VGMdb
Go Back   VGMdb Forums > Discussion > Video Game Music Discussion > Album Discussions
Register FAQ Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1  
Old Dec 21, 2016, 02:33 AM
_if's Avatar
_if _if is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 379

I'm really surprised this didn't generate any discussion. It became my first VGM vinyl purchase.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old Dec 21, 2016, 04:54 AM
Ramza Ramza is offline
VGMdb Advisor
 
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 1,463
Default

Yo, is it awesome? I had been thinking about buying it. I, too, have yet to start a VGM vinyl collection (oh lord that would bankrupt me).

PS - I love your avatar like whoa. I've been putting hundreds of hours into Shiren 5+ (the PSVita one Aksys released).
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old Dec 21, 2016, 06:37 PM
_if's Avatar
_if _if is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 379
Default

My phono preamp stopped working right awhile back and I've been spending money on other things instead of getting a new one (I don't want to get a super cheap one). I wanted to jump on this record before it's out of stock and costs three or four times as much money on eBay, so I didn't get that lined up first in order to actually listen to it. Seems from the previews to be a perfectly competent recording without the large amount of noise the FM chip's weak amplification circuit apparently entails. The synth itself is rather noisy somehow in actuality, and this recording reflects that, while the LAGRANGE POINT SOUNDTRACK RETURNS album eliminated it somehow (emulation? Maybe). It also lacks the reverb added to the original CD release, so despite vinyl's inherent flaws, assuming the previews are representative, this is perhaps the most faithful officially released recording of the game's music.

PS - Shiren is great stuff. I bought a Wii some years back so I could play Shiren 3. I don't have a Vita but bought a PlayStation TV for Shiren 5. I played through Shiren DS2 with a translation patch that only translated item names and I hope people will do at least as much for the other games in the series that haven't been translated. I really like the games and enjoy playing them a lot, but I must say hearing the new music in each game is probably the single largest part of my excitement for getting a new one every time.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old Dec 22, 2016, 02:16 AM
student41269's Avatar
student41269 student41269 is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: UK
Posts: 139
Default

I was unaware of this - thanks _if!
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old Sep 17, 2017, 05:58 PM
_if's Avatar
_if _if is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 379
Default

In case anyone was hoping this was a new recording of this soundtrack like I was, it's not. The source is clearly the original Konami CD. The previews on the Ship to Shore website didn't make the added reverb as apparent as it actually is, I'm guessing due to Soundcloud's MP3s not being high enough quality and the stereo separation suffering. The tracks fade out exactly the same, so if you have the original CD you could just make a playlist to leave out the missing tracks and the arranged versions and get the same music, minus pops and clicks and putting the record on and flipping it over. But that original CD is much more expensive than this record, which is still in stock, so I guess do with that information what you will.

Unfortunate that still the only way to hear what this music properly sounds like without any artificial enhancement or emulation inaccuracies is with a Famicom and the game cartridge.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old Sep 18, 2017, 01:12 AM
Judge Ito's Avatar
Judge Ito Judge Ito is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 276
Default

What's wrong with the EGG Music version?
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old Sep 20, 2017, 09:35 PM
_if's Avatar
_if _if is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 379
Default

I don't mean to say it's a bad choice. I'd take it over this record. It's hard to decide which CD I'd recommend, though, even if cost is no object. Apart from the EGG release missing three pieces of BGM (while adding some fanfares and one minor extra piece that kind of serves as much as sound effects as music), the sound is super bright. It sounds exaggerated compared to the real thing when run even on an AV Famicom, which is the most treble-heavy of all Famicom/NES hardware variants, beating the original NES by a smidgen in my comparisons at least. The bass is also cranked up quite a bit, which I think was a better choice than the treble boost aesthetically. So it's a very clean recording - and I'd like to know how they achieved that - but you have some serious "smiley-face" EQ applied that changes the tone of the sound significantly.

I'm not against enhancing the sound for soundtrack releases or anything, this is just a unique soundtrack because of the special sound chip only ever used in this game. Even when other games have had their music released only in a noticeably manipulated form, usually it's still possible to hear a pretty faithful representation of what it sounded like on the real system with emulation. But in Lagrange Point's case, it being the only game using this sound chip and with FM synthesis being so complex, no emulation I've heard gets it right. You can even hear the kind of issues you encounter with emulation on the EGG album if you compare the bass at the beginning of "Departure and Arrival" between the regular and stereo versions. The regular version gets the synth itself right, even if the tone is altered with EQ. The stereo version, which I'm pretty confident is emulation and could only have been created with emulation because the sound chip is only capable of mono, sounds like a whole different synth instrument voice. That's one of the more extreme examples, but yeah, inaccuracies exist.

I guess I just care that the option exists for people to hear things faithfully, but that doesn't necessarily make the best commercial release. I don't think the original sound is perfect, but both soundtrack releases go farther than I'd like in altering it. Turn the treble way down on the EGG CD and you've got a pretty nice, almost complete soundtrack, though.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
KICA-1028: Lagrange Point PsychoZeke Album Discussions 2 Jul 4, 2019 06:08 AM
EMCA-0021: LAGRANGE POINT SOUNDTRACKS RETURNS LuxKiller65 Album Discussions 7 Jan 1, 2016 07:15 AM
AFX 76: Now You're Playing With Powar 4: The Last Battle of Lagrange... Myrkul Album Discussions 1 Jun 10, 2012 07:43 AM
FSE-006: Now is the point at which I touch eternity LiquidAcid Album Discussions 2 Jun 5, 2011 02:16 PM
ICDD-0001: Floating Point Secret Squirrel Album Discussions 4 Jan 5, 2009 08:32 PM