Masashi Hamauzu

Featured, Game Music, Reviews

Final Fantasy XIII-2 Original Soundtrack: A Palace of Pleasure (Review)

December 23, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | 17 Comments Share this

Square Enix has been really good lately about throwing convention out the window. Actually, I don’t know if it’s a good thing or not as people would argue that the Final Fantasy VII spin-offs hurt the series more than helped it, and after watching a trailer for Final Fantasy X-2 where Yuna jumped in slow motion while firing dual pistols, I didn’t come within 10 feet of the game. Despite these things, I’m kind of excited about Final Fantasy XIII-2, in part because they’re ignoring convention.

Featuring music by Masashi Hamauzu, Naoshi Mizuta, Mitsuto Suzuki, and a few others, is the Final Fantasy XIII-2 soundtrack diluted and unmemorable or a successful experiment?

Find out in our review after the jump. (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…)
Featured, Game Music

Venturing Beyond The Norm: Symphonic Odysseys Live Report

July 13, 2011 | Audun Sorlie | 8 Comments Share this

Symphonic Shades, Symphonic Fantasies, Symphonic Legends. Three concerts over the last three years that have become synonymous with progression, beauty, revolution and controversy in the world of videogame music live orchestra. Since the earlier days of the Leipzig Symphonic concerts, its been a constant mission for the European based production team to not only deliver the greatest performances from the orchestra at hand, but to truly portray the atmosphere and spirit of the source material and craft a story standing on its own two legs. It’s led to masterpieces such as Jonne Valtonen’s grand epic “Symphonic Poem” and Roger Wanamo’s layered “Chrono Trigger/Cross,” and also controversial underdogs like “Suite Samus Aran – Galactic Warrior.” The team pushes the envelope to truly explore the true essence of every piece and strives to prove that there are more to them than just instant nostalgic rushes and cheap laughs, gaining the respect of composers and audiences around the world.

July 9th marked the fourth installment of the Symphonic series, a revisit of the mind of Nobuo Uematsu. This time, we were invited to journey through the career of the most famous videogame composer of all time, and hear the all new interpretations of some of his most famous works, along with some lesser known yet incredible work from the vast library of Uematsu. The composer himself was also in attendance to show his gratitude to the orchestra and the audience.

Was the fourth installment able to once again amaze and push forward? Find out after the jump. (more…)
Featured, Game Music

E3 2011: A Word With Final Fantasy XIII-2 Director Motomu Toriyama

June 23, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | 1 Comment Share this

We were fortunate enough at E3 this year to sit down with Final Fantasy XIII-2 director Motomu Toriyama to ask him some questions about the game’s music. While we had a similar opportunity at GDC 2010 to discuss the original Final Fantasy XIII, it was still interesting to witness Toriyama’s surprise that people actually care about the music and sound design in the game projects he oversees.

We get some interesting tidbits, including the fact that other composers will be contributing to Final Fantasy XIII-2’s soundtrack, the general approach they’re taking with the game’s score, and just how elusive Masashi Hamauzu has been since his departure from Square Enix.

Hit the jump for our brief interview with Motomu Toriyama. (more…)
Featured, Game Music

E3 2011: Final Fantasy XIII-2 Has Lots of Battle Themes

June 13, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | 9 Comments Share this

During our separate hands-on and hands-off demos of Final Fantasy XIII-2 at E3 2011 last week, there was a lot of music to hear. While the game pretty much controlled the same way as Final Fantasy XIII, it sounds like Masashi Hamauzu (confirmed to be working on the title) has a number of tricks up his sleeve to make sure the game’s soundtrack provides something familiar yet refreshing.

We heard a number of pieces throughout the demos, but what stood out most were the battle themes. We heard four in all, and I think you’ll be surprised by what you’ll be hearing. Hit the jump for more! (more…)
Featured, Game Music

Arrangers Speak Out On LEGENDS: Comments From The Staff

May 12, 2011 | Audun Sorlie | 6 Comments Share this

LEGENDS is now only a few weeks away and like the weather that is currently gracing the fine continent of Europe, things are heating up for the Nintendo based concert. Taking place in Stockholm on the 1st of June, LEGENDS will revisit the world of Nintendo’s vast music library, much like concert of 2010 before it, Symphonic Legends. However, this won’t be exactly the same concert as the German audience heard. LEGENDS will be an all new experience, showcasing all new arrangements with familiar tunes and motifs, and for the people who traveled to Cologne last year, the experience of LEGENDS will be just as exciting as it will for the all new ears in attendance.

To give the audience a bit of insight into what to expect and what goes into the process of arranging the legendary music, LEGENDS has for weeks posted updates from the arrangers Jonne Valtonen, Roger Wanamo and Masashi Hamauzu about their thoughts and feelings on the different pieces they are working on. With the final announcement posted, you can now read all the updates in English!

Read all the comments from the LEGENDS staff after the jump! (more…)
Game Music

OSVchannel: FINAL FANTASY IV & THE AFTER YEARS Sound Plus Unboxing Video

April 26, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | 1 Comment Share this

You asked for it, and here it is. As I mention in the video, I wasn’t planning to unbox this one. The packaging isn’t all that elaborate. But when you combine the fact that it does still look quite nice for a limited edition pack-in bonus and the fact that it’s going to be pretty rare, I thought you guys might like to see it in detail.

There are still no plans from Square Enix to release this album separately, but rest assured that we’ll let you know if that changes, and we’ll be sure to ask Izumi Tsukushi and Akio Shiraishi at Comic Con this year if they attend.

What do you think of the scarcity of this album and of the packaging itself? Would you be okay without the packaging and settle for a digital release if it was offered at this point?