDs of game music. I just feel that the ordinary game synth appeals to me more. I like the “special” sound of game music, and since many arranged albums (especially for RPGs) are often orchestral and symphonic in nature, and I don’t like classical music especially much, there… Read More »

As the only song on the Kingdom Hearts OST not composed by Yoko Shimomura, I was skeptical of both the voice talents and musical composition in Hikari. I’m not a very big J-POP fan, and I feared this song would fall short of the excellent precedence Square has made for itself. Thankfully, not only is… Read More »

Just as the Kingdom Hearts RPG is a collaboration between Squaresoft and Disney, so is the soundtrack – well, for the most part, anyway. Most of the soundtrack is original material written by Yoko Shimomura, known for her Parasite Eve, Front Mission and Legend of Mana soundtracks. It didn’t surprise me too much when I… Read More »

How to describe Bahamut Lagoon? This is a difficult question indeed. As one of the few soundtracks in which Noriko Matsueda scored, it certainly didn’t gather much attention, and that’s a shame. Why you’d ask? Read on to find out. Note: This review is mostly based on my playing experience. The music in Bahamut Lagoon… Read More »

I loved Dark Wizard back on the Sega CD. It was one of the best strategy games of the time, right up there with the Shining Force and Langrisser series. One of the reasons this game was so fantastic was the symphonic soundtrack, performed by the Dark Wizard Sound Team, and most likely recorded in… Read More »

Although I’m not familiar with all of Mr. Iwadare’s soundtracks, I have heard enough to get a basic grasp on the type of music he’s best known for: fun, upbeat melodies, fast and exciting battle themes, and fresh orchestral-styled pieces that have renewed my faith in game music as a genre. I was very much… Read More »

I must say, I was a bit skeptical when given this soundtrack for review. Donning a name like “Wizap!” can you really blame me? Names aside, however, Wizap! turns out to be an excellent arranged album to some unknown videogame I’ll never play. Though arranged, instrumentation seems to include MIDI sound effects, which was unexpected.… Read More »

When I first heard the title of this particular Ys album, I was excited at the prospect of another fine Falcom arranged symphonic album. Upon listening, I was not at all surprised to by the symphonic tracks, as they are wonderfully arranged preformed. What did surprise me however was that there were some great rock… Read More »

One of the three first Falcom Millenium Series double-disc releases, this strange “leftover-miscellaneous” soundtrack struck me as something worth looking into. The other new CDs released were the definitive “New” OSTs for Ys/Ys II Eternal and Legend of Heroes IV…but this one caught my eye, so I bought it. I don’t know what the other… Read More »

While the Ys Renewal CDs offered just minor facelifts, the Ys Eternal remakes are majorly reworked versions, and drastic changes are immediately noticeable. For the overall sound, the synth used here seems softer and more refined than the hard edged sounds in previous versions. These melodies played a major role in enhancing the immersion level… Read More »