Weekly Game Vinyl Releases
Welcome one, welcome all.
It's been a few weeks but we have a stash of video game vinyl releases for you this time around. As usual, we've listed the various releases below, as well as where you can purchase each variant of vinyl. Limited releases tend to sell out pretty quick, so if there's an album you've been waiting for, don't procrastinate too long!
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Extraction (Deluxe Double Vinyl)
Co-op squadmates Laced and Ubisoft have extracted the spine-tingling electro-acoustic soundtrack to Rainbow Six Extraction and will infuse it into the ultimate form of analogue audio.
The double LP will see ‘REACT splatter’ discs slip into a deluxe gatefold sleeve adorned with artwork by the team at Ubisoft Montréal. 19 tracks mastered for vinyl by sonic special ops agents will be pressed to heavyweight LPs.
Composer James Duhamel teamed up with the One Take Tigers (the snappy nickname for the audio wizards at Ubisoft Montréal) to create an uneasy and mysterious generative real-time underscore for Extraction. The cue fragments queued up in the game comprise electronic sounds created by rabid synth-collector Duhamel and an array of acoustic instruments recorded by he and the ’Tigers — all synced to the same bpm and key to help the building blocks fit together.
The ‘power trio’ of the score is the octobass, the ondes martenot and the pipe organ, complemented by instruments like the banjo and clarinet, and percussion including angklung and waterphones. Certain live recordings were run through audio processing in real-time to create eerie effects in the moment. And never put it past an audio team to sneak other oddities into a soundscape — with rakes, sword clashes and kitchen utensils serving as percussive sounds on the Extraction OST.
To mix the soundtrack album from musical fragments for an otherwise randomised game score, the team brought an authorial hand to proceedings, creating a structured musical narrative of sorts. The goal was to make an album that’s original, immersive, and helps to communicate the mood of the game.
Trek to Yomi (Deluxe Double Vinyl)
Flying Wild Hog, Devolver Digital and Laced Records have sheathed their blades and formed a blood pact to deliver Trek to Yomi’s samurai-slashing soundtrack onto vinyl.
The double LP sports luxuriant ‘swirling storm’ vinyl that slip into a deluxe double gatefold sleeve, with artwork by the Flying Wild Hog team. The album features 31 tracks specially mastered for vinyl and pressed onto heavyweight LPs.
Cody Matthew Johnson and Yoko Honda were deadly serious about the authenticity of the soundtrack, aiming to sonically and spiritually transport players to feudal Japan during the Edo period and beyond, into the depths of Yomi, the land of the dead. While they studied the film music of Fumio Hayasaka — Akira Kurosawa’s regular collaborator — they chose not to emulate Hayasaka’s orchestral approach. Instead they limited themselves in several ways: to the use of period-appropriate instruments such as the shakuhachi, shamisen, biwa, and taiko drums; to certain scales and the musicality of the Edo period; and they especially leaned on the palette of Gagaku, the Japanese classical style, to capture the abstract and transcendent sound of Yomi.
While Johnson used his sound design skills to twist and layer exquisitely hi-fi live recordings of traditional Japanese musicians to create a thicker atmosphere where appropriate, no synthesized elements snuck into the score. The result is an intense, soulful and vibrant album that is, as Honda puts it, “deeply connected to Japanese culture and its magical and anomalous roots.”
Petscii Robots Soundtrack Vinyl Record
Attack of the PETSCII Robots is for Commodore 64, VIC-20, and PET computers. All 3 versions are part of the same disk. The C64 version is on the front, and the VIC/PET versions are on the back of the disk. (In the digital download, the PET version is located on the VICROBOTS.D64)
System Requirements for C64
Commodore 64, 64c, 128, SX-64, or educator 64.
5.25″ disk drive, or SD-2-IEC or other SD card readers.
“TheC64” products such as the mini or maxi, however SNES controller is not supported on these.
System Requirements for VIC-20
Commodore VIC-20 with 35K RAM expander (40K total)
5.25″ disk drive, or SD-2-IEC or other SD card readers.
System Requirements for PET
Commodore PET or CBM system with 32K of RAM, or Tynemouth Mini-PET.
5.25″ disk drive, or SD-2-PET or other SD card readers.
Phantasy Star (Original Video Game Soundtrack)
Ship to Shore PhonoCo. is proud to present the original video game soundtrack to the 1987 RPG fantasy / sci-fi mash-up Phantasy Star!
One of the most beloved RPG game series developed for consoles, Phantasy Starmade its debut just in time for Christmas 1987, cramming several hours of gameplay into its 4MB Sega Master System cartridge. The larger-than-average cartridge size increased the price of the game on the shelf but it didn’t stop the rave reviews where critics praised its intricate graphics, smooth gameplay and epic storytelling. It’s no wonder that even 35 years later the Phantasy Star franchise is still well-loved amongst gamers!
Tokuhiko Uwabo’s score has all the nuanced complexities of the game laid out in audio fashion. Driving, at times contemplative and - above all - catchy as hell, it’s a well-deserved trip down memory lane for those who have played the game, and a monumental trip for lovers of 8-bit tunes!
This limited vinyl release features both the PSG (Programmable Sound Generator) and FM Synthesis versions of the soundtrack, with new liner notes from Retronauts’ Jeremy Parish and an 8-page booklet with rare artwork from the SEGA archives!
A Monster's Expedition + Earlier Adventures 2xLP Vinyl Soundtrack
Cracking a brain teaser is a much easier prospect if you’ve got a good soundtrack humming along in the background. No one knows that better than the fine folks at Draknek & Friends, and this 2xLP is a testament to that fact. It’s a compilation of the most ponderous and whimsical melodies from four different and very awesome games: A Monster’s Expedition, Sokobond, Cosmic Express and A Good Snowman is Hard to Build, perfect for getting lost in thought or just unwinding after a tough day of puzzling.
Composers Eli Rainsberry, Allison Walker, Nick Dymond, and Priscilla Snow all crafted a wide range of soundscapes, each unique to their respective games. They come together on this 2xLP to create a compilation of Draknek & Friends’ early years that’ll have you saying “Eureka!” And of course, the wonderful album art by Andre Rodrigues ties all these notions together into one beautiful big rumination.
Ace Combat Zero (2LP Set)
The first 12-inch 2-disc record product in the "Ace Combat" series. Includes many songs that color the play, including one of the most famous songs in the series, "ZERO". The 8-page booklet is designed like a gallery with impressive scenes from the play, and will also include new comments from the composer.
Breath of Fire (Original Video Game Soundtrack)
Ship to Shore PhonoCo. is proud to present the original video game soundtrack to Capcom’s Breath Of Fire, making its debut on vinyl!
First hitting consoles in 1993, Breath Of Firewas to become the first in an expansive series of well-loved RPGs, establishing many conventions that would become engrained in future instalments. When your main character can turn into a dragon to fight monsters, what’s not to love?
Capcom Sound Team’s 16-bit score is indicative of the epic scope of the game, featuring complex melodies and rousing battle anthems. Freshly remastered from new recordings created on original SNES hardware, the soundtrack is now available on limited edition vinyl - the first time it has been pressed on the format - with liner notes by Axe Of The Blood God podcast host Naida Oxford and featuring artwork by Tbone & Aljax!
Hardspace: Shipbreaker - 2 x LP Deluxe Double vinyl
Get the Hardspace: Shipbreaker OST in double vinyl! Coming in a gatefold sleeve, it includes exclusive art from the creative talents at Blackbird Interactive. The black and yellow vinyls come complete with antistatic inner sleeves for optimal protection and preservation.
The Hardspace: Shipbreaker Original Soundtrack carries players out to the frontiers of industrialized space. Immerse yourself in the good vibes of guitar-driven Americana and synth-based remixes used during high-tension moments in-game. It features work by composers Jono Grant, Traz Damji and Philip J. Bennett, with synth remixes by the game's audio director Ben McCullough.
From strummed acoustic folk to washing synth textures, the Hardspace: Shipbreaker OST will take you on a musical journey, from dusty backroads out into orbit, and beyond.
Loop Hero (Deluxe Double Vinyl)
Four Quarters, Devolver and Laced Records are united in their quest to bring great video game music to revolving physical objects.
The Loop Hero double LP is equipped with light blue and orange heavyweight vinyl, with 30 specially mastered chiptunes impressed upon them. These will be plunged into printed inner sleeves that in turn are sheathed in a spot glossed wide-spined outer sleeve. The whole package is adorned with artwork by pixel art specialist Dmitry "Deceiver" Karimov and illustrator Alexandra "Bard-the-Zombie" Fomina.
The unique roguelike’s soundtrack pulsates with anxiety, each Gothic-Chiptune track pervaded by a melancholy born of the brave hero’s plight to shatter the endless cycle of despair. Composer, sound and game designer Aleksandr "blinch" Goreslavets uses a simple electronic palette to paint in a hundred shades of grey — with barely a major chord to be found. Amid the gloom, there’s still room for plenty of catchy melodies and a sense of Halloween jocularity, inspired by blinch’s love of the original Castlevania NES trilogy. Loop Hero’s score is beautiful in its forlornness and energising in its more combative moments.
FINAL FANTASY Series 35th Anniversary Orchestral Compilation Vinyl
A two-disc set of vinyl records commemorating the 35th anniversary year of the Final Fantasy series is now available. The set includes "One-Winged Angel" (Final Fantasy VII), "To Zanarkand" (Final Fantasy X), and other carefully selected orchestral arrangements from each numbered work (subject to change). The triple-jacketed package features Final Fantasy 35th anniversary artwork by Yoshitaka Amano.
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