December is approaching. And with it temperature is dropping *grabs the wool socks*

The preorders:
LACA-9256~7 | GIRLS und PANZER Original Sound Track (Hamaguchi scores a cutesy anime series, this guy is on a roll!)

The "interesting"-list:
SICP-3758 | One Piece Film Z Original Soundtrack (a collaboration between Tanaka and Hamaguchi)
CPCA-10283 | We are ROCK-MEN! 2 (second album by ROCK-MEN, I really liked the first one)
Rakujitsu no Mayoigo (best-of album for the Laq-Quara series by Shimotsuki)
SRIN-1106 | Namco Music Saloon ~ from GO VACATION (does Hibino pull off another jazzy arrange?)

The "meh"-list:
SQEX-20010 | FINAL FANTASY Orchestra Album [Blu-ray] (can't really say anything here without some more information about the arranged tracks)
CPCA-10281~2 | Monster Hunter Orchestra Concert ~Shuryou Ongakusai 2012~ (the previous MH orchestra albums were pretty much hit or miss for me)

Yeah, not much here. Especially note the void of game music albums. So help me fill it!

Greets,
liquid

My plans:

SQEX-10358~9 | Final Fantasy Tribute ~Thanks~
N/A | RARE SQ

Also plan on picking up the FF Orchestra Blu-ray+Vinyl ltd ed release and the 25th anniversary box along with the memorial Ultimania books too.

The only December release that truly looks essential to me is this unruly titled humdinger:

GUN FRONTEIR/METAL BLACK DINO REX Sound Tracks for Digital Generation ~GameMusic Discovery Series~

I'm also interested in this:

Namco Music Saloon ~ from GO VACATION

Though I doubt it can surpass This is NAMCO!

ROCKMAN HOLIC
First anniversary album I've cared about this year, and that's only because I know/like SOUND HOLIC from their other works and can't see them screwing up as bad as the Rockmen. Really liked that track sample that was over at VGMdb.

*cough* this seems significant:

http://vgmdb.net/album/34977

It's the only thing I've preordered for this month.

The FFXII Piano Collections finally has a listing for the sheet music!

http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/463689362X

Out Dec 23.

nothing for me this month it seems.

Hey man, thanks for finding this!

For those that ordered the Limited Edition Zelda Twilight Symphony, it should ship in December!

http://twilight-symphony.com/

I was going to pick that up, but it sounded too much like The Zelder Scrolls VI: Hyrulim for my tastes.

Pretty good cover...but I swear to God if Rockman 2 Wily Stage 1 is one of the tracks, somebody's getting pimp smacked.

I hear ya, I know it's not the same as the in-game soundtrack, and some tracks are more bombastic (it is orchestrated with live instruments after all), but overall I think it's superb and really captures the feeling of the game and the Zelda series! All the really beautiful tracks are there, and they're awesome
Well, it's not for everyone, but in my case this was a most definitely must-have! They released a 45-minute sample compilation for anyone interested

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUQPTNc4TZk

As a disclaimer to my above statement, Skyrim was hands-down one of my favorite OSTs of 2011. The more bombastic stuff from Twilight Symphony just isn't up my alley, but the less pompy songs do sound pretty good. If it was more of a traditional arrange album than a modern Western-sounding fan-album (think along the lines of Hyrule Orchestra) I would have absolutely picked it up. TP has some great music!

IMO the Twilight Symphony is geared too much toward epicness. Epic as in the forced type, like from trailer music (think Two Steps From Hell e.g.) -- it quickly stops being interesting. I like listening to TSFH from time to time, but 3hrs of it straight into the face... I'd probably die *g*

I think I read that they wrote the music to tell the whole tale. So that in some ways you're supposed to listen to it from start to finish. As I mentioned above, it's not for everyone. Still, it has the following going for it

1)it's arranged, which is great for those of us that like arranged, especially symphonic!
2)there was never an official OST
3)it's a limited edition

so when it's all said, I really can't believe this will be anything less than spectacular!

IIRC it's a hybrid. It uses partly (fake) synth orchestra combined with the real choir. Kinda like "The Unsung War" from AC5.

Yeah, it seems to be a combination of real and fake instruments.  Still sounds interesting, though.  Even if I hate it, I figure I'll have no trouble selling off something that was so incredibly limited.

It's not just a real choir, it's real instruments along with some synth.

I said "partly" for a reason.

Ah, gotcha
I realize this soundtrack isn't for everyone, but honestly I haven't been this excited about a soundtrack in a long time! Finally, a soundtrack to Twilight Princess...huzzah!

So far pre-ordered these few:

1. Appare! Tenka Gomen Soundtrack CD Ooedo Enka! - Elements Garden...I like their music too much and also completist syndrom here.
2. Imasugu Oniichan ni Imouto datte Iitai! Original Soundtrack 1 -Elements Garden...
3. CODE:BREAKER Original Soundtrack - Takayuki Hattori is my favorite composer and music in anime is excellent!
4. GIRLS und PANZER Original Sound Track - Shiro Hamaguchi...there´s never enough of Hamaguchi
5. K vol.3 Bonus CD - Mikio Endo - vol.2 bonus CD contains some good groovy music so pre-ordering this was only option for me.

Planned for pre-order:
Jormungand vol.2
Medaka Box Abnormal
One Piece Film Z
Say "I love you". MUSIC & DRAMA COLLECTION Vol.2

The tracklist is here for the Final Fantasy Orchestral Album and vinyl:
http://store.jp.square-enix.com/detail/SQEX-20008-9

Track 23 i'm hoping will be epic!  A FF I-XIV Battle Medley. 

Edit: samples here

http://www.square-enix.co.jp/music/sem/ … /tracklist

Tracklist for RARE SQ (from Village Vanguard's website)
http://vvstore.jp/i/vv_000000000040271/

Covers Soukaigi, Brave Fencer Musashi, LIVE A LIVE, EINHANDER, The World Ends With You, Seiken Densetsu 2, FF III/V/VI, and another chiptune medley from FF VII.

Also contains SQ PARTY Level.4 Live Set by The LASTTRAK.

More samples are up.  FFIV sounds similar to the Chicago DW orchestration, but the sample isn't long enough to compare.  Sounds great tho.  there is a bit of the FF I~XIV Battle medley too.. gives me goosebumps... FFIV's Fight 2... schweeetttt.

When I was in Chicago with Nobuo Uematsu and Hiroki Ogawa, they mentioned that the DW version is the one that is appearing on the album.

Two releases that were never mentioned:
Ys Zanmai
Cotton OST

Granted Ys Zanmai is a festival release.  Hopefully it'll become more widely available later.  I know nothing about the music of Cotton (four discs of it), just that the game was one of those I remember mentioned in the old days of EGM and Gamefan as one of those quirky Japanese titles that never come to the U.S (though according to Wikipedia the Turbografx-16 and Neo Geo Pocket Color versions did).

Avatar, I see that you've put your copy of Twilight Symphony up for sale.  Did you end up not enjoying it as much as you expected to?