A huge part of the attraction for me was the music, which was clearly front and centre, high in the mix, and every track seemed to be an earworm designed to reel me in, hook, line, and sinker.
It was clearly a soundtrack that would stand alone outside of the video game, and so getting the chance to write about it here is an absolute pleasure. Before I dive into the product and music, I implore you to check out Cassette Beasts if you enjoy turn-based RPGs, as it’s a nifty little 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.
I was a big fan of Tomas Dvorak’s soundtrack for Samorost 2, it also holds the wonderful distinction in our household of being the first music that my – then 1-year-old – son had ever danced to, which was a very special moment for us as a family.
Dvorak (A.K.A – FLOEX) has a special way of creating unique, alien landscapes, aurally, through his blend of strong, emotive melodies and idiosyncratic instrumentation, and this continues here in his compositions for Samorost 3, with that signature clarinet vibe hitting home each time it’s used on the album.
There is a real difference in the art styles used in the cover here when compared to Samorost 2, whereas the prequel was abstract and paint-flecked, here we are treated to a luscious evergreen landscape, set underneath a darkened sky spotted by pinpricks of light.
Almost alone, and very small and vulnerable in this image is the protagonist, blowing through a horn as he is watched by a strange, bearded wanderer that is almost hidden in the foreground – ensconced in the shadows, and surrounded by a peppering of fantastical animals.
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.
The cover – which is rich with shades of pinks and purples, features a bespectacled and smiling Zelda – with Master Sword earrings, natch – emblazoned under a starry night sky, with the Tri-Force symbol behind her, and mountains rising up from a neon checker design that stretches into the horizon.
This artwork (courtesy of ONSTA) is GLORIOUS. There are nods throughout - in the designs and clothing - of Zelda to the franchise, whilst being a vibrant, stylish piece of art in its own right – it completely conjures up the melding of Zelda and synthwave in incredible detail, awesome stuff.
The rear cover art furthers the landscape set out on the front with the Duelling Peaks, black palm trees and that neon pattern drenched in hues of – again – pinks and purples. It’s very evocative of the ‘80s, and I wouldn’t have been surprised to see Don Johnson tucked away in there somewhere….wearing wicker shoes with no socks in sight.
The records are ensconced in anti-static sleeves and comes on double red/purple, pressed at 45RPM. – again, the colour choice and inner-circle design are completely in tune with the rest of the artwork, it’s a very mood-setting record, even when taken at first glance.
Opening the cover shows off the illustration that is spread across the double gatefold sleeve, a starry Zelda on a pink motorbike surrounded in a fuzzy dreamscape – a smile still plastered across her face. On the right-hand side are the track listing and credits, the blues of these pages breaking up the external colours whilst also being a thematic match.
Along with the inventory-based puzzles, combined with platforming and memorable locations and sprites, the music – of course – was an integral part of the experience, giving bouncy life to the many screens traversed in your quest. Here, Matt Gray and Gavin Raeburn’s work on the NES is captured in picture disc form, and it makes a heck of a first impression!
Here, London-based VGM remixer ROBKTA gives the Sonic back catalogue an invite to an after-show party, then a double vodka and Red Bull before pushing it out onto a bottom-lit dancefloor and letting it groove.
What follows is ten adrenaline-fuelled dance takes on those classic tracks we’ve all been enjoying since 1991. Good.
Taking the much-loved Final Fantasy musical templates composed by Nobuo Uematsu, Rifti Beats distils the tracks down to smoky, hypnotic beats and heart-thudding bass. Good.
Harnessing the power of the melodies and re-imagining them as mood music to be devoured as you close your eyes and imagine being stood atop a skyscraper and gazing out over the city of Midgar.
With music as treasured as this, it’s a hefty task, but Rifti Beats weaves their magic and ends up creating an album that shifts between being sexy, swaggering, fun, delicate and heart-breaking, often from the track.
I listen through albums many times whilst reviewing them, but Chocobo & Chill has sneaked in as one of those that is never far from my turntable, as my fiancee has also been popping this on in addition to my constant looping for reviewing purposes – it’s especially telling as she has no nostalgia or link to the Final Fantasy games, she just loves this take on the music.
As she should.
It’s also available digitally and in an on-trend cassette version.
Whilst the original versions feature full orchestration, here TPR and Roxane Genot strip the sound back to primarily piano and cello, re-arranging the tracks to give a closer, more intimate feel.
This OST, released through G4F records, comes in a lovely silver-on-white gatefold version on double-coloured vinyl, one blue and one pink.
The vinyl version is slightly cut down from the digital release for reasons of space, with some tracks edited to fit the runtime.
In any case, music producer Mustin has released an album in celebration. Mario Mixtape is a genre-hopping collection of remixes of tracks from Nintendo’s number one franchise, written by Mustin himself and produced with his 17-year-old son Logan.
The twelve tracks cover the entire series, from the underground theme in the original game, all the way through Dr Mario and Super Smash Bros. Melee, to a military drum-filled version of Attack of the Airships from Super Mario Galaxy.
Standouts are the electro-swing Delfino Plaza, from Super Mario Sunshine, and the city pop-esque Piranha Plant’s Lullaby from Super Mario 64. This album is a lot of fun and gives a new lease of life to a lot of tracks you forgot you knew.
Mario Mixtape is available on all streaming services, and if you want to support Mustin directly (as I always recommend) it’s available digitally and on CD for $ 9.99 USD on his Bandcamp page.
Odyssey will know of my love for the Amiga. The singularly impressive sound chip and sheer creativity from artists of the time mean that there’s a really special moment and nostalgia for me when I get lost in the Amiga soundscape.
I’d say I spend more time listening to the music of various Amiga games than actually playing the games themselves because the audio is so evocative and transportive.
