Here we go! We promised 2009 would start with some good soundtrack coverage. And we keep our promises (most of the time).

First, and foremost, senior editor Damian Thomas has a review of "Echoes of War: The Music of Blizzard Entertainment." This two-CD set of orchestral music arranged by Japanese VGM veterans and performed by the Australian "Eminence Symphony Orchestra" covers music from: Diablo II, Diablo III (not out yet), Warcraft III, World of Warcraft (including expansions), StarCraft, and StarCraft II (not out yet). There are also some original compositions from Kow Otani, composer behind Shadow of the Colossus.

Echoes of War came out in November of 2008, and Damian's had some time to let his thoughts brew. This review is the beautiful, fermented result of his ponderings. Check it out!

While we're on the topic of orchestral music (and Damian), next we have a fairly new album: "Masamicz Amano meets Sega ~Best & Wind Orchestra Version~" ... it features orchestral arrangements for Phantasy Star Universe and some arcade card game called Mushiking. Good stuff.

Next, we have some contributions from our buddy Neal Chandran. Never afraid of graphic adventures and dating sims, Neal reviewed a soundtrack to a game that Hirameki released shortly before they went out of business. That game was Yo-Jin-Bo, and the soundtrack features, among other composers, a "Don McCow." That's a pseudonym, mind you. But McCow is well-known for his silly lyrics and bouncy vocal compositions. Some of the songs from the Lunar Lunatic Festa/Parade albums come from McCow, as he's associated with TWO FIVE and Noriyuki Iwadare.

Neal also contributes a review for the OST of Tokimeki Memorial 3. To match him, I wrote a review of the Piano Collection.

Now, for the fun part. There's an adventure/RPG series from Shout! Designworks that started with Tokyo Majin Gakuen. Later, in a side-series, they made Tenshou Gakuen Gekkouroku. Then, very recently, the Japanese got Kamiyo Gakuen Makorouku thanks to publisher Idea Factory. OSTs for all three of these games are now reviewed, by me. The first game has seen multiple soundtrack prints, as well as some arranged/vocal albums that we will get reviewed in the future. For now, enjoy these three reviews. The last one, Kamiyo Gakuen, just had its soundtrack released yesterday. So it's our first 2009-printed album reviewed. You'll enjoy it, check it out!

Alright, we got more stuff, old and new, to be posted in the coming weeks. Be ready for it.

• RPGFan Soundtracks
• Echoes of War Official Site