Rock

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…)
Experimental, Game Music, Reviews

The Boys Are Back in Town: EARTHBOUND PAPAS Unleash Octave Theory (Review)

May 23, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | 5 Comments Share this

It was some time ago that Nobuo Uematsu announced that he had formed a new band called EARTHBOUND PAPAS. What was the band all about, and was it at all related to Nintendo’s Mother 2, which is known as Earthbound in West? Well, with the release of their debut album, Octave Theory, a couple months back, all speculation was laid to rest. This is Nobuo Uematsu’s new band.

But wait, what about The Black Mages, you ask? Well, The Black Mages belong to Square Enix, whereas the EARTHBOUND PAPAS are an independent group. Does it make a difference? As you’ll see from the track listing, a number of Final Fantasy tracks appear on the album, but the EARTHBOUND PAPAS really offer a distinct sound of their own.

Find out what we think of their debut offering and what other game arrangements are featured in our review after the jump. (more…)
Game Music, Reviews

Kow Otani Rocks and Rolls Over: Sengoku Basara 3 Soundtrack (Review)

May 11, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on Kow Otani Rocks and Rolls Over: Sengoku Basara 3 Soundtrack (Review) Share this

Okay, not really. But when it was announced long ago that Kow Otani would be working on Sengoku Basara 3, I think a lot of fans, myself included were excited about the possibilities. As it turns out Kow Otani only provided a portion of the game’s soundtrack, and he composed music in his distinctive orchestral style, letting the other composers on board tackle the rock music.

I’d been a fan of Dynasty Warriors titles in the past, so why not Sengoku Basara? Different developers, yes, but similar styles.

Prepare to rock out in our review after the jump! (more…)
Game Music, Reviews

First Steps Towards Falcom: Ys I & II Chronicles Musical Selections (Review)

March 23, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on First Steps Towards Falcom: Ys I & II Chronicles Musical Selections (Review) Share this

Ever since XSEED picked up publishing rights to Nihon Falcom’s wares, we’ve been getting a slew of Ys titles on the PSP. We loved Ys SEVEN last year, and I think Oath of Felghana is a favorite for a lot of fans out there. Most recent, however, was the release of Ys I & II Chronicles, remakes of the first two games in the series with a killer arranged soundtrack.

The single disc release comes with the Premium Edition of the game in the United States, and features a “selection” of tracks from the bigger 2-disc official soundtrack release that came out in Japan in 2009. Yeah, I know it sucks to get only half of the music, but if you look at the Japanese Ys I & II Chronicles Original Sound Track mini album, it only featured 8 tracks, so be happy that you’re getting a full disc of music here!

Are the arrangements any good? Hit the jump to find out. (more…)
Game Music, Reviews

Margaret is Greek You Geek: No More Heroes 2 Desperate Struggle (Review)

January 10, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | 17 Comments Share this

‘Tis the season, I suppose. This holiday season brought both the Opoona soundtrack and the No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle soundtrack, both of which I thought would never see a release. We covered No More Heroes 2 pretty extensively with both a game review and an interview with composer Jun Fukuda and sound coordinator Nobuhiko Sagara which I highly recommend reading before digging into our review, as it covers a lot of the artists that are featured.

So, does the No More Heroes 2 soundtrack live up to the quality of its predecessor? Find out in our review after the jump! (more…)
Featured, Game Music

Soundtrack of the Month 01/2011: Final Fantasy Mystic Quest Sound Collections

January 5, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | 7 Comments Share this

Looks like we’re starting a trend, as our January 2010 soundtrack of the month was also late! Our bad.

So, Mystic Quest. Too often is this game mocked and reviled by RPG fans, but I’ve always had a special place in my heart for this game. Not only did I love the characters, dungeons, on-field enemies, and changing animations as enemies took damage in battle, but Ryuji Sasai and Yasuhiro Kawakami’s soundtrack have remained one of my favorites to this very day.

The memory I primarily associate with this game is one summer that I spent with my cousins in Las Vegas where we would start a new game in the morning (naming our character CLASHION), and finish it by the evening, repeating the process the following day for nearly a week. Yes, I know this game, and I love it, and you should too!

Find out why you can at least appreciate the soundtrack even if you hated the game in our Soundtrack of the Month feature to start off 2011! (more…)
Featured, Film, Game Music

A Blast From The Past: Vince DiCola on Gran Tursimo 5 and His Career

December 28, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on A Blast From The Past: Vince DiCola on Gran Tursimo 5 and His Career Share this

It should come as no surprise by now that most of us here at OSV are huge fans of Vince DiCola. From his work on Rocky IV and The Transformers (the animated film), to some of the recent YouTube postings he’s been involved with, he’s extremely talented and generous with his time. I conducted an interview with him while at Music4Games back in March 2008 after learning that he was involved with an arrangement of popular “Moon Over The Castle” theme from Gran Turismo 5: Prologue. It’s shocking to think that it was nearly 3 years ago that Prologue was released, huh?

In any case, this is one of my favorite interviews that I ever conducted. Vince DiCola is not only very detailed in his responses, but also very genuine and open about his career, the challenges he’s faced in the music business, and his hopes for the future. Interestly, the project he alludes to at the end of the interview is still in the works, and trust me when I tell you that it’s going to blow you all away when it’s finally out there. Hopefully we can provide a preview on that soon, but in the meantime, take a trip back with us to enjoy this Blast from the Past entry with Vince DiCola.

What are you waiting for? Hit the jump! (more…)