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Yasunori Mitsuda plays Chrono Trigger music LIVE

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firehawk12

Subete no aware
Oh wow, a new album?

As much as I like the idea of that jazz album, I have always been waiting for a "proper" CT album release. The single that came with the DS game made me wish that they did a full orchestral score of the game.
 
D

disappeared

Banned
Mitsuda's work is amongst the most blatant proof that some people are born to do something absolutely perfect.

I really miss the days when he was more active in Square's games. Maybe for the best though, he could have burned himself out.
 
C

chrono01

Member
Man, I have a Nico Nico account and I had no idea. Thanks for posting this, I'll listen to them later.

Does anyone happen to have a link to the stream page? I'd love to timeshift it, if I can.
 
T

taa0098

Neo Member
Thank you so much for this thread op, I had no idea this was a thing. Mitsuda's work is some of the most gorgeous music I've ever heard, videogames or not.
 
J

jett

D-Member
Shenmue said:
OMG!

Are these videos representative of the style of the music on the CD? I need to buy this right now if so.
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Not really, this is more of an acoustic take on the album's material. The album is mostly a string ensemble accompanied by piano and vocals. It's really beautiful.
 
N

Newtype-001

Member
Easy_D said:
Corridors of Time is flat out amazing
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giphy.gif
 
A

AlphaDragoon

Member
jett said:
The Star-Stealing Girl bit in Schala's Theme is perfect. (you can also hear a hint of it in the live version).
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Jaw dropped when I realized they added that part. That song is exactly what you called it, perfect. Nearly brought tears to my eyes and I don't normally cry for anything.
 
D

daegan

Member
Thank you for posting these! I had no idea and they are stunning. I'm so glad I grabbed the CD, but bummed I didn't know about the vinyl. It's super cool that they translated Mitsuda's note in the liner notes.
 
E

Evo X

Member
Beautiful. I got to hear some Chrono music live at a VGL show about 10 years back and it was amazing. Makes me want to go back to one.

Can't wait to get my hands on the arrangement album.
 
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DJIzana

Member
I love Mitsuda-san's new arrangement for the Chrono games. Ordered day 1. I wish it had more than just 10 songs though... gah!!! ='(
 
S

Spikematic

Member
Ah the nostalgia. The chills. The damn feels. I love this man. CT and CC soundtracks are these flawless gems that I've cherished since I played those games years ago.
 
D

DiipuSurotu

Banned
In another thread I posted these quotes about the story behind the Chrono Trigger ending theme. Re-posting here in case people find it interesting.

1UP.com said:
For Mitsuda, who had joined Square a year previous as a sound engineer, Chrono Trigger is both a fond memory and one of the greatest trials of his life. "I couldn't even count all the memories it brings up," he recalls. "I was in a slump because I couldn't compose anything, I was going to the hospital regularly for stomach ulcers while I worked, I had a hard-drive crash and lost nearly 40 in-progress tracks...great, I guess I'm only remembering the negative things! But when the entire staff gathered around to watch the ending, I wound up crying anyway (a lot of other staffers were just as deeply moved). I think all of us put a lot of our emotion into the game."
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Chrono Trigger Ultimania said:
Ultimania: Which is your favorite song?

Mitsuda: Though I enjoy songs such as the main theme, I’d have to say the ending music, “To Far Away Times,” has a very special place in my heart. I’d go so far as to say it’s a song that I may not be able to write now. That song was based on a piece I wrote a long time ago. I mixed in a phrase from Chrono Trigger’s main theme and reworked it a bit, imagining scenes with Crono and company and the thoughts that come with them. I wanted the piece to capture the kind of feelings you can’t truly express in words like, “After coming back from a long journey, I’m happy that we saved our planet’s future, but I’m sad because now I have to say good bye to all my friends.”

Ultimania: Did you really watch the in-game ending and then write that song?

Mitsuda: No, the visuals still weren’t done, so I composed the song first, based on what I had heard from someone in the planning department. Then the programmers created visuals that would fit the music. I had heard that the final sequence would show Crono and company flying around in Epoch the so I thought I’d like to create a song with the feeling that you were careening through the entirety of the Chrono Trigger story. I’m sure you agree that the programmers did a great job matching visuals to that idea.
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1UP.com said:
1UP: I also remember that you said you'd fall asleep in your chair because you'd be working so hard and that melodies would actually come to you in dreams. The ending theme to Chrono Trigger, for instance, came to you in a dream.

YM: Yeah, that's true. Back then, I'd camp out in the studio the entire time. I'd keep everything on all the time and I'd drift off to sleep. If I was sleeping and a melody came to me, I'd jump right up and be able to work on it.

1UP: So did that really happen?

YM: Yes, and it's happened a lot to me recently.

1UP: Do you think that's kind of amazing in a way?

YM: You know, it's kind of like what happens in everyday life -- if you think about something a lot, it'll appear in your dreams. That's how music can be for me. I'll be thinking about a project so much that melodies will come in my sleep.

1UP: Any other examples that you can distinctly remember of melodies coming in a dream?

YM: "Bonds of Sea and Fire," Bart's theme from Xenogears.
Click to expand...
 
W

wmlk

Member
The chord progression in Schala's Theme from the arranged album is also very, very similar to Life and Radical Dreamers from CC. And there's the obvious Star-Stealing Girl bit at the end.

He's got an appreciation for the canon. I love it.
 
D

Deadstar

Member
I long for a day when video games have good music again like the SNES era. There are some games with good soundtracks now but generally they are entirely forgettable.

I want to learn how to play the flute parts and just sit next to a lake and play these songs.
 
D

DJIzana

Member
Deadstar said:
I long for a day when video games have good music again like the SNES era. There are some games with good soundtracks now but generally they are entirely forgettable.

I want to learn how to play the flute parts and just sit next to a lake and play these songs.
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For me, It's all gone downhill after the Dreamcast / PS2 era. I seem to enjoy music from the SNES era the most too though. Funny that.
 
D

DiipuSurotu

Banned
SiegfriedFM said:
Oh, that's unexpected. Go get it there then!

Are those people from Millennial Fair? I'd assume so. The bass and flute are very typical of this album and Creid (which is still the best arranged album anywhere ever, possibly until I listen through this).
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Yeah the album is credited to Yasunori Mitsuda & Millennial Fair, as Creid was. It's basically the same core people, although the current ensemble is mostly Japanese people, whereas the original lineup on Creid also included famous Irish people such as Eimear Quinn (winner of Eurovision 1996), Davy Spillane, Máire Breatnach, etc.

In addition, special guests on the album include Sarah Àlainn (Xenoblade), Laura Shigihara (To the Moon), Kumi Tanioka, etc.
 
T

taa0098

Neo Member
Deadstar said:
I long for a day when video games have good music again like the SNES era. There are some games with good soundtracks now but generally they are entirely forgettable.

I want to learn how to play the flute parts and just sit next to a lake and play these songs.
Click to expand...

Yeah. Apart from the occasional indie darling (notably undertale recently, bastion and transistor), Persona seems to be the only series still going with very memorable music. I can't think of a single western game in recent years that has a track I remember. Last of Us was alright.
 
S

Shin-chan

Member
DJIzana said:
For me, It's all gone downhill after the Dreamcast / PS2 era. I seem to enjoy music from the SNES era the most too though. Funny that.
Click to expand...

I think the limitations of sound in games at that time forced composers to create more melody-driven pieces instead of grand, epic, atmospheric pieces - the textures and sounds necessary for this weren't there then. This leads to great OSTs like FFVI and CT.

I still love OSTs now, we get some of the greatest ever made like Nier and Xenoblade. But there's less focus on melodies and hooks overall which is a big difference. FFVI and CT are some of the best examples because of their focus on character and location themes to drive scenes and inform the player of the mood and characterisation when animation was also very limited.
 
D

Drusyc

Neo Member
This makes me wish He did a live concert series like Nobu does with Distant Worlds. Live Xeno - Trigger - Cross would be amazing.
 
D

DJIzana

Member
Shin-chan said:
I think the limitations of sound in games at that time forced composers to create more melody-driven pieces instead of grand, epic, atmospheric pieces - the textures and sounds necessary for this weren't there then. This leads to great OSTs like FFVI and CT.

I still love OSTs now, we get some of the greatest ever made like Nier and Xenoblade. But there's less focus on melodies and hooks overall which is a big difference. FFVI and CT are some of the best examples because of their focus on character and location themes to drive scenes and inform the player of the mood and characterisation when animation was also very limited.
Click to expand...

That's true. I really did like the Xenoblade and Yakuza 0, 3, 4 and 5 OST along with Valkyria Chronicles, PSO2 but... I think it ended there, really. Not much more besides that... not for console, at least. The odd PC title I liked but certainly there were few and far between than those of previous eras.
 
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