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Game Music

Exception Lays out its Synthwave Soundtrack

December 11, 2015 | Shawn Sackenheim | Comments Off on Exception Lays out its Synthwave Soundtrack Share this

Traxmaster Software has just announced the artists that will be providing the music for their upcoming PC platformer, Exception. As you might expect for a game that glows through a grid of scanlines with the neon tinge of the 80’s, the soundtrack will be heavy on synthwave. Contributors include Waveshaper, Zero Call, Protector 101, Kalax, Daroc, Preqwal, Lueur Verte and Compilerbau.

You can get a feel for the music and Exception’s lightning fast gameplay (think N+ or Super Meat Boy) in the new soundtrack trailer above. Check out the official site for more on the game and its music leading up to Exception’s mid-2016 launch on Steam.
Doujin, Game Music, Japanese

Darius and Zuntata Have Returned for Chronicle Saviours

December 8, 2015 | Shawn Sackenheim | Comments Off on Darius and Zuntata Have Returned for Chronicle Saviours Share this

DariusBurst: Chronicle Saviours — the greatly expanded home version of 2011’s DariusBurst: Another Chronicle EX — was released last week on Steam, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita. Along with a new story mode with hundreds of stages, 4-player co-op and support for dual monitors, fans will be getting a new soundtrack from legendary Taito sound team, Zuntata.

The game is on sale now for $60 on PlayStation 4 and $40 on Vita and Steam (regularly $50) but if you’re really just after the music you may want to hold off just a little longer. Dariusburst Chronicle Saviours Original Sound Track is slated for release on January 13th in Japan featuring twelve new songs from Chronicle Saviours as well as tracks from previous entries, Another Chronicle, Another Chronicle EX, and Second Prologue. The new vocal theme, “Freedom”, is also included and can be heard in the trailer above. Check the rest of this post for the full tracklist, read up on Chronicle Saviours at the official English site or catch up on the series’ music with some of our previous coverage.

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Game Music

Hotline Miami Weekend Sale Supports the Musicians

November 20, 2015 | Shawn Sackenheim | Comments Off on Hotline Miami Weekend Sale Supports the Musicians Share this
Dennaton Games, makers of the violently psychedelic Hotline Miami series, have put both games on sale for the weekend with all of the profits going to the game’s musicians. That includes contributing artists like MOON, Jasper Byrne, Light Club, El Huervo, Perturbator, Scattle, Mitch Murder and many more.

Despite the game’s strikingly gory and pulsating pixelart visuals, it’s the music that completely defines the experience. I haven’t picked up the sequel but the original was one of my favorite soundtracks from 2012, soaking with grungy EDM, glorious 80’s synth and eerie distortion.

The sale runs from now until Monday, November 23rd (10am PST) and includes the following discounts:
- Hotline Miami – $2.49
- Hotline Miami Soundtrack DLC (requires original game) – $2.49
- Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number – $8.99
- Hotline Miami 2 Soundtrack DLC (requires original game) – $8.99
- Hotline Miami 1 + 2 Combo Pack – $10.99
Game Music, Indie Music, Reviews

A Must Listen: Shadowrun: Hong Kong (Review)

November 16, 2015 | Ryan Paquet | 3 Comments Share this

I have listened to the Shadowrun :Hong Kong at least 5 times since I received a digital copy to review. The soundtrack spans 28 tracks and is spread across 2 CDs in its physical release.

The music itself is very melodic, uses a variety of instruments combined with unique sounds, and overall presents a very engaging listening experience. Read on to see my thoughts about what I loved so much about this soundtrack and hear some must listen tracks.

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Game Music

FLAT KINGDOM ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK: AVAILABLE NOW

October 22, 2015 | Ryan Paquet | Comments Off on FLAT KINGDOM ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK: AVAILABLE NOW Share this

Brave Wave Productions released the soundtrack to Flat Kingdom earlier this month on October 2, 2015. Manami Matsumae’s latest work is a refreshing take on music for an adventure platformer. Brave Wave describes the game briefly:

Flat Kingdom is a 2D platformer for Steam. In this magical place, everything is Flat as paper. But the evil masked thief recently kidnapped the princess and stole the magic jewels from the king! Now everything is turning into 3D, animals became evil, and chaos threatens to engulf the whole world. The only one capable of withstanding this madness is Flat, a little hero who can transform into a circle, triangle, or square at will. With his abilities, he must face great dangers in order to save the world!

Manami Matsumae is famously known as the composer and sound designer of the original Mega Man, making both the addictive music and the memorable sound effects back then.

BRAVE WAVE PRODUCTIONS

According to the Steam web site for the game Manami Matsumae describes how she approached the music for the game:

“I saw that the game was a very fun-looking puzzle action title with a protagonist similar to Kirby. So I thought of a theme that symbolized the cuteness of the characters while having plenty of motion. I hope everyone enjoys this game”.

Manami Matsumae

I just finished listening to the album and it’s a solid effort and at times did remind me of some Kirby game moments. The album is available at Brave Wave Productions as a digital download for $9. The game has not been released on Steam yet but it looks great, you can read more about it on the Flat Kingdom website.
Game Music, Indie Music, Reviews

Nova-111 Original Soundtrack (Review)

September 15, 2015 | Ryan Paquet | 5 Comments Share this Nova-111 Original Soundtrack (Review)

What is Nova-111? The designers Funktronic Labs describes it as a turn based sci-fi adventure game that plays in real time featuring science and aliens! I spent some time playing the game but have spent more time listening to the soundtrack composed by Jack Menhorn. The game reminded me of a combination of The Adventures of Lolo and Sokoban but more visualy like the work of French Artist Moebius.

Jack Menhorn is not new to video game composing and has written the music for several titles including: Robots Need Love Too, Relic Rush, and Hack Slash Loot. For Nova-111 Jack Menhorn has composed 15 tracks totalling just under 56 minutes of music. Read on to hear my thoughts on the music of Nova-111.

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Game Music

Exile’s End Original Soundtrack Available Now from Brave Wave

September 2, 2015 | Ryan Paquet | 89 Comments Share this

Brave Wave Productions just released the soundtrack to Exile’s End by composer Keiji Yamagishi known for Ninja Gaiden. The game was developed by Magnetic realms and published by Marvelous Inc.

Exile’s End is an homage to early 90’s action-adventure PC games like Flashback and Another World, but with a Japanese flair. The core of the game is from Australian game maker Magnetic Realms with art, cutscenes, and music provided by legends of the 8 and 16-bit eras from Japan. It draws its thematic influence from the science-fiction films and anime of the 80’s and its gameplay from classic Amiga and Commodore 64 action-adventures.

When tasked with composing the game, Keiji Yamagishi delved into uncharted territory by experimenting with moody, ambient electronica — a welcome departure from his signature style.

Brave Wave Productions

The album is available as a digital download from Brave Wave for $7.00, or as a bonus DLC if you buy the game on Steam during the first week for $9.34 (15% Off until September 7!) From what I’ve heard so far it is a fantastic release. Let us know what you think!