Back in the summer, I looked at the upcoming releases and noticed this really cool-sounding soundtrack which had Motoi Sakuraba, Kooji Hayama, Norihiko Hibino, Yuuzoo Koshiro... then I forgot about it.

And then, later (some time before now, and ongoing), I played Half-Minute Hero. Sakuraba, Hayama, a bunch of other people, and really good music! Most of the soundtrack is composed by lesser known names Minako Adachi and Megumi Komagata, but it's often hard to say which track is by a better recognized composer, they all fit together so well. Certainly, when you're near the end of the game, you've got a very obvious Sakuraba piece playing, and it fits the mood perfectly, but most of the time when when looking at the credits, I was surprised, "Whoa, that was Hayama! And that one was by Hibino?!"

So the big name composers make sort of guest appearances on the soundtrack, which like the game has a retro aesthetic, but that doesn't really mean chiptunes as much a condensation of RPG style. Really good, fast battle music, which often lasts a short time due to the game's nature, and really good cheerful tunes like The Hero Arrives! and Casablanca.

High recommendation for this one and the game itself!