Soundtrack of the Month

Chip Music, Featured, Game Music

Soundtrack of the Month 02/2011: Tower of Heaven

February 2, 2011 | Patrick Gann | 6 Comments Share this

Within the same day, I had one friend demand I play “this crazy-hard Flash platformer,” and another friend tell me I had to pick up this “crazy-awesome soundtrack.” Both friends were referring to Tower of Heaven.

The game itself is indeed quite challenging. I recommend you play it (at Newgrounds or Kongregate). It fully fits the “Game Boy” feel, all the way down to the color palette (green-ish and black) and the chiptune-centric soundtrack.

The whole soundtrack runs at under 20 minutes and is available for a mere one US Dollar on bandcamp. The OSV staff thought it was über enough to win an award for Indie Game OST in our recent OSVOSTOTY 2010 post. We acknowledge the album’s brevity, which is why it’s getting SotM for the shortest month of the year, February.

After the jump, a detailed report of this addictive little soundtrack, and what makes it so addictive, awaits. (more…)
Featured, Game Music

Soundtrack of the Month 01/2011: Final Fantasy Mystic Quest Sound Collections

January 5, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | 7 Comments Share this

Looks like we’re starting a trend, as our January 2010 soundtrack of the month was also late! Our bad.

So, Mystic Quest. Too often is this game mocked and reviled by RPG fans, but I’ve always had a special place in my heart for this game. Not only did I love the characters, dungeons, on-field enemies, and changing animations as enemies took damage in battle, but Ryuji Sasai and Yasuhiro Kawakami’s soundtrack have remained one of my favorites to this very day.

The memory I primarily associate with this game is one summer that I spent with my cousins in Las Vegas where we would start a new game in the morning (naming our character CLASHION), and finish it by the evening, repeating the process the following day for nearly a week. Yes, I know this game, and I love it, and you should too!

Find out why you can at least appreciate the soundtrack even if you hated the game in our Soundtrack of the Month feature to start off 2011! (more…)
Featured, Game Music

Soundtrack of the Month 12/2010: Dragon Quest IV

December 3, 2010 | Patrick Gann | 3 Comments Share this

Ever heard of a “loaded question?” Well, this pick for SotM is a “loaded choice.”

Everyone that follows VGM knows that pretty much every main-series Dragon Quest title (up to VII) doesn’t have a proper OST release. Their primary releases were the “Symphonic Suite” orchestral arrange albums. Some of the early prints of these albums will also include an “Original Sound Story” that includes music and sound effects in an audio-only, synopsis-style playthrough of the game. It was a strange but valuable piece of audio for each game in the series.

Having studied the music as an avid fan, I thought to myself: “which DQ has my favorite music?” To be totally honest with you, I’m not 100% sure. But Dragon Quest IV is definitely a contender for the #1 spot. There are many reasons for that. We’ll get to them after the jump.

Before you proceed, you may be wondering: “so uh, which DQIV album are we talking about, specifically?” Answer: all of them. Every recording of the Symphonic Suite, including the Live Concerts. The PS1 audio, the NES/SNES audio, even lesser-known albums like “On Electone.” We’ll leave format aside and focus on Koichi Sugiyama’s compositions themselves in this SotM article. Get ready for it! (more…)
Featured, Game Music

Soundtrack of the Month 11/2010: Xenogears

November 1, 2010 | Patrick Gann | 10 Comments Share this

I got a fever, and the only thing that can put it out is MORE XENO!

A few months ago, we named Yasunori Mitsuda’s soundtrack for Xenosaga Ep. I: Der Wille Zur Macht as a soundtrack of the month. More recently, we learned via Mitsuda’s Twitter (and later Square Enix’s official site) that a Xenogears orchestral arranged album is in the works. Fans have every reason to get excited about this cult classic PS1 RPG again.

That’s why we thought it’d be appropriate to officially get the two disc Xenogears Original Soundtrack inducted into our very own hall of fame, which is of course our SotM column.

Yasunori Mitsuda first made waves with Chrono Trigger (alongside Uematsu and Matsueda), and he took on a number of joint projects after that. But this was Mitsuda’s first solo project. His signature style is found throughout, and it’s certainly something worth remembering.

Care to remember with us? Then join us after the jump for a more detailed look at the Xenogears OST, which is our November 2010 Soundtrack of the Month! (more…)
Featured, Game Music

Soundtrack of the Month 10/2010: Granado Espada OST Volume 1

October 1, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 5 Comments Share this

This one has certainly been a long time coming. Granado Espada Original Sound Track Volume 1 is an interesting release for a number of reasons, and is quite special to me in that it was the first album I reviewed for Music4Games. I admit I’m using some of that writeup as my basis for this review, but it’s crazy how much has happened since 2006 that I’ve been able to expound upon!

What has happened, you ask? Well, just here on OSV, we’ve interviewed composer Osamu Kubota on two separate occasions about his work on the title, introduced fans to Korean composer Sevin, founding member of S.F.A. and former member of soundTeMP, talked to TaQ about his sole contribution to the game, uncovered the fact that all soundTeMP tracks on this album were actually written by Jinbae “ESTi” Park, and even reviewed the Granada Espada Original Sound Track Volume 2 digital release from Streamline Records. Yeah, a lot of stuff, and what better time to have Granado Espada as our soundtrack of the month than with the announcement that a proper Volume 3 is now on its way!

Hit the jump to find out why you need to hunt this one down. (more…)
Featured, Game Music

Soundtrack of the Month 09/2010: Freedom Fighters (Patriotic Edition)

September 1, 2010 | Gideon Dabi | 3 Comments Share this

With all the political tumultuousness in this country, I am reminded of a kinder, gentler time when the only badguys we needed to worry about were the ol’ “Russkies.” That’s right. I’m referring, of course, to the Cold War where everyone knew who the badguys were, battles were fought discreetly for the most part and, ultimately, the “goodguys” won. But what if that were not the case? What if the building intensity between the two great superpowers completely boiled over to the point of invasion? This is the question posited by IO Interactive’s underrated gem, Freedom Fighters, from 2003. This multiplatform actioner built on the same engine that facilitated the beloved Hitman series flew in under the radar – much like the game’s antagonists – but its soundtrack arrived with fire and gusto thanks to Jesper Kyd.

Join me as we fight off the Soviet invasion of New York City with one of the best soundtracks of the last ten years! (more…)
Featured, Game Music

Soundtrack of the Month 08/2010: Deathsmiles

August 2, 2010 | Patrick Gann | 3 Comments Share this

Last month we provided you a review of the bonus soundtrack for the North American release of Deathsmiles. The game, and soundtrack, were published via Aksys Games. The soundtrack was actually the “Premium Arrange” soundtrack, originally published for retail purchase in Japan by developer CAVE. It’s certainly a good album, but after posting that arranged soundtrack review, we realized some readers might want to know more about the OST itself.

Well, it’s quite a good OST. Virtually the entire score is composed by Manabu Namiki (Basiscape), and it upholds the high quality standard people have expected from “shmup” soundtracks. That’s why we’ve chosen to add it to our prestigious “Soundtrack of the Month” list. After the jump, check out a detailed review of this fantastic soundtrack. (more…)