Tag Archives: RPG

Review: KINGDOM HEARTS -HD 1.5 ReMIX- Original Soundtrack

While I’ll admit I never really delved into the Kingdom Hearts soundtrack, I was as excited as anyone for this HD 1.5 ReMIX version. Upgraded sounds, live recordings, and more abound, and what better way to revisit Yoko Shimomura’s beloved classic than with a new coat of paint that has pleased event hardcore fans. For me, hearing these melodies for the first time, I finally understand why this music is so special to so many people.

“Dearly Beloved,” the iconic theme of the series, is presented in all its simplistic beauty here. I love the orchestral rendition of the vocal theme, “Hikaru,” and the funky remix with amazing production values and fantastic bass line. Some of my favorites from the score include the dark and ominous “Dive Into The Heart,” the upbeat tropical tune, “Destiny Island,” the tropical rock with woodwinds in “Bustin Up on the Beach,” and the infectiously happy “Mickey Mouse Club.” Kairi’s themes are probably my favorites on the entire album, in all of their various renditions, and I love the killer bass and percussion in “Night of Fate,” the dreamy and jazzy “Traverse Town,” the energetic “To Our Surprise,” the regal and triumphant “Olympus Colliseum,” and the exotic “Holy Bananas!” The second disc features some amazing themes as well with the bubbly and cute “O-Rama,” the desert-themed “A Day in Agrabah,” the sweet piano and strings of “Friends in my Heart,” the angelic “Never Land Sky,” the gothic orchestral “Forze de Male,” foreboding “End of the World,” and all the amazing classical arrangements that come in at the end. Finally, “Lord of the Castle” offers a decisive and epic final adventure while “Musique pour la tristesse de Xion” gets heart wrenching strings and piano. We get romance with “At Dusk, I Will Think of You…” and tragedy in “Vector to the Heavens.”

I have to say this is the definitive version of the soundtrack for anyone out there who, like me, hadn’t heard it all the way through. Those people are likely pretty rare at this point. But I suggest grabbing it on CD Japan if you’d like. We’ll also take a look at 2.5 in the coming weeks, which is even more amazing!

Review: Kaku-San-Sei Million Arthur Original Soundtrack

Last week we looked at Kenji Ito’s battle themes from the Million Arthur series. I referred to producer Hyadain’s original soundtrack, which we’ll take a look at now. The mysterious Hyadain had made a name for himself in the doujin scene producing excellent music and arrangements, and was later revealed to be artist Kenichi Maeyamada. His production values come through strongly in this album, featuring a blend of pop, rock, and fantasy goodness.

The first track, “Faction Selection” starts right in with some wonderfully produced J-rock and a descending bell tone melody that offers something unique. “Footsteps to Fortune” is a laid back overworld-esque theme that starts off strictly fantasy before introducing electronic elements and percussion to lend the track a cool edge. “Round Table Congregation,” one of my favorite tracks, opts for intense militaristic electronics, percussion, and strings, while “Welcome Back, Lord Arthur!” is a super cute and upbeat pop tune with Rhodes and strings that sounds like it ought to have vocals. I also love the octave-jumping bass in “Faerie Sighted!,” the ominous dungeon-sounding theme, “Wait, Could it be?,” the dark and sinister “D-O-U-B-T,” the regal and beautiful “God Save the King” with its melancholy harpsichord, swelling strings, and bell tolls, and the silly “Pumpkin Soup” with wood block and chip tones. “Sadness Shall Someday Fade” is the obligatory sad theme, “Morgan Fay” offers catchy gothic rock, and “Won’t Say Goodbye” is a glitchy upbeat electronic outro that ends on a positive note.

Hyadain didn’t disappoint, and I’d love to hear more collaborations between the artist and Square Enix in the future. If you want to pick up the soundtrack, it’s available on CD Japan.

Review: BEFORE THE FALL: FINAL FANTASY XIV Original Soundtrack

Square Enix has released another massive collection of music from Final Fantasy XIV, this time from several recent content updates. Fans were impressed with the initial soundtrack offering some months back, so it’s a bit of a surprise to get another collection totaling over four hours of music so soon. But who can complain when the new music composed mostly by Masayoshi Soken is so good!

There isn’t as diverse of a range presented on this album: it’s mainly darker and more ominous than the previous album release, but there’s a lot to love. Many of my favorites include the rock tracks that were performed by The Primals on their From Astral to Umbral arrange album, including the contemplative “Thunder Rolls” and the grungy rock “Oblivion.” Other favorites include the melancholy choir piece, “A Light in the Storm,” the exotic and ambient “The Edge,” the atmospheric and dreamy “The Warrens,” a dark organ and choir version of the vocal theme “Answers,” and the explosive orchestral track “Hamartomania,” which sounds like something out of Metal Gear Solid. That’s in addition to several references to classic Final Fantasy tunes that fans of the series will enjoy.

My favorite thing about this soundtrack, which is presented on Blu-ray disc, is that it hosts some bonus content, including live performances of piano and The Primals sets from this year’s Final Fantasy XIV festival in Japan. The footage is quite substantial, and includes some interesting moments, including Soken himself creating makeshift percussion out of cardboard boxes while he plays a track on piano and performing a duo on one piano for another.

Final Fantasy XIV fans will want to check this out. There is over four hours of music to enjoy in addition to the fantastic concert footage. Pick it up on CD Japan if you’re interested.

Review: LORD of VERMILION III Original Soundtrack

While I’ve never had the pleasure of playing Lord of Vermilion, I have been on top of their multiple soundtrack releases. The series itself is interesting in that it’s an arcade card-based title with some beautiful artwork from a number of contributing artists, and likewise, the music has been handled by a number of composers, with Nobuo Uematsu on the first game, Hitoshi Sakimoto and Basiscape on the second, and now electronic artist Tachytelic on the third.

I can’t say I know a whole lot about Tachytelic, but if you’re a fan of electronic music, dubstep, and electronic-orchestral hybrids, this album may be for you. The opening theme is the original by Uematsu redone with a trip-hop drum beat, exotic vocals, and dubstep stylings. A few of my favorites include “Elder Tower” which combines dubstep elements and epic fantasy orchestral with a cool ascending brass and string melody, “Red String Break,” which sports ominous pads and break beats on top of some lovely string work, and the trailer-esque “Over the Pride,” with its slow build and intense climax. “ANGER Z E N N O” is a heavy drum ‘n’ bass track with angry flaring synth lines that almost sound like guttural speech, “Tentacle Dread Hot Beat” (probably my favorite track) with its epic descending string line, and the cinematic tracks that include the emotional “Tear,” the spooky “Another Space,” and “Worry.” There are two ending themes that combine electronic and orchestral elements. I love the choral elements in “Red Flamers” and the killer bass and piano work in “Wind to Wind.”

In all, the Lord of Vermilion III OST offers a new sound that makes a great addition to the eclectic franchise. I’m looking forward to hearing more from Tachytelic in the future. You can grab the album from CD Japan if you’re interested.

Review: Arcadia no Aoki Miko ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK

We unfortunately don’t see a lot of mobile games that are coming out in Japan. One such game from Square Enix, Arcadia no Aoki Miko, remains a mystery to me, but Square Enix has released a soundtrack album featuring music by Naoshi Mizuta, and I think RPG fans may be surprised by what they hear.

Check out some impressions if this somewhat brief album below. Continue reading Review: Arcadia no Aoki Miko ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK

Review: Diablo III: Reaper of Souls

I had the opportunity to review the original Diablo III soundtrack, and I noted that while it was great in its own right, it didn’t feel like it belonged to the Diablo universe. More so, it felt like the world of Diablo told through the musical stylings of World of Warcraft. Diablo III: Repear of Souls takes a different direction, with composer Derek Duke acting as audio lead, allowing for a new soundscape to unfold.

Does this change have a lasting impact on the score? Read our full review below. Continue reading Review: Diablo III: Reaper of Souls

Review: The Witch and the Hundred Knight

Nippon Ichi Software’s Tenpei Sato returns with another zany RPG score in line with a lot of his past works. This time, we get a playfully dark atmosphere with a strong western vibe that goes quite well together. There are two discs to dig into if you managed to pick up the limited edition, and a single disc sampler if you grab the standard edition on the NISA store.

What drew my attention to the score initially was a contribution by NieR vocalist Emi Evans. Does her track and the rest make for a memorable experience? Read more below. Continue reading Review: The Witch and the Hundred Knight

Monarch: Heroes of a New Age Arrangements & Variations (SMRC-1002)

As mentioned, this arrangement album is one not to be missed. Containing alternate versions of many of the tracks from the Original Soundtrack, there are also all-new arrangements created by Goomin Nam including a moving Korean vocal version of “Forgotten Archduchess,” pop ballad covers by Goomin Nam of “Peaceful Macdallena” and by Dale North of “Seaside Village,” a dark take on “Wandering Woods” by Joshua Morse, and a beautiful piano and saxophone improvisation by Norihiko Hibino and AYAKI (GENTLE LOVE).

The album features 15 tracks, including variations, arrangements, and a bonus trailer from the game’s announcement.

A limited-print physical version is available on Bandcamp, while the two albums are being bundled together at a discounted price exclusively on Loudr. You can also pick it up on iTunes and Amazon MP3.

Hear a sample and view the beautiful physical packaging along with album credits below. Continue reading Monarch: Heroes of a New Age Arrangements & Variations (SMRC-1002)

Monarch: Heroes of a New Age Original Soundtrack By Goomin Nam (SMRC-1001)

This epic classical-inspired fantasy MMORPG score by Goomin “Nauts” Nam is finally available. From the powerful main theme to the whimsical towns and ominous dungeons, there’s a lot for RPG fans to love with this soundtrack, and it demonstrates that Goomin Nam–best known for his work on TalesWeaver and Bar Oasis–is a versatile musician.

The album features 22 tracks from the game, with an entire second album also being released that contains additional variations and arrangements.

A limited-print physical version is available on Bandcamp, while the two albums are being bundled together at a discounted price exclusively on Loudr. You can also pick it up on iTunes and Amazon MP3.

Hear a sample and view the beautiful physical packaging along with album credits below. Continue reading Monarch: Heroes of a New Age Original Soundtrack By Goomin Nam (SMRC-1001)

Saturday Morning RPG Original Soundtrack By Vince DiCola & Kenny Meriedeth (SMRC-1003)

Scarlet Moon Records is pleased to announce the release of the Saturday Morning RPG Original Soundtrack featuring Vince DiCola and Kenny Meriedeth. Fans of DiCola’s work on Rocky IV and Transformers: The Movie will feel right at home with his signature synth rock sound with orchestral accents.

The album features 27 tracks, including the full Saturday Morning RPG soundtrack, pieces of music that have been submitted for the game and may be featured in future episodes, an unreleased vocal theme titled “No Risk No Glory,” and a rock/chip arrangement by Grant “Stemage” Henry and Dmitry “C-jeff” Zhemkov and an FM synthesis version of the game’s battle theme by Jake “virt” Kaufman.

A limited-print physical edition is available from Bandcamp and Amazon, while the digital version sold on Loudr will include the bonus single, “Christmas Adventure,” released separately for the Christmas holiday. The album is also available via iTunes and Amazon MP3.

See the physical album’s packaging as well as album credits below. Continue reading Saturday Morning RPG Original Soundtrack By Vince DiCola & Kenny Meriedeth (SMRC-1003)