shmup

Game Music

Retro Shooter Kickstarter Features Classic Shmup Composers

June 29, 2016 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Retro Shooter Kickstarter Features Classic Shmup Composers Share this

A new Kickstarter campaign currently seeking funding might tickle the fancy of fans of classic arcade shooters, and tickle the ears of arcade music fans.

Xydonia, a throwback shmup game in the vein of Gradius and R-Type that styles itself as a “love letter to Japanese arcade classics of the ’90s” will be bringing in some veterans of Japanese arcade composing. Creators Breaking Bytes have partnered with Scarlet Moon Productions to bring in composers Shinji Hosoe (Dragon Spirit, Under Defeat, Otomedius) and Keishi Yonao (Mad Stalker, Strania) to assist their house sound designer Luca Della Regina to create Xydonia‘s soundtrack if funded.

Video credit of Klax0r

The music will be powered by the Yamaha YM2151+Sega PCM sound chip, which was the go-to arcade sound chip of the ’80s and ’90s. A digital copy of the game can be backed for €10, while the soundtrack will be included for backers of the €30 tier or higher. The game aims to release in fall of 2017. You can read more about Xydonia on their Kickstarter page.
Chip Music, Game Music

Kickstart Jake Kaufman’s Latest Soundtrack with Ghost Police

October 14, 2015 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Kickstart Jake Kaufman’s Latest Soundtrack with Ghost Police Share this

Jake “Virt” Kaufman is shaping up to be a very busy boy these days. On top of recent additions to his amazing work on the Shovel Knight OST with the Plague of Shadows DLC, and being slated for work on indie titles [NUREN] and working alongside Michiru Yamane and Ippo Yamada for Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, another new indie project has just been announced with him attached to compose. Ghost Police is negative-space shmup title currently in development by independent game developer Steven McCarthy, and will feature an 8-bit chip music soundtrack done up by Kaufman.

“Many people don’t know this, but I actually got my start in videogames working on the Game Boy. As Ghost Police blends styles from the NES and Game Boy, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to come full circle with the NES soundtrack for Shovel Knight by writing this with the Namco 163 sound chip, an expansion that I’m familiar with and am eager to push to its limits!” – Jake Kaufman

Kaufman currently has the trailer score for the soundtrack’s Kickstarter, which is seeking $16,000 USD with various stretch goals for additional work. A copy of the Ghost Police for PC is available for the equivalent of $7.80 USD – with the soundtrack, beta access, and backers’ pixelated likenesses featured in the game at higher support levels.

Source: Scarlet Moon Productions
Game Music, Reviews

Neo XYX Puts Rafael Dyll In Exciting New Territory (Review)

January 20, 2015 | Patrick Gann | Comments Off on Neo XYX Puts Rafael Dyll In Exciting New Territory (Review) Share this

Neo XYX (XYX pronounced “Zikes,” rhymes with “likes”) is the latest shooter from the unique group NG:DEV.TEAM. They’ve been putting out special way-past-end-of-life games for Sega Dreamcast for quite some time now, and their games also appear as arcade cabinets (usually just in Japan). NG:DEV has had for most, if not all, of their game music, turned to German composer Rafael Dyll. Games like Last Hope, Gunlord, and another studio’s (Sidequest STudios’) recent RPG Rainbow Moon all had their music composed by Dyll.

In this latest soundtrack, Rafael Dyll ventures into new musical territory, trying out new styles and instrumentation that I’ve not heard him take up before. The end result? Follow along to get my answer. (more…)
Game Music, Reviews

Doujin Shmup Revival! Gundemonium Collection Soundtracks (Review)

August 3, 2012 | Patrick Gann | 2 Comments Share this

And it’s not Touhou!

About a decade ago, one-man studio Aeju Murasame created a trilogy of shmups. They were Gundemonium, GundeadliGne, and Hitogata Happa. The first two were horizontal (side-scrolling) shmups that took place in chronological sequence. The last was a very interesting prequel that was a vertical scrolling shmup and also featured a unique system that required kamikaze attacks, sacrificing precious (limited) lives for your dolls to move forward.

I’d have never played these games had it not been for localization firm / publisher Rockin’ Android, who released the trilogy as the Gundemonium Collection in 2011. To make the deal even sweeter, purchasing this trilogy on Steam will bring the customer a free bonus: full soundtracks for all three games, both in their original forms (from Murasame himself), and the new remixes from DM Ashura and Woofle.

I’m going to do a little compare ‘n’ contrast after the jump. Won’t you join me? (more…)
Game Music, Reviews

All Hail The Conquistador! Jamestown OST (Review)

February 29, 2012 | Patrick Gann | 2 Comments Share this

After awarding a strong 2nd-place finish to the Jamestown soundtrack under our OSVOSTOTY indie games category, I noticed we didn’t have a proper review of the soundtrack on the site. Shame on us!

I’d like to quickly rectify the situation by telling you why I think this particular collection is so wonderful, and how it shows the ability of the “indie” market to compete toe-to-toe with some of the established franchises in peer genres (in this case, we’re talking CAVE shmups).

All that and more, after the jump! (more…)
Game Music, Reviews

SuperSweep, or SuperSWEET? Shinji Hosoe’s IBARA Original Soundtrack (Review)

August 23, 2010 | Patrick Gann | 2 Comments Share this

If you like scrolling shooters (also referred to as “shmups”), you should be well acquainted with the company CAVE. They’ve made some incredible games in the past few years.

Their games also tend to have awesome fusion rock- and dance-inspired soundtracks. One of their first self-published albums, in January of 2006, was the IBARA Original Sound Track (catalog number CVST-0003). The single disc soundtrack, which also includes a few arranged tracks and a voice collection, is a special little gem in my ever-changing collection of VGM. And that’s why I wanted to tell you, dear reader, all about it.

After the jump, check out our review of Shinji Hosoe’s score for IBARA! (more…)
Featured, Game Music

Soundtrack of the Month 08/2010: Deathsmiles

August 2, 2010 | Patrick Gann | 3 Comments Share this

Last month we provided you a review of the bonus soundtrack for the North American release of Deathsmiles. The game, and soundtrack, were published via Aksys Games. The soundtrack was actually the “Premium Arrange” soundtrack, originally published for retail purchase in Japan by developer CAVE. It’s certainly a good album, but after posting that arranged soundtrack review, we realized some readers might want to know more about the OST itself.

Well, it’s quite a good OST. Virtually the entire score is composed by Manabu Namiki (Basiscape), and it upholds the high quality standard people have expected from “shmup” soundtracks. That’s why we’ve chosen to add it to our prestigious “Soundtrack of the Month” list. After the jump, check out a detailed review of this fantastic soundtrack. (more…)