Archives

Phantasy Star Online is one of those soundtracks that has me so confused. On one hand, I love it to death. There are so many good tracks, not to mention the bonus material is almost worth the album alone. However, there are a few pieces that are so uninteresting and mediocre compared to the rest,… Read More »

The Final Fantasy X Original Soundtrack breaks all sorts of traditional Final Fantasy soundtrack “rules.” For starters, this soundtrack is not solely composed by Uematsu. Masashi Hamauzu (SaGa Frontier 2, Chocobo’s Dungeon composer) played a major part in the composition of this soundtrack, and Junya Nakano (Dewprism/Threads of Fate, Another Mind composer) also wrote plenty… Read More »

This fine little single from singer RIKKI features the theme song from Final Fantasy X, a vocal version of Aerith’s Theme from Final Fantasy VII, as well as some more fun stuff. In my review of the Final Fantasy X OST, I mentioned that the single’s “Suteki da ne” features different violin solo work. Well,… Read More »

Sony’s PS2 RPG Dark Cloud was a game that did not focus on complex characters. Instead, the title’s main draw was its engrossing gameplay. This changed the focus of the music as well. In the absence of emotional characters or storylines, the music focused on helping immerse the player into the game environment. The Dark… Read More »

…WOW, am I ever impressed with this CD! WOW WOW WOW! This CD is the last Square soundtrack I purchased in recent months, and one of the last I’ll purchase for awhile. But man am I glad I got this CD before I decided to take a break from collecting. Wow wow wow. To get… Read More »

To Heart is a great soundtrack in itself. With its fun, bouncy sound, it’s a wonderful pick-me-up for anyone. So, having grown to love the CD, I began longing for something more, something complex and different, something that would show to me the true measure of the melodies within this soundtrack. One afternoon, as I… Read More »

This single contains the full version of the opening and ending themes from from the PSX game. Considering how good these songs are, it’s great to finally hear the entire songs as they were meant to be heard. “Feeling Heart” is longer than the game OST version, and has a slightly fuller sound to it.… Read More »

It’s not very often that you find an album like To Heart. On appearance alone, it may seem a little too bouncy, just a tad too happy for the average game music fan, but this dating sim soundtrack is quite a refreshing change of pace from most other OST’s. Although a bit mellow and subdued… Read More »

Dragon Quest‘s music CDs were fought over by the publishers Apollon and Sony Records… now they’re all being reprinted by SPE Visual. But, Enix saved any drama CDs as their own publishing job. And man, did they ever do a good job. This Drama CD is the first in a long line of DQ Dramas…DQ… Read More »

Dragon Quest has drama CDs for every game (except for VII…at least, as of the time that this review was written), as well as one for Torneko’s Adventure. After having heard one (the first one), what would be the point of having any more? If you don’t know Japanese, it’s basically the same thing right?… Read More »

Editor’s note: the SPE reprint (in 2000) has all the exact same music, but different packaging and a slightly different title (“Super Famicom Edition” was removed). This recording was done with the London Philharmonic. The 2009 reprint is also the same material, but sports a different front cover. It’s Koichi Sugiyama. It’s Dragon Quest music.… Read More »

Though Dragon Quest’s music would be reprinted and re-recorded on many different albums, the original recording and (to my knowledge) the very first Dragon Quest music in existence are on this 1986 album. With a complete score of only 8 tracks (each track getting three songs to go with it), Dragon Quest I is very… Read More »

I’ve heard little of the Brandish original soundtrack, so this is just an “as is” review. This cd starts out with a nice 7 minute Electric Orchestra track arranged by Tamiya Terashima. I was a great fan of his work, especially on Ys V Orchestra Version and Legend of Heroes 4: Electric Orchestra, and his… Read More »

Sorcerian had some of the best songs in its original soundtrack, and this album really lets them shine. Disc one is 18 tracks of special arrange version. As usual, the synth and arrangements are fantastic. I don’t think there is a single track on disk one that I skip when I play this CD. Disc… Read More »

Before I bought this CD, I had heard many great things about it. This album indeed has many fans. I was told it was better than Ys V Orchestra Version, which is one of my favorite albums ever. When I finally got this CD and put it into my CD player, I was concerned that… Read More »

Sorcerian…how do I love thee? Let me count the ways…Seriously though, if you’re looking for pure, unadulterated Falcom music, and you’ve had your fill of Ys, this is the place to come. Sorcerian has some of the best melodies, is high energy, and a lot of fun to listen to. If all of this is… Read More »

For anyone who’s familiar with Falcom’s music, Sorcerian is as basic as Ys: hardcore melodies, awesome arrangements, and LOTS of character. As with the Ys Renewal albums, Sorcerian Forever takes the original melodies and arranges them with a slightly more futuristic sound, which tend to be VERY “synthy,” not that it’s necessarily a bad thing.… Read More »

Falcom is known for creating high-quality, piano arranged albums. From the two Ys Piano Collections to The Legend of Heroes PC, you really can’t go wrong with these, as is the case with Sorcerian MIDI Piano. By taking some of the slower selections from the game, Falcom has arranged them with just the right amount… Read More »

I always found myself drawn to symphonically arranged albums. I find that so much power and emotion is added when music is arranged for an orchestra, and it enhances the experience immensely. Symphony Sorcerian is no exception to this rule. Although I’m not entirely familiar with the melodies from the game, I can honestly say… Read More »

Possibly one of the most difficult of the newer soundtracks recently released to acquire, the Eternal Arcadia Original Sound Track contains all of the great music (except for one key song) from arguably the best RPG released on Sega’s Dreamcast, Eternal Arcadia, released as Skies of Arcadia in the US. Before I get to the… Read More »

JDK Specials are normally nothing more than synth arrangements of original tracks, retaining the same exact music, with new synth voices and sometimes new rhythm tracks. Of all the JDK Specials that exist, the Legend of Heroes III JDK Specials are the worst. JDK Special Vol. 1 takes all of the tracks from disc 1… Read More »

NOTE: This review is extremely similar to the review of Legend of Heroes III: The White Witch JDK Special Vol. 1. JDK Specials are normally nothing more than synth arrangements of original tracks, retaining the same exact music, with new synth voices and sometimes new rhythm tracks. Of all the JDK Specials that exist, the… Read More »

Arranged and performed by Falcom’s resident new age master Michio Fujisawa, Ys Piano Collection was released significantly later than most Ys arranged CDs. Symphony, Perfect Collections, Vocals, JDK Bands, and more had already milked Ys music majorly at this point (of course, this CD marks about halfway through the chronology of all Ys CDs existing… Read More »

This CD was given a mark of death by many Falcom fans, calling it Falcom’s worst CD ever. Things have changed a bit, but the negative light continues to shine on Provincialism Ys. I am writing this review to rather put a spotlight on it and show it for what it really is: A quality… Read More »

Unlike ALL other JDK Specials released (except the Dragon Slayer JDK Special), Ys III JDK Special is technically a “JDK Band” Special (it’s right on the front cover!). Along with normal JDK Special tracks (that are mediocre), we have here three JDK Band tracks and a vocal. The JDK Special (X68000 synth versions) are nothing… Read More »