Apparently Supersweep mastermind Shinji Hosoe is behind the arrangements!

http://www.gmronline.com/info.asp?CatNumber=KDSD-00174

I can already hear DG cheering with excitement over this one.

f---ing awesome, more hosoe, especially on Rockman.

Yeah, I'm dying to see the tracklist on this one. Hosoe ain't no joke, so we can at least rest knowing it's not going to be a generic techno album put together by a bunch of no-name arrangers.

Ugh. Should've seen this one coming.

One word: YES!!!

One word: Interesting...

I predict Elecman, Sparkman, Chargeman, Quickman and Brightman...All of those seem made for this type of arrange.

I'm game as long as it isn't "too techno" - I like techno elements went they presented in an easily digestable form (think Parasite Eve) but lose my way when they go all out (think Parasite Eve remix album)

If they get to the point where they're doing a six minute mix and maybe 2 minutes is the theme and the rest is just phat beats, this'll be stupid. Thankfully, Hosoe's got a good ear for old-school tunes and I expect he'll do the themes justice and mix in just enough craziness on the side.

I hope Napalm Man, Spark Man, Bubble Man, and Snake Man make this one!

If only we can get Street Fighter EX/escape goat/Driving Emotion-era Hosoe blended in with his Sampling Masters days. I don't know, I hope it's not too outlandish (like Ridge Racer material). I heart Hosoe, and have no doubt he'll lure in his partner in crime, Ayako Saso and maybe even Takayuki Aihara and *gasp* Yack Watanabe. Glad they gave Hosoe another Rockman project -- I thought EXE/GameCube was superb "fusion techno."

I would be surprised if this was a strictly Hosoe arrange album. He rarely arranges anything alone now; it's usually him, Saso and Yousuke Yasui (who has tons of potential). I have a feeling that t he Rock album is going to be hit-or-miss depending on your expectations or rock preferences, but this is a more broad album. Do any of us really know what to expect? O_o

Unfortunately, I have this one pegged as the hit-or-miss album. Based on just about every doujin techno arrange I've heard, it's going to be a lot trickier to make something compelling with the source material. Hopefully, they'll stay away from the generic phat beats and whiny lead synths I hear in so many of these type of arranges. It's actually kind of depressing being presented with an arrange of Airman's theme and having to turn it off less than a minute in because it's so damn annoying...

Besides, I see Megaman as more synthpop (which probably translates to many styles of rock a lot better) than I do the kind of techno I associate Hosoe and co. with.

Though come to think of it...A whole disc of what Hosoe did with "Fireman" in Megaman EXE Network Transmission would be excellent.

I think the techno treatment would work better on the Rockman X series, as there are some tunes there that sound like techno.

Really? I tend to think of much of RMX as straight-up hard rock (though with more synthesizers than you'd normally expect). That's the one I'd expect a full-on "metal" arrange for.

What tracks sound like techno?

I think the RMX series is too broad to really generalize as either rock or techno, because of the console synth used or the amount of futuristic/synth elements in each soundtrack. But, I would say that each general style is:

X1 - hard rock
X2 - rock-oriented, but more abstract and thin sounding compared to X1
X3 - synth-rock
X4 - electronic-influenced rock, or rock-influenced electronica
X5 - synth-rock with some electronic elements
X6 - smooth, light rock

True, but the guitar sounds used in the series are normally pretty distorted like you'd normally find in hard rock/metal, which is why I'd associate it more along with that and in the case of X2/X3, I don't normally think of synth-pop/synth-rock as techno (as blurry as that line can get). X8 is decidedly metal (a few tracks like Primrose aside) and X7 is...I dunno, just plain weird, but probably electronica-influenced rock.

I did forget how much of X5 had techno beats in the background. And I always thought X4 sounded strange in that it lacked the guitar sounds of the rest of the series (in sort of a good way, but it always sounded like it could sound more powerful than what it did).

Yeah, X2 was abstract, experimental but ultimately a laid-back, campy soundtrack throughout in many of the stages that would've had an easy adaptation to jazz-fusion influences if it were play out with instruments. I love X2's music and would love nothing more to have live instrument interpretations but can't help thinking it may have been a bit, weak and/or flat at times for use in the game.

Oops, I'm probably thinking of tracks from X4 and X5 then.  It's been a while since I played all of them.

Hosoe, and nothing but Hosoe? Damn... I hope he has strayed from his most generic techno style. I'd much rather have heard Koshiro, Fujimori or Hayama.

Or even the no-name arrangers as per Street Fighter vs. Street Musician!

Hoo boy. That album was... interesting, to say the least.

Well, I guess I've got to give Hosoe credit for his Ridge Racer tracks and whatever he did for Megaman Network Transmission alongside Ayako Sasoo and the third guy. Looking optimistically forward to the album despite the slight disappointment.

Hosoe is good, but I hope it's not only him. Hopefully Ayako Saso hops in too despite not being listed at GMR. I liked their arrangements on Pink Sweets, I hope it will be something along those lines. Just waiting to see the tracklist.

Cover art released (before tracklist?). Interesting choice of cover art, not so polar to Wily (OMG SPOILER).

http://www.team-e.co.jp/products_new/kd … index.html

There's track list now available on the above address:

01. Stage Sellect mix medley
02. Elecman mix
03. Dr.Wily 1 (Rockman2)mix
04. Quickman mix
05. Airman mix
06. Heatman mix
07. Snakeman mix
08. Magnetman mix
09. Dr.Wily 2 (Rockman4)mix
10. Starman mix
11. Flameman mix
12. Elecman (Original, Short Ver.)
13. Dr.Wily 1 (Original, Short Ver.)
14. Quickman (Original, Short Ver.)
15. Airman (Original, Short Ver.)
16. Heatman (Original, Short Ver.)
17. Snakeman (Original, Short Ver.)
18. Magnetman (Original, Short Ver.)
19. Dr.Wily 2 (Original, Short Ver.)
20. Starman (Original, Short Ver.)
21. Flameman (Original, Short Ver.)

Not very surprising choices, although I don't even know which games the Starman and Flameman tracks are from (I've only played Megamans 1-3 and X).

According to babelfish:

Hosoe which with ロックマンエグゼトランスミッション and BeatMania… DX 5th style serves arrangement participates! It does to become drunk from the techno sound of ド force, the れ ろ!

Babelfish translates hilariously but maybe there are some other arrangers as well? Or is that too far-fetched?

MM2's getting some love.

Star Man = MM5
Flame Man = MM6

Like the rock arrange album, the stage themes are arranged on the CD in game order: 1-6.

There might be more arrangers, but Hosoe composed a comple of tracks for IIDX 5th Style: "outer wall" and "tablets."

Well, I got 2/5 right as far as predictions for this one and I can see Starman translating well, plus MM4 Wily BGM 2 is always a welcome addition. But Airman!?

Well, hopefully this one turns out better than the arrange I was thinking of before. Considering how famous that 8-bit guitar solo is, I would've expected it to be on the other album.

As much as I, like others, dislike the thought of disc space being used for the original versions on these two albums, I can't help but hope that at the same time, these original versions would at least be remastered in some regard. I never liked how the Rockman 1-6 album sounds. It needs a big boost of early 90's Konami album reverb. Though that happening is probably less likely than any of these arrangements turning out well (which I still have faith in).

http://www.team-e.co.jp/products_new/kd … index.html

Samples are up !

Elecman sounds promising, while Dr.Wily Stage 1 might have a twist later.

I'm satisfied by these samples personally.

I hope others will feel the same way.

I likey , especially the Wily Mix

Disappointed by the samples so far; I was hoping for "club/raver/etc." style, but I daresay this's little more than remastering material, and doesn't sound any better than some fan remixes.

Have I mentioned how NONE of my favorites are being renditioned, and especially with themes like Elecman, Magnetman, they're doing some REALLY boring ones for this.

I ought to root through all of the other soundtracks I have already before I go getting anythign new, anyway...

I still suppose I'll end up getting this at one point, if only for lack of the existence of knowledge of anything else much better out there right now.

Wily 1 from Rockman 2 sounds engaging, Elec Man sounds flat. I'm not surprised about the samples here and I'm not too sure I'm expecting any surprises on the album as a whole. I feel that way about both of these 20th Anniversary arranges.

I can't bring myself to listen to the samples. I'd rather wait until I receive the album and take it all in at once than hear the songs now. Talk about willpower, which I usually have none of. I'll be away from this thread for a few weeks so I don't hear or see anything I'm not ready for yet.

I've never cared much for RM1's music, and Elec Man's them is dull no matter how you arrange it.  The Dr. Wily 1 mix is good, but considering how good the source material is (one of game music's best tracks ever), it's pretty hard to screw it up.

THANK YOU!! At least there's someone who sees things the way I do for once...

Actually, outside a few themes (Cut Man, Guts Man, Wily Stage 1 and Wily Stage Boss - the latter being kind of annoying) I'm not a big enthusiast of the first Rockman soundtrack either. Still, I don't think it's importance and place in history should/will be forgotten.

Probably the biggest problem I've run into with Rockman 1 is there are many different fan mixes/doujins and even official albums (Power Fighters) that add so much each respective song that the most of the originals, despite the charm of the NES synth can't compete with - whereas something like Rockman 2 is great in it's original form or in the hands of a skilled arranger.