Monster Hunter 3: Cut up Wyverns and Listen to Great Orchestral Music in 2009

[Editor’s Note: Contributor Chris G. is the main man over at Square Enix Music Online, one of our favorite game music information resources. Hopefully we’ll hear more from him on OSV in the future!]

Given the series’ huge popularity in Japan, the soundtrack to the Wii’s Monster Hunter 3 is a pretty big deal. I don’t share the same enthusiasm about the series – as a vegetarian, cutting up wyverns just isn’t my idea of fun – but I’ve always been impressed by the orchestral soundtracks for the series. There is always a good blend of atmospheric and orchestral themes courtesy of Masato Kouda and several Capcom employees.

Today we’ve got the first details of the audio of the latest title thanks to a tip-off from a certain FILMharmonic Orchestra associate. Yes, the eminent orchestra will perform the most important themes from the score, including surely the latest version of the Monster Hunter main theme. What’s more, two very talented individuals will be responsible for coordinating the orchestra. Anime composer and Final Fantasy orchestrator Shiro Hamaguchi returns as the orchestrator. Having extensively worked with the orchestra before, Adam Klemens will be the conductor.

The composers? Yuko Komiyama (Monster Hunter 2, Monster Hunter Freedom) and Tadayoshi Makino (Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G) are the only ones confirmed so far. Will series’ veteran Masato Kouda also return? We’ll have to wait until the game’s release probably in 2009 to find out. And given Japanese gamers love anything Monster Hunter, we can expect a soundtrack to follow.