Downsizing collection Redux

How can one mention residuals on VGM forum and NOT think of this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erWm2cHXMd4

I realize people are probably sick & tired of my ramblings, so let's cut to the chase and finish it off in beauty.

Akumajo Dracula Best 2

Being one of my earliest purchases from Game Music Online back in 1999, this one has stood up to a constant stream of sales and trades. When I played Super Castlevania IV in '91 or '92, I was so impressed by how good the music was. Even today, I believe this particular installment to the series is better than the recent offerings, but it's probably nostalgia acting up on me. Oh well. The Game Boy tunes still get my admiration and I hardly ever feel the need to skip these tracks.

Border Down -Sound Tracks-

Being of the more "semi-recent" acquisitions, I got this one from a trade with Chudah back in 2005 I think. At a time, I had thought that Senko no Ronde or Rei-Nana were superior representations of Yack's talent. In time, neither managed to pull me in for repeated listenings like Border Down has. On one hand, the album's styles are pretty varied and for the other hand the exclusive arrangements by Shinji Hosoe, Ayako Saso and Yousuke Yasui really gives the album a bit of extra "oomph".

Capcom Music Generation Famicom Music Complete Works Rockman 1~6

This is another "semi-recent" addition to my permanent collection. This was acquired through a trade with Zane back in 2006 I think. Back in '89, my first experience with Mega Man was when my brother and some of his friends were playing through Mega Man 2 and they were fighting the giant Dragon boss at the end of Dr. Wily's 1st stage. As I looked, to me it was the hardest game I have seen yet. Fast foward a couple of years later, some distant cousins drop by for the holidays and bring their Nes and a slew of games. One of them was Mega Man 3. I was unable to conquer any of the stages at first, but as time went on, I got better and better. Eventually after months of constant playing (it helped that my cousins accidentally forgot their Nes plus most of their games when they went back home), I eventually beat the game. And afterwards, I was able to blaze through it in a couple of hours. Result : the music was permanently implanted in my brain :p I decided to rent MM2 afterwards and the rest is history. I'm very glad that Capcom decided to make this set, as these memories will last.

Final Fantasy VI Original Sound Version

Back in the mid-90s, my playing experiences with the Snes first revolved around Super Mario World, Zelda LTTP, Mega Man X 1-2, Castlevania IV, etc... Whenever I saw somebody playing these "quest-type" games like Final Fantasy or Dragon Warrior, I just couldn't understand how they had fun choosing a bunch of menus to do stuff. A friend who was big on RPGs insisted that I give Final Fantasy III a chance... I was reluctant at first, by finally went in by the time I got to the first boss, I was starting to see how these games are so addicting. A few months after my first experience with the game, I finally managed to beat it. One of the best parts of the experience was the soundtrack. This was also one of the earlier Game Music Online purchases back in 1999. I had bought it before in 1998, but I quickly learned that it was a bootleg copy. So I corrected myself and bought a legit edition of the soundtrack nearly a year later. This one has also lasted through all the sales and trades that went on until recently. Anyways, I'll end my comment with this one by stating my personal opinion : It's Uematsu's very best. He hasn't hit the same mark of quality and quantity since... and that's a shame.

Fire Pro Wrestling Combination Tag

So this is one of my most recent acqusitions, it was purchased earlier this month at VGM World when I noticed that there was a 50% off sale for all used items. It was a great opportunity to pick up some items that I've been considering for years. While perusing vgmdb, I quickly found out that this album was arranged by Yuzo Hayashi, whom I had discovered on Insector X years ago through SlightlyDark/Jodo Kast. I was expecting it to be a full blown rock arrange, but it isin't the case. It's more of a laid-back jazzy style arrangement and that's perfectly fine by me. Since this was released at the end of '89, it effectively replaced Daiva as "that obscure arrange album from the late '80s".

Perfect Collection Ys I & II : Complete Works of Ryo Yonemitsu

Another "semi-recent" acquisition, this was purchased from VGM World back in 2007 I think. I had already gotten a taste of Ryo Yonemitsu's arranging style from his Dragon Saber tracks, so I knew I was in for a treat. The tracks that rock really do rock and the rest are also endearing regardless of style used. I think it's the ideal Falcom album to start off with since it embodies all that goodness that Falcom is known for musically.

Perfect Selection Konami Shooting Battle

I've been interested in this series ever since I knew of their existence when I started to collect VGM. At every occasion I've seen them, they were always overpriced and thus out of my budget. For a while I contended myself by having mp3s of these, but it was nothing compared to owning the real deal. So earlier this month, I finally added the 1st Shooting Battle to my (hopefully) final VGM World order which consisted of used albums that I saved 50% off thanks to the sale. I knew exactly what I was getting here, simply perfection achieved by having some classic Konami shooting tunes arranged in a heavy power rock style. This one replaced Tommy Tallarico's Virgin Games Greatest Hits Vol. 1 since it had so much more intensity in the tracks.

Raystorm Neu Tanz Mix

The last of the "semi-recent" additions, this was acquired through the same trade which Border Down was also included that I did with Chudah in 2005. It was the very first Zuntata album that I had gotten. And it was the one that kept me coming for more. I knew that this particular album was highly praised by a lot of people, so my expectations were met. It's a style of techno that doesn't get too heavy or too monotone, it achieves a fair balance and keeps a steady pace.

Samurai Spirits Image Album

This is another of my recent acqusitions from earlier this month through VGM World's special sale. I had become quite fammiliar of the original Samurai Shodown music thanks to avatar! that traded the original score for a couple of Cave albums last year I think. Seeing that it had a huge list of diffrent live instruments used, I knew this arranged album would be worth my while. The majority of the arrangements do stay faithful to their original counterparts, but some do offer some interesting improvisations. So this one replaces Dragon Quest V Symphonic Suite as it is equally elegant in its presentation.

World Heroes 2 Image Album

The last of the recent 50% off sale from VGM World earlier this month, I have been anticipating this album quite a bit. I had read GoldfishX's review of it a few years back. Just the fact that Ryo Yonemitsu was one of the arrangers really made it the more enticing. The album has a really good flow and all of the tracks shine in their own unique ways. It was definitely worth it. This one replaces Symphony Ys '95 since it's another of these arranged albums from the '90s that does everything right.

So that concludes my current (and hopefully permanent) collection of VGM.

Vaeran wrote:

I guess I don't understand why you're committing so hard to owning an arbitrary number of albums when there are clearly more that you really love. It seems like it's causing you a lot of angst and regret and second- and third-guessing yourself.

Why not just own the albums you enjoy? That's what most people do, I think.

The thing is that I'm not as into VGM as I used to be. And anything more than what I have now will result in some albums collecting dust. The only regret I have is having traded off Super Mario World for several lesser albums (still kicking myself for it) but what is done is done. I've always preffered rock-style albums so that's what the majority of the collection is now.