RPG

Game Music, Reviews

It’s Not the Phantom Brave Wii Soundtrack, But It’ll Do: PS2 Phantom Brave CD (Review)

August 16, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | 1 Comment Share this

To celebrate this week’s release of Phantom Brave on the Wii, we thought we’d check out the game’s music, as NIS Japan was generous enough to include a promotional “Tenpei Sato Selection” disc in Japan. While we couldn’t get our hands on this CD in particular, we have the next best (probably even better) thing: the PlayStation 2 Phantom Brave Bonus Sound Track disc, which features 15 tracks compared to the Wii’s 10.

So what’s here? Well, super happy upbeat stuff, just like we heard on Prinny. There’s a pretty wide range of styles featured, but they’re all happy, and some are even amazingly catchy. All in all, it’s a pretty sweet deal given that the official soundtrack never got a full release outside of the collector’s edition of the game.

Read our full review of the Phantom Brave Bonus Sound Track after the jump. (more…)
Game Music, Reviews

A Very Special Gift: The Breath of Fire Original Soundtrack Special Box (Review)

July 28, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | 2 Comments Share this

Every once in awhile, game companies surprise us by giving us exactly what we want in terms of game music. While I admit that doesn’t occur often, Capcom is generally one of the companies that show game music fans some love, and I’m sure their in-house record label Suleputer has something to do with it. You guys know I am a huge fan of the Breath of Fire series, as Breath of Fire III served as our soundtrack of the month back in September, so you can imagine that I was pretty excited when Capcom released the Breath of Fire Original Soundtrack Special Box back in 2006.

What’s in it? Well, everything. Not only will you find the Breath of Fire IV and V soundtracks intact, but the original Breath of Fire, which never received an official soundtrack release, as well as additional music from Breath of Fire II and III, are also included, making this the end-all collection for Breath of Fire music fans. Even more, we recently learned that Capcom’s former Sound Director Tetsuya Shibata was responsible for putting the set together, often without the source files, so we should all be thankful for his diligence and Capcom in general for making this possible.

Our review of the massive, 11-disc box set is waiting for you after the jump. (more…)
Game Music

Anime Expo 2009: Demon’s Souls Game and Music Details

July 7, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | 5 Comments Share this

The fantasy RPG Demon’s Souls for the PS3 is yet another title I haven’t been following very closely, but I quickly realized this was a mistake at the Atlus Demon’s Souls panel at Anime Expo this weekend. The game not only looks amazing, but some of the online elements unique and absolutely intriguing. The gameplay and visual style are also right down my alley, and the Gothic fantasy music heard throughout the trailer immediatley caught my attention.

The funniest thing happened right at the beginning of the panel. After watching the trailer, I leaned over to Dale and said, “This kind of looks like a third-person King’s Field.” Little did I know how close I was to the mark with that comment.

Find out more about the game, it’s influences, and who will be handling the fully orchestrated score after the jump. (more…)
Game Music, Reviews

Hiroto Saitoh’s RPG Soundtrack For a Non-RPG: Cross Hermit Soundtrack (Review)

June 10, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | 2 Comments Share this

We’ve been writing a lot about Hiroto Saitoh’s jazz and bossa nova roots in our reviews of the POWER DoLLS 1 Soundtrack Resonance and Melodia albums, but now it’s time to take a look at how he tackles traditional RPG music. But this isn’t an RPG! Patrick has informed me that it’s actually a simulation life (SLG) title with real-time battles. One might think of it as a cousin to an RPG, but the gameplay doesn’t quite fit the definition. The game’s tagline is “Pure Fantasy Realtime Strategy,” so, I guess the developers wanted to make up their own genre…? Regardless of the title’s genre though, you’ll mostly be surprised to learn that it’s not all that jazzy, and it’s rarely relaxing.

You’ll find your standard town, battle, and dungeon themes here, but each with their own ethnic flair courtesy of Saitoh. For oldschool fans, you’ll also probably dig the fact that this sounds a lot like 16-bit era music. For those who aren’t into that so much, the second disc includes arrangements of some of the game’s most memorable themes. While I don’t know anything about the story (no Wikipedia entry, argh!), the game was released in the early 2000s and apparently features lots of chicks. I guess Saitoh has a thing for games featuring predominantly ladies. Sounds like a cool guy to me!

Hit the jump for our review of Saitoh’s Cross Hermit soundtrack. (more…)
Game Music

More Atlus Bonus CDs? Knights in the Nightmare and The Dark Spire!

March 5, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | 1 Comment Share this

Yeah, Atlus has you covered once again. While I’ll admit I don’t know much about Knights in the Nightmares, I am very much excited about the oldschool dungeon crawler, The Dark Spire. Even more, the music, composed by Kenichi Arakawa, is looking to sound quite amazing. It seriously sounds like a hybrid between Castlevania and Ninja Gaiden.

If you’re unaware, the game will feature both a “modern” and “classic” mode, each with its own distinct visual and audio style. I highly recommend checking out the soundtrack samples that Atlus has provided to hear what you’re missing. This is the Atlus CD not to miss!

For those who are looking to hear even more, Success released a 2-disc soundtrack for the game back in September in Japan. I may consider picking this up… after I pick up The Dark Spire here in the States.

Have you been looking forward to The Dark Spire? Do you think the samples are “classic” enough?
Demoscene

Sylvanwood EP: Generic Forest Music Released On Mephtik Netlabel

January 6, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | 2 Comments Share this

Yes, it’s that time again. Mephtik Netlabel has put out its sixth release, and to even further the shameless self-promotion of my netlabel, this one comes from me (with love)! Titled Sylvanwood EP, and released under my Arcubalis alias, the EP is a 4-track collection of tunes from the last few years that sort of fit together with a loose “forest” theme.

The first track is actually co-written by my fellow Italian and friend Matthew “Blisaed” Centonze, who’s an amazing ambient artist. He wrote the first thirty seconds or so and I expanded upon it to its full length. “Shadow’s End Glade” is my (poor) stab at Yasunori Mitsuda’s style, which you may notice from the track’s title, which refers to “Shadow’s End Forest” from Chrono Cross. “Tree of Holy White Light” is a brooding track with an epic melody, and “Sunlit Vista” is an attempt to write some serious ambient music. As always, it’s downloadable for free, so why not? I’d love to hear what you guys think!

Oh, and I guess I should mention the artwork that I borrowed from weiweihua on deviantART. While I tried to secure permission to use it via his (her?) email and blog, I never got a response. Hope this link makes up for it. The full piece, titled “the Forest church 2,” is a really beautiful image.

Have you been downloading any of the music I’ve been pushing on you from Mephtik Netlabel? Do you have a favorite release so far?
Game Music

Epic Fantasy Rock Performance in Sacred 2: Fallen Angel Trailer

September 26, 2008 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on Epic Fantasy Rock Performance in Sacred 2: Fallen Angel Trailer Share this

While I admit I’ve never played or even heard of the original Sacred, I chanced across this interesting trailer today that features a performance by the renowned heavy metal group Blind Guardian. The trailer features your standard fantasy fare, but with the addition of Blind Guardian’s epic theme song, appropriately titled “Sacred,” this game definitely looks a whole lot cooler. Oh, and the lyrics are in English in case you’re wondering.

Also, Wikipedia tells me that the band will be featured in Fable 2 as well, so while you may not have heard of the Blind Guardian if you’re not into this fantasy-esque rock style, you’re likely going to be hearing more from them in the future.

Are you a fan of Blind Guardian and are glad to see them working in games? Is this a step up from the overly generic orchestral themes that usually find their way into RPGs?

[via Destructoid]