Tag Archives: music

Atelier, Atelier Mysterious

The Music of Atelier, Vol. 14: Atelier Firis – The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey

2 Comments

cropped-atelier-megafeature-header-1.pngThis post is one chapter of a MegaFeature!
< Prev. | Contents | Next >

Another Atelier game in the books, another opportunity to celebrate the series’ incredible music — and the sterling work of Gust’s sound team in general, who consistently put out some absolutely amazing tracks.

Atelier Firis’ย soundtrack is a beast, consisting of 125 tracks in total. Considering the massive scope of the game, this shouldn’t be altogether surprising, but what’s impressive is that each and every one of those tracks is worthwhile and enjoyable to listen to, whether it’s a simple field theme or the most intense battle themes the score has to offer. As always, we’ll be taking a look at a few selections from the complete score rather than the whole thing!

Music this time around was provided by Kazuki Yanagawa, Tatsuya Yano and Daisuke Achiwa; it seems Hayato Asano took a break from the series for this one, which isn’t altogether surprising, as he was likely busy putting together the absolutely amazing soundtrack for Nights of Azureย at the time. And, if you picked up the physical release of the complete Mysterious Trilogy from Play-Asia, don’t forget that it comes with a code to download the full soundtracks until April 21, 2024!

Continue reading The Music of Atelier, Vol. 14: Atelier Firis – The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey →

Atelier, Atelier Mysterious

The Music of Atelier, Vol. 13: Atelier Sophie – The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book

3 Comments

cropped-atelier-megafeature-header-1.pngThis post is one chapter of a MegaFeature!
< Prev. | Contents | Next >

It’s time once again to enjoy the wonderful work that Gust’s sound team puts into its flagship series — this time with the excellent music from Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book.

Atelier Sophie’sย soundtrack is a pretty substantial one, consisting of 94 tracks in total — and as such, there were a fair few people working on it. Series mainstays Kazuki Yanagawa and Daisuke Achiwa return as always, as does Hayato Asano, who had gradually been becoming more prominent not just in theย Atelierย games, but in Gust’s work in general up until this point.

They’re joined by contributions from Ryudai Abe, Yu Shimoda, Miyoko Kobayashi and RURUTIA. So let’s take a moment to go through some favourite tracks — and if you picked up the physical release of the complete Mysterious Trilogy from Play-Asia, don’t forget you can download the full soundtracks with your serial codes until April 21, 2024!

Continue reading The Music of Atelier, Vol. 13: Atelier Sophie – The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book →

Atelier, Atelier Dusk

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

2 Comments

cropped-atelier-megafeature-header-1.pngThis post is one chapter of a MegaFeature!
< Prev. | Contents | Next >

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 Seaย 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 Azureย andย Blue Reflectionย will be immediately at home with the distinctive sound he brings toย Atelier Shallie’sย soundtrack.

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

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

Atelier, Atelier Dusk

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

2 Comments

cropped-atelier-megafeature-header-1.pngThis post is one chapter of a MegaFeature!
< Prev. | Contents | Next >

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 theย Dusk series. Ken Nakagawa, the man behind much of the distinctive “Atelierย sound” that was established between Atelier Viorateย andย Atelier Meruru, stepped aside, and others, including Gust regular Daisuke Achiwa, stepped in.

Perhaps most notably,ย Atelier Escha & Logyย 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’sย soundtrack!

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

Podcast

The MoeGamer Podcast: Episode 47 – STAGE 1 START!

Leave a comment

Welcome to a brand new podcast episode! Today I am joined, as always, my good friend and confidant Chris Caskie of CCaskieArt.

The MoeGamer Podcast is available in several places. You canย subscribe to my channel on YouTubeย to stay up to date with both the video versions of the podcast and my weekly videos (including the Atari A to Z retro gaming series); you canย follow on Soundcloudย for the audio-only version of the podcast; you canย subscribe via RSSย to get the audio-only version of the podcast in your favourite podcast app; or you canย subscribe via iTunesย andย listen on Spotify. Please do at least one of these if you can; it really helps us out!

Enjoy the podcast in video and audio formats below:

And hit the jump for show notes!

Continue reading The MoeGamer Podcast: Episode 47 – STAGE 1 START! →

Atelier, Atelier Dusk

The Music of Atelier, Vol. 10: Atelier Ayesha – The Alchemist of Dusk

6 Comments

cropped-atelier-megafeature-header-1.pngThis post is one chapter of a MegaFeature!
< Prev. | Contents | Next >

It’s that time once again: time to celebrate the sterling work of Gust’s sound team, and the distinctive soundscape they have created over the years from the Atelier series.

As you might expect with the change in artist, overall aesthetic and tone, the sound of theย Duskย series is a little different from theย Arlandย trilogy before it — but it’s still recognisably “Atelier”.

This time around, the music is the work of Gust regulars Daisuke Achiwa and Kazuki Yanagawa as well as Yu Shimoda; the latter worked with Inti Creates on retro revival titlesย Mega Man 9ย andย 10, and joined Taito’s ZUNTATA sound team in 2017. Series mainstay Ken Nakagawa, meanwhile, stepped aside from Atelier compositions from hereon, though he returned for contributions to both Atelier Luluaย andย Nelke and the Legendary Alchemists’ soundtracks.

Continue reading The Music of Atelier, Vol. 10: Atelier Ayesha – The Alchemist of Dusk →

Atelier, Atelier Arland

The Music of Atelier, Vol. 9: Atelier Lulua – The Scion of Arland

4 Comments

cropped-atelier-megafeature-header-1.pngThis post is one chapter of a MegaFeature!
< Prev. | Contents | Next >

After two full trilogies — Dusk and Mysterious — the Atelier series returned to Arland for one (possibly) last hurrah with Atelier Lulua: The Scion of Arland. And naturally, that meant a return to the distinctive sound of Arland, too.

Once again, the music for this installment comes courtesy of series regulars Ken Nakagawa, Daisuke Achiwa and Kazuki Yanagawa and, much like the rest of the game, tends to blend elements of old and new to create something that is simultaneously comfortably familiar and recognisably fresh.

Turn up the volume, hit the jump and let’s listen to some selected highlights together.

Continue reading The Music of Atelier, Vol. 9: Atelier Lulua – The Scion of Arland →

Atelier, Atelier Arland

The Music of Atelier, Vol. 8: Atelier Meruru – The Apprentice of Arland

3 Comments

cropped-atelier-megafeature-header-1.pngThis post is one chapter of a MegaFeature!
< Prev. | Contents | Next >

After the rather melancholy tone of Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland’s soundtrack, Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland returns to a rather more joyful feel.

There’s a sense of adventure to the music, for sure, since Meruru’s quest takes her quite far afield from her home town, but there’s also a sense of triumph; of overcoming odds. Meruru’s story, particularly in its latter hours, is one of triumph over adversity, and of growth. Not just personal growth, either; also the literal, measurable growth of the kingdom of Arls as a direct result of Meruru’s efforts.

This time around, Ken Nakagawa is joined by frequent collaborators Kazuki Yanagawa and Daisuke Achiwa for a solid and diverse soundtrack that is one of the catchiest in the series. Turn up the volume and let’s listen to some selected highlights.

Continue reading The Music of Atelier, Vol. 8: Atelier Meruru – The Apprentice of Arland →

Atelier, Atelier Arland

The Music of Atelier, Vol. 7: Atelier Totori – The Adventurer of Arland

4 Comments

cropped-atelier-megafeature-header-1.pngThis post is one chapter of a MegaFeature!
< Prev. | Contents | Next >

Despite being a direct sequel to Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland, Atelier Totori has a markedly different atmosphere to it.

This is put across in a variety of different ways. The main protagonist is a much quieter, gentler sort of person than the rather noisy Rorona; the overall narrative is melancholy in contrast to the relative “franticness” of Rorona’s tale; and this change in mood is very much reflected by the soundtrack.

Once again primarily composed by Ken Nakagawa, with additional contributions from Kazuki Yanagawa, the score to Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arlandย brings back some classic themes as well as introducing a variety of new ones. We’ve already heard several variations on “Following the Footsteps” when we looked at the game’s worldbuilding… so let’s pick out a few more favourites and have a listen!

Continue reading The Music of Atelier, Vol. 7: Atelier Totori – The Adventurer of Arland →

Atelier, Atelier Arland

Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland – Beyond the City Walls

4 Comments

cropped-atelier-megafeature-header-1.pngThis post is one chapter of a MegaFeature!
< Prev. | Contents | Next >

One interesting thing about the way the Arland subseries of Atelier develops over time is how its scale gradually increases.

Inย Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland,ย the action is primarily confined to the city of Arland and its surrounding environs. Inย Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland,ย we get the opportunity to explore the Arland region in much greater detail, coming to understand a lot more about the context of various locations. And, as we’ll see when we come toย Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland,ย the series then actually moves on to a whole other setting with connections to Arland, rather than unfolding in Arland itself..

Atelier Totoriย in particular brought about a very strong sense of worldbuilding and narrative context, and of the protagonist being just one tiny little part of a wide variety of events that would continue to unfold with or without her involvement. Let’s take a closer look at how the game achieves that feel.

Continue reading Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland – Beyond the City Walls →