Suikoden

Game Music, Reviews

OCR’s Unsung Heroes: The ‘Sung’ Refers to the Singing (Review)

January 25, 2012 | Jayson Napolitano | 2 Comments Share this

They had me at “Suikoden.” Unsung Heroes is one of the best album concepts to come out of the OCR community as an arrangement album dedicated entirely to games that have received minimal attention from arrangers over the years. I first caught a glimpse of the album at MAGFest X earlier this month, and when it was released yesterday on OverClocked ReMix, I immediately ran over to check it out.

Titles arranged include the previously-mentioned Suikoden as well as Persona 3, Faxanadu, Legacy of the Wizard, Willow, and Secret of Evermore. Oh, and there’s singing if you couldn’t guess from the title of this post.

Did this ambitious effort pay off? Find out in our review after the jump. (more…)
Game Music

Anyone Excited About Genso Suikoden: The Woven Web of a Century?

December 20, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | 2 Comments Share this

Genso Suikoden is the best game franchise of all time. That’s why it’s such a shame that they keep teasing us with spin-offs instead of continuing the main series. Still, I’m a sucker for anything Genso Suikoden, making me incredibly excited about the upcoming PSP title, The Woven Web of a Century. We’re naturally interested in the game’s soundtrack, which will be sold separately as well as included with several limited edition version of the game, and it’s already been revealed that it will feature a theme song by Chiaki Ishikawa.

The soundtrack will feature three discs, with one dedicated to a drama performance. If you recall, Tierkreis for the DS sported four discs as well as an additional two in the EXTRA soundtrack release, so it’ll be interesting to see how much music is released for The Woven Web of a Century. Also interesting is the fact that Konami is including a costume of hero McDohl for use in Frontier Gate for those who pre-order that game’s soundtrack… all the Suikoden love could just make me burst right now!

Are you looking forward to Genso Suikoden: The Woven Web of a Century and its soundtrack? Does the Suikoden tie-in for Frontier Gate surprise you?

[via Siliconera and VGMdb]
Featured, Game Music

Soundtrack of the Month 04/2011: Genso Suikoden Original Soundtrack

April 1, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | 4 Comments Share this

Maybe you didn’t notice, but we actually skipped March’s Soundtrack of the Month. With that in mind, I thought I’d do a special one for April. As many of you know, the Genso Suikoden franchise is my favorite game franchise ever, with the first game in the series being my favorite game of all time. Needless to say, the game’s soundtrack composed primarily by Miki Higashino and others at Konami is a huge influence on my love for the game.

Two discs, 58 tracks, and some of the most memorable themes the videogame industry as to offer, and chances are a lot of people out there haven’t even delved into the franchise’s rich musical heritage!

Hit the jump to find out why this one’s so special. (more…)
Game Music

More Mario Paint Madness: “Gothic Neclord” from Suikoden II

October 29, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | 1 Comment Share this

More Mario Paint music, and it’s from my favorite game series this time. Those crazy people with Mario Paint are at it again, and while this isn’t as amazing as the Super Mario Galaxy video we posted some time ago, this is pretty damn cool.

“Gothic Neclord” is a fan favorite battle theme from Suikoden II. I don’t understand the title though, because the track was already pretty gothic. Perhaps it should have been called “Techno Neclord” or something. I swear the beginning of this Mario Paint version sounds like Mortal Kombat, but it’s pretty cool when it gets going.

Are you sick of these Mario Paint videos on YouTube yet? Any songs that you’d like to see Mario Paint-ified?
Game Music

Celebrate 15 Years of Suikoden with New Arrangement Albums!

October 19, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | 1 Comment Share this

And it’s about time! It’s been way too long since Konami has created an arrangement album from the musical gold mine that is the Suikoden series. With the recent release of Suikoden Tierkreis, it looks like they’ll have some new material to arrange, and in fact, it’s been so long since they’ve put out an album that even new takes on music from Genso Suikoden V will be something entirely new.

So, what’s the album all about? It’s called the Genso Suikoden Arrange Collection Vol. 1 ~Vocal & Piano~, and it’s Interesting in two ways: first, that it’s titled “Volume 1,” suggesting more albums are on the way, and two, that both vocal and piano arrangement albums already exist for the Suikoden series. You won’t find me complaining about more Suikoden music, but I hope Konami gets back into the experimental style of some of the past Genso Suikoden arrangement albums.

It’s due out on December 18, 2009 in Japan, and here’s a list of tracks that will be featured along with their respective games, courtesy of VGMdb:

Vocal Arrange:
Genso Suikoden: Mysterious Forest
Genso Suikoden II: Reminiscence
Genso Suikoden III: Searching for a Hero of Long Ago
Genso Suikoden IV: Seaside Spring
Genso Suikoden V: A Moment of Calm
Genso Suikoden Tierkreis: *TBA*

Piano Arrange:
Genso Suikoden: Into a World of Illusion
Genso Suikoden II: Her Sigh
Genso Suikoden III: Midwinter Land
Genso Suikoden IV: Finale: Remembering the Blue of the Sea
Genso Suikoden V: To Peaceful Days
Genso Suikoden Tierkreis: Home of the Porpos

Are you looking forward to hearing this and more arrangement albums from the Suikoden universe in 2010? Any tracks that you think still need to be arranged?
Game Music

Strap Yourselves In For Press Start 2009: Symphony of Games

August 13, 2009 | Shota Nakama | 4 Comments Share this

So, I just happened to be in Tokyo to check out the Press Start 2009 concert that took place earlier this month. I got there about an hour before the show, but the venue, the Tokyo Geijutsu Gekijo (Tokyo Art Hall), was already was surrounded by pretty-obvious-looking video game music fans. Going into the building, some fans were digging into the merchandise section already, and others were playing their DS eagerly waiting for the show to start. I knew I was in for a treat.

For those who don’t know about Press Start, it’s an annual orchestral video game music concert organized by some of the big names in the Japanese video game industry including Nobuo Uematsu, Shogo Sakai, Masahiro Sakurai, Kazunari Nojima, and maestro Taizo Takemoto. It started back in 2006, so this year marks it’s 4th year in business.

With introductions aside, our review of the show is waiting after the jump. (more…)
Game Music

Konami’s Unannounced Goods: Soundtrack and Digital Artbook With Every Copy of Suikoden Tierkreis

March 10, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on Konami’s Unannounced Goods: Soundtrack and Digital Artbook With Every Copy of Suikoden Tierkreis Share this

I told you there was more. While Konami hasn’t officially put the word out (I think we’re seeing a trend here), fans who pick up the game next week will be receiving an additional disc containing snippets from the soundtrack along with a digital artbook. We’ve seen similar gifts for past Suikoden releases, and the fact that I hadn’t heard anything until now had me wondering what was up.

So, is it as cool as the physical artbook and arrange CD that was shipped with Suikoden V? Well, it’s a different approach for sure. While I miss being able to put the disc in my CD player (the files are in mp3 format), they did an excellent job picking out and spotlighting some of the best tracks from the full-length 3-disc soundtrack.

Find out what you’ll be treated to after the jump. (more…)