FFXIV, BGM preview: Ul'dah and Thanalan

After Limsa Lominsa / La Noscea and Gridania / Black Shroud BGM previews, today's dev blog post lets us listen to tracks from Ul'dah and Thanalan! Here we go:

I'm already sooo in love with the one that starts @3:17, can't wait to hear it in full!

"Song of the week" #14

"Song of the week" #13 was Somnus from Final Fantasy Versus XIII... so yes, of course today's entry is all about the main subject of this blog: Final Fantasy XIV!

"Answers" by Susan Calloway and Nobuo Uematsu
From the album "Final Fantasy Vocal Collection", 2013

Live performance (Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy Returning Home):

Answers has been featured in-game and in various videos, including the beautiful End of an Era trailer.

FFXIV, BGM preview: Gridania and Black Shroud

New Developers' blog post, new BGM medley! This time, we get to listen to previews of some Gridania and Black Shroud tracks, most of which shouldn't be unknown to beta testers. Click here for the previously released Limsa Lominsa / Thanalan medley.

"Song of the week" #13

"Song of the week" #13 is all about... 13! So here's the main (?) theme from Final Fantasy Versus XIII, a Square Enix video game still in development, despite being unveiled in 2006.

"Somnus" by Yoko Shimomura and Aundréa Hopkins
From the album "Drammatica", 2008

I can't wait for Versus XIII to get released (will it ever happen?); to stay on topic, here's the latest wonderful trailer, published in 2011:

"Song of the week" #10, #11, #12

Valentine's Day is almost here, so what about celebrating it with not one, not two, but three nice love songs? These aren't the usual "I-love-you songs", and I hope you like them as I do! (Check "Song of the week" #3 and #4 too!)

"When you're gone" by The Cranberries
From the album "To the faithful departed", 1996
Note: it's simply beautiful, isn't it?

"Soon we'll be found" by Sia
From the album "Some people have real problems", 2008
Note: not only this is a very good song, but it also got one of the music videos I like the most; remember to toggle fullscreen!

"Stay" by Rihanna and Mikky Ekko
From the album "Unapologetic", 2012

"Song of the week" #9

One of my favorite albums ever? It contains this week's song: here we go...

"Diminished" by R.E.M.
From the album "Up", 1998

Note: at the end of the clip, you can listen to a hidden track called "I'm not over you".

FFXIV Limsa Lominsa BGM + FF Vocal Collection

A Realm Reborn official developers' blog has been updated, this time letting us listen to Limsa Lominsa and La Noscea new BGMs (medley)! Here we go:

Like it? There's more: "Final Fantasy Vocal Collection" will be available tomorrow in Japan (click), and will contain 10 tracks from various Final Fantasy games, including "the full, uncut version of “Answers” sung by the lovely Susan Calloway! That's right, the version you heard in the End of an Era trailer was only half the masterpiece! But now, for the first time ever, the song will be available to the public (outside of limited-edition sets sold at private shows, etc.)". With this CD, "Answers" lyrics will be released in printed form. You can also read them here!

"Song of the week" #8

"Song of the week" #8 is a very recent one I knew thanks to music blog Popslut (Italian). While the song itself is cool and got me addicted, the video, starring burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese, is the real deal here; it is one of the best I've seen in the last few years. Note: maybe, it's partially NSFW.

"Disintegration" by Monarchy and Dita Von Teese (2013)

"Song of the week" #7 + some thoughts

So, a new year has just begun. I said it every past year, and I'm saying it again: I hope that 2013 will bring more rights for everyone. Equality. I hope 2013 will bring less ignorance and more tolerance in our hearts towards who's "different" to us. After all, we're all the same, because we're all different in our own way. "Song of the week" #7 is from 1992 but, sadly, even today is still 100% accurate, for many people and in many countries of the world. I hope that, sooner or later, this song will become "useless". I hope that, sooner or later, everyone will learn to live and let live.

"Why's it so hard" by Madonna
From the album "Erotica", 1992

"Song of the week" #6

I'm sharing with you one of the finest songs from Dido -it hasn't been choosed as a single, tho, so those who know it are not many. Listen to it at night, with no noises around you and the lights off... I hope you like it!

"Take my hand" by Dido
From the album "Odds & Ends", 1995 (re-released on "No angel", 1999)

On a side note, I love the whole "No angel" album. In addition to "Take my hand", the songs I like the most off of it are "Slide", "Don't think of me", "Hunter", "My life", "All you want".

Merry Christmas to all of you!

(Especially to Eorzeans! :P)

This is the first Christmas for Sama's Potion, and I wanted to celebrate it with the beautiful Starlight Celebration theme from Final Fantasy XIV! The nice video is from Mithra Tales. Merry Christmas! :)

"Song of the week" #5

Christmas is getting closer but, no, Jingle Bells is not "Song of the week" #5... instead, I want to share with you another kind of bells! Enjoy one of my favourite songs from a wonderful album...

"Mongrel heart" by Broken Bells
From the album "Broken Bells", 2010

Listen to the whole album, it's amazing! I don't like much only one song, "Your head is on fire", while "Citizen", "Vaporize", "The high road", "The ghost inside" and "Sailing to nowhere" are the best for me, together with "Mongrel heart".

Silent Hill main theme... Christmas edition!

Christmas + Silent Hill? No, I'm not going to tell you a Santa Claus horror story; instead, I want to share with you this fantastic work from The Synthetic Orchestra by Blake Robinson: a Christmas rendition of the first Silent Hill main theme! Enjoy!

This is part of the "Christmas Calendar" project by The Synthetic Orchestra: 24 videogames orchestrations for the 24 days before Christmas, including Sonic the Hedgehog, The Legend of Zelda, Max Payne and more. Check it here.

"Song of the week" #4

Last time I've shared with you "Until we bleed" from Kleerup and Lykke Li. Today, it's the turn of one of my favourite songs ever! Enjoy...

"Mad about you" by Hooverphonic
From the album: "The magnificent tree", 2000

Bonus: there's another versions of the video, which has been released in USA. I still prefer the first one, tho.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy coming soon to Android, Windows Phone, iOS?

A new teaser site for Theatrhythm Final Fantasy is now online, with a "Coming soon" notice and... nothing more. Actually, some "details" are in the source code (see bottom of this post or click the following link): a NeoGAF member's findings suggest us that, maybe, a Theatrhythm mobile version for Android, Windows Phone and iPhone/iPad/iPod is what Square Enix will unveil! Note: in case you missed it, Final Fantasy IV is heading to Android and iOS too.

Final Fantasy Wiki copy&paste: "Theatrhythm Final Fantasy is a video game for the Nintendo 3DS. It is a "theater rhythm action" game in which players use the stylus to tap and hold notes while fighting enemies. The game features popular Final Fantasy songs and characters." To learn more, you can visit TFF Nintendo 3DS version official website.

Here are the code lines I was talking about:

if (navigator.userAgent.indexOf('iPhone') != -1) { location.href="sp/index.html"; }
else if (navigator.userAgent.indexOf('iPod')!=-1){ location.href="sp/index.html"; }
else if  (navigator.userAgent.indexOf('Android') != -1) { location.href="sp/index.html"; }
else if (navigator.userAgent.indexOf('Windows CE')!=-1){ location.href="sp/index.html"; }

While that simply orders your browser to redirect you to the mobile version of the site in case you're not using a computer, it may also mean that, when the game will be released, you'll land on a specific home page based on your mobile device's operating system, maybe with a link to your applications store (Play Store, Windows Marketplace or App Store).

Final Fantasy edited ringtones: Mobile Fantasy

Is 2004 back!? Not really, but let me tell you about Mobile Fantasy! It was a WAP site I created almost 10 years ago (I was 15! D:), offering Final Fantasy soundtracks MIDI ringtones, of course for free. While you probably now use MP3 files, there's something good about using Mobile Fantasy MIDIs: every ringtone lasts 1 minute~, usually less, and has been edited to include a selection of the best parts of every FF song, but without weird interruptions or stuff like that; everything flows like it should. For example, here's The Fierce Battle from Final Fantasy VI:



Now listen to the original one, and you'll notice which cuts were made:

Actually, Mobile Fantasy WAP site is still online, but I stopped working on it after less than two years: you'll find only ringtones until Final Fantasy X. If you have a WAP compatible browser, like Symbian one or Firefox on your PC with "wmlbrowser" plugin, you can visit Mobile Fantasy by clicking here. Or, more easily, download this .rar file containing all the edited ringtones found on the site:

Note: I did the editing job, but I got the original MIDI files from various Final Fantasy fansites. Sadly too much time has passed, and I can't remember which ones.

"Song of the week" #3

Do you know Lykke Li? While she's not one of my favorite artists, it's more than a pleasure for me to listen to some of her songs, like "I'm good, I'm gone" or "I follow rivers". Today's song of the week is from Kleerup, with Lykke Li as the vocalist. Enjoy!

"Until we bleed" by Kleerup and Lykke Li
From the album: "Kleerup", 2008

Bonus: here's the very good Mikael's cello version, with no dancey beats:

"Song of the week" #1 + #2

As I wrote on my "I'm back!" post (click), from now on, every week, I'll share with you a "Song of the week"; usually not-so-recent ones, based on my personal tastes. Since this is the first entry, I'm gonna post two songs! Here we go...

"Follow" by Crystal Fighters
From the album: "Star of love", 2010
Note: I discovered this song thanks to Sony Xperia T's commercial (this one), and now I'm totally addicted!

"New York, I love you but you're bringing me down" by LCD Soundsystem
From the album: "Sound of silver", 2007
Note: I've found this thanks to a video (click) linked by Nokia on Twitter

Hope you liked them! ;)

Madonna's MDNA Tour & PSY: Gangnam Style

Yeah, I know, this is 2 weeks old video... but hey! I've started to update again this blog only today! :x So, in case you haven't seen it yet, PSY joined Madonna on her MDNA Tour in New York to perform a Give It 2 Me / Gangnam Style mashup, followed by a snippet of Music. Here we go:

Madonna live all'Olympia di Parigi, video HD

This is an old post in Italian, but you can find an English translation / recap at the end of it. All the posts written from August 2012 onwards are in English only.

Madonna live at Paris Olympia, HD video

Ecco su lo show intero di Madonna all'Olympia a Parigi, di ieri sera 26 luglio!
Il tutto non era altro che una parte del MDNA Tour, a cui sono stati aggiunti un ottimo mashup di Beautiful Killer / Die Another Day e la cover di Je T'Aime... Moi Non Plus. Inutile dire che sono felicissimo per BK, la mia canzone preferita da MDNA :D

Setlist:

• Turn Up The Radio
• Open Your Heart / Sagarra Jo
• Masterpiece
• Justify My Love video interlude
• Vogue
• Candy Shop / Erotica
• Human Nature
• Beautiful Killer / Die Another Day
• Je T'Aime... Moi Non Plus

ENGLISH:: Here's Madonna's 26 July full show at Paris Olympia. The setlist included some songs from the MDNA Tour, a Beautiful Killer / Die Another Day mashup and a cover of Je T'Aime Moi Non Plus. I'm really happy about BK; it's my favourite song from the MDNA album! :D