I is for Inching closer to release
Tuesday is the launch of the game every Halo fan has been waiting for since they threw their controllers in disgust at the ending of Halo 2; Halo 3. As much as I don’t want to be excited about it, I am. There is something about the Halo series that has a hold of me no matter how much I try to fight it.
The Halo series is a huge part of the current gaming culture. While you may find gamers who haven’t touched it, you would be hard-pressed to find one who hadn’t even heard of it. As the game that single-handedly established Microsoft in the gaming world, Halo was very important in directing current trends and exposing tactics of certain companies. Halo’s past is riddled with cheap (though unsurprising) tactics, disappointment and endless delays. It also harbors monsterous release numbers and one of the strongest fan-followings of any game.
When the first Halo title was announced back in the summer of ‘99, the game was set for release for both Windows and Mac OS. The game was an immediate hit amongst journalists who had had a chance to preview game earlier in the year at E3. Halo was seen as the title to bring gaming to the Mac in a way that it had not seen previously. It was only a year later, though, that the hopes of this killer Mac title were destroyed when Microsoft announced that it had purchased Bungie Studios (developers of the Halo series) and would make the game a Microsoft exclusive. As if this wasn’t enough of a blow, the game would no longer be initially released on PC, but on Microsoft’s new game console, the Xbox. This transfer of platform severly changed the development of Halo and when Bungie rewrote the engine, it changed from a 3rd Person title to a First Person Shooter. While the end product was considered inferior to the game displayed that first year, it still found success and aclaim as a console title. The control scheme and many of the methods of gameplay used in the Xbox version of Halo became mainstay parts of console FPS titles for years to come.
I give the history of the original title for a reason. Halo has one of the more interesting pasts for a game series and it shows in the games themselves. While original title felt almost incomplete on Xbox and the second felt stunted, both titles, for as flawed as they were, hold a special place in many gamers hearts. That place could be one of absolute love or utter hate, but no matter what it is, Halo is known to everyone. It is with this and on the back of the biggest game release in history (Halo 2) that Halo 3 will make its appearance.
MUSIC
ICO was released in 2001 for the PS2 and quickly fell under the radar. Though being critically acclaimed, it found itself in the "cult classic" niche. Directed by Fumito Ueda, who later when on to develop Shadow of the Colossus, ICO is a unique adventure game set in an abandoned castle. Michiru Oshima and Pentagon composed the soundtrack for the game, creating a minimal, atmospheric score.
As the last track of the album, "ICO ~You were there~" features the vocal talents of former Libera member Steven Geraghty. The song is extremely beautiful, using a mixture of synthesized instruments and real ones to create a powerful yet subtle ambiance that is only accented by the high vocals of the young singer.
Yasuhiro Kawasaki - Temple Illusion of Gaia Original Soundtrack
Published by Enix in Japan and Nintendo everywhere else, Illusion of Gaia is an RPG released for the Super Nintendo back in '94. It is part of the so-called "Soul Blazer" series which consists four titles developed by Quintet that share both "plot themes and gameplay elements." Illusion of Gaia ended up being the only major soundtrack developed by composer Yasuhiro Kawasaki who did only minor titles afterwards such as the Japanese version of Sim Tower: The Vertical Empire for PC in '95.
The track "Temple" is about as cliche of a SNES RPG track as you can find. Though showing off the best of the best in the world of VGM is important, the mediocre songs are just as vital. By '94, the major RPG franchises of the day were already in full swing with the fifth iterations of the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest series both already on shelves. Because of the success of their style of music, many other titles turned to mimicry to help them find success in the market, including Illusion of Gaia's soundtrack. The production sounds like early Final Fantasy but less inspired. This is perhaps why Kawasaki found little work after the release of this game.
F is for Final Fantasy?
Before we get on to the music, I want to say something in regards to the current generation of consoles. I’ve been playing video games for a long time. I remember when I received my first NES when I was a little kid and playing games like Super Mario, Rygar, Paperboy, and other classics. With this history in the subject, I’d like to say that the current battle over the superiority of one system is stupid. Sure, I love the Wii. Sure, I enjoy playing 360. That doesn’t mean I think the PS3 is a piece of shit, though. My own personal misgivings over what I see as a lack of titles for the PS3 at the moment doesn’t make the system itself any better or worse, because in the end a system is only as good as its games. That’s the reason I still play my SNES all the time. In the end, it’s the games that make or break a system, not the specs. No one cares if a system has the latest and greatest hardware or not. They just want to have fun. They don’t care how “revolutionary” motion-sensing controls are if it’s not fun.
While we’re on the subject of the current gen, however, I would like to say that the Red Ring of Death is by far the most gut-wrenching thing I’ve experienced in a long time. Much like the Blue Screen of Death (go Microsoft and your colored indicators of death!), it makes my stomach churn. However, unlike the BSOD, seeing that RROD brings along with it the knowledge that it will be a few weeks before I can enjoy another 360 game. I’m glad that Microsoft has increased their warranties on all the systems, but it’s still annoying to only be able to use your system for a few months before death is imminent. I guess that’s the price you pay for enjoying anything by Microsoft, though.
Today is the letter F. Obviously, Final Fantasy would be included in this list but it seems almost a bit unfair to post music from a series that is already so widely known and block out some other, just as deserving titles. So for the sake of fairness to my collection and your interests, there will be no Final Fantasy posted.
MUSIC
Although I didn’t include arguably the most famous “F” RPG, Fable isn’t too far off. Released in the fall of 2004, Fable was touted to be a new evolution in the world of RPGs, featuring a system that allowed for great user interaction in the story development. Whether the game lived up to the hype is up to you, but the soundtrack is definitely worth mentioning. Russell Shaw, having done other Lionhead titles, scored the soundtrack with Danny Elfman composing the theme.
The track itself is a wonderfully mellow tune. The mixing of atmospheric strings and quiet winds helped to create a feeling that someone could very well imagine as the soundtrack to a flowing field of grass in the late afternoon on a summer’s day. There is no real build up in the song, staying consistent most of the way through, with a small build to a slightly dark feeling about 3/4ths of the way through as the bass becomes much more prominent.
Yuka Tsujiyoko - Theme of Fire Emblem Fire Emblem IV Genealogy of Holy War Arrange Soundtrack
Genealogy of Holy War (or Seisen no Keifu) was the fourth Fire Emblem title in the series, appearing on the Super Famicom in Japan. While the title only found its way to American shores through fan-translations, other titles in the series have since been released in America and quickly found a strong following. Yuka Tsujiyoko scored the soundtrack along with most of the Fire Emblem franchise.
“Theme of Fire Emblem” is a classic RPG theme. The epic nature of the composition helps to build the anticipation in the player as the begin their quest while establishing a style of music that will be heard throughout their adventure. While sounding a bit generic after having heard numerous RPG themes, “Theme of Fire Emblem” still manages to make its own distinct impression on me and many other fans of the soundtrack.
PeeWee and Michiko Hill - Mute City F-ZERO
F-Zero needs no introduction. Originally released for the Super Nintendo, this futuristic racing game broke new grounds in terms of technology and the soundtrack wasn’t too bad either. Composed by Yumiko Kanki and Naota Ishida, the soundtrack has a very contemporary feel to it, which was enhanced when released to album and arranged PeeWee and Michiko Hill.
The theme for Mute City sounds much like late 80s/early 90s contemporary jazz. It’s upbeat with a catchy melody and helps to enhance the feeling of speed when playing. The saxophone work in this arrangement is strong and clear without overpowering the ensemble established in the song. The style to the track is slightly dated, however, sounding like it belongs on a 90s sitcom or movie.
C is for Carpal Tunnel.
I’ve decided to make my next post on the very next day, since I need to make up for all that time I lost. Aside from that, I’ve added something new to the blog which I think will be a nice, welcomed addition. Now, below the mp3 link, will be a flash media player which will allow you to “sample” the track before downloading it. The tracks will play in their entirety, so there is no need to worry about getting only a 30 second teaser. You will hear the full thing. However, due to the nature of the player, there is a chance it may not work with some of the files, as most (if not all the files) I post are VBR. If you have any troubles with the audio playback, please let me know and I’ll see what I can do. The developer of the media player, Jeroen Wijering, warned that VBR would cause issues in playback, but from my testing, I have yet to encounter it, so hopefully everything works as it should. Anyway, on to today’s list.
Update: Since you can now hear the song live, there is no real need to put the genre.
Guido - Outskirts of Time Chrono Trigger The Brink of Time
Satoshi Ise - Theme of GOUKI remix Capcom vs. SNK 2 Millionaire Fighting 2001 Original Soundtrack
Michiru Yamane - Prologue Castlevania Original Soundtrack
Now with 16 bit action!
After the Final Fantasy Piano post, I’ve decided that I’m going to start doing themed posts more often. Today’s theme is simple; “Retro.”
Hirokazu Tanaka, Ryoji Yoshitomi, Kazumi Totaka - Monkeys Mario Paint Original Soundtrack The soundtrack to Mario Paint is strange to say the least, but it fits with a very strange game. This song has an upbeat, jazzy feel to it and is really quite enjoyable for being an old SNES song. It doesn’t change that much throughout the song, so don’t expect an epic build-up. It’s just a simple little song that will make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Yasunori Mitsuda - To Far Away Times Chrono Trigger Original Sound Version Listening to this song gives me the same feeling of accomplishment that I got when I first beat Chrono Trigger. Luckly, for those of you who haven’t played the game, the song is still an excellent example of using the limited musical capabilities of the SNES to it’s full potential. Like many songs from the early years, it relies on a strong, catchy melody with a couple of backing instruments and other sounds.
Alph Lyla - Guile Super Mega Drive Fan Vol.2 It’s hard to listen to this song without wanting to pick up a controller and play Street Fighter again. The music for the Street Fighter has always been entrancing, and this track from Street Fighter II Dash Plus (a.k.a. Street Fighter II: Champion Edition) is no exception. This Mega Drive verison starts strong and keeps going until the end, the way a Guile theme song should.
All about the piano
Since the Final Fantasy albums are a major area in the world of VGM, it only makes sense to give them some space on the blog, and today is going to be about the Piano Collections.
Shiro Hamaguchi/Shinko Ogata - Fisherman’s Horizon Final Fantasy VIII: Piano Collections Already a beautiful track from the original soundtrack, the piano rendition is wonderful. The soft, whimsical tone puts you at ease quickly. It captures of feeling of relaxing on a dock with a fishing pole and the warmth of the sun very well.
Masashi Hamauzu/Aki Kuroda - Traveling Company Final Fantasy X: Piano Collections Like Fisherman’s Horizon, this song is a soft, atmospheric track. However, instead of intending to capture of feel of fishing, its purpose is to create a peaceful enviornment inside a shop. A simple task, but Traveling Company exceeds in all categories.
Reiko Nomura - Tina Final Fantasy VI: Piano Collections This piece is nothing short of a classic. From the last Nintendo Final Fantasy until Crystal Chronicles, the music in VI was phenomenal, and this theme was no exception. It has a very epic feel to it. Though some of it is lost in the translation to solo piano, it still holds up as a wonderfully performed and composed piece.
Shiro Hamaguchi/Seiji Honda - One Winged Angel FINAL FANTASY VII: Piano Collections Another classic Final Fantasy track, this piano rendition does a great job of keeping the dark tone. The piece never lets up, and unfolds like any great epic song would. For those of you who have heard the original, you can almost hear the choir chanting “Se-phi-roth” in the background as the hammers of the piano slam against the strings with a great intensity.
All tracks originally composed by Nobuo Uematsu except “Traveling Company”, which was composed by Masashi Hamauzu.