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Dragon Quest's (US) lack of orchestrated soundtracks is my #1 most disappointing thing in gaming.

Deleted member 3534

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I just bought Dragon Quest 7 and 8 for the 3DS and I just fired up DQ7 for the first time since I played it on PS1 close to 18 years ago. Instead of being excited, my heart immediately sank upon hearing the game's music.

I know the quality of the MIDI is generally pretty okay. I know when I originally played it the game had a MIDI OST. I knew the US version of the game lacked the orchestrated soundtrack of the JPN release. I somehow hoped it wouldn't be as gut wrenching as it is. But it is. I can't help it. Call me crazy, call me a bad fan, but I almost don't want to play the game this way.



My first MAJOR entry into the series was the USA version of Dragon Quest 8. I only rented Dragon Warrior 7 and that... as you can imagine... wasn't enough to fully appreciate the game. DQ8 had a marvelous orchestrated soundtrack, despite sounding like it was recorded in a giant bathroom. Knowing that it's missing from the US release of DQ7, DQ8 (3DS), and that it's going to be missing from the USA release of DQ11 is utterly egregious to me. It stands as the single most disappointing thing in all of my memory of gaming. This might seem a little extreme but I really can't overstate the impression that DQ8 had on me as a gamer and the soundtrack was a huge part of that.

I'm sure it's possible to pirate DQ7 and play it on the 3DS with the real soundtrack. I wanted to buy it and now I regret it. :/

Is there any way to modify the legit copies of these games or inject the orchestral OST into the 3DS games with custom firmware on the 3DS? I have a New 2DS XL.

Update: There is.
 
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Raw64life

Raw64life

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,983
Simply but one of the many missteps of S-E's management of DQ in the west, although this one isn't entirely their fault.

entremet said:
It's probably a traditional thing at this point. He may have a contract, who knows.
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He's been the composer of every DQ game since the very beginning. They'll keep using him until he drops.

That being said, he's 87 years old and I hope he has a protege or something lined up. I love his music but it's time for some new blood. And time for someone who won't be a dick about orchestrated versions of his music.
 
entremet

entremet

You wouldn't toast a NES cartridge
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Oct 26, 2017
60,235
Raw64life said:
He's been the composer of every DQ game since the original. They'll keep using him until he drops.

That being said, he's 87 years old and I hope he has a protege or something lined up. I love his music but it's time for some new blood. And for someone who won't be a dick about orchestrated versions of his music.
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I know. Hence the tradition mention.

I know DQ is not FF, but FF successfully moved from Uematsu years ago, while he is still alive lol. He still does come back for some projects like XIV.
 

Reveirg

Member
Nov 20, 2017
282
It made me pass on DQVIII 3DS — I'd rather play the PS2 version with the superior soundtrack.

I will also wait for a price drop on DQXI because of this. With so many quality games coming this Fall, I'm choosing where I put my money more carefully. A new mainline Dragon Quest would normally be a day one no-brainer, but the soundtrack fiasco is seriously inexcusable, especially considering the live orchestral album already exists.
 
OP
OP

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Is there a way to mod-in the orchestral score without pirating the game? Anyone have any info on this? If there was ever any reason to mod a 3DS this is it.
 
OP
OP

Deleted member 3534

User requested account closure
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Oct 25, 2017
1,537
Is there a way to mod-in the orchestral score without pirating the game? Anyone have any info on this? If there was ever any reason to mod a 3DS this is it.
 
ghibli99

ghibli99

Member
Oct 27, 2017
17,853
The most disappointing thing in gaming? I'm a big DQ fan, and it does suck, but that's not even close.
 

sheaaaa

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
1,556
Are all versions of DQ11 missing an orchestral score? If so, I'm happy getting the game when it's out. If it's just the Western release missing the orchestral score again then fuck that.
 
JB2448

JB2448

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Oct 25, 2017
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sheaaaa said:
Are all versions of DQ11 missing an orchestral score? If so, I'm happy getting the game when it's out. If it's just the Western release missing the orchestral score again then fuck that.
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There is currently no version of Dragon Quest XI that includes the orchestral score.
That being said, someone is bound to mod it into the Steam version soon after release. As soon as that's made available, I'll drop whatever I need to on it.
 

Syril

Member
Oct 26, 2017
5,895
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) said:
Is there a way to mod-in the orchestral score without pirating the game? Anyone have any info on this? If there was ever any reason to mod a 3DS this is it.
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I just searched "dq7 orchestra music mod" and the first result was a link to patches for DQ7 and 8 to replace the music. I'm not familiar with 3DS custom firmware at all, but I'm sure there's some way to rip the game off the cart for it to be patched.
 
Rbz

Rbz

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Oct 27, 2017
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I'd prefer to play DQXI on PS4 because my PC setup is a bit clunky to get going on the living room TV, but god damn I want that orchestral soundtrack. I'm absolutely going to wait to buy this until a PC mod to patch it in exists.
 
CaptainUnderpants

CaptainUnderpants

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Oct 25, 2017
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The BGM in Builders drove me insane for the entire game because my brain was having trouble deciding whether the music was orchestral or MIDI.
 

lucablight

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,555
What's the feeling like from
Japanese fans about the situation? Is there any resentment like in the West?
 
Strings

Strings

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Oct 27, 2017
31,452
It's unfortunate, but I did still like the music / think it's a blip on what is otherwise 2017 GOTY.

It might be extra odd having such good VA paired with the midi soundtrack though.
sheaaaa said:
Are all versions of DQ11 missing an orchestral score? If so, I'm happy getting the game when it's out. If it's just the Western release missing the orchestral score again then fuck that.
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All versions. JP doesn't have VA either.
 
Namyu

Namyu

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Oct 25, 2017
1,562
Yeah it's trash, just like the composer. Haven't purchased any of the recent DQs because of it.
 
Dreamboum

Dreamboum

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Oct 28, 2017
22,871
It's disappointing but I'm not going to prevent myself from buying a Dragon Quest because of it. I don't only look for one thing in a DQ game. I care much more about things like the battle system or the writing.
 
Dice

Dice

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Oct 25, 2017
22,427
Canada
At least we get voice acting. :/

I will say I think the game OSTs are...really overrated and could use an orchestra for that extra polish (that's just me, there's a few shiny tracks I love, but overall I'm not at that level with its OST)

falcondoc said:
It's an utter disgrace that DQ11 doesn't have an orchestral OST
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insta1.gif


hearing low quality music against high quality visuals is just...too weird a choice.

This series is sometimes way too 'classic' for its own good, I actually appreciate the "overseas enhancements".
 
Dreamboum

Dreamboum

Member
Oct 28, 2017
22,871
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) said:
Any tutorials on how this is actually done?
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quick google search "Oh, basically just unpack the .cia, then in the romFS folder there's a folder called sound, then stream (or something like that.) The JP version has the same structure, and I was able to just copy the .bcstm files from one to the other and rebuild it as a .cia"

Basically unpack them, drag an drop, repack them. There should be tools out there that allows you to do that with some google searching.
 
AgeEighty

AgeEighty

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Oct 25, 2017
11,443
entremet said:
It's not that. He won't allow orchestra OSTs in NA/EU releases.
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Then how did we get the orchestrated soundtrack for DQVIII PS2 when Japan didn't?

Also do we actually have a reference for this information beyond fan speculation? It's hard for me to believe that Square-Enix would agree to put this in the man's contract when it's likely to actively cripple sales of the game, at least overseas.
 
Dreamboum

Dreamboum

Member
Oct 28, 2017
22,871
Unmodded no, but it might be possible with a physical copy and a bit of wizardry, I heard you can force a game to check some files in a folder instead of what's inside a cart. Still need a custom firmware for this though
 
MrBS

MrBS

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Oct 27, 2017
6,236
It's certainly weighing on me OP as to whether or not I pick it up day one. I'm trying to convince myself I'm being silly as I'll probably spend the majority of my time watching netflix while I play the game anyway when grinding etc
 
Choppasmith

Choppasmith

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Oct 25, 2017
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Raw64life said:
Simply but one of the many missteps of S-E's management of DQ in the west, although this one isn't entirely their fault.



He's been the composer of every DQ game since the very beginning. They'll keep using him until he drops.

That being said, he's 87 years old and I hope he has a protege or something lined up. I love his music but it's time for some new blood. And time for someone who won't be a dick about orchestrated versions of his music.
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It'll likely be Hayato Matsuo.
http://www.vgmonline.net/hayatomatsuo/

He's arranged the music for the Dai anime as well as the PS2/PSP Fortune Street games which happen to have orchestra quality tracks for the DQ music (as opposed to the Wii game that he didn't work on which doesn't)

But yeah, I want to get a new 3DS with Homebrew so I can play at least VII with the orchestra music.
 
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