Last month, Original Sound Version partnered up with the Dwelling of Duels game music competition and Impact Soundworks at MAGFest Labs to debut “Opposing Bloodlines“; a video game music competition specifically for established game music cover bands, be they instrumental, chiptune, acapella or otherwise. The competition was a success with one of the prizes for the winner being a feature on OSV!
The grand winner of the competition was a one-man band out of southern Maryland known as WASD. Who and what is WASD?
So, it’s finally here. We mentioned this massive 20 CD + 1 DVD SaGa collection some months ago, and even talked to Square Enix’s Music Licensing Division Manager and Promotions Manager about the set, but we now have it in our hands a full day ahead of the Japanese release. I thought some of you out there who are considering purchasing the box, or have already placed your orders may be interested in checking out what’s inside, so we’ve gone ahead and done just that.
This thing is massive. And the “assembly required” thing I mention in the video? It will take you a good half-hour, and I still don’t know if I put it together correctly. When it’s done, however, it’s quite a stunning sight to behold. Oh, and the music is awesome too! I’ve been digging the Gameboy SaGa titles (they were my most anticipated soundtracks of the set), and am looking forward to digging into the rest of the material in the coming days. Watch for our review!
Is this unpacking video at all entertaining to you? If it’s something you find interesting, we can pursue stuff like this more often in the future. Anyway, I can’t imagine Square Enix is making very many of these, so get one while you can!
Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of having a lengthy conversation with ‘Splosion Man composer, Joshua Mosley (just a week after having his wisdom teeth removed, ouch), and learned about the genesis of the music for a character that “….has no sense of right and wrong,” says Mosley. We covered a wide array of topics from ‘Splosion Man to favorite game music – even to the dreaded “Games As Art” debate! (And, yes, you silly gooses, we talked about DONUTS and how everybody loves them…) Wait….Mosley doesn’t own an XBOX?!
By now, I’m sure most all of your little hearts have ‘sploded with joy watching our favorite new hero, ‘Splosion Man, stick his arms out like an airplane and ‘splode evil scientists into pieces of deli meat. As I said in my review, I feel the music in Twisted Pixel’s ‘Splosion Man has much to do with the game’s deserved ridiculously high review scores and overall success.
It’s about time we got around to this one. Ragnarok Online spawned my unhealthy obsession with soundTeMP, as it was one of their first titles to make it big on an international level. I’ll admit though, I am kind of cheating, as this isn’t the game’s original soundtrack, but rather half arrange album and half enhanced original soundtrack.
If you’ve read any of the twenty or so articles that I’ve mentioned soundTeMP in, you know that they write pop and trance music, and they do it well. Even more, The Memory of Ragnarok includes track-by-track credits, which revealed Seock-Jin Lee to be the primary composer responsible for Ragnarok Online. The booklet is even translated in English for crying out loud! Needless to say, this is one of the gems of my collection, and it’s not even out of print!
Hit the jump for our review of one of the greatest albums in history. Period. (more…)
There is no shortage of success stories in the video game music arrangement community. Just a few weeks ago we reviewed Beatdrop’s Burn Out EP, the title track of which is featured in Dance Dance Revolution Universe 3, following his success with “Until Forever” in Dance Dance Revolution Suprnova 2. Jill Goldin, aka “pixietricks,” worked with Christopher Tin to record solo and ensemble vocals for the Civilization IV expansion Beyond the Sword. Jake Kaufman, better known as “virt” to the community, has been a professional composer for years, with high-profile titles like Contra 4 in his extensive portfolio. And this is to name only a few.
However, even in light of all that, with 66 tracks and featuring the work of 21 individual artists, the Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix Official Soundtrack constitutes the single largest and most diverse contribution by the fan community to a commercial video game ever.
Curious about how it all happened? Find out after the jump. (more…)
Covering and promoting discussion of composers and music with a focus on video games and other contemporary media entertainment
