Hello dear readers of OSV. As you may have noticed, we’ve been on a bit of a hiatus in terms of content for the past two months. We’re in the process of planning the future of Original Sound Version and consolidating how we report on VGM and media music moving forward. The site has been struggling in the past year or so, and we’ve come to the conclusion that something needs to change in order for us to continue creating content and sharing our love of gaming and media music with the community.

While plans are firming up in terms of the next step in the life of OSV, we’ll be continuing to be on-break in terms of writing up new content. Rest assured that we love reporting on VGM and game music-related news and will continue to do so moving forward, and we will update you on the next step when it becomes solidified.

Thank you for being our readers and our community and we’ll keep you posted on things to come.

Over the past couple of months I have not had much time to write articles here at OSV. Although I haven’t been writing about game music I have been engaged with many collectors of game music through a group on Facebook called Video Game Soundtrack Collectors. The group was created in November 2018, and has grown to over 160 members who have been sharing images of their video game music collections.

Included amongst the Facebook group are OSV alumni and members of The Materia Collective who are very passionate collectors. For me, being a member of this group has allowed me to discuss and share details of my favorite anime and game soundtracks with fellow enthusiasts. I’ve also helped others track down some items, and was at long last able to acquire a CD I’d been seeking for years with a help of a member living in Japan. You may recall I wrote about the album Passion released by the Eminence Symphony Orchestra in an article titled Lost in Time: The Chrono Cross Arranged Album. After posting about my desire to own this album, a group member located it and it’s now a treasured CD in my collection.

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Although I’m not a big fan of Facebook as a platform, I am a member of the group under an alias account. If you are a video game soundtrack collector, on CD, vinyl or have a love of game music I encourage you to check out this group. You can access the group as long as you have a Facebook account at the link below, you’ll be prompted with a couple questions prior to being granted access: What is your favorite game soundtrack, and what is your more sought after game soundtrack?

Facebook Group Link: Video Game Soundtrack Collectors

I hope to see you there. Are you a member of another soundtrack collectors group? Please tell us about it!

It’s a good time to be a Resident Evil fan, and even moreso now for fans of the soundtracks to the original two games. Laced Records has teamed up with Capcom to release Resident Evil (Original Soundtrack) and Resident Evil 2 (Original Soundtrack) deluxe double-vinyl collections.

Composed by the Capcom Sound Team, Masami Ueda, Makoto Tomozawa and Akira Kaida, Resident Evil’s brooding score became a benchmark for horror games, giving the original genre-defining masterpiece a persistent and unnerving sense of claustrophobia.

Incontrast, the Resident Evil 2 Original Soundtrack conveys fundamental themes of panic and desperation via varying musical styles. Featuring ambient horror, industrial pieces and rousing militaristic anthems you’ll experience classic orchestral compositions alongside ominous piano underscores, taking you back to Racoon City’s iconic Police Station, Sewer and Underground Laboratory.

Each soundtrack has been remastered for the release, with high-quality artwork from the games on the vinyl gatefold sleeves as well as standard edition and limited edition marble colourways.

Each deluxe release will cost about $35.00USD and are available for pre-order now with an as-yet unannounced shipping date. The Resident Evil (Original Soundtrack) and Resident Evil 2 (Original Soundtrack) vinyl is available on the Laced Records website.

Given I wasn’t too impressed with the soundtrack of the recently-released Resident Evil 2 remake and ended up downloading the original soundtrack to play with the game instead, this announcement is a welcome one and I look forward to giving these a listen once they are released.

A sweet treat for all Kirby fans who enjoyed the music of last year’s Switch release. Kirby Star Allies is seeing it’s official soundtrack release this upcoming Valentine’s Day.

Kirby Star Allies Original Soundtrack will feature a whopping six discs full of music from the game, which saw it’s full version released with extra modes this past November. Over 220 songs are included with a booklet with long-table discussion of sound staff (40 Pages). Drawing illustrations by the development staff on the surface and rough sketch of the production process on the back. The limited edition soundtrack release will feature 3-sided back with carton case, PLAYBUTTON (a badge type music player) KIRBY ARRANGE SELECTION and original earphone all included.

Currently the soundtrack and limited edition are only available through special import shops online, though may be available for streaming soon. Kirby Star Allies Original Soundtrack is available for pre-order on Play-Asia for $53.99USD.

If you’re a fan of menu music in video games or just have fond memories of that initial starting music you encounter upon boosting up your old cartridges & disks, Materia Collective has a new arrangement album project for you. MENU: An Homage to Game Title Themes features 52 arrangements paying tribute to menu themes across many fan-favorite video games big and small, including Final Fantasy, Overwatch, Celeste, Blue Dragon and a whole lot more.

The vast majority of us have been horrible people at some point or another and pirated software or at least emulated games on our computers at least once in our lives. Getting past the morality of it, it’s safe to say we all know the process of downloading an installer alongside a key generator that would help us get to our elicit activities, or an emulator with which to play the ROMs of import games we didn’t get in the states.

If you’re one of those ilk, then you are likely familiar with keygen music, or at least have had an encounter with the niche genre but didn’t pay it much mind. Maybe it was simply an annoyance on the way towards the goal of cracking your ill-gotten software, or maybe it’s a fond memory of the age of Napster, Limewire and pre-torrent times. Having attended MAGFest recently and become more interested in the demoscene, I’ve decided to revisit this.

So what is keygen music?

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On January 10, 2019, composer Jeremy Soule tweeted “I have two upcoming albums in 2019! “The Northerner: The Moon and the Night Sky” and “The Northerner Symphony” – I hope you enjoy the music!” Many of you will recall that the composer ran a kickstarter campaign several years ago for The Northerner: Soule Symphony No. 1 which had an expected completion date of September 2013. Little information about the symphony’s status was known until late 2017 when Jeremy Soule released The Northerner Diaries Symphonic Sketches album which got a wide release via the Materia Collective on July 5, 2018. Composer Neal Acree’s comments on the album’s wide release remain with me to this day:

Jeremy Soule has also confirmed in replies to his tweet that both of these new albums will be available on bandcamp, and features live instruments and singers.

In the meantime, be sure to check out The Northerner Diaries Symphonic Sketches below, it’s a stunning work.

Check back with OSV in March for news on The Northerner: The Moon and the Night Sky. If you want to be the first to know what’s up I recommend following Jeremy Soule on Twitter. Are you looking forward to these albums?