The Game Music Concert Magic Spreads...

Up at Music 4 Games right now is a great writeup on "The Music of Video Games", performed by the Austin Wind Symphony. Even lesser known orchestras are getting into performing game music! I highly recommend checking out the article:

Music For Games

More Soon

Black Mages III Review

I got the CD yesterday, and have listened to the whole thing at least four times. I think it's pretty awseome! I like this one slightly better than Black Mages 2.
I give it an 8.5 out of 10, but there are some things I would like to see done differently. On some songs I can't comment much, I just love them. I don't write a lot of reviews, but being such a big fan of the Black Mages' first two albums, I really wanted to do a review for this one.

1. Bombing Mission (FF VII)

This is a little toned down from what I was expecting from the opening track, but it still has a nice covert feel to it. I have listened to this track a lot, and I would like to hear it faster with more guitar, though I don't have a problem with the synth. Compared to the other tracks on the album, I think this one could be more unleashed.

2. Neo EXDEATH (FF V)

One of my favorites on the album, I think there is a great balance of guitar and keyboard.

3. The Extreme (FF VIII)

This is a great version, it gets really fast and that's what I was hoping for. The drums and a few other additions make this sound a lot more battle oriented than the original in my opinion, and I love the way it ends!

4. Assault of the Silver Dragons (FF IX)

Being a big FF IX fan, I hoped this would be good, and I'm not disappointed at all, this might be my favorite track on the CD! It's really inspiring. This morning I was running home from work listening to it, even though I had my bicycle.

5. KURAYAMINOKUMO (FF III)

If you bought the FF III DS soundtrack , then you have already heard this, as it was a bonus track on that CD.
I'm glad they included it here, since others might not have gotten to hear it. This is another one of my favorites on the album.

6. Distant Worlds (FF XI)

A great rendition! It's calm and atmospheric. I need fast music most of the time, so I haven't listened to this song as often as the others, but it's still pretty cool.


7. Premonition (FF VIII)

This is awesome! I get the same uneasy feeling as when I hear the original.

8. Grand Cross (FF IX)

Sounds very similar to the game version, especially at the beginning, but the added arrangement really livens it up for me.

9. Darkness and Starlight (FF VI)

The FF VI Opera Scene!
This is the one I would really love to see done differently. I can't say it's a bad musical performance, but it just feels interrupted and out of place compared to the rest of the CD, and the narration is not necessary. The FF VI music arranged this way is still fun to listen to, but I don't feel like listening to this as often as the other songs.

The opera singers here are pretty good, but for the female part I think Sarah Brightman could do an awesome job with this song.

If you are familiar with the FF III arranged CD that has narration, (Legend of Eternal Wind) this would be cool for a FF VI CD like that.

10. LIFE ~ in memory of Keiten ~

Nice piano piece to close out the CD.

I think they did an excellent job overall, I am really enjoying it! I hope I can get this CD autographed one day.

New soundtrack arrivals!!

Just got these yesterday, and I can't wait to write about them!
Black Mages III, Nights: Journey of Dreams, Final Fantasy IV DS Soundtrack, and Final Fantasy Tactics A2.

My Final Fantasy Distant Worlds Experience...

What a wonderful night Saturday, March 1st was! At the fantastic Rosemont Theatre in Chicago, the magic happened again. Not only did Play! A Video Game Symphony kick off there in 2006, but Final Fantasy concerts have been held there before, during the Dear Friends tour. It's safe to say that the Chicagoland Pops Orchestra has some great experience performing game music.

It was great to return there again for another special night, the Final Fantasy Distant Worlds North American Premiere. As many of you know, this new tour, celebrating the twenty year history of this beloved RPG franchise, got it's start on December 4th, 2007 in Stockholm, Sweden. Stockholm has become quite a hot spot for great game music concerts in it's own right now, too. The Distant Worlds tour will continue on to Seoul, South Korea in April 2008, and plans for Australia and New Zealand in 2009 have been announced. So how was the concert? AWESOME!

There was snow a couple days before March 1st in Chicago, and it was cold! Most of the snow lingered on. I thought it was a great atmosphere for the show.


THE CONCERT

Arnie Roth conducted again, and I was glad to see him do it. Not many conductors are as familiar with game music, or Final Fantasy music in that matter, as he has become.
After a brief introduction from Arnie Roth, the fans cheered as Mr. Nobuo Uematsu entered the audience, and sat with two of his assistants from Square Enix. Mr. Roth made some great announcements during the concert: The third Black Mages Album has been completed, and the Famous Opera Scene from Final Fantasy VI would be a part of it! I can't wait to hear that CD! Mr. Roth stated that the Distant Worlds Tour would be featuring FF music not not often played at other FF concerts. He also indicated that much more footage from the games would now be a part of the tour, and he was right. It was great!

NOTE: Some of the songs may be out of order.

1. Liberi Fatali (Final Fantasy VIII)
This is a real favorite, it was a great performance of the opening theme from FF VIII. I was once listening to this while riding my bicycle, and I crashed from riding too fast! It's a real intense piece.

2. To Zanarkand (Final Fantasy X)
Great! This is the opening theme for FF X. I still don't know why this game gets a lot of criticism. I loved it!

3. Final Fantasy Main Theme (FF Series)
For the most part, it's in every FF game, it's timeless, a trademark.

4. Don't Be Afraid (Final Fantasy VIII)
The FF VIII Battle Theme! The game footage showed an actual battle encounter to go along right with the music.

5. Theme of Aeris (Final Fantasy VII)
Sure, I've heard it live many times, it's still great to hear, though. Everyone loves it.

6. Final Fantasy I-III Medley
If you've heard some of the various FF concert albums out there, this is pretty much the same medley. One thing I like about it is that there is a lot of emphasis on FF II.

7. Vamo' alla Flamenco (Final Fantasy IX)
A guest guitarist was brought out for this piece, and he did an amazing job. I think it was largely extended from previous live versions, and was by far the best version of it I've ever heard.

8. Dear Friends (Final Fantasy V)
The guest guitarist did another awesome job with this piece, the ending for FF V.

9. Love Grows (Final Fantasy VIII)
Basically, it's the instrumental version of "Eyes on Me", the vocal theme from FF VIII. I kept going through the lyrics in my head as I listened.

Intermission
Now more of the new and rare pieces would be performed!

10. Opening ~ Bombing Mission (Final Fantasy VII
The only other time I've heard this live was at the More Friends FF Concert back in '05, and they did an excellent job with it. I love this piece, it went right along with the FF VII opening footage they showed.

11. Fisherman's Horizon (Final Fantasy VIII)
First time hearing this live! Really cool! The choir was great.

12. Swing de Chocobo (Final Fantasy X)
Arranged by Arnie Roth personally from the FF X version of the Chocobo Theme.
It's become so recognizable over the years.

13. Theme of Love (Final Fantasy IV)
This was a classic from FF IV, and it was the first time I've seen the cinemas from FF IV DS. AMAZING!!

14. Memoro de las Stono ~ Distant Worlds (Final Fantasy XI
Another piece that was a first for me to hear live. This wasn't just part of the opening from FF XI, this was, I think one of the best performances of the show. The choir was incredible, and lyrics were added, performed by a great female vocalist with a gorgeous voice (I can't remember her name for the life of me).

15. Opera "Maria and Draco" (Final Fantasy VI)
This was the main reason I attended the More Friends Concert, and I was getting to hear it again! FF VI is my favorite FF game! I almost think this was better than the More Friends performance. The opera singers definitely had the emotions and expressions right for the piece. So rare to see this performed live, and such a treat!

16. Terra's Theme (Final Fantasy VI)
The "final" piece for the evening, this was fantastic. It was made special by the way they tied the game footage into it. The 16 bit footage from the FF VI opening was shown, and where the game normally listed creator credits, they changed it to show the credits for the concert. It must have been cool for Arnie Roth to see his name up on the screen while Terra walked in the snow with her companions wearing the Magitek Armor.

After a standing ovation, of course there had to be an encore:

17. One Winged Angel (Final Fantasy VII)
It's to be expected at an FF show. Everyone always goes nuts for it.

More standing ovations followed, and Mr. Uematsu appeared on stage with Mr. Arnie Roth and bowed to everyone. An awesome evening, the concert was almost 2 1/2 hours, and I was so looking forward to meeting Mr. Uematsu again!

The meet and greet followed for those who were lucky, and paid $150.00 for a ticket. The line was long, but I must thank Mr. Uematsu, Mr. Roth and AWR productions for one of the best meeting sessions I've ever been to. I didn't see anyone being rushed, and everyone got a great moment to thank Nobuo Uematsu for his music (you can see my photos to the right in my photo gallery). Thank you all for your patience meeting all the fans. I must also thank the staff of the Rosemont Theatre for their help taking photos and for their comments on my artwork. Both times I've been there, you guys have seriously been the best staff at any concert I've ever attended.


The Rosemont Theatre the night of the show


Fans gathered outside ready for showtime. Mr. Uematsu made an early appearance and waved to the fans from inside.


Some of the merchandise on sale. Also available were autographed posters.


The line for the meet and greet was long!


The orchestra preparing to get started.

Autographs
I was lucky once again to get a number of items signed, including my drawing of Mr. Uematsu as a Black Mage! (see photo at right)


Blue Dragon OST and FF VII Piano Collections (Digicube)


Final Fantasy I & II PS1 OST and FF IV Celtic Moon


FF III NES/FC OST


FF Songbook Mahoroba and FF Symphonic Suite


Phantasmagoria


FF Tactics Advance OST: I got it signed once by Mr. Hitoshi Sakimoto at Play! in Detroit, and I brought it to this concert for Mr. Uematsu to autograph. I was extremely luck to get both discs and the liner notes signed by the two of them. Mr. Uematsu noticed Sakimoto's signature and he said "Oh, Sakimoto-San, he's my friend".
He also made another comment about working on the FF Tactics OST with Sakimoto that was soooo funny, I'll share it at another time.

Hope you enjoyed this writeup, thanks for reading!

Distant Worlds ROCKED Chicago!

I just got in from the Distant Worlds Final Fantasy Concert, and it was a complete success!! Lots of new gameplay videos and FMVs were added, and even more tracks that hardly ever get played at FF concerts were performed! Everyone had a blast! I have so much cool stuff to share, I can't wait until I get home tomorrow!

ATTENDING FINAL FANTASY DISTANT WORLDS

Hello all! I'm really excited to be attending the Final Fantasy Distant Worlds concert this weekend. I made a little drawing to celebrate the event. I have printed it, and here's to hoping Mr. Uematsu will autograph it for me! I look forward to reporting on the event when I return. See you then!

Thanks for 7,000 hits!!

Once again, a big thank you to those who visit my page. Here's a couple things I've done in the last few days:

Legend of Xanadu II Boss fight 3! I am making all new, high quality recordings of this great game by Falcom. Enjoy this boss fight video!


A new Megaman drawing, done in more of an anime style:

COUNTDOWN TO FINAL FANTASY DISTANT WORLDS!!

It's about one week away until March 1st, the hype is building! I haven't been to a game concert since Play! in Stockholm last June, and I'm ready! With this post I wanted to give some tips for those attending the show or the meet and greet session with Nobuo Uematsu and Arnie Roth.

1. Arrive at the venue early with your camera.

Trust me, I have seen Nobuo Uematsu and Yasunori Mitsuda walking outside a theater before the show started. That will be a good opportunity to meet Mr. Uematsu before the meet and greet. Many people may not even know what Mr. Uematsu looks like.

My photo with Akira Yamaoka below? That was taken before the concert, when he was walking around outside taking pictures of the concert hall. I have a feeling that nobody knew who he was. I thought I may be intruding, but he was extremely nice.
All of the composers I have met have been wonderful. Remember to be respectful if you see a good opportunity.

2. Bring stuff to get autographed.

I have heard many fans who said they should have brought something to get autographed. Remember, it's not every day an opportunity like this comes along. Don't forget anything.
You may hear something like "only one picture or one item to get signed". You'll have to be quick and resourceful, if you want to get a bunch of games or CDs signed, open all of them beforehand. Either the liner notes or the discs themselves. It can be done.
The line will be long for the meet & greet, and no one wants to be there all night.

3. Don't forget your camera!

If you would like a picture with Mr. Uematsu, don't forget your camera, especially if you had to lock it up before the concert.In my experience, cameras are allowed in the meeting sessions, but may not be allowed during the concert. Although with so many camera phones out there, it's a little hard to control that now.
If you don't have a camera, maybe someone in the line will be nice and take a picture for you, and e-mail it afterwards!

One last thing. I am unsure if they will make you turn in your bag, if you bring stuff to get autographed. My tip is to bring those items in something smaller, it will be less likely for someone on staff at the theater to see it and ask you to turn it in. Otherwise, you'll have to run and get it after the show, and there could be a line, and it will delay you getting a good spot in line for the meeting session.

Hope this can be of some help, and I look forward to seeing you all there!

My First Game Music Video

I made my first Game Music Video (GMV) with Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children to go along with the killer Hellion Sounds version of Jenova. Hope you like it!

Project Majestic Mix KFSS Studios Farewell

I received the unfortunate e-mail, as I'm sure many of you have, that Project Majestic Mix will cease operating soon. The website will be up for seven more days, and then taken down indefinitely on February 26th. I'd like to thank you all at Majestic Mix/KFSS for all the joy you brought this fan of game music through your wonderful works, and wish you all the best of luck in the future. I hope your plans to return one day will bring you more success than you can handle. Thanks again for the great music and memories!

Nights Perfect Album Announced

This is great! Finally the original Nights soundtrack is getting the release it always deserved, this time in the form of three discs! Cocoebiz is taking pre-orders on the set, which contains two discs for the Original Nights soundtrack, with the third disc devoted to covering music from the limited Christmas Nights game. With the original Nights soundtrack being only one disc when it was released long ago, I think this set will be the Nights soundtrack the fans (myself included) have been wanting. Also, the new Nights for the Wii will has a soundtrack too! Check out some links below:

Cocoebiz

CD Japan Below

Nights: Journey of Dreams Wii soundtrack information

See you next time!

Game Music Collection update

The following soundtracks were added to the list today on this update(1-16-08):

Soldner X: Himmelssturmer OST
Summon Night 1-4
Megaman 7
Megaman 8
Megaman ZX Advent Tunes
Final Fantasy Heavy Metal Guarvail
Growlanser VI
Wild Arms 5 OST part 1
Hudson Premium Audio CD
Extra: Game Music Event CD
Super Hang On 20th Anniversary
Wangan Midnight 3
Yuzo Koshiro Best Collection 2
Etrian Odyssey Super Arrange Verison
Etrian Odyssey OST
Trusty Bell Chopin's Dream
Megaman X Rock (Zero and X verisons : Every Time I bang)
Rock Love Megaman Techno Arrange
R.O.C.K.M.A.N. (Megaman Jazzy Arrange)
Dracula X Chronicles PSP soundtrack

If you would like to visit my collection page, there is a link in the links section. Thanks as always for reading!

DRAWING SAILOR MOON PART 4!

Finally I was able to get this thing up! Hope you enjoy it! The final ink and color took a little longer than expected to finish.

ANOTHER VISIT WITH FAMILY GUY YS...

If you've ever visited my art gallery page, you might have seen Peter Griffin as Adol Christin from the Ys series:


Today I'd like to add a couple more drawings to the Family Guy Ys collection:
"Adol Griffin" and "Brian Dogi" (Click to enlarge):


"Stewie Fact":


Thanks to all who have visited this page! 6,000 visitors is a lot for a game music blog maintained by one person!

Some Random Sketches...

Some random sketches I did today to get warmed up into drawing after the busy Holidays, when I didn't have time to draw. Because of that, December was bittersweet. The good thing is, my pencil burns with drawing energy once again!
It's not often that I would show quick sketches such as these, but maybe someone will enjoy seeing them?

Wolverine


Megaman, here I was going for his slightly older/taller look, like in Megaman 8. I don't draw him in this style very often, it's just not how I like to do it.


This is how I love to draw Megaman! Short but just as strong!

MEGAMAN X ROCKS OUT ON THESE DISCS...

I just got my hands on two new Megaman X arrange CDs and they are fantastic! This is pretty hardcore game music metal here, and the fast heavy style on these discs suits the war torn world of X and Zero perfectly. Created by the band "Kissing the Mirror" out of Japan, both discs consist of favorite tracks from the Megaman X series. On each CD you will find seven tracks, which makes them a little short, but the content is amazing. Both albums are titled "Every Time I Bang", so in a sense they are one album only just split into two: One for X and one for Zero. The release date for both discs is listed as 10-8-07, so it's cool to be able get in on a new work such as this early on.

As a fan of Megaman X almost just as much as the original Megaman series, these albums are a breath of fresh air. Quite frankly, there hasn't been a lot of BGM arrangement work done for the Megaman X series. With Capcom recently releasing a rock and techno CD for Megaman though, that could certainly change. In the meantime, I don't mind relying on the various doujin circles and musicians one bit to get my game arrange fix. That goes especially for these discs, they really are of excellent quality. The styles range from short bits of orchestration to great bursts of speedy guitar and keyboard filled excitement! One other important thing to note is that although some themes on these discs are expanded upon, the band really stays true to the original music. It's inspiring to me to see Megaman X music finally getting the heavy metal treatment it deserves. Well done guys!

It is a shame that doujin CDs like this are so hard to come by. From my experience, some of them are impossible to get unless you know someone in Japan or if you can find them at an auction site somewhere. If you are unaware of ebay seller champ_des_pins, I recommend cheking out his auctions. At any given time he always has an excellent selection of doujin CDs, and he is reliable, and in Japan. That's where I got these discs, and it's very possible he could have some more available soon. Here is a link to his ebay store page:

champ_des_pins ebay store

I have scanned the fronts and backs of both albums as well:
EVERY TIME I BANG-X (FRONT)

EVERY TIME I BANG-X (BACK)


EVERY TIME I BANG-ZERO (FRONT)

EVERY TIME I BANG-ZERO (BACK)
Here is the Kissing the Mirror site, and there you can listen to samples from these great works!

Kissing the Mirror

Just scroll down and click on "Every Time I Bang".

See you next time!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

It was a busy end of the year for me, but now I'm ready for the new year with lots of cool things in the works. I hope you all have a great new year! I'm working on the final part of my Sailor Moon drawing video, and in the coming days I'll have some CD reviews up and more drawing videos are planned as well. The countdown to the Distant Worlds Final Fantasy concert is ON! I can't wait for it! As for whatever else I've been up to, check below for a quick look at Cap'n Crunch Adventures.

FIRST LOOK: CAP'N CRUNCH ADVENTURES!

Here is a little sneak peak at my upcoming Cap'n Crunch comic, which will be a part of this blog in the coming weeks. This image will serve as the "cover" for the debut of the series. More to come very soon!

Final Fantasy Distant Worlds CD Available at Amazon now!

This is the official CD for the Final Fantasy twentieth anniversary concert tour. At the Distant Worlds site, they have revealed the disc is now on sale at Amazon. Here are some details from the site:

All music composed and produced by Nobuo Uematsu
Arnie Roth, Conductor and Executive Producer

Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and Allmänna Sången
Susan Calloway (Solo singer)
Emma Wetter, Fredrik Strid and Johan Schinkler (Opera vocal soloists)
Per Skareng (Solo guitarist)

1) Opening - Bombing Mission (FINAL FANTASY VII)
2) Liberi Fatali (FINAL FANTASY VIII)
3) Aerith's Theme (FINAL FANTASY VII)
4) Fisherman's Horizon (FINAL FANTASY VIII)
5) Don't be Afraid (FINAL FANTASY VIII)
6) Memoro de la Stono - Distant Worlds (FINAL FANTASY XI)
7) Medley 2002 (FINAL FANTASY I-III)
8) Theme of Love (FINAL FANTASY IV)
9) Vamo' alla Flamenco (FINAL FANTASY IX)
10) Love Grows (FINAL FANTASY VIII)
11) Opera "Maria and Draco" (FINAL FANTASY VI)
12) Swing de Chocobo (FINAL FANTASY series)
13) One-Winged Angel (FINAL FANTASY VII)

Running time: 75 min.

The price is $19.98, however the CD is also going to be available at the concert tour locations. I'm someone who can't wait for things like this, so I may end up getting it now. There is a quote from Mr. Uematsu at the Distant Worlds site:

"The title selection, the recording quality and the performance quality of the new Distant Worlds CD is excellent. These factors make me call it a Best of Final Fantasy album in every regard,"

Here's the Distant Worlds Site:

Distant Worlds

Below is the link to Amazon:

Buy the CD Here!

More Megaman music news!

Capcom is also releasing two new Megaman arranged CDs, one techno and one rock. I bet these will be really cool. Will they be able to top the Megalomania CD? Anyway, most new Capcom products are only available at cocoeBiz, and you can check out more details of these arranged albums on their upcoming releases page:

Coming Soon

The Rock Arrange is due out on 12/5, and the Techno Arrange is due out on 12/19. You can pre-order them now. Thank you CocoeBiz for making these available!