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| Patrick Gann |
10 soundtracks to indulge in before, during, and after E3.
05.30.09 - 6:01 PM
Let's face it: we in the "game industry" are going to be pretty busy for the next few weeks. E3 is a big deal, and this RPGFan editor is about to go hog-wild in Los Angeles.
So it's going to be awhile before I have time to sit down and just soak in some VGM, be it old, new, a favorite, or something I don't care much for. In other words, June '09 may be a time for soundtracks to take a back seat.
Before we do that, we want to leave you with lots of good (and bad) music to peruse. Here's the good word.
First off is a new one. The Kingdom Hearts Piano Collections CD just came out this week. My review of it is extremely subjective. Granted, all reviews are subjective to some extent. But this is one where I get personal. And not a "good" personal. I thought this album was rather disappointing. Read the full review to pick up my supporting details.
Next up, the 7th Dragon OST. Atlus hasn't announced localizing this one yet, but we're betting on it. The sound staff, and many other key staff, from the Etrian Odyssey (Sekaiju no MeiQ) games are involved in 7th Dragon. Yuzo Koshiro released a four disc set: two discs of the DS OST, and two discs of NES-style 8bit chiptunes (apparently the original format under which Koshiro wrote the music). This is cool stuff.
The Star Ocean: The Last Hope OST and Arrange Soundtrack? Yep, we got those too. And here's a shocker: they aren't awful. That's right, I'm on the "love" swing in my love/hate pendulum relationship with Motoi Sakuraba. If you're in sync with my pendulum, maybe you'll join me in enjoying this one.
Catching up on Dragon Quest (and no, we're still not quite there), we have the "Best Dance Mix." Many fans expected this one to be lousy. It seems, sadly, that the expectations held true. Check out the full review anyway, as well as the audio samples.
We have two Atlus USA bonus soundtracks (finally!). One is the bonus disc for Legacy of Ys: Books I & II. This is a very interesting disc, and if you think Falcom couldn't milk their own classic tunes any further, you were wrong. Also from Atlus USA is the Super Robot Taisen OG Saga Soundtrack. As a third review, we have the Japanese promotional disc upon which Atlus based their 18 minute mini-soundtrack, which also incorporates tons of radio drama audio.
Finally, it seems we're caught up with Falcom again. Brandish -The Dark Revenant- was recently released as a PSP remake. With it came an OST for the PSP version, as well as a "Renewal" soundtrack; two discs of the same OST in different sound formats. These two soundtracks make up four discs, and they're quite a treat, especially when we consider the subpar notoriety the Brandish franchise has compared to more prominent Falcom soundtracks.
Alright, that's it. That's all ten. I wrote all these reviews because I love you, and because I love music. Now to finish packing for E3...
