SwordBreaker

Mario Party games tend to be so random my friends and I just have to laugh at some of this shit. Mario Kart: Double Dash battle mode also tends to bring lots of laughs...it's just like a random pool game only you're using green shells to hit other karts. Single-player-wise, one of my most memorable funny games is Conker's Bad Fur Day. The Great Mighty Poo song is a highlight. Anyone of you guys listened to Darth Vader's Japanese voice actor in Soul Calibur IV? I suggest you do, 'cause it sounds extremely HILARIOUS. Dark Side-o no shikamara! LOL! Finally, one of the funniest games recently is MadWorld. Commentary and the ways you kill people are just gold.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSa1FlrTINg 32 years of voicing the Mouse, being the successor of Walt Disney himself and Jimmy MacDonald. RIP, Wayne. He'll be hard to replace. Russi Taylor, the voice of Minnie and his wife, was by his side at the time of his death. Kingdom Hearts II was the last big work Wayne did for Mickey...for me at least. There's this children show he did after.

Interesting shrump. Not my cup of tea, but I'll see if I can check it out. Music sounds awesome, though. Track 14 on youtube melted my face off! Zircon/Sixto FTW!

Man...for some reason it's kind of hard to know what's going to come out of E3 this year...in my case at least. Overall, I pretty much agree with the fact that the current economy will set the true goals this year. From E3's presentation itself to the big conferences and individual developer game showings, it's all going to be about now, just a few 'flashy' games, a lot more risk-taking and uniqueness in games regardless of the presentation, sequels to past and current franchises to maximize interest and sales, etc. Aside from the new PSP, a possible 360 Slim, and new Wii colors, I don't think that there will be any hints on new consoles this year. Each one will focus on what they currently have with slight modifications and new peripherals. Also, I really think we'll see an influx of DLC and downloadable games focus this year from all three competitors. The Wii should really get on the DLC bandwagon 'cause quite frankly they're looking ridiculous compared to the other two...with the latest firmware revision, it's really easy for them to do so. I'll go out on a limb here and say that the Wii will have DLC content for games like Smash Bros. Brawl and Mario Kart Wii. Also, things like more classic game support from all three competitors is a must, including massive PS1 games for America/UK and a handheld Virtual Console from Nintendo. Other download focuses will include 8/16-bit franchise revival sequels. Mega Man 9 and Bionic Commando were only the beginning. Capcom and Konami are going to go all crazy with this. We've already seen Turtles in Time and Contra Rebirth from Konami. Really looking forward to Nintendo joining the bandwagon with a sequel to Super Mario World or something. As for games for our current-gen consoles, as I said before all three competitors will focus on upgrading their big franchises while not necessarily going big budget on them or other games. Which means I'm expecting a few new, unique IPs for each console served on the side of the big franchises...which will not be big budget. Additionally, whatever "big budget" game that'll be presented will either be something that has already been announced a year or so ago (Heavy Rain for Sony, Zelda/Mario for Wii) or uses existing engines developed for previous big budget games (Kojima's new game...it's a darn shame if they don't uses assets from MGS4). When talking about our big three in an individual basis, I don't really see a lot of surprises up their sleeves in terms of games. Nintendo will most likely go all Bananas on their franchises, casual and hardcore alike. LOVE for a Donkey Kong Country game to appear out of the blue. The new Zelda for Wii is something I really wish they give more attention to, but Spirit Tracks will most likely steal that thunder. The only new big IPs or surprises we may get are Mr. Sakurai's new game, a new console Kirby game after a long hiatus, and a new Earthbound title. Sony will show the hell out of Heavy Rain 'cause they have to at this point...other possible big games will include White Knight Chronicles, God of War 3, David Jaffe's new game, new Ratchet, and yet another new IP from Team ICO. In Microsoft's case, we can only keep a big eye out for Rare. Really interested in a new Perfect Dark game for the 360 so I'm hoping that happens...and I'm expecting another one or two games off Rare this year 'cause they've been quiet as hell since Banjo. Of course, that Halo expansion will be one of their ace cards. The only "FFXIII-like surprise moment" I see from Microsoft this year is an enhanced port of MGS4 for the 360. Can't wait to see the look on everyone's faces when they announce that. Speaking of ports, I think we'll see more third-party console exclusives being ported. Like MGS4, I'm expecting a Star Ocean 4 enhanced port for the PS3. Nintendo's going to go crazy with their New Play Control series and announce stuff like Zelda The Wind Waker getting an enhanced port. As for third-parties, we're most likely going to see a lot of Wii exclusivity this year, while "big budget" games will be for the 360/PS3 simultaneously. Obviously, the big third party games are going to be pimped out in each of the three big conferences. Can't really think of stuff offhand aside from Dead Rising 2, Lost Planet 2, TMNT Wii, Murasama, Red Steel 2. So we may see some surprise announcements on this font. All I know is I'm really sure that the big N will pimp the hell out of that TMNT game since it's really like Smash Bros and it's exclusive. Perhaps one of the biggest trenda that everyone will follow this year is "user-generated content" games ala LittleBigPlanet. Nintendo already launched the new WarioWare game in Japan which makes you create your own games...I'm expecting more from them. Sony will most likely focus on LBP DLC and Microsoft the same with Banjo DLC. Handhelds will get their fair share of the games, too. We've already seen Sony going crazy with their PSP announcements, especially since that new PSP model will be released. Expect more from them. The DS will keep chugging those awesome games, including some sneak peaks on DSi-exclusive games. It's going to be localization galore this year. I'm pretty sure I'm going to see some surprises in that font, including stuff from the big nuts: Atlus, NIS, XSEED, Square-Enix and most recently Ignition Entertainment. NIS has already gone batshit on us with their string of recent localization announcements. From Atlus, I'd like Lunar and Persona for PSP in English, please! In fact, where the hell is Gajinworks, a company announced YEARS ago after Working Design's demise? Could they be publishing Lunar? Also, news of Dragon Quest VI and IX for North America, please! Perhaps the biggest surprise will be from Capcom when they announce that Tsunoko (sp?) vs. Capcom for Wii will actually be released in English! Finally, our big WTF moment...developers that are so quiet they're bound to appear in E3. Other than Rare, Team ICO and Retro Studios, my personal big question mark right now is Mistwalker. Are they still making games for Microsoft? Cry On was recently cancelled out of the blue so we really don't know what's going on with their exclusive Microsoft contract. So...will we see the likes of Blue Dragon 2 for the 360 from them, or was their a fallout of some sort with MS? Will we see these sequels on multiple platforms or a console other than the 360? After all, Blue Dragon has been released on the DS for some strange reason. Besides, most of Mistwalker's work these days has been for the DS. So...did they go small budget on us? Are they possibly developing for the Wii or something? I really think that their contract most likely ended on Lost Odyssey since Cry On was cancelled...perhaps the agreement was on three games and Blue Dragon 2 will take the place of Cry On or something. Perhaps another publisher has made a deal with Mistwalker's upcoming games. Start predicting stuff, people!

Man, it was a complete surprise for this remix to appear all of a sudden. I still remember Taucer posting a WIP of this a few years back that contained only the first half of the track with out Prophet's involvement. Obviously, that first half has been refined a lot since then. The vocals are a lot clearer and the bongo drums are cool. Just love the whole Lion King vibe it portrays. The switch-up to Celtic rock kind of surprised me, but I really love it. Just wish that the electric guitars were less muddier and more clear. Excellent work, guys. Makes me want to listen to the actual soundtrack.

I've been browsing the forum Nekofrog posted. Apparently, it's legit. The phone number confirms so and there's a post on the main site confirming that it's legit. Even though I can see why people think this is fake. Square-Enix USA have been very frustrating to deal with for the past few years. Not just because of these C&D letters that seemingly focus on Chrono projects, but in dealing with them as a game media site. I mean, when we try to post a video review of Star Ocean 4, they block it because they own the footage. WTF? This is free advertising for crying out loud. When we posted an FFXII import review for our site, they got really upset for some reason. I know it's their right to shut down these projects...I just hope it doesn't come down to sending a C&D letter to OCR banning everything Square-Enix related.

In my opinion, this is your best work thus far, man! Last track that I enjoyed from you so much was that Cheetamen one. I don't even known the source material and I still find this to be extremely groovy. You blend the electronic and ethnic sounds quite well, and I can't help but move my body and bob my head as I listen to this remix. God I wish that I've played Jade Cocoon and its sequel right now.

Listened to this gem awhile back in VotL...had it on repeat a couple of times. Thought it was a really good arrangement. Epic in every word with the orchestral and electronic elements. It rivals Mr. Ishimoto's arrangement of the same tracks in Crisis Core. Now, I need to go back and give this another listen. VotL nostalgia. Seems like it was released long ago, eh? Speaking of the track itself, BGC...I do recall that you were only credited on the VotL album...so I was kind of surprised to see zircon in this submission. So thanks for clearing that up. Don't need to download this one then.

http://theshizz.org/forum/index.php?showforum=8 This is where the Dwelling of Duels people hang out often. You should pimp out your site there as well, man. I'm sure some people will be interested in submitting. Besides, DoD has AWESOME work.

Browsed around. Looks really interesting. Your goals and ideas are extremely similar to that of VGMIX, so you'll basically be in direct competition with that site. Nonetheless, more is good I say. Besides, VGMIX has been suffering some problems as of late. I don't think they accept new registrations at the time. It's not as active as the first incarnation.

Chrono Trigger is one of those games I never played, in turn one of the soundtracks I never listened to. It's remixes like these which make me want to play the damn game! Makes me wonder if the original track is as cool as this remix. Love the guitar work! Absolutely awesome playing, Tensei. Epic stuff when you go all mellow mid-track and that solo towards the end makes me want to air guitar the hell out of it. Love the orchestral overlay and synth work by Tweek, very Hitoshi Sakimoto-like at some parts (2:05 in particular). Especially love the synth section 1:35 and the solos accompanying the guitar at the end.

There's just something about Tal Tal Heights' track that draws electronic/techno remixers in. If I'm not mistaken most LA remixes in OCR are on this track. Anyway, great take on the track, man. Really synthy and groovy. I like how mellow the intro was...eventually progressing to these awesome solos. Equally as infectious as zircon's previous remix on it.

I own two of the first tetralogy. Infection was an excellent game. One of the really good PS2 games, actually. Unique gameplay, addictive dungeon crawling, and a really well-told storyline. Sadly in my case, the gameplay novelty wore off with Mutation. Played into it for a couple of hours...the storyline rocked but I couldn't go on 'cause it's basically the exact same game with a different storyline. Sadly, that is what plagued the .hack series; not enough changes in gameplay from one title to the next despite an excellent storyline. They really could've meshed these 4 titles into 2 games to say the least. I watched .hack signs and found it to be great as well. Nice, cryptic storyline. Regarding the GU series, I really wanted to try out the first game but did not have the time. I hear that it's much better than the first series, but the same problem plagues it. 3 games is simply stretching it. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll find new copies of GU today. In short, if you're a really huge fan of the .hack series and have the ability to get by 4 exact replicas of dungeon-crawling games just to see where the storyline is going, then check it out if you ever find cheap copies. Perhaps the GU series is a good place to start since it's more recent and one game shorter than the previous series.

Interesting teaser. It'll take more to get me excited, though...'cause I don't see a lot of rock going on thus far. There's only one rock track in there that sounds pretty sweet. I'm not too excited for the techno/house stuff. Mega Man 9's soundtrack begs to be rocked out more than anything else...that's my personal bias. Still, I'm being unfair, these are still Work in Progress after all...and in the spirit of OCR genres have to be mixed up. It's just when I see Mega Man 9 plus the word remix, I always associate the picture with this awesome medley remix: Best Mega Man 9 remix ever thus far, no offense to you guys.

Whoops. Sorry about that. I recall Wild Arms being done by a University group as well but don't remember where exactly.

Yes you are. How could've I forgotten about this series? My personal highlights are X1, X3, X5, and X8. Yeah, X8 hard a surprisingly kick-ass rockin' soundtrack, possibly the most rock-oriented one out of them all.

I'm sorry. I just had to laugh after reading this. I know it's sad news...but it's even sadder that a game that has been delayed for a decade yet "promised" to the masses is in limbo once again after recent teasers. Makes you wonder whether they actually worked on the damn thing.

Man..you reminded me of F-Zero GX. I had to import this because it's one of the best soundtracks to ever have come out of a Nintendo game. Quite up there with Mario Galaxy. The character theme songs were insanely good, and some of the stages had that catchy rock/techno mash-up the F-Zero series is known for. Yup, another great rock soundtrack...and from Nintendo no less. Definitely have to agree with Sakuraba's work. He's the best at what he does. Baten Kaitos is one of my favorite soundtracks, and the True Mirror Guitar Version definitely keeps you head-banging in battle. Nice suggestions, people. Was surprised by Radiant Mythology 2. Those tracks are kick-ass. Did Sakuraba compose those? 'cause I think he went extreme there. His rock tracks aren't that hard, but those are "fucking metal" as some of you suggested. I've grown fond of the soundtracks of recent Sonic games. Yeah, they're cheesy, but great stuff. Speaking of which, Sonic CD (US version) had an excellent rock-style soundtrack, don't you guys think? I think it was the first time I heard live instruments in a game soundtrack.

My vote goes to Digital Devil Saga [1] for the PS2, composed by Shoji Meguro. Man...you really get chills as these tracks play out throughout the game. The live guitars are excellently performed and sound great! The compositions are also just out of this world. Lots of loud rock tracks in addition to some downtempo, chill, and jazzy performances. This man is a genius. Definitely one of my favorite soundtracks ever. Here are some of my favorite tracks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmemd1V5XTk&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpM1XxsC0zQ&feature=PlayList&p=D770BA0516B26E2D&index=18 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IG7FCupjJM&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIV91ZkTqLY&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAXpq-xs3Rk&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQLGKydpxt4&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siCx9eWn3-U&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8Km_XPdLo8&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUQvRA0Lf-E&feature=related Any other suggestions you guys have for great rock-based game soundtracks or individual tracks?

Epic indeed. The fact that this is all recorded live is more than enough to give this a listen. My ear isn't exactly trained to notice offkey immediately, but some moments of the track felt a bit awkward. Perhaps your previous take on Wild Arms was better performed. However, that doesn't beat the number of times a smiled as I listened. Your take on Still Alive is really interesting and quirky. I mean, the fact that this is an orchestration of an already weird track makes it hard to choose between taking it seriously or laughing at those quirky lyrics that are trying to be sung seriously. Keep it up, guys! EDIT: been checking out some of the other recordings you guys posted on the official website. I'm happy that you're covering underrated stuff such as Final Fantasy Tactics and Kirby Super Star. Don't see a lot of remixes of those games. Nice work.

http://www.projectcoe.com Let me fill you in on our story first. Sorry in advance for the read. So we are game media site that has been around for about 5 years. We take pride in our content, management, writing ability, and the fact that we didn't go poof after 5 years among all the other sites. It's almost like having a 2nd family and stuff. None of us get paid of course and the creator is responsible for the server fees. Nonetheless, it's still fun to write! Our huge disadvantage is that we're using an archaic manner of updating our content. The creator and executive director has to manually HTML everything we send him via e-mail or Google Docs. I know that templates are present, but it's still a chore updating from his end as this eats up his time from actually contributing as a site. Plus, our content does not get uploaded on the fly. So we've been going through the process of our 3rd redesign, this time hopefully armed with CMS integration. Problem is, none of us are professionals at at at this. We gathered that private web development companies offer to set everything up for us, but the ranges we pay are extremely variable and extremely expensive. Luckily, however, one dude answered our call and is helping us free of charge...he's currently setting up a CMS-based redesign of COE. It's going slow, but well enough. Again, we really know nothing about what's going on and what options to we have...so we can't really interact as much as we wanted with our "CMS expert programmer"...except for the fact that we'd like to make our site "blog-based" with integrated community features like comments, customizable and easy to expand upon, and ease of use from our point of view...like each of us posting content on the fly. We were hoping to have this redesign done by the time E3 comes around since this will be our first year attending as a site, yet it doesn't seem that this will happen. So the temporary solution I had right now is to setup a free wordpress blog so we can cover E3 as fast and efficiently as possible. http://projectcoe.wordpress.com Upon setting up this account and sharing it with our team, we were amazed be how packed wordpress is. For a free blog, it has EVERYTHING we want for our next site redesign. I learned that wordpress.org offers the open-source blog software for free and it's up to our expert to integrate these features to our upcoming redesign. So for now, using wordpress and integrating it with our upcoming CMS redesign is the plan, unless you guys suggest otherwise. I've been browsing the net for the past hour for other open-source blogging software and it seems that there are a couple of them besides wordpress. The thing is, it's kind of hard to tell the difference between them in my point of view. I learned that wordpress is one of the best and has a lot of plugins for us to use and expand upon. "Movable Type" seems like a close 2nd...but my impression of that is that it's more "business-oriented" and not as casual-friendly as wordpress. Again, though, I can't really tell what the difference will be and what's the better software...so I was wondering if you guys have something to add. What's the best route to go in terms of integrating CMS? Open-source seems like a nice start and very practical as long as the programmer can manage it and stuff. I wonder if you guys have other suggestions than wordpress that's better and more practical. I don't think private companies are an option currently an option 'cause of the price. There is, however, stuff like SquareSpace. Area 5 Media a.k.a. CO-OP have been advertising it like crazy in their episodes and it seems really cool. I just need to check the price on that and see whether it's worth it or not. If you guys know of any reasonable prices or offers or good services, by all means inform me. Finally, any advice on interacting with our CMS programmer? Any information that I need to know from him? Any suggestions to help/encourage him?

Not bad. Not bad. Vocals are pretty good as well...in a parody sort of way when you get those those high notes. You do manage to get that rock vibe going on pretty good overall, though.

Klonoa on the Wii is out? Didn't expect it this early. So we have to great Wii platformers out this month; this one and DK Jungle Beat. Anyway, I'm not a fan of the series but I LOVED Klonoa 2. It was my first PS2 game and I really played the hell out of it. I didn't even have a PS2 back then. Bought the game and played it at my cousin's. Sadly, it's the only game I've played in the series. Can't wait for this Wii remake. Bet I missed out a lot.

Very nice find, man. This is excellent news! Let's hope they add the extra levels from the SNES version onto this remake. What's really cool however is that means we're getting 4 player co-op if it's based on the Arcade version. And yes, they better keep that awesome soundtrack intact...maybe add in Sixto/zircon's remix of Sewer Surfin'.

I'm not responding to you. I'm just in agreement with you regarding anti-mainstream...unless I understood your previous post wrong. I give full credit to this video regarding the genre I made up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QascXwq-fws&NR=1