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  #1  
Old Dec 30, 2010, 07:07 PM
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Out-freaking-standing. LEO and III are way overdue for proper soundtrack releases.
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  #2  
Old Dec 30, 2010, 07:24 PM
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Amen to that.
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  #3  
Old Jan 25, 2011, 10:25 AM
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So no Super R-Type on this album?
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  #4  
Old Jan 26, 2011, 12:46 PM
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Nope. Disappointing, but not a deal breaker for me.

I'm a little concerned about just how gimped the tracktimes will be for Delta with the tracks from LEO on the same disc. Delta on its own runs over 73 minutes. But cutting out the two arrange tracks, the SFX track, and cutting down the severely over-looped boss tracks from the original release -- that could save almost 15 minutes.
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  #5  
Old Jan 26, 2011, 08:48 PM
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^Aw, no Super R-Type? Eh, I'll live.

I'd assumed there would only be select tracks from Delta and Final but it looks like they'll be single loop versions instead. I suppose that could be viewed as the lesser of two evils.
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  #6  
Old Feb 8, 2011, 03:14 PM
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Is SNES.org credits Ikuko Mimori as the composer for R-Type III. Can that site be used as a reliable source?
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  #7  
Old Feb 8, 2011, 04:40 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Reg View Post
Is SNES.org credits Ikuko Mimori as the composer for R-Type III. Can that site be used as a reliable source?
Do you mean SNESMusic.org? If so, there's a lot of iffyness in their credits (missing people, SFX/driver guys listed as composers, etc.), so I wouldn't really trust them without verification. Verification is always good anyway.

They're completely right here, though. Ikuko Mimori is credited in the game for music and sound effects as "I. Mimori": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExfYd_1D5Ww#t=69m43s. She also listed the game in her works list and had most of the soundtrack up for download, while she still had those pages up: http://web.archive.org/web/200408192.../Eprofile.html & http://web.archive.org/web/200409010...ic.html#rtype3.

Last edited by CHz; Feb 8, 2011 at 04:42 PM.
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  #8  
Old Feb 8, 2011, 07:07 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CHz View Post
Do you mean SNESMusic.org? If so, there's a lot of iffyness in their credits (missing people, SFX/driver guys listed as composers, etc.), so I wouldn't really trust them without verification. Verification is always good anyway.

They're completely right here, though. Ikuko Mimori is credited in the game for music and sound effects as "I. Mimori": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExfYd_1D5Ww#t=69m43s. She also listed the game in her works list and had most of the soundtrack up for download, while she still had those pages up: http://web.archive.org/web/200408192.../Eprofile.html & http://web.archive.org/web/200409010...ic.html#rtype3.
Oh, yes, I meant SNESMusic.org. I had a feeling their credits could be questionable at times, so I figured I'd ask.

Ikuko Mimori actually had some songs up on the net? Very generous of her. The score for R-Type III has some very awesome rock versions of classic R-Type tunes. I so need to get this game for Virtual Console.

Finding composer credits for the remainder of this album shouldn't be too difficult, judging by the names used on past R-Type albums here on the site. LEO could be a problem though. I did some searching for videos on YouTube and the ending credits for LEO lists two names under "Sound," Hiroshi and Aiai at the 18:15 mark. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nanj6ZWKphs
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  #9  
Old Feb 9, 2011, 01:54 AM
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Composer breakdown from various albums/staffs (wip):

R-Type: SCLAP (Masato Ishizaki)

R-Type 2: GEEO (Masahiko Ishida)

R-Type Leo:
SOUND: HIROSHI (Hiroshi Kimura*), AIAI
(I couldn't verify where that name comes from, but seems widespread.
'Sound' doesn't imply composition. AIAI did compose for other IREM games though)

R-Type 3: Ikuko Mimori

R-Type Delta:
Eisaku Nambu: 2-14, 2-16, 2-22
Haruhiko Kuroiwa: 2-15, 2-25, 2-26, 2-28
Hiroshi Ebihara: 2-13, 2-20, 2-21, 2-23, 2-24
Keiji Ueki: 2-18, 2-19
(unknown by USP: 2-17, 2-27, 2-29~2-31)

R-Type Final:
Yuki Iwai (Wavelink Zeal)
except 3-18 composed by USP, arranged by Wavelink Zeal
(I'm not sure what's the original track of 18, and Wavelink Zeal could be Takayuki Iwai + Yuki Iwai or just one of them)

Last edited by Dag; Feb 12, 2011 at 01:14 AM.
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  #10  
Old Feb 10, 2011, 07:51 PM
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Pretty thin booklet

There's a comment page from someone involved with R-Type Final and R-Type Tactics, and I'm pretty sure it's not Yuki Iwai. I'll try scanning it later, but there are four jet-black pages and my scanner's like a LHC for dust. Scanned. Couldn't be bothered to de-speckle it.

Oh, and the mastering is awful

The arcade games sound OK and LEO isn't bad. R-Type III sounds like it took a pass through a very aggressive volume limiter.

R-Type Delta has been "remastered" from the original release for the worse. Some reverb has been added, it's way too loud, and all the tracks hiss like they were recorded off a really bad vinyl. The Stage 6 and Stage 7 themes are especially terrible, with Stage 6 featuring several seconds of sustained clipping.

Here's an example of the spectral reading from the first few seconds of Stage 7 (for reference):

First, from the Scitron release

Next, from this album


So much noise . . .

I haven't listened to R-Type Final yet, though I fear the worst. Also, I don't have the original to compare it to.
Feb 12th edit: Yeah, R-Type Final sounds like it's been needlessly amplified. If you're after this release for Delta or Final, do your best to track down the original albums.

================================================== ==================

Here, have some short fair-use audio samples:

Sample #1
ORIGINAL - 1A - Stage 6 Awakening - 1999 Scitron release
NEW - 1B - Stage 6 Awakening - 2011 TEAM release (sustained clipping at 0:10)

Sample #2
O - 2A - Stage 6 Awakening - 1999 Scitron release
N - 2B - Stage 6 Awakening - 2011 TEAM release (frequent clipping, bad levels overall)

Sample #3
O - 3A - Stage 6 Awakening - 1999 Scitron release
N - 3B - Stage 6 Awakening - 2011 TEAM release (too much reverb)

Sample #4
O - 4A - Stage 7 Life - 1999 Scitron release
N - 4B - Stage 7 Life - 2011 TEAM release (that freaking hiss, plus when the drum+voice kicks in)

Man, TEAM, this isn't fucking Sleigh Bells. It's R-Type.
I know it's Stage 6 and that's a terrible track anyway, but it's the principle of the thing. And I know I sperg'd out on this, but it deserves attention. These are just the most noticeable errors -- I'm sure I'll find more after some serious sit-down-and-listen time.

Last edited by Judge Ito; Mar 18, 2013 at 12:54 AM. Reason: Rehosted samples
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  #11  
Old Feb 21, 2011, 10:55 AM
Xenofan 29A Xenofan 29A is offline
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It seems the mastering was done by a 林康 (Kou Hayshi?). The liner notes were written by 九条一馬 (Kazuma Kujou?), who is credited as the series' designer.
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  #12  
Old Feb 22, 2011, 08:03 PM
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You're right about Hayashi. Man, that just makes the whole quality thing that much more distressing. And INH had something to do with recording, too. Why aren't they releasing anything on their own label anymore?

PS: Between Hayashi on this album and quad on the Gradius Collection, maybe we should consider fleshing out the artist pages with some of the more technical credits (recording engineer, mastering, etc.)
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  #13  
Old Mar 15, 2011, 10:04 PM
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All these complaints about the mastering being so bad, we're overlooking the real fact here: This is a 3 disc, 6 game music collection for $40 new. I ain't complainin'!
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  #14  
Old Mar 16, 2011, 02:54 AM
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So length and a cheap price are more important than sound quality? Sry, but I disagree
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  #15  
Old Mar 16, 2011, 09:43 AM
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Then don't buy this. Buy the individual soundtracks for loads more money. I think for the price this a great collection. $40? Vs. $200+ for Gradius Complete? Almost $300 for the Castlevania box set? Sure, you get what you pay for but if this is only $40 I don't think there's a ton of room to complain. That's my point. It's like complaining about the new Cadillac you just bought for $10,000 not having leather seats and theater lighting. It was cheap, it's not going to be perfect! Same deal here. I, however, am going to buy this. I'm not a huge stickler for pristine sound quality, I just like the tunes. If I can hum along that's good enough for me. No offense of course to you guys, I'm just stating my mind.
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  #16  
Old Mar 16, 2011, 10:19 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ghaleon64 View Post
Then don't buy this. Buy the individual soundtracks for loads more money.
I would do that, if I had any interest in the R-TYPE series.

However I (*attention* personal opinion *attention*) can't understand it why people buy a product of inferior quality just because it's cheap. IMHO this gives the content industry a wrong signal: People buy _anything_ as long as the price is low enough. It just don't find that very desirable.
This is especially true (for me) with music. I'd like to see that some effort is put into steps like mastering and to-disc-transfer. If you have some great music, you don't want it to be distorted by bad mastering. These quick-and-dirty approaches are (for me) a sign of the throw-away mentality of our society.
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  #17  
Old Mar 16, 2011, 11:38 AM
Xenofan 29A Xenofan 29A is offline
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The problem is not that not enough time/money was spent on mastering. The problem is that mastering like this just should not be done, but it is. It can be easily avoided, and has nothing whatsoever to do with money. However, I will concede that it is a minority that actually finds it to be a problem.
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  #18  
Old Mar 16, 2011, 02:11 PM
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Tempted to listen the original soundtracks and this collection if the mastering is really as bad as our regular golden ear guys say. :P (Also those samples didn't sound bad in my ears, but then using probably some 40 dollar speakers so can't vouch much, + mp3 stuff yadaya)

But then, as long as it's not Metallica's Death Magnetic or Nana Mizuki's STARCAMP EP bad I'm fine.
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  #19  
Old Mar 31, 2011, 04:55 PM
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Bottom line: The arcade-sourced games (I, II and LEO) are passable and worth purchasing if this set is ever discounted. The dynamics jump around too much in R-Type III. Delta and Final have been needlessly remastered to be way too loud, and parts of it come close to Death Magnetic levels of stupidity. Casual listeners probably won't care, but you should know what you're getting and be conscious of what your money would be supporting. That's what a discussion like this is for.

A set like this is a big dilemma. Ideally, you want to support a company for taking the time to compile and release a collection of good old music like this, especially when some of it is brand new to CD. On the other hand, you don't want to support sloppy work, and 3 out of the 6 soundtracks represented by this set have been handled very sloppily.

I'm happy to have the product, but I'm very disappointed with more than half of it. If you absolutely must have one 2011 SHMUP box set, your money would be better spent on Gradius Ultimate Collection.

Last edited by Judge Ito; Apr 1, 2011 at 05:33 PM.
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  #20  
Old May 20, 2011, 09:28 PM
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Got my copy! And since I don't have original OST's to compare it to I must say I'm pleased! Well worth $40, sloppy or not. :P
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