01.01.05 - 3:52 PM
For months, we have promised reviews of Star Ocean: Till the End of Time soundtracks. Team Entertainment had released five of them in the past two years, and in the past two years we have only had a review for one: the arranged album. Today that changes as we bring you the rest of these fine soundtracks.
Reader CJ Allen sent in his thoughts on the main meat of these soundtrack releases, the OSTs Vol. 1 and 2. These four discs of music comprise of everything the game had to offer with music, as well as some bonus arranged tracks. To find out what he thought, be sure to read the reviews! Even if the OSTs disappoint, these reviews won't.
Long-time reader-reviewer Daniel Space (a.k.a. "Son of Saturn") picked up the slack and reviewed what is probably the worst of the five releases: Star Ocean: Till the End of Time Director's Cut OST. Much like the Final Fantasy X-2 International + Last Mission OST, this one disc of music is nothing more than the tracks added when the game got re-released in Japan. Are they any good? To learn about the good, the bad, and the ugly on this disc, you'll just need to read the review.
As for me, I simply couldn't be left out of this big Star Ocean party, so I reviewed the Voice Mix Album: Japanese voice samples from the game mixed with new arrangements of the music. I know it sounds odd, but I promise you that the end result is outstanding.
But since it's a new year and all, I couldn't stop at just one series of VGM! Reader Zalbag, who seems to be a big fan of this series, has given me (and now you) a review of the Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne OST. No, not the import two-disc soundtrack that Zalbag already reviewed! This is a domestically-released soundtrack that game with the first print of the game! If you're a fan of MegaTen, this review doesn't just have opinion: it has a lot of worthwhile information regarding what is and isn't on the soundtrack, and you won't want to be lacking on this information.
Dark Chronicle (known to the US folk as Dark Cloud 2) had a solid OST, and an even more solid arranged soundtrack. My apologies that it took until 2005 to bring the reviews, but if you haven't read up on these soundtracks, now is the time. Not to give anything away, but I must say here and now that Dark Chronicle Premium Arrange should basically be a necessity in any VGM lover's collection. Daniel Space reviewed the Original Soundtrack, and I gave some lengthy thoughts on the Premium Arrange.
That's enough for today: as they say, "I'm spent." If you want to see more soundtrack reviews in the coming months, consider doing your part and submitting a review to RPGFan Soundtracks!
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| Patrick Gann |