Christmas

Featured, Game Music

OSVchannel: The 3rd Birthday Original Soundtrack Unboxing Video

December 21, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 1 Comment Share this

Okay, so I caved and did it anyway. I figured you’d all want an advance look at exactly what you’ll be getting when you pick up The 3rd Birthday Original Soundtrack on December 22, 2010 in Japan. By now you’ve likely read our review and know that we were impressed with what we heard, but you’ll be interested to see a packaging style similar to that of Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together which we reviewed and unboxed last month.

In addition to checking out the packaging in the video, we also have the unique “Joy to the World” arrangement performed by members of the Square Enix sound team playing in the background. Let it act as a preview of some of the strangeness that you’ll hear on the album (although I admit it’s the strangest of the bunch).

Let us know what you think of the packaging, “Joy to the World,” and the soundtrack overall as it ships to your homes this week!
Game Music, Reviews

Just in Time for Christmas: The Horrific 3rd Birthday Soundtrack (Review)

December 20, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 4 Comments Share this

Yeah, a new entry into the Parasite Eve franchise seems more suited for a Halloween release than a Christmas one, but apparently Square Enix thinks otherwise. Just two days away from release in Japan (alongside the soundtrack), events in the game apparently take place around the holiday season, with even a few surprise Christmas songs making their way into the soundtrack.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Series composer Yoko Shimomura returns with composers Tsuyoshi Sekito and Mitsuto Suzuki to provide a pretty sizable 3-disc soundtrack for the third chapter of Parasite Eve on the PSP. Are they able to maintain the quality music that the series was known for in the past?

Find out in our review of The 3^rd Birthday Original Soundtrack after the jump! (more…)
Chip Music, Game Music

Bear McCreary Vs. The Angry Video Game Nerd: A Christmas Special

December 16, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 1 Comment Share this

What better way to celebrate the holidays than with The Angry Videogame Nerd’s annual holiday episode? Well, this year is a real special one for fans of game music, as composer Bear McCreary has lent his talents to score the episode as well as provide a parody of “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” cleverly titled “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Nerd.” The episode itself is featured above, which I highly recommend checking out for a good laugh.

McCreary has gone even further on his personal blog, however, detailing his collaboration with the Angry Video Game Nerd (AVGN) and offering insights and samples from his score. There’s an additional “Behind the scenes” interview with McCreary and the AVGN as well as complete downloads of both the score and the “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Nerd” track. I’m quite impressed with how he was able to fuse classic chip sounds with the small jazz ensemble that he used to create the underscore, and if you listen closely, you’ll catch references to a number of classics including Dragon Warrior, Super Mario Bros., and Sonic the Hedgehog among others.

Let us know what you think of the video and of Bear McCreary’s music. Did you pick up on any other musical references?

[Thanks Bear!]
Game Music, Reviews

Christmas is in the Air… Sort of: X’mas Collections from Square Enix (Review)

November 29, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 1 Comment Share this

Yeah, I know it’s a bit early. While I love holiday music, I generally don’t bust it out at least until after Thanksgiving. I’m eagerly awaiting the holiday season as I bought a bunch of Christmas CDs on sale after the holiday last year, and have been waiting all year to open them and listen!

But on to the matter at hand: I’ve always seen threads on forums about people’s favorite holiday-themed videogame music, and people have generally gone for the obvious picks, including every ice-themed area or stage from a variety of games. While those hit the “winter” theme quite well, I’ve been looking for something more warm and comforting in the style of the many Christmas ballads that we all know and love. I was excited to hear Square Enix was putting together a collection of “X’mas” music for their fans, and now it’s finally here.

Does the new album hit that winter/holiday season spot? Find out in our review after the jump. (more…)
Game Music

A Christmas Present from Yasunori Mitsuda: Lime Odyssey Main Theme on Piano!

December 23, 2009 | Chris Ling | 8 Comments Share this

Anyone who happened to visit Yasunori Mitsuda’s website a few days ago might have noticed that instead of reaching the main page, they were instead greeted with a Christmas message from the man himself. The note featured a Christmas-themed background and a surprise announcement that a special promotional song would be featured on the site until Christmas day. Clicking the link took you to the main page which featured a piano version of the theme from the Korean MMORPG, Lime Odyssey.

For those of you who don’t know, Yasunori Mitsuda is in charge of the music for Lime Odyssey. As for the song itself, it’s soft and melodic with parts that remind me of his work on Xenogears. In fact, if I had not looked at the track title I might have suspected it was an arrangement or a lost track from that title. Perhaps it’s how the song is arranged, but it certainly has a very Christmas-like feel to it, and the timing is perfect!

As stated in the Christmas notice, the song will only be available until Christmas day, so if you haven’t already done so already, stop on by Mitsuda’s website and take a listen to this wonderful track.
Chip Music

Chip Bells and 8-Bit Joy: 8 Bit Weapon Chiptune Holiday

December 22, 2009 | Audun Sorlie | 1 Comment Share this

God I love Christmas. Best time of the year! All the amazing food, people are in good moods, families reunited and merry music faintly heard in the background when walking down the town square. It’s a time of year I erase most of my musical preference and almost exclusively listen to Christmas themed songs and melodies, or songs I remember from my Christmas celebrations.

8 Bit Weapon and ComputeHer must be fans of the holidays too, as they put together a great little package for you folks. It’s a Chiptune Holiday! features some well loved Christmas classics like “Jingle Bells”, “Joy to the World” and “O Christmas Tree” in true 8-bit fashion. Not just that, but every copy is hand crafted! That’s right, the CD case is hand crafted out of a rare authentic frosty light grey 5-25 floppy diskette! Gotta love the dedication there.

Pick it up at 8bitweapon.com and combine the two greatest things: Christmas and videogame music. The CD goes for 9.95 USD with free worldwide shipping!

[Via OSV Tips, Thanks Seth and Michelle!]
Japanese, Reviews

Kristmas From Korea: K’s Merry Christmas Album (Review)

December 21, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on Kristmas From Korea: K’s Merry Christmas Album (Review) Share this

I first told you about this guy when we reviewed his amazing Traveling Song album earlier this year. He’s K, and he’s a Korean J-pop singer whose quirky style and combination of Japanese and English vocals had me hooked from the start. This time he’s doing the Christmas thing in both English and Japanese, and I have to say that it’s a whole lot of fun.

I’m not quite sure whether to call this an album or a mini-album, as there are only six tracks totaling about 24 minutes of music, but I thought it’d be a good time to tell you about it in any case. With Christmas around the corner, K’s Merry Christmas is definitely a different take on your traditional Christmas music.

Find out what I mean in our review of K’s Christmas album, Merry Christmas, after the jump! (more…)