Today's soundtracks update is an important one; we're covering some very new albums, as well as some very obscure albums. Furthermore, all of today's soundtracks fall under the letter "S." Coincidence? Actually, yes. Absolutely. It was totally unplanned.

Starting off with Shadow Hearts, Mike Wilson has written two reviews for the two most recent releases. The first is the arranged album for the three games in the series, "near death experience." The second is the two disc OST for Shadow Hearts From The New World. Both reviews are worth a close read, as many people have had differing opinions as to the success of these albums.

Moving on to Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne, we have reviews for two very obscure releases. The first, reviewed by Mike Wilson, is the bonus "Incense Disc" that came with the "Deluxe Pack" of the game in Japan. There is nothing more weird and nothing more obscure than this little release. Be sure to read about it. The other review is the extra soundtrack published for the game's re-release, Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Maniacs. This one is standard fare, but is still worth checking out if you've never heard of it.

Finally, we have four soundtracks from the Sakura Taisen (Sakura Wars) series, and we are very pleased to bring them to you. First, reader Gareth Price wrote a review for the two disc soundtrack release accompanying Sakura Taisen ~In Hot Blood~ (Atsuki Chishio Ni), which is the Dreamcast remake of the game. This upgraded soundtrack from the old original version is certainly an impressive thing, and it comes highly recommended.

The other three soundtracks have been reviewed by yours truly, and they are all Sakura Taisen V-related. First is the soundtrack to the action-based prequel title, Sakura Taisen V Episode 0 ~Samurai Girl of the Wild West~. The other two are the two-disc OST and the one-disc vocal collection for Sakura Taisen V ~Farewell, Loved Ones~ (Saraba Itoshiki Hito Yo), both of which were released quite recently and have received minimal attention from the import VGM community. As such, I am more than grateful to RPGFan's own Lord of the East, Ryan Mattich, for translating the tracklists and all relevant information for these releases. Long live Mattich!

And long live Kouhei Tanaka, the sole composer of the entire Sakura Taisen series! And, in future updates, expect more reviews from this series from myself, Gareth, and a special guest reviewer.

As always, please feel free to submit reader reviews. Thanks for reading this update, and go check out the soundtrack reviews! Brought to you by the letter "S"...s-s-SA-weet!

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