Akumajo Dracula

Featured, Game Music, Reviews

Serenade of Souls – Perfect Selection Dracula New Classic (Review)

October 30, 2012 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Serenade of Souls – Perfect Selection Dracula New Classic (Review) Share this

Chances are if you’ve ever gone to witness the fabulous performances of VGO, or were lucky enough to be in attendance of Castlevania: The Concert in Stockholm back in 2010, then you’ve been in attendance to some of the best arranging of the music of Castlevania in the form of classical and baroque styles. However, the early series was treated to an entire album of such back in 1992. Following the awful that most considered the dreaded Dracula Perfect Selection rap album, the Akumajo Dracula franchise managed to receive an arranged album that was stark contrast and probably did a great deal to turn fans back to the concept of arranged albums. (Myself included!)

Perfect Selection Dracula New Classic took many of the iconic tunes of the early games of the franchise released until that point, and re-created them in appropriate classical renditions. Does it undo the horror that was its arrangement predecessor? You be the judge. (more…)
Game Music

BLOODY EARS! Perfect Selection Dracula (Review)

October 29, 2012 | Patrick Gann | 5 Comments Share this

Castlevania Week continues (into a second week)! AWWWWW YEAH!

If you know Castlevania arranged albums at all, if you’re a long-time importer, there’s almost no chance you *don’t* know about the following album.

But, for the rest of you, I’m here to tell you about the worst album Konami ever published.

Maybe.

(“Maybe the worst”, not “maybe I’ll tell you.”) (more…)
Featured, Game Music

Castlevania Week: Dracula Battle: Perfect Selection II (Review)

October 26, 2012 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Castlevania Week: Dracula Battle: Perfect Selection II (Review) Share this

In the early-to-mid ’90s, Konami was having a good ol’ time with the Castlevania franchise. The likes of Super Castlevania IV, Rondo of Blood and Bloodlines ensured that the series stayed firmly within the limelight. The result of this was a slew of off-shoot arranged albums meant to celebrate one of the most iconic details of the series – its music.

Naoto Shibata and his merry band, Naoto Shibata PROJECT, hit the ball out of the park with the rock/metal-infused Dracula Battle: Perfect Selection album in 1994. Who could go wrong with doing a rock album using music from a series originally based on cheesy classic B-horror movies and a Conan-clone walking around bare-legged with a whip?

Evidently the answer to that was “Who the hell cares, we’re doing a Castlevania rock album, so piss off.”, because not only was there a market for Dracula Battle, it ended up spawning a another album: Dracula Battle: Perfect Selection II. (The producers hadn’t gotten to the point of elaborate naming schemes yet, thought “Dracula Battle: The Serenade of Melodious Metal Part 2” might not have been the way to go either)

And thus, in the year of our lord 1995, a sequel was born. (more…)
Featured, Game Music

Soundtrack of the Month 10/12: Akumajo Dracula Best

October 25, 2012 | Patrick Gann | Comments Off on Soundtrack of the Month 10/12: Akumajo Dracula Best Share this

Continuing in our “Castlevania Week” adventures, and simultaneously resurrecting our “Soundtrack of the Month” feature (something we haven’t run in a whole year!), today we bring you a special review for a very special album.

You can actually pick up multiple versions of the album. Its original CD print, one of Konami’s first albums with King Records, is catalog number KICA-1005, released in March 1990. Retro nerds might also be interested the cassette tape version released at the same time (KITA-1005). At the time, the album was named Akumajo Dracula Famicom Best. But when it was widely reprinted in 1998 (most people I know who have this album, have this reprint), they dropped “Famicom” from the album title (even though all the music is still from the Famicom). That album’s catalog number is KICA-7901, and wouldn’t you know it, CDJapan still has it in stock.

What this album contains, and what it doesn’t contain, is worth discussing at length. So, after the jump, I’ll give you the details. (more…)
Game Music, Reviews

Castlevania Week: Dracula Battle: Perfect Selection (Review)

October 23, 2012 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Castlevania Week: Dracula Battle: Perfect Selection (Review) Share this

Back in the early to mid-1990’s, re-compositions or different renditions of game-based music was still a relatively new concept. Composing remixes of game music through the use of live instruments or orchestras and not through the limitations of sound cards and board synths was a whole new idea that was gaining steam and was considered a rare treat for any fans of the particular series that were being given the honor. These were the days before game music was considered it’s own genre, and therefore wasn’t given the symphonic treatments we’d begin seeing a decade later with things like Video Games Live or Play!, and thus it was up to independent musicians with a dedicated enough love of game music to shower the fandoms with their own renditions of popular game tunes in a grandiose fashion.

Enter Naoto Shibata and his posse, Naoto Shibata PROJECT in 1994.

By 1994, many of what can be considered the “Classic” game series by today’s standard were enjoying their glory days, not the least of which was Konami’s whip-toting action sidescroller – Castlevania. (more…)
Game Music

OSV Special Content: Castlevania Week(s)!

October 22, 2012 | Patrick Gann | 1 Comment Share this

Greetings OSV readers!

First of all, an apology that the site has been inactive for the past few days. We needed a time of rest to prepare for the big week ahead.

Timed intentionally with that wonderful, “spooky” autumnal holiday in mind, we are going to dedicate the next week (and spilling over some into next week) covering the music of the Castlevania series.

Castlevania, known as Akumajo Dracula (Demon Castle Dracula) in Japan, is arguably Konami’s biggest and most successful franchise. It started as a simple, stage-based 2D platformer and eventually grew to encompass a variety of genres, including one that it essentially made up with the help of another franchise (the “Metroidvania” genre: a form of 2D platforming with save points, map exploration, non-linear or semi-linear paths, and power-ups allowing access to new areas).

In the coming days, expect reviews and impressions of a variety of albums released in the franchise’s lifetime, from the very beginning all the way to some of the most recent OSTs and arranged albums. We’ll also be posting an interview with Kinuyo Yamashita (composer for the very first Castlevani), alongside the three other composers who attended the VGO Boston concert on October 7, 2012.

Until then, feel free to check out all of OSV’s previous Castlevania coverage, listed below!

Akumajo Dracula Tribute Vol.1 and Vol.2 Review
Akumajo Dracula X ~Nocturne in the Moonlight~ OGS Review (that’s Castlevania: Symphony of the Night) – Soundtrack of the Month April ’09
Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth Review
Castlevania Judgment game and soundtrack review
Castlevania Lords of Shadow Soundtrack Review
Castlevania: Sonata of the Damned (Joshua Morse / OCRemix) album review
Daniel Brown’s Castlevania piano album review
Gideon Dabi’s Castlevania and Nostalgia Editorial
Kinuyo Yamashita 2009 Interview with Audun Sorlie
Speedrunner “Nario” Beats Castlevani with a dance pad
Sweden’s “Castlevania The Concert” Concert Report from Surasshu
Wikipedia vs. Kinuyo Yamashita (result: we won, here’s her Wikipedia page with no threat of deletion!)
Game Music, Reviews

Let’s Take a Fantasy Trip to Hell: Akumajo Dracula Tribute Albums (Review)

March 7, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | 1 Comment Share this

As much as Gideon doesn’t want to admit it, fans continue to and always will love classic Castlevania music. I guess the team over at GEONDAN agrees, as it seems they were tapped to work on two arrangement albums dedicated to some of the most beloved tracks from the series. This is probably that “big project” Yuji Takenouchi was referring to when we interviewed him shortly after GEONDAN was formed.

So what’s here? How about a slew of talented game composers, many of your favorite Castlevania tracks, and two discs taking two drastically different directions?

Find out if they’re worth your time and money in our review after the jump. (more…)