Go Shiina

Events, Game Music

Bandai Namco’s Orchestral Tour kicks off in 2017

July 6, 2016 | Shawn Sackenheim | Comments Off on Bandai Namco’s Orchestral Tour kicks off in 2017 Share this

The realm of orchestral video game performances has been dominated by headliners from Nintendo, Sega and Square for years. Video Games Live and Play! have cherry picked fan favorites in the past but now Bandai Namco has decided to get in on things with a concert tour of their own: Orchestral Memories.

Debuting on February 4th, 2017 in Paris, France, an orchestra of 80+ musicians will perform arrangements from Namco’s eclectic legacy including Dark Souls, Tales Of, Ace Combat, Tekken, Soulcalibur, God Eater, Pac-Man (that’ll be an interesting one) and more. For this first performance Namco is also bringing along God Eater and Tales Of composer Go Shiina for an exclusive meet and greet with fans.

Orchestral Memories is a production of Wild Faery who is currently touring with Piano Opera: Music from Final Fantasy and will also perform the Kingdom Hearts Orchestra later in 2017. More dates will be announced for Orchestral Memories in the future but as the series is being produced by Bandai Namco Europe it’s not likely it will see international venues for this inaugural tour.

For those in France or planning to attend, tickets are still available direct from Wild Faery. The rest of us will have to hold out for future dates and the inevitable CD album announcement that I’m already looking forward to hearing. What other Bandai Namco titles would you like to hear performed at Orchestral Memories?
Game Music, Reviews

Appetizing Apotheosis: Go Shiina Takes on the Gods — God Eater OST (Review)

April 12, 2010 | Wes Chung | 6 Comments Share this

Namco Bandai is really good at copying ideas*. Whether it’s Tekken chasing Virtua Fighter’s tail and then giving it a good chomping or Soul Edge teaching SNK’s Samurai Spirits what weapon-based fighting looks like in three dimensions, it’s fair to say that quite a few of Namco Bandai’s hits borrow liberally from other sources. But to be even more fair, ‘is really good at copying’ might as well be ‘improves upon’. Both Tekken and the Soul Series developed a depth not matched by their rivals – in narrative, character development and, of course, music. So when Namco Bandai took a stab at the wildly popular Monster Hunter model, announced Sakamoto Maaya as one of the voice actors and gave the role of scoring to Go Shiina, it was almost a given that God Eater would devour the PSP market whole.

Okay, that was the last ‘eating’ pun. I promise. Because what you really want to read is whether or not Shiina, who hasn’t carried a full-scale soundtrack on his own since Tales of Legendia, is up to the task. No single person has scored a Soul game or a Tekken, and even some of the greatest Final Fantasy soundtracks have had their share of composition delegation.

We analyze just how far one man can push the sonic boundaries after the jump. (more…)
Anime, Game Music

The Renewal of Eminence: ‘A Night in Fantasia 2009’ Report

November 5, 2009 | Wes Chung | 4 Comments Share this

[Editor’s Note: We have a new name on the site today, and that’s Wes Chung from Australia. He was fortunately able to attend the recent A Night in Fantasia 2009 concert held by Eminence, and has a very lengthy (but ‘goody’) report of the show. Join us in welcoming him to the team, and enjoy his write-up!]

Just over a month ago, the aptly-named Eminence Symphony Orchestra returned to the stage in their hometown of Sydney, Australia, for a one-night-only performance of prominent anime and video game music. Having taken a two-year hiatus to work on studio projects such as Soul Calibur IV and the Blizzard arrangement album Echoes of War, the brainchild of concertmaster Hiroaki Yura had fans in a mild state of frenzy with anticipation. An unprecedented campaign, including radio giveaways and TV coverage, preceded one of the largest and most ambitious orchestral game and anime concerts ever, let alone little old Sydneytown.

So did Eminence live up to their name and deliver a performance worthy of their pioneering career? Read on to find out… (more…)
Game Music

Los Angeles Vs. Tokyo: Huge Ass Game Music Concert Taking Place In… Australia?!

September 8, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | 5 Comments Share this

You guys probably know that any time “game music” and “Australia” appear in the same sentence, it probably involves Eminence, and indeed I am referring to the upcoming A Night in Fantasia 2009 concert which is shaping up to be one hell of a show. We told you two months ago what was going to be played, but what we know now is who will be attending, and it’s one of the most impressive lists of game music composers from the East and West that we’ve ever seen.

Los Angeles-based composers Wataru Hokoyama, Steve Jablonsky, Cris Velasco, and Inon Zur will be joined by Tokyo-based composers Yasunori Mitsuda, Kow Otani, and Go Shiina. Singer Aubrey Ashburn, also from Los Angeles, will be balanced out by singers AIKA Tsuneoka and Chiaki Takahashi from Tokyo. It truly is an LA Vs. Tokyo event, and it’s taking place in Sydney, Australia of all places! This should definitely be something to see if you’re one of the lucky people in town on September 26.

Check out the official website, and let us know what you think about this list of special guests. Are you looking forward to any of the arrangements being performed in particular?