Yoko Shimomura

Game Music

Yoko Shimomura Revealed As XENOBLADE Composer

March 2, 2010 | Audun Sorlie | 10 Comments Share this

We talked about this title some weeks ago as Nintendo launched 3 official websites for their upcoming titles Metroid: Other M, The Last Story and XENOBLADE. These websites featured some rather nice sound samples of what we could expect, and people have been trying to figure out the composers for the different titles.

Well now we know one of them atleast, as Famitsu reports in their latest issue that Yoko Shimomura will score the soundtrack for XENOBLADE. Now we just gotta know the composers for the other titles as well.

Are you excited to hear Shimomura’s work on Monolith’s new RPG?

[Via GoNintendo]
Game Music, Reviews

Birth by Sleep and 358/2: Piano Collections Kingdom Hearts: Field & Battle (Review)

January 27, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 8 Comments Share this

Is one Kingdom Hearts Piano Collections album not enough for you? Lucky for you then, Square Enix has released a second album dedicated to piano arrangements from the series, and this time it’s admittedly more diverse in its selections from the series. That’s right, you’ll not only be hearing tracks from Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts II, and Chain of Memories, all of which were featured on the first album, but also one track each from Birth by Sleep and 358/2 Days.

As usual, all music is composed by Yoko Shimomura, but there is actually a surprising number of performers this time around. There are four pianists covering just 9 tracks, with each performing about two track a piece. Also of note is the fact that the subtitle for this album, “Field & Battle” shows a shift in focus to some of the less iconic themes from the series, which I think is a good thing.

Find out what’s here in our review of Piano Collections Kingdom Hearts: Field & Battle after the jump! (more…)
Game Music

Feels Like A Dream: Symphonic Fantasies Report

September 17, 2009 | Audun Sorlie | 9 Comments Share this

Cologne is quickly turning into the western Mecca of game music events. Over the last few years, events such as Leipzig Symphonic Game Music Concert, Symphonic Shades and now Symphonic Fantasies have centered game music fans’ attention on the old German city.

Symphonic Fantasies is the second event in Thomas Böcker’s Symphonic series, with the first being last year’s amazing Symphonic Shades. Similar to Shades, which was a tribute to the work of Chris Hülsbeck, Fantasies is a tribute to the music of some of Square Enix’s most well known franchises. While the Leipzig events were under the Symphonic banner, starting with Shades it started to have a more themed setting. With Shades being one of the best live events I have experienced, expectations for Fantasies was sky high, and the global attention to the event was unlike any concert before it.

So, did it live up to the expectations? Keep on reading to find out! (more…)
Game Music

Interview with Little King’s Story composer Yutaka Minobe

August 11, 2009 | Audun Sorlie | 4 Comments Share this

Little King’s Story has finally conquered the world, and seen it’s release worldwide. After being released in Europe late April, Japan and the US have been eagerly awaiting this little masterpiece, and with the high praise from European magazines, the wait was almost unbearable for some. One of the definite highlights of the game is the wonderful music, and now that the little king has finally traveled all over the world, we thought it would be a good time to talk to the composer, Yutaka Minobe, about the process of arranging the classic material and how it is to work on the same game as composer Yoko Shimomura

Read the interview after the jump. (more…)
Game Music

E3 2009: Little King’s Story Chat With Producer Yoshiro Kimura

June 4, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | 1 Comment Share this

Ever since it was announced that Yoko Shimomura would be working on Little King’s Story, I’ve been following it with some interest. We had the opportunity to check the game out on the E3 show floor today, and had the pleasure of a surprise visit by producer Yoshiro Kimura who not only had something to say about the game’s music, but also turned out to be a very awesome and passionate guy.

Find out who’s involved, what the deal is with the classical music, and if there will be a soundtrack release after the jump. (more…)
Anime, Game Music, Reviews

When Anime and Game Music Collide: Get The Message Or Get Lost! (Review)

January 7, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | 8 Comments Share this

Whoever came up with this idea is a genius. How about taking a group of accomplished game composers and pairing them with talented anime vocalists and seeing what they come up with? That’s exactly what Message is, and it has yielded wondrous results. I was excited when it was announced, and completely satisfied after hearing it.

While I admit I’m not too familiar with anime vocalists, I’m sure you know most of the game composers involved, including Motoi Sakuraba, Kenji Ito, Shinji Hosoe, Yoko Shimomura, and Norihiko Hibino, just to name a few. As far as style goes, classical, experimental, cinematic, pop, and retro are just a few of the adjectives you can use to describe Message.

Read about what you’re missing after the jump. (more…)