Definitely a beefy month.  Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Tamashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2 -- aka the sequel to the Best Game Ever -- is, of course, on the very top of my list.  I doubt I'll need very many games after this, but Heatseeker for the Wii looks potentially cool, as I've been itching for a good arcade-action flight sim.   Was going to check out the PS2 version of Tomb Raider Anniversary, but it seems to have been pushed back to June.

For soundtracks, Pirates 3: At World's End is my most highly anticipated so far this year, and depending how much I enjoy the music when I see Spider-Man 3 and Shrek The Third, I may go ahead and pick those up too.

For DVDs, I just picked up the Dreamgirls: Two Disc Showstopper Edition, and later this month, Frasier: The Complete Ninth Season.

You're kidding me... first it was January, then May. Oh, well... I'm not in any big hurry to play it anyway. Nothing other than that was on my radar as far as new releases were concerned.

Atelier Iris 3 (PS2) is preordered from NIS America.

I'll probably pick up Dawn of Mana and Odin Sphere (also PS2) but that's about it for May, and for my pocketbook.

Definite: Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Tamashii: Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2

Maybe: Elvandia Story Original Soundtrack and Mushihimesama Futari Original Soundtrack

I can't wait for more Ouendan!

-Mike

Games:

Taito Legends 2 (PS2)
Odin Sphere (PS2)

CDs:

Elvandia Story Original Soundtrack
Tales of Destiny Original Soundtrack
Mana-Khemia Original Soundtrack
Vielen Dank / Masashi Hamauzu

I'll probably be getting Vielen Dank because I worship the ground Hamauzu walks on.

Being a gust whore, I'll probably get Mana-Khemia OST and Volkslied 2 as well.

Ramza

Taito Legends 2 (PS2)

Definitely a winner
I LOVE these compilations! I just wish more would come out... does anyone know of more compilations coming here to the US?

cheers,

-avatar!

Mushihimesama Futari OST is pretty much my top item for May.

(and a week of vacation, gotta use it up before I loose it)

No VGM for me this month. As much as I would like to purchase Hamauzu's solo album and be tremendously let down by it, I'm going to pass. String and piano arrangements of songs I never really cared about in the first place (save the FFX tune) does not sound appealing to me in the least; give me an electronic arrange and we'll talk.

I second avatar's Taito Legends 2... Metal Black? G-DARIUS?! Yeah, cound me in.

Taito Legends 2 has me checking my calender much more often than I should. All those shmups (I paid $40 for JUST G Darius when it came out and came close to doing the same for Darius Gaiden), Bubble Symphony, the two recent Space Invaders games and a bunch of other stuff I can't wait to try (or at least play on my home system instead of MAME). That's just sick. The VC might end up obsolete if companies make a habit of putting out comps this good.

And Odin Sphere, which I remember from the last (get it? last?) E3 as being the sequel for Princess Crown and have followed pretty eagerly.

As for VGM, MAYBE the new Mushihimesama album, but it's a really miserable month. Mana-Khemia...Is this the familiar Atelier sound team? I might have to spring if it is...

GX - there's no Bubble Symphony on the PS2 version. I guess that was only on the Japanese XBox/PC versions.

Gah...Sonnofa...

Hmm, I wonder if I can import the EU (or Japanese) Xbox version. It seems like some Xbox games work on all systems (SF Anniversary did) and others don't...

Oh well, still a good deal for the PS2 version...Just not the mind-numbing and amazing one I had figured on.

Back to the lab for more research...

Odin Sphere has made it to the higher ranks of my anticipation list after reading so much good stuff about it.
And I'll probably get Wii RE4 when it comes out on 31st.

That's about it really.

Soundtracks

Hear, hear! Ever since hearing the first Mushi' game's OST, I've been on the hunt for all things Namiki. I'm loving ESPGALUDA II right now after finally getting adjusted to its ravey vibe.

Games

Command & Conquer 3 / XBOX360 - I'm not an RTS fan aside from the N64 version of StarCraft, which was basically identical to the PC version. I'm hoping that C&C3 and some "custom soundtracks" will draw me into many an all-night gaming session as StarCraft 64 did.

Forza Motorsport 2 / XBOX360 - I never played the first FM but I hear it's as good as Gran Turismo and in some ways better. It should play especially well with my MS Wireless Racing Wheel. PGR3 just didn't interest me anymore by the time the wheel was released.

War Tech: Senko no Ronde / XBOX360 - I forgot about this one! I'm not sure I'll dig the gameplay but with Yack's musical genius and the gorgeous artwork (I forget the artist's name) it's guaranteed to be a feast for the senses.

Music

David Torn /  Prezens - It was released last month but I'll pick it up soon. I've always loved his approach to guitar playing and his strong sense of melody and harmony. I've heard samples and it sounds like this could be his best work yet.

Planet X / Quantum - It's been over four long years since their last studio release. Planet X is the world's sickest instrumental band for those of you who don't know. Tony MacAlpine's absence gives me doubt as to how much they still sound like Planet X but at long last it's finally here!

What she said.

Add Grim Grimoire in June, as well.

Wii RE4 most likely, since I've never played it. And Taito Legends 2 gets better the more I hear about it...well, except the no-Bubble-Symphony bit.

Slim pickings this month in terms of gaming, but I'll be more than happy spending all my time on Ouendan 2 and PicPic: Toku to E ni Naru 3-tsu no Puzzle. Ouendan 2 needs no introduction, but PicPic has the most satisfying logic puzzles since Picross and Sudoku.

For DVDs, I might get Dinosaurs: The Complete 3rd and 4th Seasons if it's on sale.

For music, just Trance Paradise 5 to satiate my dance music fix and possibly Square Enix Battle Tracks Vol. 1 for nostalgia.

Games (all long-since pre-ordered):
Etrian Odyssey
Odin Sphere
Atelier Iris: Grand Fantasm
(I can't help but think that I'm missing something, but I know Sim City DS was delayed 'til mid-June)

Soundtracks:
Mana-Khemia OST
Volkslied 2 (the first one didn't impress me too much, but it's GUST and, like Ramza, I can't easily resist)

DVDs:

I'm a Cyborg, but that's OK (from the director of Oldboy)
Pan's Labyrinth

That's it.

To those of you picking up the PS2 RPGs, let me say this:

- Odin Sphere, from the bits I've played of the advanced English version, is well worth it.

- Atelier Iris 3 is, in many ways, more of the same...but IMO it's a hell of a lot more fun than AI2.

- Dawn of Mana...yeesh...if you say so!

Also, has anyone heard info on an Odin Sphere soundtrack yet? To date, nothing's been said, and I want one!

Ramza

Looking forward to that, is it out?  Alan Holdsworth is on a couple of tracks..

Also, in a very similar vain - Check out Alex Argento's "EGO" cd.  Just came out (samples are up on myspace).  Crazy talented (and young) maestro from Italy...You WILL be surprised..

It drops on the 22nd, although I hear that Derek Sherinian is selling copies that might be shipped before then.

I'll look into that Alex Argento album!

Games:
-Ouendan 2 (DS)
-Dawn of Mana (PS2)

DVDs:
-American Dad Vol. 2
-Kitchen Confidential Complete Series
-Scrubs Season 5

CDs:
-Elvandia Story Original Soundtrack
-Square Enix Battle Tracks Vol. 1
-PS2 Tales of Destiny Original Soundtrack
-VIELEN DANK -Masashi Hamauzu-

Only Odin Sphere looks interesting this month. I'll hold out for the inevitable EBA sequel, rather than importing Quendan 2.

I've been hearing bad things about Dawn of Mana... it's sales over in Japan were pretty low and magazines and players themselves have been taking a bat to it. Granted I haven't played it myself but I can help but feel disappointed already... I was hoping for a title that could help revitialize the seres.

The only thing that can save the series now is the termination of the producer (sorry, his name escapes me) who has been dragging it farther and farther down.

I don't think Kawazu was the culprit here (he did LoM). Ishii seems to be the name I'm getting from wikipedia.

I see you're still planning on buying it, though. ;p Brand loyalty?

Yeah, it's Ishii, his name is plastered all over the boards about the game

I was considering buying Final Fight for VC for a moment but when I remembered the horrible slowdown problems coupled with the ridiculously cheap AI, I decided to keep the points. Maybe I'll get Mystical Ninja instead. Now that the ONE version has come out and you can play Sega CD on the PC, I don't see a reason to own two versions of the SNES version despite it having some of the best music in the series. I'll wait for Final Fight 2 though...

Stiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiill waiting for Actraiser's US release.

Well, you have to understand that for a very long time, the SD series was my most favorite series that there ever there was.   Even though I knew CoM was shit before I bought it, I still got it to see for myself.  And the same is true for DoM.  I guess I'm still attached in some way.  FFX-2 was the last [new, non-remake] FF game I bought, so I was able to break myself from that series.  Sooner or later I'll probably break myself from Mana as well.

Oh well, I'm pulling for you. If you find anything decent about it, I wouldn't mind a first-hand impression.

Reminds me of when I bought Megaman X7, fully aware of how bad it was (but even I couldn't have guessed they'd have made the 2D sections as unplayable as they were).

In other news, I found out they released SNK vs Capcom: Cardfighters for the DS...Back in April! Talk about under the radar. I have it now and it's really...different from the Neo Geo Pocket Color version (one of my favorite games of all time). Instead of 3 character slots, you have 8 (!) and instead of laying a character each round, you actually "cast" cards with multiple forms of "mana" (yes, its' VERY Magic-like...Not sure if it's good or bad yet). Lot's of weird abilities, but with 8 slots, it's easy to pummel your opponent if you get a decent lead. Lot's of fun, although the novelty of having SNK vs Capcom has long since worn off and the navigation controls could be better (and no freaking Wifi...WHY!!??). The learning curve here is much steeper than the original...Whether it's better or not remains to be seen.

I wouldn't count on finding anything, but I'll give it a shot (assuming of course that I still have any ability to use my wrist after a weekend of Ouendan 2).

I did this as well, old habits unfortunately die hard.

I went in reverse order from you. Last Mana game I played was Sword of Mana for GBA (which I REALLY liked actually...), and I skipped out on Legend of Mana.

In contrast, I play everything with the words "Final Fantasy" printed on the box, whether I want to or not. Brand name loyalty indeed...

(though I still haven't gotten around to FFXII ... that'll be a summer project for me).

It's amazing how much I still love Square Enix even though I am regularly disappointed by the decisions they make.

Ramza

So wait... does this mean that you were so hard core you played every Final Fantasy (in name - not necessarily in gameplay or development team) spinoff with the same fervor as the core series?  In that case I'm impressed.  If you mean you wrote off the series as a whole because of one of those spinoffs, then I'm just disappointed.  I really don't understand how anyone actually views the FF games as a "series" anyway - I like about as many of them as I dislike.  The staffs always change and the gameplay tries different directions each time, so I tend to just judge them on a per-game basis as if they were truly unrelated.