Supersweep

Game Music, Reviews

A Hosoe to the Past: UNDER DEFEAT DC Edition (Review)

April 24, 2012 | Jayson Napolitano | 2 Comments Share this

This is an album that’s sure to confuse. UNDER DEFEAT was a top down shmup title released on both arcade and ported over to Dreamcast in 2006, and even recently was ported to PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 as UNDER DEFEAT HD in 2011. Here we are in 2012, and this album is being released a re-issue of a past SuperSweep album that contained music from the arcade version and apparently contains the ‘DC Edition,’ although I don’t know what the differences may be.

Still, Shinji Hosoe has become a household name over the years for his mastery of electronic music, and UNDER DEFEAT is no exception. Interestingly, what really turned me on to Hosoe’s work was a remix he prepared for the Phantasy Star Online Premium Arrange album sporting a cool blend of electronics and rock instrumentation complete with a funky slap bass that I hadn’t heard from Hosoe in a long time, until now.

Hit the jump for our review. (more…)
Experimental, Game Music, Reviews

SuperSweep’s Latest Trash: NanoSweep, Overdrive Hell, and Trash (Review)

April 13, 2012 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on SuperSweep’s Latest Trash: NanoSweep, Overdrive Hell, and Trash (Review) Share this

In addition to releasing a ton of great music by composers Shinji Hosoe, Ayako Saso, and the rest of the team at SuperSweep, the SuperSweep label has been host to a number of great music releases, some of which we’ve covered here on OSV. Another benefit that the gain by owning their own label is that they can take more risks, as is the case with their many original composition series that they’ve developed over the years.

We’re taking a look at the most recent batch from these series, including the electronic NanoSweep 12 and 13, the experimental overdrive hell 5 and 6 (sampled above), and Trash007 and Trash 008.

For their 300-500 Yen asking prices, are they even worth your consideration? Find out after the jump. (more…)
Game Music

OSVchannel: TOAPLAN Shooting Chronicle Unboxing Video

April 5, 2012 | Jayson Napolitano | 1 Comment Share this

Rather than go on at length about five discs of music that I have no nostalgic attachment to (I never played any of TOAPLAN’s famed shmup titles, unfortunately), I thought we’d just show off the snazzy packaging. You can see in the still above that the way they’ve put this one together is rather unconventional, and I had fun putting this video together to show off the collection being offered by SuperSweep. Many of these soundtracks were originally published in the early 1990s, so I’m sure fans will appreciate this collection.

To say just a few words about the set, I particularly enjoyed the Hellfire and Zero Wing soundtracks, especially the latter with its amazing eight and a half minute long second stage theme (heard in the above video). There’s also the rockin’ Ninja Gaiden-esque Vimana, the upbeat pop-oriented Truxton II, and the vibrant Grind Stormer that caught my attention. Finally, the sixth disc contains hundreds of pages of design documents, artwork, interivews, and is honestly one of the coolest things about the collection. The bonus disc for purchasing directly from SuperSweep shows high-scoring playthroughs, so don’t feel too bad if you can’t get your hands on it. It’s available at CD Japan if you’re interested.

Let us know what you think about these soundtracks, the packaging, and the bonus discs!
Game Music, Reviews

A Bloody Good Time: Trauma Center 2 Soundtrack (Review)

March 14, 2012 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on A Bloody Good Time: Trauma Center 2 Soundtrack (Review) Share this

We really dug the original Trauma Center soundtrack that SuperSweep put out last year. It featured a nice blend of jazzy electronic tracks, and the addition of the Wii version tracks was a nice touch. A few months later, SuperSweep released the soundtrack for Trauma Center 2, which takes an all new direction.

Responsible for the score this time around are SuperSweep’s Manabu Namiki and Noriyuki Kamikura, and with Namiki in the mix, you can probably already get a sense of what’s in store for your ears if you haven’t already heard the music in-game!

Hit the jump for our review. (more…)
Game Music, Reviews

The Bible According to SuperSweep: Last Bible III (Review)

March 2, 2012 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on The Bible According to SuperSweep: Last Bible III (Review) Share this

My only familiarity with the Last Bible series is when Patrick got really excited about SuperSweep finally releasing the soundtracks for the first two games in the series. Beyond that, I know it’s an RPG series, I know that Last Bible III was released on the Super Famicom, and I know that composer Hiroyuki Yanada has been on board since the beginning.

So, here I am looking at the Last Bible III soundtrack. Do I fight, flee, or listen?

Find out after the jump. (more…)
Game Music, Reviews

Team Work: Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and EGC PETA MIX (Review)

December 12, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on Team Work: Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and EGC PETA MIX (Review) Share this

Yes, we just reviewed what we believed to be pretty much the entire Tekken Tag Tournament 2 soundtrack a couple weeks ago with the Tekken Hybrid Limited Edition soundtrack CD. That album contained two discs, one each dedicated to Tekken Tag Tournament and Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and we weren’t sure at the time how the single-disc treatment of TTT2 would compare with this two-disc version from SuperSweep.

But now we have it here in our hands and all mysteries have been revealed. We’re also going to take a look at the EGC PETA MIX Extra Disc that was included with orders from SuperSweep directly.

Check it all out after the jump. (more…)
Game Music, Reviews

A Knife to the Past: Trauma Center Under the Knife (Review)

November 14, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | 2 Comments Share this

While there have been several soundtrack release for titles from the Trauma Center series over the years, the first game in the franchise, Trauma Center: Under the Knife never had this honor. That is, until now. SuperSweep has just released the soundtrack to Trauma Center: Under the Knife as well as Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2, rounding out the soundtracks for the series.

With music by Atlus staples Shoji Meguro and Kenichi Tsuchiya and contributions by Kenichi Kikkawa, does the Trauma Center: Under the Knife soundtrack live up to their other works?

Hit the jump to find out. (more…)