It seems like it was only yesterday I was lamenting the lack of a full retail release of a game music album I really enjoyed.

Oh wait, that *was* yesterday.

Right now, I hold in my hands the full orchestral soundtrack for a game that’s not even out yet. And while I assume the full soundtrack will have, at least, a retail digital release (if not a physical release as well), right now the soundtrack exists in the form of about 100 CDs Runic Games had printed. Of this small lot, 25 were given away to fans of the first game via Facebook, and the rest were distributed at E3 (and perhaps some other conventions since E3) by Uelmen and the Runic team themselves.

I personally missed E3, but Jayson was able to snag a handful from Uelmen so that he (representing Destructoid) *and* we at OSV could provide early coverage of Uelmen’s groundbreaking soundtrack.

Is it really *that* good? Does it exceed Uelmen’s work on the Diablo series? Or am I just adding to the hype? I’ll defend my stance after the jump, and then you can leave comments to let me know whether or not I’m crazy. (more…)

So far, it seems that the new arranged album XI Chips -Final Fantasy XI Chiptune- (catalog # SQEX-10320) is available only through Square Enix Music’s e-Store. Some online retailers, like CDJapan, are offering it as a special order, with a marked-up price to boot.

I don’t know if S-E is waiting for, like, the North American 10th anniversary of FFXI to release this album on iTunes, or if they don’t realize what a gem they have in their hand.

After the jump, I’ll talk about this internal rival with the “SQ Chips” albums, and why I think it might be the unlikely winner of my heart. (more…)

Editor’s Note: earlier this month, Haroon brought you an interview with Symphony of the Goddesses arranger Chad Seiter. Today we have Haroon’s review of the concert event where he met Seiter, which took place during E3 2012 in Los Angeles. Later this week, Patrick will be attending a Symphony of the Goddesses performance in Philadelphia, and will be providing his own perspective on that show, as well as an interview with show producer Jeron Moore.

Zelda fans were everywhere! As I entered The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, E3 season blossomed the theatre with fans of The Legend of Zelda: from hardcore gamers to casual gamers, from an older generation to a younger generation. Some in the crowd dressed like Link, some dressed up like Zelda, others were wearing ironic hipster T-shirts that had sayings on them like “Will cut grass for Rupies.” I felt at home.

Before the show was about to start, you could just smell the excitement. When I went to Video Games Live, I looked back before the show started and felt a slight discomfort as you could see an array of empty seats at the theatre. I take great pride at going to video game concerts, but the lack of audiences only frightens me into believing that no one cares about video game music. So as I looked back before this concert was about to start, I smiled to see a full house behind me. You have to understand – not even More Friends: Music from Final Fantasy had a full house when it first premiered in LA. I was there, I remember the empty seats. The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses may have a chance at impressing its audience way differently than any concert have in the past.

Was the audience impressed? Was I impressed? Find out after the jump! (more…)

I’d posted earlier about how Square Enix was attempting to dominate the summer with good arrangements. This morning, I awoke to find this site, posted by James Oikawa over at the STC Forums. It’s got 4 audio samples and the full tracklist, as well as methods for ordering the CD (which is set for release August 8, 2012).

Based on the samples, I think it’s safe to say that Kikuta’s style of self-arrangement will essentially be like some sort of amazing HD remake of the Seiken Densetsu 2 (aka Secret of Mana) OSV from the Super Famicom days. Think of the high-quality synths Kikuta has used on projects like Shining Hearts, and use those to re-create the beauty of Kikuta’s best-known work. I think this album concept is going to work well.

(Thanks, James, for the heads-up!)

Preorder: CDJapan

TRAUMA is a fantastic little point-and-click adventure game for PC that tells the story of a woman in a hospital, recovering from a traumatic injury. The game takes place in 4 acts, all of them in strange, shifting landscapes that are essentially a series of photographs with some wild digital editing and additional CG art thrown in for good measure. Also, the main character provides loads of narration. It’s a great game, and it’s currently part of Steam’s summer sale for only $3.49.

Being an otherworldly/trippy experience, composer Martin Straka offers up 18 minutes’ worth of trippy, ambient, effect-laden music.

Straka’s soundtrack for the game is available via Bandcamp (above) for $2.99. It doesn’t provide much in the way of resolution, but it is certainly *interesting* background music. Just don’t listen to it too much. It might leave you a little light-headed, and/or a little creeped out. The final level’s background music, “The Road Less Travelled,” certainly has that effect on me.

As much as I love the simplicity of a piano solo track, there’s something to be said for decorating a piano solo track with other instruments to help it stand in stark relief. Sometimes, to portray loneliness, you need a few props, not just an empty stage.

So it is with the soundtrack to the new indie platformer Thomas Was Alone, an emotionally evocative game with an equally evocative soundtrack.

After the jump, my thoughts on the game’s soundtrack, composed by David Housden. And, of course, a bandcamp player is included. (more…)

To us, Andrew Aversa is one of the few people who really represents what game music is all about. That’s because, even in the past year, Andrew has shown himself as a force to be reckoned with on all fronts: AAA game music, indie game music, and fan-made arrangements.

In this episode, Brenna Wilkes and I talk with Andrew for a solid hour about his work on Globulous (which Brenna recently reviewed), on Soul Calibur V, and the super-funded Kickstarter campaign for the OCRemix album under his direction: Final Fantasy VI: Balance and Ruin. This last topic takes up over half of the episode, and it should! At the time we recorded this (Saturday), the campaign was at $60,000, 400% of the $15,000 goal. As I’m writing this post, they’re now at $75,000. I also got *this* in a Kickstarter Backer’s email:

What does that mean? Well, everyone who’s getting a physical copy of “Balance and Ruin” will also get a newly-printed, *all 4 disc* version of Final Fantasy VII: Voices of the Lifestream as well. That’s good stuff.

Anyway, listen to the episode to learn about everything zircon’s up to. And if you want even more podcast-delivered info on the Balance and Ruin project, please check out this great Nitro Game Injection “after-show” recording with Larry “Liontamer” Oji, which was just recorded on Sunday.

Download: Original SoundCAST Episode #014

If you want to know what BGM we have behind all that talk-talk-talk, click the “more” button. (more…)

And by “The Outer Limits,” I’m talking about the outer limits of OSV’s scope of coverage.

Generally, we cover game music. We also, on occasion, cover other media score such as film, television and animation. How about a soundtrack for a fake/non-existent indie film that delves into topics including futurism, transhumanism and religion?

Yeah, I know, I’m stretching it. But this album is just that good. Learn more about SOLA-MI after the jump. And if you want to listen along with the review, grab the album here: it’s completely, and legally, free. (more…)

So there once was a game called Tetris. It was a captivating and innovative puzzle game that took simple block-in-hole concepts and a few 8-bit tunes and just ran with it. There have since been dozens of varieties and variations of the game in the past 25+ years.

Then you have Globulous from Canadian indie game producer Firestarter Games. Not only does it take the basic concepts of Tetris and rev them up with 3D graphics and spherical gameplay, but the music of the game has been given the royal treatment with fresh and original sounds from Mass Effect 3 violinist Jeff Ball and Soul Calibur V composer Andrew “Zircon” Aversa. With such a team of effective melody maestros, Globulous manages to set itself apart from several of the other Tetris-clones of the gaming world with classy beats and ambient resonance.

Sit back and don’t let the colorful moving blocks distract you from enjoying the atmospheric themes of Globulous after the cut. (more…)

I was digging through the OSV backlogs the other day, and I noticed that, for all the praise we’ve heaped upon freesscape (Emi Evans, Hiroyuki Muneta, et al), we don’t have a review of their debut album.

That changes today.

After the jump, our review of freesscape’s 2004 debut, “Fragile Perfection.” (more…)

UPDATE (7/12/2012): Our plea has not fallen on deaf ears! MagicalTimeBean has released Escape Goat Powermouse Mix Collection on Bandcamp for free! Not even “pay-what-you-want” free, just super-duper free!

Last November, we highlighted the release of MagicalTimeBean’s latest game, Escape Goat, and its Falcom-inspired soundtrack.

Then, just last month, the game was featured in Indie Royale’s June Bug Bundle, which also had Auditorium, PixelJunk Eden and Noitu Love 2. It also included the Escape Goat Original Soundtrack (available on bandcamp) and the all-new arranged album Escape Goat Powermouse Mix Collection.

The latter album was made exclusively available as part of the June Bug Bundle, and is otherwise not being sold anywhere. After the jump, I’ll make my case as to why those who missed the bundle should still get a chance to hop on this fantastic arranged album. And, wouldn’t you know it, one of OSV’s own is featured on that arranged album!! To find out who, just keep on reading! (more…)

Today marks the release of the neo-retro Strategy RPG Rainbow Moon (eastasiasoft, PS3), and we have an interview with the game’s composer Rafael Dyll. He has embarked on his most ambitious project to date. Previously known for the trance influenced Söldner-X soundtrack, Dyll was tasked with creating the sonic environment for almost all of Rainbow Moon. Dyll was kind enough to speak with us about what it was like composing for Rainbow Moon, his start in the industry, and the current state of game composing!

Does this game, or its soundtrack, interest you? If so, be sure to head to Rafael’s facebook page, hit “like” to add yourself as a fan, and leave a comment saying that “OSV sent you.” Everyone who does this over the next two weeks will be entered in a drawing to win a signed copy of the Rainbow Moon Melodies soundtrack CD and a download coupon for the exclusive “Last Chapter Tracks” digital album download as well. So, if you like good/free stuff, get on that, and then join us after the jump for the interview! (more…)