Today we bring three interesting compilation albums, as well as one OST for a popular DS title.

Dennis, one of our treasured slaves (I mean, writers), brought you his thoughts on Akumajou Dracula Gallery of Labyrinth OST. Um...yeah. If you don't know what that is, it's Castlevania Portrait of Ruin. There, are you interested now? Good. It's two discs of great stuff from Michiru Yamane and Yuzo Koshiro.

Working as an excellent transition for my next paragraph, Yuzo Koshiro is the subject of the next soundtrack in question. Entitled "Yuzo Koshiro Best Collection Vol. 1," the three disc set includes music from Actraiser, Misty Blue, and Story of Thor (released in the US as Beyond Oasis). I took my time checking the facts on this one, bringing a fairly informational spin to this review. And, for those wondering, we will not be reviewing Vol. 2. Sadly, all the music on there is unrelated to RPGs (though it's still good: check it out if you like Koshiro!).

Now for the obligatory Square Enix material. One is "Square Enix Battle Tracks Vol.1." This album contains music from Square titles (Enix will be in a future volume, I suppose), ranging from the first Final Fantasy all the way to the end of the Super Famicom era (games like Romancing SaGa 3 and Treasure Hunter G round out the list). Along with this compilation of original battle themes, there is one highly addictive bonus track. You'll want to look into it.

Finally, Square Enix composer Masashi Hamauzu has released a solo album entitled "Vielen Dank" (if you can't sprechen Deutsch, that's "Many Thanks"). Hamauzu took some time out in Germany to record this album, which includes a 20 minute medley of original tunes Hamauzu cranked out because he just loves to write the stuff. Then, after that, there are arrangements (some new, some old) from beloved titles ranging from SaGa Frontier II all the way to Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-. The only instruments found on the album are piano, flute, violin, viola, and cello. It's all real instruments, and it's beautiful, if a little lacking in substance. Check out the full review for yourself.

That's this week's update. From old to new, we've dug up some good stuff, eh? What lies around the corner for next week, only time will tell.

• RPGFan Soundtracks