Troian Beauty

• Game Music

  Cafe SQ Gets Full Track Listing, Streaming Samples

  October 4, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | 2 Comments Share this Cafe SQ Gets Full Track Listing, Streaming Samples

  

  It was just two months ago that I was asking, “Where the heck is Cafe SQ?,” and now here it is. I still find it odd that it was announced prior to SQ Chips, yet SQ Chips is already out, but hey, as long is it gets released, I’m happy. Square Enix recently launched a site dedicated to the album, which was rapidly translated on VGMdb, and the album is looking to be one of the best SQ series offerings to date, although I am biased given that I love the whole chillout genre.

  The album will feature music mostly from Final Fantasy (big surprise), although tracks from Chrono Trigger, Xenogears, and Dewprism, and a couple others will also show up. There are 15 tracks in all, and some of the picks, including “Delightful Spekkio” from Chrono Trigger, “Matoya’s Cave” from Final Fantasy, and “Troian Beauty” from Final Fantasy IV have me super excited. Yes, “Troian Beauty.” It seems like everyone gets how amazing this song is except for Uematsu himself. Do I need to start a petition to get it included in Distant Worlds?

  Anyway, the official Cafe SQ website has the full track list as well as streaming sample (including “Troian Beaut”), so check it out!

  Which is your favorite SQ album to date? Will you be picking up Cafe SQ when it’s released in late November?

• Featured, Game Music

  Soundtrack of the Month 08/2011: Final Fantasy IV

  August 1, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | 10 Comments Share this Soundtrack of the Month 08/2011: Final Fantasy IV

  

  I still have a giant backlog of Soundtrack of the Month articles I want to do, but it’s about time I got around to one of my favorite Final Fantasy titles and soundtracks of all time. Perhaps the recent release of the Final Fantasy IV The Complete Collection has brought this one to the forefront of my mind, but I think most fans would agree that this soundtrack is deserving of this honor.

  Join us as we take a trip back in time and highlight some of the best that Nobuo Uematsu had to offer with Final Fantasy IV. (more…)

• Game Music, Reviews

  Completely Complete: FINAL FANTASY IV & THE AFTER YEARS Sound Plus (Review)

  April 20, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | 2 Comments Share this Completely Complete: FINAL FANTASY IV & THE AFTER YEARS Sound Plus (Review)

  

  If memory serves me right, I had asked Square Enix’s Izumi Tsukushi and Akio Shiraishi to release the music from The After Years as some sort of bonus release. Well, they’ve done just that, and while fans who picked up the Final Fantasy IV Complete Collection limited edition are surely happy, fans abroad who will likely never get their hands on the album are more than distraught.

  Beyond just offering a few tracks from the game, the disc contains all of the music Junya Nakano wrote for The After Years along with selections from the original soundtrack, and even a few bonuses. Oh, and of course there’s Masashi Hamauzu’s arrangement of the opening theme.

  Hit the jump for our full review. (more…)

• Game Music

  Of Mustaches and Men: A Circus of an Interview with Nobuo Uematsu

  July 23, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | 14 Comments Share this Of Mustaches and Men: A Circus of an Interview with Nobuo Uematsu

  

  Talk about an experience of a lifetime. I was super jealous when 1UP.com did their “One Day With Nobuo Uematsu” video interview last year, but I am confident when I say that Shota and I had an even better day with Nobuo Uematsu in San Francisco this past Saturday. He was in town for the Distant Worlds concert, of course, and man, it was a truly epic experience.

  Aside from our lengthy interview that features some pretty bizarre questions, we saw Uematsu-san get assaulted (not really) by fans on the street who wanted his autograph, and learned that hey, contrary to popular believe, his English is pretty amazing. In fact, we almost didn’t even need Shota on hand, as I would often ask my question in English, and Uematsu-san would immediately respond in Japanese, and even English at times. Despite being called a “stalker” on numerous occasions by Uematsu, I I was quite content when the day was over, and we hope you enjoy the end result.  Oh, and there’s more to come, so be on the lookout in the coming days and weeks!

  Hear the answers to your burning questions about Uematsu’s legendary mustache along with many other things you never knew you wanted to know after the jump! (more…)

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