SwordBreaker
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Just got the 3rd update e-mail with the infamous FFVII meteor picture? OH SNAP. Voices physical?! Might upgrade if it's reasonable enough.
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This song alone hits hard, especially if you've played even a bit of Valkyrie Profile. The scenes this song is associated with... phew. Potent.
Oh yeah. When this plays with the cut-scenes, it's tear jerking. BTW, the arranged OST of Valkyrie Profile is just epic. While I love the original "Valhalla" track, the arranged version is one of my absolute favorite VGMs ever!
This. This. Man...absolutely epic. Still give it a listen to this very day.
I will now link one song:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0J3l9NC8bY
'Nuff said. GENIUUUSSSS Agh I guess enough wasn't sad yet. He's a genius.
Hell yes. The synth in this track is just beyond cool! I love the music of Star Ocean 4, and this track is one of my favorites as well. Since we're talking dungeon themes, here's one that I like from SO4 as well:
Man...the bass in this one, absolutely awesome. Headphones required.
Has anyone picked up his solo album Force of Light off of itunes?He has an album on iTunes? Is it available in the NA store? 'cause I will go get that immediately if it is!
Holy crap. Yes. I adore Motoi Sakuraba. <3A couple favorites of mine from him are the Star Ocean 2 and Valkyrie Profile soundtracks. Phenomenal stuff.
That was one of the first themes I heard when I popped in Star Ocean 2 for the first time, and I knew I was in for a treat.An arranged version of Rena's theme, eh? Forgot this track existed, but hey, it's Rena's theme...like, one of the best character themes EVER. Dale North's OCR arrangement is highly recommended.
Speaking of which, have you guys ever seen his live videos? You gotta see the amount of keyboards this guy surrounds himself with:
He should do more live concerts! I'd go if it's close.
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This composer has ranked to be one of my all time favorites ever since I was first exposed to his work via Star Ocean 2 & Valkyrie Profile. It's hard for me to explain what makes him special, but he just has his knack for making epic orchestral tracks along with some rockin' battle themes and tear-jerking soothing melodies for towns. He also manages to use synth like a boss in some of his tracks. He almost feels like a one-man progressive rock band to me.
Even though I'm making this thread partly as a shameless plug for a project I'm running, I'd love to get some discussion going on. What are your favorite Sakuraba-composed games and sountracks? Why do think he's amazing? What are his negatives? Thoughts on his recent work for Kid Icarus: Uprising? YouTube links to your favorite works by him are also appreciated.
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I was still pretty surprised that Project Sora was shut down, but after reading the facts I calmed down a bit. Since they went with collaborating with Namco for Smash Bros, there's no reason to keep Project Sora afloat. But I did expect Project Sora to be around in some capacity. Make a few more games or something.
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With all due respect, screw the 8 and 16 bit eras. Use these. You'll thank me later.
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I only wish I could afford the song request... The J-Bomb theme from BlastCorps is crying out for the fully orchestral treatment...
I wish I could afford an album request. I'd ask for Baten Kaitos and its sequel as they're a bunch of underrated gems (coughshamelessplugcough).
Nice to see some huge support going on. Would be interesting to see upcoming plans/bonuses as the kickstarter continues to hit passed its goal.
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Thanks for the support! There's actually a breakdown of the budget on the Kickstarter page (at the bottom, FAQ section). That said, I'm not sure where you got the 'promotion' bit from; none of the budget is going toward promotion, marketing or advertising, nor is any of it going toward musical work on the project. In other words, none of us are getting paid anything
Here is the budget breakdown:Printing costs: $5,600 for 1,500 copies in nice full-color DVD cases with 4 CDs each
Delivery costs: $400 to get the printed CDs to OCR HQ in Fairfax, VA
Shipping costs: $6,500 to ship up to 1,500 copies to donors and project ReMixers
Kickstarter/Amazon fees: $1,500
Studio/mastering budget: $1,000 (remainder) to be used as-needed
That's $15k.
I actually didn't see that. Thanks! What I meant by promoting it is mostly web-related stuff like making and hosting the project site, the music download bandwidth, etc. Making the physical is also technically counted towards promoting the actual music, too. Maybe I used the wrong term for it.
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I understand where PScoins is coming from. I asked the same questions too when I learned of the existence of this Kickstarter. Copyright-related questions also came to mind as well. Then I read the actual mission and started thinking more. It's not like OCR is treading a slippery slope or a gray area because they're clearly not charging for the music; only for the "work" they'll need to do in order to promote it. And believe me; there's a ton of work and money going into promoting the album and the site itself. Once you get the logistics going, there's definitely a lot of work needed to make the music and promote it. Either way, the music will still be offered for free. Nothing's going to change with that. The physical album is just an added luxury to those who want to support it...and in turn you're helping the site in the process. It's a win-win situation.
As for being negative towards the idea initially when it was raised with a previous album, opinions change. Nobody's perfect. Even though OCR promotes itself as "we" and a community, there are a ton of people here which don't necessarily have a unified opinion. Add to that is the fact that an opinion can change eventually.
Think of it as the community helping itself, as many of the Kickstarter backers are surely active forum goers and even OC ReMixers.
Crowdfunding and donations always get this type of haphazard response and understandably so. Maybe if OCR can break down specifics or highlights on the costs needed from certain music production to bandwith, CD making, etc. Perhaps a video of some sort will help viewers and convince skeptics that there's a budget that's needed for FFVI and its promotion.
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Pledged 50$ as a thank you for years of hard work to run this site and make remixes without charging us a dime. Nice to get my first physical OCR album too. I'm glad the Kickstarter is doing well for itself as it looks like you'll break even with the goal soon.
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I'm alive. Been busy with my job for the past month or so. I'll be starting a YouTube initiative to promote this project more. Will link it here later. Sending invites left and right, too. I'm going to update the playlist soon enough with the new claims. As always, feel free to take up those empty spots.
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Not bad. Not bad at all. Couldn't imagine the style in my head when the write-up described indie-style rock with Weezer-like vocals arranging The Wind Waker's Outset Island. Couldn't imagine it working at all. After listening, however, I gotta applaud this band for creativity. Lyrics and signing are cool and the band plays the song well.
Hope we see more radio rock arrangements of game music. Last time we've seen this type of stuff is with Hale Bopp's "Summertime" and "The Ken Song".
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So I recently got two recruits working on their tracks. Devastus, just fresh from his awesome work in Maverick Uprising, has agreed to pick up a track from the project. While newbie Light of Aether has also made a nice choice. 3 more people to go so we can get a solid run for this.
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Well first off, the replies to this thread are at the mercy of it being hidden in the recruitment forum which next to nobody checks. Heck, I shouldn't be here either. Cause it seems like every time I come here I am trying to volunteer for something.
I could tell you right now that if you made Volume 1 focus entirely on Star Ocean, and let people claim whatever they want in the style of Maverick Rising -- but don't allow duplicate claims -- it would kick a ton of ass. And I would try to get on it at least a few times before it reached the end of production.
And yeah, you'd need to leave this forum and recruit some remixers actively, or else the chances of it being an "OCR Album" get lower and lower.
Good points all around....although I didn't know that nobody checks the recruitment forums. Been making a lot of PMs, but yeah I'll try getting out of OCR to recruit too like you suggested. Considering Dwelling of Duels 'cause I love the stuff they pump out every month.
I just want to have more feedback from users here before I drastically change anything. Because I'll be put in a pickle of changing the albums's direction more frequently than one can imagine. Luckily, we're technically still in the inception phase so I won't get a lot of flak for whatever happens.
I really want to give Baten Kaitos a good run though, despite being relatively niche. These games have kick-ass soundtracks. I don't know if I have done enough to push it, but I'm trying my best in the realms of these forums.
What does everyone else think?
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Fair enough sir. Not what I was after, but it will do.
BS has a point on this one. Star Ocean or even Valkyrie Profile will most likely get you more hits than Baten Kaitos.
Also, people will be more inclined to see the end of this journey if they've already worked with you on games they know/love.
Sorry for the late reply. So you guys are suggesting that I change up the project and start off with Star Ocean instead? I'm all for it, but I fear that this would confuse the people I've made contact with and viewers of this thread. What do you guys think? Should I give Baten Kaitos a more solid effort first? The problem is that I asked which game series we should start with as the thread developed, kept it open for a week but nobody replied to me, which I why I took the initiative to start with Baten Kaitos.
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Personally, Washudoll and Devastus came out of NOWHERE for me. I've never heard of both remixers before, yet they absolutely delivered some truly awesome music for the project. Washu's arrangement of Boomer Kwanger (sp?) is my favorite track of the album because it mixes elements from the original and Maverick Hunter X arrangement and goes with them. Devastus' rockin' take on Crush Crawfish comes a close second...such an underrated track from an underrated X installment. I really love the original so I think Devastus did it a lot of justice with his face-melting guitar playing!
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DO IT!
Since you're here...up for a track or two, Brandon? Any type of advice is good too. You've been helpful throughout the whole thread.
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I'm gonna be honest - Baiten Kaitos sounds like it might be too obscure. Even a more relatively known RPG series like Star Ocean might be too obscure. I personally think even the more visible Tales series is too obscure. I think your best chance of getting Sakuraba work on the album is to let mixers be open to check out the music on their own and claim something of his work to try to rearrange.
I really wish you would've spoke earlier. I sort of had it open to interpretation before as you suggested and had a track list to direct people to my favorite tracks on Sakuraba music with a common theme of keeping it to the Tri games, but most commenters advised me that it was too big of a project to manage and put out in a logical timeframe, which is why I opted in going for the volumes route...and the reason I picked Baten Kaitos is just too good to stay obscure and overlooked. If there's anything I've learned from OCR, is that no music is too obscure. Unsung Heroes had a lot of obscure material, but it got done. Radical Dreamers is practically obscure as it's a Japan only game for the Stellaview, and it got done too. Why not Baten Kaitos? I really want to try and push for this direction as much as I can. The source tunes are right in front of you and they're absolutely awesome. If we can get this done, it can open doors to my grand scheme of tackling Star Ocean in a potential Volume 2 and Valkyrie Profile in Volume 3...but that's not my goal now.
That being said, I really appreciate your input and want your expertise for this project if you're available. Are you willing to co-direct or serve as a creative consultant if you're free?
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SwordBreaker, you are awesome! Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean is in my top 10 favorite video games.
I'm not very experienced at remixing, but I'd love to take a track, if you'll have me. My skills are mainly in the orchestral genre.
It's an awesome game indeed, man. When it comes to unique RPGs, Baten Kaitos is the first which comes to mind. Same goes when talking about excellent game soundtracks.
Go ahead, man! The stage is yours. Take your pick. I'd love to hear what you'll come up with and give you feedback. Any particular track in mind that you want to reserve?
Don't forget. Spread the word. Use the sig. We want to make this project a reality!
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Going to my initial listens now. Digging it. Really love how the album's sounding thus far. I'm particularly pleased with the focus on the underrated Mega Man X3 soundtrack among the other installments. While I really wanted more X8 thrown in there, I'm glad M-H and Sixto tackled two tracks.
Bubble Crab/Duff Mcwhalen is one of my absolute favorite tracks in the series...and it's one of those under-remixed gems, too. Great work with the two takes here!
More random thoughts later.
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So I followed Dj Mokhram's advice and revamped the whole thread in the first post so we can focus on Baten Kaitos. Enjoy.
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Not sure what percentage of OC ReMixers' population are hardcore Motoi Sakuraba fans, let alone Baiten Kaitos fans specifically...
Don't misunderstand me here: you obviously have good intentions, great motivation and this endeavor is highly commendable in itself.
But you're underestimating the work, time and commitment involved in releasing even a 15 tracks album through OCR (let alone a massive 3 discs set).
By all means, I'm not saying this cannot be achieved. Simply that it will be much harder than populating a tracklist and waiting for people to show up.
Making plans is one thing, but the role of a director is to guide people toward a clearly defined goal. Alas, the OP doesn't really give off that impression atm.
This plan of biblical proportions might generate excitement among die-hard fans, but at the same time makes it extremely hard for any non-initiated to jump in.
Keep the full 3 volumes tracklist on a Word document at home, and only bring other games to the table when it's their turn to shine.
I'd advise restricting your OP to album concept, project guidelines and disc-1 tracklist, with source links and color code.
Just wanted to point out that 6 months is an awful lot of time to waste on speculations.
You'll have a hard time getting approval to move to the Project subforums if you can't gather the necessary interest (and participation) here.
This requires at least five posted mixers onboard, a handful of wips with solid direction and preferably a posted mixer/staff member as co-director.
If you haven't already, consider actively recruiting and sending invitations to artists asap. Do not sit on your hands once the concept is defined.
Again, I'm not lashing out on you or anything. Just trying to save you a lot of trial and error in the long term.
Good luck with this.
Thanks for the suggestions! All very, very helpful. I took suggestions at first, which is why the concept transformed into focusing on one series eventually. I saw a lot of interest so I assumed that a lot of OCR fans are into Motoi Sakuraba...but since the thread has gone quiet for a bit, it's sort of disappointing and I feel a bit demotivated. I admit that I had too much of a broad scope at first...so yeah, the other game series should take a back-seat like you suggested.
Sadly, nobody replied to my first wave of invites so I'm going to send more soon. I will definitely need a co-director of sorts to help with quality assurance and WIP. Since you're here though, are you available for a track or two for Baten Kaitos?
I've registered just for this message.I love this idea, I'm even surprised there is so few remixes of these albums, so I encourage you to continue.
I can't do music but I can help you choosing tracks.
You've choosen too much tracks for Star Ocean 4 whereas it's the cheapest Star Ocean soundtrack imho.
For Star Ocean 2 there is many very good town theme, maybe you could add one or two.
Pure a stream : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzShumL0Ous
Weathercock :
Cuddle :
or not town
Pyroxene : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzD5MnpTZ2w
Teary : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR-ox-4V0IE
White the Heart : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLYsbCaf7K8
For Star Ocean 3 I've tried to make a pick of interesting tracks.
So Alone, Be Sorrow :
Influence of Truth Appearance :
Rust Color :
Cutting Edge Of Notion :
Into A Storm Not Memorized :
Calm Mind Reflected in the Pupil :
Divine Indignation :
Reflected Moon :
For Baten Kaitos 1 I regret that Addressing Stars is missing : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0EWL7WJZJU
And Tenkai Flower Temple too : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyyJ_5oeiAk
Or it's Baten Kaitos 2 version The Hall Of All Creation : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLiw025I8AM
Thanks for the suggestions! Definitely helpful with the Star Ocean ones, particularly SO3. As for the BK ones, the track-list is already full...but we'll try to look for ones to swap or something. No promises. Spread the word. We need more interest in the project!
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I can't believe I haven't commented on this mix before. Absolutely beautiful interpretation. To me, it's like the song has been given a Motoi Sakuraba face-lift upon the original Via piano melody. Haunting female vocals? Check. Cool acoustic guitar strumming in the background? Check. Electric guitar licks plus solo? Double check. I also like the fact that you took the complexity and rhythm of the main piano melody from the Piano Collections version rather than the original in-game track. I love both, but the former is a bit cooler.
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Make sure to take some initiative and invite people to join. Not everyone looks at this forum, so getting lots of peoples attention is crucial.
Other than that, good luck! I hope this goes somewhere
.Just sent the first wave of invites.
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Okay, I've updated the first post and taken a preemptive strike; we are now recruiting for Volume 1 - Baten Kaitos Series! It had a full play-list done awhile back so I figured that we're not in a rush to complete the track-listing of the other series since we're not going to be working on them in the near future, but suggestions are always welcome.
Check the first post for more details and start claiming those awesome tracks, remixers. Make me proud.
Motoi Sakuraba Appreciation Thread
in General Discussion
Posted
Radiata Stories is not composed by Sakuraba. The bulk of the work was by Noriyuki Iwardre, composer of the Lunar series. Still an absolutely awesome and jazzy OST...and some of Sakuraba's signature tracks make an appearence.