Ken Hisuag

I have a lot to say about Sea of Stars. I've been anticipating its release for a few years now; between Eric W. Brown of The Messenger and Yasunori Mitsuda of Chrono Trigger, I had ever reason to expect an amazing soundtrack. A few tracks were released around the initial announcement, and their quality reaffirmed my hopes. Thus commenced the long wait, culminating in the release two months ago. Unfortunately for me, the soundtrack released as a Steam exclusive. While I've bought soundtracks through Steam before, they're usually lacking proper metadata, making them a pain to organize; I also appreciate being able to listen to my purchases through streaming, which Steam does not offer. I decided to put off buying the OST in hopes of it being published through other services, and instead listen through it on Youtube. This turned out to be rather difficult; the soundtrack is large, there has not been an official posting yet, and Youtube isn't really designed for the kind of listening I like to do. I initially intended to feature this last week, but had not managed to "finish" it by that time. At this point, I believe it's going to take me a while to feel satisfied with my own comprehension of the collection, and I want to be able to do so at my own leisure, without having to think about what I'm including in a feature. I do, however, believe I've grasped enough to recommend and provide example tracks for the soundtrack. As The Messenger was meant to be reminiscent of Ninja Gaiden, Sea of Stars is very strongly inspired (if that is the right word) by Chrono Trigger, both in gameplay and music. Melodies are less punchy, though no less strong, and a greater range of tones and moods are covered across the collective. Main area themes (I assume) have "day" and "night" variations, though of yet I haven't recognized a specific gimmick that consistently distinguishes them from each other. Motifs from the first game also make an appearance in altered form, though I personally think some aren't altered enough, clashing in style from the rest of the soundtrack (Frozen Peak especially). Finally, there are also bardcore versions of several songs, identified as "pirate versions." Altogether, this is a much fuller and more balanced soundtrack then I had expected (especially with Mitsuda's contributions), for which I'm ultimately glad. There is still, however, just enough of The Messenger's style left to reinforce what I loved about it; as of now, I'm more than satisfied.

franctanisharmonicoo - The Polar Day, The Polar Night What a circle name! This arrangement is a bit unorthodox, but for all that it rambles, it does come together somewhat. Especially considering what a small piece this is remixed from, I appreciate the effort put into it. TraumereiFabrik - LET An interesting blend of instrumentation helps reinforce the "culmination" feeling of the piece from its source material. Vitnoise - Ether Ideally, this track should embody the atmosphere of the game itself, since it isn't linked to a particular moment but rather an unusual event; this remix has the necessary energy while also capturing the ethereal sound of space.

ZUN's Music Collection Vol. 8: Dr. Latency's Freak Report We're getting into the entries that were still relatively recent releases when I first encountered the series, and as such were less propagated on the outer fringes of the fandom. As such I didn't encounter a lot of these tracks until I'd already familiarized myself with the main body of preceding works, resulting in me approaching them a bit differently. It's difficult to quantify the effect this has had even to now on my perception of these pieces, and ultimately I don't believe it worth the effort to do so. The Childlike Duo's Naturalis Historia strikes me as an especially well-designed piece, even for ZUN, and serves to me as potent example of his undiminished skill over time. I choose Schrödinger's Bakeneko as my second, even though I can't shake the feeling I've heard its motif somewhere else in the series. Strange Creators of Outer World Vol. 2 While an odd and minuscule release relying completely on remixes, I wouldn't advise passing this over. For some reason, I vastly prefer this version of Last Occultism ~ Esotericist of the Present World, despite its alterations being relatively minor. Perhaps it's the more drawn-out intro emphasizing the tension, maybe it's the slightly lowered tempo allowing the piece to develop better, possibly it's just something in the production quality that I can't put a name to; regardless, this is the definitive version of the piece as far as I'm concerned. Also in this collection is Akiyama's Retribution for Eternal Night ~ Pipes and Fiddle., one of his most unique works in the series. ZUN's Music Collection Vol. 9: Dateless Bar "Old Adam" Similar to volumes six and seven, eight and nine seem to be connected to each other thematically. Unlike the previous titles, however, I think the musical style is significantly divergent between the two. Where volume eight was more focused on atmosphere, volume nine features more intense arrangements (I might make a comparison to the difference between stage themes and boss themes in the main games). The two major exceptions to this are the first and last tracks in the album, though moreso the latter than the former. Old Adam Bar maintains the energy of the previous album with slightly more casual twist, and it makes sense to me that this would be the more popular track. That being said, I sometimes think I prefer Hangover of Bedfellows Dreaming Differently, which contrasts more strongly with the rest of the album as a more staff-roll-esque epilogue to it. Touhou 14.8 ~ Urban Legend in Limbo: PS4 Expansion Yes, I'm cheating. I don't recall seeing anyone else referring to this arguably unprecedented phenomenon of the series as its own unique sub-entry, but as far as I'm concerned it matches all the prerequisites, right down to having its own small soundtrack. And what a soundtrack! None other than beatMario a.k.a. COOL&CREATE of Night of Nights fame provided a remix of Lunatic Eyes ~ Invisible Full Moon in his signature quasi-nightcore style, transforming the serious mood of the original into a crazy roller coaster that still manages to hold onto the sinister tone of its motifs. It suits the melody and theme perfectly, and remains one of the most unique tracks in the franchise. Honorable mention to Unknown X ~ Occultly Madness, ZUN's third take on the motif with just enough stylistic edits to completely transform the piece (seriously, why can't more of ZUN's self-arrangements be more like this or Speed Fox?). Forbidden Scrollery Vol. 6 Again, entries like this are what throw the viability of this format into question. There are three tracks, two of them are arrangements, and neither of them are significantly altered. Likely Bibliophile with a Deciphering Eye would stand out even among more impressive company, but in this context it hardly seems fair. Nevertheless, it's an underappreciated piece, and I won't pass up the opportunity to highlight it.

Since the completion of the Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove collection, there have been a couple spin-off titles for the series focusing on expanding the franchise into other styles and genres. Thus far, the one that's interested me most has been Shovel Knight Dig, which features a similar musical style to the original game with a different kind of chiptune. My one significant complaint with Shovel Knight's soundtrack has always been its methodology concerning boss battle themes; Kaufman would usually arrange the motifs of the stage theme into a more chaotic progression lacking resolution. While this successfully simulates the necessary tension the situation calls for, it often doesn't make for the most engaging casual listen. Ultimately it's a personal preference, but I'd appreciate some more climactic or character-themed tracks from this series; either way, the rest of the music makes up for it more often then not.

Kunokaya - Extend Ash I'm rather happy about this find. The intro keeps things slightly ominous but energetic, and when the signature motif hits it opens up into a more direct intensity. The piece swings between these two styles according to its needs, sometimes rather abruptly, thus perfectly capturing the finality of its setting. Asomosphere & Antipole Sounds - Cruciv This is a bit more direct and heavy compared to the previous piece, as I believe is fitting. I might have tried for a bit more melody focus, but it may actually be better this way; it burns out quickly, and there's an appealing irony to that. Instead of covering the next piece in the series, I've decided to put off the likely inevitable failure of this project by featuring some related remixes I was hunting down outside of the regular features. Specifically, last week I was trying to find an arrangement that combined Gensokyo Millennium with Flight of the Bamboo Cutter, which was surprisingly difficult. In my search, I found a few other crossovers, and appreciated the various ways they each achieved their intended effect. The consistent theme between them made for an ideal set up here.

Deceive Inc., which I did a feature for earlier in the year, finally received an official soundtrack release. Quite a few tracks I was previously unfamiliar with became available, and the various "phases" of the level themes were compiled into single tracks. Given the circumstances, I've decided to feature the soundtrack again, as a contrast to the unofficial recreations initially available.

About time I get back to this. Touhou 14 ~ Double Dealing Character The "Second Modern Era" opened with some experimenting on ZUN's part with new instruments. I don't particularly mind the electric guitar sample itself, nor even its general usage in this soundtrack, but I believe its presence influenced the structure of the compositions in a way which I don't particularly appreciate, specifically in the boss themes of the first half. I don't believe it's the motifs themselves; I've heard great arrangements of them all that establish the better potential they contain. For some reason, I just don't enjoy their original forms. Thankfully, this is only true for these specific tracks. Primordial Beat ~ Pristine Beat may be more a concept piece, but for all that it's one of the more unique themes of ZUN's repertoire. The extra-stage boss has been often been used by ZUN for more unorthodox arrangements; the results don't always manage to distinguish themselves significantly, but when they do, they often become among the more iconic in the series. On the other hand, Inchlings of the Shining Needle ~ Little Princess is as by-the-book as one could ask for, with all the benefits the approach can reward when utilized properly. Touhou 14.3 ~ Impossible Spell Card ZUN's spin-offs feature shorter soundtracks as a rule, and this game began a trend of buffing them out with reused tracks from recent games. Since older pieces are often remixed for newer entries in the series, this used to confuse me as I tried to distinguish between the two. Once this distinction has been made, however, it's easy enough to pick out a favorite. For me, that one is Romantic Escape Flight; I know Cheat Against the Impossible Danmaku is the more popular track, and deservedly so, but I've always preferred its equally high-energy but slightly less ominous twin. Touhou 14.5 ~ Urban Legend in Limbo This entry included community arrangements in its soundtrack, not as a replacement for Akiyama's contributions but as a supplement to them. In my opinion, this was a brilliant idea, both for encouraging community production and for ensuring musical variety in the series. That being said, I can't say any of these official fan remixes impressed me that much. They're perfectly serviceable and enjoyable to listen to, but I ultimately find I appreciate Akiyama's compositions more, even as he reuses elements from his work (and perhaps even because he does this so well). Bell of the Antipodes is my personal favorite, with Occult a la Carte being a close second. ZUN also contributes an especially noteworthy piece, but I have reason to refrain from relating it to this entry. Touhou 15 ~ Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom What do you think I'm gonna pick? To be fair, there's a lot of great tracks in this album from beginning to end, and I can easily understand someone struggling to choose favorites from it. But for me, there's no competitor to Pure Furies ~ Whereabouts of the Heart; I may enjoy listening to other pieces more, but no composition of ZUN has impressed me more on an artistic level than this track. It may seem a bit unfair to name The Sea Where the Home Planet is Reflected as a second, given it uses much the same melody, but I can't help but appreciate its presentation and atmosphere. As great as I consider the rest of this soundtrack, these two are the ones I keep coming back to. I've got to stop there for now, this still takes too long.

It's hard for me to be to disappointed in these rankings. We may say a lot of these songs are overrated, but that tends to be in context of all the tracks that don't get their deserved recognition; considered each on their own, every one of these tracks are masterpieces. Nor are occasional changes impossible; Idolatrize World is a relatively recent addition compared to the rest of the top ten, and seems to be there to stay. I'm just happy that some of my favorite tracks are still in the top twenty-five. Basic Overview: Highest Akiyama track is still Broken Moon at #13 Highest PC-98 track is Bad Apple!! at #58 Highest Music Collection track is Greenwich in the Sky at #70 Highest new-to-the-poll track is The Deviants' Unobstructed Light ~ Kingdom of Nothingness at #43 Eight tracks received only one vote each; one from the PC-98 era, six from the fighting game spin-offs, and one that I can't identify (I figure it's a translation confusion; anyone know where "Big Talk" comes from?). Side note, why doesn't Soul's Resting Place have a recorded ranking from the past two polls?

Kimino Museum - Gensokyo Millennium ~ History of the Moon I never know what I'm going to settle on for these features until I've actually done it; despite intending to use something far more high-energy, I ultimately chose this for its smooth presentation of the source motifs. Daihuku - Flight of the Bamboo Cutter ~ Lunatic Princess Again, this wasn't what I had in mind when I went looking, but nothing else seemed quite right for whatever reason. The oriental folk certainly fits the piece. ??? - Leap of Death Despite lacking proper credits, this was the best arrangement of Voyage 1970 I found. There aren't very many to begin with; most musicians combine it with other pieces.

I got sick last week, and was unable to accomplish the necessary prerequisites for a feature (mainly, listening to the soundtrack in question). Rather unfortunate for this to occur in the middle of a series, but there's not much I can do about it now. We're finishing up the month with Pokemon Black & White, a title I've often heard about but never had direct acknowledged contact with. I was surprised at the number of tracks I recognized from other sources, such as memes and Youtube bgms; this made the music seem overall more familiar to me than it technically was. Since the second "generation," it has been fairly standard for the music to be composed by a team, with each individual often given responsibility for specific types of tracks. This seemed especially noteworthy to me for this collection. Most tracks were composed by either Shota Kageyama or Go Ichinose. The former has a more standard progression style, but with a tendency to experiment with jazz in the melodies. His tracks consistently impressed me, standing out from the rest of the album. Ichinose, on the other hand, has a unique harmonization style that lends itself to tension in his music. Most of the game's combat music was composed by him, making his style that of the game's more tense moments. However, he is also able to apply this style in less high-energy pieces, contrasting against Kageyama's to give the game a more varied musical character. While there were other composers involved, I didn't notice significant divergences of style from them compared to these first two. This is not to say their compositions were not noteworthy contributions, but I only managed to fit one into this feature.

Frontier Records - Cinderella Cage ~ Kagome-Kagome I specifically wanted something in a style I'd expect to find Lunatic Eyes remixed into. As close as the two pieces are, I don't see them blending as much in their associations. Apparently this specific link won't imbed for whatever reason. Teikuru - Lunatic Eyes ~ Invisible Full Moon (Future Bass Remix) For this one, I was looking for something high-energy and slightly off-balance. This particular find might be more balanced than I intended, but I thought it flowed well. fromadistance - Return of the Eternal Night Elegant and initially serene, but with elements of tension in the buildup. I feel remixes of this piece tend to favor one aspect over the other, but the true strength of the original is the balance of both.

SciΦ - PARALLEL EFFECTS One of the most legendary tracks in the entire series deserves a fittingly epic arrangement. As it so happens, I've been following this musician for a while, waiting for the ideal moment to utilize something from them for this series. IMO, nothing quite tops Path Through the Bamboo Forest from Scarlet Curiosities, but the build-up on this piece does a lot to enhance its progression. I kinda wish it was longer, though. Takorio - Maiden's Capriccio ~ Dream Battle Technically a re-used motif, but with enough time and variance that I decided to consider it on its own. I picked this arrangement because it does a great job at exemplifying the way a real piano cover of a Touhou piece with minimal alteration would have to look like; this is playable, but it would be quite difficult to pull off. ItsaNother - Spark of Vulnerability Alternatively, this is what it looks like to mold a motif into a new form without losing its identity, essentially drawing the line between "remix" and "arrangement," to use DF's terminology. I love the creativity evident in such pieces, although I've come to believe a balance between the two helps to develop better appreciation for both.

Next up is Pokemon Ruby & Sapphire (and Emerald, kinda). While not a SNES title, I note a similarity in the soundfonts utilized, in that they appear to simulate real instruments without fully accomplishing the recreation. I'm not usually a fan of this style, and this didn't change that, but there does seem to be a balance of more self-aware arrangements that utilize the sounds more freely, and I appreciated these more. The tracks are extremely short, meaning even the longer ones tend to lack variety in progression, but they accomplish their jobs well enough, and are dynamic enough to remain appealing after multiple loops.

I am here with my musical contribution.

Having missed a couple weeks recently, I will resist the temptation to use Cirno Day as an excuse to pause my schedule (I can do both). Cat Cafeteria - The Unforgettable Song Soft rock was exactly what I wanted for this piece, and I couldn't be more pleased with this; enough source motif to be identifiable, and enough creativity to stand out. World End Symphonia - storytellers This a motif that journeys, and I wanted a remix of stages for it. This was a bit higher energy than I expected, but nonetheless fits all the criteria for my favorite arrangement styles. Sakuzyo - Cyber Experiment For this, I was sort of thinking folk, but was more focused on something that was both different yet complimentary to the previous feature. This has the energy and progression to fit the latter point, and the genre alone satisfies the former.

It's time for another feature series. This month I'll be looking into the Pokemon franchise; even though I've covered a couple of the more recent titles before, I've not really heard any of the older soundtracks that set their reputation. As usual, I'm not even sure yet which titles are the best to go to for the best exposure, but hopefully I'll figure it out as I go. The first one is easy, though. Pokemon Red & Blue (and Yellow (and apparently Green?)) was the game to launch the franchise. As a GameBoy title, its music is the 8-bit chiptune that defined the earliest days of VGM. The music was initially composed on different hardware, and converted over afterwards; I'm not sure whether this had any effect on the arrangements. The composer, Junichi Masuda, utilized a surprising degree of baroque style into the music, especially in the calmer tracks. I appreciated this; baroque seems to be especially well suited to 8-bit limitations.

Eternal Lives - Returning Soul Oriental folk, but with a twist I can't seem to put a name to. I love creative arrangements like this, and it seems fitting for this particular piece. Frog Apprentice - Firefly Star There are lyrics to this piece, but the vocaloid version wasn't quite balanced enough for my tastes. The arranger seems to be intending to add an actual vocal performance at some point, but for now I deemed this instrumental version to be worth featuring. Red Bullet Sequence - The Night Sparrow's Song is Sucked into the Hollow Night & GYROMIX - Song of the Night Sparrow ~ Night Bird Two-for-one on this feature. I resonated with the style of the first remix, but was having trouble picking out the source motifs. Thus, I decided to include an extra piece of more clear adaptation.

I was on vacation last week; normally that wouldn't prevent me from doing features, but reception was unusually poor, making access to these threads impossible. Expectations can significantly impact one's experiences in strangely inverse ways; poor expectations can result in better impressions, and high expectations may lead to disappointment (I refer specifically to situations where expectations are subverted). I believe I started into the soundtrack of VA-11 HALL-A with slightly higher expectations then I should have; I knew the album sold well, although I hadn't heard much reference to it beyond that. What I got was a good selection of synthwave pieces, with a fair variety of moods in a fairly stable energy level. "Fair" is the best word I can think of; I found nothing extraordinary about the collection, but I also accepted that it didn't need to be extraordinary. It is pleasant to listen to, and despite the relatively large number of tracks, stays fresh and doesn't stagnate.

@Jaz:3 The videos are still available for me, so I suspect its a regional limitation. Your best bet would be to look up the soundtrack on your own, since anything I find would have to be tested against your private location. That being said, here is a different playlist than the one I used: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvNp0Boas721k5FYiicCFoifRvtDpAEx_ The tracks featured were Boss Battle ("Boss Theme"), Scrooge's Office, Transylvania, I've Got a Bad Feeling About This ("Ominous"), Money Bin, and Mount Vesuvius. Sorry I can't be of more help.

coro - Dim Escape For unfamiliar names, I usually try to verify the source; unfortunately I couldn't track this one down, so I'll just have to assume the best. There's a higher energy theme this week, unintentioned but not unappreciated. All three of them are less well-known tracks, though to varying degrees; this one is reportedly an unused track from PCB, but being that it was unused it is essentially an original piece to this album. Silver Forest - Dieu le veult! The first video I found of this remix was rather loud, so I sought out this quieter version; I hope this doesn't negatively impact its presentation. This is another revival from the Seihou soundtracks, and I think the heavy-yet-elegant style of this arrangement is especially fitting. TUMENECO - Eternal Fantasy ver.W This is technically a collab with GET IN THE RING, but I believe its mostly the duet; the arrangement itself remains essentially unchanged. Not quite low-energy, but pleasantly smooth, as befitting an epilogue.

Early on in my developing hobby of VGM, I would seek out recommendations for soundtracks with noteworthy reputation independent of the associated game. A few titles stood out for repeated features, giving me the impression of a general consensus concerning their quality and reputation. Many of these titles formed the basis of my expectations thereafter, even when they didn't strongly appeal to me. One of these was FTL: Faster Than Light. FTL is a difficult soundtrack to feature. It's an impressive production with exemplary style and tone, but features an interesting gimmick that splits the album in two. For each theme, there are two versions: "explore," which is meant to be the calmer base, and "battle," a more upbeat take on the same piece. In some cases, the difference is not extreme, merely including an extra percussion layer to the base piece. With many tracks, however, the battle tracks function as unique arrangements, sometimes feature entire motifs not present in the alternate version. A proper appreciation for this requires listening to both versions of each track, which I considered too much for the feature. So instead, I was left to decide between each version of each track set forth, with the failsafe of some brief explanation for each.

Lix (DJ SkyRider) - Ghostly Eyes (Overray Mix) Though more well known for its appearance in Imperishable Night, Illusionary Night was first published in the Ghostly Field Club music collection. Given the theme of the piece, I wanted something "dark," but in a more literal sense as opposed to being ominous. coloured glaze - Unlimited Physics Most arrangements of Merry the Magician lean into its discordant tones. Initially I hoped to find something intentionally not doing that, for uniqueness. However, I happened upon this one instead, and felt the hybrid style made it more melancholy; this appealed to my own perceptions of the original track. K2 SOUNDS - Secret Anthology This was unreasonably difficult to find, though I fully admit my own pickiness to be at fault. I'm rather fond of Strange Bird of the Moon, and had a very specific idea in mind for its representation; but not only did I fail to find something to match my expectations, I couldn't even find anything initially that appealed to me for style. Eventually I started employing some more desperate searching strategies, and managed to find this piece; it's still not what I initially wanted, but it is certainly a creative arrangement that I believe pairs well with the preceding feature as contrast.

Cutting it close, but in case it wasn't obvious from the missed Saturday post, time is of limited availability at the moment. Perhaps this follow-up to last week was predictable, but that does not make it less relevant. DuckTales: Remastered was the perfect example of a passion project; everything came together so as to revitalize and improve upon the original elements, resulting in a product that does everything it needs to. For me, the most important aspect is obviously the music. The original soundtrack received a complete recovering, featuring full instrumentation and expanded arrangement which did justice to the best and helped justify the lesser. There's also an element of leitmotif added to the collection, though it seems mostly for nostalgia's sake than for anything relevant to the game's progression (I could be wrong on that, though). However, the devs did not stop at remastering the old music. New original compositions were also added in, mainly for what I presume to be cutscenes by their cinematic progression. Potentially there were new levels as well, and music was composed for these. The quality of these pieces is well on par with the rest of the album, fitting seamlessly in and elevating the project as a whole.

This week I decided to finally cover the iconic OST of DuchTales for the NES. Few have not heard something about this legendary soundtrack, which in many ways serves as a standard for what 8-bit music can be. While not pushing the technology like the work of Tim Follin, it nonetheless features complex melody interwoven with its accompaniment in such a way as to "fill" the channels, resulting in tracks that remain impressive to this day. Some may disagree with me, but as far as I'm concerned the highlight is, and always will be, Moon Theme. The intro and build-up is perfectly suited to the medium, the melody is beautifully transmitted, and every channel is balanced between each other to craft the perfect 8-bit arrangement. It is one of the only classical chiptune pieces I've never heard a remix for that seemed to me an "improvement," simply because the original does so well at accomplishing its goal.

aocha - Passing on Through the Dendera Fields at Night My previous experience with arrangements for this piece have focused on adjusting its energy (I'm especially fond of the Shinra-Bansho version). Thus this take on the piece stood out to me, emphasizing the atmosphere while improving on the progression. It seems a fitting opener, which is exactly what it's meant to be. BUTAOTOME - A Traveler's Melancholy Again, my perception of this piece has been focused on its default presentation; I have not previously considered alternative moods for its motifs. Yet I find this more chill and friendly style very appealing, not to mention perfectly suiting the theme. Cajiva's Gadget Shop - Alleinreisende For a bit of tonal contrast, I chose this uniquely styled piece against my better judgement. I have no idea what is being said in the background, and the presentation makes me nervous; still it's very well arranged, and the most creative take on the track I came across.