Archives

Dracula X: Nocturne in the Moonlight (Castlevania: Symphony of the Night) had one of the most artistically superb soundtracks of any video game to date. Perhaps because of its excellence there really hasn’t been much in the way of arranged versions of any of the game’s tracks, so when I stumbled upon MIDI Power Pro… 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 »

From the moment I learned Yoko Shimomura was composing Kingdom Hearts, I eagerly awaited the chance to pre-order my copy. Considering her last two composing duties (Parasite Eve, Legend of Mana) have made her one of my favorite composers of all time, I had faith that her most recent project would not disappoint. Besides, who… 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 »

This soundtrack is actually the first “Perfect Collection” Falcom ever released. It’s the first to feature Yonemitsu’s standard “Special Arrange” tracks…but it’s also the only exception to the Perfect Collection name. All other games from Falcom that received Perfect Collection soundtracks worked like so: If two-disc, the first disc is Special Arrange, the second disc… Read More »

When thinking of the diverse collection that is Falcom Special Box ’90, I have mixed thoughts and feelings. Every disc is different, and I have my own opinion on each one. The first disc, vocal…well, I’d already heard all these vocals on Falcom Vocal Collection I, which I had owned for months before this one,… Read More »

I remember browsing through the English Falcom website, when I saw Falcom Special Box ’94. Super Arranged versions of Ys IV, Legend of Xanadu AND Popful Mail music??!! Based on various samples from these games, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this set. Ys IV speaks for itself, Legend of Xanadu is one… 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 »

To me, Ys II represents one of the most classic RPG scores of all time. Throughout all of the remakes and arrangements of the score, Ys Perfect Collection II has stood the test of time and sounds great, even compared to modern-day game soundtracks. However, it’s not quite perfect. Like Perfect Collections Ys I and… Read More »

Puppet Princess of Marl’s Kingdom is one of those lucky games that actually made its way to the U.S. Under the new name Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure, it was the first of its kind: a young girl’s RPG with a lot of heart. Although it didn’t tread any new ground in gameplay, it was rather… Read More »

I’m ashamed (or perhaps proud) to say that I’ve never played Rhapsody, also known as Puppet Princess of Marl’s Kingdom in Japan. Marketed as a “Musical RPG,” this game was an odd mix of strategy and musical numbers. However, being a musical RPG, one would expect this game to have fairly good music, and it… Read More »

How I loved Rhapsody. It’s the sort of game that is so charming and sweet that one either chokes from too much of the character’s saccharine antics, or begs for more. I am of the latter group, and want more I did. Unfortunately, the game’s sequel (Little Princess: Puppet Princess of Marl’s Kingdom 2) never… Read More »

I remember first spotting this game in the store; with all the games I’d yet to play, I really didn’t need another RPG to add to the list. But, it came with a full CD of the game’s music, and I knew then it had to be mine. And even after having played and loved… Read More »

In the last few years Yasunori Mitsuda has established himself as one of the top videogame music composers in the industry. He is now being mentioned with the likes of Nobuo Uematsu, Koichi Sugiyama, and Noriyuki Iwadare as a legend in his field thanks mostly to his work on high profile soundtracks such as Xenogears… Read More »

Those of you who have read my an cinniùint review know that I took a less than favorable view of Yasunori Mitsuda after listening to it. I made claims that he’d gotten too set in his style, too repetitive, too very Celtic for my taste. Now, with the Xenosaga OST, I have to change my… Read More »

Between having a resume of soundtrack scores such as the Chrono games and Xenogears, and using one of the best live orchestras in the world for his most recent score, which just happens to be for an already highly anticipated RPG, Yasunori Mitsuda has quite a lot of expectations to live up to. Thankfully, for… Read More »