My selections from June 2009's releases:

Games:
-Final Fantasy IV: The After Years (Wii)
-The Legendary Starfy (DS)
-Flower, Sun, and Rain (DS) [maybe, depends on reviews]
-The Conduit (Wii) [only if it gets good reviews, but not until it gets cheap]
-Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 (PS3) [assuming the rumored late June release date is accurate]

CDs:
-Castlevania: Pachislot Original Soundtrack
-Gyakuten Kenji Original Soundtrack

DVDs/BRDs:
-Family Guy Vol. 7

I'm still stunned (and delighted) that Starfy's finally coming out of Japan, so yeah, The Legendary Starfy is a definite.  Assuming Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled is still on track, I'd be willing to check it out; allyourbaseare, thanks for bringing this one to our attention.  I'll undoubtedly be giving Final Fantasy IV: The After Years a download, and we'll also be getting Let's Tap!  I've also started a bad trend by picking up the Guitar Hero On Tour games, so I might have to pick up Modern Hits to continue.

As a game, I'm still hesitant on BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger.  As said, I was never big on Guilty Gear's fighting mechanics, but the Limited Edition PS3 packaging is simply too sexy to pass up.  Prototype looks like a more visceral, faster-moving version of InFamous, so it might be worth checking out.   

The samples have been terrific, so I'll definitely be dropping for the two-disc Gyakuten Kenji Original Soundtrack.  Curious about that Castlevania: Pachislot Original Soundtrack, as well as Uematsu's Guin Saga Original Soundtrack.

I haven't really been in a gaming mood for over a month... but regardless, I'll be picking up the FFIV: The After Years download. What can I say? I'm an FFIV junkie.

Also, Giacchino's "Land of the Lost" is a good bet. Definitely curious about "Guin Saga."

I haven't bought a videogame soundtrack in several years now. FFXII was the last one. I'm not sure if it's because of declining quality or simple lack of interest.

I'll be dloading FFIV: The After today, and picking up the blu-ray of FFVII: Advent Children Complete tomorrow.

Dang, how could I forget this one? 

And while we're talking, Jablonsky's Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen - Score From The Motion Picture Soundtrack as well.

Holy crap FFIV: The After totally throws me back to my childhood playing FFII for SNES.  So good.  This is by far the best thing for me since finishing up FFIV DS.  (Henry Hatsworth, sorry you're falling by the wayside while I go through this.)

Worth noting is that FF4: TAY actually costs $37 if you want the whole game ($8 + $3 x 7 short episodes + $8 final episode).  So far, I'm enjoying it, but I wonder just how many hours of gameplay that $37 gets.

Oh my Lord (no pun intended) you kidding me, you have to buy the game in flipping installments? I can totally understand the idea of paying for expansions but this?

Basically what I'm getting is: Moo.

Money well spent IMO.  It's about the same price as a DS game.  You don't have to buy every chapter if you don't want to either so you can tailor your experience according to how much you feel like paying.

There's things about "FFIV: The After Years" that I like. At the same time, it's hard to notice them when going through a dungeon that I've been through countless times in FFIV and its endless ports and remakes.

The game feels lazy, honestly. Aside from the regurgitation of artwork, music and locations, there's the sloppy writing and bland characterization. The new characters have zero personality and the old characters barely feel like themselves. And it's easy to criticize the storytelling of the first few SNES FFs... but after playing through the first chapter of this, FFIV is a frickin' piece of literature.

Oh, and the encounter rate is on the level of an early Tales game. Take four steps... FIGHT! ... take two steps... FIGHT! This wouldn't be too much of an issue if the battles were fun... but they're either too easy or mindcrushingly difficult (thanks to whatever moon phase you're unlucky to be stuck in).

So what do I like about the game? I'll admit it is fun to return to the world of FFIV and I'm still hoping that the story gets interesting. There have also been a few boss fights that have kept me on the edge of my seat. I just wish the rest of the game followed suit.

Yep. Sounds like FFIV to me!

I guess some things don't change.

Angie:

"Land of the Lost" samples: http://www.michaelgiacchinomusic.com/di … helost.htm

It's definitely Giacchino, in a very eclectic mood. Some cues sound like "Lost", others sound like "Speed Racer" on crack. I doubt it'll make for a coherent listening experience but at least he had a ball writing it.

Not current releases, but the two Blue-rays on my list for this month are

RANSOM (Mel Gibson, 1996)

EAGLE-EYE (Shia LaBeouf, 2008)

"Eclectic" is certainly a choice word.  He's definitely using a new instrumentation set the likes I haven't heard before; so far, I've made out tribal percussion, a banjo and even a Jew's harp.  Despite that, it might be a tough listen out of context - I'm not hearing a solid thematic foundation or good flow of melody from the samples.

The track listing's names undoubtedly rock, though.  ^_~

Let's see:

Music:

Bright Kingdom Online Original Soundtrack
Guin Saga Original Soundtrack
7th Dragon Strings and Piano Super Arrange Version
Ketsui Arrange Album (sure, it came out in May, but I bought a copy this month)

I think that's it for me, barring any spur of the moment purchases.

Alright, Land of the Lost...

While listening to it, I couldn't help but feel I could make a fairly decent 30-minute playlist out of this. Maybe. There's just too many tracks that are a minute or shorter and most of them don't contribute much to the overall fabric. Unlike Star Trek (which could have used some more unreleased material), this is definitely a case of more is less.

The score itself sounds like a beefed-up, less coherent Lost. The thematic material is lean (at least from my first listen) and far too often, the music plays the mickey mouse game. There's some decent action cues hiding in here and one or two good emotional tracks, but out of the four Giacchino releases this year, this is the weakest.

Favorite track? The kickass end credits, where Giacchino has two of the major motifs battle it out, via orchestra, theremin and rock band.

Haven't heard the full soundtrack yet, but from what you're saying (and judging by the samples), this seems more suited as a contextual score than a stand-alone.

Thing is, I'm a little hesitant on checking this one out in the theaters.  It hasn't exactly been garnering the best of reviews, but something tells me it could be a fun cinematic outing all the same.  Hmm.....

Oh, there are definitely highlights on the soundtrack... and while listening to it again, I'm already getting the impression there's far more to it than I noticed on first listen. It's just not an instant gratification score like "Up" (for me) was. Giacchino is far too good a composer to write on auto-pilot, even when the source material isn't up to par.

The movie doesn't sound like a classic. I'll probably wait for it on blu-ray. I'm not a Will Ferrell fan.

Not really a June release, but I was at a Game Crazy this weekend and asked the clerks (with some sarcasm) if they had a game boy micro.  They pointed me to the silver model complete in the box for $50!  I've been wanting one for awhile now (I'll be getting a dsi soon enough, so the old one goes away).  Needless to say I was stoked!

Also, Game Boy Micro + Final Fantasy IV advance = MFWIN.

Sweet find!  I don't think my Micro ever leaves my bag; it's pretty much become an electronic on-the-go mainstay, along with my phone and iPod.  About the only qualm I have with it is that it's so easy to accidentally hit the hard-switch power button - there's been a number of times when I took it out, only to find it in the "on" position, and the battery completely drained.

And I still think it's bullshit the way they never included a matching faceplate with your base color.

RESIDENT EVIL ARCHIVES - $30

No more stupid disc-swapping.

Just got my copy of the Bright Kingdom Online soundtrack. Good stuff, mostly action-packed, fast-paced action RPG techno, with some classical and ethnic motifs sprinkled through-out.

Definitely going to get the Castlevania Pachislot and Guin Saga soundtracks when I can afford to spend the money, although, 3675Y ($40) for Guin Saga, even though it's only a 2-disc set? Whassup wit dat?!