Song: Pleasure Castle …For Twinkle Park  (Click to listen!)

Game/Soundtrack: Sonic Adventure

Composer: Jun Senoue

Hi everybody! it’s that time again where I do my “Song of the Day” and I’m about to bring another dose of written awesomeness about another song that’s pleasing to the ears. Now for those who have played the later Sonic games and don’t know who Jun Senoue is then you should probably go in the corner and think about why you fail. Anyways, Jun Senoue composed music for games like Sonic 3, Sonic 3D blast and struck gold with the Sonic Adventure series. He is also responsible crafting the signature rock sound you hear in newer installments of his series thanks to his band Crush 40. ”Pleasure Castle …For Twinkle Park” plays when you enter the carnival portion of a level. The level starts you off on a rocket powered roller coaster going super fast and as this song kicks in you know you’re in for an epic time. This song is very up beat and jazzy and gets you pumped and I mean come on, who doesn’t get excited about carnivals. The high synths and the rock organ that plays through out invokes energy and are nicely complimented by guitar rifts which are well blended into the song. The drum work is pretty solid and also reeks of energy but in the end it’s the synths and bells and do this song true justice. Not only to they invoke the feeling of having a crazy time but they give you that feeling of actually being at a carnival. The level has you riding rocket powered roller coasters, sending sonic down bowling lanes, hoping on castle rooftops, blowing up barrels, and stomping robotic monkeys. Jun Senoue attempted to create a song that would get you dancing and he achieved that and so much more. No matter how crappy of a mood you’re in this song will always cheer you up. Well this has been another “Song of the Dar” and I will return tomorrow with another epic song from my collection.

Song: Born of the Boughs (Click to listen!)

Game/Sountrack: Final Fantasy XIV

Composer: Nobuo Uematsu

Welcome back to another edition of “Song of the Day”, this will also be a little story about one RPG that couldn’t keep up. Let me start by saying that this is probably one of the best and most addictive town themes I’ve heard in a while. I got acquainted with this piece in one of the worse ways possible. The first time I heard this song was when FF14 was patching and the client was being stupid, the second was when I got lost doing a quest because Tanaka (original game director) doesn’t know what a waypoint was and thought FF11′s style of play would work in today’s MMO market.

Now before I get to why I love this song I have to explain the train wreck that is Final Fantasy XIV. Now before FF14 was a game called FF11 which was Square Enix’s first MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online game for those who don’t play many videogames). Final Fantasy 11  which dropped in Spring 2003 was a hit and did very well with critics and those who picked it up played the hell out of it, I even know people who are probably ashamed to admit the amount of hours they poured into that game. Now shortly after the release of this critically acclaimed game Square began to work on their next MMO in order to build off of the momentum of their first game. Seeing as there was nothing wrong with the game not much was changed as far as the formula goes and you know what they say, it ain’t broke don’t fix it right? WRONG!!!!!!! Not changing the formula wouldn’t have been a problem had a certain MMO not come out and would later become the biggest MMO of the decade. Meet World of Warcraft, released in 2004 this MMO would set the standard for games of this genre in terms of gameplay, stability, community structure, and most importantly accessibility. This was the type of game that could easily be picked up even by those who have never touched an MMO. I have played other MMO’s prior to WoW and this game eased me in rather quickly, not once did I feel lost and not once did I have to refer to an outside guide to figure out what to do and how to progress the game. I downloaded it, installed it, and Azeroth stole me way from the world and possibly ruined my social life. The point is, WoW made it easy for an MMO noob to jump in without getting overly frustrated. Now back to FF14, now by the time WoW had exploded on to the MMO scene the team responsible for FF14 had already laid down the basic frameworks for how the game would operate, there was just one serious problem. Lets go back to the phrase “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it”, Tanaka who was the project lead would soon learn the hard way the change happens and when it does fighting it will screw you over. You see with the release of WoW the MMO scene was undoubtedly changing, more and more games were being built off of WoW’s gameplay, stability, and most importantly accessibility. For the next six years people would be introduced to games like Lord of the Rings Online, City of Heroes, Guild Wars, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Dungeon Siege, Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic  and other single player RPG’s that played the same way like Dragon Age. The Western RPG market which had been a niche subset buried by the explosion of JRPG’s in the late 90′s was finally gaining dominance and would lead to a very serious problem for games coming out of Japan. Even Korea has done an excellent job of keeping up with the numerous changes in MMO standards. By the time FF14 came out people had grown to expect certain things out of MMOs and needless to say FF14 didn’t deliver. The game wasn’t accessible and was extremely frustrating, though I commend Square for allowing Japan and the US to share servers their netcode sucked so the game is extremely unstable and lags quite a bit. Also the game in itself is very unstable and won’t run very well on even the best machines. Installing it on my gaming rig was a real pain in the ass and even with a good graphics card the game will shutter and screen tear. Giving the game pretty graphics, putting Sqaure’s best composer on the project, and giving the game the Final Fantasy name is like putting a band aid on an open gash. Tanaka foolishly though that those who had played FF11 would instantly hop on the band wagon like old times, sadly that demographic had aged and had moved on the many new MMO’s listed above. Now the game is currently being revamped for a reboot and hopefully the reboot will win me over and I’ll have good things to say about it but until then this game is a mess.

Anyways now that my introspective/rant is over lets get back to the more important issue, the music. I write about this song because it made such tedious tasks extremely enjoyable and made me a happy person even when FF14 wanted me to rage. As I mentioned before this song first played while I was patching the game which was another chore in itself but this song keep me very relaxed. The wood wind medley has a soothing factor which will keep you in a sense of serenity. The strings are also very calming and create a nature ambiance since you hear this song in a forest setting. I thank Nobuo for the inclusion of this song in game because I probably would have taken my anger out on in inanimate object had it not been for this to keep me calm.  Though FF14 is severely flawed Nobuo Uematsu oce again brought his A game to create a very beautiful soundtrack which like many will be stuck in my head for years to come. When Nobuo decides to release a full version of the FF14 soundtrack I will definitely write about it, I’m long overdue for another soundtrack review.

Song: Disappeared (Click to listen!)

Game/Sountrack: Kingdom Hearts II

Composer: Yoko Shimomura

Yeah I know I’ve been absent from these posts, from internship work to having to fight a virus that reeked total havoc in my computer, I’ve been a busy man. Anyways I’m here to talk about another musical beauty from the Kingdom Hearts franchise. Now I should mention that Yoko Shimomura and several other female composers are severely underrated in this business. She’s composed for games like Street Fighter and Legend of Mana but it wasn’t until Kingdom Hearts that her name got out there but her music brilliantly crafted and is very memorable. Again, I will not explain the Kingdom Hearts plot do to it’s complexity but I will explain to you why I love this song. Now the first time you hear this song is at a certain point of the game where your protagonist is separated from is team and is dragged into a distorted version of the current world he’s in. He then must do battle with the game’s main antagonist alone. Realizing you’re in this alone can be rather tense and the eerie choir does a great job of invoking a sense of loneliness and anxiety. As soon as the intro is over the low pianos and the bass strings kick in letting you know you’re in for a fight and though the fight wasn’t a challenging as I’d hoped it to be it was still none the less an epic fight. The brass (the horns) will keep you on your toes and will build off of the pre-existing tension. An organ is used towards the build up in the middle and towards the end to climax the song. Now my only gripe with this song is that you will only hear it once throughout the entire game which is kind of sad because it s a truly epic song but just the fact that it’s exclusive to that part of the game makes it that much more epic. Anyways, that’s all for now and I will return to you with another song in due time.

Song: Enter the Darkness (Click to listen!)

Game/Sountrack: Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep

Composer: Takeharu Ishimoto

Alright people welcome to another Song of the Day, in this entry I will go in and rave about one of my personal favorites from the Kingdom Hearts series. Now I’m not even going to bother trying to explain the convoluted clusterfuck of a mess that is the Kingdom Hearts storyline because you head will probably explode from the confusion far worse than that of trying to figure out what’s going on in “Sucker Punch”. Anyways, Birth By Sleep is a prequel to a series that focuses on Keyblade weilders blah blah blah, worlds blah blah blah, oblivion and darkness blah blah blah. It’s not that I hate the story it’s just that playing the game will give a better explanation of the story than I can because quite frankly I could write a Harry Potter sized novel on how much of a mess the story is. I understand the story aside from the massive amounts of plot holes left by the spinoffs but it is a mess. Anyways during your travels in one of the character scenarios you will meet a man in a body tight suit (yes Japan seems to have an obsession with tight fitting clothing and slightly feminine men) who wields…. a keyblade, this man will attack you in an attempt to kill you because the clashing of your protagonist and this man will create enough dark energy to forge a super powerful version of a keyblade. For those who don’t know what a keyblade is it is exactly what it implies, a giant key that is used as a sword. No you’re probably wondering why Square-Enix would do such a thing, well for those who don’t know much about Kingdom Hearts it is a joint project between Square-Enix and Disney. This mess of a prodigy child was invented through hardcore closed quarters sex known as an infamous chance elevator conversation between Final Fantasy character designer Tetsuya Nomura and a Disney executive (Square and Disney shared the same building in Japan back in the day). After this conversation Tetsuya Nomura decided to push forward with a crossover game that consisted of Final Fantasy like protagonists visiting Disney worlds and sealing Keyholes with a Keyblade to stop the worlds from hemorrhaging darkness and other evil things. You use your magic key to slay heartless, monsters that manifest from stolen hearts. Now the reason why you use a giant key as opposed to a sword or a gun is because while this is produced by Square, there are Disney properties in this game and Disney likes to keep their properties squeaky clean so guns and big ugly swords can’t go any further than their portrayal within a Disney world. Now back to the song, with your protagonist you end up in a badlands like place and you run into this really evil guy and right when he’s ready to kill you this music cues i and you’ll start trembling as deep distorted synths and low octave pianos kick in at a relatively slow pace and then progress to strings. Now when this song picks up it transitions into a movie like action theme which is rather unique for a song in a series full of classical themed tracks. Now if the name Takeharu Ishimoto doesn’t seem familiar to you then I don’t blame you, it is only now that he is starting to shine as a composer, he started as a synthesizer programmer (someone who chooses which instruments and sounds are appropriate within the context of a video game soundscape).  He eventually got small gigs as a composer, his first solo project was on the Nintendo DS cult classic “The World Ends With You” and if you haven’t played the game then shame on you! You should probably give yourself a few slaps on the but, crawl in a corner and think about somethings. Anyways Takeharu was good enough as a composer that he got the opportunity to showcase his skills on the Birth By Sleep soundtrack with the likes of Yoko Shimomura, the main series composer. Now the one thing I lobe about Takeharu as  a composer is that he seems to approach his songs as if he’s writing a movie score, the one defining characteristic being his choice of percussion and the progression of the said percussion. You all most feel that you’re in an action movie style fight which is what fights against this guy will turn out being as compared to other Kingdom Hearts bosses which you just beat on, this one will require far more strategy and the studying of attack patterns which I thought was a refreshing change of pace for the series. It made the fights feel far more challenging than they have in the past. From the creepy intro to the fast paced sections throughout this song will be a thrill ride in itself as well as the battles this song is played in. I greatly enjoyed the song and I hope to hear more work from Takeharu in the future. Well, this has been another song of the day and I will be back tomorrow with another review on what ever track I believe is worthy of being the song of the day.

Song: Caius Theme (Click to listen!)

Game/Sountrack: Final Fantasy XIII-2

Composer: Naoshi Mizuta

Well it’s that time again, welcome back to another “Song of the Day”. If this next epic sends chills down your spine everytime you hear it then it means Naoshi Mizuta has done his job as a composer. This song should invoke fear, it should also make you fear for your life, this is the song of a man who wants to obliterate all of time and space. Now before I go on with this review I should note that Final Fantasy XIII-2 is a direct sequel to Final Fantasy XIII and starts off a few years after the events of the orignal. The game focues on two characters who are on a journey to solve a series of space time paradoxes that threaten to upset the balance of time and space itself, using special items and abilities the two heroes must hop around different time zones trying to solve problems in the process of looking for someone important. Now during your travels you will run into a man name Caius who’s plans, ambitions, and hopes are being crushed by your attempts to fix time and will stop at nothing to make sure you don’t succeed. Now as much as I love Nobuo Uematsu (composer for FF 1-10, 14) this song screams “MOVE OVER (ONE WINGED ANGEL)”. This is probably one of the best villan themes you’ll hear, its slow progression and heavy hitting choirs and brass (horns) will make you tremble as you get your ass handed to you on a silver platter and a giant blade. The build ups are the true charm of this song, starting with strings progressing into choirs which are soon joined by brass will add a sense of tension and you should feel tense as you struggle to keep your HP above 50% as Caius will continue to dish out attack upon attack on your party. The slow tempo in this song also adds tension an a sense of anticipation, all feelings experienced by players during a grueling boss fight unless you’re that coward who bought the strategy guide and studied the fight before you attempted it. You’re not supposed to go into fights prepare, boss fights are supposed to be approached like that test you forgot to study for that your teacher told you about months ago but enough with this rant. This boss theme is probably one of the series’ best and is definitely worth a listen and maybe a download even if you don plan on playing the game.

Song: Cid’s Theme (Click to listen!)

Game/Soundtrack: Final Fantasy VII

Composer: Nobuo Uematsu

Yes I know it’s been a while since I did this and at this point it shouldn’t be called song of the day but I’m back from hiatus to update this site and mainly this section.  Anyways, the song I’m writing about today comes from Final Fantasy VII which in my opinion is the most over rated game in the series but enough about that. Now the song is well, the theme song for a guy named Cid. Now it should be noted that EVERY SINGLE FINAL FANTASY GAME contains a guy named Cid but this Cid is rather special as he sets himself apart from all the others as far as personality goes. The Cid in FF7 is a man with a simple yet complicated dream within the context of the FF7 universe, the man just wants to go to outer space and that dream was about to reach fruition until someone screwed it up. Anyways, Cid has to abort his mission and several factors beyon his control deter him from having another chance at least until later in the game but I won’t get into that either. The purpose of writing this is to talk about the song itself, now this song conveys a sense of passion and from the moment you listen to it you will instantly know that this man has a dream. Now in my opinion this is probably the best protagonist theme in the entire series and it’s pretty obvious, there is so much passion in this piece of music. Listening to it reminds you of your own dreams and ambitions and in that instant you instantly identify with Cid as his tragic tale of a dream defered unfolds. Now the thing love about Nobuo Uematsu as a composer is how well he’s able to convey a message, theme, or motif  musically. No matter what walk of life you come from his music will convey they same message to everyone. This simple yet powerful ballad will stick in your head for years to come and when you listen to it, you’ll remember the man who continued to fight the good fight despite having his dreams crushed by and evil faceless organization but then who else hasn’t had their dreams crushed by a person and an evil and faceless organization? No matter the person the song speaks for all the dreams we continue to pursue despite the hardships. Nobuo once again has out done himself and continues to do so today, though the song is over ten years old, the message still remains to be as powerful as it was when it first debuted.

Song: Heraldic Emblem (Click to listen!)

Game/Sountrack: Star Ocean: The Second Story

Composer: Motoi Sakuraba

Welcome to the start of my new “Song of the Day” series where I choose a song whether it be from a video game or from a mainstream/indie artist and give you my breakdown of why I like the song, and what made it good from the perspective of a musician. I will also use this opportunity to open people up to new songs and styles of music and also new games. The song I will be analyzing is called “Heraldic Emblem” as listed above. Star Ocean is a series sci fi games that usually involve its main characters getting transported to distant galaxies and planets due to either cataclysmic events or accidents.  During these games the main character interacts and teams with people of different races and species to stop a great evil that threatens the universe. Now while I’ve had the chance to play all the games in the series, Star Ocean: The Second Story or Star Ocean: Second Evolution (The name of the Re-localization) was the first game I played in that series and it is also my favorite. Now this song is first introduced to you as you traverse a forest in search of missing children kidnapped by a bandit and a very important family keepsake that if in the wrong hands could be detrimental for many. Now as you listen to this track you get this nice creeping feeling that lets you know you’re in a dark and dreary place which is exactly what the environment is. I should also add that this forest doubles as a swamp loaded with monsters at every turn. There’s also the occasional witch using offensive spells on your characters and the many instances of bandits. Scared? you should be, fear is exactly what this song conveys. From the reverb (echo) from the percussion to the slow progression of the strings, you get the feeling that feeling of anxiety. You’re walking into this treacherous swamp, the lack of lighting plus a plethora of dangers creates for some peril. The music box melody on top of the basic beat gives the song that nice eerie touch needed to send shivers down your spine. Yes, a video game can create those feelings of fear and anxiety through dialogue to a degree but in order for players to truly feel those emotions, you need that ambiance and that’s where music comes in. This song does a superb job of getting that message of fear and anxiety across to the player as they traverse this swamp and attempt to stop these bandits. This song is slept on classic that has stuck with me since the day I first heard it. It is also one of my favorites as far as dungeon themes go and has influenced one of my musical pieces (Check out “Alone in the Dark”). For those wanting to play this game it is available on the Sony PSP and for those retro enthusiasts who are willing to play the original, it is also available on the PS One though for those who own a PS3 it is not yet up for download on the Playstation Network Store so you’ll probably have to do some digging around either at retro game enthusiast stores or the internet.