Tagged: .hack

13Aug

Video Game Music of the Week – 13-19.08.2012

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After 2 weeks of music from an actual online RPG like Phantasy Star Online, this week I’ve chosen a lovely theme from an offline game series called .hack, where the action takes place in an online game named The World. Does it sound complicated? No? Fascinating? I hope so. The games are part of Bandai’s large .hack project involving manga, books, anime, games, toys… The concept interested me greatly and caused me to seek out the anime series .hack//SIGN. After I loved the anime, it was only a matter of time before I got my hands on the games. I liked them quite a bit, too, even if the gameplay was a bit repetitive, and, let’s be honest here, it was one big game split into 4 little parts so that Bandai could make some more money. But even so, I can’t find it in my heart to blame them – I just enjoyed it so much. I’ve heard the .hack//G.U. games were even better, but those didn’t come out in Europe, so it’ll be a while until I get to them. Anyway, the track I’ve chosen is “Wasteland Field ~ Battle”.

Composers: Chikayo Fukuda, Seizo Nakata, Norikatsu Fukuda
Games: .hack//Infection Part 1, .hack//Mutation Part 2, .hack//Outbreak Part 3, .hack//Quarantine Part 4
Song: Wasteland Field ~ Battle

07May

Video Game Music of the Week – 07-13.05.2012

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For those like me working a desk job, and certainly for many others, music is a great part of our daily lives, making working, commuting or driving much more enjoyable. And video game fans love game music. I am no exception, as probably half of my Winamp collection consists of game tunes. They give me fuel to make it through the difficulties of everyday life. :)

I am starting a simple weekly series on this site – “Video Game Music of the Week.” Every week, I’ll post a video game theme which I really like and which is available on YouTube. I will try to maintain a certain level of diversity, which should not be too hard, considering how much good game music there is out there.

Game music covers many genres, with the most famous composers’ popularity overshadowing that of many game designers. And some game music pieces have achieved decent fame, but it’s usually been attached to the game they appeared in – a good song in a popular game would be far better known than an amazing song in a niche game. Most gamers know the Mario theme or “One-Winged Angel,” but not that many know “Heat Wave” from Bionic Commando. But that is hardly something to fret about – aren’t songs usually carried by the artists, too? It’s up to us to find good video game music even in not-so-well-known games.

This weekly feature’s goal is not to necessarily outline great music from less popular games while excluding the popular ones, but many of the entries will certainly be from games most gamers have not played. So please check back every week – you never know when a great theme could even prompt you to find and play its game! :)

Here is the first Video Game Music of the Week for 07-13.05.2012. It’s a theme by Yuki Kajiura, who is better known for her anime work (such as Noir, .hack//SIGN, Madlax, etc.), but she also did a truly magnificent job with the Xenosaga III OST, adding so much to an already incredible game. I hope you enjoy it!

Composer: Yuki Kajiura
Game: Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra
Song: Acute Neurosis Treatment Facility – Under Attack