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Indie Music, Reviews

Synthesizers of Many Colors: DG-10’s Golden/Green Synthesizer Albums (Review)

August 9, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on Synthesizers of Many Colors: DG-10’s Golden/Green Synthesizer Albums (Review) Share this

Wow, I feel like I’m talking about Pokemon games with these color references. Back in December 2009, 5pb. Records published two unique albums titled Golden Synthesizer! and Green Synthesizer!, respectively. They contain remixes of popular music performed on the KORG DS-10 with three anime-inspired vocalists known as VCO, VCF, and VCA, collectively known as DG-10. Yes, it sounds weird, and it really is, and I would recommend checking out Jeriaska’s excellent interview with Masatoshi Nakamura and Nobuyoshi Sano to get a better idea of what this album is all about before jumping into this review.

But let’s get on to the music. I think you’ll be very surprised by what tracks are featured across these albums, and I can’t help but keep these on constant rotation on my iPod in the car, much to the dismay of my passengers. It’s just too funny not to.

Find out what I mean in our review after the jump. (more…)
Game Music, Reviews

Culdcept II Soundtrack Gains a Level: Culdcept II OST Deluxe (Review)

June 11, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on Culdcept II Soundtrack Gains a Level: Culdcept II OST Deluxe (Review) Share this

What’s with Japan and their insistence on confusing fans around the globe by not releasing the first game in a series, then releasing the second game without the “2?” Just as with the Final Fantasy and King’s Field series (and others), Culdcept shares this problem. While the first game came out in Japan on the Sega Saturn and PlayStation (and was later ported to the DS as Culdcept DS), the first title in the series to reach the US was Culdcept II which they decided to call simply Culdcept. Confused yet?

While Culdcept II received an official soundtrack release back in 2001, 5pb Records put out this Culdcept II Original Soundtrack Deluxe album, breaking up previously lumped together tracks into their individual parts as well as tossing in unreleased tracks and remixes from both Culdcept II and Culdcept Saga, an Xbox 360 title that was released in the US in 2008. I know it’s kind of complicated, but there’s some good music here from Kenji Ito, so let’s jump in!

Hit the jump for our review of the Culdcept II Original Soundtrack Deluxe album. (more…)
Game Music, Reviews

The Dawn of Basiscape: Odin Sphere Original Soundtrack (Review)

May 12, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 2 Comments Share this

For Hitoshi Sakimoto, 2007 was one of his most prolific years as a composer. He commented on this particularly busy year in our recent Blast From the Past interview that we republished just last week, with titles that included Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, Grim Grimoire, Deltora Quest, ASH: Archaic Sealed Heat, Final Fantasy Tactics A2, Opoona, and Odin Sphere. It was a good time for Sakimoto fans, and to make the year even more important, 2007 also saw the beginnings of Basiscape.

Odin Sphere also marked the beginning of Sakimoto’s partnership with Vanillaware, who Basiscape would go on to collaborate with on the Muramasa soundtrack that we thoroughly enjoyed earlier this year. Interestingly, if you look at the back of the Odin Sphere game case, you’ll see that Sakimoto’s involvement was used as a selling point for the game, although they misspelled it on the original version of the game (it’s corrected on my greatest hits copy). In any case, this was an interesting score given this time of transition, but you’ll have to read our review to find out whether this played in favor or against of the score.

Hit the jump for our review of Sakimoto and Basiscape’s Odin Sphere soundtrack! (more…)
Game Music, Reviews

Extra EXTRA: Hyper Game Music Event 2007 The Live Album Vol. 1 (Review)

May 7, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 3 Comments Share this

Man, where is EXTRA 2010 already? If you don’t know what the EXTRA – Hyper Game Music Event series is, you should! It’s only one of the most amazing gatherings of videogame music composers in Japan, where they perform live in front of thousands of fans. We reviewed the EXTRA –official compilation- album just last month, and Justin provided extensive coverage from the 2008 event. In 2009 the series was swallowed up by Video Games Live, and I have no idea what’s going on for 2010.

This album, however, is a partial archive of the 2007 event. You notice from the title, it was released as Volume 1, and while Volume 2 and a live DVD were planned, they never materialized, likely due to copyright issues. We do, however, have this fragment of history, featuring 7 different sets spanning 2 discs. They’ve captured some of the best performances of the evening, as well as some of the most… well, strange.

Find out what made the cut in our Hyper Game Music Event 2007 EXTRA The Live Album Vol. 1 review (whew, that’s a long one) 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, Reviews

Live Music by Piano and Strings: 7th Dragon Super Arrange Version (Review)

September 6, 2009 | Michael Schiciano | 1 Comment Share this

At this stage in gaming and game audio, there are many composers that can be considered legendary to some degree. It can be due to for the scale and number of projects they’ve worked on, the memorability of the themes they written, or simply because they’ve been in this industry for so long. One composer who embodies all of these elements is Yuzo Koshiro. For me, any game or soundtrack that has Koshiro in it is going to an easy one to recommend as a purchase, or at the very least present some pleasant listening material for the user. In the case of this particular album, entitled Live Music by Piano and Strings: 7th Dragon Super Arrange Version, calling it an album one needs to immediately purchase will probably depend on your tastes in music.

To put it simply, if you really enjoy Koshiro’s retro-infused, underlying compositions, as well as Norihiko Hibino’s soft and somewhat understated arrangement approach, you shouldn’t be listening to me talk about this album, and instead should be trying to get your hands on it. For the rest of you, however, let me fill you in on some details about what’s going on here.

Check out our review after the jump. (more…)
Game Music

OSV Exclusive: 7th Dragon Arrange Album Preview

June 9, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | 3 Comments Share this

Looking forward to the 7th Dragon piano and strings album due out next month? We revealed the tracklist to you a couple weeks ago, and now we’re providing you with an exclusive sneak peak of the music itself. We’ve been fortunate enough to hear the album in its entirety, and if you’ve been wondering what to expect, I don’t think you’re going to be disappointed.

While I love the music from both 7th Dragon and Etrian Odyssey, this sophomore effort from the Koshiro/Hibino duo takes things to a whole new level. From the variety of styles presented to amazing performances that will capture your complete attention, this album is an upgrade in every sense of the word, and that’s not saying the Etrian Odyssey arrange album wasn’t also an amazing piece of work!

Read our full preview of the Live Music by Piano and Strings 7th Dragon Super Arrange Version after the jump. (more…)