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Review: Square Enix Music Sampler CD Vol. 12

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Every year Square Enix has a massive music shop set up at Tokyo Game Show. For customers who spend over a certain amount, they typically hand out a music sampler featuring recent and upcoming releases. These discs often play the key role of announcing upcoming music releases, so they’re important for fans to take note of, and this year is no different.

The sampler opens with the “Blinded by Light” track from the SQUARE ENIX JAZZ -FINAL FANTASY- album that we reviewed last week. From there, we get a mash up of Mog’s theme and the chocobo theme from Final Fantasy XV Plus, which is an interesting combination that works surprisingly well, your typical orchestral and rock from a Romancing SaGa arrange album, and a sweeping rendition of the Legend of Mana theme followed by a decisive and powerful “Painted Cavern” (my favorite track from that game) from a Seiken Densetsu 25th anniversary concert album. We get a taste of MoNACA’s SINoALICE which is dramatic and sports female choir, sounding similar to NieR, electronic pop from VenusRumble, dreamy electronics from Mobius Final Fantasy, and bombastic orchestral from Final Fantasy Explorers Force. We get a taste of Lost Sphere with a heartbreaking strings and piano track, gritty rock from Final Fantasy XIV: The Far Edge of Fate, and a pumping electronic anime track from Schoolgirl Strikers 3rd Anniversary (a great original soundtrack). The sampler closes with Nanaa Mihgo’s wonderful electronic-infused jazz from Final Fantasy Record Keeper Vol. 2.

As usual, there’s a lot to look forward to from Square Enix. I wouldn’t be worried about procuring a copy of the sampler, as many of these releases are already out or will be soon. Keep an eye out for them and our reviews here.

Reviews

Review: SQUARE ENIX MUSIC SAMPLER CD VOL.11

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Another Tokyo Game Show, another Square Enix Music sampler CD. This is the eleventh (see volumes 9 and 10), given to customers who made purchases over a certain threshold. The discs have evolved over the years to include full tracks from recently-released and upcoming albums from Square Enix Music’s label, and they had a lot to show this year.

The sampler begins with “Nox Aeterna (E3 2013 Trailer)” from Final Fantasy XV, a tragic and somber affair. The music that has been performed from this game is fantastic, and I wonder if this trailer track will appear on the final soundtrack release. From there, “No Turning Back” is a tense Hollywood action cue from Kingslaive (which I rather enjoyed), “Blazing Heart of Justice” is pure metal from Justice Monsters Five, and two tracks–a Japanese pop vocal piece and a pumping battle track with Masashi Hamauzu’s signature piano and strings–from World of Final Fantasy that have me excited for this soundtrack in particular. SaGa Scarlet Grace offers beautiful sweeping orchestra, Final Fantasy XII Zodiac Age introduces a gorgeous orchestral sound to “Ozmone Plains,” and NieR Music Concert & Talk Live offers a live vocal rendition from NieR that I can’t wait to hear and watch. Some new games are included, such as a synthy Celtic track from Celestial Aruls, some great synth music from Naoshi Mizuta from both Akashic Re:cords and Guardian Codex, an RPG town theme from Pop-Up Story: Mahono Moto to Seiju no Gakuen, a folksy vocal theme from Kamitsuri, and two unreleased tracks from Mobius Final Fantasy: one that offers mellow male vocals and synth work similar in style to Mitsuto Suzuki’s solo albums, and another that is sweeping and epic, working in the Final Fantasy main theme.

In all, this is a strong sampler that shows a lot of great music in the works. There’s the usual stuff to be excited about, including Final Fantasy XV, NieR, and SaGa Scarlet Grace, but some of the lesser-known titles now have my interest.

Stay tuned for our reviews of these albums in the coming months. Unfortunately the sampler will be difficult to find with TGS being long over.

Reviews

Review: SQUARE ENIX MUSiC SAMPLER CD Vol.10

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It’s that time of year again. Square Enix put out their annual sampler from Tokyo Game Show featuring goodies from their upcoming albums. They usually use these samplers as a vehicle to announce new albums and show off impending ones, but this year’s sampler features mainly material that we’ve known is coming. Also of note is the fact that the samples are all full-length tracks instead of the snippets that we’ve sometimes received in the past.

The disc opens with the ten-minute-long “Thunder Falls” from the Final Fantasy XIV: Before the Fall OST. It’s out now, and I highly recommend it (review here). There’s a lovely battle medley from Final Symphony II, featuring “Fierce Engagement” from Final Fantasy VI and a tease of “One-Winged Angel.” Imperial SaGa features Kenji Ito back in his orchestral element after so many rock excursions (Million Arthur, SaGa Battle). It’s fantastic and features a nice variation of the SaGa theme. We also get a taste of the upcoming Legend of Mana arrange album in the form of a wonderful jazz arrangement that is playful at times and beautiful at others. An arrangement from the highly-anticipated Chrono arrange album, “Dimension Break,” has been released before, but sounds as lovely as ever, there’s a new folky tune from Final Fantasy XI, an explosive orchestral/rock hybrid from Alice Order, Mitsuto Suzuki doing his thing on Mobius Final Fantasy that sounds reminiscent of Final Fantasy XIII, a live band track featuring Motoi Sakuraba with great solos, and a rock track of his from Star Ocean V that’s nice to hear after Sakuraba’s focus on styles other than synth rock in recent years.

In all, while there aren’t any surprises, this is a solid sampler that should have give fans a lot to look forward to. There’s something for everyone with Mana and Chrono arranges, a Final Fantasy spin-off, and a serious classical album coming soon. Stay tuned!