Kumi Tanioka
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Game Music, Reviews
FINAL FANTASY XI Vana♪Con Anniversary 11.11.11 (Review)
March 26, 2012 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on FINAL FANTASY XI Vana♪Con Anniversary 11.11.11 (Review) Share this
Izumi Tsukushi and Akio Shiraishi told us there would be several music releases over the course of 2012 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Final Fantasy. We’ve already reviewed the first PIANO OPERA album, but this DVD recording celebrating the anniversary of Final Fantasy XI was actually the first release in this celebration.
Recorded on November 11, 2011 at the Vana Con event in Japan, this is a live recording of the one-off concert that took place to commemorate nine years of Final Fantasy XI.
Hit the jump for our review. (more…)
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Game Music
NieR Live Piano Event: Performances and Tidbits (Report)
Square Enix has been hosting a ton of live USTREAM events lately. First there was the SQ Party concerts celebrating the SQ series and NieR, then the Piano Opera Final Fantasy IV/V/VI interview and preview just a week or two ago.
Earlier this week, to kick off the release of Piano Collections NieR, Square Enix again held an event featuring team members from MoNACA and arranger/performer Kumi Tanioka performing a couple pieces from the album and talking at length about it and the original NieR soundtrack.
Read our brief report after the jump. (more…)
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Game Music, Reviews
NieR and Dear to Our Hearts: Piano Collections NieR (Review)
After hearing Keigo Hoashi’s piano arrangements from the 15 Nightmares & Arrange Tracks album, I think everyone had the desire for a NieR piano collections CD tucked away in the back of their minds. When we were told there was a secret NieR project in the works to be released after NieR Tribute Album -echo-, I know several people, myself included, suspected that it may be a piano arrange album. And here it is!
Eleven tracks, five arrangers, and four performers later, has it been worth the wait?
Hit the jump for more. (more…)
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Game Music, Reviews
Finally Complete: Final Fantasy XI Original Soundtrack –Plus- (Review)
We joked with Izumi Tsukushi and Akio Shiraishi about completing the circle for Final Fantasy XI, as there were several tracks from the final Abyssea expansion and other add-ons that had never been released. We were wondering if a final complete box was on the way, but instead, Square Enix has decided to augment the Premium Box with subsequent releases, of which –PLUS- should be the last.
The album contains 12 tracks from the aforementioned expansions as well as a second disc dedicated entirely to music from the PlayOnline gaming portal that Square Enix used for Final Fantasy XI and Tetra Master.
Check out our review of the two-disc collection after the jump. (more…)
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Game Music, Reviews
Happy Birthday, Final Fantasy XI: Memories of Dusk and Dawn (Review)
I can’t believe it’s been 8 years since Final Fantasy XI was released. I remember picking the game up a local GameStop (also pretty new back then) on the first day the game was released and getting ready to delve into the massive world of Vana’diel… after the 8 or so hours it took to update the game out of the box. I only made it to level 15 or so (red mage rocks!), and gave up after about 60 hours when it came time to look for the items needed to unlock dual classes, but I still have fond memories of the game.
This album commemorates the 8th anniversary of the game with tracks voted on and selected by fans, and I have to say that the fans have a pretty good taste in music. However, I’m still slightly baffled as to why Square Enix decided to celebrate the 8th anniversary in this manner… perhaps with the upcoming release of Final Fantasy XIV, they’re not expecting FFXI to reach the 10 year mark?
Well, in any case, here’s your chance to catch up on the best of what the game and its many expansions has had to offer. Hit the jump for our review. (more…)
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Game Music, Reviews
A Series Reborn: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers Music Collections (Review)
I’ll be the first to admit I haven’t played much of the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles series. That hasn’t prevented me from enjoying the soundtracks, however, composed mainly by Square Enix’s adorable Kumi Tanioka. She’s crafted some lovely tunes for the series in the past, the most memorable of which for me are the soothing Celtic-inspired compositions featured in the first Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles game. As Don mentioned in our preview earlier this year, get ready for a departure!
While Kumi Tanioka appears on The Crystal Bearers, she only composes a single track and arranges one more. What she’s up to? Who knows, but Hidenori Iwasaki of Front Mission 4 and Final Fantasy XI as well as synthesizer operator Ryo Yamazaki (who also worked on Front Mission 4) have been left to take care of the series in her absence. With these changes, The Crystal Bearers has a truly different sound, which matches well with the new action-oriented direction of the gameplay and visuals.
So, how did they do? Find out in our review after the jump. (more…)
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