Koichi Sugiyama may not be a familiar name to a lot of gamers in the West, but he is a very well known figure in Japan. He is the man behind the music of the Dragon Quest series (originally released as Dragon Warrior in the West), which despite having only achieved an overall modest success in the United States, is very popular in Japan. Koichi Sugiyama’s style for the music that he writes for the Dragon Quest games is very unique, and it has been a significant influence on other video game music composers as well. I’ll be going through some of his work on the primary games of the Dragon Quest series and taking a look at what makes his music uniquely his, and how his style has changed over the course of the series.
The problem with most box sets is that their price range puts them in a position that only hardcore collectors would buy them, but those same hardcore collectors are likely to own the majority of the contents in their original, separate releases already. Quite the dilemma, and probably why only the most cherished franchises in the world of gaming will see box sets.
Dragon Quest actually has two just for its Symphonic Suites. One decade ago, a box was released for DQ I~VII, these being the London recordings. Now, we have a box set for DQ I~IX, with the Tokyo Metropolitan being the orchestra of choice. Only 5000 copies of the box were made, and Dragon Quest being as popular as it is in Japan, it’s already hard-to-find within months of release.
After the jump, I’ll be talking about the set’s unique “scene-selected” layout, the magic of Sugiyama, his progress and evolution as a composer, and more! (more…)
Ever heard of a “loaded question?” Well, this pick for SotM is a “loaded choice.”
Everyone that follows VGM knows that pretty much every main-series Dragon Quest title (up to VII) doesn’t have a proper OST release. Their primary releases were the “Symphonic Suite” orchestral arrange albums. Some of the early prints of these albums will also include an “Original Sound Story” that includes music and sound effects in an audio-only, synopsis-style playthrough of the game. It was a strange but valuable piece of audio for each game in the series.
Having studied the music as an avid fan, I thought to myself: “which DQ has my favorite music?” To be totally honest with you, I’m not 100% sure. But Dragon Quest IV is definitely a contender for the #1 spot. There are many reasons for that. We’ll get to them after the jump.
Before you proceed, you may be wondering: “so uh, which DQIV album are we talking about, specifically?” Answer: all of them. Every recording of the Symphonic Suite, including the Live Concerts. The PS1 audio, the NES/SNES audio, even lesser-known albums like “On Electone.” We’ll leave format aside and focus on Koichi Sugiyama’s compositions themselves in this SotM article. Get ready for it! (more…)
Despite some of Koichi Sugiyama’s radical political beliefs, he is one of my musical heroes. I recall turning on my NES as a kid just to leave the title screen running so I could hear his classic “Overture” from Dragon Quest. It’s one of my favorite tracks of all time, and still is able to move me with its simple yet elegant melody voiced by triumphant brass.
It came as a huge surprise then, when I read that it only took him 5 minutes to write. In a recent interview with Famitsu, Sugiyama noted that it took him only five minutes to prepare the iconic RPG title theme which has been featured in every sequel of the game to date. Falling back into modesty, however, Sugiyama noted that he already had 50 years of experience writing music by the time he crated the theme, and it therefore took 50 years and 5 minutes to write. I’m still amazed.
Do you think the Dragon Quest “Overture” has held up after all these years? Are you surprised that he was able to come up with the melody so quickly?w
Well, Sugiyama is putting on another Dragon Quest IX concert in Japan, perhaps to celebrate the Symphonic Suite CD release that’s out tomorrow. Turns out the two shows last year were popular enough to warrant a third show, this time in Fukuoka City. The show’s taking place on February 21, 2010, and it appears to be an afternoon concert, starting at 1:15 PM.
With this game being so successful, I can’t say I’m surprised, but I wish I could make it out to one of these shows. I do highly recommend checking out Tim Van Ingen’s writeup from one of last year’s shows, as it’s probably the best thing you’re going to get without being there. In the meantime, I’ll be checking out the Dragon Quest IX Symphonic Suite… took you long enough, King Records!
Are you surprised that they’re putting on a third show so long after the original two shows? Do you wish you lived in Japan to go to these kinds of shows and to visit the recently opened Dragon Quest IX-themed “Luida’s Bar” restaurant in Japan?
Hey kids! Guess what happened? That’s right, more Dragon Quest soundtracks are coming your way. On August 5, 2009, the Dragon Quest IX soundtrack was released alongside reprints of all the Tokyo Metropolitan recordings of the eight prior DQ Symphonic Suites, which had been released via Aniplex. All of these new reprints are coming from King Records.
On October 7, 2009, even *more* DQ soundtracks were reprinted. If you look at a list of the reprints (check out Play-Asia or VGMdb), you may be confused. Why are there two different catalog numbers for the Dragon Quest V Symphonic Suite? And not just V, but pretty much all of them?
Well, the August 5th reprint covered the Aniplex Tokyo Metropolitan releases. On October 7, they reprinted Sony Records’ London Philharmonic releases, as well as the NHK Orchestra releases (from a variety of publishers). There are also some re-releases of gaiden titles in the Dragon Quest series, as well as a few random arrange albums. All told, there are over 20 Dragon Quest soundtracks reprinted this month. Most of them were long out of print and obscure releases. If you want these albums, it’s worth doing the research to learn about the differences in each recording style to decide which series you want. My personal favorite is the Tokyo Metropolitan, but a lot of people prefer the London Philharmonic. If you know your Symphonic Suites, weigh in on which is best in the comments section to help out curious consumers!
“I really Love Koichi Sugiyama’s music his symphonic melody’s are Like Classical to me even when his Town Themes Have a Jazzy Big Band tune With Trumpets and Trombones in it it calms me down And I Have his Jazzy rhythms inside of me even when I hear them it’s like he’s being a big Jeark but when I also Listen to his Love themes he’d saying that he wants to make a girl Happy because he cares about her and he Loves her I’ve actually met Him in 2007 And I Miss him so Much became he was so nice to me when he walked right up to me and because he was very Kindhearted man even if he’s 78 years old I don’t want him to Die I really miss him so much and I’ll always Love him and his music forever and ever”
The lack of punctuation and general grammatical awkwardness could be due to poor schooling, or perhaps she was just too excited to take a breath in virtual space. Look, we all get excited about Sugiyama around here. The man is a legend, even if he has some wacky political views. But sometimes it’s good to chill out, just a bit.
To witness Brittany’s full love of Sugiyama, check out the above video, where she claims she met Sugiyama. One of those photos looks a little… off… to me. Photoshop? Maybe. But she insists that they’ve met, and she’s so happy to proclaim it that she makes the statement in nearly every one of her 34 replies to comments for this video.
It’s really so over-the-top, that I have to wonder if she’s serious, or if this is some elaborate ruse to make the fanboys and fangirls out there.
Is this a joke or the ultimate act of fandom? You be the judge!
