Just a quick post for the US version of “Worlds Collide” from Final Fantasy XIII-2.  This is basically the same as the OST version but there’s a distortion filter applied to the vocals, kinda gives them an AM radio effect.  Same deal as my previous post.. ripped (not recorded!) directly from the demo, looped twice, mastered, etc.  Awesome track, really gets me pumped for boss battles!  Composed by Naoshi Mizuta.

FLAC version is right here for all you audiophiles out there.  MP3 download below.

So I played the Final Fantasy XIII-2 demo, loved it, and really liked the Bresha Ruins music.  As I went to check it out on the OST, I noticed something different.. the OST version has some lady badly rapping instead of the awesome synth I just heard in the demo.  What the hell?  I figured someone was playing a trick on me.  After checking online, it seems the American version of the game won’t feature the rap vocals for that track.  Phew!

Will the instrumental version be on the soundtrack that comes bundled with the Collector’s Edition of the game?  Maybe.  Will the original rap song be featured in the American game, in a different time period?  Perhaps.  All I know for sure is this track isn’t currently available on any CD so I used some moogle magic to rip it from the demo.  Looped it twice, made it the same length as the OST track, and did a little normalizing/mastering to it.  Invisible Invader (Instrumental ver.) was composed by Naoshi Mizuta who is best known for Parasite Eve 2, Final Fantasy XI, Final Fantasy The 4 Heroes of Light, and at least one track in Resident Evil 2.

Download link below is for the MP3.  FLAC version here, kupo.

Oh Chocobo, Oh Chocobo, how yellow are your feathers! Yeah I just did that.

It’s Christmas, Final Fantasy style. I listen to this song every year around this time, mainly for nostalgia but also because it’s just plain awesome. Easily one of my favorite VGM/holiday hybrids.  Save this little gem to your hard drive and never lose it.

This track was released back in 2000 via the SQUARE SOUNDS web site as a special download.  Anyone remember SQUARE SOUNDS?  How about DigiCube?  The “Final Fantasy” main theme was of course composed by Nobuo Uematsu and this Christmas arrangement was handled by Kenji Ito.

For the first time since 1993 (I was just about 10!), Sonic the Hedgehog was back at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade earlier today.  If you happened to catch it on TV this morning and listened carefully, you were treated to a remix of Splash Hill Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I.  They only played a few seconds of it but I bet you wanna hear the full track, don’t you?  Well, give thanks to my ripping skills and hit play because here it is.

The remix is actually a medley of Splash Hill Zone Act 1, 2, and 3.  Original versions from Sonic 4 were composed by Jun Senoue and this remix (from Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games) was most likely done by him as well.

2011 continues to be the year of Sonic music, and even Mario is getting in on the action.  Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games comes out in two days for the Wii.  Yeah that’s right, the game isn’t even out yet and I already have the music ripped (I just might be a nerd).  As with the two previous games in the series, Sega’s music team takes select tracks from both franchises and remix them for certain areas in the game.  This tune here is a remix of Flying Battery Zone from Sonic & Knuckles on the Genesis.  No credits are out for the game yet but it sounds like Jun Senoue took care of this particular track.

Judging from the file name on disc, I’m assuming this is used as a shop theme.  I never played any of these Olympic games so I’m not sure how they work, but there is seriously a ton of shop music here.  36 total shop tracks, half of them being Mario music and the other half being Sonic. What’s interesting is that all 18 Mario tracks are remixed but only a handful of the Sonic ones are new, the rest are the original versions.

Also, I need to clarify that there are plenty of original compositions in these games in addition to all the remixes.  Since the game development (including music) is handled 100% by Sega, not Nintendo, this series is a potential goldmine for Sega music fans such as myself.