It’s looking like 2012 is going to be a big year for the Wii despite the launch of the Wii U is looming. Titles like Xenoblade and Retro City Rampage will certainly hit this year, and it’s possible that The Last Story and Dragon Quest X could slide in late into 2012. But first up is Rhythm Heaven Fever, Nintendo’s latest installment in the Rhythm Heaven series created specifically for the Wii.

We had a blast with Rhythm Heaven back on the DS and with Rhythm Heaven Fever at E3 last year, so does this latest title live up to the series name, or does it fall flat as another gimmicky motion-control title for the Wii?

Find out in our review. (more…)

We try to stick to a tidy schedule here at OSV. But if you’re reading the site right now, you’ll notice we’ve posted something at midnight. It’s a special something.

If you head over to gamemusicbundle.com right now, you can get in on a massive and wondrous sale. The details are below, but first a special plug: again, if you saw this post live, you’ll want to head to 8bitx.com and listen to the livestream, where Josh Whelchel and a host of other guests are just now revealing the bundle.

So here’s how it works. If you’re sheepish (or cheap-ish), pay the minimum of $1 and you get 320k mp3 versions of five absolutely fantastic albums:

Aquaria
Sword & Sorcery
To The Moon
Jamestown
Machinarium

Now look. For one dollar, that’s an incredible selection of music. Even if you have some of these already, any one of them is worth at least a dollar. Now, true to form to the previous bundle, there are all sorts of perks if you go above $10. At that point, all albums become available in FLAC and mp3. And the bonus albums are…

8-Bit Pimp
Mighty Switch Force
Tower of Heaven
Shatter
Cat Astro Phi
Passcode
Eternal Daughter
Songs For the Cure ’10
…AND MORE!…

Yeah, that’s right. When certain sales milestones are reached, more albums become available to everybody who purchased. I can’t name names, but at least one of the albums in the “unlock” zone is an album recently reviewed here on OSV. And it’s good.

Oh, and here’s the best part. If you’re a real charitable person, or want to think of this as some sort of crazy auction, there are incredible bonus items waiting for the top donations. I won’t give you all the details here, but I do know that the top contributor will receive the Shatter OST on Vinyl, signed by Module, and everyone in the top 20 gets the physical 2CD release of Aquaria among other fabulous prizes. So, it will pay to give more.

Well, what are you waiting for? Go buy good music!

SEGA has had a very unsuccessful run with Sonic in recent years. I can indulge you in its past, pointing to failed franchises, the bad vocal music/voice acting featured, or just bad gameplay. However, that’s all in the past. From what I hear, SEGA has finally decided to listen to their audience — the result of listening has created Sonic Generations. So here is me making a big claim: I believe that Sonic Generations is the best Sonic game to have been published by SEGA in the last decade. The music plays a big role in the restoration of its franchise, representing a nostalgic feel with almost the entire soundtrack filled with arrangements of Sonic tunes from the past.

And the quality of these arrangements — it’s incredible! It’s a quality that shines above many official arrangement albums released by SEGA’s predecessors, (think Super Smash Bros.), a quality that says “I am SEGA, and this is how I remix Sonic.” It’s exactly this reason why the Sonic Generations Original Soundtrack: Blue Blur should also be praised as one of the best videogame soundtracks of 2011.

Want to know why? Read more after the jump! (more…)

We’ve never talked about Troupe Gammage here on OSV, but we probably should have been. I’ve known him since we was a young kid back in the demoscene, and he’s constantly impressed me with his ability to craft ridiculously catchy melodies and for the contrast between his manly voice and boyish appearance. Well, I was recently surprised to see his name pop up on VGMdb with the Mutant Mudds OST which is simply incredible. It’s streamable and available for name-your-own-price on Bandcamp, so check it out.

Beyond that, I was recently turned on to Gammage’s indie synth rock band, SPEAK, and their amazing single, “Carrie.” As it turns out, Gammage prepared an 8-bit remix of “Carrie” while working on Mutant Mudds, and it’s equally worth your attention along with the band’s debut album, I Believe in Everything (also streamable).

Let us know what you think of Mutant Mudds, SPEAK, and the “Carrie” remix!

I have a hard time trying to explain to non-VGM-enjoying friends what made and makes VGM something that contrasts with other forms of “soundtrack” music (film and television score). The line becomes more and more blurred each day.

But here, at the tail end of 2011, I found a perfect example of what I mean. The soundtrack for SQUIDS, an iOS title from French developer “The Game Bakers,” channels everything unique about looped background music that can make it beautiful and, dare I say, more than just background music.

The album is available (currently $4 USD) via bandcamp, and after the jump, I’ll tell you why half-hour collection of music is worth every penny. (more…)

We got a huge response from our Final Fantasy XIII-2 unboxing video last month. The biggest question most mainstream gamers had, however, was how the packaging from the Japanese soundtrack releases compared to what’s included with the US collector’s edition. I didn’t think it was necessary to record  another complete unboxing video, so I just took a couple quick shots to demonstrate.

While the CE packaging is quite nice, you’ll see that the soundtrack doesn’t get as extravagant as a presentation as with the Japanese releases. The four discs are housed within the same ‘book’ as the game disc, manual, and art book. The game disc is on the left, the soundtrack on the right, with all the other materials in the middle. In terms of track listing, there’s a separate foldout (also pictured above) that lists all the song titles in English.

Let us know what you think of the CE packaging. The idea of making a book out of the whole thing is pretty clever!

Also, hit the jump for another shot of the entire collection in its open configuration. (more…)

The problem with most box sets is that their price range puts them in a position that only hardcore collectors would buy them, but those same hardcore collectors are likely to own the majority of the contents in their original, separate releases already. Quite the dilemma, and probably why only the most cherished franchises in the world of gaming will see box sets.

Dragon Quest actually has two just for its Symphonic Suites. One decade ago, a box was released for DQ I~VII, these being the London recordings. Now, we have a box set for DQ I~IX, with the Tokyo Metropolitan being the orchestra of choice. Only 5000 copies of the box were made, and Dragon Quest being as popular as it is in Japan, it’s already hard-to-find within months of release.

After the jump, I’ll be talking about the set’s unique “scene-selected” layout, the magic of Sugiyama, his progress and evolution as a composer, and more! (more…)

Will you be in the Los Angeles area next week? As it turns out, Nintendo will be hosting a launch even for Rhythm Heaven Fever which we loved last year at E3. The game’s due out on February 13, and the event is being held in celebration and is open to the public. Fans will be able to enjoy the game a full three days early as well as partake in  food, music, and exclusive swag. It’s all going down on February 10, 2012 from 6-10 PM at the iam8bit Gallery.

Should be a good time. Will you be going?

Hit the jump for Nintendo’s official press release. (more…)

You may not remember our coverage of Josh “Darkhalo” Barnett in the past. We covered his release Phase Shift in addition to hosting a lengthy interview with the demoscene legend (he hates being called that, which makes it all the more fun), and he’s just put out an brand new album titled A Million Drops. While the million reasons to check it out may be an exaggeration, the I can think of at least thirteen reasons (hint: there are thirteen tracks), and an additional one is that it’s entirely free.

Interestingly, Barnett calls the album more of a compilation of tracks written around the same time as opposed to an album with any sort of theme, but I think the pieces all fit together pretty well. A brief ambient opener titled “Nightfall” eases you into another dimension where  dreamy soundscapes are paired with funky basslines and subdued drum ‘n’ bass-style percussion. Many of tracks including the funky “Lost Memory” and the aptly titled “Another Rainy Saturday” with raindrop-like percussion make great use of repetition, mesmerizing and weaving dream-like atmospheres while you’ll chill out with “Rei” and “Low Light Affection,” bop your head to “Fading Inexorably,” and smile to with the incredibly playful “TMGC Carabiner.” Darkhalo also gets back into the drum ‘n’ bass that the’s known for, but still retains the overall atmosphere with the dark and lengthy “Ash Rain,” the highly electronic “Neuromancer,” and the icy “Wintermute.”  And it’s all wonderfully produced; it’s unfair just how multi-talented some people are (Barnett is also a talented graphic artist and web designer as you can see from his website).

The album’s available for free on the aforementioned website along with lots of other music, so check it out and let us know what you think. Is this the perfect music for a cold rainy day, or perhaps for any time?

It’s one of the most wonderful times of year here at OSV.  With 2011 finally done and wrapped up, we’ve been reflecting on all the amazing music that last year saw, and we’ve been excited to get our list of nominees prepared.  It was a tough task as usual (try to get any two people to agree on the best of anything, much less half a dozen people!), but we’re happy with what we’ve come up with.  We’ve changed some of the categories from our 2010 awards to reflect the site’s focus on game music throughout 2011, but we hope that you’ll still enjoy some surprises in the list as well.

Join us after the jump for our official OSVOSTOTY (Original Sound Version Original Soundtrack of the Year) Award nominees for 2011, and please feel free to chime in and let us know some of your favorite releases of 2011 as well.  Watch for our picks for winner and runner-ups for each category in the coming weeks!

Hit the jump to see this year’s nominees. (more…)

So there’s this guy, Magnus Pålsson. He’s from Sweden, and he’s pretty excellent. And you probably know of him, even if that name doesn’t look familiar.

His online handle is SoulEye, and he wrote the music for VVVVVV, one of the best chip-ish soundtracks in the past few years, which helped the indie/retro movement explode onto XBL and Steam.

As you might expect, the writer of such awesome music is not content to rest on the laurels of one soundtrack. In “Adventure,” SoulEye offers up a whole mixture of tracks. New original works, music for the soundtrack to rhythm game Pulsen (which includes some reworked VVVVVV themes), new tracks for VVVVVV (2.0 and 3DS exclusive music), B-sides and arrangements he’s had released on other soundtracks, and even some covers of other peoples’ work. It’s all kinds of stuff put into one amazing adventure.

After the jump, you’ll see the best way to almost die and why this music is perfect for that kind of activity. You’ll also get my take on this album. (more…)

Actually, DJMAX Technika had me at hello. The first Technika soundtrack was probably my favorite to date, and we’ve covered a lot of DJMAX over the years. The unique blend of K-pop, electronic music, and contributions from Korean composers ESTi, Nauts, Diny, and Shinji Hosoe made for a unique experience that ranks among my favorites in the rhythm game genre.

DJMAX Technika 3 was recently released (it was actually at MAGFest X, but due to the line that persisted even at 4:00 AM, I never got to play it), and the limited edition soundtrack enjoyed a general release in North America as well as Japan and Korea. While it’s sold out now, I still wanted to delve in and give my impressions.

Does it live up to the DJMAX name, or is this franchise getting stale? Find out in our review after the jump. (more…)