Boy, its been slow here lately! Is it because we're smack in the middle of summer? I really can't blame you then, I'm burning up these days! But let's get the VGM-talk going again, shall we? C'mon pussycats, let me see some smiles!

Maybe the silence is because we've finally reached that point where everything has been discussed countless times already and there's nothing more to say. In situations like these, you have to go back to the basics, so let's do a topic that could've been from 1996 or something (although we presumably have a lot more possible picks now than we had then)!

Which are your all-time favourite game music arrange albums? No rules, you can pick as many/few as you like, and you can motivate/describe as much/little/nothing at all as you like. Of course, mini-reviews, sound clip links, and the like will be much appreciated if provided. I have some shopping to attend to right now, will post my picks when I get back.

I have quite few; CREID, Vent ~ Grandia Arrange Album, Feena, Varia Suite, secret of mana +, Psyvariar "The Mix". Will be posting some comments of the albums bit later this week. Gotta let my thoughts boil up bit on this heat we're now having in Finland.

You just ain't whistlin' dixie there DK. I've been clamoring for something to post about. I mean can't someone piss someone else off and make a few sparks?

Anyway, there aren't many arrange albums I'd put my money down on. There is just something about them (similar to live albums for bands) that just doesn't tickle my fancy. I will say Wild Arms -rocking heart- worth a listen if you haven't heard it, but the title is somewhat of a misnomer. Rockman X is good as well, although I personally like my Mega Man music to have more punch.

The list of disappointments is unfortunately longer... the Rockman 1~6 techno and rock albums left a bad taste in my mouth and [/b]ZX Soundsketch[/b] was an exercise in pointlessness. I would hope Mythos is better... speaking of that album, can anyone give me the lowdown on what they thought of it?

Rockman 9 Arrange is in constant rotation on my player, as is Shadow Hearts Near Death Experience. One of my biggest misgivings about arrange albums is that they might be too arranged and I won't be able to make out what should be a recognizable melody. This happened with the Rockman X arranged album; So much of the material was so off the beaten path that it almost felt like a disc full of original music. I can think of three tracks that I was readily able to distinguish as arranges.

Not so with the Rockman 9 Arrange. Each song takes the source material and adds a distinct flavour to it, always sounding different with each track, but also never really deviating from the source melody. It was nice that they were able to do that. Makes for a great listen.

Same with NDE, though I suspect not a lot of folks will share my warm sentiments for that disc.

I'm sitting here trying to think of albums and I'm not coming up with much, even though I know I've got quite a few favorites. My CDs are all packed up in boxes right now so I can't just glance over them....

Most FF arrange albums are good, but I can't pick a favorite. Maybe one of the Potion albums since they feature a pretty nice selection. CREID is definitely a favorite. Mitsuda preserved the beauty of the originals while adding even more to what was already there. Great vocal work and musicianship. Star Ocean: The Second Story Fantasy Megamix is a great little CD. I like it more than the first arrange album but I'm not sure why. Valkyrie Profile Arrange Album tops them both though; it raises my adrenaline. I enjoy Wild Arms -rocking heart- too, although I have to skip a number of tracks on there. Half the time I just skip right to the final track. You know what I'm talking about. And lastly, I love all the Genso Suikoden Celtic/Asian albums.

OK, my list... In no particular order.

-Iridion Perfect Selection
-Turrican
-Biohazard Orchestra
-Dracula Judgment
-Double Dragon II - The Revenge
-FF 10 Piano
-Metroid Metal - Varia Suite
-Shadow Hearts NDE
-Okami Piano
-SaGa Frontier II Piano
-Phantasy Star Sound Collection I (the arrange disc)
-Shining Force II Symphonic Suite
-Persona 2 Punitive Dance
-Dracula Battle I & II
-Secret Of Mana +
-Persona 3: Burn My Dread - Reincarnation
-Mother 1 + 2
-Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner (the arrange disc)
-Resident Evil OST Remix (...if it counts)

To be honest, I think the "Ruins Type 2" remix takes the cake; it's somewhat underrated IMO.

With a small handfull of exceptions, anything from the mid-90's from Konami or Falcom with the words "Perfect Collection" or "Perfect Selection" in them. These are pretty universal mainstays all around for me that have retained their listening pleasure once the excitement over just finding them died down. Also of note: The Turbo Duo arranges for Ys 1-3. Also, the Ys Perfect Collection's distant cousin: The Megami Tensei I&II Yonemitsu Arrange. The 80's lover in me simply will not stop loving the original JDK Band...which would be an awful thing if I weren't such a big fan of the 80's.

Any King of Fighters arrange from 94-97 is awesome. On that note, both King of Fighters '98 Original Soundtrack and Guilty Gear X: Heavy Rock Tracks are comprised of highly charged arrangements and represent the best versions of the tracks provided for the most part (likewise, the chiptune arranges of SNK vs Capcom: Match of the Millenium and King of Fighters R1 and R2). All four Tokimeki Memorial Sound Collections are rock solid, although I'll always be biased towards the second one. Street Fighter Alpha 2 Underground Mixxes has never lost its' charm.

Both Star Ocean: Second Story Arrange and Valkyrie Profile Arrange made me a huge fan of Motoi Sakuraba (and consequently, made all the arrange albums since Till The End of Time's sound extremely lackluster). Game Music Graffiti has some real duds on it (the Famicom Disc ones mostly...which unfortunately covers Metroid and Kid Icarus), but the 2/3 that is good is REALLY good and nostalgic. How can I not favor an album that arranges the main theme of Solar Striker? And how about that F-Zero X Guitar Arrange?

Vocal arrange-wise, Sakura Wars 2 Song Collection has reached the status of being "so good, I tend to leave it off my music player in hopes of finding something else equally amazing...Oh, and also because I've listened to this thing to death!". To Heart 2 Character Song Selection takes the sugary melodies from the game's OST and does them full justice. Falcom Vocal Collection 4 is a compilation of image songs from a lot of different Falcom drama arranges, but ends up being a very nice collection overall.

Gotta give a shout-out to a little known gem: Cotton 100% Full Arrange. Wacky, mindless and fun stuff that takes the entire score from the game and completely energizes it (and I love the original music to begin with). Very fun to just plop into a tracklist. Goes with anything pretty much.

Phantasy Star Sound Collection 1 is easily my #1. Does the tunes it covers full justice, particularly the two Medley tracks. The ONLY drawback is the track selection, but arranging the PS1 field themes or the PS2 battle or main town theme would have made it too perfect, so I guess they had to stuff more PS3 on to curtail the perfection issue. So I guess the way I would make this one better is to make it more backwards compatible with PS2.

As for more recent stuff, the first Black Mages has retained its' longevity (it had fallen out of favor a bit, but lowering the damn volume with Wavgain actually made a huge difference to the listenability on this one). Dodonpachi and ESPGaluda -Perfect Remix- remains one of the only techno arranges I've actually liked. Rockman 10 Image Album needs a special mention: Half of it is junk, but the tracks that really nail their respective themes are amazing and some of the most addicting and rocking VGM I've heard in a LONG time. I'd be very pleased hearing more classic Rockman done up like the rest of these arranges.

On the doujin side, major pops to Legend of Xanadu -Kleene-, Preludio and Raydrick (Ragnarok Online arrange by Akineko).

Whee!!! Arrange albums!!!!

Ah, so it was an arrange album. I was always confused about that. I have a sealed one I picked up from the marketplace, but VGM said it was an "original soundtrack".

How is it? I don't want to unleash it from it's plastic prison.

How cruel!

Wow, Goldfish's elaborate post made me feel a bit crummy for just posting a faceless list. Me, the thread-starter of all people! Let's try to say something about these...

-Iridion Perfect Selection

My all-time favourite arrange album, and one of my favourite albums ever, period. Old-school chiptune shmup music done for the GBA in 2003 and arranged just perfectly by composer Manfred Linzner, intense and melodic. A triumph for European game music, give us a reprint, please!

-Turrican

Another great German album, representing the very best from maestro Chris Hülsbeck, a man that needs no introduction around these parts. You can skip each and every one of his other CDs: its all here! Infectious synthy melodies that will never leave once they're lodged in your brain.

-Biohazard Orchestra

Orchestrated passages from Biohazard's classic period (1 - 3). Not very chilling, but beautiful.

-Dracula Judgment

Half of it is "meh", but the other half is like getting a Dracula Battle III with a slightly more modern sound to it.

-Double Dragon II - The Revenge

Created during the end of 1989, this album highlights all that was good about late 80s/early 90s arranged VGM. Melodic, straight-forward, powerful, cheesy, and oh-so-addictive. Can you believe I got mine for $35? Sorry, that last part wasn't necessary, I just wanted to gloat a bit.

-FF 10 Piano

Only good FF piano album, in my opinion. Unlike most VGM-composers, Masashi Hamauzu actually can write and arrange for piano. Its not Scriabin or Chopin, sure, but its getting closer...

-Metroid Metal - Varia Suite

Metroid-tunes rearranged as heavy metal. Yep. This had to happen someway, sometime, and seeing as Nintendo are too retarded to ever get the idea, the fans had to take matters into their own hands.

-Shadow Hearts NDE

A bit uneven, but, yes, I like it. The tracks that manage to rise above being aimless muddle are godly (I'm thinking mainly of NDE, Astaroth, Twilight Street, and Ala Of Sacrum).

-Okami Piano

I find the OST to be a bit overrated, but for some reason, this album really caught my ear. The score's minimalistic character is more potent when being expressed by a solo piano.

-SaGa Frontier II Piano

Another one filed under the "Better than it's OST"-heading. Piano was always Hamauzu's main skill, so this album is like taking the SF2 OST and stripping it down to the bare essentials, retaining what makes it great in a pure, crystallized form.

-Phantasy Star Sound Collection I (the arrange disc)

What Goldfish said, except for the PS3-hate. The ending tracks and Searren theme are awesome.

-Shining Force II Symphonic Suite

A sense of playfulness and adventure permeates the whole disc, which makes it much more appealing to me than most of the dreary "symphonic suites" out there. The sax on track 2 is killer, and the quieter moments are very soothing.

-Persona 2 Punitive Dance

Not as good as it should have been, considering the source material. It makes the list thanks to it's eclectic and experimental nature. Based around the idea of arranging each track in a different "dance" style, from Eurodance to Waltz. Some duds, but some real highlights, too.

-Dracula Battle I & II

Am I the only one who likes the second one more than the first one? And as for writing a comment for these: are you shittin' me? Its Dracula Battle.

-Secret Of Mana +

An unique animal in VGM-land. Not as obsessed with it as I was, say, 10 years ago, but its still a great listen when the mood grips me.

-Persona 3: Burn My Dread - Reincarnation

I like the way this CD expands and builds upon the original tracks. Very glossy surface, but there is substance underneath. Either that, or I've been brainwashed by 100+ hours of P3 gameplay into liking it, knee-jerk-reaction style.

-Mother 1 + 2

The best official Mother CD, in my opinion (not that the competition is very fierce... ). Takes the best themes from the first two games and arranges them in a conventional, VGM-synth-arrangement style. The compositions from Mother 1 really come into their own (whatever that means) when taken beyond the limitations of the Famicom sound.

-Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner (the arrange disc)

The original Saturn Devil Summoner game's soundtrack is still one of my favourites in the SMT pantheon. The second disc of the OST is a live performance of arranged tunes from the game done in different styles. Most of the disc is pretty low-beat and mellow, but there are some rockin' moments as well, like the first track, Song of Death, the only example of pure death metal I'm aware of in VGM (complete with hilarious Engrish lyrics).

-Resident Evil OST Remix

It has to be said: people are clueless when it comes to RE music. The first PSX game had the best soundtrack in the series, by far, yet it is almost never mentioned nowadays. This CD has music from the game done in slightly different synth, and on some tracks, it even has the outrageously crappy and funny dialogue from the game. Great stuff all around, like listening to a highly entertaining B horror movie. This series really lost a lot of personality after the first two PSX games...

Like I wrote above, it could've been better, but its good enough to be freed from it's plastic prison and enjoyed by you. What's the point of keeping music sealed up, anyway? Its meant to be heard.

I wouldn't say PS3 hate, I just think some of the arranges in that section drag, even though they're well done. This is in direct contrast to the medleys, which just completely blow my mind the whole time they're on.

Ah yes, Double Dragon II Arrange. I forgot about this sucker somehow. Pretty essential listening for the old-school gamer. I'll see that and raise you the Ninja Gaiden II Arrange Album, in all of its' quirky, uneven glory. I'm not going to put up much of an argument on Mother 1+2 either. Very nice stuff. The Twoson arrangement is an example of how to perfectly arrange something that was already killer without getting too flashy.

I CAN make an argument for Dracula Battle 2 being stronger, if only because it has tunes that were unfamiliar and are every bit as good as the more recognizable ones from Dracula Battle 1. "Den" to me has always been one of the best songs CV has to offer and the arrangement of "Illusionary Dance" is just outright ballsy (I'm big on the Rondo soundtrack in general, but these arranges really take the tracks to the next level) and "Theme from Legend of Dracula" is way better to me than the two slower tracks from DB1. On the other hand...Beginning? Again? I'm one of the poor saps who had a copy of Castlevania III that would freeze up after 10 minutes of play most of the time. The last thing I want is MORE Beginning. lol And Road of Enemy is one of the few throwaway Battle arrangements in the series of albums. I think Dracula Battle 1 is a way more brainless pick overall though...It has Bloody Tears on it, so that's why it has my vote.

Without being too self-indulgent, I've compiled my Top 20. Admittedly, I haven't taken to owning every one of these (yet), but they've stood the test of time -- a good seven years of arranged game music listening to get to where they are on my list. Now if you detect a trend here...

01.  ROCKMAN X Alph-Lyla With Toshiaki Ohstubo
02 . F-ZERO
03.  Super Mario World
04.  Kukeiha Club pro-fusion ~Salamander~
05.  Falcom Special Box '92 (Disc 2 / Super Arrange Version)
06.  Chrono Trigger The Brink of Time
07.  Double Dragon II
08.  Perfect Selection XEXEX
09.  V'BALL
10.  Genso Suikoden III Music Collection ~Rustling of the Wind~
11.  Insector X
12.  Arc the Lad Original Game Soundtrack
13.  HEART SESSION
14.  Keys of the city
15.  Perfect Selection Dracula ~New Classic~
16.  Wild Arms Music the Best -rocking heart-
17.  PERFECT COLLECTION SORCERIAN Vol.2
18.  Final Fantasy XI - Music from the Other Side of Vana'diel THE STAR ONIONS
19.  Perfect Selection Dracula
20.  SEGAROCK VOL. 01 & 02

Almost Top 20...

The Legend of Xanadu SUPER ARRANGE VERSION
Perfect Selection Gradius Part 2
Kukeiha Club pro-fusion ~Tokimeki Memorial~
Super Mario Bros. 3 - Akihabara Electric Circus
Perfect Selection Dracula Battle
Perfect Selection Konami Shooting Battle II
FZ Series "AXIS"
Perfect Selection Sound Racing History
MOTHER
R-Type Special
F-ZERO X Guitar Arrange Edition

holy crap,, just ordered this now with the t-shirt deal...

Agreed.

I've never seen anybody dislike this album, let alone criticizing the track selection, but personally, I was hugely let down by the fact no single battle track was there This was a big flaw to me, because those battle themes were why I loved the OST. Considering that "Feldschlacht V" which was later released in his solo albums turned out to be disappointing,  though, maybe I wouldn't have been satisfied either way.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. There's a "Feldschlacht V"? This I got to hear. I love the Feldschlachts, especially the first one.

Edit:

Ok, it's easy to see why that was cut from the game. There isn't a battle in the game that calls for a piece that sappy.

Allow me to be the first. Actually, I don't dislike it. It's a very good album with some tracks that I really like, but I've always had a rather ho-hum feeling about it. Kinda like how I feel about Live Music by Piano and Strings: Sekaiju no MeiQ I & II Super Arrange Version. I'll start listening to it and think, "Wow, this is gorgeous music--like poetry." And then about halfway through my ears will start itching and I'll have to appease them with something like Guilty Gear's "Simple Life."
I like the little sheet music booklet that came with the SFII Piano album though. One time I followed along with the music as I listened, and it was just cool to see how the score before my eyes should rightfully sound. I can read music, but my sense of timing and volume dynamics are hopeless.

I'd say it's because Jodo recently announced his departure, and I haven't seen vert1 around for a while either.

Those 2 were always good at stirring some heated discussion.

On-topic!

I actually just realised arrange albums tend to lose their appeal to me over time.
The original music will always be great, but arranged music just starts sounding dated for some strange reason. I know that doesn't make any sense by the way.

I'm not that hot on Piano albums, but FFVIII and FFX were pretty good, as was Saga Frontier II.
I also rather liked that promotional CD for FFX-2. It only had a handful of tracks, but they were all much better than the ones used in the game.

I guess I should mention the Black Mages and to a lesser extent BMII, as well as Fithos Lusec Vecos Winosec (I hope I got that wrong).

Cio Vanni Galli is really good too.

DQVIII is the only DQ orchestral album that ever managed to hold my attention.

Drammatica is awesome.

Brink of Time is hit or miss, but the hits are really damn fine.

Non-Squenix-wise, geez, I dunno.

Pretty much every Capcom related AST I know has lost its appeal, including all Rockman Albums (although I still rather enjoy the MMX AST) and Biohazard Orchestral.
The Rockman Zero albums are still great though, but they're "remasters" officially.

Dracula New Classic is the only Konami AST I ever enjoyed.

Oooh, Actraiser Symphonic, that's a good one! One of my favorites.

Battle Arena Toshinden Retake & Remix has some good stuff too.

Also, remixes that are actually used in the games tend to be good too, like the Rockman Perfect Works games and the first Street Fighter Alpha.

Ys Chronicles! YES!

And now I'm done.

I recognize that feeling, especially associated with "softer" music, such as piano or down-tempo music in general. After a while, you just want something with more of a punch to it. However, in the case of SF2, what you described perfectly sums up my own thoughts of the OST. I like the style, and the general "feel" of the album is gorgeous, but I can never listen to it for an extended period (forget getting through all 3 discs, I'm lucky if I get through one). That's why I like the piano album better: it condenses what I like about SF2's music to one single disc. To put it in a lame way, its more time- and energy-efficient, more concentrated.

...That said, I too rarely listen to it all the way through... But the same could be said of many, many, many albums (almost all, in fact).

Let's see...

Arrangement albums I currently own.

Daiva

A gem in its own right. Basic synth-arrangements but the melodies speak for themselves. The 14-minute medley "Star of Gods" is incredible ! Easily the star of the show.

Mushihimesama Double Arrange Album

24 tracks. 24 diffrent composers. The variety of styles is amazing. Every track has something unique about it. I don't think it can get better than this, as far as All-Star arrangement albums go.

Perfect Collection Ys I & II : Complete Works of Ryo Yonemitsu

Classic VGM arrangements here. They've stood the test of time nicely. When I say that even Ys I & II Chronicles can't quite top this, it has to be real good.

Street Fighter EX Arrange Sound Trax

Some very impressive tracks here, loads of synths, guitars and then some less coventional choices that actually work. It's right up my alley as expected.

Super Mario World

Disc 1 is simply full of awesome and win. The track "Shining Coral" hits the spot for me especially. Just wow.

Tommy Tallarico Virgin Games Greatest Hits Volume One

Bunch of tracks composed by Tallarico and his associates. I'd like to think of it as the american equivalent to Street Fighter EX Arrange, as far as styles and instrumentation go.

Albums I wanted to own but never had the opportunity to snag.

Metal Black The First

This was the album that got me started on Yack all those years ago. It simply oozed with style.

Dracula Battle I & II

Don't think I need to say anything here.

Salamander Pro Fusion

Ditto.

Konami Shooting Battle I & II

Again, same deal.

Dracula New Classic

Yeah...

I guess that's pretty much it.

Here's my top 25, generally in order, trimmed down from an initial list of about 50.  Interesting to note is that I actually own 22 of these, and the other three are high on my wish list.

CREID Yasunori Mitsuda & Millennial Fair
STREET FIGHTER Tribute Album
V'BALL
Perfect Selection Dracula ~New Classic~
STREET FIGHTER II ALPH-LYLA with YUJI TORIYAMA
ROCKMAN X ALPH-LYLA with Toshiaki Otsubo
Perfect Selection Dracula
Perfect Selection Sound Racing History
Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec: FINAL FANTASY VIII
near death experience, SHADOW HEARTS Arrangetracks
Castlevania Chronicle Akumajo Dracula Original Soundtrack (disc one, tracks 1-20)
Perfect Selection Dracula Battle I & II
Kukeiha Club pro-fusion ~Salamander~
The Black Mages II The Skies Above
Back in the S.S.T. Band!! ~The Very Best~
Chrono Trigger Arranged Version The Brink of Time
Perfect Selection XEXEX
Bio Hazard Orchestra Album
Super Mario World (disc one)
Symphonic Suite Final Fantasy

- CREID will always be my #1 because Xenogears means so much to me and it was, as far as I can remember, the first arranged album I ever heard and bought.  "LAHAN" was the first track I heard from it and I can't even begin to explain how awesome I felt while listening to it.  Like a whole new world of music just opened up to me.  It's pretty hard to top that.  And besides, the whole disc from start to finish is just beautiful.  I'd say the Chrono/Xeno era is where Mitsuda peaked and this album is a shining of example of how truly amazing he was back then.  When I met Mitsuda at PLAY! in Chicago, this is the disc I had him sign, I didn't even have to think twice about it.  If any disc defines who Mitsuda is musically, this would be it.

- I realize the Castlevania Chronicle listing is an OST, but the game itself is an arrange, heck it's even called "Arrange Mode" in the game menus so I'm gonna say it counts.  Aside from most of the Perfect Selection tracks, these are easily my favorite CV arrangements.

- Black Mages II was chosen over the other two because of track selection, overall better/more rockin' arrangement quality, and yes the vocal tracks, especially "The Skies Above" featuring everybody's favorite singer.  I realize most people dislike that song but I love love love it.

- You'll notice I combined both the Dracula Battles since I pretty much consider them to be one entity. However if I had to choose just one, it'd be the first because it has Bloody Tears, and Bloody Tears always beats no Bloody Tears.

- As for all those "bunch of famous composers get together" arrange discs, the SF Tribute Album did it best and is still by far my favorite one to this day.  I listen to the whole thing from start to finish very frequently, usually while driving.

- Back in the S.S.T. Band!! ~The Very Best~ is kind of a cheap move on my part since it's just a compilation album of some of the best S.S.T. arrangements featured on previously released discs.  But hey, it's an officially released CD so it ~counts~!

-------

Here are the rest of the CDs that didn't quite make the top 25 but are still amazing, in alphabetical order:

Bio Hazard Sound Track Remix
DOUBLE DRAGON II The Revenge
FINAL FANTASY IV Celtic Moon
FINAL FANTASY VII Reunion Tracks (tracks 17-19)
Gyakuten Saiban Jazz Album ~Gyakuten Meets Jazz Soul~
Keys of the city
Live Music by Piano and Strings Sekaiju no MeiQ I & II Super Arrange Version
More Friends music from Final Fantasy ~Final Fantasy Orchestra Concert in Los Angeles 2005~ (I was there, so I might be biased)
Ninja Ryukenden II - Ankoku no Jashin Ken
No More Heroes Sound Tracks Dark Side
Perfect Collection Ys
Perfect Selection Konami Shooting Battle
Perfect Selection Konami Shooting Battle II
Perfect Selection Snatcher Battle
Piano Collections FINAL FANTASY IX
S.S.T. Band Live! -G.S.M. SEGA-
Sega Tunes • ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron
Sekaiju no MeiQ Super Arrange Version
Shenmue Orchestra Version
Street Fighter IV Original Soundtrack (disc 2, tracks 2-19)
Vent ~ Grandia Arrange Version

-----

My apologies to any albums I may have missed!

Let's see..... the two Final Fantasy Vocal Collections and all four of the Falcom Vocal Collections probably top my list.  The Street Fighter II Image Album is another golden oldie; never has the thematic essence of the twelve original World Warriors been captured with such faithful vigor and spirit. I'm surprised no one's yet mentioned the seven lovely orchestrated pieces that make up Final Fantasy Gaiden: Seiken Densetsu Sound Collections.

Xenogears Creid, Double Dragon II , the two Perfect Selection Dracula Battles, and Shin Samurai Spirits: Haohmaru Jigokuhen - Arrange Sound Trax are all second tier.

Third tier has Bionic Commando Rearmed, Dragon Ball Z Super Butouden 3, the music-only portions of the four Lunar Silver Star Story Lunatic Festas, Cave Song Compilation Image Song Album, Guilty Gear 2 Overture Vol 2, Super Mario Compact Disco, and Super Mario Bros. 3 Akihabara Electric Circus.  And I know it shouldn't count, but I was thoroughly delighted with the zany Final Fantasy arrangements Kenji Ito brought to Chocobo Racing.

How on earth did I not know about this album?  Any way you can hook a sister up?

Also, Daniel..... The LP of Devastation didn't make your list?  Gonna tag that into the second tier myself, because it's been ENDLESSLY entertaining. ^_^

I don't know man. I love "Fatal Bite" and "Terror (Darkness Lives)" because they are so cheesy but there is something about this disc (soundtrack) that doesn't work for me like RE2. Still, I played RE2 about a hundred more times then RE, and when I played RE it was the Director's Cut which had a complete different soundtrack.

As I was typing my previous post I thought the exact same thing. So to be fair, even an album I rave about to others still gets the skip-around treatment when I casually listen. If I'm in my car, or want to relive the particular nostalgia experience of a certain soundtrack, I'll listen in full. Otherwise it's as the mood dictates. That's one reason why an album like Street Fighter Tribute is great, because of the variety from different artists.

I wanted to list this one too. Bright, playful sounds, and it contains the awesomely energetic "Mogri Forest."

Oh it counts!  How could I forget about Chocobo Racing??  It would certainly classify as one of the first "arrange albums" I ever heard, early PSX era all the way baby!  Mysidia's Sky Garden, Goblin's Theme, Illusionary World, and FF8 Circuit are so good.

One of the LOUDEST music CDs in VGM history though!

I forgot Shenmue Orchestra Version and Bionic Commando Rearmed, they're great too.

Sure, I'll contact you soon about it.

To be honest, I didn't even consider it. The LP of D is something beyond arrangement to me, DnB took the melodies from the games, but they made something completely their own out of it. On my computer, I keep their folder together with the other non-soundtrack artists/bands, not in the game music folder. Of course, if I would bring the LP of D into the equation, that would be at the very top.

Seeing as RE took all of it's initial inspiration from low-budget B-class zombie flicks, cheesiness comes with the territory. One thing that the series did wrong stylistically after the first game was that it started to take itself seriously, its like the developers forgot one of the elements that made it great (same thing happened with Silent Hill, although from a totally different angle).

I like the original RE1 soundtrack because its the only Biohazard music I actually felt had personality at all. RE2 OST is very good, but almost every track sounds the same (even though I played the game to death and am very familiar with it). This trend just continued, and while I know a lot of people like Biohazard 4 and 5's music, I just found those soundtracks so uninspired, trite, and anonymous, like something you could hear in a Hollywood blockbuster (which, considering the direction the series has taken, was maybe what they were aiming for). When faced with a choice between cheesy+good on one hand and serious+boring on the other, I'll take the former. Just my opinion, though...

I can appreciate what RE4's soundtrack does in-game, but once you take it out of the game I hit a brick wall.

My list:

- Symphonic Shades
- FFX Piano Collections
- Secret of Mana +
- Creid
- Ys Healing
- Guwange Arrange Album
- No More Heroes Dark Side
- Motoi Sakuraba Live Concert 2003

Don't have time to elaborate, but all of these push the boundary in some way in my opinion and are constantly fascinating and emotional to revisit. I have reviewed most of these and gave high scores.

I'm not generally a fan of all the rock, jazz fusion, and trance albums out there. Most are too generic and cheesy for my tastes. I make an exception for The Black Mages though.

Nearly 30 posts deep and no one has mentioned Zwei!! Super Arrange Version? Disgraceful! For me, this was the album that signified that Falcom had finally pulled itself out of its long dark age of reprints and endless drama albums. It's incredibly fresh and varied, and really unlike anything Falcom has produced before or since. Definitely a "top ten" album for me.

My ears were just treated to thirty-nine blissful minutes of awesomeness.  Damn it, they don't make 'em like this anymore.  Many thanks again, Daniel! 

.... I can almost forgive Linzner for the atrocity of a game that was Nanostray 2 now. 

I <3 Aniki

Glad you liked it! Its definitely an awesome album. Since the album is so rare and long out of print, I guess I should share the link for those curious to check it out. You can get it here. For sampling purposes only, of course!

I forgot to mention this, but someone asked a while ago in some other thread for recommendations of music sounding like Shatter OST. Iridion is different in many ways, but I imagine people who like Shatter will like this as well. Something about it suggests it.

Haha, yeah, he's better at composing music than game-designing.

Varia Suite, Final Fantasy X Piano Collections and CREID, always. Honorable mentions go to Rockman Rock and Brink of Time.

This. This. And this. Even though I love pretty much all the Biohazard soundtracks, the first one easily tops everything. It has this really cool undergroundish soundtrack. I especially love tracks like "The Depth (Far From The Sun)", "Concrete Bound", "Narrow and Close", and the classic mansion themes.

I love the first soundtrack to death, although I wouldn't call the album an actual arrangement (even though the synth is a tad different). The voice clips, while shunned by most of the people, are actually cool, albeit cheesy additions to the album. Cool to see someone who shares my views on this (as I've seen that people generally regard the first as a rather amateurish effort compared to the later entries).

I do enjoy stuff like Biohazard 4 and 5, however, actually, most of the soundtracks in the series. I'd say it's easily one of my favourite video game music series. I thought the orchestra album was bad, though. I mean, the first thing that comes to my mind is the awful arrangement of the mansion theme (I think it used bagpipes?) and if I'm not mistaken, the orchestration was rather terrible.

By the way, I also appreciate the soundtrack Resident Evil Survivor. I'm really disappointed that it hasn't gotten a soundtrack release, as it's easily one of the best in the series. A bit low key, but it's just so dang cool! Has a similar feel to the first one, actually. I really think it deserves more love!

Now, as to favourite arrange albums. Well, I don't have many. Burn My Dread -Reincarnation: PERSONA3- is one of the best, I think. It has a nice mix of heavy arrangements and arrangements which stick close to the original. Then there's Atelier Iris ETERNAL MANA Arranged Tracks DECEITFUL WINGS which pretty much makes the original album obsolate for me. King of Fighters has a nice variety of arrange albums, although my favourite is the '94 one (I've heard 94-98 so far).

Besides them, don't have any more particular arrange albums I like. I'm not especially fond of the albums CAVE churns out, though. They have awesome artists contributing, but for some reason they don't captivate me at all. Mushihimesama one was pretty good, though.

delivered today,,, just posting again to reiterate my holy crap statement x 10