Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous

RPG Maker & Hiroki Kikuta Team Up for Art Contest

December 20, 2016 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on RPG Maker & Hiroki Kikuta Team Up for Art Contest Share this

What do Secret of Mana composer Hiroki Kikuta and the development game RPG Maker have in common? Well, an art contest evidently. Degica, the publisher of RPG Maker has announced a collaboration with the legendary composer involving art and music.

This exciting collaboration will bring two of Kikuta’s incredible music albums to RPG Maker – as DLC to complement your project or to give rise to your next grand game! Inspired by both classic and modern fantasy, the two albums feature Hiroki Kikuta’s memorable style and flowing melodies.

The contest starts on 16th Dec 2016 and ends 16th Jan 2016. Winning art will be used as both cover art and feature art for the albums, and winners will receive a physical copy of the albums – signed by Hiroki Kikuta himself!

Not a bad gig for those more artistically-inclined than musically. The contest also offers monetary prizes for the top three winners. You can check out the details on the RPG Maker Contest website.
Miscellaneous

Chrono Trigger Goes Hip Hop With Hero Muzik Volume II

December 13, 2016 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Chrono Trigger Goes Hip Hop With Hero Muzik Volume II Share this
Phoenix, Arizona – December 9, 2016 – Random Beats Music is thrilled to release Hero Muzik Vol. II by K-Murdock, a hip hop tribute to the lovable cast of characters from Squaresoft’s legendary Super Nintendo RPG, Chrono Trigger. Over the course of 12 tracks, K-Murdock and friends give voice to all the key protagonists as well as other memorable characters including tracks dedicated to Spekkio, Lavos, and mysterious gurus, Belthasar and Gaspar. Hero Muzik Vol. II is available now from Bandcamp.

“This album was a true labor of love, taking over two years to complete. Personally, this has been the most rewarding project I’ve ever produced and engineered given my childhood affinity for the game and its’ memorable soundtrack. The underlying goal with Hero Muzik Vol. II was to showcase the breadth of amazing music and musicians featured.” – K-Murdock

Fans will appreciate hearing their favorite Chrono Trigger melodies slowed down, chopped up, and re-arranged, offering a new spin on Yasunori Mitsuda’s most popular compositions. Hero Muzik Vol. II offers several instant classics, including a catchy ode to Lucca called “Big Brains” featuring Sammus, a touching narration from Magus and his younger self, Janus, as they describe the troubles of the Kingdom of Zeal from their unique perspectives and worry for the safety of their sister in “Schala & I,” and a smooth closer featuring Richie Branson.

<a href="http://neosonix.bandcamp.com/album/hero-muzik-vol-ii">Hero Muzik Vol. II by K-Murdock</a>

Hero Muzik Vol. II‘s track list is as follows:
1. Chronos (Crono)
2. Timeline (Marle)
3. Big Brains (Lucca)
4. Robo
5. I Got A Form (Spekkio)
6. A Change of Scenery (Frog)
7. Focus Management (Magus)
8. Arm’s Length (Ayla)
9. Schala & I (Schala and Zeal)
10. Remember it All (Lavos)
11. The Gurus of Meaning (Belthasar, The Guru of Reason)
12. Bring Crono Back (Gaspar, the Guru of Time)
Hero Muzik Vol. II follows up the original Hero Muzik album, which was a tribute to Nobuo Uematsu’s soundtrack to Final Fantasy VI. Hero Muzik Vol. II is released in collaboration with Random Beats Music, Mega Ran’s music label aimed at showcasing some of the biggest names in nerd core and chip hop.

Source: Scarlet Moon Productions
Game Music, Miscellaneous

Check Out Shigeru Miyamoto Play Mario Theme with The Roots

December 8, 2016 | Brenna Wilkes | 3 Comments Share this

If you’re a Jimmy Fallon fan, you probably caught Shigeru Miyamoto suddenly pop up with hip-hop group The Roots to play the theme from Super Mario Bros., and if you didn’t you can now!

To help showcase the Nintendo Switch being debuted on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, the Mario legend was the night’s musical guest along with The Roots, strumming away as Fallon acted appropriately.
Chip Music, Events, Game Music, Miscellaneous

MAGFest 2017 Full Music Announcements Now Available

December 5, 2016 | Brenna Wilkes | 1 Comment Share this

Next month marks the 15th year of the main iteration of MAGFest; the music and gaming festival that started in 2002 and has blown up into a series of multiple nerd music culture events since. Returning to Nation Harbor to the Gaylord National Hotel from January 5-8th, the event is expected to sell out of badges, so if you were waiting on the full announcements of who will be performing this year before jumping on registering, we’ll help you out.

Last week marked the final music performance announcements for MAGFest 2017. Over the past month, video game artists and bands, chiptune artists and nerdcore performers have been steadily revealed for the upcoming event. If you hadn’t been keeping up, here’s the full lineup:

(more…)
Featured, Game Music, Miscellaneous

Community Question: When Good Music Goes Bad

November 10, 2016 | Shawn Sackenheim | Comments Off on Community Question: When Good Music Goes Bad Share this

I’ve been playing a lot of Dragon Quest Builders lately and while the music is delightful — especially for fans of the series with loads of rearranged themes from previous titles — it’s kind of killing me. Most sandbox crafting/survival games follow in the Minecraft mold with minimal and atmospheric soundscapes, if they incorporate music at all. Spending hours meticulously placing blocks and scavenging for resources doesn’t require a galant fanfare or sugary melodies with short loops. Without the distraction of life-threatening combat these tunes have quickly invaded my consciousness and I find them banging around in my head for hours after I’ve stopped playing.

I know what you’re going to say, “Shawn, just turn the volume down”, and in any other game that would totally work. But, you see, for unfathomable reasons you can only turn the music in Dragon Quest Builders down, never off. It’s kind of become a sticking point for some of us on the game’s subreddit and the only consolation I can think of is to ask for similar stories from our dear readers here at OSV.

Are there any soundtracks that started out great but quickly got on your nerves? A town tune or shop music that sent you running for the overworld map? Maybe a main menu theme that you left idling for too long? Share your pain in the comments below.
Featured, Game Music, Miscellaneous

Community Question: Your Favorite Halloween Game Music

October 24, 2016 | Shawn Sackenheim | 5 Comments Share this
Happy Halloween (to those who subscribe to the holiday)! We’ve shared some of our personal favorites over the past weeks and years and now we want to hear some of your own. Truly terrifying or playfully macabre. Squirming out of ancient PC sound hardware or freshly ~~released~~ deceased. Or anywhere in between.

Share some of your favorite spooky game music in the comments below and if you need a little inspiration here are a few of our recent and popular Halloween themed features:
Game Music, Indie Music, Miscellaneous

Tales of the Elements in an RPG and Hip Hop Concept Album

October 12, 2016 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Tales of the Elements in an RPG and Hip Hop Concept Album Share this

Phoenix, Arizona – October 7, 2016 – Random Beats Music is excited to announce Tales of the Elements, the ambitious tenth album by hip hop/trip hop artist Last BeNeVoLeNcE telling a tale full of fantasy, adventure, love, and heroism while presenting the history of hip hop in the likeness of a classic Japanese role-playing game. Entirely produced and written by Last BeNeVoLeNcE, Tales of the Elements features cleverly crafted story-driven lyricism on top of heavy ’90s-inspired drum patterns with exotic jazz samples alongside original compositions of his own. Tales of the Elements FC (First Chapter) is available today, with the second chapter to follow before the end of 2016:

<a href="http://randombeatsmusic.bandcamp.com/album/tales-of-the-elements-fc">Tales Of The Elements FC by Last BeNeVoLeNcE</a>

What makes Tales of the Elements special is that in addition to being a hip hop album, it’s also an action RPG for PC developed solely by Last BeNeVoLeNcE and based entirely on the album’s story. Purchasing the album will allow listeners to experience the narrative as players as well.

“I really love hip hop, but I also love gaming, especially when it comes to JRPGs,” notes Last BeNeVoLeNcE. “Some may know how the artist Common told the story of hip hop from his perspective in the classic ‘I Used To Love H.E.R’ track, so I consider Tales of the Elements my own way of presenting hip hop culture from my perspective.”

Last BeNeVoLeNcE takes his inspiration from hip hops acts such as Fat Jon the Ample Soul Physician, A Tribe Called Quest, Nujabes, Common, and Simple Citizens as well as classic JRPGs including Chrono Trigger, Seiken Densetsu 3, Tales of Phantasia, and Final Fantasy VII. Tales of the Elements‘ title an obvious nod to the Tales videogame series, but the elements portion also refers to the four elements of hip hop: B-Boys, DJs, MCs, and graffiti art.

Every classic RPG needs its cast of heroes, and Tales of the Elements is no exception. Expect guest appearances from Mega Ran and Kharisma with mastering and narration by K-Murdock.

Artist: Last BeNeVoLeNcE

Album: Tales of the Elements FC

Label: RandomBeats Music

Release Date: October 7, 2016

Release Details:

Digital: 15 tracks in MP3, wav, or FLAC format plus an action RPG for Windows PC

Physical: Audio CD + game DVD in 2-disc case, art by Daniel Hill (includes digital version)

Price: $10 (digital) / $20 (physical)

Available at: http://www.randombeats.io/

Source: Scarlet Moon Productions