Kinuyo Yamashita

Editorial, Game Music

Game Soundtracks for Your Soul – Castlevania 30th Anniversary Edition

October 1, 2016 | Brenna Wilkes | 3 Comments Share this

This past Monday was the 30th anniversary of Castlevania, a franchise that has been a cornerstone of video gaming for so many of us since our childhoods. On September 26th, 1986, Akumajo Dracula, or Demon Castle Dracula as it translates, was released for the Famicom Disk System in Japan, and the legendary feud between the Belmont clan and Count Dracula was born.

For me, Castlevania was not only an indulgence of my childhood love of vampire stories and movie monsters, but the music of the series became the baseline for which I rated so many game soundtracks through my life. Granted, I loved my Sonic the Hedgehog and Golden Axe as a Genesis kid, but the soundtracks from the Castlevania series stuck with me, and impacted a lot of how I perceived game music from childhood to adult hood. If I played it at 8 or 28, the series soundtracks are hands down my favorite of any game franchise.

Thus, in a bit of self-indulgence and as a tribute to 30 years of whip-cracking, wall meat-finding, vampire-slaying goodness, I’ve made a list of my favorite music from each game in Castlevania‘s lifetime; from the very first game all the way through to Lords of Shadow. (I’m omitting the Pachislot games as they’re basically all re-used music and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate since I never played it) Granted, OSV has covered the music of Castlevania several times before, but consider this a brief perusing through of the history of the franchise’s music in all its iterations.

Be ye warned; here there be fangirling.

(more…)
Featured, Game Music, Interviews

OSV/RPGFan Team Interview: VGO Guests

November 14, 2012 | Patrick Gann | Comments Off on OSV/RPGFan Team Interview: VGO Guests Share this OSV/RPGFan Team Interview: VGO Guests

[Left to right: Dennis Rubinshteyn, Patrick Gann, Noriyuki Iwadare, Damian Thomas, Hiroko Miyaji]

The four guest composers at the VGO show in Boston on October 7, 2012, each managed to squeeze into their busy schedules some time with myself and some of my old friends from RPGFan. Above you’ll find a photo we took with Noriyuki Iwadare and his own guest, Ms. Hiroko Miyaji (wife of the late Takeshi Miyaji, creator of Grandia).

Before you read the interview, try taking this pop quiz. For one of these composers, we ask about all the action one of their earliest work has seen in the “SQ” arrangement series. For another, they are surprised to learn we know what the game Esper Dream is. For yet another, we find out a peer composer they really admire and respect of late is Michiko Naruke. And finally, one of these composers talks about his partnership with a particular game designer who used to work for Square Enix and is now with Level-5. Can you match up these four composers properly *before* reading the interview?

After the jump, check out our short but informative interviews with each of the four guest composers. And be sure to check out RPGFan for their questions and respective answers from each of these VGM luminaries! (more…)
Featured, Game Music

Soundtrack of the Month 10/12: Akumajo Dracula Best

October 25, 2012 | Patrick Gann | Comments Off on Soundtrack of the Month 10/12: Akumajo Dracula Best Share this

Continuing in our “Castlevania Week” adventures, and simultaneously resurrecting our “Soundtrack of the Month” feature (something we haven’t run in a whole year!), today we bring you a special review for a very special album.

You can actually pick up multiple versions of the album. Its original CD print, one of Konami’s first albums with King Records, is catalog number KICA-1005, released in March 1990. Retro nerds might also be interested the cassette tape version released at the same time (KITA-1005). At the time, the album was named Akumajo Dracula Famicom Best. But when it was widely reprinted in 1998 (most people I know who have this album, have this reprint), they dropped “Famicom” from the album title (even though all the music is still from the Famicom). That album’s catalog number is KICA-7901, and wouldn’t you know it, CDJapan still has it in stock.

What this album contains, and what it doesn’t contain, is worth discussing at length. So, after the jump, I’ll give you the details. (more…)
Game Music

OSV Special Content: Castlevania Week(s)!

October 22, 2012 | Patrick Gann | 1 Comment Share this

Greetings OSV readers!

First of all, an apology that the site has been inactive for the past few days. We needed a time of rest to prepare for the big week ahead.

Timed intentionally with that wonderful, “spooky” autumnal holiday in mind, we are going to dedicate the next week (and spilling over some into next week) covering the music of the Castlevania series.

Castlevania, known as Akumajo Dracula (Demon Castle Dracula) in Japan, is arguably Konami’s biggest and most successful franchise. It started as a simple, stage-based 2D platformer and eventually grew to encompass a variety of genres, including one that it essentially made up with the help of another franchise (the “Metroidvania” genre: a form of 2D platforming with save points, map exploration, non-linear or semi-linear paths, and power-ups allowing access to new areas).

In the coming days, expect reviews and impressions of a variety of albums released in the franchise’s lifetime, from the very beginning all the way to some of the most recent OSTs and arranged albums. We’ll also be posting an interview with Kinuyo Yamashita (composer for the very first Castlevani), alongside the three other composers who attended the VGO Boston concert on October 7, 2012.

Until then, feel free to check out all of OSV’s previous Castlevania coverage, listed below!

Akumajo Dracula Tribute Vol.1 and Vol.2 Review
Akumajo Dracula X ~Nocturne in the Moonlight~ OGS Review (that’s Castlevania: Symphony of the Night) – Soundtrack of the Month April ’09
Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth Review
Castlevania Judgment game and soundtrack review
Castlevania Lords of Shadow Soundtrack Review
Castlevania: Sonata of the Damned (Joshua Morse / OCRemix) album review
Daniel Brown’s Castlevania piano album review
Gideon Dabi’s Castlevania and Nostalgia Editorial
Kinuyo Yamashita 2009 Interview with Audun Sorlie
Speedrunner “Nario” Beats Castlevani with a dance pad
Sweden’s “Castlevania The Concert” Concert Report from Surasshu
Wikipedia vs. Kinuyo Yamashita (result: we won, here’s her Wikipedia page with no threat of deletion!)
Featured, Game Music

Standing On Their Own Feet: VGO Live At Symphony Hall

October 13, 2012 | Patrick Gann | Comments Off on Standing On Their Own Feet: VGO Live At Symphony Hall Share this

[rehearsal photo courtesy Damian Thomas]

We’ve been ceaselessly promoting the VGO in the past month. Full disclosure: VGO founder Shota Nakama is technically an OSV member, as he has provided many translation services for us over the years. But he is much more than a translator. He’s a guitarist, an arranger, an organizer and producer.

So when the Video Game Orchestra put on their first no-strings-attached show (no Distant Worlds, no association with a convention, no “film and game music in the same concert”), we at OSV were all on board to see it succeed.

And this past weekend, that’s exactly what I saw.

Next week, we’ll have our interview with the four guest composers at the show (Noriyuki Iwadare, Hitoshi Sakimoto, Yoko Shimomura, Kinuyo Yamashita). But for now, after the jump, I’d like to give you my detailed report of the concert, as well as some strange and wonderful encounters I had with industry veterans and fans alike. (more…)
Featured, Game Music

Original SoundCAST: Episode #016 (All Things VGO!)

September 25, 2012 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Original SoundCAST: Episode #016 (All Things VGO!) Share this

For today’s Original SoundCAST, we have Brenna as host and Patrick as sidekick as we interview the founder and operator for the Video Game Orchestra in Boston, Shota Nakama.

We ask Nakama-san about his interest game music, how it originated, etc. We get more details about the coming show in October, the special guests, the set list, and even a special request from Shota for the fans regarding a planned “Sakimoto Medley.” We also talk shop re: musical performance and building talent, the sights and sounds of Boston, our mutual love for Audun Sorlie, and plans for MAGFest 11 (VGO will be there, but in a “band plus chamber music” form — not the full orchestra).

Download: Original SoundCAST Episode #016

Intro music: “Polywrath” from Danimal Cannon’s Roots
Outro music: “Time’s Scar” from Chrono Cross (Yasunori Mitsuda)
Game Music

VGO Boston ~Live At Symphony Hall~ Exclusive Giveaway!!

September 24, 2012 | Patrick Gann | Comments Off on VGO Boston ~Live At Symphony Hall~ Exclusive Giveaway!! Share this

Alright people, we’ve been telling you every last detail we can squeeze out of VGO founder and concert organizer Shota Nakama at every turn of the way. We even have a special episode of Original SoundCast going up tomorrow with more details on the October 7 show, the guests, MAGFest 11 plans, and more.

But today, I have something EXTRA special. Two VIP tickets (great seats plus access to the meet-and-greet with Shimomura, Sakimoto, Iwadare and Yamashita), courtesy of OSV, to anyone who would be able to attend the show on Sunday, October 7 2012 in Boston.

To enter: email me ([email protected] with subject line “VGO Boston Tix!” telling me what, if you got the chance, you’d want to say in person to these four special guests and to the Video Game Orchestra and its founder Shota Nakama. The winner will, of course, get that chance. We’ll be giving both tickets to the winner, who is free to bring a friend or give the ticket to another VGM fan. Please, NO re-selling! These tickets combined are worth $200, making them the most valuable giveaway OSV has done to date.

Start sending those emails, and good luck! We’ll announce the winner on Friday, so the window of opportunity to win is tight!

Meanwhile, you’ll also want to check out the latest announcements at the VGO Kickstarter, which includes the setlist for the show and the expected tracklist for the CD.