Final Fantasy XIV

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OSVchannel: Final Fantasy XIV Soundtrack Unpacking Video

September 21, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 7 Comments Share this

We’ve got a special treat for you today. While the Final Fantasy XIV Battle Tracks and Field Tracks albums that Patrick posted about last month will not be released until September 29, 2010 in Japan, we have them here for you now, and believe you’ll be surprised by what’s contained within. The two discs feature only a taste of what Nobuo Uematsu has created for the game, but Square Enix has certainly gone all out to make these “mini” soundtracks stand out on the store shelf. I don’t want to spoil too much, so feel free to take a peak at the above video to find out what to expect when these soundtracks hit you doorstep next week.

Oh, and I wanted to note the change in format. I loved Patrick’s table-top videos so much that I decided to go this route as well. Let me know if this works better than my poorly-lit office, and if the trade-off of not having music in the background is worth the better view.

We’ll have a review of both discs in the coming days, so keep checking back, and be sure to let us know what you think of Square Enix’s radical approach to the packaging for these Final Fantasy XIV soundtrack discs.
Game Music

Final Fantasy XIV Soundtrack To Be Released … In Two Parts?

August 6, 2010 | Patrick Gann | 3 Comments Share this

Online shops have begun to list the Final Fantasy XIV soundtrack for preorder. However, it looks like it won’t be one soundtrack.

SQEX-10203 is being tentatively called “Final Fantasy XIV Field Tracks,” and SQEX-10204 is being tentatively called “Final Fantasy XIV Battle Tracks.” Both items are scheduled for September 29, 2010. No packaging/cover art has been revealed to date.

Considering Square Enix’s Music department told us quite recently that they had plans for multiple CD releases in September, including some they couldn’t mention at the time of our interview, we have every reason to believe the listings from shops such as CD Japan and Amazon.

Expect more details as soon as we have them.

[Via VGMdb]
Game Music

Comic Con 2010: Hey Arnie, You’ve Got Some Final Fantasy XIII In My Distant Worlds!

July 25, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 9 Comments Share this

Yes, the big surprise at the Distant Worlds stop here at Comic Con in San Diego was that they performed music from Final Fantasy XIII. That’s not all, but we also got a taste of Final Fantasy XIV along with a number of tracks from the both the Distant Worlds and Distant Worlds II catalogs.

A great venue, great players and performers, a wonderful town (although it was really cold), and Uematsu in attendance made for a great evening. Find out what was played and what we thought of the Final Fantasy XIII and XIV pieces in our concert review after the jump. (more…)
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E3 2010: Squaresoft Sounds Coming From Square Enix’s Booth

June 19, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 2 Comments Share this

We couldn’t help but spend a lot of time over at Square Enix’s booth at E3 this week. We saw everything from Final Fantasy XIV to Front Mission Evolved to Deus Ex, and there was infinitely more to see and hear in their 20+ minute E3 presentation that was on a continuous loop throughout the entire event. While we were waiting around for various appointments and games, I more than once turned my head to a familiar sound from Square Enix’s past.

While some of these titles were announced well in advance of E3, some of them were completely new and not really publicized. Find out what we heard after the jump. (more…)
Chip Music, Game Music

Original SoundCAST: Episode #002

April 22, 2010 | Joshua Kopstein | 1 Comment Share this Original SoundCAST: Episode #002

We’re back with our second episode of Original SoundCAST, the official podcast of Original Sound Version! We’re changing things around a bit and we’ve decided to start picking a main topic for each episode in addition to our usual discussion of music-related news. For our first go at it, our topic is ‘Average/Below-Average Games That Have Above-Average Music.’ It’s a loaded one for sure, and wouldn’t you know it, we include TWO SaGa games in the list.

On top of that, we also got to discuss Norrin Radd’s new chiptune death metal album, Patrick’s interview with Nobuo Uematsu at Anime Boston, the Final Fantasy XIV soundtrack leak and much more. Now hit the download link immediately before Gideon channels the undying spirit of Audun Sorlie again. It was creepy enough the first time.

This week’s intro/outro music is from that jerk, Zen Albatross. Sorry about that.

Download: Original SoundCAST #002
Featured, Game Music

OSV’s (Semi)-Exclusive Two-Act Interview With Nobuo Uematsu At Anime Boston

April 20, 2010 | Patrick Gann | 45 Comments Share this

This is Patrick Gann of OSV here. Many OSV staff members have had their chance to bask in the presence of Nobuo Uematsu. I never thought I’d have my own opportunity, but on April 3rd, 2010, at Anime Boston, it happened.

My own experience started at a small press panel with five or six individuals asking questions, including (among others) myself and some lovely folks at Japanator. Afterwards, I went to dinner with Uematsu, Hiroki Ogawa (manager of Dog Ear Records), and Shota Nakama (founder of Video Game Orchestra). So, part of the transcripted interview below you’ll find with the other journalists present, whereas the latter half is OSV exclusive. Hence the “semi-exclusive” in the headline. During the press panel, Geoff Tebbetts translated, whereas Nakama-san did translation during dinner.

The following transcript includes questions from both the press panel and the following dinner. Questions asked by myself are designated as “OSV.” We also included some questions from other organizations, and we’ll list those organizations for you. We’ve broken it into two acts to help you follow the action!

What will you find out regarding Uematsu-san in this interview? Current and future projects, perspective and opinions on the industry as it currently stands (as well as current trends such as the resurgence of chiptunes); all of this and more after the jump! (more…)
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Anime Boston Attendees Show Adoration For, and Ignorance of, Nobuo Uematsu

April 10, 2010 | Patrick Gann | 9 Comments Share this

The OSV staff had the opportunity to do our own interview with Nobuo Uematsu during Anime Boston, which took place from April 2nd to 4th (“Easter Weekend”) at the Hynes Convention Center. But before we met with him, we attended a large-scale Q&A that packed a room with 1000 plus attendees, and over 30 zealous fans who lined up at a microphone got to ask their questions to Uematsu.

So before we tell you about what we asked, we wanted to report what was revealed during the fan-based Q&A. Some interesting statements were made by Uematsu. Some of the fans had humorous questions, while others expressed a strong sentiment of gratitude. Yet, other fans managed to ask questions that showed ignorance as to the scope of Uematsu’s work. We’ll touch on all this and more after the jump. (more…)