Ippo Yamada

Game Music, Reviews

Retro Requiem – Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon Soundtrack (Review)

July 13, 2018 | Brenna Wilkes | 2 Comments Share this

I don’t even have a great introduction to this review, so I’m just going to open it up as thus; 2 years ago, Castlevania developers Koji Igarashi created a Kickstarter campaign for a spiritual successor titled Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, meant to be the Castlevania that Konami had denied him the ability to make. The campaign was so popular that it made over 3 million in just pledges and broke all its stretch goals. One of the stretch goal was for the creation of am 8-bit retro-style prequel bonus game to be made separate from the main game the campaign was created for. This game was going to be released prior to the main Bloodstained game, as a taste of what backers and fans could hope for. Recently the retro bonus game saw it’s debut, first on steam and then on consoles, titled Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon.

And let me tell you, it has every bit the classic NES Castlevania feel to it’s music that you would hope for, and more. (Warning: this review contains some spoilers)

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Game Music

Preview Orchestrated Music from Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

April 10, 2018 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Preview Orchestrated Music from Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Share this

If you’ve not caught the last couple of updates from the Castlevania spiritual successor Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (or worse, didn’t pledge and are missing out altogether), then I figured having a place to check up on the gorgeous orchestrated tracks currently available for preview would be in order for those who can’t wait for the game’s release.

Hype for the game is building as word of a beta demo on the horizon have recently surfaced. Whether the demo will contain any of the music above, composed by Michiru Yamane and Ippo Yamada, is anyone’s guess. Hopefully we’ll get something new to sate our appetite for more game music in the near future.
Game Music

Mighty No. 9: Regardless of the Game, the Music is Good

June 21, 2016 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Mighty No. 9: Regardless of the Game, the Music is Good Share this

The past 24 hours seem to be leaving backers of the Mighty No. 9 Kickstarter with an even worse taste in their mouths than had been present through the project’s checkered development. With the game officially releasing today to those who funded the campaign, reports of delays and mixups are already starting to flood in, which only adds fuel to the disgruntlement fire with the previous release delays, aesthetic changes and additional pitfalls that have plagued the game’s history up until now.

However despite the mediocre press reviews and the frustration of fans, there’s still some things to look forward to within the game. I’ve been watching said reviews of the game, and the one consistent thing I’ve noticed is that the game’s music still seems on-point with what fans were expecting. Original Mega Man composer Manami Matsumae, along Mega Man Zero composer Ippo Yamada and contributions from IntiCreates Sound Team members Takashi Tateishi and Masahiro “Godspeed” Aoki seem to have crafted a soundtrack that shines through the mediocrity.

“Main Theme” (Manami Matsumae) – Mighty No. 9

“In the end, the songs are catchy, toe-tapping tunes that you wouldn’t imagine came from four different people. Now that all is said and done, I’m deeply attached to each and every one of these songs, and I can imagine each stage as I listen to them (I saw quite a bit of them during my BGM checks, after all!)

I’m actually pretty hopeless when it comes to action games, but when Mighty No. 9 goes on sale I’ll do my best to beat it so I can hear all the music they way it should be heard. I hope all of you do the same!” – Manami Matsumae

“Boss Theme” (Ippo Yamada) – Mighty No. 9

“We’ve been able to make some beautiful music with our team of Manami Matsumae, Takashi Tateishi, Masahiro Aoki, Mega Ran, recording staff, vocal casts, and the Inti sound team. We hope you all enjoy it!” – Ippo Yamada

It’s clear that all of the composers put their full efforts into the game’s soundtrack, and from what I’ve heard so far I haven’t been as disappointed as some fans are of how the game seems overall. It still invokes a lot of the old Mega Man and Mega Man X nostalgia that I think so many were hoping for. We’ll keep an eye out for the game’s full OST for a future review, but in the meantime we’d love to hear what backers think of the game’s music when they hear it.

Let us know what you think when you play the game! Does it stack up to expectations, or fall short like so many say of the rest of the game?
Events, Game Music, Japanese

Know Your MAG 2016: Inti Creates Sound Team

February 15, 2016 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Know Your MAG 2016: Inti Creates Sound Team Share this

One of the huge performances to be hitting MAGFest 2016 won’t be just one performance, but will in fact be two! The sound team from Inti Creates, who are the minds behind Mega Man 9 & 10, the Mega Man Zero series, Azure Striker Gunvolt, and the upcoming Mighty No. 9 game’s musical scores, will be attending MAGFest and putting on their first concerts outside of Japan.

As you may have saw from our big announcement the other day, we are VERY excited to be attending MAGFest 2016! This will be our sound team’s first ever event appearance outside of Japan, and with the two huge concerts that we have planned (Lumen Super Live 2016 and Inti Creates 20th Anniversary Special Concert), it’s going to be an event for the ages! – Matt; Internal Affairs Coordinator, Inti Creates (via the Inti Creates website)

Headed by composer Ippo Yamada (Mega Man Zero 1-4, Mighty Gunvolt, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night) and accompanied by Godspeed, Yamajet, Luna Umegaki, Megu Sakuragawa (Lumen), and other special guests, the sound team will be putting on two concert: One entitled Lumen Super Live 2016 on Thursday night at 8pm featuring music from Azure Striker Gunvolt, and the other being a special Inti Creates 20th Anniversary concert Friday night at 9pm, featuring music from games they worked throughout their history such as Mega Man Zero.

(via Inti Creates FB) From left to right; Kotaro Yamada (Inti), Ryo Kawakami (Inti), Creepy Electro Whip Guy, Megu Sakuragawa, Ippo Yamada (Inti), Yamajet, Masahiro Aoki

The team will be joined at MAGFest by Mega Man designer and Mighty No. 9 director Keiji Inafune as a guest speaker and representative of Comcept, as well as legendary Mega Man composer Manami Matsumae.

MAGFest begins this Thursday, February 18th and tickets may sell out beforehand, so if you plan on attending, get your tickets now!
Events, Game Music, Japanese

Inti Creates Sound Team To Perform at MAGFest 2016

January 25, 2016 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Inti Creates Sound Team To Perform at MAGFest 2016 Share this

The Inti Creates sound team will be attending this year’s MAGFest event to perform two concerts. One will be dedicated to Azure Strike Gunvolt titled Lumen Super Live 2016, and the other being a special Inti Creates 20th Anniversary concert featuring music from games worked on throughout their history including Mega Man Zero. Performers include Ippo Yamada, Godspeed, Yamajet, Luna Umegaki, Megu Sakuragawa (Lumen), and other special guests who will take to the stage during MAGFest 2016.

“The members of the Inti Creates sound team are legendary in the videogame music community, so it’s our pleasure to be able to welcome them as guests at MAGFest. With MAGFest’s main focus being fan and community creations, it’s always a privilege to show the original creators in-person just how much we appreciate their work.” – Nicholas Marinelli, MAGFest Chief Operating Officer

MAGFest 2016 will be held at the Gaylord National Harbor Convention Center, Maryland from February 18th – 21st, and already has other performers and guests lined up such as The One Ups, Ninja Sex Party and a tons more. Tickets are still on sale individually for $70 or $60 for group discount.
Game Music

Bloodstained Kickstarter Expands It’s Superstar Music Lineup with Virt!

May 21, 2015 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Bloodstained Kickstarter Expands It’s Superstar Music Lineup with Virt! Share this

The Kickstarter to the spiritual sequel of the Castlevania series, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, has now revealed it’s increased its big-hitting lineup of musical talent!

On top of veteran Castlevania composer Michiru Yamane and MegaMan composer/sound producer Ippo Yamada being the pair originally slated to create Bloodstained’s soundtrack, now a mini-stretch goal has been revealed that Jake “Virt” Kaufman (Shovel Knight, Shantae) will be lending his talent with composing 8-bit masterpieces to the game’s growing ensemble, right beside Yamane and Yamada.

I personally follow Jake on Twitter and had joked with him when the Kickstarter launched about how fantastic it would be to see him added to the game’s music talent. His work with the music of Bloodrayne: Betrayal has long been a highlight to Castlevania fans of Kaufman’s ability to create gothic and charged pieces that would fit right into a Castlevania title. To see that actually come true is a real treat.

Though requiring the $2.62M mark to actually solidify Kaufman’s inclusion in the game, with the trend that the campaign is creating, it’s a pretty sure bet. Those who haven’t pledged to the Kickstarter yet can nip over to Igavania.com to check out the growing additions to the game’s lineup, and can also sample Kaufman’s works (including Bloodrayne: Betrayal) on his Bandcamp. You can be sure as the game becomes funded and progresses that we’ll be featuring more about it’s composers and music in the coming months.
Game Music

Rockman 10 Soundtrack and Arrange Album Coming Soon!

March 8, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 4 Comments Share this

Rockman 10 is out on the Wii, and we’ve been greatly looking forward to the game’s soundtrack. As it turns out, the Rockman 10 Original Soundtrack will be released on March 23, 2010 while the arrange album, R10 Image Soundtrack, will be released on April 30, 2010. That’s some nifty artwork.

The original soundtrack lists composers including III, Akari Kaida, and many others. I thought Kaida’s inclusion meant that arranged tracks would appear on the soundtrack (she appeared on last year’s Rockman 9 Arrange Soundtrack), but I guess she’s involved with the original soundtrack itself. The arrange album, on the other hand, will feature a slew of artists including Manami Matsumae and Yoshino Aoki, which should definitely be interesting.

Have you been playing Mega Man 10 and have any thoughts regarding the music? Will you be picking up these albums over the next two months?

[via VGMdb]