Tag Archives: Mobile

Album Information

Wizardry Variants Daphne Original Soundtrack (BSPE-1229~30)

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Hitoshi Sakimoto is once again contributing to the biggest RPG franchises across the industry. While not a total stranger to Wizardry, having contributed to Wizardry Gaiden: Prisoners of the Battles and Wizardry Gaiden: Five Ordeals, Wizardry Variants Daphne is his first full Wizardry score. While many fans knowhis signature fantasy orchestral sound, he actually got his start doing electronic music, and this time he is able to blend both sides seamlessly to create some really cool soundscapes, with key themes and stingers weaved throughout to tell the game’s story through sound. The two-disc collection with English and Japanese track titles, Japanese commentary, and images from the game is certainly worth your attention.

As to the music, expect dark and foreboding soundscapes. Sweeping strings, but with guttural electronic bass swells. Live folk instruments, but with crystalline synth pads. It’s a great combination of styles with a number of surprising moments. Key themes include the somber opener, “Distant Memories,” which will have Sakimoto fans feeling right at home, and the pop-infused main theme that features throughout in “Wizardry Variants Daphne.” Electronic elements are highlighted in different ways across tracks such as the otherworldly “Tales of the Abyss,” the growly “Inhuman,” and the distant and menacing “Port of Amnesia.” The orchestral/instrumental side is emphasized with the regal “Royal Capital Luknaia,” the spunky “Adventurer’s Guild,” the inspirational “Battle Cry,” the spectacular organ piece “Beginning Abyss,” the melancholy “Endless Rain,” and the folksy and somber “A Day in a Castle Town.” The two sides come together closely in “A Life for a Life,” an intense hybrid with synth arpeggios and explosive brass, “Great Calamity,” a chaotic and epic final battle theme, and “Final Destination,” a sci-fi theme with glistening synths and fantastic strings. Moods range from desolate, desperate, reflective, and downright terrifying to triumphant and adventurous. It’s really a fun listening experience.

Those who are interested can import the Wizardry Variants Daphne soundtrack from CD Japan or stream it on Apple Music.

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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. 6 (BSPE-1076)

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Basiscape is back with Volume 6 of their epic mobile RPG soundtrack to CARAVAN STORIES, with this volume dedicated to the oceanic Gessy folk. Expect beautiful waterscapes and a touch of the exotic. It all begins with angelic pads, woodwinds, and marimba in a serene opener before moving on to everything from dancing marimba and playful energy in “Temple of Pakama” and chaotic dancing accordion in “Laurara’s Dance” to watery crystalline bells and glassy pads in “Narupopo Fruit Garden -Nightscape-” and bubbly and uplifting in “Chaktek Great Rift Valley.”

The highlight of the album is easily the vocal theme, “Coraggioso! Coraggiosamente!,” a male operatic piece that is energetic and a lot of fun, giving “Maria and Draco” a run for its money. The album continues with the familiar “Iyarr’s Narrator” which is warm and full of mystery, a touch of the series main theme with whistling, twangy guitars, and bagpipes in “Caravan Trip -South-,” dangerous didgeridoo and exotic woodwinds in “A Wild Kid in a Great Island,” and intense ninja-flavored action with chugging shamisen and explosive percussion in “Sword Fight.”

CARAVAN STORIES Original Soundtrack Vol. 6 is another great addition to the series which will wrap up after Volume 8. Grab it on CD Japan if you want the physical edition or on iTunes from mostly anywhere.

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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.

Reviews

Review: Final Fantasy Record Keeper Original Soundtrack vol. 2

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Final Fantasy Record Keeper is a nice treat for fans of the series, and while the first soundtrack volume was fairly straightforward, there’s a little more depth to this release. Spanning two discs and including massive medleys, there’s certainly a lot of music to dig into.

The album opens with a grand and regal version of the Final Fantasy fanfare worked into the main theme, which is a refreshing take on both tracks. There’s a frightening “Kefka’s Theme” including sound effects and bombastic orchestra, a beautiful “Aria di Mezzo Carattere” with bells and a capella vocals that offers up a lullaby-esque spin on the track includes some Christmas cheer with “Joy to the World” worked in. There’s synth rock with rock organ and a unique upbeat reference to Aerith’s theme in “Still More Fighting,” and a wonderful overworld medley with  an alternative rock version of Final Fantasy IV, a sweet pop version of Final Fantasy IX,  and the rarely covered “Unknown Lands” from Final Fantasy V which I greatly appreciated. “Eiko’s Theme” from Final Fantasy IX gets a bouncy electronic remix, “UTAKATA” from Type-0 is a mix of flamenco and female vocal pop, and “Contest of Aeons” is a creative blend of boss music and the hymn from Final Fantasy X. “The Crystal Tower” from Final Fantasy III gets an adventurous arrangement that is intense and emotional,  whereas “Etro’s Champion” is an ethereal and cool medley from Final Fantasy XIII. “Hammerhead” from Final Fantasy XV gets a dancey synth/chip version, and “Chaos Temple” also goes electronic with bumpin’ bass and classy piano. There’s an 18-minute-long battle medley with a rock/orchestral spin on battle themes from each game in the series, an epic 25-minute-long 30th anniversary melody that includes lovely guitar on “Rebel Army” from Final Fantasy II, a folksy take on “Searching for Friends” from Final Fantasy VI, an explosive Hollywood action version of “Man with the Machine Gun” from Final Fantasy VIII, and a nice woodwind version of “You Are Not Alone” from Final Fantasy IX. The closer is a track from the Square Enix internal jazz band, Nanaa Mihgo, titled “Journey of Memory,” a funky and upbeat jazz pop track.

In all, this is a much stronger collection of music than was offered with the first volume, and contains a lot of material that fans of the series will want to hear. You can grab it on CD Japan.

Reviews

Review: Mobius Final Fantasy Original Soundtrack 2

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If you enjoyed Mitsuto Suzuki’s Mobius Final Fantasy soundtrack, you should be ecstatic that Square Enix has released a massive second volume comprising three discs of all new music. Prepare yourself for more sweeping orchestral, abstract electronic wizardry, and killer vocal tunes with lots of Final Fantasy references tucked in for good measure.

I’ll start with the amazing “Capricious Cait Sith,” easily my favorite track on the album, which comes as a silly female vocal disco tune with a smooth and funky backing. Vocals are featured prominently throughout, including on the wonderful “Always There” with its ascending acoustic guitar, ethereal pads, and gentle male vocals and the cool RNB production, “Azure Memories,” which sports clean acoustic guitar and female vocals. Backing up, though, the album begins with the big orchestral sounds of “Ring of Braves” with rolling percussion and uplifting piano before diving in to the whimsical “Mogheim” with its lovely piano and Final Fantasy main theme references, the dance-y “Breaker’s Funk” with rhodes piano and funky bass synth, and “Meia’s Theme” with its cool blend of flamenco guitar and strings. There’s a beautiful Christmas version of “Sarah’s Theme” from Final Fantasy XIII-2, a Final Fantasy theme Christmas track titled “Hopebringer,” a rockin’ rendition of the Final Fantasy VII “Fanfare,” which is absolutely perfect, and the explosive metal “Bloodthirst” with powerful percussion and guitar shredding. “The Infinite Warrior” gives us upbeat rock in traditional Final Fantasy style with its bubbly approach and rock organ, and “Battle Princes,” a bumpin’ EDM track that transitions into uplifting piano and strings.

Spanning three discs, there’s a lot of music here to enjoy. I think I enjoyed Mobius Final Fantasy Original Soundtrack 2 even more than the original release. Grab it on CD Japan if you’re so inclined!