Hitoshi Sakimoto

Game Music

New VGO Show In Boston, with Awesome Guests!

August 16, 2012 | Patrick Gann | 2 Comments Share this

We’ve had our lips sealed on this concert for well over a month, but now we’re finally excited to tell you about this one. Pay attention!!

The VGO (Video Game Orchestra) will be performing (full 70+ orchestra plus 5-person rock ensemble) a live show at the Boston Symphony Hall in Boston, MA on Sunday, October 7, 2012. It will be a night celebrating primarily Japanese game music, and to underscore that point, they have some fantastic guests lined up to say hello and perform live as well!

First, they have BASISCAPE leader/founder Hitoshi Sakimoto (too many games to list, but you know the notables: Final Fantasy Tactics, Valkyria Chronicles). Second, in what I think might be his first public appearance in America (commenters feel free to correct me!), they have Noriyuki Iwadare (Lunar, Grandia, Phoenix Wright). Third, a Japanese composer currently residing in New Jersey and one of my personal favorites in the realm of “sleeper composer making a comeback,” Ms. Kinuyo Yamashita (Castlevania, Megaman X3).

Violinist Aria Aizawa will also be performing, and she’s mighty fine at what she does. Of course, we’ll also have VGO leader Shota Nakama on guitar, and I’m personally psyched about that. Whether or not there will be any more guests announced before the show or surprise guests at the time of the show, I cannot say at this time, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that special guest list were to expand.

In case you missed it earlier, here’s the link to purchase tickets. We’ll be there, and we hope you’ll be there too.
Game Music, Indie Music

Humble Music Bundle Has Good Music, Pretends To Be Original

July 27, 2012 | Patrick Gann | 9 Comments Share this

The guys over at humblebundle.com are at it again, but this time with a music-only bundle. Now, we have a bone to pick with these guys, since their promotional material suggests that this is some sort of new/premier idea, to offer a bunch of music related to games and/or of interest to gamers. Anyone who knows the full backstory behind the creation of the Indie Game Music Bundle (gamemusicbundle.com) will either laugh or choke at the idea that this is the first big game music bundle, or that Rosen and crew only got this idea *now.*

But, laying aside that petty grievance, this bundle does have some really good stuff in it. There are a total of 6 albums here (if you pay extra to unlock everything). In my mind, the two coolest items here are Christopher Tin’s “Calling All Dawns” (Audi’s review here, our podcast interview with Tin here). Tin serves as a sort of front-man for this bundle, delivering a great video message to potential purchasers of the bundle. His flabbergasted response to the mere existence of Linux users is hilarious, and all in good fun. Considering Tin is a two-time grammy award winner (thanks to “Calling All Dawns” and, specifically, the new recording of the Civilization IV opening theme “Baba Yetu”), this album certainly deserves the headlining spot.

However, the bundle also includes an entirely new album. Sort of, anyway. It’s a digital-only “best of” album for Hitoshi Sakimoto’s Valkyria Chronicles music. This compilation album includes music from all three games, even with the third game being absent from the English-language market. Be sure to check out vgmdb’s listing of the album so you know which tracks are on the album (a total of 24 songs!). If you haven’t already imported some or all of these OSTs, that’s a mighty fine deal for some of Sakimoto’s best work in recent years.

Beyond that, the bundle also has a Jonathan Coulton “best of” album (Portal‘s Still Alive, and many others), MC Frontalot’s “Favoritism,” They Might Be Giant’s “album raises new thoughts and troubling questions,” and OK Go’s “Twelve Remixes of Four Songs.”

Great music for a good price. Seriously, if you don’t have “Calling All Dawns” already, that album alone is worth the price of entry, and I’d argue most any of the other albums are also worth the bundle “unlock” minimum (currently a little over $8). Enjoy!
Film, Game Music

Iron Fist Hits Silver Screen: TEKKEN Blood Vengeance Soundtrack Review

September 22, 2011 | Audun Sorlie | 2 Comments Share this

TEKKEN has had a troublesome affair with the cinema since its rise in becoming one of the leading games in the fighter genre. In 1998 it took inspiration in Street Fighter II The Animated Movie and ventured into the land of animations like so many others like Toshinden and Garou Densetsu before it, but the results was highly uneven with little to reflect the actual source of content, and it suffered from severe mediocrity. Things did not improve in 2010, it rather went further down the slippery road to z movie valley with the live action adaptation by Dwight Little, a near insult to long time fans of the game, though a gift to the fans of Gary Daniels who was quality in his role as Bryan.

Now, NAMCO Bandai has decided to shake up things and truly explore the story and motion picture potential of the franchise with the all new CGI movie, TEKKEN: Blood Vengeance. With a story handled internally and production overseen by the game creators, NAMCO was also wise enough to employ a cast of game composers from Basiscape and other contributors to ensure that 3rd time’s the charm, and fans will finally witness and enjoy the very first quality TEKKEN movie.

So how does the soundtrack fare next to the long running game series? Find out! (more…)
Game Music, Reviews

It’ll Make You a Fan: LORD of VERMILION Re:2 FAN KIT (Review)

August 24, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on It’ll Make You a Fan: LORD of VERMILION Re:2 FAN KIT (Review) Share this

I think a lot of people were with me in wondering what the heck the LORD of VERMILION Re:2 FAN KIT album was when it was first added to VGMdb. I’m still slightly confused after being told during out interview with Izumi Tsukushi and Akio Shiraishi that it’s a release containing music for the “new version” of the Lord of Vermilion 2 arcade units in Japan, but I guess it’s simple enough to just pop the CD in and give it a listen to see what it’s all about.

This album contains arranged tracks from the original Lord of Vermilion 2 as well as from other Square Enix franchises, including Final Fantasy, Seiken Densetsu, Romancing SaGa, and Valkyrie Profile.

So find out what’s here in our review after the jump. (more…)
Game Music

Question: Should Piano Collections Final Fantasy XII Be Made?

August 18, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | 11 Comments Share this

I’ve been thinking. We asked Square Enix’s Izumi Tsukushi and Akio Shiraishi last year about the possibility of a Piano Collections Final Fantasy I-III and Piano Collections Final Fantasy XII album, and followed up again this year. We were told to “expect some good news” regarding a possible I-III album (2012 is the franchise’s 25th anniversary, so what better time for this CD?), but were also told flat out told that there were no plans for a Piano Collections Final Fantasy XII CD. I say why not?

Maybe the Final Fantasy XII soundtrack isn’t the most popular among the franchise, but it certainly does have an audience. In fact, it’s one of the most owned CDs in collections on VGMdb. Furthermore, reflecting on the recent Valkyria Chronicles Piano Pieces album that Basiscape had pianist Casey Ormond arrange and record, I thought it would be an easy enough undertaking to have Ormond do the same for Final Fantasy XII and have Square Enix publish it. I doubt it’ll happen, but here’s my vote for getting a piano arrangement of “Eruyt Village.”

Am I crazy, or does this make a whole lot of sense? Chime in and let us know what you think.
Game Music, Reviews

Sakimoto Looks Good in Ivory: Valkyria Chronicles Piano Pieces (Review)

July 12, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on Sakimoto Looks Good in Ivory: Valkyria Chronicles Piano Pieces (Review) Share this

It’s finally here! People have been excited for the Valkyria Chronicles Piano Pieces album ever since it was announced, and I think the surprise announcement that Australian pianist Casey Ormond would be responsible for the arrangements and performance of the album drew even more interest among fans. Hitoshi Sakimoto’s work on the Valkyria Chronicles series is regarded by fans as some of his best, so how would this young and relatively untested arranger and performer live up to everyone’s expectations?

We’ve covered the Valkyria franchise extensively here on OSV, so let’s dig into the first official arrangement album from Basiscape Records! (more…)
Anime, Featured, Game Music

The Secret World of an Orchestrator: Who is Nicole Brady?

May 19, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | 7 Comments Share this

Maybe you’ve seen the name Nicole Brady and just can’t remember where. Maybe you’ve never seen it. Therein lays the conundrum. Orchestration is a pretty thankless job; all the work they pour in to help elevate the music they work on often gets credited to the original composer, and even most fans don’t give the role much thought.

At GDC 2011, however, I was able to catch up with Nicole Brady, who worked extensively with the Eminence Symphony Orchestra when it was first established as well as being Hitoshi Sakimoto’s go-to orchestrator for projects like the Valkyria Chronicles series, Romeo x Juliet, and others.

Find out who she is and why what she does is so important after the jump! (more…)