Nobuo Uematsu's record label Dog Ear Records just announced that The Black Mages' third album is finally nearing its release. The Japanese band led by the man behind Final Fantasy melodies we all grew to love is going to unleash The Black Mages 3: Darkness and Starlight, which will contain more than remixes of magical FF music. Learn more by checking out the full article.

This year's month of December will mark the 20th anniversary of Square Enix's very first Final Fantasy game (also available on the PSP). As a toast to this most special occasion, AWR Music Productions, LLC is announcing the upcoming Distant Worlds: music from Final Fantasy World Tour which will begin on Tuesday, December 4, at the Stockholm Concert Hall in Sweden.

At the helm of this event will be conductor/executive producer Arnie Roth, who will command the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, and the choir Allmänna Sången. Here's a brief rundown of the songs to be played at the program, all originally written by Final Fantasy series composer Nobuo Uematsu:

• Final Fantasy series: Main Theme, Swing de Chocobo
• Final Fantasy I to III: Medley
• Final Fantasy III DS: Opening
• Final Fantasy IV: Theme of Love
• Final Fantasy V: Dear Friends
• Final Fantasy VI: Opera "Maria and Draco"
• Final Fantasy VII: One-Winged Angel, Opening - Bombing Mission, Aerith's Theme
• Final Fantasy VIII: Liberi Fatali, Fisherman's Horizon, Love Grows, Don't be Afraid
• Final Fantasy IX: Vamo' alla Flamenco
• Final Fantasy X: To Zanarkand
• Final Fantasy XI: Memoro de la Stono - Distant Worlds

And if you're asking, yes - Uematsu is indeed going to be at the concert. Tickets for this event will be available since October 17 and can be purchased through the Stockholm Concert Hall box office, or online. For the fans that do manage to make it, you'll also be happy to know that the Distant Worlds: music from Final Fantasy CD will be available for purchase at the concert grounds.

Now, if you can't make it to the December event, there will be another Distant Worlds concert being scheduled for March 1, in Chicago. Arnie Roth will remain the conductor, with music from the Chicagoland Pops Orchestra, and voices from the CPO Festival Choir. Uematsu will be attending the event too.

Further details for the Distant Worlds: music from Final Fantasy world tour can be found at its official site, via the read link below.

  

Hot off the big BioShock launch last week, more great games are coming to stores this week. Particularly eye-catching is that wham-banger Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. There's also a new Naruto game coming out on the PSP, and Stranglehold will smash in to the PC and Xbox 360 scenes.

Fighting games, racing titles and sports sims, as well as casual puzzle games are also in the mix. There's something for everyone, so dig in:

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. The latest sequel to one of the most decorated game franchises of all time is due out tomorrow exclusively for the Nintendo Wii. Samus is back and this time, the Wii Nunchuk is her toy of choice. Old moves and new weapons converge to create a new mind-blowing experience for the genre.

• Wii- August 27, 2007
• US$ 49.99
• ESRB T (Teen)
• Nintendo

Blue Dragon. The Xbox 360 is getting one of the year's most anticipated RPG offerings. Behind this title are luminaries Hironobu Sakaguchi for the game's design, Akira Toriyama for the character design and Nobuo Uematsu for the musical score. Play as a boy named Shu who sets out on an epic journey with friends that will enchant you for hours on end.

• Xbox 360- August 28
• US$ 59.99
• ESRB T (Teen)
• Microsoft

More hot titles for all the platforms after the jump!

*Originally posted at 7:17AM on August 26, 2007

So, do you think you're a hardcore Nintendo fan? Well then, it shouldn't be too difficult for you to find the hidden signatures of the sound designer Kazumi Totaka who is known for his work in games such as Animal Crossing, old Zelda titles, as well as several Mario and Yoshi games, among others. However, for the rest of us who have not yet reached the highest ranks in the Nintendo fan hierarchy, we got a little help with the video we found floating around the internet.

For those who are unfamiliar with what we're talking about, what we're referring to is the small melody that Totaka has been placing in his games for the past ten years. These melodies are similar to Easter eggs, and can only be "unlocked" or listened to in certain conditions. As shown in this video, these conditions include going to an NPC's house and staying there for a certain amount of time, or staying at the Game Over screen for more than two minutes, and so on.

This "feature" is actually nothing useful. It will not give you a BFG, and it will not give you infinite lives during your next Hyrule adventure, however, this does not make it any less fascinating, as we realize that a man has placed his mark on gaming history. It may not be as obvious or as grand as Nobuo Uematsu's scores, but its discreetness adds to the fascination as the hunt for this melody goes on.

Now that we are in the next generation of gaming, with the Wii coming along, perhaps we all should start paying a bit more attention to the credits. Who knows? Maybe that next Wii or DS game that you've pre-ordered contains a little piece of Totaka. Please do tell us when you find him.

In the meantime, to get you started on the search for Totakeke, here's a video which shows good places to begin.

What would life be without music? What would video games be without music? Not much, huh? C'mon. Who doesn't know the Super Mario theme? Who wasn't moved by Nobuo Uematsu compositions? You might not realize it, but music is definitely one of the most crucial aspects of an effective game.

Video Games Live is taking that fact and making gamers go back to appreciating music once again. Last year, in the US, their debut concert was sold out, with a whopping 11,000 crowd - the largest video game concert in the world! Now, they're on the move and are bound to hit the UK on November 25th.

What's in store for you, then? Orchestraic compositions with accompanying video game clips. And they won't be just playing music from recent game franchises like Halo or Metal Gear Solid. We're talking across the board here - music from all-time cult classic game series like Final Fantasy, Tomb Raider, Castlevania, and even retro games like Pong, Tetris, Frogger, and even Duck Hunt!

That's one concert that'll surely blow your mind away. It's going to be a night of reminiscing and reliving some of your favorite moments in video games. Music is such a powerful tool, and we're all glad that Video Games Live is making that known throughout the world.

Japanese composer Nobuo Uematsu is one of the most prolific video game music composers around. If his name doesn't ring a bell, all you have to do is listen to the music of the Final Fantasy series of RPGs. Yes, he's the man behind the distinct fusion of classical symphonies, rock, and new age sounds heard from Final Fantasy soundtracks.

Uematsu's music has been a large part of the Final Fantasy franchise's popularity, and once again we get to hear Uematsu's masterpieces in Final Fantasy III.

Square Enix has put up the Final Fantasy III OST page where fans are treated to a sample of fine music especially created for the game. All tracks are arranged by Tsuyoshi Sekito and Keiji Kawamori.

Fans can head on to the new OST page to get more info about the music of Final Fantasy III, as well as on The Black Mages, Uematsu's instrumental rock band.