JRPG

Game Music

Hear Yasunori Mitsuda’s Latest in Edge of Eternity

May 18, 2016 | Shawn Sackenheim | Comments Off on Hear Yasunori Mitsuda’s Latest in Edge of Eternity Share this

Last March the French team at Midgar Studio broke their $130,000 Kickstarter goal and officially brought legendary composer Yasunori Mitsuda onto their project, Edge of Eternity. You might be able to guess by the studio’s name alone that Edge of Eternity is an indie love letter to classic Japanese RPGs.

That makes Mitsuda an especially important contributor as he’s provided the music for classics in the genre like Chrono Trigger and Xenogears as well as more modern offerings like Shadow Hearts and Soul Sacrifice.

Over a year later, Midgar Studio is ready to reveal some of the work that Mitsuda and sound designer Cedric Menendez have created with the Bratislava Symphony Orchestra in Slovakia. Above you can check out a painfully brief clip from the recording session and hear a few of Mitsuda’s 12 themes and compositions for the game.

Midgar Studio also released a longer video from the game itself. Set against Active Time Battles and glowing special effects, the music is perfectly fitting for a Square inspired RPG and does a lot to amp up the work-in-progress footage.
Featured, Game Music, Japanese

Composer Analysis: Motoi Sakuraba

October 20, 2015 | Sebastian Urrea | Comments Off on Composer Analysis: Motoi Sakuraba Share this Composer Analysis: Motoi Sakuraba

Motoi Sakuraba has been writing video game music for many years, and he is among the most prolific composers in the video game world. His body of work spans games released over a period of more than 20 years, and includes a wide variety of genres, from Japanese RPGs to sports and action games. A lot of his work is his own compositions for various games, but he has also done some work as an arranger and as a producer.

Since his work spans so many games, Motoi Sakuraba is adept at adapting to different styles suited for different genres. But there are many elements of his style that you can see across his different compositions as well. I will be going through some of these elements briefly, and attempt to shed some light on what makes Motoi Sakuraba’s music sound like Motoi Sakuraba.

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Featured, Game Music

Interview with Americana Dawn’s Composer Shnabubula

December 8, 2014 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Interview with Americana Dawn’s Composer Shnabubula Share this

With the Kickstarter for the JRPG Americana Dawn by indie developers Bit-Bonton chugging along, I thought it’d be a great opportunity to get ahold of the composer for the soundtrack; Samuel “Shnabubula” Ascher-Weiss!

The artist known as Shnabubula, for those who don’t know, is an amazing pianist and chiptune artist who has produced several albums, including NES Jams, Starbound and Fading Light. He also worked on the original, much smaller Kickstarter for Americana Dawn: Civilized Folk.

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Miscellaneous

Help Pixel Noir Push To Its Kickstarter Goal

May 6, 2014 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Help Pixel Noir Push To Its Kickstarter Goal Share this

There is only 5 more days left in the Kickstarter for Pixel Noir from SWDTech, so if you have seen the project’s crowdfunding campaign and were waiting for a good time to pledge, now would be the time.

If you haven’t been privy to Pixel Noir, it’s a JRPG-esque mystery novella under the direction of Kunal Mamudar (The OneUps, The Smash Bros) and with a diverse team of managers and other talent to help support the project. Kunal also provides the soundtrack to the game, with several samples out already to help frame the atmosphere of the prospective game.

The campaign goal is still quite a ways from being met, but the pledge rewards should make it worth it to anyone who loves a good noir story in classic NES/SNES style. Go check out Pixel Noir and help get them in the green!
Game Music

Dragon Fantasy Book II OST Release Party

January 16, 2014 | Brenna Wilkes | 1 Comment Share this

If you haven’t been privy to the release of Dale North’s Dragon Fantasy Book II OST that went live last week, then you’re in luck! It’s still live, only costs $10 on Bandcamp, Amazon MP3 and Loudr, and you can still catch the album’s celebratory release bash!

Packed with 43 tracks of catchy melodic goodness that should satisfy anyone who grew up with JRPGs and still enjoy them, Dragon Fantasy Book II‘s a labor of love for Dale “Corgi King” North. North’s unique compositions are filled with enough backing to the story of Dragon Fantasy and will help surround listeners with audible appeal. Not sure you’d be into such an album? Why not attend 8bitx’s Dragon Fantasy Book II OST Bash this coming Saturday at 9pm? Listen to a live interview with Mr. North himself as he details the album and answers any questions from fans and interested parties alike, and enjoy the sounds and atmosphere of the album to boot!

Go back to the days of the JRPG’s of yore and check out Dragon Fantasy Book II OST for a little slice of nostalgia with heart.
Game Music, Reviews

Namiki Thrives in BLACK★ROCK SHOOTER THE GAME OST (Review)

August 8, 2012 | Patrick Gann | Comments Off on Namiki Thrives in BLACK★ROCK SHOOTER THE GAME OST (Review) Share this

Former Basiscape member Manabu Namiki is well-known and well-loved for his work on various shooters from CAVE, from those that he completed entirely, or almost entirely, on his own (Ketsui, ESPGALUDA II) to those where he was a part of the Basiscape team (such as Mushihimesama and Mushihimesama Futari).

But, for my money, one of his best works in years is a game that isn’t really a shooter at all, despite having the word in its title. Yes, I’m referring to BLACK★ROCK SHOOTER THE GAME, a franchise that started with a simple illustration, and then a vocaloid song, and eventually an OVA and a game and detailed figurines … you can get the whole franchise history via wikipedia.

The PSP game, developed by imageepoch as part of their “JRPG” label (part of an attempt to revive the apparently-dying genre), is coming to North America and Europe sometime in either late 2012 or early 2013. But I would recommend VGM collectors import the soundtrack now, while it’s still available (CDJapan | Play-Asia). My unabashedly positive review, after the jump. (more…)
Game Music, Reviews

Uematsu+: UnchainBlades ReXX (Review)

November 2, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on Uematsu+: UnchainBlades ReXX (Review) Share this Uematsu+: UnchainBlades ReXX (Review)

Alright, so maybe it’s a bit unfair to composer Tsutomu Narita to put Uematsu’s name on this post title, but in actuality, Uematsu does provide the main theme, and Narita’s work does admittedly sound similar in style to Uematsu at times.

Just who is Narita, though, and what is this UnchainBlades ReXX soundtrack from Dog Ear Records? The answer to the first question is a young and upcoming arranger, composer, and performer who has worked with Uematsu and Dog Ear Records a lot (he’s a member of the Earthbound Papas) and is making his composition debut with UnchainBlades ReXX. As far as the game, I knew nothing about it before listening to this soundtrack, but it turns out it has a pretty interesting story, following a powerful protagonist who has lost favor with the Gods for his arrogance and must quest to regain his former glory.

Does Narita’s score capture the essence of the game’s interesting plot? Find out after the jump. (more…)