Soundtracks

  Welcome, here is the priceless collection of Squaresoft Merchandise ( Music CDs )
                          that Dragon God owns. It's a massive ( at least he thinks so ) collection that includes
                          many extremely rare CDs and some that are no longer available anywhere....
                          Each CD is presented with a picture of the front cover, who composed it, general
                          availablity ( If it applies ), and a short review.

The majority of this collection was made possible thanks to :

Sinistral(Former RPGClassics's Soundtrack Head)

Rahvin(RPGClassics Radio Maintainer)

Drak(RPGClassics Radio Maintainer)

Kero Hazel(Assistant in Soundtrack Section)

Walhalla(Contributor to Soundtrack Reviews)

Igatona(RPGClassics' Guilty Gear expert)

Ryuuhi(RPGClassics' Front Mission expert)

Chudah(RPGFan's former Soundtrack Head)

Ramza(RPGFan's current Soundtrack Head)

Jodo Kast(RocketBaby G.M.I Contributor)

KujaFFMan(Square&Musique Webmaster)

Goltraitus(Square&Musique Staffer)

M-2(Ebay Dealer)

mark.in.japan(Ebay Dealer)

jazz_lion(Ebay Dealer)

Strohmie(Ebay/STC Seller)

Mr.Soundtrack(Ebay/STC Seller)

Quasi(STC Seller)

LiquidChrist(Ebay Seller)

Timt99(STC/Ebay Seller)

Longhairmike(STC/EBay Seller)

GoldfishX(Chudah's Corner Review Editor/STC Seller)

All images here are used with permission from Chudah's Corner, Square & Musique, CocoeBiz and Game Music Images.

I personally wish to thank Chudah, KujaFFman, Kahori Ezaki and Jodo Kast to allow me permission to use the scans they
provided on their pages. Couldn't have done it without you folks, thanks again for your kindness and generosity =D

Without further comments, let's start with Square's flagship series : Final Fantasy !

All Sounds of Final Fantasy 1 & 2
Composer : Nobuo Uematsu
Availability : Rare

Review : This CD has the complete soundtrack to Final Fantasy
and Final Fantasy 2( j ). Even though it is NES synth, a true FF
fan should get this no matter what. A nice bonus included in this
set are some arrangements of FF1/FF2j tunes as well as some
unreleased FF2j tracks. The arrangements alone makes getting
this cd worth it.

Final Fantasy & Final Fantasy II Original Soundtrack
Arranger: Nobuo Uematsu (FF1), Tsuyoshi Sekito (FF2)
Availability : Out of Print

Review : This is the complete soundtrack to the renditions of the
original themes from the NES on the PSX. The tracks have all
gotten a major facelift for the new version, and finally, Tsuyoshi
Sekito got his chance to score a FF game. I must say I'm very
impressed with Uematsu & Sekito's work here.

Final Fantasy 3 Original Sound Version
Composer : Nobuo Uematsu
Availability : Plentiful

Review : The last Final Fantasy on the Famicom/NES, Final
Fantasy 3 had defenately pushed the NES to it's limits. There
really is some good stuff on the CD. If you want to pick this one
up or not is entirely up to you, chances are you've never played this
game, but still, I beleive avid VGM collectors will want this CD.

Final Fantasy 4 Original Sound Version
Composer : Nobuo Uematsu
Availability : Plentiful

Review : This is THE soundtrack that got Square known for their
musical talents. Longtime fans will cry tears of joy when listening
to this and renembering the many happy moments we had playing
FF4/FF2US. The overworld map, the Zeromus battle, Fiends
battle and many more await you in this spectacular collection
of classic FF tunes.

Final Fantasy 5 Original Sound Version
Composer : Nobuo Uematsu
Availability : Plentiful

Review : Final Fantasy 5 became most famous for the fact
that we weren't expecting to have it, but we finally did with
Final Fantasy Anthology. Now for the music, there's something
for everyone here and who dosen't like the rocking " Battle with
Gilgamesh " or the sweet " Tenderness in the Air " ?

Final Fantasy 6 Original Sound Version
Composer : Nobuo Uematsu
Availability : Plentiful

Review : This was one of Square's biggest successes, and I
think the music had something to do with it. Immortal tunes
like " Kefka's Theme " or " Aria Di Mezzo Carratere " will
stay engraved in my memories for years to come. Any FF
or Square fan should get this, it's a classic !

Final Fantasy 7 Original Soundtrack
Composer : Nobuo Uematsu
Availability : Out of Print

Review : Another big hit, FF7 had some memorable tracks as well,
" Aeris' Theme " and " One Winged Angel " comes to mind. Go
ahead and snatch your copy, it's truly worth it.

Final Fantasy 8 Original Soundtrack
Composer : Nobuo Uematsu
Availability : Out of Print

Review : For those that loved the game, go ahead and buy,
but for those that didn't enjoy it, I still say it's worth it.

Final Fantasy 9 Original Soundtrack
Composer : Nobuo Uematsu
Availability : Out of Print

Review : This is truly Nobuo's best yet, he used many old tracks as
many new ones, some of the reused are the FF1 Gurgu Volcano
and FF2j Pandemonium Castle. The final boss theme is quite a
enjoyable suprise as well as many other tracks. You should get
this, it's simply common sense that if you're here, you're a
hardcore FF or Square Fan.

Final Fantasy X Original Soundtrack
Composer : Nobuo Uematsu, Masashi Hamauzu, Junya Nakano
Availability : Out of Print

The review is here.

Final Fantasy XI Original Soundtrack
Composer : Nobuo Uematsu, Naoshi Mizuta and Kumi Tanioka
Availability : Out of Print

Review : Yep, Final Fantasy is now online, but that dosen't mean
the music would be bad, no sir !! Suprisingly, Mizuta wrote at least
60% of the tracks, and for those of you who doubted him from the
experience in Parasite Eve 2, you may slap yourselves silly for doubting
a member of the Square family 8P He has done EXTREMELY well,
much better than Uematsu and Tanioka. The music is mostly medieval
and celtic, epic and highly enjoyable, some themes however, such as the battle
themes take a while to sink in, but just set those tracks on "repeat" and they'll
grow on you real quick ! It's diffrent from what we'd be used to hear from
Uematsu-san, but it stands out from the rest of the series in its own unique way.
Note : The Packaging you see is the Limited Edition, this special set has a very
nice gift, a free DVD containing a bunch of movies pertaining to FFXI.

Final Fantasy XI : Vision of Ziraat Original Soundtrack
Composer : Naoshi Mizuta
Availability : Out of Print

Review : Mizuta returns since FFXI to write more themes for the expansion, and dosen't dissapoint.
The majority of the themes fall into the atmospheric category, but they are very pretty and relaxing.
A great CD to chill to. Highly reccomended to fans of FFXI.

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest Sound Collections
Composer : Ryuji Sasai, Yasuhiro Kawakami
Availability : Out of Print

Review : For a final fantasy game not composed by Uematsu,
it has some good stuff, the style is mostly light rock, and the
battle themes are very nice. This CD has a few remixes and
they warrant the purchase of this CD.

Final Fantasy Tactics Original Soundtrack
Composer : Masaharu Iwata, Hitoshi Sakimoto
Availability : Out of Print

Review : Now here is something nice, you could sware
you got a real orchestra playing, but they simply pushed
the PSX to the max when creating this masterpiece.
Any Square/FF or classical music lover will want this.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Original Soundtrack
Composers : Hitoshi Sakimoto, Nobuo Uematsu, Ayako Saso and Kaori Ohkoshi
Availability : Out of Print

Review : The first GBA soundtrack from Square-Enix gets one heck of a musical treatment,
the themes all sound amazing, like early SNES synth. And it was nice of them to include a
second disc filled with arrangements, although unnecesary in my opinion.

20020220 : Music from Final Fantasy
Composer : Nobuo Uematsu
Live Performance : Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra
Singers : Emiko Shiratori (FF9), Rikki (FFX)
Availability : Out of Print

Review : This is the live recording of the famous FF Concert held
in Japan back on the 20th of February 2002. It has selected tracks
from FF1 to FFX played by the orchestra. You might not enjoy
the MC tracks are they are in japanese, but you do get to hear
Nobuo Uematsu and Shiro Hamaguchi speak at last ! 8D

The Black Mages
Composer : Nobuo Uematsu
Arrangement: Tsuyoshi Sekito, Kenichiro Fukui
Availability : Out of Print

Review: The first Hard Rock album by Squaresoft, is a mix of excellent arrangements and mediocre ones.
What we have here are battle arrangements, some like Battle with Gilgamesh sound amazing, while others
like the FF6 Battle and Seymour Battle just don't do a good transition to hard rock. It's still a worthy
effort, just don't expect brilliance throughout this album as it has a good number of flaws.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Original Soundtrack
Composer: Kumi Tanioka, Hidenori Iwasaki(D1-15)
Performance : Roba House
Availability : Plentiful

Review: This OST is a prime example of *excellent* sound quality as it's all done with
live, wooden instruments dating from the middle ages. The composition however, leaves
a bit to be desired. Overall, this album is perfect for relaxing to, just don't expect epic
themes because there are none to be found here.

Phew !  That takes care of the Final Fantasy CDs, now for the next series : Seiken Densetsu !

Seiken Densetsu Sound Collections
Composer : Kenji Ito
Availability : Out of print

Review : The highlight of this CD are the arranged tracks, but hardcore
fans might enjoy the GameBoy tracks as well. If you can manage to
snatch a copy of this, you won't regret it.

Seiken Densetsu 2 Original Sound Version
Composer : Hiroki Kikuta
Availability : Plentiful

Review : This CD has many quiet and soothing tunes, but the
battle themes rule ! If you enjoyed Secret of Mana ( it's american
name ), you might considser SD2 OSV.

Seiken Densetsu 3 Original Sound Version
Composer : Hiroki Kikuta
Availability : Rare

Review : Much better than SD2, it had much more variety to the
music, more boss themes as well. Winner boss themes would be
" Hightension Wire " and " Sacrifice Part 3 ". Should you
find this one, make sure to snatch it right away.

Legend of Mana Original Soundtrack
Composer : Yoko Shimomura
Availability : Out of Print

Review : This is Ms. Shimomura's last work for the PS1, and it's nothing
short of amazing. Blazing electric guitar used in boss fights, oh boy !
Town themes are nice as well, area themes reminds me of FFT music.

Sword of Mana Original Soundtrack
Composer : Kenji Ito
Availability : Out of Print

Review : Kenji Ito makes a triumphant return to the series and not only updates
themes we've come to love but also compose a good deal of new themes. As
always, Ito gives his best on everything, especially the battle themes. A really
nice treat for this soundtrack is the Piano pieces on the second disc, just lovely.

All right, now let's move on to the next staple series by Square : SaGa !

All Sounds of SaGa
Composer(s) : Nobuo Uematsu, Kenji Ito, Ryuji Sasai, Chihiro Fujioka
Availability : Out of Print

Review : This compilation contains the complete soundtracks to
SaGa 1, SaGa 2 and SaGa 3, known as Final Fantasy Legend 1 ~ 3
in the US. These are the first SaGa games obviously, and coming
from the GameBoy, it's quite a suprise, the musics are all very catchy
and enjoyable, in the same vein as Seiken Densetsu Sound Collections.

Romancing SaGa Original Sound Version
Composer : Kenji Ito
Availability : Rare

Review : Ito's second solo project, he uses the SNES sound
chip to it's maximum potential, and creates a materpiece. This
soundtrack is one of the first to use echoes in the tracks, and of
course, we all know by now that Ito composes great battle themes,
right ? ;)

Romancing Saga 2 Original Sound Version
Composer : Kenji Ito
Availability : Rare

Review : This is Ito's third solo project,
and it's quite amazing, as usual, Kenji Ito's strong
points are his battle tracks, and the dungeon themes
are quite interesting as well.

Romancing Saga 3 Original Sound Version
Composer : Kenji Ito
Availability : Rare

Review : Think of this as a mystery gift, you're not sure
what to expect, but you're pretty sure you'll like it.
That pretty much describes my feelings when I got this,
now it is among my favorites, it's the battle themes as
always that are most fun to listen to.

Saga Frontier Original Soundtrack
Composer : Kenji Ito
Availability : Out of Print

Review : I get the same feeling with this as I got
with RS3 OSV. The 12 battle tracks makes it
worth it to get. And the other tracks are very
enjoyable as well.

Saga Frontier 2 Original Soundtrack
Composer : Masashi Hamauzu
Availability : Out of Print

Review : For a Saga game not composed by Kenji Ito, it does sound diffrent,
but that dosen't mean it's bad, far from it. Most of the soundtrack is light and
bouncy, but the battle tracks are catchy ( although not as good as Ito's ). It
also has a medieval feeling throughout thanks to the piano and percussions.

Unlimited : SaGa Original Soundtrack
Composer : Masashi Hamauzu
Availability : Out of Print

Review : Hamauzu returns in full force, and does not dissapoint in any way.
The character themes are all sweet, while the battle themes are quite invigorating.
Any SaGa fan should get this while it's new.

Another well-known series, it has futuristic wars involving warmechs : Front Mission.

Front Mission Original Sound Version
Composer : Yoko Shimomura, Noriko Matsueda
Availability : Rare

Review : Oh man O_o This is some good music, both composers
combined their strenghts to create one of the best strategy-rpg
soundtracks. The battle themes are the highlight of the CD as there
are alot of em, but the jazzy tracks are great as well.

Gun Hazard Original Soundtrack
Composer : Nobuo Uematsu, Yasunori Mitsuda, Masashi Hamauzu, Junya Nakano
Availability : Out of Print

Review : Woah !!!!!!! O_o Uematsu and Co. scoring an action/rpg ? As crazy as it
might sound, it's actually really good, unfortunately the only bad thing about this CD
is that you can no longer get it anywhere.

Front Mission Alternative Original Soundtrack
Composer : Riow Arai
Availbility : Out of Print

Review : Easily among the most obscure CDs by Square, FMA was composed by someone
outside the company, and you can tell it is not Square's music. The style is hard techno, with military
overtones. It's not as epic as the rest of the FM soundtracks, but it holds its own ground firmly.

Front Mission 2 Original Soundtrack
Composer : Noriko Matsueda
Availability : Out of Print

Review : Matsueda returns for the sequel of the popular series and
brings us a more atmospheric approach, which is fitting as well as
truly enjoyable, from Bahamut Lagoon, this is the next step for
Matsueda's unique style to shine its brightest, the battle themes
certainly don't get boring at all, like in the prequel.

Front Mission 3 Original Soundtrack
Composer : Koji Hayama, Hayato Matsuo
Availability : Out of Print

Review : Another soundtrack which has alot of
strategy and battle tracks, however, contrary to
Bahamut Lagoon, the music here is either : techno-ish,
futuristic or orchestral(much like FFT). Matsuo wrote
the better tracks, as he has worked with Sakimoto &
Iwata before on many Ogre Battle games.

Ok, so now we're left with numerous miscellanous titles that Square has done over the years.

Chrono Trigger Original Sound Version
Composer : Yasunori Mitsuda, Nobuo Uematsu
Availability : Plentiful

Review : Do I really need to review this ??
I thought not :-)

Chrono Cross Original Soundtrack
Composer : Yasunori Mitsuda
Availability : Out of Print

Review : Mitsuda's latest has a bunch of good stuff,
mainly the battle themes, " Dragon God " being my
fav. ^_^ To all Chrono fans, get it while it's hot !

Xenogears Original Soundtrack
Composer : Yasunori Mitsuda
Availability : Out of Print

Review : Nice music, if you've played the game that is, as
always, the battles themes, even " One who bares fangs at God "
are good. Add this one to your collection ASAP.

Brave Fencer Musashi Original Soundtrack
Composer : Tsuyoshi Sekito
Availability : Out of Print

Review : BFM OST is defenately something different, but it's very
good stuff, and the boss themes are usually filled with some rocking
guitar, so it's good good good !!!!

Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon Original Soundtrack
Composer : Masashi Hamauzu
Availability : Out of Print

Review : A wonderful tribute to Square's mascot, the Chocobo, the
Chocobo's theme is well weaved into all the tracks, making this CD
a lovely masterpiece. It's mostly bouncy and happy, but it has it's
dark moments.

Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon 2 Original Soundtrack
Composer: Yasuhiro Kawakami, Tsuyoshi Sekito, Kumi Tanioka, Kenji Ito
Availability : Out of Print

Review : My very first multi-composed soundtrack, and I must say I'm proud of
buying this masterpiece. Since it stars Square's Mascot, the Chocobo, expect to
get alot of diffrent versions of the classic Chocobo Theme we all know and love !
All in all, Sekito wrote the best tracks though, for those of you who played BFM, the
musical style will be VERY fammiliar. The strong point on this CD is that anyone
can enjoy it, trust me, this is really good stuff.

Chocobo Racing Original Soundtrack
Arranger : Kenji Ito
Availability : Out of Print

Review : Think of this as a remix album containing selected FF1 - 8
tracks and having them arranged in a jazzy/upbeat fashion. Of course,
you'll get to hear the famous Chocobo Theme a few times.

All Star Pro Wrestling II Original Soundtrack
Composer : Tsuyoshi Sekito
Availability : Out of Print

Review : Sekito once more demonstrates the talent he has in composing
a sport game obviously blessed with a terrific rock soundtrack.
Although not everyone might like this, it's for big Sekito fans
like myself mostly ^_^

Another Mind Original Soundtrack
Composer : Junya Nakano
Availability : Out of Print

Review : This is mostly quiet and soothing music, but it
has its share of powerful dramatic tracks, not everyone
would enjoy this, seek out only if you are a fan of Nakano.

Dewprism Original Soundtrack
Composer : Junya Nakano
Availability : Out of Print

Review : If you like music in order to soothe you or just relax,
you can't go wrong with this, but if you're the type that likes
epic or booming music, then stay away from it.

The complete (Yeah, right !!) soundtrack from The Secret of Evermore video game
Composer : Jeremy and Julian Soule
Availability : Are you kidding me ?! Tell me you're kidding....(Hint: Out of Print for ages)

Review : Here we have it, folks, the MOST difficult Squaresoft soundtrack to obtain EVER !
The arranged tracks are the highlight of the CD, but that dosen't mean the OSV tracks are bad,
they're actually above the general SNES synth quality of the time(1995).

iS : Internal Section Original Soundtrack
Composer : Shinji Hosoe, Ayako Saso
Availability : Out of Print

Review : The music is anything but usual, it's "trippy" at best, and just messes
with your mind, in a good way =D The level themes are all full of beat, while
the boss themes are more on the ambient side, but with cool track names like
"Speak of The Devil" and "That's Life", who cares ? 8P

Bushido Blade 2 Original Soundtrack
Composer : Ryuji Sasai
Availability : Out of Print

Review : Easily Sasai's best work, who would have thought that you
can mix japanese overtones with electric guitar riffs ? A rather
unexpected result that only Ryuji Sasai is capable of pulling through.

Cyberorg Original Soundtrack
Composer : Yoshihiro Sato
Availability : Out of Print

Review : Do you like your games with hard rock music ?
If yes, then this is litterally a gift from Heaven, Sato gives
us an impressive collection of power rock type of music,
it is easy to get into, nothing better to keep you awake or
cheer you up if you're feeling bored 8D

Einhander Original Soundtrack
Composer : Kenichiro Fukui
Availability : Out of Print

Review : A very pleasant techno soundtrack, and coming from Square, you should
know by instinct that it kicks ass. If you're tired from the generic techno music in
racing games, then this cd is reccomended.

Hanjuku Hero Divertimento
Composer : Koichi Sugiyama
Availability : Out of Print

Review : What's this ???!!! A Square soundtrack by the man responsible for
Enix's Dragon Quest scores ??? That's right, although Sugiyama still has the
DQ's symphonic feel in the music, it has a more comical tone here, lots of
lighthearted and catchy themes here, folks.

Hanjuku Hero vs 3D Original Soundtrack
Composer : Nobuo Uematsu
Availability : Out of Print

Review : Certainly the oddball soundtrack, Uematsu thought it would be
cool to not take advantage of the PS2 sound capabilities and use 8-bit
beeps here and there. No, just NO !! >< Some themes are good, but
most are forgettable, and so many are remixes of past FF themes.
Such a lack of originality from Uematsu, so it's clear he hasn't
recovered from the fatigue following FFIX. The good thing is that
there is the original Hanjuku Hero OST included in this set. It's a
decent way to make up for the lack of good, original themes.

Live A Live Original Sound Version
Composer : Yoko Shimomura
Availability : Rare

Review : Live a Live is one of those games that is not well known,
the music is awesome, ranging from ancient chinese to old western,
Live A Live is defenately worth getting, even if you never played the
game.

Parasite Eve Original Soundtrack
Composer : Yoko Shimomura
Availability : Out of Print

Review : The music was very well composed here,
every tune fitted their purposes perfectly. PE fans,
get it while you can.

Parasite Eve 2 Original Soundtrack
Composer : Naoshi Mizuta
Availability : Out of Print

Review : This set has mostly ambient music, so unless
you like ambient music, stay away from it. Still I
reccomend it to any Square Fan anyways.

Bahamut Lagoon Original Sound Version
Composer : Noriko Matsueda
Availability : Rare

You can read the review here.

Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack
Composer : Yoko Shimomura
Availability : Plentiful

Review : Shimomura truly has outdone herself here, there is
a Super Mario RPG and Legend of Mana feel throughout
the soundtrack, it has everything, from happy, bouncy tracks
to dark and haunting tracks. Not to mention the battle themes
are all excellent in here. And the Disney tracks are very well
composed and will bring nostalgia to anyone who has grown
up with Disney cartoons and movies.

Rudora No Hihou(Rudra's Secret Treasure) Original Sound Version
Composer : Ryuji Sasai
Availability : Rare

Review : Sasai returns in full force since FFMQ and delivers one of the
finest soundtracks ever on the SNES, the composition, the music, it's just
loaded with good stuff, it's only flaw is that the tracks play only once, it is
understandable as there are 58 tracks on this CD. Highly reccomended.

Ehrgeiz Original Soundtrack
Composer : Takayuki Nakamura
Availability : Out of Print

Review : What can I say ? This is from the game that has two in one.
The fighting part has very funky music, which fits the mood of the battle
while the RPG part is epic at best, but not quite as good as most
RPG scores released at the time.

Racing Lagoon Original Soundtrack
Composer : Noriko Matsueda, Takahito Eguchi
Availability : Out of Print

Review : An awesome blend of Jazz, Fusion and Electronica, Racing Lagoon
is a unique soundtrack which is filled with lots of musical solos, fast paced battle
themes and even has read live instrument samples like the saxophone, truly an
impressive and innovative feat for Squaresoft.

Driving Emotion Type-S/Bushido Blade Original Soundtrack
Composers : Shinji Hosoe, Ayako Saso, Takayuki Aihara
Availability : Only through CocoeBiz.

Review : Driving Emotion is an impressive mix of Jazz, Techno and Rock.
Hosoe has written the majority of the tracks, which are all interesting. Saso
wrote the craziest tracks such as "Wild Feeling". Aihara's "F-Beat" sounds alot
like some 80's rock music, very catchy. Bushido Blade is a mix of traditional
japanese and ambiant. Most of the songs are short but have amazing quality
to them.

The Bouncer Original Soundtrack
Composer : Noriko Matsueda, Takahito Eguchi
Availability : Out of Print

Review : The latest in Matsueda's works, she once more lets her
talent with jazz-oriented music really shine here while her friend
Eguchi handles the rock-oriented tracks. The result is simply an
amazing collection of kickass music all the way through.

Tobal No.1 Original Soundtrack
Composers : Yasunori Mitsuda, Ryuji Sasai, Kenji Ito, Yasuhiro Kawakami, Yoko Shimomura,
Noriko Matsueda, Masashi Hamauzu , Junya Nakano.
Availability : Out of Print

Review : With 8 composers from the SNES era, Square hit gold on this project, there is
so much diversity that there's a track for everyone here. And don't get me started on describing
all the styles used, but I'll name a few : Rock, New Age, Latin, Funk, Jazz, etc...

Tobal 2 Original Soundtrack
Composer : Takayuki Nakamura
Availability : Out of Print

Review : Not as diverse as it's prequel, but just as good. The style used here
consists on rock, techno and jazz. The themes are all very energetic, powerful,
and you won't get tired listening to this anytime soon =P

Super Mario RPG Original Sound Version
Composer : Yoko Shimomura, Nobuo Uematsu, Koji Kondo
Availablilty : Out of Print

Review : Nice bouncy music, awwwwww :)
This is one of the best CDs I've got, seriously, this
is very good. Don't be fooled by the " Mario "
title, it has a bunch of great tunes for any
occasion.

Soukaigi Original Soundtrack
Composer : Hiroki Kikuta
Availability : Out of Print

Review : Woah, this one's a shocker !!! This is the first Square Soundtrack
to use REAL instruments instead of the usual synthethiser, and Kikuta mixes
the orchestral stuff with progressive rock, this shows how talented this guy is.

Treasure Hunter G Original Soundtrack
Composers : John Pee, Hitoshi Sakimoto, Masaharu Iwata,
Toshiaki Sakoda, Yoko Takada, Akiko Goto, Tomoko Matsui
Availability : Out of print

Review : Hmm, this could well be the finest Super Famicom soundtrack
out there. There are so many diffrent styles of music, and there is not a
single bad track in there, just amazing. However, this CD is impossible to
find..... ANYWHERE !!! ;_; I'm lucky to have it on CD-R (Thanks Goltraitus !!)
since I could not find the real print anywhere, and boy did I search for this
gem of a soundtrack. Don't expect finding a real copy anytime soon, guys.
Update : Thanks to M-2, I was able to get this wonderful 2 disc set.

Vagrant Story Original Soundtrack
Composer : Hitoshi Sakimoto
Availability : Out of Print

Review : If you liked Sakimoto's work in FF Tactics, then
this CD is right up your alley. Classical music with some
ambient tracks. The Staff Roll alone is worth the purchase.

Drag-On Dragoon Original Soundtrack Vol.1
Composer: Takayuki Aihara, Nobuyoshi Sano
Availability: Plentiful

Review: These two techno maniacs have the luxury of working with a symphony orchestra,
how cool is that ? For one, you get oodles of loops among the orchestral samples sprinkled
through the soundtrack. I personaly love it, but other may have a hard time appreciating it.

Drag-On Dragoon Original Soundtrack Vol. 2
Composer: Takayuki Aihara, Nobuyoshi Sano
Availability: Plentiful

Review: Aihara & Sano strike back with more crazyness in their tracks. This time you get some
really odd electronic effects mixed with orchestral samples. One of the tracks features a heavily
distorted choir, which is something that needs to be heard to be believed.

Geez, ain't that alot or what ?! O_o    Ok, now for the non-square soundtracks. Here are the
                        Castlevania and miscellanous RPG CDs.

Castlevania (Akumajo Dracula)

Dracula Best Volume 1
Composer : Konami Kukeiha Club
Availability : Plentiful

Review : This is the soundtrack to Castlevania 1, 2 and 3 on the NES.
Longtime CV fans might want to get this, but don't expect anything out
of the ordinary.

Dracula Best Volume 2
Composer : Konami Kukeiha Club
Availability : Plentiful

Review : Same deal as #1, but #2 has the soundtrack to
Super Castlevania 4 on Disk 1, and Disk 2 has the soundtracks
to Castlevania : The Adventure and Castlevania 2 : Belmont's Revenge.
Longtime CV fans might think this set is worth getting as well.

Dracula X : Circle of Blood
Composer : Konami Kukeiha Club
Availability : Out of Print

Review : Finally, I got my hands on an original copy of this sweet puppy.
The first disk contains the music to Dracula X, but the Turbo Duo version,
not the Snes. Comparing Turbo Duo music to SNES is like PSX vs NES.
It's alot better, plus we get a bonus track from an arcade castlevania game.
Disk 2 has the Castlevania Bloodlines music ( Sega Genesis ) and some
remixes of an unknown Castlevania game for the X68000 Computer.

Castlevania Symphony of the Night Original Game Soundtrack
Composer : Michiru Yamane
Availability : Plentiful

Review : Depending on the person, this could well be the best Castlevania score.
It has many classical like pieces as well as hard rocking pieces. Any CV fan
should get this.

Castlevania 64 Original Game Soundtrack
Composer : Masahiko Kimura, Motoaki Furukawa, Mariko Egawa
Availability : Plentiful

Review : If you don't mind ambient music, you'll like it,
otherwise.... I do NOT reccomend this to everyone
since it's a bit bland for a CV score....

Castlevania Chronicles Original Soundtrack
Composer : Konami Kukeiha Club
Availability : Plentiful

Review : The soundtrack to the obscure castlevania game on the
japanese computer X68000 was of decent quality, the soundtrack
contains 4 versions of each song, the Playstation remake, the original
X68000 version and two different MIDI modules. All are good in their
own little ways, and this CD is certainly worth it.

Castlevania : Circle of The Moon/Harmony of Dissonance Original Soundtrack
Composer : Konami Kukeiha Club, Sotaro Tojima, Hiroshi Mitsuoka (Circle)/
Soshiro Hokkai, Michiru Yamane (Harmony)
Availability : Plentiful

Review : The soundtrack to the first two GBA CV games is one of the better examples
of how well the GBA can produce decent quality music, Circle of The Moon shines
both in good sound quality and is a great tribute to the series as alot of the music are
from past castlevanias. Hamony of Dissonance, however, suffers from very weak synth,
reminiscent of the NES days, some tracks are good, while others are simply bad. If you
are a die-hard CV fan, then go right ahead and pick it up.

Misc RPGs and Non-RPGs

Wild Arms Original Soundtrack
Composer : Michiko Naruke
Availability : Plentiful

Review : Easily of one of the finest early RPGs to appear on the PSX, Wild Arms
was granted a magnificient score, with no visible faults. The only qualm I have with
this CD is that it barely contains half of the game's tracks, and some of the better
tracks are missing. If you can get past that, then it's a must buy.

Wild Arms 2nd Ignition Original Soundtrack
Composer : Michiko Naruke
Availability : Plentiful

Review : I have played the first Wild Arms, loved the music on it, and thanks to
the RPGC Radio, I got to sample many tracks before buying the soundtrack to
the second installement of the series, this easily blows away most normal RPG
soundtracks, the dungeon and battle tracks are the most interesting to listen, and
many vocal tracks are included, which makes this a very good buy if you've played
the game or not.

Wild Arms 3 Original Soundtrack
Composer : Michiko Naruke
Availability : Plentiful

Review : Naruke returns for a third time, and once more delivers nothing
but her best. Compared to the previous two soundtracks, not only do you
get every track from the game, but they are also played at least 2 to 3 times each.
That alone is reason enough to buy this great soundtrack.

Actraiser Original Soundtrack
Composer : Yuzo Koshiro
Avalability : Out of Print

Review : The soundtrack to one of the greatest classics of the SNES,
Actraiser was a masterpiece right off as the sound quality and orchestral
tones were ahead of its time, making it shine and standout from all early
SNES soundtracks.

Dragon Quest Super Game Music Collection Vol.1
Composer : Koichi Sugiyama
Availability : Plentiful

Review : This is a compilation of all of the music from Dragon Quest 1~4 in
their original NES format. There is a big flaw though, the soundtracks to
each game(at least 1 & 2) is all bunched in 1 track, worst of all, it's basically
a recording of a guy playing the game as you hear the sound effects, this might
turn some people right off, but if you can get past that, it's a trip down memory
lane. Plus there are some added bonuses.

Dragon Quest 4 Symphonic Suite
Composer : Koichi Sugiyama
Performance : NHK Symphony
Availability : Out of Print

Review : For the Symphonic CD, it gets my thumbs up, the OST Disc
is dissapointing as it is a recording of a guy playing the game. Why Enix, why ??!! >_<

Dragon Quest 6 Symphonic Suite
Composer : Koichi Sugiyama
Performance : London Philharmonic
Availability : Out of Print

Review : Yes, the Symphonic CD is more goodness, the OST Disc
however is mostly free of sound effects, thank god !

Dragon Quest 7 Orchestral + OST
Composer : Koichi Sugiyama
Live Performance : London Philharmonic Orchestra
Availability : Plentiful

Review : Yes !!! I've finally aquired a Dragon Quest soundtrack, and I
must say, I regret having not bought any before, because the lovely
orchestral arrangements are breathtaking !! The OST tracks themselves
are enjoyable as well, but unfortunately are not up to the latest PSX RPG
standards. (Final Fantasy Tactics, Vagrant Story, Wild Arms 2, etc..)

Dragon Quest Symphonic Suite Box
Composer : Koichi Sugiyama
Performance : London Philharmonic Orchestra
Availability : Out of Print

Review : Woah !!!!! With this juggernaut of a CD Set, you've hit the jackpot
if you're a fan of DQ music. Not only do you get all the 7 Symphonic Suites
re-mastered, but you're also getting a nifty bonus : 9 bottle caps featuring
several monsters from the DQ universe. Quite a collector's item !! Be sure
to grab a copy of this while it's still available and if you can afford it, that is.

Culdcept II Original Soundtrack
Composer : Kenji Ito
Availability : Rare

Review : Ito's only non-square project as of far, and it shows he
hasn't lost his touch one bit. He uses slightly diffrent instruments
this time around, but still has his old compositional techniques,
and as always, he never fails with his battle themes.

Baroque Original Soundtrack
Composer : Masaharu Iwata, John Pee, Toshiaki Sakoda
Availability : Out of Print

Review : Do you like scary music ? Do you enjoy getting majorly
freaked out by such music ? If yes, then this CD will be your new
best friend, just don't listen to this at nighttime or you're bound to
have some seriously wicked nightmares, I'm serious !!!! O_O

Tsugunai ~ An Cinniuint Original Soundtrack
Composer : Yasunori Mitsuda
Availablility : Only at CocoeBiz or Procyon-Studios.

Review : Ah yes, the legendary Tsugunai, Mitsuda's first fully Celtic
soundtrack is quite a treat to the ears, considering you like Celtic music
of course. The battle themes are pretty "festive" in sound and mood,
but they are excellent as they truly bring out the Celtic sound found on
the OST. For lovers of violin, cello, flute and fiddle, you should consider
buying this CD now. Go and support him,
he clearly deserves it.

Legaia Duel Saga Original Soundtrack
Composer : Hitoshi Sakimoto, Yasunori Mitsuda, Michiru Oshima
Availability : Plentiful

Review : Another sweet soundtrack for all you Sakimoto and
Mitsuda fans, those two easily outshine Oshima, whom has
composed the worst tracks in the OST, nevertheless, you
really should get your hands on it as it will open your eyes to
Sakimoto's new style : exotic and calming music.

Xenosaga Original Soundtrack
Composer : Yasunori Mitsuda
Live Performance : London Philharmonic Orchestra
Availability : Out of Print

Review : You could sware by the unbeleivable quality
of this score that it is a movie score, but no, it's for
a playstation 2 rpg. This is the very first video game
to be fully orchestrated(well, almost, as a few tracks
are synthetised, but they still rank very high in quality).
If you're a big fan of Mitsuda, you owe yourself to buy
this masterpiece, as deniying the pleasure of this CD set,
especially if you *can* afford it, is the greatest of sins.

Sailing To The World
Composer : Yasunori Mitsuda
Availability : At Procyon-Studios or CocoeBiz.

Review : Mitsuda once more proves his talent with this mini-soundtrack
for The Seventh Seal, an rpg released in Taiwan for the PC. All of the 10
tracks here are very interesting and are almost of orchestral nature, such
is the strenght of Yasunori Mitsuda. Highly reccomended.

Shadow Hearts Original Soundtrack
Composer : Yoshitaka Hirota, Yasunori Mitsuda
Availability : Plentiful

The review can be found here.

Shadow Hearts II Original Soundtrack
Composers: Yoshitaka Hirota, Yasunori Mitsuda, Kenji Ito, Tomoko Kobayashi, Ryo Fukuda
Availability: Plentiful

Review: Hirota & Mitsuda get better and better, while the rest provide some interesting tracks. This
one is far more horrorfying than the first, alot of the dungeon themes have a definite "Silent Hill" feel to them.
Battle themes are even more distorted here but they are certainly enjoyable and memorable. If you want
to hear some bizzare but catchy music, this soundtrack is a great one to check out.

Grandia Original Soundtracks
Composer : Noriyuki Iwadare
Availabilty : Out of Print

Review : Finally, my first Iwadare soundtrack... I've heard from the fans he's good
at every type of music. They were right =) Here we are treated to some extremely good
music, wether is it a calming town theme or a powerful battle theme. Time to start
hunting his other works down ^.~

Eternal Arcadia Original Soundtrack
Composer : Yutaka Minobe, Tatsuyuki Maeda
Availability : Out of Print

Review : Woah !!!!!!!!!! O_o This is one fine Sega soundtrack, one of the best
I've ever heard, everything sounds SO crisp and clear, that it beats a few Square
soundtracks to the punch. The battle themes are all very energetic and keep you
in the spirit like no other rpg soundtrack I've heard so far.... If you see this, do
not miss your chance, or you'll want to kick yourself for missing out on one of the
better soundtracks released recently.

Azel : Panzer Dragoon RPG Memorial Album
Composer : Saori Kobayashi, Mariko Nanba
Availability : Plentiful

Review : One of the most impressive soundtracks to come from the
Sega Saturn, Azel manages to impress the listener even without playing
the game, the use of tribal drums and wind instruments gives it a very
powerful quality that simply makes the listener begging for more, it's
that good !! Now that there is a reprint, you really should look this up.

Virtua Fighter 4 Original Soundtrack
Composer: Sachio Ogawa, Hideaki Miyamoto
Availability: Plentiful

Review: This soundtrack kicks so much ass it's not funny, you get a dose of
rock, trance, dance, techno and jazz in one album. You've been offered a
whole lot for a fighter soundtrack. Fans of the following genres, pick this up.

Genso Suikoden Original Soundtrack
Composer: Miki Higashino, Tappy Iwase
Availability : Dissapearing

Review: Woah !! This soundtrack blew me away by it's amazing musical quality, you get alot
of musical styles from celtic to exotic to medieval. This is one soundtrack Suikoden fans shouldn't miss
out on. They're something for everybody here, dig in !!

Genso Suikoden III Original Soundtrack
Composer : Michiru Yamane, Takashi Yoshida, Masahiko Kimura
Availability : Plentiful

Review : A pretty decent soundtrack, the music simply latches on to you
and dosen't let go. The battle themes, however, are somewhat dissapointing
as they are too lighthearted, at least most of them. Otherwise, there is something
for everybody in here.

Metal Gear Solid Original Game Soundtrack
Composer : KCE Japan Sound Team, TAPPY, Rika Muranaka
Availability : Plentiful

Review : Having never touched a Metal Gear game, I was suprised to find such
decent instrumentation here, as I didn't really know what to expect, what I got is
simply brilliant track upon brilliant track, I can't really describe it, but I enjoyed
what I heard greatly.

Silent Hill Original Soundtracks
Composer : Akira Yamaoka, Rika Muranaka(1 track)
Availability : Rare

Review : Yes, the one series of soundtracks that are actually more disturbing
than Baroque. Yamaoka concentrates on three distinct styles : Ambient, Industrial and
Experimental Noise. The pieces flow within one another which creates an amazing feeling
of continuity, yet it will leave the listener on the edge of his seat awaiting for the next horrorfying
piece.

Silent Hill 2 Original Soundtracks
Composer : Akira Yamaoka
Availability : Rare

Review : Another great soundtrack by Yamaoka, this time he focuses less on Experimental Noise
and has more piano-driven tracks and a few really good rock tracks. As always, it's a good way
to discover the amazing talents of Yamaoka. Get it if you find it.

Silient Hill 3 Original Soundtrack (European release)
Composer: Akira Yamaoka
Availability : Plentiful

Review: Ohhhhhhhh yeah..... this is the stuff which enjoys creeping you out. This is
experimental noise at its finest. Yamaoka also specialises in wonderful rock ballads,
which the opening song "You're not Here" has, it's just too good to pass up. The only
reason I'd not reccomend this is if you are prone to nightmares or hate scary music.

Shin Contra Original Soundtrack
Composer : Akira Yamaoka, Sota Fujimori
Availability : Plentiful

Review : If you like heavy metal and techno, there's gonna be a lot to love on this album,
Yamaoka handles the electric guitar to perfection while Fujimori did the techno-oriented tracks.
Both did an amazing job, and they convey the sense of action and excitement perfectly.

Maximo Original Soundtrack
Composer : Ayako Mori, Tamayo Kawamoto
Availability : Plentiful

Review : A nostalgic soundtrack if I may say so myself, as it contains a
familiar passage from the Ghosts N' Goblins game. Most of the music is
actually fun to listen and has an orchestral feel to it. This CD Set has a
nice bonus : a mini CD containing all the tracks to the arcade version of
Ghosts N' Goblins.

Breath of Fire 5 : Dragon Quarter Original Soundtrack
Composer : Hitoshi Sakimoto
Availability : Plentiful

Review : By now, you should know that Sakimoto rhymes with nothing but good music,
and that is precisely what Hitoshi Sakimoto delivers, and he delivers all too well. Like
all of Sakimoto's previous projects, the musics are of orchestral nature and simply
cannot be ignored. Make sure*NOT*to miss out on this.

Tengai Makyou II Manji Maru Original Soundtrack
Composer : Joe Hisaishi, Hirohiko Fukuda
Availability : Out of Print

Review : The only game soundtrack that Hisaishi takes part on, and having heard his
music on it, it makes me regret that he hasn't done anything else in the VGM world.
Fukuda does the majority here, and he prooves that he's capable as Hisaishi. Like the other
Tengai Makyou soundtracks below, you only get good music here, no stinkers allowed.

Tengai Makyou Zero : Digital Remix
Composer: Toshiyuki Sasagawa, Kohei Tanaka, Aya Tanaka
Availability: Out of Print

Review: Easily one of the most obscure SNES OSTs out there, yes, they've slapped the
"Digital Remix" for kicks. Anyways, this OST is so good, I can't even start on saying
how much I love this soundtrack. It has nothing but good tracks, not a filler in sight.
It's only fault : It's rare as heck to find, even on Yahoo Japan Auctions.

Tengai Makyou ~ The Apocalypse IV ~ Original Soundtrack
Composer : Toshiyuki Sasagawa
Availability : Out of Print

Review : Huh ? What the fork is this ??!!!! O_o Easily one of the most obscure
soundtracks in existence, it is so obscure that there is little to no information about
this soundtrack that I couldn't even find a scan of the cover(fixed now :P). Anyways, the music is
mostly techno, rock and atmospheric music, but it is executed really well, the battle
themes are bizzare at first, but they soon start to make sense after a few listens. If
you can find this lost forgotten treasure, hold on to it as it ain't something you'll see
in any import store anytime soon.

Me and Satan King OST
Composer(s) : Jun-ichi Doi, Yoshikazu Tawakami, Takamitsu Kajikawa,
Yusataka Kume, Kasuhide Toda, Toshiaki Murata
Availability : Only through CocoeBiz

Review : The soundtrack to the PS2 RPG named Okage : Shadow King in the US,
here we are treated to either comical or sligtly spooky music, which fits the mood of
the game itself really well. There is alot of variety here, so there should be something
for everyone here.

Ragnarok Online Original Soundtrack
Composer : soundTeMP
Availability : Out of Print

Review : While I haven't played the game myself, I can honestly say that this soundtrack here
is one of the better MMORPG OSTs out there, close to FFXI in terms of variety and
decency. Most of it is techno-oriented, but nothing too bombastic to make the music not enjoyable
nor unlistenable. I know that many RO addicts here will pester me for this =P

All Sounds of Ogre Battle
Composer : Masaharu Iwata, Hitoshi Sakimoto, Hayato Matsuo
Availability : Out of Print

Review : This is where the famous Ogre series began, right off it already had the
orchestral touch its sequels got. It's very enjoyable as most of the tracks are epic
at best. A great start for Iwata & Sakimoto, while Matsuo gets to show off his
talent that he has nurtured and used later in Front Mission 3.

Ogre Battle 64 : Person of Lordly Caliber Original Soundtrack
Composer : Masaharu Iwata, Hitoshi Sakimoto, Hayato Matsuo
Availability : Out of Print

Review : The Ogre Trio return once more, as with all of the other soundtracks by these three,
there is alot of great orchestral themed tracks, although a good number of them are recycled
from past ogre battle games. However, it shouldn't deter one as there are still plenty of new
themes to enjoy... if you can manage to find a copy, that is.

Guilty Gear X Original Soundtrack
Composer : Daisuke Ishiwatari
Availability : Plentiful

Review : One of the truly decent hard rock based soundtracks ever
released, here there is nothing but insane riffs and beats, it's all good,
although when compared to it's arranged version "Heavy Rock Tracks",
the PCM sound chip leaves much to be desired in terms of sound quality.

Guilty Gear X : Heavy Rock Tracks
Composer : Daisuke Ishiwatari
Availability : Plentiful

Review : If you thought the OST was good, this will blow it off completely,
while it dosen't have all of the tracks the OST had, it simply took the best of
the best and it sounds a whole lot better. If you're a metal/rock fan, pick it up
right now !!

N2O : Nitrous Oxide Game Soundtrack
Composers : Ken Jordan & Scott Kirkland(The Crystal Method)
Availabilty : Game and OST in one, N2O usually goes on eBay for LESS than 10$ US

Review : Having never heard anything from The Crystal Method beforehand, I wasn't
sure what to expect when I bought this. This type of techno can be either very
enjoyable or ear-grating, depending on how much you like techno. I reccomend this CD only to
shooter fanatics and hardcore techno fans, because they throw WAY too many grooves
and beats at us, that it becomes unbearable. And the way they repeat their voice samples
can turn off most listeners, so beware if you buy this. Remember also, you have a
game included with this CD :P

Namco Game Sound Music 3 - Final Lap 2
Composers: Junko Ozawa, Hiro Kawada, Shinji Hosoe, Yoshie Takayanagi, Ayako Saso
Availability: Out of Print

Review: This is my first CD which comprises of mini-soundtracks, there are five games covered here:
They are: Fourtrax, Final Lap 2, Winning Run Suzuka GP, Dangerous Seed and Galaxian^3. This
CD is chock-full of great old-school compositions, most of them are from arcades and while the
themes are relatively simple, they are damn catchy !! Namco really hits gold here, it's stuff like this
that makes me love them so much.

Namco Game Sound Express Vol. 10 - Cyber Sled
Composer : Shinji Hosoe
Availability : Out of Print

Review : Finally, a soundrack by Hosoe himself only. The style is techno as with most of
his other works. For a 10+ year old arcade game, the music is of decent quality. The only
fault in this soundtrack is its outrageously short lenght, less than 25 minutes ! O.o

Namco Game Sound Express Vol. 12 - Galaxian^3 "Project Dragoon" Theater 6
Composer: Shinji Hosoe, Ayako Saso
Availability : Out of Print

Review : Hosoe and Saso join forces here, to score what could be the first literal big screen arcade title,
as up to 6 players joined in a giant booth and played simultaneously in order to co-operate in defeating
the baddies and saving planet Earth from certain doom. Anyways, the music is epic and fitting to such
a revolutionary title(This was in 1992, folks), as it showcases the feel of a intergalactic battle nicely.

Hajime No Ippo - The Fighting Victorious Boxers Original Soundtrack
Composers: Takayuki Aihara, Naoki Tsuchiya, Shinji Hosoe
Availability: Only at CocoeBiz

Review: I know what some of you are thinking :p No, I haven't lost it, this
soundtrack is a result of curiosity overall, and to my surprise, it paid off to
be curious. All 3 composers worked nicely in order to create what is a
definite kick-ass sports album, there are no crappy 3 second jingles here,
most songs comprise of several sections spanning over 5 minutes. One minute,
you're listening to a lovely violin passage, the next is a furious guitar solo, or
some smooth jazz. This is how sports soundtracks should be, original, epic,
and overall really enjoyable.

Soul Calibur II Original Soundtrack
Composers: Junichi Nakatsuru, Yoshihito Yano, Asuka Sakai, Rio Hamamoto, Ryuichi Takada
Availability: Out of Print

Review: Another fighting soundtrack, but this one goes against the techno/rock grain of
usual fighting soundtracks. This one features very realistic instruments and ethnic variety.
Those who played the game might not have noticed its music while fighting their
opponent, but the music here is *so* good, that it could easily fit in an RPG.
No, I'm not smoking or drinking anything :P

Fire Emblem IV : Genealogy of Holy War Original Sound Version
Composer: Yuka Tsujiyoko
Availability: Out of Print

Review: This is one Tactical RPG that got a military score unlike any other, the themes are
all well composed, battle themes do their part, but aren't powerful enough for my tastes
and are just too short. But overall, it's a good addition for Strategy-RPG fans.

Estpolis Biographies II Original Soundtrack
Composer: Yasunori Shiono
Availability: Out of Print

Review : Hoo boy.... a legendary soundtrack set : You're getting the soundtracks
for Lufia and Lufia II. Sound sweet enough ? Do I need to add more ?
Thought not ;)

Shining Force II Symphonic Suite
Composition : Motoaki Takenouchi
Availability : Out of Print

Review : One of the more delicious orchestrated soundtracks, Shining Force II Symphonic
Suite has it all, epic, gripping, soothing, saddening music. It's as good as the Dragon Quest
Symphonic Suites, I'm even inclined to say that it has more "umph" than DQ. A true gem
to orchestra lovers even if you haven't played the game.

Famicom 20th Anniversary Arranged Soundtracks
Composers: Koji Kondo, others
Arrangements: Chiyomaru Shikura(Baloon Fight)
Shinji Hosoe(Dr.Mario)
Motoaki Furukawa(Yoshi's Cookie)
Manabu Namiki(Kid Icarus~Metroid~Famicom Wars)
Takayuki Aihara(Shin-Onigashima~Zenpen)
Yasuhisa Watanabe(Nazo no Murasame jou)
Kimitaka Mastumae(Stack Up~Gyromite)
Motoi Sakuraba(Super Mario Bros.)
Metal Yuuki Group(The Legend of Zelda)
Availability: Plentiful

Review: Wow, here's a lovely tribute to the early Nintendo compositions. Each composer arranged
the track to their own styles. So Baloon Fight gets a jazzy arrange, Dr.Mario is full of Hosoe's typical electronica,
Yoshi's Cookie is just damn awesome, really nice guitar in there. Kid Icarus, Metroid and Famicom wars all get a
decent arrangement, the two next games I have no idea what they are, but the music is nice. Stack Up and Gyromite
get a rather amusing arrangement that plays with your mind in thinking someone's operating your head :P
Sakuraba arranges SMB in a Star Ocean-esque way, very original and dark. Last but not least, the Metal Yuuki Group
perform the main Zelda theme normally at first, then they play the entire soundtrack on speed rock/techno, which is
surprisingly good. Do you need a hint now ? No, then go and get this asap.

Icewind Dale Original Soundtrack
Composer : Jeremy Soule
Availability: Unknown

Review: I always thought PC soundtracks were always low quality midi. This soundtrack
here gave me a virtual slap in the face. I'd never imagine film-quality music for a PC game,
yet Jeremy Soule pulls it off nicely. We're treated to a lush, orchestral masterpiece, which
is just so good it's hard to beleive it's for a PC game. This also confirms my belief that
Jeremy Soule is the most talented VGM composer on this side of the globe.

Giants : Citizen Kabuto Original Soundtrack
Composer: Jeremy Soule, Mark Morgan(20~25)
Availability: Interplay-Store

Review: Another orchestral masterpiece from the master. This is his best I've heard so far,
the more he goes, the better he gets. Here you get heroic themes, epic ones and emotionally
shattering ones too !! You could pass this music for a motion picture and no one could tell.
And yet, for 10$ it's definately worth picking up. Soule fanatics will enjoy this, also this would
be a perfect CD for those who'd want to start a VGM collection. Highly reccomended.

The Elder Scrolls III : Morrowind Original Soundtrack
Composer : Jeremy Soule
Availability : Unknown

Review : One of the lastest soundtracks by Soule, here you get the exploration and battle themes.
What more could a Soule fan want ? Your guess is as good as mine.

Shining The Holy Ark Original Soundtrack
Composer : Motoi Sakuraba
Availability : Out of Print

Review : One of Sakuraba's earlier projects, he expertly mixes both progressive
rock and classical orchestra and brings it all to a whole new level of greatness.
The sound quality is amazing here, and it helps make this soundtrack a worthwhile
hunt.

Tales of Phantasia Original Soundtrack
Composer : Motoi Sakuraba, Shinji Tamura, Ryota Furuya
Availability : Out of Print

Review : A fine soundtrack indeed, although it sounds very
diffrent from the SNES version, this soundtrack contains the
PSX version btw, but it still is quite good, Sakuraba has a
gift when it comes for composing virtually any kind of theme,
I have yet to find a weakness with this composer. There isin't
one bad track here, so don't be afraid, it will be worth your while.

Tales of Destiny II Original Soundtrack
Composer : Motoi Sakuraba, Shinji Tamura
Availability : Out of Print

Review : To clear things up right off, this is *not* the soundtrack to Tales of Destiny II on PS1, which is in
reality Tales of Eternia. This is the *real* Tales of Destiny II, on PS2 and never released outside of Japan.
Now that that's over with, this soundtrack has alot of decent themes to offer, ranging from peaceful town
themes to frenetic battle themes. I can honestly say this is much better than the Tales of Phantasia OST
mentionned above, if you like Sakuraba at all, this soundtrack would be a good purchase.

Tales of Symphonia Original Soundtrack
Composer : Motoi Sakuraba, Shinji Tamura
Availability : Out of Print

Review : Another winner from Sakuraba and Tamura, they seem to take full
advantage of the GameCube's sound capabilities as everything sounds perfectly
clear. Like all the other Tales of soundtracks, you get a multitude of themes.
Definately worth getting if you're a Sakuraba fan.

Star Ocean : The Second Story Original Soundtrack
Composer : Motoi Sakuraba
Availability : Plentiful

Review : This soundtrack is one that has had plenty of positive reviews, so
I had to hear it for myself. Once more, the reviews were very true as this
soundtrack is an amazing example of how good a synthethiser can produce
high quality music if used properly. The only fault lies in the fact that all tracks
only play once, but it still worth it even despite this annoying and reccuring fault.

Valkyrie Profile Original Soundtrack
Composer: Motoi Sakuraba
Availability: Out of Print

Review: This is it, the definite Bible of Sakuraba's talent, in which he goes all out in Battle and Dungeon themes,
which are all fast-paced and just plain fun to listen to. The few emotional themes here and there do their part as
well, but the battle themes are really the highlight of this album. If you can find this treasure, then do what you can
to purchase it, I promise it'll be worth your while.

Star Ocean & Valkyrie Profile THE BEST Soundtrack
Composer: Motoi Sakuraba
Availability: Plentiful

Review: This compilation contains music from Star Ocean, Star Ocean : The Second Story,
Star Ocean : Till the End of Time, Star Ocean : Blue Sphere and Valkyrie Profile obviously.
This CD set is perfect for those who can't afford all of the OSTs(I'm getting there :P). The
only noticeable change is the Star Ocean(SNES) tracks got a synth upgrade, so they
supposedly sound better, why they did this with Star Ocean and not with Star Ocean : Blue
Sphere, which is Game Boy synth, is beyond me :P Overall, you get the best of the best of
Sakuraba's works as the title implies. Only Sakuraba freaks(like myself :P) and those new
to Sakuraba should bother to buy this album as it offers nothing which wouldn't
be in the respective OSTs :P

Motoi Sakuraba Star Ocean & Valkyrie Profile Live Concert DVD
Composer : Motoi Sakuraba
Performance : Motoi Sakuraba(Keyboards), Atsushi Hasegawa(Bass Guitar) and
Toshihiko Nakamura (Drums & Percussions)
Availability : Only at CocoeBiz

Review : Motoi Sakuraba, now among legends like Nobuo Uematsu, Koji Kondo, Koichi Sugiyama and Yuzo Koshiro;
gets to have his very own live performance of his game music. For those who don't know, Sakuraba started off his music
carreer in a progressive rock band called "Déja-Vu", which seems to have had some success over the later '80s and
early '90s if I'm not mistaking. So it's just logical that he chose to do a progressive rock performance. He wasn't alone though,
he was accompanied by two men : Toshihiko Nakamura, the drummer and Atsushi Hasegawa, the bassist.
Sakuraba had the amazing task of going through 10(!!!!!!!) diffrent synthezisers during the performance,
which he did with amazing grace. They opened up the concert with "The Dawn of Wisdom" from
Star Ocean : Till The End of Time. I found the theme really well performed as all 3 performers made their
seperate entrance, which was a delight to see and hear. The second song performed was "Unfinished
Battle with God Syndrome" from Valkyrie Profile. I've noticed right off that it sounded diffrent from what
we've heard on the OST and arranged CD. The reason was that Sakuraba chose to use a diffrent instrument
set(very similar to what was used for the Shining The Holy Ark Arranged) just for a change I guess, which was more
than welcome.

One of the songs that really got to me was "Theme of RENA ~ Drum Solo ~ Bass Solo ~ ", it was just incredible.
Motoi showed off his amazing skills as usual, after about 5 or so minutes, he and Hasegawa stop to allow Nakamura
perform his wonderful drum solo. This lasts for about ten minutes. Once Nakamura is done, Hasegawa comes in and
gets his bass guitar wailing away for a good 5 minutes or so. This is SO the best performance in the entire concert in my opinion.
One of the tracks that made a less successful transition to live was "Confidence in the Domination" from Valkyrie Profile. At first,
I could not recognise it until it had past 30 seconds or so... but I personally loved it. The concert ended with a medley of
2 Star Ocean songs, being "The Incarnate of Devil" from Star Ocean : The Second Story and an encore of
"The Dawn of Wisdom" from Star Ocean : Till The End of Time. This DVD also has a few sweet bonuses. You have
several interviews of the trio, a live recording session and the lovely piano solo Sakuraba has done outside of the concert.
In conclusion, I find this to be one of the most worthwhile VGM collectibles to be released this year(2003). Ms. Ezaki is to be thanked
many, many times for convincing TEAM Entertainment to make the DVD region-free for full accessability to all Sakuraba fans worldwide.

Legend of Zelda : Ocarina of Time Original Soundtrack
Composer : Koji Kondo
Availability : Plentiful

Review : As far as Zelda games go, here you get something quite pleasant.
The Dungeon themes are almost completely ambient, but they still are an
enjoyable listen, especially Spirit Temple. The Battle themes are also well
executed, but The battle vs Ganon is by far the best in the set. Zelda fans should
pick it up while it's plentiful.

Legend of Zelda : Majora's Mask Original Soundtrack
Composer : Koji Kondo, Toru Minegishi
Availability : Plentiful

Review : Yes, another winner and possibly Kondo's last work
for the N64. The major drawback of this set is that nearly half
of the tracks came straight from it's prequel, but the new tracks
and boss tracks more than make up for it. I beleive Zelda fans
should also get ahold of this one, while it's hot if nothing else.

And now, here is a brand new section : Non Video Game Related soundtracks. (GASP!!)

2197
Composers : Yasunori Mitsuda, Ayako Saso, Hitoshi Sakimoto, Hayato Matsuo, Akira Takemoto, Shinji Hosoe, Masaharu Iwata, Yasuyuki Suziki, Takayuki Aihara, Seiichi Hamada, Miki Higashino, Tenpei Sato
Availability: Only through CocoeBiz

Review : Woah, woah, woah !!!!!!!! What is this, you might ask ? This is a very, VERY, special
album. 12 video-game composers are given the following proposition(This idea was proposed by
Mr. Shinji Hosoe(iS : Internal Section, Driving Emotion Type-S, etc...) : Imagine what the world
will be like in 200 years from now (circa 1997) and express those visions in musical form. Sounds
interesting to you ? Whether you think it does or not, the results are above all expectations. Ironic,
isin't it : An album not related to video game music made by video game music composers ? ;)
A very special thanks goes to M-2 for helping me acquire this strange and yet, unique music
compilation CD.(This was acquired before CocoeBiz got the rights to sell this CD internationally)

Sampling Masters presents Julianna's Tsunashima Vol. 1
Composer & Performance : Shinji Hosoe, Ayako Saso,
Takayuki Aihara and Nobuyoshi Sano
Availability : Only at CocoeBiz

Review : Hosoe & friends were asked to provide entertainment for a sort of disco dance party,
since it was in their alley, they've taken the offer obviously. If you love techno or any kind of
electronica, this is a sure fire way to get your fix. All four artists have done some amazing
performances, making the listener feel almost as if he/she were there live at the party.

Circuit'72
Composer: Riow Arai
Availability : Unknown

Review: One of the CDs that got Riow Arai known worldwide by
many dance musicians, Circuit'72 is a lovely collection of jazzy and
techno music, most of the time, Arai uses a piano in his pieces yet
he still keeps the beats steady in all his tracks. A very nice
album by an awesome japanese musician.

Mind Edit
Composer : Riow Arai
Availability : Unknown

Review: Mind Edit contrasts highly compared to Circuit'72, which was
concentrated in jazzy influences. Mind Edit is pretty much all techno,
save for one track. Arai breaks up his compositions here and rearranges
them to his heart's content. What you get is a group of unusual but
intriguing compositions. Another winner from Riow Arai, look for it
on eBay if you're into techno, dance, funk, etc...

Wild Arms : Twilight Venom Animation Soundtrack
Composer: Kow Otani
Availability: Out of Print

Review: Never thought I'd buy an Anime soundtrack, but here's my first. It has the definite wild west
feel that the game series which it is based upon. It's a fairly good soundtrack which is easy to listen
and you can listen to anything with it. If you're a huge fan of Wild Arms, you might want to look into
this interesting soundtrack.

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