Etrian Odyssey

Game Music, Japanese

Etrian Odyssey V Launch Edition gets Arranged CD this Fall

August 1, 2017 | Shawn Sackenheim | Comments Off on Etrian Odyssey V Launch Edition gets Arranged CD this Fall Share this

Atlus has detailed the “Launch Edition” of Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth and naturally, there’s a music CD among the goodies. Coming this Fall to the Nintendo 3DS, the $40 package will include a decorative outer box that holds a 24-page art book and a 6-track music CD.

Composed by series mainstay Yuzo Koshiro, the disc includes six arranged tracks from the new game. The album’s VGMdb page reveals the tracks as town, dungeon, and battle music from the upcoming game. Labeled as arrangements however, it’s possible these variations could be exclusive to the North American Launch Edition disc and not included on the current OST release.

You can check out the official site to find out more about the game or hop over to Amazon to pre-order a Launch Edition copy for yourself.
Game Music

Know Your MAG: DJ Yuzo Koshiro

November 16, 2012 | Justin Pfeiffer | 3 Comments Share this Know Your MAG: DJ Yuzo Koshiro

We all know Yuzo Koshiro as the composer: PC-8801 wizard who gave us The Scheme and Misty Blue, early Falcom icon who contributed to Ys and Sorcerian, Sega legend who put Streets of Rage and Shinobi music on the map, the man who composed Enix’s Actraiser, Super Adventure Island, and more recently Etrian Odyssey, 7th Dragon, and Wangan Midnight. Everyone is excited about the appearance of game music legend Yuzo Koshiro at MAGFest this January. But what will Mr. Koshiro actually bring to the DJ table? Since his DJ debut at LEGEND Game Music Club Event in Tokyo of 2002, where he ripped a very lengthy, badass Streets of Rage arranged set (featured in full-length on the recently published Bare Knuckle Original Soundtrack WM-0691~4), he has made several appearances at game music DJ events in Tokyo, namely Linear. Some may be surprised, however, at his past set lists, which have been known to include extensive amounts of Wangan Midnight, sparing amounts of Streets of Rage, free trance, even 90’s pop and house music that inspired him in his early career (ie. C&C Music Factory’s “Everybody Dance Now”). In his most recent DJ appearance, held at Area PicoPico 88: 5th Anniversary Festival in Tokyo last August, he spun 50 straight minutes of Wangan Midnight, a move that is technically safe from a DJ perspective, considering most of Wangan‘s music hovers around 140 BPMs and lends itself well to one another. However I think attendees at MAGFest will want to hear not only Wangan, but all of his famous works, including Etrian Odyssey, 7th Dragon, Streets of Rage, Shinobi, Super Adventure Island, and Actraiser — preferably arranged in awesome fashion. I had the pleasure of speaking with Mr. Koshiro at Pico 88 last August, however he offered no information on his upcoming set at MAGFest. Will he resort to “Wangan only” again? Veteran composer-DJs Shinj Hosoe, Ayako Saso, Akitaka Tohyama, and k.h.d.n. all have a knack for bringing a good amount of variety to the table. Let’s hope Yuzo does the same for his Western fans. (Personally, I think he should play some Vatvla.) What would you like to hear from DJ Yuzo Koshiro? Post your comments below.
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.)
Featured, Game Music, Interviews

Deep into NieR: Interview With Vocalist and Lyricist Emi Evans

May 4, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 29 Comments Share this

It’s not very often that we get to highlight a vocalist on OSV. We’ve already gushed a lot about the NieR RepliCant & Gestalt Soundtrack that was released in Japan last month, and a big part of what made that soundtrack so great was emotional vocal stylings of Emi Evans. I’ve been obsessing over the made-up languages she created for NieR over the past few weeks, and we’ve finally been given the opportunity to discuss with her at length her work on NieR.

From her interactions with MoNACA composer Keiichi Okabe, last-minute deadlines, in-depth details on most of the game’s vocal tracks, her favorite tracks on the album, her relationship to Sekaiju no MeiQ 2 Super Arrange Album vocalist Rebecca Evans, and her work with Hiroyuki Muneta as a part of a duo called freescape, Emi Evans tells all. If her touching music hadn’t made a huge fan of me, this interview certainly would have.

Check out our all-encompassing interview with vocalist and lyricist Emi Evans after the jump! (more…)
Game Music, Reviews

Third Time’s A Charm: Sekaiju no MeiQ III (Etrian Odyssey III) Soundtrack (Review)

April 9, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 16 Comments Share this

Well, here we are for another round with Yuzo Koshiro and the retro-inspired Etrian Odyssey RPG series. Unfortunately OSV launched shortly after the release of the second game in the series, so while we don’t have reviews of the first two games, we do have a number of reviews of the arrangement albums that have been put out for the series. Trust me, they’re all excellent a deserve your attention.

Well, on with the star of the evening: Sekaiju no MeiQ III. Yes, it’s as good as the previous two scores, but don’t think you’ll be getting more of the same! The game apparently has a lot to do with water as far as I can tell from the track titles, and the soundscape is certainly more reflective (hah!) and less bouncy than previous outings. You’re still going to find that distinct RPG flavor that you love and have come to expect, and as usual, Koshiro has provided both the Nintendo DS and PC-88 FM versions for maximum retromazingness.

Find out what tricks Koshiro has up his sleeves for round 3 in our review after the jump! (more…)
Game Music

OSVchannel Episode 5: Silent Hill: Homecoming, Etrian Odyssey, and OSV is Hiring!

October 14, 2008 | Jayson Napolitano | 4 Comments Share this

Another week, another OSVchannel update. I actually recorded this in the middle of the night, right before bed, so sorry if I seem somewhat distant! I didn’t even realize there was so much important stuff to cover from this past week. Good thing I remembered!

The first order of business is the recent Silent Hill: Homecoming soundtrack preview on Amazon, especially the stunning trip-hop track, “Witchcraft,” which is absolutely awesome. Next up, we listen to a couple of my favorite tracks from Live Music by Piano and Strings: Sekaiju no MeiQ I & II Super Arrange Version, including “Scene – Blue and White” and “Cherry Tree Bridge,” both of which are quite beautiful.

Lastly, I put a call out to all of you out there who would be a writer! We’re looking to bolster our Associate Editor list there on the left side of the screen. If you think you have what it takes (that is, some writing experience and a passion for music), send your writing samples to [email protected] and tell us why you want to write about nerdy music. We’re looking forward to working with you!

Will you be picking up the Silent Hill: Homecoming soundtrack when it’s out or the latest Etrian Odyssey album? Do you have a favorite track from the respective preview or album?
Game Music

Yuzo Koshiro and Norihiko Hibino: Spinning A Tale With The Music of Etrian Odyssey

October 8, 2008 | Jayson Napolitano | 1 Comment Share this

We’re celebrating a day of Etrian Odyssey with the release of the new Live Music by Piano and Strings: Sekaiju no MeiQ I & II Super Arrange Version today in Japan. Hopefully you’ve read our full review of the album, but we have even more in store for you on this joyous ocassion.

We’ve been able to get some words with Yuzo Koshiro and Norihiko Hibino about their respective roles as composer and arranger/producer of the music in the Etrian Odyssey series. We focus on the latest album, of course, but we also revisit some of the past arrangement albums and discuss the possbility of more collaborations in the future. We then talk about their upcoming performance at EXTRA – HYPER GAME MUSIC EVENT 2008, and talk about what’s next for each of them. Finally, as a treat for the fans, we have more photos and even some sheet music scans from the Piano and Strings recording sessions.

Will you be importing the Piano and Strings Super Arrange Version? Would you buy a music book full of sheet music for the album if it was released?

Read the full interview and enjoy the photos and sheet music scans after the jump. (more…)