SuperPhillip's Favorite VGMs - Fantasies, Phantasies, and Dreams Edition

Welcome to a new week here at SuperPhillip Central. This week's edition of SuperPhillip's Favorite VGMs includes music from Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift, NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams, and Phantasy Star Online Ep. 2.

v306. Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift (DS) - Putting Words Together

A short but positively sweet piano solo for the beginning of Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift, Putting Words Together may be brief, but it certainly packs an emotional punch. Hitoshi Sakamoto delivers a superb soundtrack for this offshoot of the Final Fantasy Tactics series.

v307. NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams (Wii) - Wandering Wildness

While NiGHTS's long-awaited return into the spotlight might not have been as spectacular as fans had been hoping, Journey of Dreams certainly had a magnificent soundtrack, as evident by this song, Wandering Wildness.

v308. Phantasy Star Online Ep. 2 (GCN, XBX) - A Longing to Ancient Times PART I

From one Sega game to another, Phantasy Star Online Episode II appeared on the Nintendo GameCube and Microsoft's Xbox near both platforms' launches. A Longing to Ancient Times PART I begins with a tranquil piano introduction before starting to layer more instruments on top for a fuller sound. At 1:20 you get the full backing of the brass for a truly moving sound.

v309. No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle (Wii) - No More Riot

This is a heavy metal vocal song that contains phrase from the main theme of No More Heroes, Beam Katana Chronicles. It's No More Riot, and it is performed by the Taku Yoshioka Squad. The theme is heard during the level featuring Nathan Copeland as the assassin target. I'm not one to generally listen much to heavy metal, but No More Heroes lured me in and didn't let go.

v310. Graffiti Kingdom (PS2) - Hsien Human Palm

One of my favorite composers for video game music, Yasunori Mitsuda, and one of his lesser known works, the soundtrack for the PlayStation 2 cult classic Graffiti Kingdom is full of childlike wonder and whimsical themes. Such a theme is Hsien Human Palm, featuring banjo and harmonica, which evoke an Old West feeling onto the listener.

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That closes out another week and edition of VGMs. Until we see you next week, why not check out the VGMs Database where every song spotlighted is present?

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 (PS3, 360) First Trailer

GameSpot has the exclusive first trailer of the Spring 2012 release Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2. However, I'm not about to link to that garbage site. Instead, how about you take a look at this YouTube mirror of the trailer? Certainly looks like something Dimps would put out...

Direct link accompanied by embarrassing comments here.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 (PS3, 360) First Screens

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 wasn't very good. However, Sega and Sonic Team have created an entirely new graphical and physics engine to ensure that part two doesn't suffer the same kinks and mistakes as part one. The addition of Tails and rumored co-op online play all lead me to believe that even if this game doesn't gel with me it will still be better than Episode 1 (though that task isn't necessarily difficult to achieve). For the time being, see these first screens from Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2.