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How is this search engine called again ? Ah, that's it : Google.

After a quick search, here is the first relevant link : Katamari Damacy Soundtrack. And no, I won't gain anything from you clicking on this link.

And yes, it completely deserves to be bought, especially the Japanese version, which is IMHO slightly better thant the US version.

The Black mages album is a compilation of some Final Fantasy music. You can get that CD here.

Nobuo Uematsu is the bomb! He has single handedly created the video game music industry. If there is ever a video game Grammy, he should be awarded one! I wish him great success at his new company. And keep making awesome game music!

You can get information about the Black Mages at: http://www.gamemusic.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/GMOSto re.woa/wa/ProductDetail?pid=11033&cid=1001&did=101

Nobuo Uematsu is the bomb! He has single handedly created the video game music industry. If there is ever a video game Grammy, he should be awarded one! I wish him great success at his new company. And keep making awesome game music!

You can get information about the Black Mages at: http://www.gamemusic.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/GMOSto re.woa/wa/ProductDetail?pid=11033&cid=1001&did=101

They're not particularly easy to find anywhere outside of Asia. The best places, i think, to get them are cdjapan.co.jp and amazon.co.jp, who both ship internationally. AnimeNation and GameMusic.com have video-game music as well, but i'm not sure if they ship internationally, and (at least in the case of GameMusic) they can be a little over-priced.

There are also places like Yahoo! Japan's auction thing and SoundtrackCentral's Marketplace, where you can buy them second-hand.

Be careful buying soundtracks from eBay, though -- there are a lot of bootlegs sold there. Some of the auctions do warn you (if you know what to look for), but some of them don't even do that. But if you ever see anything about EverAnime or SonMay, they're bootlegs.

Forgot to mention, that if you want a good example of Metroid Prime's "old plus new" sound, check out the "Phendrana Ice Chapel", "Artifact Temple", "Epilogue", and "Credits" tracks -- either here or via the filesharing networks.

Try GameMusic.com. I recently got the FF7 Piano Collections there. The prices are pretty good... for Japanese imports (admit it-- you're always going to have to pay through the nose for the legit stuff), and the shipping's prompt, too.

Right. Either the million sellers or the Niche* title which people spend money on importing anyway.

Trying going into Best Buy and finding the Black Mages CD. And thats one of many, many things that will more that likely never see a release stateside until VG music becomes profitable over the counter.

*Read: Final Fantasy

I don't have a problem downloading music for games I technically own. No one should have to pay 50$ just to hear music they technicaly own. I do try and import fun things like that, but I rarely get the money/chance to.

I agree, it would be nicer to see additional channels to purchase this music through. Though at least my local comic shop carries a small selection (though mostly it's DDR).

One place I just discovered online is gamingfm.com, which streams videogame BGM 24/7. (though please, if you get addicted like I did, donate. I would hate to see them shutdown after getting /.'ed).

Also, I've noticed that sometimes it's cheaper to purchase the BGM from Ebay sellers overseas. However, I do support gamemusic.com and if you are a Square fan, the Project Majestic Mixes are a must have. Project Majestic HomePage

Now if someone could just crank out a decent remix of the M.U.L.E. theme, I would be in heaven.

Dr. Wu
"Yes, There's Gas In The Car"

Well, FF2/4j is my favourite Final Fantasy by far (as if one couldn't tell from my username) but even I have to admit the music doesn't rank among my favourites except for a select few songs (Within the Giant comes to mind). They're otherwise a little bit too short and repetitive, IMHO.

For a good, solid, all-around excellent soundtrack, I'd have to turn more towards FF7. I can only think of one song on that entire OST I don't like listening to on a regular basis, and that's only because the part of the game it was played at was long and depressing, and the music reflects that much too accurately (The Sandy Badlands)

Anyway, back on topic, GameMusic.com is where the videogame soundtracks are. Sure, they're imports, but do you really trust them to release something here and not fuck it up? See most of the soundtracks that *were* released over here for confirmation of this. Also, take a look at a good chunk of games that were released over here. They just suck compared to the Japanese versions.

Game music

Anime castle

Anime jungle

Anime outpost

Right stuff

Anime nation

An article about licensing music in games and not a single mention of GTA?

Never mind that, how about Rob Zombie / Dragula? Remember 2-3 years ago when that track appeared in every other game?

In Soviet Japan, game soundtracks are big business, just like movie soundtrack - the best known example is the Final Fantasy series (dozens and dozens of CDs!).

My personal favorite: Xenogears/Xenosaga.

Check out, say, GameMusic.com for the original Japanese overpriced releases or find the China/HK knockoffs in any number of places.

Warning: Extremely geeky. You do NOT want your [potential] girlfriend to catch you with these CDs.

Where did all the good video game music go anyway?

Composer Nobuo Uematsu and Final Fantasy's music have developed quite a following over the years. The tradition of original soundtracks has survived in the Final Fantasy Dynasty because players have come to expect each new FF to raise the bar for the rest of the industry's music.

I remember making my own tape of FF2's soundtrack by hooking my SNES up to my tape recorder. FF3 had equally memorable, thematic music. FF7 was a whole new ballgame -- someone in my college dorm reached the game's final battle WAY before the rest of us (he didn't sleep much), and we stood around the TV in awe as we realized the track contained actual singing. It was actually creepy, because we thought it was coming from somewhere else until the voices began chanting the name of the bad guy. In particular, I recommend the orchestral version of the Final Fantasy VIII soundtrack.

Regardless of the quality of the music, I think one's impression of the associated game influences your appreciation of the music. With that in mind, I'd suggest playing the games before diving into the music.

Where did all the good video game music go anyway?

Composer Nobuo Uematsu and Final Fantasy's music have developed quite a following over the years. The tradition of original soundtracks has survived in the Final Fantasy Dynasty because players have come to expect each new FF to raise the bar for the rest of the industry's music.

I remember making my own tape of FF2's soundtrack by hooking my SNES up to my tape recorder. FF3 had equally memorable, thematic music. FF7 was a whole new ballgame -- someone in my college dorm reached the game's final battle WAY before the rest of us (he didn't sleep much), and we stood around the TV in awe as we realized the track contained actual singing. It was actually creepy, because we thought it was coming from somewhere else until the voices began chanting the name of the bad guy. In particular, I recommend the orchestral version of the Final Fantasy VIII soundtrack.

Regardless of the quality of the music, I think one's impression of the associated game influences your appreciation of the music. With that in mind, I'd suggest playing the games before diving into the music.

I'm not quite sure if this is what you're looking for, but you can try Game Music.com for some video game soundtracks. They have your typical Final Fantasy series, and well pretty much any music from Squaresoft games. :)

They also seem to have non-RPG games soundtracks too.

Unfortunately, most of the napster stuff is copyrighted and only sold in Japan and from expensive import websites.

Here are a few good links to sites that sells game soundtracks:
Game Music Online
SoundtrackCentral
synSONIQ

I haven't bought anything yet, but I consider buying a few ablums from Game Music Online.

Before I knew about these sites or napster, I downloaded MANY game midi files from the web. Believe me, they sound great with SBlive! if you have the right soundfonts installed.
Videogame Music Acrhive - more than 10.000 midifiles I think, PC, SNES, NES, Genesis, Commodore 64 - you name it!.

I'm glad to see people like Minibosses do some game music and make some of it free. Can't wait to here it (I'm a big fan of the Metroid soundtrack!).