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Game Music

Sonic The Hedgehog 4 Music Sample: As Good As The Classics?

March 28, 2010 | Audun Sorlie | 4 Comments Share this

So Sonic has had a rough decade to say the least. While some of us (me included) enjoyed a few of the newer titles like Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Heroes, most fans look back on these titles in disgust. Awkward camera, bubblegum rock, and Sonic friends all seem to enrage Sonic fans, while they still buy every title as they are released. Trying to please the angry fans, SEGA surprisingly announced Sonic The Hedgehog 4 for the download services across platforms to be released this spring.

Now, SEGA released a sneak peak into how the soundtrack will be. And while it isn’t strictly the good old FM synth of the Genesis, it’s still aims at a very retro style. Nintendo Power revealed that the soundtrack is being handled by non other than Jun Senoue. What do you think of the sample? And what do you expect of the game?

Downloads available at SEGA’s Sonic The Hedgehog 4 Website
Game Music

Rockman 10 Soundtrack and Arrange Album Coming Soon!

March 8, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 4 Comments Share this

Rockman 10 is out on the Wii, and we’ve been greatly looking forward to the game’s soundtrack. As it turns out, the Rockman 10 Original Soundtrack will be released on March 23, 2010 while the arrange album, R10 Image Soundtrack, will be released on April 30, 2010. That’s some nifty artwork.

The original soundtrack lists composers including III, Akari Kaida, and many others. I thought Kaida’s inclusion meant that arranged tracks would appear on the soundtrack (she appeared on last year’s Rockman 9 Arrange Soundtrack), but I guess she’s involved with the original soundtrack itself. The arrange album, on the other hand, will feature a slew of artists including Manami Matsumae and Yoshino Aoki, which should definitely be interesting.

Have you been playing Mega Man 10 and have any thoughts regarding the music? Will you be picking up these albums over the next two months?

[via VGMdb]
Game Music, Reviews

Reborn to be Wild: Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth (Review)

January 8, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 7 Comments Share this

So I just went back to our Contra ReBirth review and realized that I had predicted the future! I noted that while there wasn’t enough music in Contra ReBirth to warrant a soundtrack, perhaps we’d see them bundle it with the Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth soundtrack, and that’s exactly what they’re doing! Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth doesn’t have a whole lot of music either, but I like what’s here, probably more so than I did the Contra ReBirth stuff.

Manabu Namiki returns once again (credited as a Basiscape composer, with the Basiscape logo even in the credits!), providing mainly reworked tunes from Castlevania’s past. There’s a good variety, and several of the tracks are catchy and nail the Castlevania mood perfectly. The game is a lot of fun, too, and pretty damn challenging!

More about that and the game’s soundtrack in our review after the jump. (more…)
Game Music

Muscle Men & Silky Whips: Contra & Castlevania Rebirth Soundtracks Announced!

December 30, 2009 | Audun Sorlie | 2 Comments Share this

Man Konami is on a roll these days. Earlier we reported that they were releasing a 19 (!!!) disc Castlevania compilation featuring Vampire Killer on the MSX2 and Castlevania Legends from Game Boy, to name a few. Konami, however, was obviously not satisfied with a mere 19 CDs, so they decided to announce 3 more Castlevania related albums.

First announced is a set of Drama CDs, Akumajo Dracula Radio Chronicle and Akumajo Dracula X ~Nocturne of The Reminiscence based on the story of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and features most notably Shinichiro Miki, the voice of Akira in Virtua Fighter and Sagat in Street Fighter doing voice work. Second and most interesting for the non-Japanese speaking part of the world, is Dracula Densetsu ReBirth & Contra ReBirth Original Soundtrack, a collection set of the soundtracks for Castlevania Rebirth and Contra Rebirth! 33 tracks are announced to be on this album, and will include arrangements from Manabu Namiki.

It’s been noted before that Jason “Chibi-Tech” Nisperos has worked on these titles, so it’ll be exciting to see if he was only doing voice acting or if he had some hand in the music as well.
Game Music, Reviews

Contra ReBirth: Basiscape’s Manabu Namiki Goes Retro (Review)

November 9, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | 5 Comments Share this

I somehow continue to be surprised by each successive “ReBirth” title that Konami announces. First it was Gradius, now it’s Contra, and there’s even a Castlevania title coming up in the near future. All three of these franchises are legendary in their own right, but what we care about here is the music. The music from Contra needs no introduction, and the music for Contra ReBirth won’t either, as a lot of it is arranged music from the original!

As the title suggests, Manabu Namiki of Basiscape was the man behind the Contra ReBirth soundtrack, just as he was responsible for Gradius ReBirth (maybe he’ll be on Castlevania as well?). This is good news, as Namiki has built himself quite a fan base with his work on deathsmiles and a number of projects with Basiscape. While I’ll say there’s nothing groundbreaking here, I think series fans will be pleased not only with the intense and challenging gameplay, but also the retro soundtrack.

Our review of the Contra ReBirth soundtrack can be found after the jump! (more…)
Game Music

One Picture, One-Thousand Words: Takayuki Nakamura Talks PictureBook Games: Pop-Up Pursuit

September 1, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on One Picture, One-Thousand Words: Takayuki Nakamura Talks PictureBook Games: Pop-Up Pursuit Share this

We’ve been hearing a lot about Takayuki Nakamura lately. Earlier this month, we heard him talk about a variety of topics with other game composers at Noisycroak’s First Game Composer Roundtable Discussion where he was awarded the MVC (most valuable composer) award. Earlier in July, however, Patrick told us about his latest project, PictureBook Games: Pop-Up Pursuit, and we’ve been able to get a word in with Nakamura-san to talk more about the game’s music.

We were definitely surprised to see him working on this whimiscal WiiWare title after his heavy electronic work from the Lumines series, but it sounds as though he captured the essence of the game pretty well. We talk about the music he created for the game as well as his work on the Wii, his plans for his Brainstorm record label, and a recent album he worked on with some composers from Korea.

Check out what Takayuki Nakamura has to say after the jump. (more…)
Game Music

Kind Spirits: Interview with Over The Top & Steven Gutheinz

August 6, 2009 | Audun Sorlie | 3 Comments Share this

NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits is an unusual game in today’s world. It doesn’t rely on high explosive sequences, cinematic cut scenes that last longer than a wedding or space marines fighting an alien invasion. It’s about a girl searching for her friend in a forgotten world, with ancient Gods assisting her on her way. It’s also a platformer, very much in the style of good old classics, something many have been wanting more of the recent years. Hot off yesterday’s review, we had the chance to discuss the game with the Spanish dev team, Over The Top, and the composer, Steven Gutheinz on the creation on this interesting WiiWare title.

You can read our interview after the jump. (more…)