The next instalment in Curaga Records’ Video Game LoFi series takes on the behemoth that is Pokemon. Producers Besso0 and Save Point bring us ten tracks running the gamut of older entries in the franchise, pressed on classic black vinyl. The cover is the series standard holographic card with a nice shiny finish.
I’m going to start off by saying that the original Blasphemous is one of my favourite games of recent years. A difficult hack and slash platformer? Check. Monstrous religious cult storyline with Lovecraftian elements? Check. That’s one for me all day long.
I’m pleased to be able to say that the sequel has all of these elements in spades and may even be better than the first game.
“This series and the music always had a special place in my heart ever since I was a kid and it still means a lot to me now, so picking only 10 tracks to remix was really difficult for me. This album is like a love letter to the game and I hope I was able to do the music justice with these remixes.”
Hot on the heels of the original album, here we have the second volume in the Video Game LoFi series, from Curaga Records, featuring reworked songs from the Kingdom Hearts series.
This one comes from the mind of the producer foreteller with a little help from others. The major difference between volumes 1 and 2 is that this one is generally instrumental, with only the opening and closing tracks featuring guest vocalists.
The presentation is in line with much of the Video Game LoFi collection, comprising a holographic jacket, paper sleeve and a pretty blue, purple and pink marbled record on 180g vinyl.
Side A kicks off with Simple and Clean, featuring vocalist REVEN, whose lyrics are kept low in the mix, allowing a summery breakbeat and dreamy synth to come to the fore. Track 2, Destiny Islands, all the way from the first game, features erstwhile series producer Save Point, with laid-back acoustic guitar giving the whole thing a Super Mario Sunshine feel. Across the rest of the side, Sacred Moon uses echoey sampling and gentle breaks to give an introspective mood, while Nachtflügel comes with a quiet island vibe before Treasured Memories closes us out with muted vocal samples over early-90s beats and washes.
Xion’s Theme opens side B, sampled bass guitar looping hypnotically around synth waves before fading into Ventus’ Theme, which features marimba-ish percussion supporting uptempo keys. Cavern of Remembrance is up next, with oddly truncated kick drum samples making it one of the more curious tracks in the series. Dark Impetus features more islandy guitar work before we finish with Don’t Think Twice, another track that featured on the first album. Vocalist Nila turns up on this one, albeit vocodered to within an inch of her life. It’s a wide-open number with gentle DnB hi-hats, and probably hits the mark as the standout track.
SUMMARY
This album marks a return to series themes for Video Game LoFi; whereas volume 1 changed it up with lots of vocals, this one goes back to using them sparingly, along with the odd sample from the games.
This doesn’t mean one is better than the other – both albums are worth your time, but fans of the series will probably prefer this one.
As always, the album is available on Bandcamp, but can also be found in the usual streaming haunts if you fancy a bit of try before you buy.
This one comes from the mind of the producer foreteller with a little help from others. The major difference between volumes 1 and 2 is that this one is generally instrumental, with only the opening and closing tracks featuring guest vocalists.
The presentation is in line with much of the Video Game LoFi collection, comprising a holographic jacket, paper sleeve and a pretty blue, purple and pink marbled record on 180g vinyl.
The game is the work of Ginolabo, a solo developer, which results in the double-edged sword of it being an impressive feat for one person (self-taught, too), but having some areas of the game where collaboration might have polished it up a little.
This one features re-imaginings of true Renaissance developer Toby Fox’s music for Deltarune Chapter 2.
This release comes from Curaga Records as usual, on single black vinyl with a really nice holographic cover and heavyweight black paper sleeves. As with all VGLF releases, it’s got a premium feel.
