Street Fighter II

Game Music

Pre-Orders open for a new pressing of Brave Wave’s Street Fighter II Vinyl

October 11, 2016 | Shawn Sackenheim | Comments Off on Pre-Orders open for a new pressing of Brave Wave’s Street Fighter II Vinyl Share this

The initial run of Brave Wave’s Street Fighter II: The Definitive Soundtrack on vinyl sold out incredibly fast when it was released last November. Nearly a year later, though, the label has announced that Big Wax will be their distributor for all upcoming vinyl releases and the partnership kicks off with a new pressing of Street Fighter II. Pre-orders are available now for the 4-LP box set for roughly $75 which will begin shipping in December.

Brave Wave has also partnered with Mondo who will be carrying Street Fighter II and other upcoming Generation Series releases on their store including next week’s Shovel Knight vinyl. You can pre-order Street Fighter II: The Definitive Soundtrack from Mondo and read up on our previous news story about Shovel Knight’s vinyl release here. And if that Street Fighter album is a little hazy in your memory you can always refresh yourself with our review of the CD album.
Game Music, Indie Music

Brave Wave Podcast Launches, New Articles Reveal More on the Label

January 20, 2016 | Shawn Sackenheim | Comments Off on Brave Wave Podcast Launches, New Articles Reveal More on the Label Share this

Brave Wave, the independent game music label, has been making more and more headlines over the last year and not just from the VGM scene. From their work in restoring Street Fighter II’s arcade soundtrack to giving veteran composers new outlets for their music, Brave Wave seems to be accelerating in quality, quantity and breadth.

But who and what is Brave Wave? Their website gives only the most basic, PR Approved overview but the full story is now coming to light. Several articles over the last year have highlighted the label, largely surrounding their work on Street Fighter II. FACT Magazine posted an extensive interview with the team and went on to name them one of the 10 labels to watch in 2016. Most recently, Jeremy Parish from USgamer posted an excellent, massive article based on his time talking with Brave Wave founder, Mohammed Taher. It’s the most revealing look at the organization I’ve seen but if that’s too much reading for you then definitely check out Wavelength.

Wavelength is Brave Wave’s own bi-weekly podcast series that just launched on January 14th. The inaugural episode features Mohammed retelling much of the label’s unplanned development alongside Associate Director and Mixing Engineer, Marco Guardia. The episode is wrangled by Brett Elston from VGMpire and after the history lesson the conversation turns to the making of the Street Fighter II album, the influx of game music on vinyl and hints at what’s coming next for both the podcast and Brave Wave.
Game Music, Music Production, Reviews

Street Fighter II The Definitive Soundtrack (Review)

December 26, 2015 | Shawn Sackenheim | 6 Comments Share this

What is Brave Wave’s Street Fighter II The Definitive Soundtrack? It isn’t a remix album and it isn’t necessarily a new arrangement of the music, although you could easily be convinced otherwise. It’s the first in the label’s Generation Series that aims to painstakingly revitalize some of gaming’s unreleased, incomplete, or poorly preserved soundtracks. For Street Fighter II that meant making new source recordings directly from Capcom’s CPS-1 (Street Fighter II) and CPS-2 (Super Street Fighter II Turbo) arcade hardware.

A lot of work went into cleaning up the recording before it was finally mixed and mastered and ultimately signed off on by original composer, Yoko Shimomura. Did the months of delicate, elaborate work pay off? Play the side-by-side comparison within and know that you’ve never heard Street Fighter II’s music so clearly before, and not just because you aren’t in a raucous arcade.
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Game Music

Brave Wave has more Street Fighter Vinyl & 40% Discounts

November 30, 2015 | Shawn Sackenheim | 1 Comment Share this

To say that Brave Wave’s astoundingly lush, 4-LP Street Fighter II vinyl release was “highly anticipated” is not a minor understatement. By the time I realized the albums were even on sale, they were sold out. The supply wasn’t necessarily limited either as the release jumped quickly to #1 on Bandcamp’s weekly sales charts. In response, Brave Wave has opened up pre-orders for a second pressing of the album but even by the time you read this post they may very well be gone again.

As a combination thank you and consolation for the amazing demand for the album, Brave Wave is offering 40% discounts on the physical CD versions of the following three fan-favorite releases, delivered in time for Christmas to boot.

Heart Beat Circuit is the solo album of Brave Wave’s composer Smoke Thief, featuring collaborations with industry veterans Manami Matsumae (Mega Man), Saori Kobayashi (Panzer Dragoon Saga) and Takahiro Izutani (Bayonetta series). Checkout code: hbc40

Journey is the band project of Saori Kobayashi (Panzer Dragoon Saga) and Yumiko Takahashi (Suikoden vocalist). The album features new original music inspired by the Panzer Dragoon series of games, compositions from Crimson Dragon, Crimson Dragon: Side Story, and a special appearance by legendary composer Nobuo Uematsu (of Final Fantasy). Checkout code: journey40

In Flux is an East-meets-West music album that merges the two oceans together, featuring the musicians of Evanescence, Mega Man, Ninja Gaiden, Silent Hill, Panzer Dragoon, Sworcery, Spelunky and many more. It’s an album that celebrates the joyous nature of video game-inspired music, not constrained by genres or languages. Checkout code: influx40

I’ll be back with more coverage of Street Fighter II: The Definitive Soundtrack soon including the music itself and the 3-disc CD release that will ship in mid-December.
Chip Music, Game Music, Japanese

Listen to the New Sound of Street Fighter II

November 8, 2015 | Shawn Sackenheim | Comments Off on Listen to the New Sound of Street Fighter II Share this

Back at the end of July Brave Wave announced the Generation Series that aims to remaster beloved, out of print and incomplete game music in excruciating quality. The first (and so far, only) album announced is Street Fighter II: The Definitive Soundtrack which is planned for release before the end of the year.

Since our original post Brave Wave have gone on to reveal some more details on the release. The album art has been updated (seen above), the playlist will include a staggering 100+ tracks encompassing the CPS1 and CPS2 versions of the soundtrack and the CD release will come on three discs. As previously reported, both the CD and vinyl versions will feature liner notes from original composer Yoko Shimomura and Polygon.com’s Matt Leone.

More importantly, they’ve released the eight comparison tracks embedded above that should give you an immediate appreciation for the work they’ve put into the album so far. On their vision for the new sound of Street Fighter, sound engineer Marco Guardia told Polygon, “We were trying to strike a balance between staying true to the song and it being authentic. We didn’t want to go overboard and mess with the sound to a degree that it sounds nothing like it used to.”

Take a listen for yourself and check out that Polygon article while you’re at it; there are some insights into Brave Wave’s process and the story behind the album’s origins.
Game Music

Meet Hyadain Part 4: The World Warrior Based on Street Fighter II

September 23, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 2 Comments Share this

We’re back with another Hyadain video. While our past “Meet Hyadain” posts have delved into remixes by the talented composer and arranger whose true identity we discussed in our Part 3 post, “The World Warrior” is actually an original song based on Street Fighter II. Similar to past Hyadain tracks, we get a variety of vocal performances (I find the Dhalsim parts to be particularly funny, and swear the Chun Li portions sound convincingly feminine), and of course, an amazing musical backing. I’ve always been impressed by just how catchy this track is, and it really does feel right at home with the game itself.

This is the fourth time we’ve featured Hyadain on OSV, but he has many more arrangements out there. What are some of your favorites that we haven’t covered yet?
Doujin, Game Music

Mustin Needs A Pair Of Lenses: Vision Quest Available Now

April 1, 2010 | Audun Sorlie | 3 Comments Share this

Like the mighty men Bruce Lee, Baxter Stockman and the blue Power Ranger kid, Mustin also suffers from the common problem of poor eyesight. With the many doctor appointments needed, and the purchase of glasses and contact lenses, bills are quickly stacking up on this talented man’s desk and no Obama bill is there to help him just yet. That’s why us fans are here to help out!

Vision Quest is a 5 track EP made to collect funds to acquire the much needed vision aid, and it’s sold for the attractive price of $4.95 US. The mini album consists of vocal arrangement tracks from Streets of Rage 2, Earthbound, Street Fighter 2, Bust-A-Groove and He-Man. All the vocals are performed by well known arrangement artists, including our very own Dale North, who does an awesome performance of “Natural Playboy” that nearly surpasses the original track.

So go to BandCamp and help out a man who has given us so many great moments.