FFVII ~ X "Chips" albums coming next week

Ramza wrote:

I don't have dates available, but let me say this: I'm personally choosing not to order from CDJ or send someone to buy from the event. Because there will be a much lower-cost option available. Just wait.

hmmm interesting... though i've already made my pre-order so i can't go back on it now.  Oh wells...

So reading OSV and Destructoid this morning it seems that the FF VII ~ XI Chips albums will become available via the Square Enix US online store. 

Good for Americans, but the Square Enix US store hasn't been so friendly to Canadians in the past.  I've already got my CD Japan order so I can't cancel it anyways.

Based on that interview, which is certainly another topic for another day:
If Seiken 2 is as popular as Seiken 3, why does Seiken 3 warrant a demand for an arrangement CD and Seiken 2 doesn't?

I know it's vague in the interview, but the word choice of "these" instead of "this" suggests all of these eStore-exclusive "Chips" albums will be in NA and EU stores. The demand is there for all of them, and they know it.

James O wrote:

So here's how it probably works.  I put in a special request for VII thru X chips albums.  Everything for CD Japan's fees is tacked on to the FF VII Chips CD page entry and the rest are just listed as normal retail price.  But since I put in the special req for all 4 albums i had to order all 4 albums or they cancel it. each page however still has its own entry so when other people go searching they come across it and are confused somewhat.

Same deal with XI Chips.  It was also a special order but on its own since it came out earlier by itself since they wanted to push the FF XI 10th Anniversary, so that CDJapan FFXI Chips order page has its own fees associated with it.  Who would have known that they would have pushed out more Chips albums?  It was a complete surprise when the FF 25th Anniversary event pdf came out.

Now if someone just comes across FF VIII ~ X Chips and thinks, "ooh deal", I'm not sure if CD Japan would let you order just those individually or not.

I got it. So you're basically saying:

If "Consumer X" wants to buy Final Fantasy XI Chips, they can.
If "Consumer X" wants to buy Final Fantasy X Chips, they must buy VII-IX (in ADDITION to X), or CDJapan will not process the order and cancel it.

Last edited by Judgment Day (Sep 01, 2012)

My initial impression of these Chips albums are; they not bad and it's impressive how even the most cinematic tracks are rendered in 8 bit style, but for the most part I find myself bored before a track ends. It doesn't help that the first SQ Chips set a high standard to me, but it had a cheaper price tag, nice cover design, quantity, variety, creativity, and above all, quality. I have no idea why they had to release those Chip tune album in hurry.

Btw, according to the pamphlet, Nobuo Uematsu is going to release a full orchestral arranged album this winter,　so what's going on are...

1) FF 25th tribute album
2) Uematsu orchestral album
3) Piano Opera VII/VIII/IX

Whoa nelly - someone's eager - the FF25th Shibuya event was only last weekend!  I see only a couple albums up on YJA but probably most people won't get these until they hit the e-store in Japan later this month.

I'm sure Ramza would have mentioned dates by now if he had any for NA/EU availability.  But I wouldn't hold your breath.

edit: here's a sampler video on youtube for Final Fantasy XI Chips.  I enjoy it well enough.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eS8A3g4tNb4

Last edited by James O (Sep 05, 2012)

Great to hear that the SQEX U.S. store plans to stock these! Hopefully they'll put them up for pre-order soon.

I checked out the FF VII samples (since I'm more familiar with that one), and found myself longing for more "lo-fi" arrangements. The polyphony is far too lush for what I expect from chiptunes

They sound more like straight covers, but I kind of liked what I heard...for the most part. To me, sounds more appropriate than a straight orchestral or piano cover of the material, anyway. Seymour's Theme has never sounded better. Consider me mildly satisfied with what these sound like.

For the most part, those samples are very underwhelming and only support the idea that these albums were quickly thrown together for a quick cash-in (especially since a lot of people will buy them all to complete the set). For me, FFIX stood out and sounded more like an old NES soundtrack to me than the other albums and had some old school charm (tell me the beginning of "Prima Vista Orchestra" doesn't sound like something out of Zelda II). Regardless, I'll pass on all of these and will stick to the originals. Had there been more arranging or innovation I'd be more apt to check them out in their entirety.

So I've listened to VII and VIII's... gotta say they're a bit on the simple side of things.  Not as polished as the main SQ Chips album series.  FF XI Chips is more robust.  Perhaps VII~X were rushed out to market to capitalize on the 25th anniversary.  in any case, still happy to see them put out stuff like this.

I can't comment on the rest, but the one song I just sampled makes me think I'll like these a lot: FFIX's "Beyond That Hill."  Fantastic.