Doujin CD Review - Ages

01 Turbo Outrun - Rush A Difficulty
02 Power Drift - Like the Wind
03 Lunar: Silver Star Story - Tsubasa
04 Space Harrier 2 - Harrier Saga
05 Magic Knight Rayearth - Taflon by the Sea
06 Yumimi Mix - Achichicchi
07 Fantasy Zone - Prome
08 Super Shinobi - Medley
09 Galaxy Force 2 - Alone Fighter
10 Eternal Arcadia Legend - Last Battle
11 Lunar: Silver Star Story - Wind's Nocturne


Circle: Woodsoft

VGMDB Entry

I love me some Sega, and I'm absolutely sure the guys at Woodsoft do too. This album begins with the classic "SAY-GAH!" chant, and the "logo on dark background" seems heavily inspired by the Segagaga packaging, which was also a huge (self-addressed) love letter to the company. Despite its intentions, though, the album as a whole is unfortunately disappointing. The selection digs from a lot of Sega's more obscure games, which isn't always bad. Every fan nowadays knows Outrun or After Burner, but Turbo Outrun and Power Drift are considerably more obscure and it's great to see a Skies of Arcadia track make it out here too. Still, you can't help but feel they're cheating by including two songs from Lunar: Silver Star Story, which originated on Sega platforms but soon went elsewhere, and aren't even Sega games. (Magic Knight Rayearth, on the other hand, was at least published by Sega, but it's hardly a classic or even a distinctive tune, you know? Some of soundtrack of that game was just taken from the anime anyway.) And then they went super obscure with Yumimi Mix, a Mega CD title from Game Arts.

Beyond the song selection, though, the real trouble lies with the cheesy synth that permeates nearly every song. The Lunar songs sound the same as their original counterpart except with worse instrumentation and vocals, so what's the point? The Space Harrier II theme sounds dull and neutered, and it's mind boggling how they could take the awesome Last Battle theme from Skies of Arcadia and make it sound so terrible, completely ruining the drama and intensity of the original track. Prome from Fantasy Zone was one of the more obnoxious songs from that game, and the arrangement here is just as bad.

At least the synth doesn't ruin every song. The Power Drift tune is catchy if uneventful, and while there are better tunes from Turbo Outrun than Rush a Difficulty, it's still an alright rendition. The only really standout track is the five minute Super Shinobi (Revenge of Shinobi) medley, combining the first level song with the Chinatown theme and ending song, My Lover. The tempo is heightened a bit for great effect and the instrumentation here is far better than the rest, especially the guitar that breaks in parts of the song. But there's nothing else on the CD remotely to that level, so it's really hard to recommend as a whole.

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<img src="http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/doujinmusic/ages.jpg"><br /><br />01 Turbo Outrun - Rush A Difficulty <br />02 Power Drift - Like the Wind <br />03 Lunar: Silver Star Story - Tsubasa <br />04 Space Harrier 2 - Harrier Saga <br />05 Magic Knight Rayearth - Taflon by the Sea <br />06 Yumimi Mix - Achichicchi <br />07 Fantasy Zone - Prome <br />08 Super Shinobi - Medley <br />09 Galaxy Force 2 - Alone Fighter <br />10 Eternal Arcadia Legend - Last Battle <br />11 Lunar: Silver Star Story - Wind's Nocturne<br /><br /><br />Circle: <a href="http://www2.odn.ne.jp/puchi/">Woodsoft</a><br /><br /><a href="http://vgmdb.net/album/4929">VGMDB Entry</a><br /><br />I love me some Sega, and I'm absolutely sure the guys at Woodsoft do too. This album begins with the classic "SAY-GAH!" chant, and the "logo on dark background" seems heavily inspired by the Segagaga packaging, which was also a huge (self-addressed) love letter to the company. Despite its intentions, though, the album as a whole is unfortunately disappointing. The selection digs from a lot of Sega's more obscure games, which isn't always bad. Every fan nowadays knows Outrun or After Burner, but Turbo Outrun and Power Drift are considerably more obscure and it's great to see a Skies of Arcadia track make it out here too. Still, you can't help but feel they're cheating by including two songs from Lunar: Silver Star Story, which originated on Sega platforms but soon went elsewhere, and aren't even Sega games. (Magic Knight Rayearth, on the other hand, was at least published by Sega, but it's hardly a classic or even a distinctive tune, you know? Some of soundtrack of that game was just taken from the anime anyway.) And then they went super obscure with Yumimi Mix, a Mega CD title from Game Arts.<br /><span class="fullpost"><br />Beyond the song selection, though, the real trouble lies with the cheesy synth that permeates nearly every song. The Lunar songs sound the same as their original counterpart except with worse instrumentation and vocals, so what's the point? The Space Harrier II theme sounds dull and neutered, and it's mind boggling how they could take the awesome Last Battle theme from Skies of Arcadia and make it sound so terrible, completely ruining the drama and intensity of the original track. Prome from Fantasy Zone was one of the more obnoxious songs from that game, and the arrangement here is just as bad.<br /><br />At least the synth doesn't ruin every song. The Power Drift tune is catchy if uneventful, and while there are better tunes from Turbo Outrun than Rush a Difficulty, it's still an alright rendition. The only really standout track is the five minute Super Shinobi (Revenge of Shinobi) medley, combining the first level song with the Chinatown theme and ending song, My Lover. The tempo is heightened a bit for great effect and the instrumentation here is far better than the rest, especially the guitar that breaks in parts of the song. But there's nothing else on the CD remotely to that level, so it's really hard to recommend as a whole.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.fileplanet.com/hosteddl.aspx?/hst/d/i/discoalu/hg101_ages.zip">Download samples</a><p><br /><br /></span>

Doujin CD Review - Detana!! K-STYLE - School Mizugi de Daiabare!

01 There in The Sea - Twinbee Yahhoo
02 Mirage - Lighting Legend
03 Wisdom of Living - Lighting Legend
04 Main Theme - The Goonies
05 GTR Attack !! - Contra Hard Corps
06 Ruins of Bacaros - Metamorphic Force
07 Lucky Zone - Gradius 3 SFC
08 End Demo - Labyrinth Runner
09 Tears of Dracula - Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow
10 Riddle - Castlevania
11 Theme of Simon - Castlevania 4
12 Wiched Child - Castlevania 4
13 One Night in Neo Kobe City - Snatcher
14 Memoire - Space Manbow

Circle: Woodsoft

VGMDB Entry

Konami music is always a good source for arranged music, even if the topic is pretty broad. As such, there’s a huge variety of songs, spanning older stuff to obscure releases, along with a few newer songs. The opening track, “Umi no Kanata e”, is the third stage theme from Twinbee Yahho!, and while the expanded intro is decent, the instrumentation is lacking the energy that made the original version so fun. The next two tracks are taken from the awful PSOne 3D fighter Lightning Legend – the opening vocal theme isn’t bad for anime-style J-Pop, but the arrangement barely changes anything, and the second song isn’t all that interesting either. Next is an arrangement of The Goonies theme – that’s right, Cyndi Lauper’s “Goonies R Good Enough” – done on a piano. It’s so altered that it’s hard to pick out the main melody, but it’s still surprisingly well done.

“GTR Attack!!” Contra Hard Corps theme is well done, but I never really liked the original music that much to begin with. “Ruins of Bacaros” is from the arcade fighter Metamorphic Force which featured a rock soundtrack. The synth guitars used here aren’t much different than the actual game, but it’s cool representation of an excellent song from an obscure game. Labyrinth Runner (AKA Trick Trap) is even more obscure, although the song is actually quite dull, and seems to exist just to show Woodsoft's knowledge of old, unknown Konami arcade games. The Castlevania remixes are mixed – the “Theme of Simon” rendition is a bit too close the official arrangement on the Dracula Battle album, and “Riddle” is plain unremarkable, but “Wicked Child” features a live guitar with 80s style synth that almost makes it sounds like an Ys song. It also features a never-arranged song from Dawn of Sorrow, “Dracula’s Tears”. It was probably the best song in the game and while this arrangement doesn’t do much other than improving the rather fuzzy instrumentation of the original and expanded it a bit, it still sounds pretty good – it wouldn’t sound out of place on a PC Engine game. The shamisens in the original song never fit, anyway. The version of “One Night in Neo Kobe City”, the opening credits song from the CD versions of Snatcher, is a bit more laid back and snazzier, with a particularly nice live sax. “Memoire”, the end theme from the MSX shooter Space Manbow, isn’t bad, but it’s hardly a standout amongst classic Konami canon.

Overall, it’s a decent album, even if it’s not entirely consistent.

Download samples

<img src="http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/doujinmusic/kstyle.jpg"><br /><br />01 There in The Sea - Twinbee Yahhoo<br />02 Mirage - Lighting Legend<br />03 Wisdom of Living - Lighting Legend <br />04 Main Theme - The Goonies<br />05 GTR Attack !! - Contra Hard Corps<br />06 Ruins of Bacaros - Metamorphic Force <br />07 Lucky Zone - Gradius 3 SFC <br />08 End Demo - Labyrinth Runner <br />09 Tears of Dracula - Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow<br />10 Riddle - Castlevania <br />11 Theme of Simon - Castlevania 4<br />12 Wiched Child - Castlevania 4 <br />13 One Night in Neo Kobe City - Snatcher<br />14 Memoire - Space Manbow<br /><br />Circle: <a href="http://www2.odn.ne.jp/puchi/">Woodsoft</a><br /><br /><a href="http://vgmdb.net/album/5320">VGMDB Entry</a><br /><br />Konami music is always a good source for arranged music, even if the topic is pretty broad. As such, there’s a huge variety of songs, spanning older stuff to obscure releases, along with a few newer songs. The opening track, “Umi no Kanata e”, is the third stage theme from Twinbee Yahho!, and while the expanded intro is decent, the instrumentation is lacking the energy that made the original version so fun. The next two tracks are taken from the awful PSOne 3D fighter Lightning Legend – the opening vocal theme isn’t bad for anime-style J-Pop, but the arrangement barely changes anything, and the second song isn’t all that interesting either. Next is an arrangement of The Goonies theme – that’s right, Cyndi Lauper’s “Goonies R Good Enough” – done on a piano. It’s so altered that it’s hard to pick out the main melody, but it’s still surprisingly well done. <br /><br /><span class="fullpost">“GTR Attack!!” Contra Hard Corps theme is well done, but I never really liked the original music that much to begin with. “Ruins of Bacaros” is from the arcade fighter Metamorphic Force which featured a rock soundtrack. The synth guitars used here aren’t much different than the actual game, but it’s cool representation of an excellent song from an obscure game. Labyrinth Runner (AKA Trick Trap) is even more obscure, although the song is actually quite dull, and seems to exist just to show Woodsoft's knowledge of old, unknown Konami arcade games. The Castlevania remixes are mixed – the “Theme of Simon” rendition is a bit too close the official arrangement on the Dracula Battle album, and “Riddle” is plain unremarkable, but “Wicked Child” features a live guitar with 80s style synth that almost makes it sounds like an Ys song. It also features a never-arranged song from Dawn of Sorrow, “Dracula’s Tears”. It was probably the best song in the game and while this arrangement doesn’t do much other than improving the rather fuzzy instrumentation of the original and expanded it a bit, it still sounds pretty good – it wouldn’t sound out of place on a PC Engine game. The shamisens in the original song never fit, anyway. The version of “One Night in Neo Kobe City”, the opening credits song from the CD versions of Snatcher, is a bit more laid back and snazzier, with a particularly nice live sax. “Memoire”, the end theme from the MSX shooter Space Manbow, isn’t bad, but it’s hardly a standout amongst classic Konami canon.<br /><br />Overall, it’s a decent album, even if it’s not entirely consistent. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.fileplanet.com/hosteddl.aspx?/hst/d/i/discoalu/hg101_kstyle.zip">Download samples</a><p><br /></span>