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Ramza Feb 2, 2008

http://www.gmronline.com/info.asp?CatNumber=SQEX-10112

Someone dig up as much info on this album as they can. RIGHT NOW.

I'm freaking out. Obviously it'll have that opera track from the Versus XIII trailer (which I assume is called "drammatica"), but what if it has new, orchestral arrangements of classic/awesome Shimomura? I mean like ... Legend of Mana, Parasite Eve, even Mario RPG and LiveaLive? (okay I doubt the SNES stuff but still...)

Legend of Mana
Parasite Eve
Kingdom Hearts I + II
FF Vs. XIII

What else can we hope to see? I don't know, but I'm craaaazy excited about this.

the_miker Feb 2, 2008

Wow, yet another 2008 CD release to look forward to!  If you head on over to Shimomura's official blog, the newest post reveals that she recently took a trip to Germany for some orchestra recordings.  Whether it was for this CD or Final Fantasy Versus XIII, I'm not sure.  But still, awesome!

http://blog.livedoor.jp/midiplex/

-Mike

Cedille Feb 2, 2008 (edited Feb 2, 2008)

Ramza wrote:

I'm freaking out. Obviously it'll have that opera track from the Versus XIII trailer (which I assume is called "drammatica").

Isn't it Somnus Nemoris? Anecdotally, Mitsuyoshi says he realized where and with whom she had recorded it at the mere sight of this pic. tongue

This release makes me reassured that Hamauzu album being the first volume of Square Enix composers’ best series rather than an isolated project was true, after all (though I still wonder why it was revealed by a few online stores), and really curious about what will come next.

Mitsuda is seemingly most unlikely, given he will ever stick with his label not Square Enix’s, and, preferably, would be focusing on CCAA which should have priority. Though recently he frequently mentions sheet music in his diary and [ur=http://blog77.fc2.com/k/kirite/file/orchestra_score.jpg]prepares for recording with an orchestra[/url](so I suspect something more than SOMA BRINGER soundtrack having one sheer music copy as preorder bonus goes on) I still don’t think his is a likely choice. Uematsu, on the other hand, so likely that I wonder why his wasn’t the first to begin with (maybe too busy with other projects including presumably his canceled very earlier works collection). Also, as opposed to Mitsuda, he still seems to have some sort of official relationship with Square Enix, despite his recently launched label. Aside of the two, Kenji Ito immediately comes to my head as, based on his big popularity and current state, he is a good subject if we look back on a VGM composer’s prime, although I know how bullied he’s been in English forums.

Aside of the three, most composers lack some requisites (e.g. Sugiyama or Sakuraba, neither of them have been the composers Square Enix covers, Nakano, Ishimoto, Mizuta or Tanioka, most of them need a bit more popular careers, despite their talents. And of course there leaves the one who I personally wouldn’t like to mention here since there are people who bash him or troll fans at almost every opportunity). 

Razakin Feb 2, 2008

This album better have some Front Mission or Live-A-Live tunes, or otherwise it will be disappointment.

the_miker Feb 2, 2008

Legend of Mana, Parasite Eve, Super Mario RPG, and Live A Live are all required by law to be on this.  Having some Street Fighter II on there would be insanely awesome too but very unlikely since this CD is being published by Square Enix.  I'm gonna put it out there right now.. this CD needs to start off with either Primal Eyes from Parasite Eve or Happy Adventure, Delightful Adventure from Super Mario RPG and end with either Live for Live from Live A Live or an extended arrangement of Nostalgic Song ~Ending Theme for Mana's Story~ from Legend of Mana.  Yes?

-Mike

the_miker Feb 2, 2008

Speaking of Super Mario RPG..

http://cgi.ebay.com/Super-Mario-RPG-Sou … dZViewItem

wtf?

My friend and I both sold our copies a few years back on eBay and they ended for roughly $300 and $200.  That auction right there is just INSANE!  I wouldn't be surprised if it gets to a grand.

-Mike

Ramza Feb 2, 2008

the_miker wrote:

Nostalgic Song ~Ending Theme for Mana's Story~ from Legend of Mana

There are a LOT of Legend of Mana songs that could go for full orchestra. I was pissed at the time of the OST's release that no arranged album ever followed (this was back in the day when nearly every high-profile Square release came with AT LEAST one arranged album). But "Nostalgic Song" comes with THE highest priority for arrangement.

Another one I'd like to see is "City of Flickering Destruction" (2-25).

Primal Eyes orchestra would also be good.

And I had forgotten about her part in Front Mission. With Front Mission having been reprinted for DS recently, perhaps it will garner some attention? There are a number of good, orchestra-worthy Shimomura tracks on that OST.

Ramza

OH! PS - as for Square Enix's "composer" series, I think that Nakano is a legitimate choice. Junya Nakano's works include Another Mind, Dewprism, parts of FFX, parts of Musashiden II, and Project Sylpheed. He's also handled a couple tracks on Tobal #1 and Front Mission Gun Hazard. All said and done, I think Nakano has enough work to allot him his own "best of" arranged CD, particularly if he wants to pursue it. Dew Prism arrangements are something I'd love to have.

Chris Feb 2, 2008

Greatly looking forward to this album too. As I said at SEMO, Yoko Shimomura's career is pretty curious. She spent most of her Square years being super-diverse having no real series to dedicate to. Yet with her freelance career, she has revisited near-enough all of her Square works. Front Mission with Front Mission 1st, Live A Live in a Pures Dramatic Production, Super Mario RPG with the Mario & Luigi series, Parasite Eve in Parasite Eve: The Third Birthday, Legend of Mana in Heroes of Mana, and Kingdom Hearts in Kingdom Hearts II. This leads me to think all of her Square works apart from the Chocobo ones were special to her and she'd want to pay tribute to them in some way. Personally, I want Parasite Eve above all, though I enjoy all her Square works beside Super Mario RPG.

Vaeran Feb 2, 2008

Chris wrote:

Yet with her freelance career, she has revisited near-enough all of her Square works. Front Mission with Front Mission 1st

Was Shimomura actually involved with Front Mission 1st though?  I was under the impression that Hidenori Iwasaki just rearranged everything from Front Mission himself, and that she only got credit on the album because she was the original composer.

Ashley Winchester Feb 2, 2008

Ramza wrote:

Another one I'd like to see is "City of Flickering Destruction" (2-25).

Hell yes! That song literally drips with emotion.

Vaeran Feb 2, 2008

Incorrect use of the word "literally". Ten yard penalty.

Zane Feb 2, 2008

Vaeran wrote:

Incorrect use of the word "literally". Ten yard penalty.

Correct use of jackassery - do not collect $200, do not pass Go.

Vaeran Feb 2, 2008

*tips hat* :D

Qui-Gon Joe Feb 2, 2008 (edited Feb 2, 2008)

Ashley Winchester wrote:
Ramza wrote:

Another one I'd like to see is "City of Flickering Destruction" (2-25).

Hell yes! That song literally drips with emotion.

Thirded.  If we get any Kingdom Hearts stuff, I'm hoping for Hollow Bastion.  Some Live A Live stuff would be fantastic, but Parasite Eve and Legend of Mana are both MUSTS.

Edit: Shimomura is easily Square's most tragically under-arranged composer.  As far as I can recall, the ONLY arranged stuff her games have gotten were that awful-except-her-own-track Parasite Eve disc and the two track Live A Live mini disc that came with the strategy guide (which I never could land a copy of in three years in Japan, which makes me very, very sad).

Edit #2 I totally didn't notice that this was on the Square Enix label, which means my hopes for her Capcom and Nintendo stuff are shattered.  sad

jeriaska Feb 3, 2008

Razakin wrote:

This album better have some Front Mission or Live-A-Live tunes, or otherwise it will be disappointment.

Ditto that sentiment.

Amazingu Feb 3, 2008

Holy crap, that rocks!
I don't care WHAT's on it, it friggin Shimomura, and hardly anything she's done has got the orchestal treatment so far, so it's bound to be new and good.

Also: is the Super Mario RPG OST, really that rare!? I bought mine for 750 yen at a local second-hand bookstore, like 8 years ago or something. Maybe I should start considering selling it.....

Qui-Gon Joe Feb 3, 2008

Amazingu wrote:

Also: is the Super Mario RPG OST, really that rare!? I bought mine for 750 yen at a local second-hand bookstore, like 8 years ago or something. Maybe I should start considering selling it.....

Every time I see one go up for sale, I wonder the same thing.  I remember ordering one from Otaku.com for 30 bucks on a whim once.  Apparently that was RIGHT near when they got super expensive for no good reason.  I'm not sure why all of a sudden everyone woke up and desperately wanted it and couldn't find it.  Glad I got mine when I did, though...

XLord007 Feb 3, 2008

Qui-Gon Joe wrote:
Amazingu wrote:

Also: is the Super Mario RPG OST, really that rare!? I bought mine for 750 yen at a local second-hand bookstore, like 8 years ago or something. Maybe I should start considering selling it.....

Every time I see one go up for sale, I wonder the same thing.  I remember ordering one from Otaku.com for 30 bucks on a whim once.  Apparently that was RIGHT near when they got super expensive for no good reason.  I'm not sure why all of a sudden everyone woke up and desperately wanted it and couldn't find it.  Glad I got mine when I did, though...

Yeah, I got mine for around $30-35 from The Place back in the day.  Also, if you really want that Live A Live arrange disc with the strategy guide, Jerold can probably get it.  I got mine from him for a reasonable price.

Sami Feb 3, 2008

Well, this is interesting. Not so interested in the FF13v tracks, but this is a great chance to give some Legend of Mana/Parasite Eve tracks a whole new arrangement. Not too sure if there will be any Mario RPG music though, as much as it would be great to hear some of the tracks from those games covered. Kingdom Hearts probably has a better chance.

TerraEpon Feb 3, 2008

Hopefully it'll be a COMPLETE arranged disc, rather than just a couple tracks with OST tracks. I *hate* that, and am inclined to not buy but just DL the couple new tracks.


I always thought LoM really could have used a good orchestral run through...


-Joshua

tenninplusplus Feb 3, 2008

Zane wrote:
Vaeran wrote:

Incorrect use of the word "literally". Ten yard penalty.

Correct use of jackassery - do not collect $200, do not pass Go.

I have to support Vaeran here.  Turning "literally" into a generic intensifier like "really" does real damage to the expressivity of the English language --- it's not just a pointless arbitrary rule like "don't end a sentence with a proposition" at stake --- because English already has plenty of generic intensifiers, but doesn't have any other words with the same meaning as "literally".  Defending the English language is a dirty job, but someone's got to do it.

Ramza Feb 3, 2008

tenninplusplus wrote:

I have to support Vaeran here.  Turning "literally" into a generic intensifier like "really" does real damage to the expressivity of the English language --- it's not just a pointless arbitrary rule like "don't end a sentence with a proposition" at stake --- because English already has plenty of generic intensifiers, but doesn't have any other words with the same meaning as "literally".  Defending the English language is a dirty job, but someone's got to do it.

Solid defense of someone else's jackassery - TECHNICAL FOUL!

"literally" already has a vague definition IMO. Obviously, the use here was well out of bounds, but a lot of people have different ideas of what "literal" means ... but its word root ties back to "literature," so the meaning is not equivalent to "actual" or "straightforward, surface meaning," since literature can have different layers of meaning. I present this point because of a number of conservative Christians I know that say things like "I take the Bible literally." But technically, to take the Bible "literally" is to take it the way its author(s) meant for it to be taken, not just a default back to "face-value interpretation." Is "literally" a good word to have as the opposed word to "metaphorically," or can we do better?

AND now this topic has been thoroughly derailed. *Literally* --- bad usage MWAHAHAHAHA!

Let's talk more about Shimomura.

Yeah, PE Remixes was a disaster. The problem with it was that Shimomura didn't arrange it. Well, she did the opening track (which was awesome) and helped with the ending vocal (which was semi-awesome). The rest was crap and we all know it. So it's time for a real, GOOD arranged album.

Like TerraEpon said, if this is some bullshit "Best of OST tracks" with three arranged tracks stuck at the end (*glares at FFVII Reunion*) then it'll suck and no one should buy it. But considering Hamauzu's "Vielen Dank" was 100% arranged (though the SaGa Frontier 2 tracks were mostly re-recordings of what was written out for Piano~Rhapsody), I think this will be 100% arranged as well. I'll be pissed if they think it's good measure to just throw the orchestral version of Passion on there. Exclusive = yes please, rehash = waste of money.

Ramza

Bernhardt Feb 3, 2008 (edited Feb 3, 2008)

Yeah, definitely on the side of some Legend of Mana and Parasite Eve remixes, though moreso Legend of Mana.

Super Mario RPG was good, I guess, but I don't find it coming to mind like I do Legend of Mana.

Front Mission 1st was also decent, but I find it moreso non-obtrusive background music than anything.

Kingdom Hearts? Ehh, it wasn't bad stuff, but I only go back to that stuff for Traverse Town and Twilight Town, really.

Legend of Mana is just one of my favorite all-time soundtracks from Shimomura; it's just so melodic, vivid, imageryness...

Never heard of this Live-a-Live stuff, though? Wut dat?

I think it's still safe to say that I'll be picking this new album up.

tenninplusplus Feb 3, 2008

Is "literally" a good word to have as the opposed word to "metaphorically,"

Yes.  "Its word root ties back to literature" is a bit misleading --- they have a common root, one doesn't come from the other.  The root just means "letter", which in the case of "literal(ly)" is used in the sense of "surface, textual meaning" (as in the letter of the law vs. the spirit of the law).  "Literature" was originally just any written text (written with letters...) and only later acquired the connotation of something artistic and thoughtful that might have multiple layers of meaning etc.  Anyway the meanings of words don't just come from their roots, words have their own meanings and connotations that can change over time with usage.  Changes can be good, neutral or bad and if a prospective change is bad (because it makes it harder to express things worth expressing), people like me who waste most of their time on futile causes anyway may as well fight it.

My favorite Shimomura is still Front Mission, maybe because the SNES synth makes it sound more "raw" to me.  Later stuff like Kingdom Hearts have more elaborate arrangements that kinda dilute the effect.

Chris Feb 3, 2008

Yeah, Shimomura had no direct involvement in Front Mission 1st (as I was going to mention in parantheses but decided not to for conciseness). However, the immediate relevance of the Front Mission DS remake would certainly favour a Front Mission arrangement being included. I like to think Hidenori Iwasaki's work on both the PlayStation and DS versions of the score may have influenced by discussions with Shimomura (they did work together for five years after all, if only directly on Legend of Mana, so will probably be friends). Then again, my optimism has resulted in me being wrong in the past so ignore my pointless speculation!

Zane Feb 3, 2008

tenninplusplus wrote:
Zane wrote:
Vaeran wrote:

Incorrect use of the word "literally". Ten yard penalty.

Correct use of jackassery - do not collect $200, do not pass Go.

I have to support Vaeran here.  Turning "literally" into a generic intensifier like "really" does real damage to the expressivity of the English language --- it's not just a pointless arbitrary rule like "don't end a sentence with a proposition" at stake --- because English already has plenty of generic intensifiers, but doesn't have any other words with the same meaning as "literally".  Defending the English language is a dirty job, but someone's got to do it.

Wow, a joke about a joke gets nitpicked and is turned into defending the English language. I would say LMAO, but I'm not actually laughing my ass off, and I'd hate to start another quote-quote-quote derailment.

Oh, and also: Shimomura, Live A Live, Kingdom Hearts, arrange album.

tenninplusplus Feb 3, 2008 (edited Feb 3, 2008)

as a joke, it was lame, as is your LMAO snark.

Ashley Winchester Feb 3, 2008 (edited Feb 4, 2008)

tenninplusplus wrote:

Defending the English language is a dirty job, but someone's got to do it.

They're called English professors; let them do their job.

As for anyone else, I don't hold the crap written on an internet message board to the same standard as the writing from other outlets.

Vaeran Feb 4, 2008

I'm beginning to think we should all just pretend I never said anything at all.

SO HOW ABOUT THAT YOKO SHIMOMURA.

GoldfishX Feb 4, 2008

While I'm happy for her, I can't help but think there really aren't any Shimomura pieces I really care for that would work best in an orchestral setting...Darkness Nova would make a killer guest spot for Black Mages III though.

Amazingu Feb 4, 2008

Vaeran wrote:

I'm beginning to think we should all just pretend I never said anything at all.

SO HOW ABOUT THAT YOKO SHIMOMURA.

I'm pretty sure she sucks at English too

Zane Feb 4, 2008

Vaeran wrote:

I'm beginning to think we should all just pretend I never said anything at all.

SO HOW ABOUT THAT YOKO SHIMOMURA.

She's cute. smile

allyourbaseare Feb 4, 2008 (edited Feb 4, 2008)

Ramza wrote:

Yeah, PE Remixes was a disaster. The problem with it was that Shimomura didn't arrange it. Well, she did the opening track (which was awesome) and helped with the ending vocal (which was semi-awesome). The rest was crap and we all know it. So it's time for a real, GOOD arranged album.

Well, it wasn't that bad.  It wasn't mindblowing by any means, but there were a couple of decent tracks on there.

So, even though I'm arriving kinda late to this thread, let's recap:

Shimomura arrange album? OHMIGOSH!

Theoretical tracklist of glory:

1.  Primal Eyes
2.  Missing Perspective (FTMFW)
3.  Pain the Universe
4 - 6.  Super Mario RPG
8.  Front Mission
9.  Something else from LOM
10.  Hand in Hand (done right DAMMIT)
11.  Hollow Bastion
12.  FFXIII whatever.

Bernhardt Feb 5, 2008

GoldfishX wrote:

While I'm happy for her, I can't help but think there really aren't any Shimomura pieces I really care for that would work best in an orchestral setting...Darkness Nova would make a killer guest spot for Black Mages III though.

Well, y'know, there's both an orchestral and death metal version of it on the Dawn of Mana soundtrack...see Disc 4.

Razakin Feb 5, 2008

Bernhardt wrote:

death metal version of it on the Dawn of Mana soundtrack...see Disc 4.

Umm, umm... Way far away from death metal mate. More a bit rocking with weirdy vocals in it, but still, good arrange. ~

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