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Music to My Ears: Lost Odyssey

Chris

Lost Odyssey was one of those games that kinda flew under the radar. Even though it was released at a time when the 360 and PS3 were still relatively new and lacking in the RPG department, I’m not sure it got the attention it deserved.

LO was a solid, if unspectacular, game. It featured an engaging turn-based battle system with timed attacks to help keep the player engaged. The skill learning techniques were fun, but it also limited your party — when your immortal members could learn so many skills and your mortal folks were stuck with just two or three from equipment, it wasn’t a tough choice picking who to bring along. The story was decent, but where the game really excelled was in its side storytelling: a series of vignettes called “A Thousand Years of Dreams” that chronicled Kaim’s heartbreaking immortal existence.

Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi was the driving force behind Lost Odyssey, and in putting together the soundtrack for the game, he brought along a familiar face: Nobuo Uematsu. Uematsu, of course, was the mastermind behind every Final Fantasy OST through X, and he’s contributed a handful of other tracks to the series since then. More importantly, Uematsu is one of the best composers in video game history, and arguably the most recognizable.

Uematsu’s music in LO represented something of a change of pace. Limited by the technology of 8- and 16-bit video game systems, his earlier productions were much more based on melodies and ambiance, milking every last note he could out of bleeps and bloops. Fast forward 20 years, and Uematsu found himself with a full orchestra and advanced synthesizers to work with. The result is a strange hybrid of symphonic and progressive rock tracks with some piano and techno thrown in for good measure.

All of that added up to a 56-track, two-disc compilation featuring what might be Uematsu’s best work, even if it didn’t get the attention or accolades that many soundtracks from Final Fantasy did (and don’t worry, this feature will get to those eventually).

As usual with MtME, let’s take a look at five of my favorite tracks with commentary on each. Continue reading “Music to My Ears: Lost Odyssey”

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Dreams, Nightmares, and Psychic Powers

Chris

I often hear people tell me stories about the dreams they had last night. Most of the time the stories are filled with vivid memories and details about specific parts of the dreams and even their thematic meanings.

I’m not one of those people. I’m lucky if I even dream in the first place, let alone remember any of it. I suppose it’s kind of a trade-off: I have a great memory when I’m awake, being able to recall song lyrics, random trivia and specific moments with great detail.

Shaun, on the other hand, can give you a play-by-play on what happened in his sleep last night (and even occasionally wakes up during a good dream to jot down ideas for his writing) — but his brain can’t tell him where he put his keys two seconds ago. Or what time he was supposed to be somewhere. Or what his name is.

Sometimes it feels like I’m missing out. I mean, sure, it’s nice to miss out on nightmares and night terrors and the like. Let me tell you about the few things I do recall. Continue reading “Dreams, Nightmares, and Psychic Powers”

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Review: Tales of Graces f

Chris

Tales of Graces f review: The latest “Tales” doesn’t disappoint

NOTE: This is a review of a game in progress. Chris and Co. have put in around 35 hours into the game, which means they’re probably at the halfway point or so. Still, if major media outlets can review the game without finishing it, then so can we!

I’ve made no secret of my love of the Tales series on this site in the past. So you might think that this review is going to be a five-star endeavor, full of glowing praise and endless superlatives about the quintessential RPG of our generation.

You would be wrong.

That’s not to say that it’s Graces’ fault. The game suffers from many of the same problems that other Tales games have: a sometimes too-wordy story, typical anime tropes, lackluster music. But like many other offerings in the series, the battle system comes through in a big way.

In fact, I’ll go a little further: Tales of Graces features the best battle system of any RPG ever made.

How’s that for an opening argument? Continue reading “Review: Tales of Graces f”

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Music to My Ears: Chrono Trigger

Chris

NOTE: “Music to My Ears” is a recurring installment based on Chris’s (not so) secret obsession: the music of video games. His Tales of Graces review will be up next week.

In my review for Street Fighter x Tekken, I mentioned how Street Fighter II was one of the big introductions to the world of video game music for me. Ryu’s stage music in particular was one of the driving forces in doing things like getting homework done. And since computers were not a mainstream thing when I was 8 (not to mention mp3 players, iTunes and YouTube), the only way to listen to it was to toss in the cartridge, head to the Sound Test menu and let it rip.

Those foundations laid the groundwork for other tunes that I loved as a kid, like the Castle theme from Super Mario World or Mute City from F-Zero. But the next big landmark was in high school, when I finally got to play what some would call the best RPG of all-time. Continue reading “Music to My Ears: Chrono Trigger”

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Number Four With a Bullet

Chris

I had thought that I might be able to go back to back on reviews and do Tales of Graces this week. That was a foolish thought considering that Tales games usually last somewhere around 50 to 60 hours. Shaun and I have been playing with our roommates and are maybe 12 hours in so far, and it’s a very solid game. We’ll see if the review can be ready by next week — I’m not of the mindset that I have to beat something to write about it, but I certainly want to be farther into the game than this.

In the meantime, here’s some random thoughts as we fight off all the snow from the past 24 hours. Continue reading “Number Four With a Bullet”

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Review: Street Fighter x Tekken

Chris

There’s never been much of a debate between 2D and 3D fighting games for me. I was a Street Fighter kid from the start.

My grandparents had an NES when I was little, so I got some playing time in with Mario 3, Dr. Mario, Chip ‘n’ Dale Rescue Rangers, Metroid and all the classics. But when the Super Nintendo came out and my dad picked one up, Street Fighter II was the first game I had for it — not Super Mario World like 95% of the rest of America.

SF II was interesting for a few reasons. It’s what got me started on the chess-like nature of fighting games. It was also the genesis (see what I did there?) for my love of video game music, as I would let some of the great stage themes play in the background while I worked on other things. Ryu, Ken, Guile and later Cammy’s stages became the accompanying soundtrack for life.

Why does all of this matter? Because Street Fighter x Tekken incorporates a long-standing 3D franchise into my 2D wheelhouse, and that’s just the way I like it. Continue reading “Review: Street Fighter x Tekken”

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Tales of Countdown

Chris

Once every four years or so, a new Tales game comes around. For fans of the series, you understand the excitement. For non-fans, well … go play Mass Effect 3 or something.

As mentioned on this blog before, the Tales series is one of my favorites. Part of the added anticipation is the waiting game Namco Bandai puts fans through for each and every release. Will it make it to the States? Will it ever be localized? How long could it possibly take to translate everything into English? Why does four years seem unreasonable?

But once a release date is finally locked down, that’s when the true countdown can begin. And for me, the countdown is down to exactly one week. Continue reading “Tales of Countdown”

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DLC You Later

Chris

Mass Effect 3 is due out on March 6, and some recent news has gamers on edge. Specifically, that Bioware will release DLC on the game’s launch date.

DLC has become something of a running joke in the gaming industry. When executed right, it can be both effective and fun. Left 4 Dead added a couple of campaigns that were well worth the money. Rock Band has one of the most successful models around with a huge collection of music from a variety of artists. Red Dead Redemption added an entire new chapter to the game, bringing John Marston into a world of zombies.

But when companies put together a DLC plan with only their own interests in mind, that’s when the whole thing starts to go downhill. Continue reading “DLC You Later”

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Number Three With a Bullet

Chris

Look, I know. It’s a copout. But it’s been a rough week. I’ve been working extra because someone’s on a vacation. I spent last weekend (and three days in the week) in Phoenix for my grandpa’s open heart surgery (which had a variety of complications, but he’s doing better now). All of that activity has me sick now, staring at another long work week.

So you get bullets. And you will like it. Continue reading “Number Three With a Bullet”

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At the Buzzer Focus Group

Chris

This week marks the one-year anniversary of At the Buzzer’s first episode.

It’s kinda surprising to look back and see that much ground behind us. That first episode (which was terrible, by the way) ended up leading into 30 more over the course of 12 months. More importantly, the quality and regularity got much better.

As we’ve continued to put up more shows, we’ve started getting a variety of letters and comments from listeners. All things considered, I’m appreciative of anyone who takes the time to do something with ATB, whether that means simply listening in or sending us something for Buzz In.

Still, we’re always looking to improve. With that in mind, I’m using the time after our first year of business to ask for something more. Consider it a survey of sorts, a poor man’s focus group, where you tell us what you like and don’t like in the show. Your input has made a difference before. For example, the intro used to be twice as long before folks said “hey, that’s dumb and you’re dumb.” But this is on a much bigger scale.

So I’m asking fans of the show to take a few minutes and respond to this questionnaire. If you’re diligent, you can answer every question. If you’re less familiar with the program or you’re leaving for a hot date in a few minutes, you can answer only the ones you feel strongly about. Or you can give some kid a dollar and let him mash on the keys for a while.

Once you’re done, you can submit your feedback in two different ways:

  • To our inbox at mail@atthebuzzershow.com
  • As a comment on this post (use the box below)

Your test begins … now. Continue reading “At the Buzzer Focus Group”