So, I'm kind of interested in this OST despite the fact that: a) the name is awful, b) Naruke is on there for what I can only assume are two lackluster vocal themes, and c) despite being full-price for a two disc album, the total set runs for about 90 minutes. I know that Ramza dug the album in his review and I'm inclined to check it out based it on his words and the samples alone. But. What really gets me is that it's almost exclusively Sakimoto and Iwata together again, sans a few tracks from the aforementioned Naruke and one from Abe.

Is anyone else digging the OST? I'm still listening to Galli... er, Valkyria Chronicles on repeat and I'm enjoying some good Sakimoto, so I figure this wouldn't hurt the ol' library either.

And strangely, the Abe tracks (two original compositions, and then an arrangement of the vocal theme) are really good too.

Thanks for mentioning my review. I really do mean it. That was a surprisingly good soundtrack IMO. But it is important to remember, there are only 40 tracks total. It's still inferior to FFTactics and Vagrant Story (again, IMO), but I think that's partially because there's just LESS MUSIC in terms of sheer quantity.

But I highly recommend the album in general. Definitely a big comeback for the Sakimoto/Iwata team.

Ramza

In my personal opinion, Valkyria Chronicles is a much better score. Aside from a few distinct themes by Iwata and Abe, a lot of it sounds like Sakimoto, and not the good kind, like in Valkyria Chronicles, to me, despite it being composed by Iwata as well. I'm sure some people enjoy it, but I was not one of them.

Chris over at SEMO had a rather different opinion of it:

http://www.squareenixmusic.com/reviews/ … oawd.shtml

This effort very much seemed like a side effort for Sakimoto and Iwata for me. The results were decent, but really lacking much creativity in my opinion. If you're looking for a good new light-hearted Basiscape score, I'd personally recommend Deltora Quest and FFTA much above this one. If you're more interested in intense compositions, I think Iwata, Kaneda, and Abe did a superb job on Odin Sphere while Valkyria Chronicles was high quality too. I thought A.S.H. is pretty mediocre too although it is the closest to the Sakimoto / Iwata tactical RPG sound of Stella Deus or FFT.

I thought the soundtrack was boring, honestly. Ever since Sakimoto formed Basiscape, it feels like he's been saving himself for the big solo scores and doing the collaborative ones on auto-pilot. I return to FFXII and Valkyria Chronicles frequently, but nothing else he's written in the past five years.

Wow. I don't see eye to eye with anyone here.

First of all, I thought FFXII was one of Sakimoto's worst scores to date. It was just four discs of pure harp-glissando-filler.

Valkyria Chronicles ... a few stand-out tracks made it worthwhile for me, but again, the whole didn't seem to cut it.

And Deltora Quest? Yeah it was good but ... if I want lighthearted Sakimoto/Iwata, I'll take RIZ-ZOAWD over that *and* FFTA any day.

Well, I guess that's why reviews exist, to express different opinions. I'll try to enjoy being in the minority.

Yeah, what he said.  Though I'd add Gradius V and Stella Deus to the list of ones I return to within the past five years.  Valkyria was the last soundtrack of his that really blew me away, I remember even posting about it on the forums.  Riz-Zoawd just seems so meh compared to that, unfortunately.

-Mike

Hush, you. I appreciate FFXII as being his most thematic score to date. I'm not saying it's perfect, by any means. A lot of disc 2 is filler and the tracks written by Matsuo are all disposable but I appreciate the work for its ambition and sheer power. It's a hell of a lot better than the game was.

I think it's fun being the underdog.

Wow. FFXII is probably my favourite Hitoshi Sakimoto score of all time with FFTA and Vagrant Story close seconds. As Wanderer said, the sheer scope of FFXII's score was really impressive, although I have to admit that I thought Matsuo's contribution was the very best. I love his orchestrations of the opening / ending themes plus I thought "Seeking Power", "A Land of Memories", and "The Forgotten Capital" were just sublime.

I guess I'm a weirdo here, as the only Sakimoto works I have really loved have been Legaia 2 and Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter.  Even the Vagrant Story OST, which has a nice handful of tracks I love, as whole doesn't excite me much.
I find FFXII to have been one of the most forgettable of all his scores.
Somehow I forgot Sakimoto worked on VC.  I guess I need to check it out now.  I always hope another of his works catches me like BoF5.

When it comes to Sakimoto I'm good with just having the Final Fantasy Tatics soundtrack. However, I find myself more drawn to Iwata's pieces.

You should check out Gradius V OST is you can, then. It's got some orchestral styling here and there but is more electronica-based than anything. Great album, for sure.

As Sakimoto goes, I'm a definite Vagrant Story person, and have some affinity for his better Legaia 2, FFT, and BoF5 tracks.  I'll definitely need to check out Gradius V; I'd forgotten that was his soundtrack.

I just finished listening to the Valkyria Chronicles OST for the second time, and despite some strong tracks, I get the sense of sameness I've gotten for even his bigger albums recently.  This is not to say that even on his best he's in autopilot, but the guy seems stuck so much in sound and method that I don't know if I ever expect him to branch out again like he seemed to at the turn of the millennium.  Definitely unfortunate but I can think of numerous VGM composers that thought could apply to.

Final Fantasy XII is brilliant for an hour or so, there's just too much filler obscuring it.  I'd encourage FFXII haters to give it a few separate listens with the second and fourth discs cut out completely, or if you're using a playlist include "The Skycity of Bhujerba", "The Cerobi Steppe" and "To the Place of the Gods" and just stick with discs one and three for the rest.

Take a couple of listens to that and call me in the morning.

Wow, that's the first time I've heard anyone say Disc 4 is filler. I'd say the only disc worth skipping is Disc 2, although there are a few special ones on there worth listening to!

Final Fantasy Tactics, Breath of Fire V, Stella Deus, Odin Sphere, all strike me as some of Sakimoto's greatest scores of all time.

Legaia Duel Saga, I really dug that one some few Autumns ago, and was one of very few other albums I listened to that Autumn, but I really haven't returned to it since then. Couldn't believe that Sakimoto contributed a majority to the soundtrack; most of it sounded like it was Mitsuda's.

Grim Grimoire was...decent, but I don't listen to it a whole lot. There's some good melodies, but most of it still fails to stay in my memory.

I found Final Fantasy Tactics Advance forgettable, didn't really care for Radiant Silvergun + or Gradius V, either. Vagrant Story vaguely reminded me of Castlevania, but was far too ambient to be able to catch on with me. Though, "Large Chapel," that piece alone blows my socks off. I like the dark, overwhelming orchestration, and the foreboding, aggressive dance beats.

Final Fantasy XII, I still haven't played the game, though I do have the soundtrack on file...haven't listened to it yet. I'm looking forward to it, though.

RIZ-ZOAWD, I'm at least vaguely interested in, but I'll probably wait awhile before I pick it up.

I haven't heard everything Sakimoto has done lately, but I've heard a lot of it. I've had one or two listens through this score. It's pretty good but not mindblowing. I'm disappointed Naruke only did a couple vocal tracks. I really want to hear more music from her.

While I'm talking about Sakimoto and Iwata, I'm pretty pissed that Opoona still hasn't gotten a soundtrack release. That has the best Basiscape soundtrack I've heard since FF12. It's a different style than Sakimoto and Iwata's usual stuff, and that's part of the reason it's so good. Do yourself a favor and track down a rip of the Opoona soundtrack if you haven't already heard it.

wait, what about "The Battle for Freedom"?

Yeah, what about it?   The brief build-up to the main FF12 theme near the end is nice but in general I find that piece unfocused and unexciting, and the synth not very effective.

The rest of FF12's battle themes are fantastic though.  Like I said in my review, the best for the series since FF8, maybe FF7.

http://www.gamefly.com/game/nintendo-ds … ad/139860/

Looks like the game is getting a stateside release by Xseed!!!  Please support this one and pick it up new!

Why?
It's not actually GOOD, you know?

Wow, I'm shocked it's getting a release considering it was panned in Japan.

Still, IMO Media.Vision hasn't made any great games since the PS1 days.

All in the eye of the beholder.  Some people didn't like Etrian Odyssey.  Said it was too hard.  Me?  Loved it.  Also, I've had my eye on this one for awhile.  I dunno.  Something just "clicks" with me.

I think it's more that Riz-Zoawd has a few fundamental flaws to it rather than is a select taste. Famitsu gave it low reviews although they were mixed, so there could be an element of subjectivity too. Either way, I'm flat out not interested.

what didn't you like about it?

Well, the controls mostly.
Having to move your character by rolling a ball is a retarded (and imprecise) way of controlling.
It's nice to see noone learned anything from the CD-I apparently.

Not that it matters, cos there's nothing to do anyway except pick up some coins along the road.
And then there's the mind-numbingly dull first person combat scenes that made me so indifferent towards the Dragon Quest series.

I picked this game up because I LOVE the Wizard of Oz story, but even that wasn't handled particularly interestingly.

Truly, the only good thing about this game was its soundtrack, and that's coming from someone who thinks Sakimoto is hugely overrated...