Tag Archives: Hayato Asano

Atelier

The Music of Atelier, Vol. 12: Atelier Shallie – Alchemists of the Dusk Sea

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Yes, it’s that time again, boys and girls — the time where we celebrate the sterling work that Gust’s sound team do on their flagship series, and each installment of the series manages to have a distinct, unique sound while remaining true to the franchise’s overall atmosphere.

Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea is a noteworthy installment in this regard, in that it placed Hayato Asano in a leading role on the soundtrack alongside series veterans Daisuke Achiwa and Kazuki Yanagawa. And anyone who is familiar with Asano’s other work on titles such as Nights of Azure and Blue Reflection will be immediately at home with the distinctive sound he brings to Atelier Shallie’s soundtrack.

So pump up the volume, sit back, relax and let’s have a listen to some particular highlights from Atelier Shallie’s substantial soundtrack!

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Atelier, Atelier Dusk

The Music of Atelier, Vol. 11: Atelier Escha & Logy – Alchemists of the Dusk Sky

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As the series has progressed, the distinctive sound of Atelier has evolved, too.

This is partly due to the composers involving themselves in the games’ soundtracks changing over time, and this becomes particularly apparent throughout the Dusk series. Ken Nakagawa, the man behind much of the distinctive “Atelier sound” that was established between Atelier Viorate and Atelier Meruru, stepped aside, and others, including Gust regular Daisuke Achiwa, stepped in.

Perhaps most notably, Atelier Escha & Logy is where composer Hayato Asano stepped in, and while his time as a Gust employee was relatively short — he now works as a freelance composer, with several further contributions to Gust to his name — he definitely had an impact on how the series sounded from hereon. So let’s take a look at a selection of music from Atelier Escha & Logy’s soundtrack!

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Features, MoeGamer Awards 2017

The MoeGamer Awards: Most Eclectic Soundtrack

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The MoeGamer Awards are a series of made-up prizes that give me an excuse to celebrate games, concepts and communities I’ve particularly appreciated over the course of 2017. Find out more and suggest some categories here!

Music is a massively important part of the modern gaming experience. As technology has improved, particularly in the storage department, we’ve seen a notable shift away from game systems synthesising music in real time using built-in sound chips — a process that often produced a distinctive and instantly recognisable sound unique to each platform — and towards more traditionally recorded music.

While this does diminish each modern platform’s individuality in terms of the distinctive timbres of their games’ soundtracks, it does leave composers free to let their imaginations run wild and express themselves — and for us as listeners to focus on the compositions themselves rather than admire how the musicians got around technical limitations. Today’s award celebrates a delightfully eclectic and enjoyable soundtrack that blends a variety of styles together into one coherent whole; the kind of soundtrack that simply wouldn’t have been possible back in the eras of chiptunes or synthesised MIDI music.

And the winner is…

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Cover Games, Nights of Azure

Nights of Azure: Sights and Sounds

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As we’ve discussed over the course of the last few articles, Gust’s Nights of Azure has a very strong sense of its own identity, both as an individual work and as part of its developer’s catalogue.

Every aspect of the game as a whole contributes to this coherent identity: its distinctly operatic, tragic Gothic narrative; its blend of action RPG gameplay with monster-raising and character customisation; its small cast of distinctive, memorable characters.

Perhaps the most distinguishing characteristic, however, is its overall aesthetic. While, at times, drawing inspiration from other, similar works, there’s no denying that Nights of Azure takes ownership of its own identity to create a highly distinctive work that stands out even amid the rest of Gust’s back catalogue.

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