iTunes

Featured, Game Music

Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Soundtrack is Available on iTunes

January 1, 2015 | Michael Hoffmann | Comments Off on Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Soundtrack is Available on iTunes Share this

If you’re a Pokémon fan, then chances are you’ve been spending a lot of your time playing through the new Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire games. If you’ve played these latest iterations, then you know that these remakes don’t just feature improved gameplay and better graphics. They also contain brand new arrangements of the game music.

The original soundtrack to this latest set of Pokémon games has been released on iTunes for $9.99. The Pokémon Omega Ruby & Pokémon Alpha Sapphire: Super Music Collection contains a massive 160 tracks. Everything from the town tunes, battle themes, and victory jingles is included. If you’re feeling nostalgic you can also find the soundtrack to the original Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire games on iTunes as well. This is certainly something worth checking out if you’re a fan of the games and their music.
Game Music, Indie Music, Reviews

Monaco: What’s Yours Is Mine (Review)

September 20, 2013 | Michael Hoffmann | 1 Comment Share this Monaco: What’s Yours Is Mine (Review)

Editor’s Note: We’d like to welcome Michael Hoffmann to our writing team! This young composer has his own blog, Video Game Notes, and has expressed interest in sharing his take on his peers’ work from time to time. He’ll also be doing some concert reporting, including a report on the recent BFIG “Boston Plays Indies” show that VGO, DJ Cutman and others performed indie game music live! We’re excited to have Michael writing on the site! He makes his debut with a review for the Monaco soundtrack. Enjoy!

When you think of music for a stealth/action game, what do you usually imagine? Perhaps some somber and serious orchestral scoring to provide a tense atmosphere. Maybe something more electronic and minimalist that builds in intensity as you delve deeper into enemy territory. Would you ever guess Ragtime music reminiscent of the silent film era? I must admit that when I loaded up the game Monaco: What’s Yours Is Mine, that was the last thing I was expecting to hear. Written by Grammy-nominated composer Austin Wintory, Monaco: What’s Yours is Mine OST provides a fresh new approach to music for the stealth/action genre.

More after the jump! (more…)
Featured, Game Music, Reviews

Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation Soundtrack (Review)

December 26, 2012 | Patrick Gann | 9 Comments Share this

Purchase: iTunes

There’s been a big to-do over Ubisoft’s popular Assassin’s Creed series, especially with the October release of Assassin’s Creed III. The game, the setting (American revolution), the concept and the music (Lorne Balfe, taking the reins from Jesper Kyd) were all recognized and praised in their own right.

But for me, the truly exciting piece of the AC franchise is the Vita-exclusive side-story Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation. The game takes place in a tumultuous New Orleans, affected by the French and Indian War. The game’s protagonist, Aveline de Grandpré, is a French-African assassin (and a woman!). I am soon to be getting my hands on a Vita, with this game, and I am truly anxious to get started in this special chapter of the AC franchise.

The game’s soundtrack, also composed by a woman (the talented Winifred Phillips), is getting a lot of end-of-year attention. It’s already won one award (Hollywood Music in Media), and has been nominated for awards in various categories at GameZone, IGN, and X-Play.

After the jump, I’ll give you my impressions on this award-winning soundtrack. (more…)
Game Music

Square Enix on iTunes: Temporarily Offline

January 18, 2012 | Jayson Napolitano | 9 Comments Share this

Anyone notice that Square Enix’s entire catalog of music is no longer available on iTunes? Not a single Final Fantasy or SQ album in sight. Apparently there was a reason for it, and Square Enix has offered the following statement regarding the recent disappearance:

“Currently, official Square Enix soundtracks are temporarily unavailable for sale due to the changes we are going through with the iTunes North American service. The items will be available as soon as the preparations are in place. We hope to resume availability of these items by March.”

I know many of us import music from Japan because we like the packaging, but I’m sure this has impacted some. In the meantime, Square Enix recently added the Final Fantasy XIII-2 soundtrack to their North America store for $34.99 (down from $39.99) which is an approximate $10 discount compared to the Dollar-to-Yen import price.

Feel free to chime in and let us know what you think and whether their iTunes service is an important avenue for you to acquire their music.

[Thanks Sam and Robby!]
Game Music, Reviews

The Muramasa Arrange Album You Never Knew You Wanted (Review)

October 20, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on The Muramasa Arrange Album You Never Knew You Wanted (Review) Share this

Back when the Muramasa soundtrack was released in 2009, we were impressed by the traditional Japanese score and the attention to detail that went into the compositions. The quality level was already fairly high, and when the game went on to sell rather poorly, Muramasa was seemingly the last game I thought would receive an arrange album. But here it is.

Basiscape’s Yoshimi Kudo, Mitsuhiro Kaneda, Kimihiro Abe, Azusa Chiba, and Noriyuki Kamikura team up to provide a number of arrangements from the game as well as some new compositions based on unused boss artwork by George Kamitani. Finally, a recording of the Press Start 2010 medley is also featured.

Is the music from Muramasa worth revisiting with this arrange album? Find out in our review. (more…)
Game Music, Reviews

Meet Masashi Hamauzu’s Latest Experiment: IMERUAT (Review)

August 10, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | 11 Comments Share this

Masashi Hamauzu garnered quite a fan following during his time at Square Enix. Working in the background on the SaGa franchise and other peripheral Square Enix properties, he made a name for himself by developing his own distinct sound. Contributing to Final Fantasy X and later scoring the entire Final Fantasy XIII soundtrack, however, brought his name to the forefront of game music, and shortly after completing his work on the game, fans were surprised to hear about his departure from Square Enix.

While he’s focused mostly on arrangement work since that time, working on Thomas Boecker’s concerts as well as with Square Enix on the Final Fantasy IV Complete Collection and the upcoming Final Fantasy XIII-2, he’s recently found a creative outlet for his original works. Teaming up with vocalist Mina at MONOMUSIK, the duo has performed several times in Japan and Europe, and has put together a small EP that is now available to fans on iTunes.

Does IMERUAT retain Hamauzu’s distinctive sound, and is their EP worth your attention? Find out after the jump. (more…)
Game Music

Medal of Honor: Ramin Djawadi Destroys the Taliban with Sound Production

October 6, 2010 | Gideon Dabi | 9 Comments Share this

The school of Hans Zimmer – otherwise known as Remote Control Productions – has slowly but surely permeated its way into the world of game music. Starting with the great Harry Gregson-Williams’ score for 2001’s smash hit, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, others have joined the frey, including the anointed king of film scores, Hans Zimmer (most recently on Modern Warfare 2). Entering the tussle is Ramin Djawadi, composer of Prison Break.

Does Medal of Honor retain a similar production sound to Remote Control Productions’ otherworks? You betcha. Despite this, does Djawadi change the music formula? You betcha. Is this a good thing? Read on as I dissect Djawadi’s pulse-pounding score… (more…)