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  #1  
Old Dec 19, 2010, 08:53 AM
Xenofan 29A Xenofan 29A is offline
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Mitsuda has already done several posts about arranging for this album himself, so I'll add an arranger credit. Do we know if Kameoka or anyone else has helped with additional arrangement/orchestration?
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  #2  
Old Dec 19, 2010, 09:24 AM
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Kameoka probably helped, as she was there in Bulgaria as well.
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  #3  
Old Dec 22, 2010, 07:20 AM
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You can hear 遠い記憶 -Piano Ver- on Mitsuda's website now through Christmas (Japanese time) from the upcoming MYTH album.

Last edited by Don; Dec 22, 2010 at 07:22 AM.
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  #4  
Old Dec 22, 2010, 07:45 AM
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Beautiful.

Although, this is what Mitsuda did last year with that strings version of Between Dimensions from Chrono Cross. The main difference being, the Xenogears orchestral album actually has a release date.
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  #5  
Old Dec 22, 2010, 07:49 AM
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I believe last year was a piano version of a Lime Odyssey theme (2 years ago was Chrono Cross), but yes, he seems to do something like this every Christmas.
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  #6  
Old Dec 22, 2010, 08:42 AM
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SQEX-10216 could be the catalog number for this album (because unassigned yet, like another catalog number iirc)
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  #7  
Old Dec 28, 2010, 06:15 AM
Xenofan 29A Xenofan 29A is offline
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I don't know which one's correct, but tracks 2 and 6 seem to be switched in the English and Japanese versions.
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  #8  
Old Dec 28, 2010, 11:04 AM
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No Awakening?! I call shenanigans. Wasn't that in the top 10 from the user poll?
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  #9  
Old Dec 28, 2010, 01:33 PM
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The user poll was only consultative. As Mitsuda explained on his blog, he had the last word on the tracklist. I too would have loved to hear an orchestral rendition of Awakening, but I'm very satisfied with the final selection.

As for the switched tracks, I've corrected the English tracklist.

Last edited by Zanasea; Dec 28, 2010 at 01:35 PM.
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  #10  
Old Jan 9, 2011, 11:11 AM
LiquidAcid LiquidAcid is offline
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I extracted the teaser/trailer music from the Flash file which is playing on the official website (Link).

Uploaded the MP3 here:
SendSpace
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  #11  
Old Feb 8, 2011, 06:09 PM
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BahamutZ BahamutZ is offline
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I could live with just hearing Flight. Just give me that Flight. My second choice to hear from Xenogears would have been Awakening.
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  #12  
Old Feb 21, 2011, 03:07 PM
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Mitsuda has apparently said that there will be a second orchestral album if this one is successful. But does that mean a second Xenogears album (with Awakening) or Chrono Cross? Because having both in existence would be great!
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  #13  
Old Feb 23, 2011, 04:11 PM
VncentValntine VncentValntine is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Argentis View Post
Mitsuda has apparently said that there will be a second orchestral album if this one is successful. But does that mean a second Xenogears album (with Awakening) or Chrono Cross? Because having both in existence would be great!
Either one would be great!

Buy, buy, buy, people!! Buy one for listening, and one to keep sealed!
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  #14  
Old Feb 27, 2011, 04:39 AM
LiquidAcid LiquidAcid is offline
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According to some discussion over a STC (Link to thread) there exists a limited / first print edition of the album. See the thread for details (especially page 4).

Maybe we could verify this and add a note. I haven't received my copy yet, so I can't check.
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  #15  
Old Feb 28, 2011, 09:36 AM
Xenofan 29A Xenofan 29A is offline
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I can verify that the obi says "First Press Edition".
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  #16  
Old Feb 28, 2011, 03:11 PM
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Two pages of the booklet are missing from the scans. Before the credits (p.13-14 in the current scans) there are lyrics (English/Japanese) for "The Beginning and the End" and "Small Two of Pieces".
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  #17  
Old Feb 28, 2011, 04:44 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zanasea View Post
Two pages of the booklet are missing from the scans. Before the credits (p.13-14 in the current scans) there are lyrics (English/Japanese) for "The Beginning and the End" and "Small Two of Pieces".
the scan uploaded ok,
Thank you, Zanasea
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  #18  
Old Mar 6, 2011, 03:47 PM
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I have to say, I'm not very impressed by this album. The arrangements are fairly weak, and the performance imbalanced. I don't think they took their time with getting the performance right, as there are many details that are left out. The brass in Flight sounds awful; and it, along with other action cues, feel underscored and anemic. Shevat starts strong and then akwardly presents the main body in a slow, meandering melancholy, wholly dispensing the magic of the source material.

Ironically, the only full orchestral arrangements I found agreeable are those by Mitsuda, the least experienced orchestrator of the four. Of course "lost... Broken Shards" is perfect; it would have been pretty hard to screw that one up; similarly, the two piano arrangements are adequate.

I don't see this one growing on me. If Mitsuda truly considers another orchestral arrange, he'd best select better orchestrators, a better orchestra (or at least a longer recording period), and a better recordist. And ideally, record in a concert hall, not a sound studio. The music here feels rushed and amateurish.
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  #19  
Old Mar 7, 2011, 07:44 AM
niki niki is offline
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I wouldn't be that negative, but yah I thought it was pretty bland as well, honestly. Still a pleasant listen though imo.
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  #20  
Old Mar 7, 2011, 10:12 AM
Xenofan 29A Xenofan 29A is offline
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You want to hear poor orchestral performance, go back to the early 90s Game Music Concert albums. Mistakes and poor phrasings abound. I think the Bulgarian group did just fine.
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  #21  
Old Mar 7, 2011, 11:31 AM
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I agree with Jorm, but I'm gonna be harsher by saying that I really disliked that thing without hearing all the tunes completely (I found it bad, sorry if it shocks people)

honestly I found the original good enough to stay as they are, no need of an orchestral thing which changes the nature of the tunes (I'd say it about a lot of arranged albums whose I had hard time to recognize the tunes -example: parasite eve remix, worst remixed album to me)
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  #22  
Old Mar 7, 2011, 02:04 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Xenofan 29A View Post
You want to hear poor orchestral performance, go back to the early 90s Game Music Concert albums. Mistakes and poor phrasings abound. I think the Bulgarian group did just fine.
Oh, I've heard them. And you're right, some of those performances sound like they were rehearsed the morning of the concert.

But bad performances elsewhere don't excuse this one. It's the 21st century, and orchestral recordings should be held to higher standards. Producers should look to Yoko Kanno's sessions with the Warsaw Philharmonic. Finest orchestral performances and recordings in the game/anime industry, by far.
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  #23  
Old Mar 7, 2011, 02:41 PM
Xenofan 29A Xenofan 29A is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jormungand View Post
But bad performances elsewhere don't excuse this one. It's the 21st century, and orchestral recordings should be held to higher standards.
It was not my intent to imply that. I was merely bringing up an example of what I consider to be bad performance.

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Producers should look to Yoko Kanno's sessions with the Warsaw Philharmonic. Finest orchestral performances and recordings in the game/anime industry, by far.
I listen to a lot of classical music, so I know what the best orchestral recordings sound like, and I definitely have lower standards for VGM, both in terms of performance and mixing, than I do for a Deutche Grammophon release.

All the same, I feel that in this case, it's a matter of preference. Yes, the brass seem more distant in Flight than one might expect, but they're not the center of the arrangement. The mixing has a lot of elements quieter than others, but everything can be heard clearly, and it doesn't feel utterly devoid of atmosphere like studio recordings can at times.

Mitsuda did complain on his blog that the strings section wasn't big enough for what he had wanted, and that Square-Enix hadn't provided a large enough budget. However, I think the result is still satisfactory.
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  #24  
Old Mar 8, 2011, 05:21 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Xenofan 29A View Post
I listen to a lot of classical music, so I know what the best orchestral recordings sound like, and I definitely have lower standards for VGM, both in terms of performance and mixing, than I do for a Deutche Grammophon release.
Fair enough.

But is that OK? Is it OK to have lower standards for games because they aren't performed by the finest orchestras led by the finest conductors recorded in the finest concert halls?

I don't think so. One day I'd like to see producers take a more serious interest in funding the music of their games. Hell, give the music even a fraction of what is budgeted for graphics development and you could have two high quality, full-length orchestral scores!

Granted this was on Square's budget, and of course it's even a miracle they wanted to contract Mitsuda to do something Xenogears-related in the first place. I believe it was only greenlighted to coincide with the PSN release of XG.

I suppose I should be thankful for the revisiting of my favorite RPG, even if it leads to nothing. But it's not to my standards--not even my low standards--and thus I don't feel I got my money's worth.

Oh well. At least the packaging is great.
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  #25  
Old Mar 8, 2011, 11:43 AM
Xenofan 29A Xenofan 29A is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jormungand View Post
I believe it was only greenlighted to coincide with the PSN release of XG.
That doesn't make sense, though. I'm sure that it was made primarily with the Japanese market in mind, and they released Xenogears on the Japanese PSN a long time ago.
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  #27  
Old Mar 8, 2011, 06:43 PM
Xenofan 29A Xenofan 29A is offline
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That doesn't mean the release was targeted primarily at the US market. I'm sure it sells somewhat better in a Japanese physical release than in a US digital release (which I think also has a lower profit margin).

The Japanese market for video game music is very small, but the US market is minuscule.

Last edited by Xenofan 29A; Mar 8, 2011 at 06:48 PM.
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  #28  
Old Mar 10, 2011, 03:59 AM
niki niki is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Xenofan 29A View Post
You want to hear poor orchestral performance, go back to the early 90s Game Music Concert albums. Mistakes and poor phrasings abound. I think the Bulgarian group did just fine.
While I partly agree on a purely technical plan, I'd still say most of the GMC arrangements are still more inspired and "powerful" than those, even in their occasional clumsiness.
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