Kikuta

Game Music

Symphonic Fantasies CD Is Just Around The Corner!

July 13, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 10 Comments Share this

This is seriously one of my most anticipated releases of 2010. After watching the live Internet stream of Symphonic Fantasies in my underwear from the comfort of my own home, I’ve been looking forward to a CD release, and it’s coming in September. For those who don’t recall what the show was all about, you can refresh your memory with Audun’s extensive report, but to summarize, it features entire suites of music from Kingdom Hearts, Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger/Chrono Cross, and Final Fantasy.

So, down to the details.

While it’s currently available for pre-order directly from the WDR website for those in Germany and around Europe for 19.95 EUR plus shipping and handling, it will release on September 24, 2010 in those regions with an international release to follow via Amazon. Those who pre-order get a little bonus in that they have the opportunity to win copies signed by Shimomura, Kikuta, Mitsuda, and Uematsu, all of whom were involved with the album by giving their approval of the final mixes. This album is a big deal in that it’s published by Universal Music, and it’s set to feature the Symphonic Fantasies “Fanfare” written by arranger and orchestrator Jonne Valtonen with suites for the titles mentioned above. Unfortunately the boss battle medley that acted as the performance’s encore is not on the album, but it will be available digitally (the disc is 73 minutes long without it). It will also come with a 16-page booklet, and I really love the official cover art pictured above (it certainly beats the bland logo they were using for the performance itself).

What do you think? Are you looking forward to getting your hands on this album?
Game Music, Reviews

Most Expensive Two and a Half Minute Song Ever: Kikuta’s AT / Metaphasic Child (Review)

November 14, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | 3 Comments Share this

So, to counterbalance our coverage of Kikuta’s overly dramatic Kaijinki single from 2006, we thought we’d write about his latest release that actually debuted at Comiket 76 several months ago. While I don’t know much about AT / Metaphasic Child, I do know that it’s pretty awesome. And short.

One of the most interesting things about the disc is that it’s sold for 1,000 yen, or about $10. It doesn’t come with a jewel case, a booklet, or anything of the sort, but is straightforward with its 2:30 track, “AT,” and accompanying karaoke version. Must be an amazing song at that price, huh?

Hit the jump and learn whether or not this latest Kikuta single is worth the hefty price. (more…)
Game Music

40 of Japan’s Top Game Composers Form Mega Alliance: Video Game Sound Creator’s Alliance

October 5, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | 9 Comments Share this

Big news from Japan. It seems as though the majority of freelance game music composers from Japan have teamed up to form the Video Game Sound Creator’s Alliance. As to what that is exactly, I have no idea, but their membership list is quite impressive, including composers such as Hiroki Kikuta, Akari Kaida, Takenobu Mitsuyoshi, Yasunori Mitsuda, Michiru Yamane, and about 30 others. The group was founded by Yuji Takenouchi, and our good friend hally is actually listed as the group’s executive adviser.

Pretty awesome, but let’s see what they end up doing. It sounds like the GANG of Japan if you ask me. Wonder if we’re going to see Nobuo Uematsu pop on this list any time soon! While the official site is still under construction, I recommend heading over and checking it out. It’s set to launch on October 19, 2009.

Hit the jump for the fully translated list of members courtesy of Square Enix Music Online. (more…)
Game Music, Reviews

Hiroki Kikuta’s Soft Side: Kaijinki (Review)

October 4, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | 2 Comments Share this

It was back in 2006 that Hiroki Kikuta emerged once again with his first official album release in ages, Lost Files. Since then, he has released a number of albums on his Notrillia record label, many of which we’ve covered on OSV. There were, however, a number of Nostrillia releases that most game music fans never had the pleasure of hearing due to their limited printings that resulted in rapid stockouts.

Kaijinki is one of those releases. Kaijinki was unleashed in December of 2006, and I don’t think I’ve really heard people talking about it. I guess I can understand that, given that the disc contains only a single track, but I do find it to be an impressive piece of music from the Kikuta we knew at the time.

What exactly do I mean by that? Well, you’ll just have to read our brief review of the single after the jump. (more…)
Game Music

Hiroki Kikuta Sent Me Hentai!

April 6, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | 6 Comments Share this Hiroki Kikuta Sent Me Hentai!

I’ve been meaning to post about this for a very long time. Everyone knows that Kikuta-san is relatively accessible via his website, and around the time we reviewed his amazing Concerto album, we were talking to him about his work in the hentai game realm. He was all up for us writing about his music in these games, so we figured he’d be sending us the bonus soundtracks that were shipped with the games. Boy were we wrong!

Instead, the package we received at our office contained the actual hentai games themselves. Because it was my duty to tell you about the music, I proceeded to install the games on my laptop, but unfortunately had no luck getting them running to check out the surely awesome tunage within. Sakura Relaxation was kind enough to include a sound test in the game menu, so at least I was able to get a peek at that. Anyway, I figured it was time to post about this funny incident as we’re expecting to run reviews in the coming weeks of the actual soundtrack albums that were released late last year, so stay tuned!

Would you be more than happy to receive hentai games from one of your favorite game music composers? Would you be willing to admit that you tried playing Sakura Relaxation or any of Kikuta’s other hentai titles?
Game Music

Hiroki Kikuta’s Latest Hentai Soundtracks Out On November 4

October 31, 2008 | Jayson Napolitano | 3 Comments Share this

You heard it right. Secret of Mana was actually our soundtrack of the month this month, and we loved his Concerto score from earlier this year, so it’s awesome that Kikuta has announced that LOVE RELAXATION and NICE LIFE AS WIFE will be released on his Nostrilia label on November 4 in Japan. This is in addition to the release of IN THE SKY ON THE WATER earlier this month. And that’s a lot of caps!

While most know that Kikuta has ventured into the hentai game realm over the past few years, the music has been pretty hard to come by. It’s great to see the LOVE RELAXATION release which features the music from Sakura Relaxation, which is actually quite reminiscent of his work on Secret of Mana. There was a soundtrack disc included with the special edition of the game, and it’s pretty rare, so an official, widely-distributed release is much appreciated. We’ve actually been talking to Kikuta about some of his hentai work lately, so watch in the coming months for some more info about his latest obsession!

Will you be picking up either of these soundtracks next week? Have you managed to play any of the hentai games that Kikuta has scored (don’t be shy!)?

[via Nobuooo]
Game Music

Soundtrack of the Month 10/2008: Seiken Densetsu 2 OSV (Secret of Mana)

October 3, 2008 | Patrick Gann | 5 Comments Share this

Most people that read this site know, at the very least, the “big names” of Japanese VGM. Nobuo Uematsu, Koichi Sugiyama, Yasunori Mitsuda, Motoi Sakuraba, Hitoshi Sakimoto, Yoko Kanno, and others are well-recognized not only for the vast quantity of music they’ve produced in the last 2 decades, but also for their quality.

But not everyone knows about the extremely talented Hiroki Kikuta. There are reasons for this: Kikuta’s body of work is relatively small, and scattered across a variety of sources (though most know him from Square/Square-Enix titles). Today, we take a look at the soundtrack that put the man right into the middle of VGM stardom: Secret of Mana.

Hit the jump and enjoy! (more…)