Fri: May 25 2007

"final fantasy bootlegs"
5 comments, it seems

I just discovered that my copy of the Final Fantasy VII Original Soundtrack (or “Sound Track” as it is spelled on the front) is a bootleg i.e. the kind that is a copy of the original. I was considering getting the FF IX soundtrack on eBay and that was when I made my discovery. A Miya Records is listed as the label of my copy of the soundtrack and according to Discogs:

A record company based in Taiwan that releases high-quality, but unlicensed (bootleg), popular Japanese music, including many game and anime soundtracks. Recognizable by their lack of credits to the original copyright holder, and the ‘Made In Taiwan’ notation.

… Though technically bootlegs shouldn’t even be posted on Discogs. But anyway it’s true. There’s no copyright logo on the boxset (though it does say “WARNING: All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws.“) and it is Made in Taiwan.

I thought it was legit because it came with a little booklet with some of Yoshitaka Amano’s artwork (especially on the front), some screenshots from the game, illustrations of the main characters, and the tracklisting of the 4 CDs in Japanese. I guess that’s not too hard to duplicate nowadays.

Also, if by the above reasoning my copy of the FF VII soundtrack has now descended to “illegal copy” world, then my copy of the first Black Mages CD is also a bootleg; no copyright information, and the supposed “Made in Taiwan” give-away - though its production quality was always a little less convincing then the FF VII soundtrack copy.

I’m disappointed… If I’d wanted to buy a bootleg, then I’d have at least got one cheap, you know? But I guess compared to Asian-bought bootleg-cheap, 1/3 of the original price might be considered cheap here. Like this woman last year I was giving a presentation to, she was talking about buying illegal copies of software for like 20 GBP and my Chinese coursemate and I were like ‘no no, you can get them much cheaper where we come from’.

Anyway, anyone know any good places to get original game music? UK sites preferably. Otherwise I already know of GameMusic.com and SquareSound. Not that I should be busy spending money on such things just before exam season… ;P

As for the eBay auction, the seller might not realize his/her copy of the FF IX soundtrack is a bootleg. Apparently a lot of auctions for FF music, especially imports, are likely to be illegal copies. Just a warning for those of you who also like spending lots of money on similar things and would prefer to know in advance, to further consider the purchase, the legitimacy of the product.

On a (not entirely) separate note. Does anyone know of any websites where you can see pictures of actual CDs (and not just the case cover) of music albums? Maybe someone should start one. XD

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Btw I’ve watched Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. Aside from the here there and everywhere storyline, and the puzzled questions you inevitably ask at the end of the movie, either to friends or on movie forums online, I love it! ^_^

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Self-awareness: Do you notice I’ve put a <blockquote> in every post I’ve made lately? The photos? Less brackets? In my bid to become more reader-friendly, especially yous people nowadays who expect more things from the blogs you read. Hah.

 
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categories(?): nobody_likes_me, music, personal, ff, uni_life, that's all :)

Fri: Dec 15 2006

"Fruits and… Planets?"
2 comments, it seems

Been catching up with Fruits Basket and OMG I can’t believe it’s nearly over now. I feel happy at how things are working out, but sad at the looming ending. And OMG that was such a bland typical thing to say but in my fangirl mode my vocabulary skills drop sharply (not that they were at an admirable level anyway).

OH OH and if anyone remembers that I, being incredibly lame and at the same time being an incredible perfectionist, had yet to finish a single Final Fantasy game despite having first introduced to the charms of Ifrit and Shiva in 2000/2001, due to my insistence on playing the games ‘right’ and progressing with level-ups, and getting as many GFs, or attaining as much Materia, or completing as many side quests as was possible of myself… if anyone actually remembers that, well remember differently.

FOR I HAVE BEAT SEPHIROTH. XD

Okay fine, it wasn’t my game file, it was Yazid’s (though I contributed significantly to it, it is about a year old now). BUT STILL. And I never had to get the bloody Gold chocobo to get to the Materia caves. Just a lot of “Comet2″ and Summons and taking advantage of Limits and gawd I love “Magic Hammer” ^_^ (did I use that in the final battles though? can’t remember).

I have a brief memory of one time I stumbled into the final battle with Ultimecia in FF8: I wasn’t ready for it, I just got to the area by accident, and thought, “What the hell” and decided to do a sort of test drive, or test battle, and see how tough she was. I think I was wiped out in 5 minutes. XD The fights with Sephiroth, in comparison, weren’t easy, but not that tough, you just have to keep going at it.

…That was directed to any other poor soul who has yet to beat the game. ^^;;

Anyway, I now have an important website to work on. *sigh*

 
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categories(?): gaming, manga, omg, variety, ff, that's all :)

Sun: Nov 26 2006

"FF3! and multiple OMGs"
0 comments, it seems

So my first reaction upon seeing the screenshots of Final Fantasy III on Nintendo DS was: “OMG does the game really look like that? It looks like FF9!” *amazed look*

In Syazana’s trademark (in our house anyway) tone: “O. M. G!”

*brief fangirl mode*

OMG OMG I miss Final Fantasy. How could I not have finished a single one of the games over the summer? How??

 
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categories(?): gaming, omg, ff, that's all :)