Darth Maul on gamingforce:

"Yup. According to my friend Harry, who works on my site and CocoeBiz, it's been completely remastered by a certain Kenzi Nagashima. I'm seriously considering buying the soundtrack myself, but given Valkyrie Profile's remastering wasn't all that impressive, I'm a little hesistant before I see reviews.

The remastered version was released by Square Enix under the catalog number SQEX-10068/9 on March 24, 2006. That was the same day as FFTA and FFT were re-released, though I'm pretty certain they weren't remastered."

Can anyone confirm this?  Or even better, notice any sound quality difference?

Also!  Yesasia has it, but suspiciously lists the publisher as SMD Indies...

Seeing I am Harry, I can confirm this. This soundtrack is remastered by Mr. Nagashima, with smoother quality. You won't find a completely different sound, but it's noticeable in some parts. The other reprints weren't remastered.

Where did you get that info that the ost is remastered? You got the soundtrack and the booklet stated or what, because I don't seem to find any confirmation for this.

It's inside the album's linear notes. You won't find any online confirmation because it wasn't publicly announced by Square Enix. Sellers aren't allowed to state that it is remastered.

"Sellers aren't allowed to state that it is remastered."

How silly.  Maybe they don't want to raise people expectations too high, but considering it's cheaper now than it ever was (I think), how could anyone complain?

And can anyone confirm SMD Indies is a bootlegger?

Oh, that's odd. Now I just need to get some samples so I can hear if the remastering is any good. :D

SMD Indies means Sony Music Distribution Independent.   Square Enix is an independent record label with CDs distributed by Sony Music.  Yesasia doesn't have bootlegs.

Care to make a scan?
I'd like to compare with the liner notes from my SSCX.
Thanks,

Alcahest

Edit: ok got a scan. indeed it has "Re-mastering Engineer Kenzi Nagashima" written on the bottom of the credits.
I wonder if they just forgot to mention it on the SSCX or if it's indeed different from the SSCX. I'm going to make a full check by comparing 2 tracks from the 2 versions. More info in the next episode

Well, I ordered from YesAsia.  Let's hope the fact that it had the old cover, too, isn't a bad sign.

And of course, I couldn't resist the .hack/sign OST for 11 bucks, so it cost almost as much as the Final Fantasy XII I had decided I couldn't afford...:)

Keep us posted about this!  Vagrant Story has one of my all-time favorite game soundtracks so I'd most likely buy it again if it was actually remastered and it sounded good/better than the DigiCube release.

-Mike

What do they mean by "remastered"? Is this like, rearranged, or re-done, or what?

By the term 'remastered', it means that the sound was 'revised' and resulting in better quality. I was told that it was not a mistake and they did not leave his name off the credits.

This probably doesn't mean re-sampled, but it does mean making it sound less muddy and like background music.

I don't see (hear?) how it could sound any better... the Digicube release sounded fine to me.

"Remastered" always means "remastered"...unless it's a Tales soundtrack.

Hey Miker
Ok, VS reprint report:
The re-print version has indeed been remastered. It contains the exact same tracks with same length as the first print but the sound is better (clearer) and the volume has been raised a little.
I'll let you compare for yourself on these 2 samples.
http://videoff7.free.fr/SQEX_111_Sanctum.mp3
http://videoff7.free.fr/SSCX_111_Sanctum.mp3
Those 2 rips have been done with the exact same EAC settings and you'll notice that the SQEX is a bit bigger by about 100kb.. (whatever that means [clearer samples more complex to compress?]). But what really stands out is the "stroboscopic" effect when the voice effect fades down at the beginning of the track (at high volume). You can barely hear it on the SSCX while it's obvious on the SQEX. The synth samples seem much cleaner and the sound is unmistakably clearer. At this point is it worth mentioning that I can't wait to listen to Ifrit (2-19) or Truly (2-24) remastered? No? Thought so
/me goes to order SQEX-10068..
Later,

Alcahest

.

Well, it can also mean "arranged"...See the Rockman Zero "Remastered" albums.

VERY NICE!  Thanks Alcahest.  I can definitely hear a difference there, especially when I crank the volume up.  I googled this Kenzi Nagashima dude and it looks like he's been a recorder/mixer on a bunch of Square albums.. Chrono Cross, FF Tactics, Einhander, Legend of Mana, and even the FF7 OST!  I'll most likely be throwing SQEX-10068 in with the next order I do.  Thanks again!

Now is there any chance you can rip and upload Opening Movie for me?

-Mike

It does sound a little better (as in brighter) but not enough for me to buy the soundtrack again.

I'd definitely want to hear some of the boss tracks to see how they sound...

Yeah, those too. The thing is, that's really a misuse of the word. It's too late to argue about it, but that's not what the word is supposed to mean

miker you can get it here:
http://videoff7.free.fr/SQEX_101_Opening_Movie.mp3
Seems like Nagashima cranked up the "spatial" effect on this one!
Later,

Alcahest

Nagashima is basically the recording/mixing/mastering engineer of all Square Enix games (post-FF7).

Thanks once again!  Yeah, I'm definitely gonna pick this up soon.

One more request.. a FLAC of "Climax of the Graylands Incident" j/k

-Mike

Hey, you can actually hear the background voices in the Opening Movie...and I may be crazy, but I always thought, in the game and the soundtrack, the piano section at the end sounded really compressed...like it was circa-Final Fantasy Tactics FMV.  This sounds slightly better.

As far as popular music is concerned (I don't have any experiences about game music), remastering doesn't always mean it sounds better than the original recording. Some record companies make "remasters" that simply sound louder, not necessarily better. I don't know if anyone has heard about this before but Wikipedia has quite a lot of information about the "loudness race" and the negative effects "remastering" may have: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_war
Of course, if properly made, a remaster may sound better than the original.

I'm also not saying Vagrant Story reprint isn't properly remastered as I don't know anything about it. I just thought some of you might not be aware of this...

Theoretically, a remaster simply means a different mastering, as opposed to using the exactly same "master" when printing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remaster

-Joshua

Popular music really isn't a good comparison, because most of it is over-produced in the first place.  The original Vagrant Story print barely sounds different from the PSF rip, which is background music.  Hence, it would be hard to mess this up.

On the other hand, the muddiness did hide the sampling flaws, but I think most of would rather be able to clearly hear all the instruments.

Well, gamingforce does NOT approve of this remastering.  They have a Wyvern sample, and I agree the original is much smother, balanced and hides the sampling flaws without really being
muddy.

It's not so terrible though, that I've given up hope for the rest.

EDIT: This IS terrible.  I really didn't want to admit it, given I put down thirty bucks on it, but everyone find the originals right now before THIS replaces them!

What's so bad?  While it's nice that when each instrument is featured, it is perfectly clear, the re-demolisher decided it would be good to go to the exact opposite extreme and use almost NO. REVERB. AT. ALL.  Making this sound like Final Fantasy VII.

The Opening and Staff Roll are the only tracks spared, for obvious reasons.

This news is awful.  I ordered the reprint because of all the glowing impressions.  Not to mention that I've been trying to acquire the original release for a long time without success.  Now it seems that I've wasted my money.  So, is anybody willing to part with their Digicube copy?

I apologize to everyone who bought the re-print because of this topic.:( There are good things about it, but the bad outweighs the good for me.

Reverb is the crutch of a poor engineer. It should be used sparingly. Your description (without samples, mind) doesn't sound like a bad thing to me.

See gamingforce, like I said.  Unless someone really wants samples here, because you do have to register (which takes five seconds).  And yes, that's true, but it is a very needed crutch here.  The samples just aren't that good by themselves.  Weaved together, they worked.

This is really frustrating, because I keep flip-flopping.  Some of the originals really needed re-mastering (Ifrit sounded like it was being played by an orchestra in the next town), but the re-mastering just goes too far.

wow gamingforce doesn't approve ;_________;
Guess i'm gonna cancel my order then!
Hehe seriously though; I dunno what's wrong with you guys over at gamingforce, the sound is much clearer, details are enhanced, I really don't see what's wrong with that. On the contrary, you should all be happy the available version is the one that sounds better O_o
Later,

Alcahest

Seconded.

To everyone, just because Gamingforce doesn't approve, doesn't mean it's 'pandora's box'. Just put it in your CD player, and enjoy the music. That's all the composer's ask for.