[siforster]

Wasn't 100% sure which board this fitted on

Square Enix have issued a 2 x Pic Disc version of their Final Fantasy VII Soundtrack, and I'm sorely tempted (even though I've had the 4CD version since it came out!)

£44 though... Only 1200 copies, seems to be shipping to EMEA (Europe, Mid-East & Africa) only but not checked other SqEnix sites...

Linky

[jgibbs4053]

Just read that only EU IP addresses can see it in their store? When I go to the music page it is blank.

[siforster]

You can try going through this page and selecting the European option, but the whole site's a fiddly mess to be honest. Even registering for checkout (yes, I caved in) is unnecessarily obtrusive (why do they need my mum's maiden name?)....

Managed to get on the US site OK, it's not available there so it does look like it's Europe/Middle East/Africa only


Track Listing:

Disc 1
The Prelude
Opening - Bombing Mission
Tifa´s Theme
Let the Battles Begin!
Turks´ Theme
Under the Rotting Pizza
Fight On!
The Chase


Disc 2
Main Theme of Final Fantasy VII
Farm Boy
Electric de Chocobo
In Search of the Man in Black
Rufus´s Welcoming Ceremony
JENOVA
Gold Saucer
Cait Sith´s Theme


Disc 3
Cosmo Canyon
Lifestream
Cid´s Theme
Wutai
Win/Place/Show Chocobo!
Words Drowned by Fireworks
Forested Temple
Aerith´s Theme


Disc 4
Shinra´s Full-Scale Assault
The Highwind Takes to the Skies
Birth of a God
One-Winged Angel
The Planet´s Crisis

[Hardrain02]

@Si I pre-ordered this last year as they E-Mailed me about it and the e-mail mentioned it was Europe only as far as I can remember.

Its a lovely set, even though the plastic case the discs come in seems to stick like crazy to the records ether side of it. Not too much surface noise either for a PD. Really hope they do a few more FF soundtracks or any other games for that matter. I'm always up for a video game OST. In fact I'm toying with the idea of trying to kick starter a few pressings if I can get the licences to something worthwhile.

[siforster]

Square are gits for this - They released Xenogears: Myth in 2011 on vinyl, but that was Japan-only

Good luck getting hold of any licences for pressings, would definitely be interested! The first 3 Silent Hills should be on vinyl (especially 2, an absolute classic and works beautifully outside the game), and if Square play nicely, there's a whole bunch of Arranged stuff that would be great in 12" form...
Xenogears: Creid (folk/prog reworkings)
Chrono Trigger: Brink Of Time (acid jazz?!)
Secret of Mana+ (good luck getting that one to fit! 1 track, 50 minutes, pure lunacy)
Tobal No.1: Electrical Indian (the original version is excellent too)

And the first 2 Shadow Hearts titles would be worth a punt if anyone knew where the masters are nowadays - some of the most incredible ingame music I've ever heard

[Hardrain02]

@Si You totally read my mind about Silent hill and Chrono Trigger ones. I love the soundtrack to those games. MGS and Splinter cell have some crackers as well. Would be a dream come true to do the Blizzard back catalog. So many to choose from. Just need to work out how to do it and what licences are involved etc. Fingers crossed I can get something together as i'm sure there is a market out there for it, no matter how small.

[siforster]

Mine arrived today!

Region-locking records (!) has seemingly resulted in this doing a roaring trade - it's been available since last year, and I have number 00051.

[unpopular_poet]

I would love to get a copy of this -- the no US part really sucks. I had almost pulled the trigger on the original "Final Fantasy Vinyls" that came out a few years back, but didn't -- due to the content and price. I really hope this becomes available in the US, as the only eBay copy is $200..which is pretty outrageous...

[Hardrain02]

@Si I think its a random thing, I got mine on release day and its number 000557 but I still don't think its been selling well. Especially as it was hardly advertised at all.

[siforster]

I'd not even heard of it until last week - was trawling ebay for the Xenogears vinyl and saw a few of these going for ridiculous money (£70-£99) and went over to SqEnix's site to see what was going on with them...

It's just such an odd release - they play nicely and it's a decent selection (Side C flags a bit though), but it does sail a bit close to where "something to buy to play" crosses over into "something to buy to look at for a bit and then sell", something that Square themselves recognise on their site when they say A real FINAL FANTASY fan would doubtlessly be tempted to keep them permanently, which is a bizarre admission to make. It's almost like saying "go on, make a killing on it. We won't tell..."

When I'm bored on my blog or when nobody reads it (thanks to Facebook's new Page-strangling updates, makes it round about now), I sneak in old videogame soundtrack reviews. Been wanting to do FFVII for a while because it's probably the first console game to be truly cinematic, this set sort of changes the perspective so might rattle something off today.

In the meantime, I see that someone's selling the Lost Memories: The Art and Music of Silent Hill DVD for $200 on ebay right now, which is a bit mad even though it's an excellent collector's piece. Cost me 20 quid when it came out and I have no intention of selling it!

[siforster]

[quote=9383]@unpopular poet
I had almost pulled the trigger on the original “Final Fantasy Vinyls” that came out a few years back, but didn’t — due to the content and price.[/quote]

Haha, Spencer should reissue these, the "Vinyls" bit especially would go down a treat
I've seen photos of this set, they look beautiful but there's a LOT of empty space on the discs, which doesn't bode well for any value for money, which is the case for most VG OSTs now whether on vinyl or CD (I could eat for several months with what I could sell my Castlevania Dracula: New Classics CD for) :/

EDIT: Especially as the only FFVs set I can find is on Amazon's Japanese marketplace for Y39,999 (about £250).

[crazybeats]

Lets be honest, they have been released to cash in on the franchise. They haven't been released for music listeners.

[siforster]

The weird thing about it all is that if it was simply a cash-in, they've really done it badly.

Only 1200 were pressed, none have been made available in shops outside of Square Enix, and the potentially largest market (North America) can't get any due to shipping restrictions and IP locks. It was released in the middle of last year, and there's still plenty left.
Can't be naiivety, as Square has been making and releasing records since 1991 and have run their own successful record labels (DigiCube, then Squaresoft, then Square Enix) since 1996. FFVII has been particularly well exploited since 1997 with a Piano album and Orchestral album well before they really kicked in with the AC/BC/CC/DC game tie-ins. 2 pic disc LPs quietly pushed out of the door seems relatively polite in comparison