NotCliche

Video Games Live is a compilation of some of the greatest game music that has ever graced the gaming community and I must say, after spending a night there, I feel that it’s one of the most worthwhile event that I’ve ever went to. With much thanks to DFC who actually got some awesome luck, I managed to get myself one ticket for free to VGL. What’s more, these tickets are actually Premier tickets, which means we’ve got some of the best seats in the house!

Due to the lack of a good camera (I went to the event with my handphone and wallet only), I can’t provide any pictures, although I’ll try to outsource the pictures for you guys.

In all, Video Games Live! concert played different game musics, ranging from classic hits like Tetris to modern games, such as Halo. There’s a total of 20 segments, and for the record, there are over 70 segments composed, although each show is only able to play out 20 segments. This means that each VGL show is unique to each other, because you won’t find the same pattern of segments at different countries which VGL visits.

Before the concert actually began, it seems that there were a couple of pre-events running around. Events such as SF2 competition and Guitar Hero competition and even cosplayers were running around the area. There was Advance Wars, Team Fortress 2 and some Macross Frontier cosplayers running around the event.

Cosplayers up on stage. For more pictures, check out his website.

Not only there, just before the whole concert started, the MC brought up about 8 cosplayers who were voted the best of the best. The line up of the competition is pretty simple, Final Fantasy 7, Macross Frontier, Lineage 2 and the best of all, Patapon! I’m sure I have to mention who won the whole cosplaying competition anyway.

Between the whole concert, there’s a couple of fun events, such as the “real” space invader game. I’m sure you guys know how space invaders is like. So, to make the whole challenge a little more fun, VGL added a little twist, in a way where the challenger becomes the space invader’s ship, and he has to about the stage to move the ship. Pretty neat, huh?

And of course, the Guitar Hero competition. While I’m not a fan of Guitar Hero, there’s actually a sort of tension in the air when the two players were nearing each other’s score. However, I’m actually more interested in the prizes that they were giving out… too bad I don’t have any talent in playing Guitar Hero!

The concert started off with 2 very awesome videos, one of which I’ve searched for, and you can find it down here. I find the lyrics for this particular video mighty awesome.

L33t St33t Boys — Yuri the Only One

…Priceless like a PS3 indeed!

And then, the concert started. There’s quite a wide variety of music being played, so I’ll list it down as point form for easier digestion:

• Classic Arcade Medley (featuring various SFX from various classic arcade games)
• Metal Gear Solid Theme
• Sonic The Hedgehog
• The Legend of Zelda
• Dragon Lair
• Tron
• Martin Leung’s piano take of 10 Final Fantasy songs
• Space Invaders Interactive Game (they actually track where you’re moving!)
• Diablo III Theme
• Kingdom Hearts Theme
• World of Warcraft Theme
• Metal Gear Solid — Snake Eater (featuring Metal Gear Solid composer with his saxophone)
• Super Mario Brothers Theme
• Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross
• Halo Suite and Halo 3 Theme
• Encore: Final Fantasy 7 — One Winged Angel
• Encore: Castlevania Theme

One of the best things about this particular concert is that you don’t really have to restrain yourself. Unlike the common impression that people have about concerts, you don’t have to sit down and listen. At least, not for VGL. You can scream, shout, jump or basically do anything you like while the music is playing. It is THAT awesome. No restrains, no restrictions. It’s a really candid experience, nothing serious.

While surfing the web, there’s actually quite a number of complains about the sound systems. It isn’t that bad for me, I could hear everything well, although I’ve got to agree on the fact that the choir’s voice is somewhat soft when the symphony is playing. People have suggested that they should move Esplanade, but it just wouldn’t work out because of the nature of the whole event.

In all, VGL is actually quite an awesome experience. I couldn’t expect anymore from them, although I’m a little disappointed that they didn’t choose Gears of Wars as a music that they would play. Gears of Wars have some of the best music around, but it was alright, because VGL is just that awesome.

The only regret that I have for this event is that I didn’t pay for it.

What I’m sure is that, the next time VGL ever visits Singapore, I’ll make sure I will get myself tickets. Definitely.

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1. Video Games Live — Upcoming Performance @ Singapore
2. Hatsune Miku to appear in Animelo Summer Live 2009!
3. 30 Pairs Of Tickets From Animax To Video Games Live Up For Grabs!
4. EOY 2009: Makino Yui’s Mini-Concert
5. EOY 2009: Makino Yui’s Concert Experience