Tag Archives: Fantasy

Album Information

Battle Champs Original Soundtrack (BSPE-1231)

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Battle Champs is the English title for Cygames’s Little Noah, a new mobile RPG centered around leveling up your champ, building a base, and defeating your opponents. Hitoshi Sakimoto has taken up music duties, providing the iconic high fantasy sound he has become known for, and Basiscape Records has released the soundtrack on digital platforms. What sets Battle Champs apart in the context of Sakimoto’s past works are its playful nature and ethnic flair, which fits nicely with its vibrant visual style. Even the battle themes are upbeat and playful!

Right from the whimsical bells and harp and sweeping strings of “Introducing: Battle Champs,” you know that you’re hearing the music of Hitoshi Sakimoto. Listeners can consider “The Airship” to be a key theme, always contemplative, but growing more mature in its arrangement over the course of “Level 1,” “Level 2,” and “Level 3.” The battle themes also stand out for not being your typical RPG battle theme… instead, they are energetic and fun, sporting exotic instrumentation and percussion as in “Destroy it All!,” and my favorite track, “Now, Everybody!” with its ascending build and high-energy percussion. Your typical RPG trappings do appear with the adventurous rolling march, “Guild Battle,” the uplifting fanfare, “Now That’s What I Call a Victory!,” the epic and tumultuous “Winborne Dragon,” the stirring and emotional “Ooh, I Can’t Believe It!,” the solemn and deliberate, “Let’s Talk Strategy,” and the melancholy and somber “Oof, Ouch… Pull it Together!” The album ends with a series of moodier tracks, touching on everything from lumbering danger and outright terror to a searing desert theme to close things out.

If you want to hear Hitoshi Sakimoto’s latest, check out the Battle Champs Original Soundtrack on iTunes.

Interviews

Interview: Visions of Mana Music Team

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Visions of Mana is just weeks away! The first entry in the Mana series in quite some time, we were excited to learn about the game alongside the news that series composer Hiroki Kikuta would be returning to write a portion of the score. We now understand that the score was split three ways, with Kikuta handling cinematic music, Tsuyoshi Sekito handling action and battle music, and Ryo Yamazaki writing exploration and event music. We’ve been able to get a word in with all three composers about their history with the franchise and their experience working on Visions of Mana, including the gear they used for the score.

Click below for the full interview. Continue reading Interview: Visions of Mana Music Team →

Album Information

CARAVAN STORIES Original Soundtrack Vol. 7 (BSPE-1077)

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We’re nearing the end with Basiscape’s massive CARAVAN STORIES soundtracks. This Japanese mobile/PC RPG’s soundtrack spans eight volumes, each dedicated to a different race from the game. Volume 7 is focused on the lizardmen, and is appropriately bleak and ominous. Composition duties are largely split between Basiscape’s Kazuki Higashihara and Yoshimi Kudo.

The album opens with the exotic and ominous percussion and tense strings of “Hugo’s Cauldron” before jumping into the pumping bass, epic bell tolls, and intense strings and woodwinds of “Bunwaii Desert” and it’s night variant with folksy guitar. The battle-like “Burning Blade” with its explosive percussion and ascending string stabs might remind you of Final Fantasy Tactics, while the electronic percussion, grandiose strings, bagpipes, and sense of tragedy in “Lloyd-Hann” is also a highlight. There’s the robot-like “Kinsfolk Fractured Zone,” marimba and bass synth in the comical yet frantic “Voracity of Chaos,” gurgling synths and pounding percussion in “Tyrant of Chaos,” intensely catchy synth lines in “Power Struggle -Inferiority-,” and an industrial sound with a wonderful chorus in “Battle with Head of Warrior.” Rounding out the album are the militaristic march, “Hero’s Trial,” a spooky waltz with a male operatic lead incorporating the main theme in “Caravan Trip -Festival of the Dead,” a broodier male vocal track with an auto-tuned backup choir in “Mansion from the Depths,” and a surprisingly serene and otherworldly version of the main theme titled “Caravan Trip -New Year-.”

There’s one volume remaining in the CARAVAN STORIES series. Watch out for that soon. In the meantime, Volume 7 can be purchased on . It’s also available digitally on iTunes. Information on past volumes can be found here.

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CARAVAN STORIES Original Soundtrack Vol.5 (BSPE-1075)

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Basiscape launches into the second half of their gargantuan CARAVAN STORIES soundtrack with Volume 5, this time focusing on the elves. As you’d expect, there’s a majestic and jovial character to the album, making for some of the best listening so far. It begins with upbeat and jazzy piano that will have you tapping your feet in “Luwiera’s Forest,” dreamy female vocals and running piano, acoustic guitar, and ethereal pads in “Iyarr Ancestral Song,” and harp and pizzicato strings accented by Hamauzu-esque piano and strings in “Luwiera Town.” There’s the dance-y piano lines and female vocal snippets of “The Sword of Aurous,” the beautiful yet dangerous electronic-infused “Lappi Mine,” and the angelic and triumphant “Aleia” with regal strings and harpsichord. This volume’s vocal theme comes as a male vocal ballad with acoustic guitar that has a surprise ending. There’s tense and ominous in the extremely dissonant “Dark Corridor,” mesmerizing repetitive piano runs and strings that slowly build in “Tenement of the Blue Spirit,” and descending harp and hissing percussion in the desolate and dark landscape of “Wolven Cape Rovanier.” The main theme takes us out with a whimsical opening and lovely piano and woodwinds at the end.

Volume 5 may be my favorite yet. You can grab the physical CD on or the digital release on iTunes worldwide.

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CARAVAN STORIES Original Soundtrack Vol.4 (BSPE-1074)

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Basiscape’s epic CARAVAN STORIES continues with Volume 4, this time dedicated to the dwarves. As such, expect lots of warmer sounds and reverberating cavern-esque soundscapes compared to past volumes. It begins with prancing bagpipes and mechanical clicks and whirs in “Baldu Pipe Town,” the soothing and mysterious woodwinds and piano of “Billibino Pumpland -Nightscape-,” and the energetic galloping battle tune with chugging bass and fluttering woodwinds in “Dynamic Ingenuity.” There’s ominous and dank with glitchy xylophone in “Arlosa Mine,” an explosive orchestral battle track with “Duel Battle -PV Version-,” a twangy Western vibe in “Start of Hunting Season,” and folksy fiddle, bass, and hand percussion in “Mad Cow Brewery.” The vocal theme comes as a full on death metal track with chugging guitars, explosive bass drum, and screaming vocals titled “Markings of a Lifetime,” which comes as quite a surprise. The album closes with the adventurous “Ghelbours Foothills” and its spookier nighttime counterpart, and the CARAVAN STORIES main theme with added mischief in the rolling guitars and strailing strings.

CARAVAN STORIES Original Soundtrack Vol.4 is available physically from and digitally worldwide from iTunes.

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CARAVAN STORIES Original Soundtrack Vol.3 (BSPE-1073)

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Basiscape’s massive score to the mobile RPG Caravan Stories continues into Volume 3, which focuses on the orcs. You’ll find lots of tribal percussion, big brass, sweeping strings, and ominous soundscapes throughout, starting with the exotic and swaying “Garhudom Woodland,” and healing and folksy “Western Dogaa,” and the galloping Panzer Dragoon-esque “Muddy Warrior.” There’s the customary vocal pop song, “Oh, A World Nearby?,” the unsettling and buzzing “Fort Dogaa,” the regal “Audience,” and the rolling marimba and flying strings of “Kuaranii Cascades.” The angelic pads and layered shamisen of “Pyramid of the Moon” exude mystery, the droning pads and quirky electronic sounds of “Urdon Fungal Jungle” are ominous and foreign, and the spooky voices and rattling in the distance in “Deep Grief” are unsettling. It all ends with the grandiose Sakimoto-esque main theme with huge strings, brass, and percussion.

A physical CD can be imported from or bought digitally worldwide through iTunes.

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CARAVAN STORIES Original Soundtrack Vol.2 (BSPE-1072)

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Basiscape has reawakened with eight volumes of music from the mobile/PC MMORPG CARVAN STORIES set to release between now and the beginning of 2019. The first volume established a whimsical fantasy atmosphere, and Vol. 2 continues on with music focused on the human areas of the game.

It all begins with a reprise of the lovely main theme with “Caravan Trip -Nightscape-,” a sweet and angelic spin with piano, bells, and woodwinds. There’s the energetic and uplifting battle theme, “The Method of Fighting,” the dreamy guitars, tribal percussion, layered brass, and soothing wildness of “Eastern Part of Denon Hill,” and the epic and grandiose “Mauriana Region” with romantic string work and folksy banjo (there’s also a twinkly sleep version). “The Light for Valmuer Street” comes as a male vocal ballad with a Spanish flair, “Waterling Main Road” sways in a grand and contemplative manner with snapping percussion, and “Scott Battlefield” is both mysterious and determined with pizzicato strings and competing time signatures. Rounding out the album is the bubbly and folksy “Reuben” with acoustic guitar, hand percussion, and Celtic instruments.

Grab CARAVAN STORIES Original Soundtrack Vol. 2 on Amazon to get the latest goodness from Basiscape.

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CARAVAN STORIES Original Soundtrack Vol.1 (BSPE-1071)

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It’s been some time since Hitoshi Sakimoto’s Basiscape Records  released anything, but that drought has just come to an end. The Basiscape team has scored the massive anime MMORPG Caravan Stories for PC and mobile, and will be releasing the soundtrack over eight separate volumes between now and January 2019. The first volume includes over an hour of music and is available in digital and physical formats.

Fans will enjoy the folksy and playful fantasy style of the score, particularly the opening “Iyarr Ancestral Song” with its melancholy woodwinds, acoustic guitar, and female vocals. There’s an energetic battle theme that has a lot of fun with the classic JRPG formula in the equally-fun titled “Outpouring of Armaments,” a trippy and cool fanfare with “Victory in Battle,” and the playful and Sakimoto-esque “Iyarr’s Narrator.” Rounding out the album are the grandiose strings and percussion in typical Sakimoto fashion with “Caravan Stories” and a lovely upbeat pop ballad including vocals with “Longing.”

There’s great music to be had by the Basiscape team with seven more volumes to come. Grab Caravan Stories Original Soundtrack Vol. 1 on iTunes.

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DRUAGA ONLINE -THE STORY OF AON- SOUNDTRACK (SRIN-1121)

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While Druaga Online -The Story of Aon- was never released outside of Japan, I think a lot of RPG fans can get behind an arcade-based RPG with online four player co-op. What drew my attention to the soundtrack was the eclectic combination of composers, which includes SuperSweep’s Ayako Sasao, StudioMINSTREL’s Hiroto Saito, and Bandai Namco composers Junko Ozawa and Hiroyuki Kawada. True to the eclectic nature of the team, the soundtrack offers upbeat orchestral, electronic, and rock in adventurous fantasy fashion.

Listeners will enjoy the infectious synth pop castle theme as well as the main character themes, which include playfully epic rock (“Gilgamesh”), bubbly electonics (“Ki”), and even industrial (“Xeovalga”). The map themes will also stand out with the exotic woodwinds of “Windy Prairie,” the grand orchestral stylings of “Hanging Gardens,” and the funky Castlevania-esque “Floating Island,” which even sports bagpipes at one point. Rounding out the two-disc collection are the gloriously defaint “Heavenly Palace,” the explosive final battle theme, and the triumphant and rustic ending theme complete with harpsichord.

Check out SuperSweep’s soundtrack sampler on YouTube and pick out the soundtrack on CD Japan if you’re interested.

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DRAGON’S CROWN ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK (BSPE-1051~3)

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There are many fans of Vanillaware’s gorgeous fantasy beat-’em-up, Dragon’s Crown. Scarlet Moon Artists composer and Basiscape head Hitoshi Sakimoto scored the game in its entirety, drawing on classic fantasy inspirations to weave together melodies that are strong yet deceptively simple. Dragon’s Crown wasn’t trying to break new ground, but rather reaching back into the heart of the fantasy genre, and this powerful soundtrack follows suit. Anyone’s who played the game will love the masculine “Dragon’s Haven Inn” with its exotic instrumentation, the whimsical and enchanting “City Street,” the somber and healing “Canaan Temple,” and the angelic “World Map.” Those who are more into action will enjoy the foreboding and epic “Castle of the Dead: Catacombs,” the powerful and adventurous “Mage Tower,” and the dangerous and swashbuckling “Ghost Ship Cove.” There are also two piano arrangements tucked away at the tail end of the three-disc set for both “City Street” and “World Map.”

After loving the soundtrack in-game, many fans have been wondering if an album would ever be released, and it’s now available courtesy of Basiscape Records on both CD Japan (physical) and iTunes worldwide. The physical package  includes several wonderful (and provocative!) pieces of art throughout. Pick it up today!