Headquarters

The art for this release was carried out by none other than Itsuki Hoshi herself, the original character artist for Skies of Arcadia. I honestly can’t believe that Wayô Records went so above and beyond with this release as to commission new art from the designer who brought these characters to life. As stated before, this release is a true gift to us as fans of this game and its music, the art here is a love letter to all of us directly from Itsuki Hoshi! From the box design down to the gorgeous cover art of each record sleeve what Itsuki has delivered here is pure perfection yet again. I can’t get over how stunning the presentation of this release is and the art truly sells what it holds inside!

Border Town

Included in this release is a lovingly arranged piano medley by the ever-talented Ramon van Engelenhoven which adds a somber yet striking contrast to the original works of Yutaka Minobe & Tatsuyuki Maeda. You can tell how much respect Mr. Engelenhoven has for the original music, even so much as explaining his arrangement choices for one of the most iconic tracks from the original score “Kingdom of Ixa'taka”. While stripped down from their original compositions the score for Skies of Arcadia is still as gorgeous as ever in this form. A little anemic at times, being removed from the orchestral strings and percussion, what Mr. Engelenhoven has delivered here is nothing short of excellence and is a perfect addition to a perfect release!

The Last Battle

As Wayô Records' second-ever vinyl release, I am extremely impressed. Specializing as a CD-only label for so long Wayô Records has paved the way in France for being the de facto label dedicated to supporting artists and musicians in the video game music and visual arts scene. Their first vinyl, Sonic Forces was released last year and really showed just how far this awesome label has truly come. While Sonic Forces was a great release, Skies of Arcadia is so above and beyond anything this label has ever put out! Signing with Sega to bring this cult classic soundtrack to vinyl, Wayô Records spared no expense in delivering what is truly a labor of love and a true memorial to the amazing artists and creators that brought this music to life before our very eyes in the fall of 2000. This is easily the best box set I have seen come out in 2019 and definitely deserves a spot in your collection. If this is the kind of care and quality that we can expect from Wayô Records moving forward then I for one am extremely excited!