KECH-8049~51: Sophie no Atelier ~Fushigi na Hon no Renkinjutsushi~ Original...

[Wsewolod]

You can hear 6 of the tracks on the official website, http://social.gust.co.jp/sophie/ .

1. starcluster
2. 本の見る夢
3. 木漏れ日のカンパネラ
4. 雲雀東風
5. 白地図をてに
6. おもてなしのひととき
7. Juno
8. Ghost Girl for Sophie
9. 薊蓮花

(track 3 seems like the theme inside your workshop)

edit: nice that the track-list is up. I'm not sure when the 9th sample track was put on the official website, but it's there now, and it sounds great.

[Efendija]

I should say the credits are from yodobashi. Alphabet version for うどんタイマーP can be seen on Soul Kitchen's site if scrolled down to the short "about" part in English (although when the text is copied, it has udon timer P and Udon timer P so heh...)

[Efendija]

Just a note that Gust logo is not present here and on the vocal album so it seems it can't be used as a label (for these two at least).
http://tp3000p.blogspot.com/2015/11/blog-post.html
http://tp3000p.blogspot.com/2015/11/plachta.html

[LiquidAcid]

Added the remaining credits from the booklet. Not so sure about that mixing engineer...

[cal]

Originally Posted by LiquidAcid

Added the remaining credits from the booklet. Not so sure about that mixing engineer...

Yeah, one character was slightly off.

岡本憤太郎
岡本慎太郎

[LiquidAcid]

There were still some credits missing (sorry, I'm getting sloppy), and I reformatted the notes to fit the layout in the booklet (vocal and BGM track credits split).

[Ramza]

I'll be attempting an English translation tonight and it will be posted. People with superior translation skills, please work through it for edits. I'll post any challenge translations here on the thread.

Thanks!

[Ramza]

dubble post!

Okay, so if very skilled translators could check over the whole thing that'd be awesome. Note that the songs with the suffix "for Sophie" are found elsewhere in the Atelier series, so I used the translations we have on vgmdb from previous games (ex: "Because the Sky is Red" on 213 comes from 104 on Escha/Logy).

Here are a few that I found troubling:

106 とある街の風景～朝～ (and others like it for the different times of day, like 201)

I've rendered "Scenery of That Town"

The part after the "no" is really preference, I think: Scene, Scenery, Landscape, whatever.

"Toaru Machi," however, is really difficult for me. "Toaru" seems to have a lot of meanings. Jim Breen's gives it "according to; reads; reading; is written; says; states" ... if you put it in Google Translate on its own, Toaru just gets rendered with a generic "a" -- and when you put the Machi (town/street/etc) kanji next to it, google goes insane and makes a nonsense phrase. But then I tried in google translate "Toaru Ramza" and they translated it to "That There Is Ramza" -- in other words, "Toaru" is a sort of introductory self-declaration statement, like "This Is" or "I Am" (comedian Demetri Martin does a great bit about the different uses of those phrases on his album "These Are Jokes" ... but that's an aside). Anyway, I know that typically we'd just see "kono" and "sono" for this/that, but I felt semi-comfortable turning Toaru Machi into "That Town." If anyone has more insight or better phrasing, please contribute!

109 いい感じの店長さん

I currently have rendered "The Store Owner of Happy Feelings"

After the "no" we have Tencho-san, which is a manager, shop manager, shop owner, etc. I went with "Store Owner" out of preference, but I suppose it wouldn't have to be the owner.

"i-i-kanji" is an expressive phrase that refers to happy/pleasant/good/nice feelings/vibes/touch etc. So ... get that combo right, and I think we have something. Has anyone seen something like this phrase used in the game's localization? Listening to the song I don't remember if it was only used in one particular shop / situation or if it's the all-purpose shopping music.

110 本の見る夢

Rendered "A Dream to See the Present." This is the #1 result from Google Translate, and after playing with many possible meanings and removing and adding kanji and searching the web to see what phrases are popular, I think this might be ... at least kind of right? It's as if to say "A Dream to See the Future, but *not really* the future, we're gonna limit it to the present."

That said, the "Hon no" beginning ... if that "Hon" were translated as "Book," then we have "A Dream to See the Book" --> and considering the game's (localized) subtitle of "The Mysterious Book" -- well, it has me wondering if that's the context. Anyone?

129 戦下の一撃

Rendered "Low Blow Battle"

The easy part is the first kanji: war, battle, fight, whatever.

The rest of the phrase is very interesting, particularly "Shita no" (Shita might not be the right reading of the Kanji ... it has a variety of distinct meanings). But I saw that in general it means below, under, but could also refer to a dirty joke or "playing dirty." And then the last part can be a blow, a hit, a poke ... some instigating/initiating attack. So I was thinking "Low Blow" or "Below the Belt" in English parlance. Is this on the right track?

205 人形とおじさん

I'm actually listing this one to say I'm very confident in it and requesting it not be changed. I have rendered it "The Doll and the Old Man." The song title is clearly referring to the characters Plachta (doll) and Fritz Weissberg (old man). Fritz is 51 y/o, and Plachta doesn't really refer to him with the endearing term "uncle" in the game as far as I remember ... so I don't think "Uncle" or some other term of endearment would work. "Old Man," as a playful jab, sounds more like the relationship. So please don't mess with that one, I'm quite sure of it.

214 ラ・ブーム

I've rendered this "La Boum" instead of "La Boom," because I'm fairly certain the composer is referencing a French novel which is romanized "La Boum" -- the mere fact that it starts with "La" makes me think "okay, this is kana, but it's for French words, not English words, so we should stick with the title." See here: https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83...83%BC%E3%83%A0

229 (and 230) 残香を追って

I very loosely rendered this "Chasing the Lingering Trail." The first two kanji are suggested, when paired, as "Lingering Scent" in Jim Breen and "Substantivity" in Google. The rest of the phrase is safely "Chasing" or "Pursuing." The direction I'm getting from listening to the song and looking at the words, and knowing this is a day/evening song, is that this is a song for a dungeon area where the team is trying to find something that is *on the move* and they must chase/pursue it, hunt it down, capture it, etc. So I went with "Lingering Trail," as if to say, the object of pursuit is leaving a trail for them to follow. What do you think?

301 春風のポーレチカ

I have no godly idea what the hell a porechika (ポーレチカ) is. What I do know is that an arrangement of the song appears on the digital enclosure Yoru no Nai Kuni / Atelier Sophie album: http://vgmdb.net/album/56538 -- and that arrangement is entitled "Porechika de briza de primavara" in those words. And if you translate the rest of the phrase (Romanian or Italian) you basically get "Spring Breeze Porechika." So that's the best I can do. So unless someone knows what the hell a Porechika is, that's as far as we're gonna get.

304 本を読もう!

I get real tripped up over "Hon" because of its wide variety of uses, but I'm erring on the side of "Book" because of the game's plot and central theme. I did "Let's Read the Book!" -- but apparently Google is convinced that somehow there's a "restaurant" in there. I'm not sold on the suggested translation. Please give this one a careful looksy!

311 空の帳に包まれて

It's not "Hon" this time, but the kanji 帳 (Tobari etc) can be Curtain or Book. The "Empty" part is the same kanji I used for "Open Sky" on that one about an open sky ridge. And then that phrase about being wrapped in ... where that fits grammatically in the sentence structure? I have no idea. This one needs help, I'm almost sure I'm wrong.

[Efendija]

NISA is doing a partial soundtrack release (as usual) so you can check it out for some of their solutions. BTW I think there's some kind of separation for Morning/Night/Epilogue tracks from the "base" title but I couldn't quite discern it (in a video I've watched).

[Ramza]

Originally Posted by Efendija

NISA is doing a partial soundtrack release (as usual) so you can check it out for some of their solutions. BTW I think there's some kind of separation for Morning/Night/Epilogue tracks from the "base" title but I couldn't quite discern it (in a video I've watched).

oh hey, thanks for posting the tracklist for the partial! I'll see how it matches up.

So strange ... when it's a 2disc OST NISA prints a 1idsc. So when a 3disc is released, they publish a 2disc. C'mon, just go all the way! :P

(I loved when Square Enix did the full FFVIII and FFXIII-2 in the US. More folks need to get on board with that shiz)

[Ramza]

HOKAY!

So I was able to match up everything from NISA's localization to this tracklist. I'm actually pretty impressed at how spot-on I was with most of the tracks. The one I was most off on was our good friend "Porechika" -- it was a Nordic word, "Polska," a type of dance:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polska_(dance)

The only other one I did poorly on was "Sometime, Somewhere" -- which, in my defense, NISA took some artistic liberty with that one, especially by incorporating new punctuation.

Otherwise, things matched up nicely. Even my concern about the town thing? Our only difference was that I said "That" and they said "the" -- not too shabby!

The only two tracks I couldn't match were the last tracks of each disc, but then I checked the tracklist to the vocal album and realized they were songs unique to the vocal album. So, we're solid.

I would still like for someone to check out my translations, especially of the following (which were not addressed by the NISA publication):

Originally Posted by Ramza

110 本の見る夢

Rendered "A Dream to See the Present." This is the #1 result from Google Translate, and after playing with many possible meanings and removing and adding kanji and searching the web to see what phrases are popular, I think this might be ... at least kind of right? It's as if to say "A Dream to See the Future, but *not really* the future, we're gonna limit it to the present."

That said, the "Hon no" beginning ... if that "Hon" were translated as "Book," then we have "A Dream to See the Book" --> and considering the game's (localized) subtitle of "The Mysterious Book" -- well, it has me wondering if that's the context. Anyone?

129 戦下の一撃

Rendered "Low Blow Battle"

The easy part is the first kanji: war, battle, fight, whatever.

The rest of the phrase is very interesting, particularly "Shita no" (Shita might not be the right reading of the Kanji ... it has a variety of distinct meanings). But I saw that in general it means below, under, but could also refer to a dirty joke or "playing dirty." And then the last part can be a blow, a hit, a poke ... some instigating/initiating attack. So I was thinking "Low Blow" or "Below the Belt" in English parlance. Is this on the right track?

205 人形とおじさん

I'm actually listing this one to say I'm very confident in it and requesting it not be changed. I have rendered it "The Doll and the Old Man." The song title is clearly referring to the characters Plachta (doll) and Fritz Weissberg (old man). Fritz is 51 y/o, and Plachta doesn't really refer to him with the endearing term "uncle" in the game as far as I remember ... so I don't think "Uncle" or some other term of endearment would work. "Old Man," as a playful jab, sounds more like the relationship. So please don't mess with that one, I'm quite sure of it.

214 ラ・ブーム

I've rendered this "La Boum" instead of "La Boom," because I'm fairly certain the composer is referencing a French novel which is romanized "La Boum" -- the mere fact that it starts with "La" makes me think "okay, this is kana, but it's for French words, not English words, so we should stick with the title." See here: https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83...83%BC%E3%83%A0

229 (and 230) 残香を追って

I very loosely rendered this "Chasing the Lingering Trail." The first two kanji are suggested, when paired, as "Lingering Scent" in Jim Breen and "Substantivity" in Google. The rest of the phrase is safely "Chasing" or "Pursuing." The direction I'm getting from listening to the song and looking at the words, and knowing this is a day/evening song, is that this is a song for a dungeon area where the team is trying to find something that is *on the move* and they must chase/pursue it, hunt it down, capture it, etc. So I went with "Lingering Trail," as if to say, the object of pursuit is leaving a trail for them to follow. What do you think?

304 本を読もう!

I get real tripped up over "Hon" because of its wide variety of uses, but I'm erring on the side of "Book" because of the game's plot and central theme. I did "Let's Read the Book!" -- but apparently Google is convinced that somehow there's a "restaurant" in there. I'm not sold on the suggested translation. Please give this one a careful looksy!

311 空の帳に包まれて

It's not "Hon" this time, but the kanji 帳 (Tobari etc) can be Curtain or Book. The "Empty" part is the same kanji I used for "Open Sky" on that one about an open sky ridge. And then that phrase about being wrapped in ... where that fits grammatically in the sentence structure? I have no idea. This one needs help, I'm almost sure I'm wrong.

[Efendija]

"Sometime, Somewhere" is also from the vocal album (track 6 there) so don't worry, bring your translation back for that one track (goddamntherhyme).

Just to add it's not only localized as Mysterious Book, the Japanese premium editions of the game carried the same title in English (before any localization of course).
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...L._SL1411_.jpg

Gust seems to be staying with the mysterious theme seeing the next game (Atelier Firis) will probably be "Mysterious Journey" in English.

[Ramza]

Originally Posted by Efendija

"Sometime, Somewhere" is also from the vocal album (track 6 there) so don't worry, bring your translation back for that one track (goddamntherhyme).

Just to add it's not only localized as Mysterious Book, the Japanese premium editions of the game carried the same title in English (before any localization of course).
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...L._SL1411_.jpg

Gust seems to be staying with the mysterious theme seeing the next game (Atelier Firis) will probably be "Mysterious Journey" in English.

Thanks for the catch!!!

Could someone else take a look at the tracks I flagged as "challenge translations" please? would appreciate it!

[Efendija]

Here goes... some suggestions.

'Book' for 本の見る夢, album http://vgmdb.net/album/56538 has the last track as an arrangement of this one and the title change is from book to an e-book / publication (電気書籍の見る夢).

If we do lock 残香 as zankou, lingering scent seems fine, 香 alone can mean incense, perfume, makes sense. In the end, it's really your preference how you want to render it.

帳 is read chou in a register, book sense: denwachou - phonebook, gachou - album. Here, I'm going for tobari reading in which case it can't mean book (I think). Doing 空 as a simple sora - 'sky' and uhhh.... Wrapped in Sky Curtain(s) / Enveloped by the Sky Curtain(s)? Heh.

'Hon o yomou' looks like Let's read a / the book, no problem there.

*I reserve the right to be completely wrong*

[Ramza]

Originally Posted by Efendija

Here goes... some suggestions.

'Book' for 本の見る夢, album http://vgmdb.net/album/56538 has the last track as an arrangement of this one and the title change is from book to an e-book / publication (電気書籍の見る夢).

If we do lock 残香 as zankou, lingering scent seems fine, 香 alone can mean incense, perfume, makes sense. In the end, it's really your preference how you want to render it.

帳 is read chou in a register, book sense: denwachou - phonebook, gachou - album. Here, I'm going for tobari reading in which case it can't mean book (I think). Doing 空 as a simple sora - 'sky' and uhhh.... Wrapped in Sky Curtain(s) / Enveloped by the Sky Curtain(s)? Heh.

'Hon o yomou' looks like Let's read a / the book, no problem there.

*I reserve the right to be completely wrong*

Incredible find on that arrangement that renames the track from book to e-Book/publication. That definitely locks in a meaning. I'm going with "Dream to See the Book" on that.

I've changed to Lingering Scent as you suggested.

I'm going with "Wrapped in Curtains of Sky" -- which sounds a little weird, but I think it also sounds poetic, and I think it fits the structure of the Japanese track name better? Maybe? Let me know.

Thanks for the help. I'm going to add this English tracklist as it stands to RPGFan. If anyone sees areas for improvement, please go for it!

(I'm taking on that 8 disc Steins;gate box set next, since I just got it in the mail... I'll be going back and forth between the source release and the box set, trying to get consistent English tracklists. Cool? Cool.)

[emeralda]

is the ost even good

[LiquidAcid]

Originally Posted by Andvari

is the ost even good

There are like 50 Youtube rips out there, in case you want to check it out.

[Phonograph]

Originally Posted by Ramza

... I'm going with "Dream to See the Book" on that.

...

very funny, ramza but you are not serious when you say that, right?
it's like translating kimi no iru machi by town to be you (that has no sense)

I suggest something more sensical like the dream of a book
and don't scare me like that because that translation is too scary

[Ramza]

Originally Posted by Phonograph

very funny, ramza but you are not serious when you say that, right?
it's like translating kimi no iru machi by town to be you (that has no sense)

I suggest something more sensical like the dream of a book
and don't scare me like that because that translation is too scary

I think I was getting caught up with Vision/See as a separate verb when "Dream" was already a separate kanji. I didn't see the possibility of combining them into a sort of verb/noun gerund as you've suggested in "Dream of a Book" -- which, after looking at the Japanese again, makes a lot more sense, especially since I flipped subject and object (in your example of "town to be you"). I'm going to make the edit, and thank you so much for taking a look at it Phono!

[Phonograph]

Originally Posted by Ramza

...

214 ラ・ブーム

I've rendered this "La Boum" instead of "La Boom," because I'm fairly certain the composer is referencing a French novel which is romanized "La Boum" -- the mere fact that it starts with "La" makes me think "okay, this is kana, but it's for French words, not English words, so we should stick with the title." See here: https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83...83%BC%E3%83%A0

...

actually I think that that "la boum" is the title of the french movie, why?
because of Cliffhanger, La Coccinelle (Herbie), Impromptu, Juno and maybe other tracknames

[Efendija]

Updated several English track titles according to Acttil's localization (the company Koei Tecmo hired for Sophie and a few other Atelier games).

[Mac_Tear]

Atelier Sophie (Composer's Comments - BGM)

Spoiler:

Campanella of Sun Through Trees
Hello everyone, this is Daisuke Achiwa! Did you enjoy time with Atelier Sophie? We have 2 atelier tracks for this game. This one plays from the beginning of the game, so I went for an image of rural simplicity, like Sophie taking a leisurely walk. (Achiwa)

Spring Breeze Polska
After a certain event, it switches to this track. In contrast with the previous track, this one is an image of running, or even flying through the sky. You can sing the melody with lyrics like "I changed my clothes". The interlude contains a very familiar tune. Can you tell where it came from? (Achiwa)

Scenery of the Town -Morning-
Congratulations for clearing the game! And thank you very much! This is the town’s theme in the morning. The guitar is played by Sasaki. We got to know each other over the internet around the beginning of development, and had a meeting in Saitama… It hasn’t even been a year, but it feels nostalgic. (Asano)

Scenery of the Town -Noon-
The theme for noontime. I associate Kirchen Bell with the sounds of bells in my head. The guitar is played by Sasaki. I like how Sasaki listens earnestly to what I have to say about guitars and keyboards, and also my terrible stories. (Asano)

Scenery of the Town -Evening-
I have the image of evening as a lively time. The guitar is once again played by Sasaki. The violin is played by Ono, and the trombone is by our very own Yanagawa. I had the wild idea of making the town themes represent traditional folk songs of the people of Kirchen Bell. I really would like to visit a tavern and see a musical performance just like in the movies. And to drink beer. (Asano)

Scenery of the Town -Night-
The theme for night. Early to bed, early to rise. You really should sleep at night. There’s the sound of owls, but there aren’t any in this town (lol)! I’m really glad I got to work with so many people while developing this game. And of course, I’m glad we got to release the game for everyone to play. Thank you so much for playing it. I would be happy if we could meet again. (Asano)

Moments of Hospitality
Thank you very much for playing! I’m Yano, the newbie here. I worked on things like music and sound effects. Anyway, this is a BGM related to shops. Good hospitality is always appreciated. I went for a warm and gentle arrangement, using plenty of influence from Irish jigs. (Yano)

Bar Time (Relaxing)
Quality time in a quiet bar at night. It’s nice to relax and drink slowly by yourself once in a while. This is in contrast to “Bar Time (Bustling)”. The piano is played by Shoko Mochiyama. (Abe)

Bar Time (Bustling)
Many people gather in a lively bar. There’s a larger than normal band playing there, stirring things up. The weekend is a great time to go drinking! The piano is played once again by Shoko Mochiyama. (Abe)

Tea Time Bossa
Tea time in a calm and quiet caf. in the afternoon. I don’t know if this is truly a Bossa (lol), but the acoustic guitar is really nice. It’s performed by Shinpei Nozaki. (Abe)

Fluffy Prayer
Thank you for clearing the game. I’m Yanagawa, and I work on various sound jobs! Anyway, this is the theme for the church, but I had a request to make it a little playful because Pamela is the nun there. I used instruments that would be related to church, but arranged it to have a light and soft feeling. (Yanagawa)

With Map in Hand
I wanted the world map to have a sense of adventure as a theme, representing many feelings, such as excitement and anxiety of exploring unknown. There are many different sounds playing, so please listen carefully. But of course, Atelier needs a flute! (Abe)

With Map in Hand -Night-
This is the general track for the world map and small maps at night. I thoroughly arranged Abe’s track for this. Since I had played the flute for the original, the arrangement went relatively easily. (Yanagawa)

Bright
The general track for shallow forests. I had instructions to make it sound “like you’re going on a picnic!”, but… What exactly is that like? I’ve gone hiking, so I know about that, at least. The sunlight beaming through swaying trees, the chirps of songbirds… That’s the image I went for. (Asano)

Shrouded in Greenery
The general map track for deep forests. Since this is related to forests, I borrowed the melody from the previous track, “Bright”. Although the latter half is completely different (lol). For some reason, I had an impression that deep forests call for a fretless bass, so I just went with it! (Yanagawa)

Rustling Landscape
The general map track for plains. I had ideas for other titles, like "Aimless Homesickness", but I went with this one. I imagined wind rustling grass as it blows along, and vast scenery stretching before my eyes, to create a gently swaying, irregular rhythm. (Asano)

Edge of the Sky
The general map track for wilderness and mountains. I like the repeating solos in the latter half. If every instrument stands out, everyone in the band will be happy… I guess my time in a wind ensemble is still affecting me (lol). The title can also mean "Near the Sky". (Yanagawa)

Echoing Curiosity
The general map track that plays in caves. For some reason, I always associated caves with marimbas, and I wanted the bass to have a humid feeling. Doesn’t hearing about caves give you a feeling of excitement? This track is meant to support that sense of adventure. (Asano)

hesasd
I was originally supposed to handle more than just map tracks, but lots of things happened. I wrote this track assuming that I’d have other things to do, and kind of just left it as it was, in a good way. I also left the title as it was. Hahaha. (Asano)

Traces of Ancient Winds
A general map track for ruins. This is the first song I wrote for Atelier. This is a place that remains after countless time has passed. What could have been here before? I like seeing the remnants and shadows left by the past. It’s also unusual to hear breakbeats in this series. (Yano)

Whispers of Trees
This is a forest with fairies living in it, so it’s a little mysterious in atmosphere. Maybe the fairies can come and work for me. If I recall, you put candy in a jar, and leave it in the moonlight. At least, that’s what my little sister’s magazine said when I read it long ago. (Yanagawa)

Whispers of Trees -Night-
The forest at night. I knew it would involve a piano, but I tried making the chords sound more Japanese in taste. I used to go visit my grandmother in the countryside around Obon every year, and there were so many fireflies at night… I wonder if fairies glow like that when they fly around? (Yanagawa)

Green Garden
The image here is that of a garden with plenty of greenery and water. Gardens are really nice to look at, but they’re a pain to keep up. It also attracts mosquitos. You also find all kinds of stuff stuck to your clothes. (Achiwa)

Green Garden -Night-
The garden at night. By the way, the 3 Great Gardens of Japan are Kenrokuen, Konurakuen, and Kairakuen, and the history behind their names is pretty interesting. You should research it, and proudly tell your friends. I guarantee they’ll be annoyed in the grandest of ways. (Achiwa)

Glistening Lake
It’s a lake. A quiet shore by the lake. Recorders sound very beautiful when they’re played skillfully, you know? Although they sound awful when I play them… (Yanagawa)

Glistening Lake -Night-
The lake shore at night. I arranged it to sound a little more chilly than during day. There are tons of mosquitos by the waterside at night, so you need bug repellents. You could also burn cedar leaves. Ah, now I want to go camping! (Yanagawa)

Crimson Valley
A valley evokes a sense of excitement, the perfect setting for an adventure. Your view is limited, so you don’t know what could be on the other side. Perhaps that’s what stirs your sense of curiosity? (Achiwa)

Crimson Valley -Night-
The map tracks change between day and night in this game. Most of the night tracks are quiet, but I tried making this one rhythm only. It’s an image of hearing an eerie drum sound from far away… (Achiwa)

Pure Wind
This is a plain. I was told to go for a sad and lonely image, so I gave it a sense of lingering sorrow. I like to picture a young girl living all on the plains, so I went for an image like that. (Yanagawa)

Pure Wind -Night-
Harps are surprisingly handy for moving tunes. Although it’s really hard work to actually record the musical scores. That pedal is complicated… Still, it’s an instrument that I want to master some day. (Yanagawa)

Palace of Paradox
A palace where heaven and earth are reversed. Perhaps a normal palace was flipped upside down by some circumstances, or someone with lots of money to blow built it that way just to confuse people. I think the latter would be more funny, and more appropriate for Atelier. (Achiwa)

Palace of Paradox -Night-
It seems like there are actually a lot of buildings around the world built to look like they’re upside down. Or at an angle. Some of them are art, others built just to attract tourists and other business. Actually, realistic reasons like that are more interesting than magic or disasters. (Achiwa)

Follow the Scent
I really like places like this, that are blatantly from another dimension. Nobody will get mad if I use my instruments in a weird ways! Long live alternate dimensions (lol)! (Yanagawa)

Follow the Scent -Night-
Only having a chorus, piano, and bells is really quiet in a creepy way. It’s hard to do quiet arrangements of tracks like this, without a clear melody. (Yanagawa)

Silver Candlestands
Abandoned temples probably make ruin maniacs’ mouths water. Back when I was in grad school, we had a test of courage at a nearby temple during summer, but the team in charge of doing the scaring wanted to show off their costumes, and it all ended up being spoiled before it started. It’s hard to do it right. (Achiwa)

Silver Candlestands -Night-
Speaking of tests of courage, I wonder if hanging a piece of konjac and brushing it against people’s faces would really work. I tried it before, but it’s never dark enough, so they just see it’s hung from a pole. And if it’s so dark they can’t see it, you won’t be able to aim and brush it against them either. (Achiwa)

Sinking into Blue
Speaking of underground lakes, I visited Ryusendo recently. It was summer, but the cave was really cold, and the water was stagnant yet still beautiful. I want to go again. (Yanagawa)

Sinking into Blue -Night-
The underground lake is more rhythmic at night. I mean, night time is when you want to go explore a cave, after all! (Yanagawa)

Con. Liela Xea
An enormous library. Could this be the last dungeon? At my university, even undergraduates could enter the library’s archive without permission, but it seems this is actually rather uncommon. I could search the the archives for documents I wanted. And it was really cool in there. (Achiwa)

Con. Liela Xea -Night-
Of course, the archive was naturally locked up at night, so I wonder if anyone ever lost track of time and had to spend the night in there? It would only be one night, so they wouldn’t starve or anything, but the archive is kept at a pretty low temperature, so that might be bad. Also, no restroom! (Achiwa)

A Piece of Pie
The normal battle theme for easy enemies. This was the first track to receive a "go" from the director. It has a fun feeling, with plenty of room for playing around. You might never hear the high point of the son when you’re playing the game (lol). The violin is played by Ono, and the organ is by Asano. (Yanagawa)

Spring East Wind
I started putting titles like this on songs as a sort of tribute to someone else. I was always chasing that vision, but I feel like it’s finally started to take form with this track. The violin is played by Ono, the acoustic guitar by Sasaki, and the bass by Lucifer. Including me (25), our average age is 22.75! (Asano)

Cliffhanger
The normal battle theme for enemies that are a little dangerous. Much like how the title implies that something more is coming, this is a jumble of many rhythms and melodies. The violin is played by Hiro Nakaura, the bass by HIROTOMO, and the acoustic guitar by SI.V. (Yano)

Demon's Bite
This track plays the when the enemy’s power is hopelessly above yours. You’re not just facing a powerful foe. You’re dizzy, your hands are shaking, you’re in a panic, and all you can say is “I’m done for!” in an accent you don’t normally use. (Yanagawa)

Impromptu
The theme for a boss battle. As the title implies, the piano was improvised in a progressive style, and that formed the tune. The violin was played by Hiro Nakaura, the bass by HIROTOMO, the electric guitar by Takashi Ito, and the acoustic guitar by SI.V. It’s a difficult piece, but our performers are all amazing! (Yano)

Warrior's Strike
This is for a boss battle. Many guitars dubbed over each other fire up the battle even more. This song ramps up the tension to fit the furious fight, so be sure to use lots of awesome skills to match (lol). The guitar is played by Shinpei Nozaki. (Abe)

Saturnus
I asked the familiar metal guitarist Toshinori Hiramatsu to handle guitars for the 3 boss tracks (including the last boss) that I was in charge of. When I looked at this boss, I could see they were heavily armed, so I went for a grand and wild image. (Achiwa)

Thistle Lotus
The bass is played by Lucifer, and the violin by Ono. I asked my old friend chiybow, who I hadn’t seen in 7 years, to play the guitar. This is unrelated, but I saw a dream where I was watching TV and drinking sake with someone who seemed to be my girlfriend. When I woke up, I was at work. I cried. (Asano)

Juno
This boss has the image of a bewitching woman, so I made this elegant and refined. Of course, the battle isn’t just the boss, there’s plenty of action going on too, so I look forward to seeing just how it synergizes with the music. (Achiwa)

We Won!
A track for victory in battle. It’s less "Let’s keep going!" and more "Let’s take a little break." (Yanagawa)

Let's Try It!
The theme for our heroine Sophie, always giving 120%. She lives life at her own pace, she’s cheerful, and cute… And my first draft was rejected because "She’s not that stupid", I later got an OK along the same lines (lol). The violin is played by Hiro Nakaura, and the tin whistle by our very own Yanagawa. (Yano)

starcluster
The first track to play on the official website. The scent of trees, a clear sky, and pleasant wind. That’s the image I went for with this. It’s hard to really notice nature when you’re living a normal life, but that’s the feeling I wanted to evoke. (Asano)

Go Oskar
This may be the first chubby character I’ve worked with in the Atelier series (excluding fairies, dragons, aliens, mascot costumes, etc). I’ve got a little extra weight myself, so I can understand. We don’t see many characters like him these days. They were always in gag manga and stuff before, though. (Achiwa)

A Knight's Holiday
He’s noble, but he’s not putting on airs too much. Julio is pretty gallant. But that’s hard to express in music… It needs to be very fine tunes, so it was hard work. I just hope it turned out the way I pictured it. (Yanagawa)

Counterclockwise
Counterclockwise, that’s a long word. It means turning in the opposite direction of a clock. This is the theme for the tsundere clockmaker, Harol. I tried putting in the sounds of clocks, and a reverse synth. I composed this while thinking of ways to oppose clocks, like Harol. (Yano)

Camellia Sazanka
Half open eyes and triangular mouth... I like it. Corneria’s really small, but she works really hard. That inspires me to work harder too. The image behind this track is more like Corneria marching along. Maybe you can say "heave-ho" or something during the intervals. (Asano)

La Coccinelle
She’s a girl who loves fashion, and she could have come straight from Paris… Or maybe that’s just according to my old fashioned Showa senses. But I think this is still a common theme these days. When I hear music like this, I think of a certain bucktoothed, sarcastic character with bobbed hair. He was a symbol of the Showa era too. (Achiwa)

A Man and His Dolls
When I was first composing this track, he was a warrior deeply devoted to his work. I tried making a track that would fir a war, and played it alongside his events, but… I burst out laughing at the first scene. “Who the heck is this funny man!? His character changed way too much! But this is pretty hilarious in its own way!” And so I kept it. (Yanagawa)

Dreams of a Book
Plachta’s theme is full of mystery, but also a cute image. In the first half she’s an inorganic book, and in the latter she’s more organic and human. Now that I think about it, there are a lot more talking appliances these days, and some really don’t feel unnatural at all. We might soon see an era when books can talk, and it’s not surprising at all. (Yanagawa)

Ghost Girl for Sophie
Pamela hasn’t shown up since the Arland series. We rearrange her theme every time, so we have quite a lot of arrangements for this one. Comparing them is fun, since we can see just how Gust’s sound has changed over the years. (Yanagawa)

Because the Sky is Red for Sophie
He’s a blacksmith, so I considered using the traditional monk sounds for this theme, but I decided not to. However, if his scalp ever ends up in a bad situation, I’ll reconsider. (Yanagawa)

Bookworm Glasses Girl
When it comes to glasses, I’m all for them, no matter what size or shape! People always say the look of my eyes is scary, ever since I was a student, so I started wearing glasses. Maybe I should just get plastic surgery instead. (Asano)

Tomboy Rabbit
I actually really like this track. The chord changes on every beat in the latter part was my attempt to express the whirlwind of changing expressions in Tess. There was a time when I kept a pet rabbit, and it was super fickle. (Yanagawa)

Pleasant Manager
Horst seems like a guy who could do anything for you without a problem. I don’t think it’s very attractive when someone cooks or something, and shows off like they’re trying to say "Look at me! I can do hard things like this so easy!" I want to be a sophisticated adult who cares more about the unseen. (Asano)

Same as Always
The usual, normal days are really important too. Listening to ethnic instruments and rhythms like this never gets tiring, strangely enough. The latter part has a rhythm change at the perfect time, too… (Abe)

Yawning Songbird
Songbirds are cute when they yawn. In the past, I took care of an injured sparrow for a short time, and its yawns were super cute. It’s been 15 years since then… I hope its descendants are flying around happily now. (Yanagawa)

Huh? Oh, Yes.
A comical track that plays during goofy and silly moments. It's hard for me to compose tracks in this genre, and unlike the mood of the tune, it was a serious battle for me to complete it. I want to try playing a mouth harp (the twang twang you can hear in the track) sometime. (Yano)

Huh, Wait, What!??
A comical track for more panicked and slapstick moments. I feel like this would play during a foot race for some reason. I took out my violin and played it after many years... But I wonder why I composed it in such a high key. I kept apologizing in my head to our performers as I played it (but I never said I regret what I've done). (Yano)

La Boom
Burning lips! So hot! I wanted to use this title because the heroine’s name is Sophie. It was Shallotte in the last game. Next will probably be Emmanuel, or Isabel, or Vanessa, or something. Younger people probably have no idea what I’m referring to. If you’re really curious, do some research. (Achiwa)

Sorrow
A track that plays during sad or painful episodes. I was thinking about going with just a piano, but I added more instruments in the end. I really like cello solos, so I use them a lot. I recorded this on a computer, but I’ll probably buy the actual instrument sooner or later. (Yano)

Odd Couple
A track for scenes that make you just say “huh?” At first, I had title ideas like "Nutcracker Doll" or "Dance of the Sugar Plums", but I wanted it to seem a little more ignorant. There’s a lot of ballet type songs that serve well as RPG BGMs. (Achiwa)

Scars
A track for important events relating to the main story. It has the same sequence of phrases as a certain other tune, so try looking for it. This is unrelated, but Sophie has the image of someone with a round face. Very round. (Achiwa)

Urgency
Music that plays during the tension right before a boss battle. The tricky beat and embellishments creates a thrilling arrangement that’s unpredictable. I played the piano myself, and I recall hitting the keys pretty hard. (Yano)

Afterwards
Music that plays after the decisive battle, and everyone is in a solemn mood. I usually follow a metronome to tightly keep tempo while composing tracks, but not this one. I didn’t use a metronome at all, and recorded many times with a fluctuating temp. I’m surprised it looped so well. (Yano)

Premonition
For scenes of grave situations. I’ve composed several tracks like this recently, but I’m the type who hardly takes anything that seriously, so it’s hard for me. I also don’t take the fact that it’s hard for me very seriously, so I guess that’s why I’m just able to do it. Que sera, sera. (Achiwa)

Under the Sky Curtain
Music that plays during events at night. Game music is usually composed to symbolize the mood and sights of a scene, and this one is easy to understand. The twinkling glocken represents the starry sky! The arrangements is quiet like the night! Don’t tell me to make it more complicated. Simple is best. (Yano)

Camellia Sazanka on Musicbox
Corneria’s best line: "Ah… I really want to drink some milk…" Cory! I wrote this song at my house!! You can come over anytime, you know!? Oh, I’ll leave the key in the mailbox for you!! If you can’t reach the intercom, just come right in! *Sigh*, I guess I’ll buy some oden on the way home… (Asano)

A Knight's Holiday on Piano
The melody and chords are the same as the original, but the mood seems much different. I originally used slightly jazzy sounds, so it’s actually pretty sweet as a piano solo too. (Yanagawa)

Campanella of Sun Through Trees -Epilogue-
The track for the ending event. Oh right, Achiwa’s music is actually really easy to rearrange. A strong melody is important, and I’m surprised how much I learn every time. I want to write more memorable melodies too. (Yanagawa)

Spring Breeze Polska -Epilogue-
This is also for the ending event. If you’ve come this far, I really want to thank you for playing until the very end. Nothing could make me happier than you enjoying our game. (Yanagawa)

Sophia
The medley for the staff credits. Cutting apart musical phrases and reconnecting them is kind of like alchemy, and it’s fun. I’d be happy if you remembered events from the game while watching the credits. To be honest, due to time limits, I cried while having to cut this to around half of the original. (Yanagawa)

I'll Study!
The tutorial theme. I’ve been trying to write music that improves memory, but I don’t think I’ve succeeded yet. I’d probably make a fortune if I managed to pull it off in reality. (Yanagawa)

Let's Read!
The track for learning recipes. You don’t hear this much because of the recipe system in this game. (Yanagawa)

Where Do We Go Next?
It’s exciting when you’re able to go to a new map. It’s also exciting in a different way when you fall asleep on the train, and end up in an unknown place. It makes you wonder if you’ll make it back for work tomorrow. Now that Nagano isn’t the last stop for the Shinkansen, I’m scared of falling asleep. (Yanagawa)

Morning Already?
It’s fine when you can wake up and say "It’s already morning!?" A lot of times on the weekend, I’ll wake up and say “It’s already night!?” and the whole day is gone. I rush into the nearby curry shop near closing, and the day is over once I’m done eating. It hurts. (Yanagawa)

I'm Happy!
I composed most of the jingles for this game, but making so many at once is pretty tough! It’s a contest of sheer number of ideas, and hard work! (Yanagawa)

I'm Really Happy!
A lot of things made me really happy lately. My friend got married, my sister got married, my classmate got married… We’re all nearing 30, so there’s a huge rush for that. (Yanagawa)

From a Folded Page
The theme for the title screen. This arrangement is simple too, and I like it. I enjoy music where I play the piano with all my heart. (Yanagawa)

To a Folded Page
The theme for the title screen after clearing the game. It’s actually an arrangement of the opening theme, with a chorus! I hope at least one person is surprised. By the way, the chorus was sung by Haruka. She’s always wonderful. (Yanagawa)

Piano Lesson 1 -Deconstruction-
The 1st jingle that plays when Sophie starts practicing the piano. It’s really hard for someone experienced to make it sound like someone who’s never touched a piano before. We actually had our company’s planner play this, since they had no musical experience. Thank you! (Yano)

Piano Lesson 2 -I Get It...?-
The 2nd jingle that plays when Sophie starts practicing the piano. You can kind of make out the melody now. I originally planned 10 stages for this, but the changes would have been too subtle for most people to notice, so I went with the originally planned 3. I really enjoy a certain movie with a piano lesson in it, like the title. (Yano)

Piano Lesson 3 -I... Did It!-
The 3rd jingle that plays when Sophie starts practicing the piano. You can now clearly hear the chords and melody! A song is sung to the same tune too, but where will it appear? You should try looking for it. (Yano)

[BlazingAbyss]

Thank you for continuing to transcribe the BGM titles and composer comments for the Atelier games. It's always nice to have these kinds of things documented.

[Mac_Tear]

Originally Posted by BlazingAbyss

Thank you for continuing to transcribe the BGM titles and composer comments for the Atelier games. It's always nice to have these kinds of things documented.

I think so, too. The Atelier series might not be one of the most popular series, but still I love these kind of documents, which gives an insight in the process of making these soundtracks and the thoughts of the artists and producers. The DX versions feature sound tests with these comments, which I thought would be a nice addition for preservation.

There are quite some soundtracks which have detailed composer comments, but sadly most of them are in Japanese. Luckily, Google translate is even advanced now so you can easily translate even pictures. But as a non-Japanese speaker it's always a risk that some of them might have translation mistakes, especially if you don't know the context of the song.

[Mac_Tear]

Can someone explain where the translation of 雲雀東風 (Hibarikochi) ("Spring Wind Skylark") comes from? As far as I know it's not featured on any localized sampler like the NIS America limited edition and the sound test translates it to "Spring East Wind".

[Phonograph]

in fact, 雲雀東風 should be seen as 雲雀 + 東風 and translated as "Skylark & Spring Wind"

[Mac_Tear]

Originally Posted by Phonograph

in fact, 雲雀東風 should be seen as 雲雀 + 東風 and translated as "Skylark & Spring Wind"

I see, so it's correct then. Thank you!