What would you do if you harnessed the ability to change the past? Would the outcome be better or worse than your present? Very Ok Vinyl opens the portal to find out with Steins;Gate Original Soundtrack. This 2009 Visual Novel game developed by MAGES spins the story of Okabe Rintaro after he receives a text message from the future and the ripple of change that creates. This soundtrack covers all the emotions of Okabe’s epic adventure of past, present, and future, to change it back. We dare you to travel through the fast-paced synth, heart-felt piano, harpsichord, and suspenseful orchestral strings. This is a powerfully emotive compilation, busting with the intensity of every decision. You will not be the same when you return.
On September 3rd, Very Ok Vinyl announced their release of the Original Soundtrack for Steins;Gate on vinyl. They recently followed up on this announcement and opened up pre-orders. Fans of the Future Gadget Lab can choose between six variants of the atmospheric soundtrack by Takeshi Abo with vocal tracks by Kanako Ito and FES (cv. Yui Sakakibara). The standard release can be ordered until October 20. Exclusive variants may be limited.
Details on the Variants
All variants share a beautiful sleeve with beautiful promotional artwork by the novel’s artist huke, as well as two inner sleeves covered with CGs taken from the novel. Unique to each variant are the vinyl themselves, themed after elements from Steins;Gate.
LABMEMBER
This is the standard release, aptly named after Okabe’s group of friends with whom he plans to overturn the order of the world. The color of the second vinyl evokes the image of a labcoat, which no mad scientist would leave home without. You can pre-order this variant at the following retailers:
- Very Ok Vinyl
- hhv
- Light in the Attic (not yet available at the time of writing)
- diskunion (not yet available at the time of writing)
- Vinyl Guru
- Ship to Shore
GELNANA
Better hope this gooey surprise doesn’t return back to the printing press when you play the Vinyl in reverse…
This variant is exclusively available for pre-order at Very Ok Vinyl.
NIXIE TUBE
Nixie tubes are one of the defining elements of Steins;Gate‘s iconic style and, as such, it’s a joy to see them again in this variant exclusively available for pre-order at Materia Store.
METAL UPA
Obtaining a Metal Upa is the hope of every Upa collector, and they fetch a high price at online auctions. Keep an eye out on JAST‘s social media to pre-order one before you have to resort to such measures…
PASTEL RAINBOW
This variant featuring a milky clear wax with color splatters matches nicely with the design of the sleeve and is exclusively available for pre-order at Black Screen Records.
CHINA EXCLUSIVE
The color of this variant is eerily similar to blood—an unpleasant sight for sure, but also one integral to Steins;Gate. Pre-order exclusively at A+ Record.
Q&A w. ScottVoV of VeryOkVinyl
Interviewer: KHLover1995
Interviewee: ScottVoV
KH: How did you get the idea to start VoV? S: I had been a part of the VGM Vinyl community for awhile and there was one soundtrack that I really wanted on vinyl, a small indie game called Necrosphere, that I was positive would never get a pressing. I saved my pennies (and sold a fair chunk of my video game collection), the devs and composer said yes, and the rest is history. KH: How do you decide on OSTs you want to release and, if you could ignore all licensing issues, what's a soundtrack you would personally love to put on vinyl? S: This is a hard one for me to answer now to be honest. It’s usually games that I have a connection with, but something like the OST for Rusty is just so good. I’ve played the game a little, and it’s fine, but the OST is something else. I guess now it’s a combination of connection, great vibes, or both. Licensing (and profit from a release aside, looking at you Nintendo), there are a ton of PC-98 games that fall into the same category as Rusty. Great OST, but virtually not licensable at this point. Possessioner jumps to my mind. Something a little more recent (not recent) Jazz Jackrabbit. Epic plz. KH: Moving on specifically to Steins;Gate - have you personally read the Steins;Gate VN? Which track in the OST in particular has touched you the most? S: What’s a Steins;Gate? Joking aside, yes, Steins;Gate was actually the second VN I ever read (first being Katawa Shoujo). Combined, both sparked my love for the VN genre and that never died. I’ve been an avid VN reader for over 10 years now (instantly feels old). I’m gonna cheap out on the second half of this question and say that the whole OST brings me so much nostalgia. All the tracks bring me back to the game, and I love them all for different reasons. KH: The Labmem, Metal Upa, Nixie Tube, and Gelbanana are obviously connected to Steins;Gate, how did you decide on the special designs and what do the Chinese Exclusive and Pastel Rainbow variants represent? S: With the different variants across the different stores, each store got to choose their own colours. Some chose to name them or do something SciADV inspired, some didn’t. KH: Could you imagine releasing other SciADV soundtracks on Vinyl? S: I hope so! Let’s show that there’s a demand, and maybe we’ll be able to bring some more to this timeline. :blush:
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