Michiru Yamane

Editorial, Game Music

Game Soundtracks for Your Soul – Castlevania 30th Anniversary Edition

October 1, 2016 | Brenna Wilkes | 3 Comments Share this

This past Monday was the 30th anniversary of Castlevania, a franchise that has been a cornerstone of video gaming for so many of us since our childhoods. On September 26th, 1986, Akumajo Dracula, or Demon Castle Dracula as it translates, was released for the Famicom Disk System in Japan, and the legendary feud between the Belmont clan and Count Dracula was born.

For me, Castlevania was not only an indulgence of my childhood love of vampire stories and movie monsters, but the music of the series became the baseline for which I rated so many game soundtracks through my life. Granted, I loved my Sonic the Hedgehog and Golden Axe as a Genesis kid, but the soundtracks from the Castlevania series stuck with me, and impacted a lot of how I perceived game music from childhood to adult hood. If I played it at 8 or 28, the series soundtracks are hands down my favorite of any game franchise.

Thus, in a bit of self-indulgence and as a tribute to 30 years of whip-cracking, wall meat-finding, vampire-slaying goodness, I’ve made a list of my favorite music from each game in Castlevania‘s lifetime; from the very first game all the way through to Lords of Shadow. (I’m omitting the Pachislot games as they’re basically all re-used music and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate since I never played it) Granted, OSV has covered the music of Castlevania several times before, but consider this a brief perusing through of the history of the franchise’s music in all its iterations.

Be ye warned; here there be fangirling.

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Indie Music, Japanese

Saori Kobayashi’s Terra Magica Announced, Up for Pre-Order

April 2, 2016 | Shawn Sackenheim | 2 Comments Share this

Brave Wave has officially cast their spotlight on another legendary video game composer having launched pre-orders for Terra Magica from Saori Kobayashi. The 12-track album is a wholly original creation that fans of her work on Panzer Dragoon Saga and Orta will surely appreciate. A “love letter to her fans”, the album doesn’t accompany a new Panzer Dragoon game but the sound and artwork invites listeners to envision their own dream sequel.

Adding to the Dragoon vibe are a slew of collaborators on the album including Eri Ito and Yumiko Takahashi who provided vocals for Orta, Saga and Suikoden 2. Bringing new flavors to Kobayashi’s familiar Dragoon sound are guitarist Takahiro Izutani and Castlevania composer, Michiru Yamane. Even the cover harkens back to Panzer Dragoon having been designed by series illustrator, Manabu Kusunoki.

<a href="http://store.bravewave.net/album/terra-magica">Terra Magica by Saori Kobayashi</a>

You can sample two tracks from Terra Magica right now (both of which I’ve had looping all morning) or pre-order a digital or physical copy. Both will be released on April 13th with the digital album going for $13 and the limited edition CD at $16. The CD version is limited to 500 copies and features liner notes from Kobayashi, most of the collaborators and even Panzer Dragoon series director, Yukio Futatsugi.
Japanese

Michiru Yamane Releases First Original Album “Chiruru’s Music”

December 22, 2015 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Michiru Yamane Releases First Original Album “Chiruru’s Music” Share this

Castlevania and Skullgirls composer Michiru Yamane has released her first original album ever! Titled “Chiruru’s Music”, the album is a dedication to her beloved pet cat who passed away early this year, and features a diverse selection of different styles of music for each track.

“Chiruru’s Music” – Michiru Yamane

All nine tracks of the album are instrumental and based around a different concept and is sure to tug at your heartstrings. Clocking in at just under a half and hour, the album can be purchased on iTunes for under $12 USD or Amazon Japan for 1800 yen.
Chip Music, Game Music

Pre-Order RNDM by Mega Ran & Snag a Free Copy of the Mighty No.9 OST

July 7, 2015 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Pre-Order RNDM by Mega Ran & Snag a Free Copy of the Mighty No.9 OST Share this

If you’re a fan of nerdcore hip-hop artist Mega Ran and have been waiting with baited breath for the release of Mighty No.9, then this will be a double-score!

Random Beats has released “Your Favorite Song” from Mega Ran’s upcoming album, RNDM. The new album is set to release on September 15 of this year and will feature “Mighty!,” a collaboration with the fantastic Mega Man composer Manami Matsumae which will be featured during the credits of Mighty No. 9. As if that wasn’t enough, there will also be an additional collaboration with Castlevania composer Michiru Yamane.

To mark the release of RNDM in digital, CD, vinyl, and NES cartridge formats, Mighty No.9 studio COMCEPT is also providing the first 999 customers who pre-order the album a free download code for the MN9 soundtrack.

“This is a dream come true. “I’ve been working hard to land a videogame placement, and for this one to be the one, with a game and creator that I’m so close to, so inspired by, this is such a storybook tale. I’m really fortunate and I hope this is the first of many.”

– Mega Ran Press Release

You can pre-order RNDM on Bandcamp get in on the giveaway while the getting is good. You can also follow Mega Ran’s collaboration with Mighty No. 9 on the Random Beats website.

RNDM – Bandcamp

Random Beats – Website
Game Music

Bloodstained Kickstarter Expands It’s Superstar Music Lineup with Virt!

May 21, 2015 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Bloodstained Kickstarter Expands It’s Superstar Music Lineup with Virt! Share this

The Kickstarter to the spiritual sequel of the Castlevania series, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, has now revealed it’s increased its big-hitting lineup of musical talent!

On top of veteran Castlevania composer Michiru Yamane and MegaMan composer/sound producer Ippo Yamada being the pair originally slated to create Bloodstained’s soundtrack, now a mini-stretch goal has been revealed that Jake “Virt” Kaufman (Shovel Knight, Shantae) will be lending his talent with composing 8-bit masterpieces to the game’s growing ensemble, right beside Yamane and Yamada.

I personally follow Jake on Twitter and had joked with him when the Kickstarter launched about how fantastic it would be to see him added to the game’s music talent. His work with the music of Bloodrayne: Betrayal has long been a highlight to Castlevania fans of Kaufman’s ability to create gothic and charged pieces that would fit right into a Castlevania title. To see that actually come true is a real treat.

Though requiring the $2.62M mark to actually solidify Kaufman’s inclusion in the game, with the trend that the campaign is creating, it’s a pretty sure bet. Those who haven’t pledged to the Kickstarter yet can nip over to Igavania.com to check out the growing additions to the game’s lineup, and can also sample Kaufman’s works (including Bloodrayne: Betrayal) on his Bandcamp. You can be sure as the game becomes funded and progresses that we’ll be featuring more about it’s composers and music in the coming months.
Game Music

Back-to-Back Kickstarters with Legendary Composers

February 20, 2015 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Back-to-Back Kickstarters with Legendary Composers Share this

It’s been a very intriguing month for Kickstarters involving some big names in the game music industry. Just a few days ago the adventure RPG platformer Unraveled hit Kickstarter seeking a modest funding, and with just a few days left the survival horror love letter NightCry is looking to secure it’s final funds. What’s more, both games are boasting some big names in the game music industry.

The nostalgic ’80s throwback platformer, Unraveled is a charming tale about childhood fantasy and dreams whilst dealing with powerful real-life messages. In production under RosePortal Games, the already beautiful-looking game will have it’s soundtrack under the control of industry veteran Hiroki Kikuta (Secret of Mana, Soul Calibur V) with assistance from Dale North (Silent Horror, Dragon Fantasy Book II) The project already looks akin to Secret of Mana with its visuals and gameplay style, so having Kikuta-san at the helm is a sure bet.

Another ongoing Kickstarter project with some big-name talent is NightCry, aka. Project Scissors; a survival horror spiritual successor to the Clock Tower games and with none other than Clock Tower creator Hifumi Koto helming the charge. This creepy project has a ton of incredible talent involved already, and that’s not counting the fact the audio director is Nobuko Toda (Metal Gear Solid series, Halo 4), but also sports Michiru Yamane (Castlevania series, Skullgirls) adding her amazing talent to the sum total of the game’s eerie tone.

Unraveled is looking for a rather frugal sum of $15,000 to fund the basic game’s creation, while NightCry is in it’s final 65 hours of looking for the much more typical game development funding of $300,000 to fund its huge team. Something to keep note of for anyone interested in some great soundtracks to some interesting-looking games.

Unraveled – Kickstarter | Facebook

NightCry – Kickstarter | Facebook
Chip Music, Game Music, Miscellaneous

VCONCERT 2014 Game Music Event to Stream On Twitch Nov. 8th

November 7, 2014 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on VCONCERT 2014 Game Music Event to Stream On Twitch Nov. 8th Share this

Mariachi Games out of Mexico will be putting on the VCONCERT 2014 Game Music Event tomorrow, November 8th out of Monterrey, and streaming live through Twitch! Starting at 4 o’clock CST, a lineup of 10 hours worth of music performances from some of the most iconic names in the game music industry will be broadcast online for the masses to enjoy, including composers Akira Yamaoka (Silent Hill, Shadows of the Damned) and Michiru Yamane. (Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Skullgirls)

VCONCERT was started in 2012 by game music fans Mariano Latapi di Carlo and Poulette Roel through their videogame promotion agency, Mariachi Games. This year celebrates the event’s 3rd year of doing live performances. You can check out last year’s performance featuring the likes of Jake Kaufman, The One Ups and DisasterPEACE on Spotify for a taste of what to expect this year, be sure to tune in at 4pm CST to hear for yourself live!

VCONCERT Twitch: http://www.twitch.tv/vconmx

Learn more about VCONCERT: http://www.vconcert.mx/