Post by benwayshouse on Nov 22, 2006 9:14:54 GMT -5
I made this thread out of my love for Lumines. It all started this past August, when my Dad surprisingly granted me a PSP. I was sort of shocked, he never asked me what I genuinely thought of PSP, so I was stuck with it. I wasn't too ashamed, though, I could always try the games and have a fairly educated opinion about the system/games. Fast forward a few days, and I bought my first game. The game was Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth. I got it around the same time I read the Game Informer review, and they praised the game for the characters, plot, and battles, etc, and also for the fact that a game as unpopular as Valkyrie Profile was given a second chance. I got it for that, and what did I see? I was... unimpressed, to say the least. I disliked the 'mission' structure, and the pacing of the game, and before I couldn't bring myself to play it anymore I got stuck in a dungeon that made the enemies purposefully higher level than me. I looked at FAQs, they told me to freeze the enemiese (a freeze technique is one of Lenneth's moves), but some can't be frozen because they're too big, and you can't jump over them either! So yeah. I was dissapointed. >_>
But then one day my Dad came home and he gave me Star Fox Command and Lumines, the former I just handed him my money and asked if he could get it while he was out, but Lumines I told him not to get because I'd be in debt. He obviously didn't listen. Either way I kept it and enjoyed it for what it was, a good PSP game. But later, I got to the higher levels, to the better music, and I knew that it just wasn't any other puzzler. It had its own sense of style, its own artsy ways, its catchy music, and so on and so forth. Once I got to the fifth skin, I knew that it was an awesome game and I had to keep trying. After months of dedication and love for the game, I can get halfway through the challenge mode! Yippee! Soon enough I'll get to the end, soon enough..
Any how, Lumines as you know is a popular franchise now, with a sequel and an Xbox Live enabled version with other music. Which version is the best? Probably the original on PSP, because all four licensed tracks aren't completely agonizing like a handful of Lumines II's tracks (Pump It and Hollaback Girl to mention a few), nor are they the weakest imported tracks from the original game like Lumines Live.
Lumines' music is generally its own thing, but in a couple instances per game Q? Entertainment (the developer) will get some Japanese talent to supply tracks for the game. Let's have a look at some of them...
That's Shinichi Osawa, AKA Mondo Grosso. He produced Shinin' and Shake Ya Body, two of Lumines' most energetic tracks. He's been a music producer since 1991, but only recently has he been involved with the Japanese club music scene.
youtube.com/watch?v=uyW3EyNLnqg < That's the Shinin' music video.
youtube.com/watch?v=zf68jyNi7Dk&mode=related&search= And this is the Life video, it's not Shake Ya Body but SYB uses the guitar here as a sample through most of the song.
This here is Eri Nobuchika, a young woman who won Sony Music Japan's 'Gonna be a star' audition in 2004 for a record deal. She entered but forgot her address on her tape, and music officials scrambled to get in touch. She didn't raise many eyebrows, but she did get Mondo Grosso's attention and he, as a result, produced a lot of her music. Given she was with Sony then, and her first single would coincide with the PSP's (and Lumines') release, Sony must've figured that it'd be good promotion to use her for Lumines, and so she and Mondo Grosso produced two tracks for Lumines: Lights and I Hear the Music in My Soul. She later released an album in December of 2005.
youtube.com/watch?v=s8aubD7k8F8&mode=related&search=
The Lights video, complete with subtitles!
nobuchikaeri.jugem.jp < Eri's blog, that she personally updates rather frequently.
Then there's this girl. Actually, she doesn't have a 'name,' besides the name Q? gave her, Lumi-chan. She appears in and sings in the Heavenly Star video, which is to Lumines II what Shinin' was to the original. A really pretty track, actually, unfortunately I have to sit through BEP and Gwen Stefani to actually get to it. ¬.¬ The video was produced by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, the creator of Lumines, Rez, Space Channel 5, and responsible for the remake of Every Extend (titled 'Every Extend Extra' for the PSP) as well as Gunpey (a WonderSwan puzzler named after the late GameBoy creator). When asked about it, he said he always wanted to direct music videos, not games, that's why music is so important in all of his games.
youtube.com/watch?v=lwHX3vJ0aTc
The Heavenly Star music video, complete with a heavy Take on Me art style!
So there you have it. Lumines in.. a nutshell! I love this game, and many others do too! Definitely worth a PSP purchase, in and of itself, actually.
...Or, if you don't want to spend $250, Disney's releasing a revamped PS2 version, titled 'Lumines Plus!' complete with all of the original's tracks plus nine more. Release date TBA :c
BTW, Thanks for reading and enjoy the music videos!
But then one day my Dad came home and he gave me Star Fox Command and Lumines, the former I just handed him my money and asked if he could get it while he was out, but Lumines I told him not to get because I'd be in debt. He obviously didn't listen. Either way I kept it and enjoyed it for what it was, a good PSP game. But later, I got to the higher levels, to the better music, and I knew that it just wasn't any other puzzler. It had its own sense of style, its own artsy ways, its catchy music, and so on and so forth. Once I got to the fifth skin, I knew that it was an awesome game and I had to keep trying. After months of dedication and love for the game, I can get halfway through the challenge mode! Yippee! Soon enough I'll get to the end, soon enough..
Any how, Lumines as you know is a popular franchise now, with a sequel and an Xbox Live enabled version with other music. Which version is the best? Probably the original on PSP, because all four licensed tracks aren't completely agonizing like a handful of Lumines II's tracks (Pump It and Hollaback Girl to mention a few), nor are they the weakest imported tracks from the original game like Lumines Live.
Lumines' music is generally its own thing, but in a couple instances per game Q? Entertainment (the developer) will get some Japanese talent to supply tracks for the game. Let's have a look at some of them...
That's Shinichi Osawa, AKA Mondo Grosso. He produced Shinin' and Shake Ya Body, two of Lumines' most energetic tracks. He's been a music producer since 1991, but only recently has he been involved with the Japanese club music scene.
youtube.com/watch?v=uyW3EyNLnqg < That's the Shinin' music video.
youtube.com/watch?v=zf68jyNi7Dk&mode=related&search= And this is the Life video, it's not Shake Ya Body but SYB uses the guitar here as a sample through most of the song.
This here is Eri Nobuchika, a young woman who won Sony Music Japan's 'Gonna be a star' audition in 2004 for a record deal. She entered but forgot her address on her tape, and music officials scrambled to get in touch. She didn't raise many eyebrows, but she did get Mondo Grosso's attention and he, as a result, produced a lot of her music. Given she was with Sony then, and her first single would coincide with the PSP's (and Lumines') release, Sony must've figured that it'd be good promotion to use her for Lumines, and so she and Mondo Grosso produced two tracks for Lumines: Lights and I Hear the Music in My Soul. She later released an album in December of 2005.
youtube.com/watch?v=s8aubD7k8F8&mode=related&search=
The Lights video, complete with subtitles!
nobuchikaeri.jugem.jp < Eri's blog, that she personally updates rather frequently.
Then there's this girl. Actually, she doesn't have a 'name,' besides the name Q? gave her, Lumi-chan. She appears in and sings in the Heavenly Star video, which is to Lumines II what Shinin' was to the original. A really pretty track, actually, unfortunately I have to sit through BEP and Gwen Stefani to actually get to it. ¬.¬ The video was produced by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, the creator of Lumines, Rez, Space Channel 5, and responsible for the remake of Every Extend (titled 'Every Extend Extra' for the PSP) as well as Gunpey (a WonderSwan puzzler named after the late GameBoy creator). When asked about it, he said he always wanted to direct music videos, not games, that's why music is so important in all of his games.
youtube.com/watch?v=lwHX3vJ0aTc
The Heavenly Star music video, complete with a heavy Take on Me art style!
So there you have it. Lumines in.. a nutshell! I love this game, and many others do too! Definitely worth a PSP purchase, in and of itself, actually.
...Or, if you don't want to spend $250, Disney's releasing a revamped PS2 version, titled 'Lumines Plus!' complete with all of the original's tracks plus nine more. Release date TBA :c
BTW, Thanks for reading and enjoy the music videos!
