soundtrack

Xenosaga II — 善悪の彼岸 (Jenseits von Gut und Böse) — OST

Posted 2004-07-11 (日) 午前1:18 by terra

Well, from my regular sources, I managed to obtain the music two days from its official release. I played the music in one setting and to be honest I’m not that all impressed by it. (Note that I am listening to the music again as I type this, hoping for a change in opinion.)

Overall it’s a pretty album but nothing really stands out for me. It’s new-age styled music that just goes on and on. The image song with the Scandinavian-like chorals (theme of ‘fatal fight’, etc) is probably the only decently memorable song, but I feel it’s far too repetitive.

Essentially, the album sounds like a continuation of Hack//Sign, with only a few minor themes of Xenosaga I in the background providing some sort of continuity with the previous game. It has nothing of the spiritual-depth of the Xenogears and Xenosaga I OSTS. Honestly, the Nietzsche-inspired title (trans: “Beyond Good and Evil”) sounds a lot menancing than the music is.

Namco, please persuade Mitsuda-sensei to return for the next installment (which will be uh…2006? 2007? :() He really is the link to the series’ continuity.

Subjects: Music 音楽

Mood: Raves and Rants

Tags: CD, Mitsuda Yasunori 光田康典, Nietzsche, soundtrack, Xenogears, Xenosaga

Ashes of Time Alternate DVD Cover

Posted 2003-01-18 (土) 午前12:30 by terra

Once, when I was at a Wong Kar Wai forum, a guy posted a DVD cover that he had made for an amature design competition, as an alternative to the official Hong Kong DVD release of Ashes of Time. Seeing his work, I was also inspired to produce my take, the film being one of my all-time favourites. Around that time, I had ordered and just received a copy of the Japanese edition of the official soundtrack (gorgeous, lush soundtrack I might add).

The CD cover and inserts were printed on rough porous paper, which was lovely. It reminded one of the desert. Wanting to maintain a consistant look between the CD and the DVD, I decided to scan one of the images found in the the CD inserts, and digitially edited and blended it with a official still of the movie, together with a series of small photos to create a translucent rice-paper effect. I tested the print on some high DPI inkjet paper and found the result quite pleasing.

Subjects: Film, Television & Anime 映像

Tags: DVD, Hong Kong, soundtrack, Wong Kar Wai

Xenosaga or Xenogears?

Posted 2001-03-23 (金) 午後3:10 by terra

23 Mar 2001, 3:10-3:30 PM

The Xenosaga album by Yasunori Mitsuda has been getting quite a bit of flak from fans expecting a followup to Xenogears. The following was a reply I made to a post in the Gamingforce.com forums titled “What is better Xenosaga OST or Xenogears OST?”.

Well in my opinon, I’ve been listening to the Xenosaga soundtrack for the past few days. And as an album, I prefer Xenosaga to Xenogears because the tracks in Xenosaga have more flow than Xenogears. I can say that this is partly due to the fact that Xenosaga was composed for the PS2 which allows for more performed instrumentation rather than sequenced music.

The Xenogears OST had some really fantastic tunes, the opening track, for instance, surpasses the opening track in Xenosaga. The bulk of the standout tunes were in the end of second album in the Id and final boss themes. But the soundtrack on the overall was uneven. In terms of game background music, some of the tracks are perfect, but when it comes down to the purpose of cd music, they are merely filler. However, the reason why I think people love the Xenogears OST (which I do btw) is because the music at the end covers up the deficiencies scattered in the rest of the album. I’m sure a lot of Xenogears fans put the last tracks (“Alpha and Omega”, “One Who Bares Fangs at God” et al.) on repeat mode far more often than the earlier songs in the CD. There could be exceptions I guess, but that’s what I think anyway.