New NieR Soundtrack Release + Composer Update
Among the titles published by Square-Enix, NieR doesn't seem to have quite as good a reputation as its peers. One area that NieR can proudly stand alongside them in, however, is its music. Square-Enix seems to agree: while the studio that created NieR closed in 2010, they have released two different soundtracks in the last seven months alone. September saw a 'tribute' album comprised of mostly electronic arrangements of the soundtrack by famous Japanese DJs. Last week, Square-Enix released Piano Collections NieR Gestalt & Replicant.
If you head over to the official Japanese site and click on 'Tracklist', you can sample the tunes included. Unlike the tribute album (which you can also sample on its site), these songs are all arranged and mostly performed by the people who created them for the game originally. Definitely give it a listen, even if you've never touched the games.
If you're interested in what a couple of your more recognizable Squenix-related composers have been up to recently: Motoi Sakuraba (Star Ocean, Valkyrie Profile series) and Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono series) were both involved in the excellent soundtrack to the excellent Kid Icarus: Uprising for the 3DS that was released over the weekend. And--wouldn't you know it--the Japanese website for that game also features a few sample tracks. Click through the seven boxes at the top of the page to go to different tracks.
