"Re" Soundtracks Update
08.13.05 - 6:35 PM

Editor's note: Patrick is currently in Hungary. Any email sent from Aug. 3 to Aug. 16 to the soundtracks address will be returned when he returns. If there is something urgent, please, feel free to use the "Contact Us" link on the sidebar. -John

Today's soundtracks update is held together by one common thread: the prefix "re." What does that mean? ...nothing.

Among the four soundtrack reviews for today, three are written by myself, and one has been done by our ever-faithful import reviewer and translator, Ryan Mattich.

Ryan's contribution comes in the form of the Stella Deus BGM ReArrange Album. This promotional item features eight tracks arranged with an emphasis on piano and techno/trance work. The eight tracks add to almost 40 minutes of music, so it is quite a substantial "promo" item. Be sure to read the review.

As for me, I decided to take a look at some music from the Tales series. I bring to the table: Tales of Eternia Remaster Audio and the Tales of Rebirth OST. While we Americans may never get the chance to play an English version of the sixth game in the series, nor Eternia's PSP incarnation, we can play the third game in the series in its US PSOne version, known as Tales of Destiny II. As for the music, primarily composed by Motoi Sakuraba, I have found some good, some bad, and a lot of average.

I also wrote a review for a soundtrack that is simply entitled Xenosaga Episode I. This soundtrack, released by composer Yasunori Mitsuda's label "Sleigh Bells", is something of a reprint from what was made by DigiCube in 2002. While the Sleigh Bells release is newer (2004), features 2 new songs (and a few new recordings of old songs), and seems to have higher production values overall, it is already harder to find than the original version due to a small print run.

That's what we have for you today. Next week, who knows? If you would like to be a part of the next update, be sure to submit a soundtrack review by sending an email to soundtracks@rpgfan.com and specifying in your subject line that you would like to submit a review. Be sure to enjoy today's update!


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Patrick Gann