Reviews
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Game Music, Reviews
BRA★BRA FINAL FANTASY VII BRASS de BRAVO (Review)
Since 2015, Nobuo Uematsu has been heavily involved in the recently incepted FINAL FANTASY BRASS de BRAVO concert. Just recently, news has it that the music to the FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE will be supervised by the man himself and performed by the same orchestra for this album (the Siena Wind Orchestra, a professional brass band that represents Japan).
So, in many ways, this album could be a taste of things to come – or even the newly recorded music itself?In any case, I’d best get into the details!
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Game Music, Japanese, Reviews
Dragon’s Crown Pro – Soundtrack (Review)
Dragon’s Crown has a score done solely by Hitoshi Sakimoto (something you only get with Valkyria Chronicles nowadays) and it boasted a cultural and western score – much different than what I was expecting at the time. Personally, it was never one of my favourites – but I treated the news about the live orchestration as a chance for the music to redeem itself.
This time with a live orchestra, done by the same arrangers for FINAL FANTASY XII: The Zodiac Age’s revamping, does Dragon’s Crown’s score hold up?
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Game Music, Indie Music, Reviews
SHADOWRUN: HONG KONG VINYL (REVIEW)
We recently reviewed Jon Everist’s soundtrack to Shadowrun: DRAGONFALL on Vinyl LP which you can read here if you missed it. The composer also provided OSV with a review copy of their Shadowrun: HONG KONG Vinyl LP. I first experienced this soundtrack back in 2015 and declared it a must listen, it also led me to choose Jon Everist as my pick for composer of year.
Listening to the soundtrack on vinyl for me was a new way to experience a soundtrack I fell in love with years ago. Read on for my full review of the double vinyl album, which includes a detailed look at the album art and packaging.
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Game Music, Indie Music, Reviews
SHADOWRUN: DRAGONFALL VINYL (REVIEW)
On February 26, 2018, Black Screen Records released the soundtracks to Shadowrun: Dragonfall, and Shadowrun: Hong Kong on 180g Vinyl LP. Jon Everist composed the scores and graciously supplied OSV with signed review copies of both albums and their respective art prints. This week’s review focuses on Shadowrun: Dragonfall, and my full review of Shadowrun: Hong Kong is on the way.
Over the past few years the release of video game soundtracks on vinyl has blossomed, and some have been more disappointing the others. I am very happy to report that this release does not disappoint. Read on for my full review of the album, which includes a look at the album art and packaging as it’s an essential part of the experience.
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Game Music, Reviews
THE ALLIANCE ALIVE Original Soundtrack (Review)
March 27, 2018 | Harry Gill | Comments Off on THE ALLIANCE ALIVE Original Soundtrack (Review) Share this
Last year, Hamauzu composed another soundtrack to an RPG – this time, called The Alliance Alive. The game contains the same development team as those who were behind The Legend of Legacy, which Hamauzu also composed for.
For the Legend of Legacy, Hamauzu used his distinct impressionist style throughout – which ended up being mostly percussion-heavy and ambient music. Not that it was at a fault though, since it was done rather well, and there were a few killer tracks on there such as “Double Dimension Battle”.
Can the soundtrack to Alliance Alive compare? Let’s find out.
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Anime, Editorial, Featured, Reviews
Wherein we discuss all things Scum’s Wish / Kuzu no Honkai (Review: OSTs and Singles)
Lewd. Tawdry. Filthy. Perverse. Smut.
For decades, those were the words that I associated with virtually all “hentai” Japanese animation and erotic games (eroge). They may have had better plots and production value than a cheesy American porno, but their express purpose was to titillate and turn on. That not only made me uncomfortable, it left me with a moral dilemma time after time; more often than not, I sided with team chaste over time libertine.
(And I won’t even begin to get into concepts like “fan service” or bouncing breasts “chichi yuri.” It’s all quite childish to me. This is not a judgment to any of you who are fans. It’s just where I stand.)
While I very much doubt that this is the first TV anime to break the mold, it is the first one to which I’ve been exposed. Which is to say, I finally found a piece of Japanese pop culture that took on the topics of sex and romantic relationships with some nuance and maturity. I found something I didn’t even know I wanted in Scum’s Wish.
Last year, Fuji TV aired the 12-episode anime adaptation of Mengo Yokoyari’s manga Kuzu no Honkai, which had the unfortunate translated title Scum’s Wish (note: this was not a decision on the part of localization; the title existed from the start in the Japanese manga). Amazon added the English-subtitled localization of the show to their premium channel “Anime Strike,” which is now-defunct, meaning anyone with an Amazon Prime account can now access the show without incurring any additional charge. I would implore you to do so, perhaps before reading the following reviews. We have a lot of ground to cover.
While I will be referencing concepts from the TV show, before continuing on to the music reviews, I cannot state enough how much this anime impacted me. It’s been almost a year, and generally, a week doesn’t go by that I don’t have some memory of the anime or some other reason to recall it. Recently, after (painstakingly) tracking down all the music for Scum’s Wish, I’ve had all the more reason to think on it. But this is not a review of the show itself. I would encourage readers, alongside watching the show, to brush up on the general concept and background of the show by browsing the associated Wikipedia page. The tl;dr — this is a show that is honest about sex, romance, unrequited love, and more. There is no explicit visual content. It is both painfully specific, and surprisingly universal, in scope.
A final note, before the jump: Kuzu no Honkai more accurately translates as follows: “Kuzu” is a term for trash, waste, something used up and discarded. “Honkai” translates to a long-cherished desire, a very deeply-held wish. Something to consider when watching the show, when listening to the OSTs and the singles: who is doing the judging of a human (self or other) as “kuzu” and why? And what are the “honkai”s that rest deep within each character, and within everyday people? Okay, enough existential thought. On to the music! (more…)
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Game Music, Reviews
LOST SPHEAR ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK (REVIEW)
January 16, 2018 | Ryan Paquet | Comments Off on LOST SPHEAR ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK (REVIEW) Share this
Last year Tokyo RPG Factory released its first game, I Am Setsuna which was featured a battle system similar to Chrono Trigger and a piano based score composed by Tomoki Miyoshi. Although I didn’t get around to reviewing I Am Setsuna‘s soundtrack I did share my thoughts on it, stating that it suited the icy setting and story of sacrifice surrounding the main character.
Tomoki Miyoshi has returned to score Lost Sphear, Tokyo RPG Factory’s second official release. The game is already out in Japan and will be available in early 2018. The soundtrack to Lost Sphear breaks free of the solo piano and branches out with a much more diverse use of instruments. Read on for my full review of the soundtrack.
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