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Luminous Arc 2 radiates to the U.S.
Clearing up doubts on whether Image Epoch's bootytastic SRPG sequel, Luminous Arc 2: Will, would ever come stateside, Atlus has announced that it is localizing the game for this fall.Why would you want to buy a lower budget Final Fantasy Tactics Advance knock-off, especially when you could just get Song Summoner for the iPod instead, you ask? We have an easy answer for that: online multiplayer battles. Also, big butts.Luminous Arc 2 will retail for $39.99, significantly higher than most other DS titles, but each copy will come in an oversized box containing a CD with selected songs from the soundtrack. Presumably, it's the same CD that was released with the SRPG's preorders in Japan.Enjoy three video clips from the English-translated game after the break! Interestingly, the voices are still in Japanese; we wonder if Atlus will leave the Japanese audio track intact?%Gallery-15251%
Composer explains what to expect from the Chrono Trigger DS soundtrack
Yasunori Mitsuda is probably just as excited about Chrono Trigger as you are. If that name doesn't ring a bell, those of you who've played the original SNES title might know his work -- he composed most of the soundtrack, after all.Mitsuda's reaction when he heard about the remake ... er, we mean, port? "Finally!" That pretty much sums it up in one word. In an interview with 1UP, he told the gaming site, "I had the music for the Nintendo DS version stay as close as possible to the SNES original, so I think you'll like how it turns out. Whether you're playing for the first time or reflecting on the past as you go, I hope all of you enjoy it." It sounds to us like the music is almost as similar to its roots as the rest of the port, but that's one element that's completely timeless in our eyes to our ears. To find out more about Mitsuda and the Chrono Trigger soundtrack, though, we recommend checking out 1UP's interview with the composer.Do those of you that played the game remember the music in it at all? Or was that one aspect that's evaporated from your brain over time?
Afrika's main theme sounds Indiana Jones-ish
Afrika is a safari sim hitting Japan in late August. While we haven't heard much about the game recently, we have heard sounds from the game -- the main theme to be exact. Coming from ScoringSessions, this video shows composer Wataru Hokoyama leading an orchestra on Afrika's title music. It sounds rather Indiana Jones-ish in lieu of what we'd expect to hear; like, uh, say something out of The Lion King. Still, it's a good track, and, no, the video has no sights of Africa ... just sights of Hollywood where the music was recorded. If you want to check out more on Afrika, you can hit up the official Japanese site. A North American release has yet to be announced.[Via MultiplayerBlog]
Sega provides soundtrack, commercials for World Destruction
Making the most of its multiple media production, Sega debuted two new commercials for its forthcoming World Destruction DS game during the Japanese premiere of its accompanying World Destruction anime series. The videos are blurry, and there's less than fifteen seconds of actual in-game footage between the two clips, but you can still see a preview of the JRPG's combat! Plus, one of the girls totally kicks a prison door off its hinges. Sega has also announced that it will throw in a "premium soundtrack" for anyone who puts in a preorder for World Destruction's September 18th release in Japan. The CD will contain five tracks picked out by composer Yasunori Mitsuda, whose name you should recognize from his work on Chrono Trigger and the Xenosaga series. Jump past the break for the album cover and second commercial!%Gallery-24031%
Rock out with Turbonegro's Conan tribute, "Destroy All Monsters"
Norwegian punk rock band Turbonegro have added their Age of Conan soundtrack contribution "Destroy All Monsters" to their Myspace page. From reading the group's website, it becomes clear that they're at least a little bit loopy; but that's the way we love our rock-stars, right? They sat down for an interview with IGN, in which we find out that the band has ruthlessness, masculinity, and of course, swordsmanship in common with old Conan, and that they have progressed to the child-eating stage of their careers.The track was performed live at the Age of Conan launch party, and we're told that a high-def clip of this occasion will be available soon. The soundtrack for the game will launch in Norway on the 30th of June, and in August for the rest of the world.
Wii Warm Up: Provide your own soundtrack
Photos from Flickr user beastandbean recently popped up in our RSS feed, titled "Wii Fit Jams: Music to exercise to!" Now, we never really got the appeal of listening to other music while playing a game, but then perhaps we're really old and fusty and out of touch (likelihood of this: high).We can sort of understand it with Wii Fit, with its plinky-plonky elevator music (music which is designed to be nothing more than background noise), but some friends of ours actually play their record collections all the time with every game. Are we alone in thinking they're as mad as a hatter?
The World Ends With You remix album is a sensory overload
We already know that the It's A Wonderful World + The World Ends With You remix album will sound amazing -- one only needs to play the game or listen to samples of the compilation on Square Enix's dedicated site to appreciate that Takeharu Ishimoto's magical soundtrack is one of the best this year -- but the packaging of the album will also look totally classy.Unlike the original soundtrack, this album contains tracks from both the Japanese and the North American and PAL editions of the game. It hits Japan (and the iTunes Store) on July 30th, when it will retail for ¥2,100 ($19).%Gallery-11943%[Via Go Nintendo]
Sakamoto describes his inspirations for echochrome's music
How does one craft the music for a game like echochrome? It must have been a challenge to create the ambiance necessary for such an abstract puzzle game, but Hideki Sakamoto was up to the challenge. Speaking with Siliconera, the musician noted the need for simplicity to match the game's visual style. echochrome is a game that needs no language, and Sakamoto wanted to convey that through a sound that's universally appealing. "Considering that the visual aspect of the game is strikingly simple, I had it in mind not to let the music overpower the overall design. I wanted to avoid distracting the player by using unusual sound effects or unfamiliar instruments. Classical music seemed to me the best choice because it is universal."One of the challenges of crafting the musical landscape for echochrome was creating a sound that doesn't necessarily move the player in a particular way. "In Echochrome, the important thing was for the player to have such feelings, just for their own sake. There was no sense of striving to manipulate the player's emotions, and that was something of a realization for me as a musician."Please read the entire interview at Siliconera for more. It really is quite fascinating. Samples of the soundtrack can be heard here. The soundtrack is available for import at Play-Asia.
Age of Conan composer speaks about Hyborian soundtrack
One interesting side effect of having a developer like Funcom being based out of Norway is that we are introduced to a whole cavalcade of interesting Scandinavian names. Case in point: they recently posted an interview on their official site with Knut Haugen, the game's composer, to celebrate the release of the Age of Conan official soundtrack on the iTunes store. The soundtrack itself is suitably epic, and you get a robust 25 tracks for the respectable price of $9.99. Plus, you get to own an album by a guy named Knut! Quite a deal.As for the interview itself, Haugen talks about how he got into composing originally and how he came to be acquainted with the Age of Conan team. He also talks about the intricacies of balancing Age of Conan's ancient, almost primeval ambiance with a desire to convey complex emotions for a situational score. It's an interview that's definitely worth reading, as it effectively relates an aspect of game development that we often hear too little about.
Bionic Commando and the soundtrack you won't hear on the Wii
One of the many reasons we love Bionic Commando and want to see it on the Virtual Console so badly is for its awesome, 8-bit soundtrack. So, when Capcom released Simon Viklund's album for Bionic Commando Rearmed, which reworks the NES songs into a more modern-day sound, we had to have it.We know that Rearmed isn't coming to the Wii, despite Wii gamers' pleas and petitions. Still, there's no denying the NES roots in Viklund's music, and just because we're not getting the actual game doesn't mean we should deprive ourselves of some great tunes, does it?In fact, the folks at Capcom are releasing the soundtrack even though they think they'll lose money on it, simply because they love and believe in the music that much. After listening to it, we have to say that we can see why. If you're interested, you can get the full soundtrack on iTunes or at Sumthing Digital for $9.99 (or buy the tracks you like separately for $0.99).[Via Capcom's Blog]
Square-Enix offers in-game harpsichord for CD pre-order
The CD compilations of Final Fantasy game music are popular items among players, so any new release is cause for celebration. This newest CD, however, entitled Piano Collections Final Fantasy XI has special significance -- first edition pressings come with a code included that unlocks a beautiful harpsichord for use in the Mog House.The pre-order ends on June 12th, so fans of the soundtracks will want to visit the site and get moving on this today. Looking at the track listing available made us want to make a joke about passing the Duchy 'pon the left-'and side, but fortunately, we're too mature for that.[Thanks, Fusionx!]
Metal Gear Solid 4 soundtrack released in Japan
The official Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots soundtrack came out in Japan today. The score was composed by Nobuko Toda and Harry Gregson-Williams, who have both contributed music to past MGS titles. The soundtrack is available for import via Play-Asia for $28. We caution, however, looking at the track listing as they contain minor spoilers (such as the "This is The Song You Hear When Snake Shoots Himself in the Head 78% Into the Game" – we're kidding). A copy of the soundtrack is also included in the Limited Edition version of the game. MGS4 is just two weeks away.
Super Dodge Ball gets super remix
Before we go into fits induced by the awesome fact that Super Dodgeball Brawlers is releasing in a mere two weeks, we figured that the least we could do is spread some love for an aspect of the original game that's often ignored -- its music.Of course, the best thing to do with great video game music is remix it, and The Bad Dudes have done just that. Taking Kazuo Sawa's score from the original Super Dodge Ball (NES) and arranging it with some ethnic flavor (based on the different teams' countries of origin) makes for a great combination. Don't just take out word for it, though -- give it a listen or download the zip file over at No Balls, No Glory.Aksys also plans to use this EP to promote the upcoming DS remake, which is set to hit American stores on May 27th.[Via Destructoid]
echochrome soundtrack resonates in Japan
Wish you could have the soothing strings of echochrome with you everywhere you go? Looks like the popularity of Sony's intriguing puzzle game has greenlit production of the soundtrack CD. Available on May 21st in Japan, the CD will include 13 tracks from the game, including such hits as "prime #3" and "prime #9973." These hits will undoubtedly open your mind to new kinds of perspective -- please don't listen to them while operating a motor vehicle.The soundtrack CD will retail for the standard price of 2,940??? (~$28.21 US).
No More Heroes remix CD launched nerdily
Game|Life's Jean Snow, along with a very exclusive audience that naturally did not include us (we'd be happy just to be able to buy the CD), attended the launch party for the No More Heroes Dark Side CD, which features remixes of Masafumi Takada's excellent soundtrack by other game and chiptune musicians. The party took place at Shinjuku's 8-bit Cafe, a retrogaming-themed restaurant with displays of classic games, and even a bin full of games for customers to play at any of the systems set up around the shop.Once the event closed, the celebration moved to another bar called 16 Shots -- as in Takahashi Meijin's button-mashing record. You'll never hear a geekier name for a business, at least until our loan goes through.
Burnout Paradise for PS3 getting custom soundtracks
On top of the previously announced three new online modes to be introduced in Burnout Paradise's so-called "Cagney" software update, developer Criterion has revealed that the forthcoming download will also level the pavement between the open-world racer's two console versions, finally bringing custom soundtracks to Burnout Paradise for the PS3.After the update, PS3 owners will be able to get at their own music using the game's Easy Drive in-game menu, allowing them to cycle through their own collection of tunes while trying to avoid careening into oncoming traffic. Even better, this update, welcome as it is, is just one of several Criterion has planned this year, ensuring many repeat visits to the junk yard in the months ahead.
Ace Attorney orchestra awesomeness meets Gyakuten Kenji trailer
The Ace Attorney series is dear to our hearts, so when any information crosses the intertubes regarding Capcom's lawyering games, we foam at the mouth like rabid raccoons. Today's tidings regard both the Gyakuten Meets Orchestra concert, which took place in Tokyo, and the upcoming spin-off title starring Miles Edgeworth. As much as we love Gyakuten Saiban and its music, we obviously weren't able to able to drag ourselves to Japan for what we're sure was an awesome concert. From what we understand, though, the CDs that you see so deliciously stacked in the video above will be made available for purchase on July 16th. Do want. Also in the video (around the 4:00 minute mark) is a trailer for Edgeworth's game, called Gyakuten Kenji in case you haven't been keeping up (for shame!). The trailer is mostly just moving versions of screens we've already seen, but it also features a new character that will be showing up Check after the break to see some promotional photos for Gyakuten Kenji, some artwork from the event (want!), and some Gyakuten Saiban swag, including an orchestra-themed tumbler (want want!) and even Snackoos (want want want!). %Gallery-20451%
DS Fanboy community project: Muxtape
This may be a little off the beaten path, but we here at DS Fanboy stumbled across the DIY-online-mixtape site, muxtape, recently, and we've had a lot of fun putting together and sharing our creations. So much fun, in fact, that we decided to try to bring everyone in on it. By everyone, we mean you, our beloved readers. Create (if you haven't already) your own muxtape and share it in the comments! We've created two for you to enjoy: DJFanboy: game and game-inspired music DJFanboy2: a selection of blogger favorites -- get to know us better! And you know there's some Ace Attorney music represented. Take your objections to that one elsewhere!
DS Daily: Stellar soundtracks
Let's face it -- the DS isn't loved for its aural qualities. Still, there are some games that really outdo themselves in terms of music. A few that immediately come to us as examples are the Ace Attorney (Gyakuten Saiban) games and Professor Layton. Yet, everyone has different musical tastes, so we wanted to see if you thought any DS games had soundtracks worth noting. If so, list them here!
GT5 Prologue North American release gets exclusive music
After unveiling the cars and tracks for its upcoming too-good-to-be-a-demo PS3 racer, it seems only fitting that Sony let us know what kind of music we can expect to bop our heads too while navigating the twisty corners of GT5 Prologue. According to Sony, the North American version of the 'real driving simulator' will include "a dozen exclusive singles," including an "exclusive remix" of Weezer's song "Automatic" from the band's upcoming album. In addition, the game, which drops next month as both a download and full retail release, will feature a new version of Polyphony Digital's Masahiro Andoh's series theme song, "Moon Over the Castle." Seventeen international musical numbers from such names as Goose and Nittoku Inoue are also included, giving us plenty of tunes to listen to while failing to pass that license test for the umpteenth time.
