Turbo-Grafx 16 CD?

[Alistair]

After recording the 'Sorcerian' MIDI soundtrack on the weekend, and being a fan of the game's music and Falcom's JDK Band remixes (they're awesome!) I got to thinking.. can the whole game's music be heard through the Turbo-Grafx device? If so, why hasn't anyone done this before?

On the MP3 page it says Stephen Smith supplied the MP3. Wasn't he from Sierra On-Line? I forget.
Don't suppose he can be contacted?

- Alistair

[Kaminari]

The thing is, no two Sorcerians sound or look the same. Almost every platform had its own version (not even mentioning the many different scenarii), more or less faithful to the original PC-88 one -- which btw is actually Dragon Slayer 5, but that's a whole different subject.

The PC Engine (TurboGrafx) version was made by Victor Musical Industries (JVC) and is largely different from the others made by Falcom. The soundtrack, composed by Kenji Kawai, is entirely new except for the Title tune and a few others. Very nice, but not the best work from this great composer.

The IBM DOS version was made by Falcom for Sierra, and only meant to be distributed in the US (the local PC in Japan was the NEC PC-98 back then). All in all, it's a rather faithful port. Like many Falcom soundtracks of the time, this one was originally composed by Mieko Ishikawa and the infamous Yuzo Koshiro. The MT-32 transcriptions by Rob and Ken are not bad at all compared to the later GS versions released by Falcom.

Anyway... Bottom line: don't expect to hear the same tunes on the PC Engine version

[Alistair]

Yes, I'm well-aware of the differences between the original score and Atesalp and Allen's Sierra MT-32 port. Some tracks I feel are better on the MT-32, like the 'Stolen Sceptre' (hate the Falcom version of that one!), but most JDK band tracks kick the you-know-what out of any other version. I *do* have some fan arrangements for Roland devices that are also better than some Falcom versions.. one day, I mean to make a 'best of' Sorcerian CD, or rather 'arrange' one- I'd supply/record little of the music. Probably illegal, given what Falcom's like (still won't release the CD's for download 17 years on) but still should be done sometime.

Aaaanyway, I digress. Thanks very much for the info, Kaminari.. Very helpful. Wasn't aware yet another score was amde with the other version. Yeesh.

And, what GS ones you referring to? The SC-55 and SC-88 MIDI collection with a couple of XG ones thrown in?

Regards,
- Alistair

[Kaminari]

The SC-55 and SC-88 MIDI collection with a couple of XG ones thrown in?

Indeed. There's another GS soundtrack for Sorcerian Forever, but this one is different as well.

[Alistair]

Never listened to MIDI's from Sorcerian Forever, though on one of my download programs I've got it in a queue, that is dead.

Listened to what I think is digital SF tracks, from a JDK CD, 'Super Arrange Vol 3' or something. Track names like 'Snow on the Great Bridge', 'Ninja Mansion', 'Forest of Lafune', etc. All damned good pieces. Just mean nothing to me, because I've only played 'Sorcerian: DSV' (don't worry, I know that's contentious).

- Alistair

[MP3 Master]

Am I the Stephen Smith you are looking for? There may be a Stephen Smith that was part of Sierra, but it's not me. I am, however, the guy who supplied the site with the TG-16 songs. Are you looking for more? If so, I can probably dig them up somewhere. I am a packrat (digitally as well) which means I save pretty much everything I've downloaded.

Steve

[Alistair]

Sure! That'd be really appreciated by me! I *love* Sorcerian music.

Awesome to meet Stephen Smith as well.

- Alistair

[Kaminari]

I hadn't noticed that some tracks from the PC Engine version were available at QS. I actually have the game, but I didn't offer to upload its music since it's a Falcom game, not a Sierra one -- Falcom are known to be a PITA when it comes to their soundtracks.

Besides, I have to stress again that Atesalp and Allen have nothing to do with this soundtrack -- it's a Kenji Kawai's work. Tom might want to modify his MP3 page accordingly. Some time ago, I've translated the Japanese tracklist and uploaded it on freedb where you can find it -- let me know if you want me to post it here...

[Alistair]

I hadn't noticed that some tracks from the PC Engine version were available at QS. I actually have the game, but I didn't offer to upload its music since it's a Falcom game, not a Sierra one -- Falcom are known to be a PITA when it comes to their soundtracks.

Besides, I have to stress again that Atesalp and Allen have nothing to do with this soundtrack -- it's a Kenji Kawai's work. Tom might want to modify his MP3 page accordingly. Some time ago, I've translated the Japanese tracklist and uploaded it on freedb where you can find it -- let me know if you want me to post it here...

A few, yeah.

I've got the game too.

Falcom are. But I guess they too don't see it as a 'Sierra' game (it's obviously not) so it's not a bother to them.
Besides, the English and Japanese releases aren't the same anyway, and Sierra owned the licensing over in the USA.

I would contend your comment about Atesalp and Allen. Yes, it's composed by Japanese Falcom producers, and Tom credits them, but the Roland MT-32 music in the US version is quite different from the Japanese versions. There's a few MT-32 versions I prefer over their Falcom counterparts (e.g. 'The Stolen Sceptre' is a classic example).
So, I wouldn't be crediting it to them- they didn't do the conversions either. Tom's got the right credits on the MIDI page, at any rate.

I've got an English tracklist, although it's poorly translated.

What Sorcerian stuff DO you have, Kaminari? I'm curious now.
I've got a fair Sorc. collection myself.

- Alistair

[Marten]

Re Atesalp & Allen vs Kawai... this might be a simple matter of "producer" vs "composer."  In that case, Tom's credits aren't incorrect, but they might be incomplete.

[Kaminari]

You don't quite get it.

Sorcerian is the 5th episode in Falcom's Dragon Slayer saga. Should I have to remind you that Sorcerian is a Japanese game and the Sierra game is a conversion? The MT-32 soundtrack is basically a cover of the original written for YM2203 on the NEC PC-88 and PC-98 computers. Rob and Ken have nothing to do with the actual compositions, though I certainly grant them the paternity of the MT-32 arrangements.

Now about Kenji Kawai, I was specifically talking about the PC Engine (TurboGrafx) version which, on the QS MP3 pages, is wrongly listed as being composed by Rob and Ken. The PC Engine conversion is unrelated to Falcom (not even mentioning Sierra), it was made by Victor Musical Industries (VMI, JVC). Apart from a couple of tunes like the title screen, the PCE soundtrack is original.

I'm not exactly a Sorcerian fan, just a humble Falcom scholar :)

[Marten]

Producer is the title of a person who covers a piece.

E.g., the composer of the Beethoven's Fifth is... Beethoven.  Any orchestra that plays it is producing it.

Therefore, if I credited a recording of the symphony to "London Philharmonic", my credit would not be incorrect, though it would be incomplete.

But, I see your point regarding the TurboGraphix MP3s... I'm not sure why the credits are wrong on that page (cut and paste goof?), but it is rather silly since Sierra had *nothing* to do with it, and none of their employees deserve the credit...

[Kaminari]

Producer is the title of a person who covers a piece.

Thanks for the clarification. "Producer" doesn't have that meaning here, and in Japan they're used to call that specific job "sound arranger" (for CD/digital covers) or "sound engineer" (for PSG covers).

[Tom]

"Producer" doesn't have that meaning here, and in Japan they're used to call that specific job "sound arranger" (for CD/digital covers) or "sound engineer" (for PSG covers).

That's what I've always understood it to mean.  Not the artist, composer, or performer, per se, but the one who brings it all together for presentation purposes.  That's what a producer does.