Collector’s Edition

Game Music

Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap & Soundtrack get Physical Release August 4th

July 29, 2017 | Shawn Sackenheim | Comments Off on Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap & Soundtrack get Physical Release August 4th Share this

The soundtrack to Lizardcube’s HD remake of Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap was frequently requested following the game’s release back in April. Michael Geyre rearranged Shinichi Sakamoto’s original 16-bit soundtrack for live instruments in an array of music styles and just a few weeks ago it was finally released on Bandcamp and Steam.

Wonder Boy fans looking for an extra special way to commemorate the game (and its music) need look no further than Limited Run Games. The boutique outlet has announced an August 4th release date for a physical packaging of Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap including a Collector’s Edition with the full soundtrack on two discs.

Alongside a fold-out poster, trading cards, and physical packaging, the album includes 89 tracks with over 2 hours of music. Disc 1 includes the game’s soundtrack while Disc 2 offers a chance to hear alternate versions, sketches, and unused tracks from the game’s development. You can read more about the soundtrack including the full tracklist and watch developer videos at the official site.

Call in sick to work if you’re up for this release though. You’ll want to be ready on Friday, August 4th when Limited Run begins selling their limited run of only 3,000 Collector’s Editions. For those of us not as daring there’s always the Bandcamp page where we can give the full first disc a thorough listening.

Anyone out there blocking off their Friday to jump on this offer? Let us know your plans in the comments.
Game Music

Final Fantasy XIII-2 CE Soundtrack Looks Different

February 5, 2012 | Jayson Napolitano | 4 Comments Share this

We got a huge response from our Final Fantasy XIII-2 unboxing video last month. The biggest question most mainstream gamers had, however, was how the packaging from the Japanese soundtrack releases compared to what’s included with the US collector’s edition. I didn’t think it was necessary to record another complete unboxing video, so I just took a couple quick shots to demonstrate.

While the CE packaging is quite nice, you’ll see that the soundtrack doesn’t get as extravagant as a presentation as with the Japanese releases. The four discs are housed within the same ‘book’ as the game disc, manual, and art book. The game disc is on the left, the soundtrack on the right, with all the other materials in the middle. In terms of track listing, there’s a separate foldout (also pictured above) that lists all the song titles in English.

Let us know what you think of the CE packaging. The idea of making a book out of the whole thing is pretty clever!

Also, hit the jump for another shot of the entire collection in its open configuration. (more…)
Game Music, Reviews

Sakuraba with Soul: Dark Souls Original Soundtrack (Review)

September 30, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | 1 Comment Share this

The true Dark Souls starts next week, and you may or may not have heard by now that Demon’s Souls composer Shinsuke Kida did not work on Dark Souls. As it turns out, Motoi Sakuraba is responsible for the game’s soundtrack, and he’s brought along our favorite vocalist Emi Evans along for the ride.

So, does Sakuraba bring his progressive rock stylings to the mix, or does he follow in Shinsuke Kida’s epic orchestral footsteps? Is it worth your money to pick up the limited edition version of the game just to get your hands on the soundtrack?

Find out in our review after the jump. (more…)
Game Music

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty Soundtrack Included in Collector’s Edition

April 12, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 1 Comment Share this

Dear Blizzard, oh how we love thee. It looks like there will be a soundtrack release for StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty which will come packed in with the impressive collector’s edition of the game that will also include a 176-page art book, a 2 GB flash drive, a behind-the-scenes DVD, a comic book, an in-game pet for World of Warcraft, and exclusive Battle.net content. Sounds pretty sweet to me!

From what we know, the disc will contain 14 tracks mostly composed by Glenn Stafford, who’s handling the core Terran themes. With only 14 tracks, however, I do wonder if all of the music from the game will be featured, but we’ll have to wait and see. I also take the announcement of this disc to mean that there will likely be similar releases for the upcoming chapters in the StarCraft II series, and this announcement is made even more great by the fact that the original StarCraft didn’t even receive a soundtrack release until 10+ years later, and was distributed in such limited quantities that it’s one of the most sought after game music albums to this day. Not this time!

You can check out our impressions of some of the game’s preliminary music in our BlizzCon 2009 coverage along with an interview with Russell Brower that touches on the game. Are you looking forward to the game and its soundtrack?
Game Music

Final Fantasy XIII Limited Collector’s Edition: Music Included… in Europe

January 25, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 2 Comments Share this

Square Enix has announced that Europe will get a collector’s edition for Final Fantasy XIII when it’s released in March. It will feature a hardback art book, exclusive art prints, a collectible decal, and of course, the reason we’re telling you about this, a soundtrack disc.

While we already know that the game’s official soundtrack is will be released on 4 discs, this “Original Sound Selection” disc, as they’re calling it, will only come as a single disc with tracks hand-picked by composer Masashi Hamauzu. It will also contain liner notes from Hamauzu on the selected tracks. Still a pretty cool bonus if you ask me, and I hope the US gets a similar package. I’m kind of surprised they’re including this given that there’s a full soundtrack release due out this month. Perhaps the Original Sound Selection disc will encourage people to seek out the complete soundtrack?

Are you looking forward to the Final Fantasy XIII soundtrack release his week? If it comes to the US, will you be picking up the FFXIII Limited Collector’s Edition in March?

Hit the jump for the official press release. (more…)
Game Music

Wrath of the Lich King Collector’s Edition Announced, Includes Soundtrack

September 15, 2008 | Jayson Napolitano | 2 Comments Share this

That’s right, Blizzard has tacked a release date onto their sure-to-be-successful World of Warcraft expansion: November 13, 2008. In the same announcement, Blizzard also reveals what will be included with the Collector’s Edition, which we’re happy to see includes an official soundtrack featuring 21 “epic tracks” from the game along with some extra bonus tracks. Also included is a massive art book, an in-game pet, a “behind-the-scenes” DVD, a mouse pad, and even some exclusive trading cards.

If any of you played the beta, you know that the music is extremely minimalstic and even unsettling at times. I’m really looking forward to hearing the mastered versions on the official soundtrack, and even more curious about these extra bonus tracks.

Have you heard any of the music from Wrath of the Lich King? What do you think of the awesome, 8-minute long main theme that mixes bits from the original WoW in with new material?

Check out the official press release after the jump. (more…)