Monthly Archives: August 2014

Reviews

Review: A New World: Intimate Music from Final Fantasy

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As a huge fan of music from Final Fantasy and the Distant Worlds tour, I was immediately interested in their A New World event, which is meant to be a much smaller, intimate ensemble-based affair. Their live performances were held too far away for me to attend, but I patiently awaited the release of an album so I could get in on the action, and that’s finally here.

What we have is a live recording from their London performance, which features the aforementioned ensemble complete with pianist Benyamin Nuss. Does the concert and recording live up to past efforts from the Distant Worlds team?

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Reviews

Review: A Composer’s Guide to Game Music

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If you’re reading this blog, then it’s likely you have more than a passing interest in game music. It’s therefore likely that you’ve heard of Winifred Phillips, who’s worked on projects ranging from God of War and Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation to Speed Racer and SimAnimals.

Through this new book, Phillips walks aspiring composers through the many practical and technical considerations that go into everything from picking out gear and finding your first job to how to compose great themes and create interactive music. While the target audience is aspiring composers, anyone with an interest in videogames and/or game audio should give A Composer’s Guide to Game Music a look.

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Reviews

Review: Turrican Soundtrack Anthology

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I never had the pleasure of playing many of the games that Chris Huelsbeck became world renowned for during my childhood. Most of my experience with his work has been through his original compositions, all of which I’ve loved. That’s why the Turrican Soundtrack Anthology was such a great opportunity for me to go back and enjoy all the Turrican classics that I missed as a young gamer, and I now understand why people have always been so enamored with these soundtracks.

The Turrican Soundtrack Anthology takes music from across the Turrican series and re-imagines it with upgraded sounds. But don’t let that scare tried and true fans of the classic Turrican scores, as these new renditions are still retro to the core with their catchy melodies intact, fantastic bass synths, and rocking electronic hybrids that are a retro game music fan’s dream.

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Reviews

Review: LIGHTNING RETURNS:FINAL FANTASY XIII OST PLUS

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I quite enjoyed the Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII OST. While it didn’t feature the catchy pop music that made Final Fantasy XIII-2 so endearing, it did sport its own unique blend of electronic ambiance that provided for a great listen.

As has been customary for the Final Fantasy XIII soundtracks, Square Enix released an additional disc of trailer music, instrumental versions, cut tracks, and variations on themes presented on this PLUS album. Is it worth picking up?

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