That's kind of been the deal with that series in general. I was introduced to it at a real pivotal point for myself. Glad you liked it. Make sure to watch the Christmas Special (it's not listed with the episodes) before starting season 2. I've been finishing up FFLegends 2/SaGa 2, while also diving back into Birth by Sleep for another blog entry. I need to get to 4 Heroes of Light as well before the month ends.
I know the feel. Though I've been pretty good at playing just Ys Seven for a while now. So here's hoping I can limit my gaming habit to one game at a time. Finished season 1 of Aggretsuko, btw. It came at a pretty apt moment in my life actually
I need to buckle down and do more for my writing. I've been writing some future articles/blog entries for the forum, but not so much on the stuff I should be writing. Trying to get myself back into a routine, and picking this damn game back up is probably not the smartest move I've made lately.
Oof. Good luck with that then. I've personally completely given up on that game at this point, what with the story being spread so ridiculously thin. I did enjoy the game during the times that I was actually in that zone, so it's not that I completely don't understand where you're coming from. Since my professional life is currently in absolute chaos, I might actually have some more time to write now, so I'm hoping I can actually set some goals and follow through with them for once!
Welp, fell off the bandwagon and re-downloaded KH Union X. I have really missed that game for some strange reason. Had to start completely;y over but not terribly bothered since I felt I screwed my game up anyway. I'm going to try my damnest to ignore the gatcha daily BS and focus on completing the story mode as much as possible.
Oiy, I'm now being reminded of why I stopped playing 4 Heroes of Light when I reached the final dungeon. I forgot it was a boss rush dungeon that pulls an FFVIII on you. I need to do some serious equipment prepping, but that is a challenge cause this is one of those games with a limited inventory system. Not helped that boss battles are brutal in this game.
Those were some good tracks, the first one reminds me a bit of Pertubater's work. Saga apparently worked on the DLC for Xenoblade 2, so she hasn't completely disappeared but its a damn shame she doesn't write more. Kaijura is still going strong as an anime composer, but it is a shame she doesn't do more for gaming, I'm honestly surprised she wasn't asked to compose the OST for .hack//: G.U. considering her OST for Signs was heralded as the best thing about the anime. I can see how trying to listen to an OST without context can be off putting, but I often like it since I can use the music for my own creative outlook. I got a lot out of the OST for I am Setsuna without context. Hell I still do, and I think the story ideas I got from the music have stayed with me more than the scenes they actually played in.
The video was sent was pretty cool! I loved the enery in the song and the singer has this neat indie vibe about her. I'll probably give the Wild Arms OST a shot sometime in the near future as well, since you're recommending it so, though I do sometimes worry if listening to a soundtrack in isolation will really feel as rewarding as hearing it after knowing the context. Like, I have the Devilman Crybaby OST on loop around now since I'm still in the middle of emotionally digesting the show, but I can't really be sure if I'd like it so much without watching it. I definitely do enjoy the contrasts between the tracks, which are very fitting for this track in particular, since you get these strong, energetic, even relentless tracks like this that honestly make me feel they'd be right at home on the SMT IV soundtrack: and then there are tender pieces like this: And I know the feel, speaking of composers disappearing. I'm still very sad Yuki Kajiura hasn't made a game soundtrack since. I do wonder if the gender norms in Japan have something to do with this, since women like Soraya Saga, whom we've discussed recently, seem to disappear after a certain time. Like, is it expected that they won't continue their careers after a certain point while men keep working until they retire? But yeah, moving away from gender for a while, another composer I've had this experience with was Revo. I know he has his fantasy band and everything and has been doing some spectacular work on the Attack on Titan openings, but I was so disappointed that Bravely Default was his only game soundtrack to date. Luckily, it looks like he;s the sole composer for Bravely Default II now. I hope he can branch out in this field because he's got something special going on.
This is a great band, and their videos are wacky and fun, so I highly recommend checking out a few of them. Mitsuda always had a more refined style to his work, which likely comes from his more classically trained background in music. You should check out Michika Naruke's work on Wild Arms. She does some really interesting things and has a nice balance of high energy anime pieces and more classical choral works. Looking at her Wikipedia entry, I'm sad to learn she hasn't done much outside of Wild Arms, and a few pieces for the Smash Bros. series. On the flip side, it looks like she spent all that time after the series floundered working on more personal works, so good for her.
Yeah it was pretty surprising for me to see that Mitsuda pretty much quoted a minimalist work in Xenosaga’s final battle. Game OSTs do lean on classicism and romantism for a lot of their inspirations, so it’s very nice to see some contemporary art movements in there too. Mitsuda is even more musically literate than I expected. Thanks for the musical recommendation. I was wondering what brought the avatar change I’ll check it out later today!
