Official Site: http://www.theatrhythm.com/#!/us/
Source: Youtube Channel IGNentertainment
Almost a year ago, I made mention of Theatrhythm Final Fantasy. It was released today for the Nintendo 3DS with promising scores so far. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy is a music rhythm game that is an obvious lure towards long time Final Fantasy fans who have played the games of the series since the first one. Despite the nostalgia trap, critics and gamers that have tried the game thus far like the concept and praise the mechanics of the music rhythm genre. Last year, I was under the impression that the game was going to feature remixed versions of the songs from the series; however, it seems that the Crystal Theme was the only remixed one used for the Title Screen as all the songs were left in its original form. It's probably for the best for fans who know the original songs, but non-fans of Final Fantasy may have a harder time stomaching through some of the chip-tunes pre-FF7 or even the MIDI-tunes pre-FFX. Much like other Music Rhythm games (Rhythm Heaven/Rhythm Tengoku Gold or Elite Beat Agents/Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan!), an animation is run in the background or the top screen. Unfortunately, some of the backgrounds that contain texts uses captures from the Japanese versions of the game and may not have that same nostalgia for those in the Western market. From IGN's review, it seems to have light RPG elements; however, they don't have much depth to them that adds in that extra dynamic layer to the gameplay. Also, there's already news that 8 additional songs is on the way as DLC with each song costing $0.99. As much as that infuriates me that Square-Enix is once again abusing the power of DLCs and nostalgia, there are probably those out there who are delighted to have "extra content" available (even though it should have been in the main game to begin with...). Still, with the fact that it's based around Nobuo Uematsu's greatest works in the past 25 years, this is a sure buy for me. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy is out now for $39.99 retail exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS.
Showing posts with label Nobuo Uematsu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nobuo Uematsu. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Friday, August 19, 2011
GameLight - The Last Story
Official Japanese Site: http://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/slsj/
Source: Youtube Channel IGNentertainment
I never made a post about "The Last Story"? Wow I'm surprised I didn't since I've been so excited about it. Two reasons being two people behind the project. Hironobu Sakaguchi and Nobuo Uematsu of Final Fantasy Fame are teamed up in this project at "Mistwalker" to deliver what is said to be Sakaguchi's last project before he retires....oh wait, just found something:
Source: Youtube Channel NiNTENDOMiNATi0N
Nintendo of America has received the Trademark Rights to "The Last Story", but no word has been said about localizing the game over to the U.S. I can only hope that they do and then buy it the first day it comes out if it ever does.
Source:
-Kotaku - Nintendo of America, You Are Really Smart (Or Mean!)
Source: Youtube Channel IGNentertainment
I never made a post about "The Last Story"? Wow I'm surprised I didn't since I've been so excited about it. Two reasons being two people behind the project. Hironobu Sakaguchi and Nobuo Uematsu of Final Fantasy Fame are teamed up in this project at "Mistwalker" to deliver what is said to be Sakaguchi's last project before he retires....oh wait, just found something:
In July 2010, Sakaguchi announced on Mistwalker's blog that The Last Story may be the final title of his career. However, this turned out to be a translation error in which he meant that he was working on this as if it was his last game.[9] -Wikipedia
That's good to hear, but there's still a problem. This amazing Action-RPG exclusive to the Nintendo Wii isn't seeing a U.S. release from speculations in the past half year. It's already out in Japan, and there has been word that it's going to have an English translation for Europe; however, it seems that Nintendo of America doesn't seem keen on bringing it over to the U.S. This is very VERY sad news indeed as it was one of the most anticipated games coming out for the Wii (if not the only one). Aside from "The Last Story", it seems "Pandora's Tower" and "Xenoblade Chronicles" won't be seeing a U.S. release either. It's very sad to hear and I really hope that changes in the future as I'm very anxious to play those games (my Wii needs some love).
So about "The Last Story". I was thinking that it was going to be another turn-based RPG with lots of story and great music (which I don't mind, but am eager for change); however, Sakaguchi and team has surprised me with an incredible Action-RPG with unique elements that mixes several elements of other games into a cohesive adventure showcasing what the Wii is capable of. So there's the story and RPG elements that creates the basis for the game, and then there's the combat system. In combat, there's tactics that allows the player to plan ahead and control the AI of their comrades for flanking strategies and such. Characters can hide behind cover and spring out to attack an enemy when they least expect it. There's a 3rd-Person perspective when aiming with a crossbow to be able to fire at an enemy at a distance. I'm not sure how multiplayer works yet, but it allows the ability to team up to 6 people for cooperative play and competitive play. The combat isn't so much run up and mash buttons like a hack-n-slash as it is like a tactical shooter where things are planned, stealth is used, and maneuvering is recommended. With such a different take on the Action-RPG genre, I became even more interested in it. Even better with Nobuo Uematsu composing the music to the game. The main theme reminds me of the main theme from "Lord of Arcana" (also composed by Uematsu). Someone has uploaded the first hour of the game for us to see, and it only makes me want to play the game even more!
Source: Youtube Channel NiNTENDOMiNATi0N
Nintendo of America has received the Trademark Rights to "The Last Story", but no word has been said about localizing the game over to the U.S. I can only hope that they do and then buy it the first day it comes out if it ever does.
Source:
-Kotaku - Nintendo of America, You Are Really Smart (Or Mean!)
Friday, January 21, 2011
GameOn - JVG Music Composers - Nobuo Uematsu
Today, on the last day for this week's GameOn, I am going to be talking about the master, the legend, Nobuo Uematsu.
Even if the name Nobuo Uematsu (植松 伸夫) might be unfamiliar, it is near impossible that anyone hasn't heard of the game Final Fantasy. Uematsu was working at Square as a side-job composing simple tunes for games like 3D World Runner and Rad Racer. Square was at a time where it couldn't keep up in the game industry and soon had to file for bankruptcy. When director Hironobu Sakaguchi was asked what kind of game he wanted to make, he replied "I don't think I have what it takes to make a good action game. I think I'm better at telling a story." (Final Fantasy Retrospective - Gametrailers.com) So artist Yoshitaka Amano and music composer Nobuo Uematsu with director Hironobu Sakaguchi prepared themselves and worked on what the believed to be their "final" game at Square. What seemed like the end for the company was actually the beginning of the industry's most successful RPG series. And so it began:
Source: Youtube Channel Artificialraven
Uematsu's music is more than just background music, it's an experience in itself. His compositions are known throughout the world to those who don't even play videogames. His music captures the audience at an emotional level known to move those through melody itself. If you want a battle theme, he'll make it upbeat and exciting. Is there a need for a touching piece for a dramatic scene? He'll do that too with the most simplest structure. Even if there are those of you who may not think he's the best or even like his music, it is undeniable that he is one of the most influential men in the videogame industry and in music.
Source: Youtube Channel Akumarujr
The first piece of music I ever heard of Uematsu is 3D Runner (though I didn't know it was him until much much later) but didn't hear any of his compositions for Final Fantasy until Final Fantasy IV (Final Fantasy 2 in America). I listened through the music from FFIV (FF2 in US) and FFVI (FF3 in US) as a child by watching my father play through the games and always remembered how beautiful the music was. When I was a freshman in high school, I messed around on the keyboard my grandmother bought for me a lot and always tried to play the Overworld theme from Final Fantasy VI. Believe it or not, but that's how I first began taking piano a bit more seriously and learned how to play:
Source: Youtube Channel SupraDarky
This single song alone has been one of the most influential piece of music in my life, no lie. I have always wanted to learn how to play the piano since I was four years of age from hearing my father play it whenever we went to my grandmother's house. Because of complicated issues and such, I was never given lessons. My grandmother always encouraged my curiosity towards the piano and bought me a small Casio and then in Jr. High a Yamaha PSR-240 (which I still have and play with almost daily). The music from Final Fantasy VI were always the songs I aimed at playing along with whenever I had free time. Back then, it was just for fun. Now, it's still just for fun, I've gotten better, and it has a possibility of directing me towards a career in music composition. It's just amazing that I was able to do all of that on my own without someone teaching me. This is probably one of the reasons why I respect Nobuo Uematsu so much. I did research on him years after I started playing the piano and found out that he was self-taught in piano and music as well.
Source: Youtube Channel itsuki31
Although most of Uematsu's compositions sound Classical, he is known to be diverse in various genres of music such as Orchestral, New Age, electronic, rock, symphonic rock, and neo-classical metal (Wikipedia). His music is tied to classical music so much because of how popular his piano pieces are.
Source: Youtube Channel VideoGameMusicCenter
The music has a way of capturing the experience within the game and suck the players into it that keeps them interested and enthralled. My parents have told me (and they still do) that music is an incredibly important aspect in visual entertainment that should never be overlooked (television, movies, videogames, etc.) and that it sets up everything the audience will get out of the experience from watching/playing. Whenever I mention videogame music, my father would always point out that Final Fantasy VI had the best videogame music he ever heard from all the games he's played and that the composer was a genius (he doesn't know his name, just that he's a genius). It was always this piece that he loved the most other than the overworld theme:
Source: Youtube Channel contrafool
Other than composing music for Final Fantasy games, Uematsu has composed for animés, made an album not game related, and toured around with the Black Mages playing rock-ish renditions of his Final Fantasy music with him on keyboard.
Source: Youtube Channel anthemis
Truth to be told, I'm actually working on a Final Fantasy music project and planned it out 3-4 years ago. Right now, I'm still debating whether to do it all at once or wait for my skills in music to get better first. Anyways, there is no need for me to ramble on about this great man, because most of you (if not all) should know who he is already and probably have listened to his music before. I'm hoping to have the opportunity to meet Nobuo Uematsu and maybe even get to know him. I feel like I could learn a lot just from talking to him. He is definitely one of the biggest influence in my work in music. I leave now with a few more of his music. But before I do, I highly recommend watching the Retrospective of Final Fantasy on Game Trailers.com. It talks about the history of the company and games of Final Fantasy and has some insights about Nobuo Uematsu.
Source: Youtube Channel Phason9
Source: Youtube Channel FFMusicStation
Source: Youtube Channel Merhawk102
Haha, I still remember the first time I watched the Super Smash Bros. Brawl Trailer and said to myself "WOW, this sounds like something Nobuo Uematsu would write". I look at the caption below the video and it said "music by Nobuo Uematsu".
Even if the name Nobuo Uematsu (植松 伸夫) might be unfamiliar, it is near impossible that anyone hasn't heard of the game Final Fantasy. Uematsu was working at Square as a side-job composing simple tunes for games like 3D World Runner and Rad Racer. Square was at a time where it couldn't keep up in the game industry and soon had to file for bankruptcy. When director Hironobu Sakaguchi was asked what kind of game he wanted to make, he replied "I don't think I have what it takes to make a good action game. I think I'm better at telling a story." (Final Fantasy Retrospective - Gametrailers.com) So artist Yoshitaka Amano and music composer Nobuo Uematsu with director Hironobu Sakaguchi prepared themselves and worked on what the believed to be their "final" game at Square. What seemed like the end for the company was actually the beginning of the industry's most successful RPG series. And so it began:
Source: Youtube Channel Artificialraven
Uematsu's music is more than just background music, it's an experience in itself. His compositions are known throughout the world to those who don't even play videogames. His music captures the audience at an emotional level known to move those through melody itself. If you want a battle theme, he'll make it upbeat and exciting. Is there a need for a touching piece for a dramatic scene? He'll do that too with the most simplest structure. Even if there are those of you who may not think he's the best or even like his music, it is undeniable that he is one of the most influential men in the videogame industry and in music.
Source: Youtube Channel Akumarujr
The first piece of music I ever heard of Uematsu is 3D Runner (though I didn't know it was him until much much later) but didn't hear any of his compositions for Final Fantasy until Final Fantasy IV (Final Fantasy 2 in America). I listened through the music from FFIV (FF2 in US) and FFVI (FF3 in US) as a child by watching my father play through the games and always remembered how beautiful the music was. When I was a freshman in high school, I messed around on the keyboard my grandmother bought for me a lot and always tried to play the Overworld theme from Final Fantasy VI. Believe it or not, but that's how I first began taking piano a bit more seriously and learned how to play:
Source: Youtube Channel SupraDarky
This single song alone has been one of the most influential piece of music in my life, no lie. I have always wanted to learn how to play the piano since I was four years of age from hearing my father play it whenever we went to my grandmother's house. Because of complicated issues and such, I was never given lessons. My grandmother always encouraged my curiosity towards the piano and bought me a small Casio and then in Jr. High a Yamaha PSR-240 (which I still have and play with almost daily). The music from Final Fantasy VI were always the songs I aimed at playing along with whenever I had free time. Back then, it was just for fun. Now, it's still just for fun, I've gotten better, and it has a possibility of directing me towards a career in music composition. It's just amazing that I was able to do all of that on my own without someone teaching me. This is probably one of the reasons why I respect Nobuo Uematsu so much. I did research on him years after I started playing the piano and found out that he was self-taught in piano and music as well.
Source: Youtube Channel itsuki31
Although most of Uematsu's compositions sound Classical, he is known to be diverse in various genres of music such as Orchestral, New Age, electronic, rock, symphonic rock, and neo-classical metal (Wikipedia). His music is tied to classical music so much because of how popular his piano pieces are.
Source: Youtube Channel VideoGameMusicCenter
The music has a way of capturing the experience within the game and suck the players into it that keeps them interested and enthralled. My parents have told me (and they still do) that music is an incredibly important aspect in visual entertainment that should never be overlooked (television, movies, videogames, etc.) and that it sets up everything the audience will get out of the experience from watching/playing. Whenever I mention videogame music, my father would always point out that Final Fantasy VI had the best videogame music he ever heard from all the games he's played and that the composer was a genius (he doesn't know his name, just that he's a genius). It was always this piece that he loved the most other than the overworld theme:
Source: Youtube Channel contrafool
Other than composing music for Final Fantasy games, Uematsu has composed for animés, made an album not game related, and toured around with the Black Mages playing rock-ish renditions of his Final Fantasy music with him on keyboard.
Source: Youtube Channel anthemis
Truth to be told, I'm actually working on a Final Fantasy music project and planned it out 3-4 years ago. Right now, I'm still debating whether to do it all at once or wait for my skills in music to get better first. Anyways, there is no need for me to ramble on about this great man, because most of you (if not all) should know who he is already and probably have listened to his music before. I'm hoping to have the opportunity to meet Nobuo Uematsu and maybe even get to know him. I feel like I could learn a lot just from talking to him. He is definitely one of the biggest influence in my work in music. I leave now with a few more of his music. But before I do, I highly recommend watching the Retrospective of Final Fantasy on Game Trailers.com. It talks about the history of the company and games of Final Fantasy and has some insights about Nobuo Uematsu.
Source: Youtube Channel Phason9
Source: Youtube Channel FFMusicStation
Source: Youtube Channel Merhawk102
Haha, I still remember the first time I watched the Super Smash Bros. Brawl Trailer and said to myself "WOW, this sounds like something Nobuo Uematsu would write". I look at the caption below the video and it said "music by Nobuo Uematsu".
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