Yuzo Koshiro

Featured, Game Music, Reviews

Definitive Rage: Bare Knuckle OST (Review)

August 27, 2012 | Patrick Gann | 3 Comments Share this

Update: I just noticed that an old friend of mine, Ben Schweitzer, translated the liner notes for this album over at SEMO. If you want some great insight from Koshiro himself, this is a great resource. Koshiro’s self-aware choice of using “club music” is very interesting, and that’s only the first paragraph!

Yuzo Koshiro’s older soundtracks are very hard to come by. All those G.M.O. / Alfa Records releases (catalog prefix ALCA-) would cost you hundreds of dollars to collect.

Fortunately, the three separate soundtracks for Bare Knuckle I, II, and III (known as Streets of Rage in North America) have been compiled into one handy-dandy set thanks to publisher Wave Master (catalog number WM-0691~4). It’s four discs: the three OSTs (with a whole bunch of previously unreleased tracks) take up the first three discs. In fact, the second half of each of the first two discs have the Game Gear versions of their soundtracks (II first, then I).

And then, on disc four, a recording of a live set of music DJ’d by Koshiro back in 2002 that runs over 40 minutes in length. WOW! Talk about rare. Wave Master went well out of their way to give us the definitive Bare Knuckle / Streets of Rage album.

After the jump, I’ll be giving you my take on the album. I’m new to the franchise (GASP!) but I’m a long-time Koshiro fan. Let’s see how it turns out… (more…)
Game Music

MAGFest 11 Guest Announcement: Yuzo Koshiro

August 15, 2012 | Audun Sorlie | Comments Off on MAGFest 11 Guest Announcement: Yuzo Koshiro Share this

From the press release:

August 15th, 2012: For the first time in the US, the man who filled the streets with rage, the legend who raised the act of video game music; Yuzo Koshiro will make his long awaited appearance at MAGFest 11.

An industry legend and pioneer of the FM synthesizer, Koshiro has long been one of the most well respected and admired video game composers in the entire world with his incredibly energetic and dance friendly style of music, contrasted by his grand orchestral masterpieces, making him one of the most versatile and diverse composers of all time.

After studying under the tutelage of Joe Hisaishi, Koshiro made his mark as part of the JDK unit for Falcom’s groundbreaking action RPG games, most notably Ys. He then went from Falcom to SEGA, where he would create the soundtracks that ultimately became his most popular; Shinobi and Streets of Rage. In 1990, Koshiro composed the music for Enix’s Actraiser, a soundtrack that redefined orchestral sound in a video game, and became one of the most popular soundtracks on the Super Nintendo. Since the creation of his family run company ANCIENT in that same year, Yuzo Koshiro has continued to compose for video games for close to 2 decades, with games including Shenmue, Castlevania: Potrait of Ruin, and Etrian Odyssey.

Koshiro will take part in a rare not-to-miss panel and Q&A, telling the story of his career and allowing the fans to ask the questions they want answered. In addition to that, he will also have a full DJ set featuring his own video game music! That’s right, as Yuzo Koshiro makes his debut on US soil, you will be soiling your pants dancing to the sounds of Streets of Rage, Shinobi and other classic surprises DJ’d by the legend himself.

It has been a long awaited and often requested name, and we at MAGFest are honored and excited to finally say; Yuzo Koshiro will be at MAGFest!

(Thanks to Audun Sorlie for arranging Mr. Koshiro’s appearance at MAGFest 11.)
Game Music, Reviews

Glory Days Are Here Again: Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 4 (Review)

May 22, 2012 | Jayson Napolitano | 5 Comments Share this

Purchase: CDJapan | Play-Asia

I still get a chuckle out of the fact that Yuzo Koshiro is the man behind the Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune soundtracks. Not only do they feature almost exclusively trance music, but this is some pretty authentic stuff that you might hear on a dance floor out late in a club.

As the fourth installment of the series, I think most existing fans should already know what to expect, but there are a few surprises this time around in the form of guest performances. It’s also the first time the soundtrack has spanned more than a single disc.

Does Koshiro get fresh with Wangan 4, or is this just more of the same? Hit the jump for our review. (more…)
Game Music

Etrian Odyssey IV Ditches FM Synthesis For Live Players

April 19, 2012 | Jayson Napolitano | 5 Comments Share this

Looking forward to Etrian Odyssey IV for the Nintendo 3DS? After checking out the game’s website and hearing the three samples from the soundtrack, I certainly am. The three samples sound remarkably similar to the Live Music by Piano and Strings Super Arrange Version album, and I immediately noticed the distinct lack of retro FM/PC sounds used.

Well, we contacted Yuzo Koshiro and have confirmation that the game will not be using retro synthesis, and will be relying entirely upon live performances paired with modern sample libraries. As it turns out, Norihiko Hibino, who arranged and coordinated the recording sessions for the Live Music by Piano and Strings album is on board for Etrian Odyssey IV and is essentially doing the same thing.

While it’s a bummer that we won’t be getting an FM version of the Etrian Odyssey IV soundtrack, I’m excited about the prospect of a 3DS title having such a high-quality and kick ass soundtrack. Samples two and three are particularly nice.

What do you make of the change in direction?

[Thanks Brandon!]
Game Music, Reviews

Mind Games, Love Games, Card Games: Culdcept DS OST (Review)

December 8, 2010 | Patrick Gann | 3 Comments Share this

Are you familiar with the Culdcept franchise? It’s a turn-based strategy title that takes place on a pre-pathed grid (aka a “game board” layout) and involves decks of cards and other standard board-game accoutrements; except it’s packaged in a videogame format.

Are you familiar with the *music* to the Culdcept franchise? Because it’s kind of awesome. Kenji Ito’s score for Culdcept II remains, in my opinion, one of his best works (Jayson’s opinion found here). But the very first Culdcept, released for Saturn and PlayStation many moons ago, had a soundtrack co-composed by the venerable Yuzo Koshiro and the lesser-known Takeshi Yanagawa (a colleague of Koshiro’s who worked with him on Shenmue and other projects).

That original game was remade for the Nintendo DS in 2008. 5pb.Records published a three disc soundtrack (VGCD-0148) for the DS remake; two discs of music designed specifically for the DS (with help from JOE DOWN Studio), and a third disc of music as it was originally designed for the PS/Saturn version. In other words, it’s two soundtracks in one! Hence the album’s full title: Culdcept DS Original Soundtrack Deluxe.

We’ll help you wade through the version differences, and make a final judgment call on whether or not you should go “Deluxe,” after the jump. (more…)
Game Music, Reviews

Achieving A Great Arrange: Sekaiju no MeiQ³ Super Arrange Version (Review)

June 7, 2010 | Wes Chung | 8 Comments Share this

Not all that long ago, OSV very favourably reviewed Yuzo Koshiro’s Original Sound Track for Sekaiju no MeiQ (Etrian Odyssey III) and generated some very interesting dialogue between the readers. The music for these games has enjoyed quite a history of love from OSV, and I’m quite happy to carry on that tradition, or perhaps happy that this album deserves it.

Considering Yuzo Koshiro’s Ys contributions were one of my prime motivations for getting into game music, my lack of interest in this particular series might be a bit baffling. On the other hand, I don’t own a Nintendo DS (they’re marketed as primarily a girl-gamer gadget here in Australia, funnily enough) and I don’t play all that much anymore anyway. Except Final Fantasy: Dissidia, and ironically I quite dislike the arrangements for that.

So what right have I, you may ask, to talk about this album? Have I played the game? Nope. Do I intend to? Nope! And here’s where I reply to the hypothetical query with my own: how good must the music be for someone who hasn’t played the game to want to tell you all about an arranged version? The answer lies a click away… (more…)
Game Music, Reviews

Koshiro Stretched Thin: 7th Dragon Original Soundtrack (Review)

May 17, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 5 Comments Share this

How did we miss this one? We couldn’t get enough of the Live by Piano and Strings: 7th Dragon Super Arrange Version album, but we somehow never got around to covering 7th Dragon’s soundtrack itself. Given how much I loved the piano and strings album along with the fact that this game was developed (and composed) by the team responsible for the Etrian Odyssey series, it would only make sense that I’d also love the game’s soundtrack, right?

As it turns out, this wasn’t a safe assumption. Does that mean I hated the 7th Dragon soundtrack? Well, not quite, but I’m not going to give away all my thoughts before getting to the review. This is certainly a mixed bag from Yuzo Koshiro.

Read our review of the 7th Dragon Original Soundtrack after the jump! (more…)