Overview

In 2004, Japanese rock band MintJam made a spectacular transition from popular doujin group to officially endorsed arrangers with the help of Key's Clannad. Three years later, they were given the opportunity to create an entire arranged album dedicated to the company's subsequent hit, Little Busters! Blending six instrumental performances with a number of vocal arrangements, MintJam showcased a surprising amount of versatility on Little Busters! Arrange Album -Rockstar Busters!- But in doing so, they still reflected their core sound and retained the spirit of the originals.

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One of the best displays of MintJam's core sound on the release is "Heroic Battle". The original was an uplifting synth-heavy anthem reminiscent of old-school RPG battle themes, and while excellent, setzer improves on it in numerous ways. Notably, he shifts from the old-school sounds of the original in favour of a rawer, denser rock sound. a2c's electric guitar performance is the driving force, capturing all the charisma of the original melody and offering plenty of flashy guitar solos, notably at the 1:55 mark. Simply put, it puts a modern mainstream spin on the original, while still retaining its melodic potency and nostalgic feel. Anyone who enjoys The Black Mages will love this. The similarly styled "Mission Possible ~but difficult~" adheres closer to the original, with its moodier guitar solo and driving bass riff; nevertheless, the original was so effective that this is no bad thing, and the combination of solid performances and subtle elaborations ensures it is still a marked improvement.

MintJam nevertheless demonstrate their versatility on a number of additions. Arguably misplaced at the start of the album, "My Brave Smile" and "Day Game" are short but sweet deviations from the hard rock emphasis; both are filled with peppy melodies and the combination of acoustic and electric guitar performances is especially in the effective in the former. "Incommunicable Message" reflects the softer side of the band and, just as he brought out all the energy in the action themes, arranger and guitarist captures all the sorrow of the original melody; the doubled performance at the 1:50 mark is especially heartfelt, while the solo that follows is understated but glorious. "Just One Magic Word" and "Gather the Light" offer the best of both worlds, both opening with intimate acoustic guitar sections — the former reminiscent of Albeniz in places — before culminating in electric guitar solos at their most flashy and shameless. Both tracks are so emotionally raw that the dramatic transitions nevertheless sound quite natural.

The release also features four adaptations of three vocal themes from the game. This takes the focus away from MintJam's strength in creating instrumental arrangements, but ensures that the most recognisable and popular tracks from Little Busters! get a nod. They adhere particularly closely to the opening theme "Little Busters!", lifting up rita's unforgettable vocal melody with a robust accompaniment and some occasional flourishes; while conservative, it is still exactly what most Key fans were looking for and the rendition certainly retains the charm of the original. Those looking for a more individualistic — and therefore harder — rendition can enjoy the MJ Cover at the end of the album, featuring more exuberant instrumentation and a powerful performance by male vocalist TERRA. Of the other vocal themes, "Faraway" provides a soft interlude at the centre of the album with its tear jerking vocals and despairing guitar-focused climax. "Alicemagic" won't appeal to all with its girly vocals and trashy instrumentation, but many will find it a highly enjoyable closer; the vocal melody is highly memorable and the dense rock instrumentation is compelling and energetic throughout.

Summary

Overall, Little Busters! Arrange Album -Rockstar Busters!- is an incredible display of MintJam's talent. The band retain the melodic potency and magical feel of the originals throughout the album, while offering mainstream appeal with their hard and expressive arrangements and performances. Not all will appreciate the balance of instrumental to vocal tracks here and a couple more hard rock instrumentals could have gone a long way. Nevertheless, this is an excellent release and the best in Little Busters! discography.

Overview

Club remix albums have a history of being hit-and-miss in the video game industry — with more misses, as fans of Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, and Gradius know. Nevertheless, Key decided to dedicate a remix album to two of their most recent titles during 2011, Little Busters! and Kud Wafter. And in doing so, they produced a rare definitive 'dud' in their discography.

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The first instrumental remix on the album, dedicated to Rin's theme "Ring Ring Ring", emphasises the album's biggest problems right away. Firstly, the remix fails to capture the melody of the original. It takes over two minutes of layered beats for the melody to emerge and, when it finally does, it sounds aseptic and contrived — as if it was moulded to fit the beats, rather than the other way around. Secondly, the beats themselves are extremely generic and sound like they come from a stock club album; their strong pulse and dazzling flourishes would suit some clubs, but only those run by trashy DJs. To add insult to injury, some beats are so piercing that they will be annoying to people and the remix is needlessly prolonged to a six minute playtime. Groovetune's "Sunday Morning Dance" is a little more experimental, with some psytrance, but cripplingly repetitive. When the melody finally arrives, it sounds strangely obligatory and the piano line corresponds in no way to the beats below.

Not all the remixes are awful. On LongFi's "August Green", the beats are layered in a more compelling manner and the original melodies are well-integrated. Though their use is still transient, they sound like they belong in the remix and provide a welcome centrepiece. DJ Sharpnel also delivers the required sound on "Adagio for Summer Wind", placing a strong focus on the original melody, while increasingly incorporating hardcore beats. While neither remix is as inappropriate or generic as others on the album, they're still strictly average — they don't enhance the originals in any way and won't appeal to seasoned electronica fans.

There are several vocal remixes here, many of them clustered at the end of the release. The opening theme for Little Busters! provides an electrifying opening for the album, blending Rita's vocals with elating beats. Love them or hate them, DJ Shimamura's interpretation is pretty close in style to the club remixes of mainstream pop music abundant today. Those who enjoy such remixes should have no problem customising here, but others should stay well away. "Hoshikuzu" seems less suited for this approach and most of the subtleties of the original are lost with the hammering beats, while "Alicemagic" at the close of the album is even more hyperactive and is incredibly cheesy. A more creative track is Dee!'s rendition of Kuf Wafter's "one's future", but the original is such a select taste — with its shrieky girly vocals — that many won't enjoy this.

Summary

Little Busters! & Kud Wafter Remix Album -Deejay Busters!- is startingly bad. With a mixture of mundane, repetitive, and annoying tracks, this is bound to be a turn off to most club music fans. What's more, most tracks fail to make the most of the original material in favour of recycled beats. Those interested in electronic remixes of Key music should check out the vastly superior Clannad Remix Album -Memento- instead.