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Category
Game Music
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Chip Music, Doujin, Featured, Game Music, Indie Music
3rd Annual OSVOSTOTY 2011 Awards: Winners and Runners-Up Announced
The smoke has finally cleared, and we can finally announce our winners and runners-up for our 3rd annual Original Sound Version Original Soundtrack of the Year 2011 Awards. As always, there are a few surprises, and while I know some editors are still passionately clinging to their given favorite, I think that points to the amazing quality and variety of music that was released in 2011. This year in particular saw a number of new franchises and sequels that went in radically different directions, and I think the music accurately reflects this fresh and exploratory direction.
While nearly all of our winners and runners-up are included after the jump, we’re reserving our Composer of the Year award for an individual post that will come at a later date, as we did last year. So don’t freak out when you don’t see the winner of that category announced. Aside from that, enjoy, and please feel free to comment with your top picks for the year, including those that didn’t make our list of nominees.
On that note, I just want to say congratulations to all of our winners and nominees. We had a lot of debate among the staff, even about the list of nominees themselves, again pointing to the caliber of music released this year.
Enjoy! (more…)
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Game Music
Kingdoms of Amalur: A New Franchise and Score to Be Reckoned With
Growing up a Yankee fan, Curt Schilling was never a name I wanted to hear. He was outspoken, lethal on the mound, and a fierce competitor. My opinion of him changed when I learned that he was also outspoken about his love of gaming and fantasy. He was unapologetic about the wealth of time he and his children had put into World of Warcraft and even mentioned wanting to develop a game himself. A few years later, we are graced with the first major release from Schilling’s 38 Studios, Kingdoms of Amalur: The Reckoning. Assembling a team of all-stars in their own right, Schilling called upon comic book legend (and baseball fanatic), Todd McFarlane, Oblivion‘s lead game designer, Ken Rolston, and New York Times bestselling, fantasy author, R.A. Salvatore, to help create this ambitious first outing.
I have written several times about the difficulties in writing a score for an RPG in that, as Gothic‘s Kai Rosenkranz said, a composer can get into trouble making music too melodic as it can grow monotonous. Grant Kirkhope was Schilling’s hired gun to score this monstrous game. Did he strike out or hit one out of the park? (more…)
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Game Music
Exclusive: Submit Your Questions for Jun Senoue and Cash Cash!
[Update: SEGA has announced that composers Tomoya Ohtani and Kenichi Tokoi will also be answering questions, so feel free to submit questions to any of the four individuals who will be taking part!]
We have some exciting news this morning. We’re teaming up with SEGA’s community team to put together a fan-driven Sonic Generations interview with SEGA’s Jun Senoue and performer Cash Cash who were featured extensively on the album. For more details about the music, check out Haroon’s review.
What we’re doing is collecting questions for Senoue and Cash Cash through Monday, February 20, 2012, at which point they will be submitted to SEGA for approval before being sent off to SEGA Japan for answers. We can’t guarantee that every question will be included, but we’ll do our best to get your pressing questions answered. The OSV editors will also be providing questions along with fans from SEGA’s community website, so it should be a fun collaboration.
You can submit your question by commenting on this post or by sending them to tips@originalsoundversion.com. Be sure to include your name or handle so you can be credited for your question!
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Featured, Game Music
OSVchannel: SOULCALIBUR V Limited Edition OST Unboxing Video
As promised in our review, here’s our unboxing video of the limited edition soundtrack so you can check it out before you delve in. I mentioned in the video that the 4-disc set has a hefty asking price, but didn’t recall what it was. It’s actually 4,980 Yen, or close of $60 USD, so yeah.
But let the music and the packaging be your guide as to whether it’s actually worth it. This is some great packaging with materials in English and Japanese, which is a treat. Also, if you’re curious, the track playing in the background is “Sacred Dawn,” or Elysium’s theme from the game by Andrew Aversa. Probably my favorite track!
Let us know what you think of the music, the game, the limited edition soundtrack, or other extraneous topics!
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Game Music
SoulCaster Gets Merchant’s Legendary Arrangements Remix Album
You can call me a huge fan of MagicalTimeBean, the one-man studio behind SoulCaster and more recently, Escape Goat. I loved the retro soundtracks for the SoulCaster titles, and in addition to them being available for a name-your-own-price on Bandcamp, they’re also available alongside an exclusive six-track arrangement album through the Indie Royale Valentine’s Bundle.
Included are games Zeno Clash, Hoard, Lume, both SoulCaster titles (now on PC!) as well as their soundtracks and the remix album. As of right now, the remix album is exclusive to this bundle, featuring arrangements from some of my favorite artists including Neversoft’s Kyle Johnson, yogurtbox’s Surasshu, and Jake “virt” Kaufman among others. The remixes are all pretty solid, but I admit it’d be hard to screw up Ian Stocker’s original compositions. They’re that good.
Hit up the bundle on Indie Royale and let us know what you think of the remix album if you pick it up. Would you like to see it released separately?
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Game Music
Carving Out Its Own Destiny: SOULCALIBUR V (Review)
When it was announced that an international team of composers would be scoring SOULCALIBUR V I think all of us were a little bit nervous about how it may turn out given the consistent quality of the franchise’s soundtracks over the years. Despite the names involved, I wondered to myself if composers like Hiroki Kikuta and Inon Zur could effectively capture the truly epic orchestral yet memorably melodic essence that has defined the series.
While those who picked up the collector’s edition of the game were treated to a single disc “best of” soundtrack in the US and Europe, Eminence has released the full three-disc soundtrack, including some snazzy packaging (an unboxing video to come later) and a special behind-the-scenes DVD.
But will the music do the trick for SOULCALIBUR fans? Find out in our review after the jump. (more…)
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Game Music
Hot and Bothered For Rhythm Heaven Fever (Review)
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…)
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Game Music, Indie Music
The Economizer: Indie Game Music Bundle 2 is OUT!
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
MachinariumNow 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!
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Game Music
Sonic as a Blue Blur: Sonic Generations (Review)
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…)
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Demoscene, Game Music, Indie Music
Download This Now: Mutant Mudds OST + SPEAK Remix
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!
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Game Music
SQUIDS and Romain Gauthier: Now This Is VGM
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…)
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Game Music
Final Fantasy XIII-2 CE Soundtrack Looks Different
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…)
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