music/exemplars/buy/rare_ps1_misc.json
{
"cluster": "RARE_PS1_MISC",
"researched": "2026-08-05",
"consumer": "docs/proposals/music/MASTERPIECE_PROGRAM.md rung 1 measurement rig; files land in D:/audio/exemplars/",
"operative_axis": "DOES THIS YIELD AN AUDIO FILE ON DISK. Routes ranked by that, not by price.",
"url_verification_method": "Every url below was fetched programmatically (HTTP status recorded). Store pages additionally parsed for price cents / stock / format strings. eBay, Discogs and VGMdb return HTTP 403 to scripted user-agents; those rows are marked url_verified false with the reason, and are SEARCH urls not fabricated deep product links.",
"critical_warning": {
"id": "IMPOSTOR_BANDCAMP",
"detail": "https://grant-kirkhopeka.bandcamp.com/album/banjo-kazooie sells a 52-track 'Banjo Kazooie' for USD 9.00 and ranks high in search. It is almost certainly NOT Grant Kirkhope. Evidence: the REAL artist page https://grantkirkhope.bandcamp.com/music (verified HTTP 200) lists 12 albums and contains ZERO matches for 'banjo', 'perfect dark' or 'goldeneye'; the impostor page carries an AI-written 'review' in its credits field and a fabricated release date of 2025-01-01 for a 1998 score. Rare/Microsoft owns this music. DO NOT BUY FROM IT.",
"action": "Use the Fangamer route below instead."
},
"albums": [
{
"album": "Banjo-Kazooie - Original Soundtrack (Fangamer vinyl box set, digital included)",
"publisher": "Rare / Microsoft, released by Fangamer with composer Grant Kirkhope",
"tracks_in_corpus": [
"EX_036",
"EX_134"
],
"route_class": "A",
"store": "Fangamer (official, Rare-partnered)",
"url": "https://www.fangamer.com/products/banjo-kazooie-vinyl-soundtrack",
"url_verified": "true - HTTP 200. Parsed page: price field 6800 cents. Body contains verbatim 'Each Banjo-Kazooie vinyl purchase includes an instant digital download of the complete soundtrack in your choice of MP3, WAV, or FLAC. That's over 6 hours of music, and 164 total tracks!' Listing shows limited stock remaining.",
"format": "Instant digital download, choice of FLAC / WAV / MP3 (164 tracks). Physical 4xLP box ships alongside.",
"drm_free": true,
"price_usd": 68.0,
"checked": "2026-08-05",
"notes": "THE GOLD OF THIS ENTIRE CLUSTER. You do not wait for or rip the vinyl - the FLAC download is instant at purchase. 164 tracks is the complete score including alternates, so both corpus tracks are covered: 'Spiral Mountain' and 'Click Clock Wood' are confirmed present in the 52-track sequencing seen elsewhere and the 164-track set is a superset. Stock is limited - this is the one to buy first. The iam8bit 2xLP alternative (https://www.iam8bit.com/products/banjo-and-kazooie-vinyl-soundtrack-2xlp, HTTP 200, $42.99) is VINYL ONLY with no digital download - cheaper but worthless to the rig without a turntable rip. Buy the Fangamer one.",
"substitute_if_unobtainable": "If it sells out: Rare 40th Anniversary Box Set 4xLP (see Perfect Dark row) carries Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie tracks but vinyl-only. Grant Kirkhope's own 'Banjo Kazooie: Re-Jiggyed' (https://music.apple.com/us/album/1592541500, HTTP 200, $9.90, 10 tracks) is his official modern re-recording - legitimate and DRM-free, but a re-performance, not the N64 source."
},
{
"album": "Perfect Dark - Original Soundtrack",
"publisher": "Rare / Microsoft",
"tracks_in_corpus": [
"EX_175"
],
"route_class": "B",
"store": "iam8bit (Rare 40th Anniversary Box Set - the only IN-PRINT official carrier of Perfect Dark music)",
"url": "https://www.iam8bit.com/products/rare-40th-anniversary-box-set-4xlp",
"url_verified": "true - HTTP 200. Product confirmed as 4xLP box, $100.00, in stock. Description lists 18-19 titles including Perfect Dark and Perfect Dark Zero. No digital download offered.",
"format": "4xLP vinyl only - requires a turntable rip to produce files. Approx 2.5 hours across ~19 games.",
"drm_free": true,
"price_usd": 100.0,
"checked": "2026-08-05",
"notes": "HONEST READ: there is NO in-print way to buy Perfect Dark's score as a file. The 2013 pay-what-you-want Bandcamp release is GONE (verified: the real grantkirkhope.bandcamp.com has zero Perfect Dark content). The 2015 iam8bit Perfect Dark 2xLP - which DID contain the exact corpus cue 'dataDyne Central: Defection' - is delisted; its product URL now 404s. This 40th box is official and in print, but with ~2.5h spread over 19 titles it likely carries only one or two Perfect Dark cues and the per-disc tracklist is NOT published, so it may not contain 'dataDyne Central: Defection' at all. Do not buy it expecting that cue. The 2000 Nintendo Power 'Perfect Dark Dual CD Soundtrack' does contain it and is the true target, on the used market only.",
"substitute_if_unobtainable": "Used-market hunt for the 2000 Nintendo Power Dual CD (contains 'dataDyne Central-Defection' confirmed via tracklist) or the 2015 iam8bit 2xLP: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=perfect+dark+dual+cd+soundtrack (url_verified FALSE - eBay returns HTTP 403 to scripted checks; this is a standard search URL, not a deep link). For TENSION-class grammar that IS purchasable today, the Blast Corps route below is the same Rare N64 house and yields instant FLAC."
},
{
"album": "Spyro Reignited Trilogy (Official Game Soundtrack)",
"publisher": "Activision / Toys For Bob",
"tracks_in_corpus": [
"EX_038"
],
"route_class": "A (substitute - see notes)",
"store": "Apple iTunes Store",
"url": "https://music.apple.com/us/album/spyro-reignited-trilogy-official-game-soundtrack/1702933759",
"url_verified": "true - HTTP 200. iTunes lookup API confirms: 45 tracks, album price $9.99, per-track $1.29, released 2023-09-01, (P) 2023 Activision. Track 3 is confirmed as 'Artisans Home' - the exact corpus cue.",
"format": "256kbps AAC via iTunes Store purchase (DRM-free since 2009). Album or single track.",
"drm_free": true,
"price_usd": 9.99,
"checked": "2026-08-05",
"notes": "SUBSTITUTION DECLARED: the 1998 PS1 Spyro the Dragon score by Stewart Copeland was NEVER commercially released - there is no legitimate route to those original bytes. This is the 2018 Reignited re-recording, still credited to Stewart Copeland, and it is a faithful re-orchestration of the same composition. For the rig's purposes (lane interlap, drop/raise event grammar, tempo-as-function-of-time, harmonic pairing) the composition is preserved and the analysis is valid - but the ARRANGEMENT and production are modern, so instrumentation-density and timbre measurements will NOT match a PS1 source. Declare this in the formula card. Buying the single track 'Artisans Home' for $1.29 is sufficient if you only need EX_038.",
"substitute_if_unobtainable": "n/a - this IS the substitute. The original is unobtainable by any legitimate purchase."
},
{
"album": "Music from Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy (Original Game Soundtrack)",
"publisher": "Activision / Vicarious Visions Audio",
"tracks_in_corpus": [
"EX_039"
],
"route_class": "A (substitute - see notes)",
"store": "Apple iTunes Store",
"url": "https://music.apple.com/us/album/music-from-crash-bandicoot-n-sane-trilogy-original/1542800051",
"url_verified": "true - HTTP 200. iTunes lookup API confirms 47 tracks, album price $9.99. Full tracklist read.",
"format": "256kbps AAC via iTunes Store purchase, DRM-free.",
"drm_free": true,
"price_usd": 9.99,
"checked": "2026-08-05",
"notes": "SUBSTITUTION DECLARED, WITH A CAVEAT YOU SHOULD READ. The 1996 Josh Mancell / Mutato Muzika score was never officially released - no Bandcamp, no iTunes, nothing (searched and confirmed empty). This remake soundtrack is by Vicarious Visions Audio, NOT Josh Mancell, so it is a re-recording by a different team. Second caveat: I read all 47 track names and there is NO track literally named 'N. Sanity Beach'. Track 1 'Crash Bandicoot Main Theme' is the cue that plays on N. Sanity Beach in the 1996 game, so it is the right music under a different title - but verify by ear before the rig scores it as EX_039.",
"substitute_if_unobtainable": "n/a - this IS the substitute, and it is an imperfect one. If the rig needs authentic 1996 Mancell grammar, treat EX_039 as MISSING and let the rig declare it rather than measuring a different team's re-score."
},
{
"album": "Genso Suikoden II ORIGINAL GAME SOUNDTRACK Vol.1",
"publisher": "Konami (Konami Kukeiha Club)",
"tracks_in_corpus": [
"EX_163"
],
"route_class": "A",
"store": "Apple iTunes Store - JAPAN storefront",
"url": "https://music.apple.com/jp/album/1450241841",
"url_verified": "true - HTTP 200. iTunes lookup API (country=JP) confirms 47 tracks, album price 1528 JPY, per-track 255 JPY. Track 7 is the corpus cue: it carries the Kanji for Reminiscence in its title.",
"format": "256kbps AAC via iTunes Store purchase, DRM-free.",
"drm_free": true,
"price_usd": 10.5,
"checked": "2026-08-05",
"notes": "GENUINE ORIGINAL, NOT A SUBSTITUTE - this is Konami's real 1999 Miki Higashino score, legitimately purchasable. REGION-LOCKED: it is on the Japanese storefront only and does not appear on the US store. To buy it you need an Apple account with a Japanese billing region, funded by a JP iTunes gift card - a US card will be rejected. Price 1528 JPY converts to roughly $10.50 at current rates; the single track is 255 JPY (~$1.75). Vol.2 also exists (https://music.apple.com/jp/album/1450242173, HTTP 200, 58 tracks, 1528 JPY) but the corpus cue is on Vol.1 - you do not need both.",
"substitute_if_unobtainable": "Konami's official 7-CD 'Suikoden I&II HD Remaster OST' at the Konami store (https://www.oksgear.com/products/suikoden-i-ii-hd-remaster-ost-7-cd-set, HTTP 200, $79.99, 179 tracks) - but it reads SOLD OUT with a stale April 2025 delivery estimate, so treat it as closed. If the JP storefront is too much friction, this cue is worth the gift-card detour; it is the only MELANCHOLIC exemplar in this cluster available as a legitimate original."
},
{
"album": "Alundra Original Soundtrack",
"publisher": "SPE Visual Works / Antinos Records (Kohei Tanaka)",
"tracks_in_corpus": [
"EX_043"
],
"route_class": "B",
"store": "Used market only (eBay / Discogs) - Japanese import, out of print",
"url": "https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=alundra+original+soundtrack+cd",
"url_verified": "false - UNVERIFIED. eBay returns HTTP 403 to scripted requests, so I could not confirm live listings or price. This is eBay's standard search URL form, not a fabricated product link - it will resolve in a browser.",
"format": "Physical CD, Japanese import. Yields files after ripping.",
"drm_free": true,
"price_usd": null,
"checked": "2026-08-05",
"notes": "Confirmed absent from every digital storefront I checked - searched Apple US and JP for both the English and Japanese title plus the composer's name, zero official results. A commercial CD release does exist (1997, Japan only), so the used import is a real route, but I could not verify current price or availability because the marketplaces block automated checks. Expect collector pricing.",
"substitute_if_unobtainable": "For the same EXPLORATION village-theme grammar from a purchasable original, use Suikoden II Vol.1 (row above, Apple JP) or STAR OCEAN THE SECOND STORY ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK (https://music.apple.com/jp/album/1649921332, HTTP 200, 87 tracks, 3056 JPY, Apple JP) - both are same-era JP RPG scores in the same idiom."
},
{
"album": "Wild Arms Original Game Soundtrack",
"publisher": "Antinos Records, repressed 1999 by SPE Visual Works (Michiko Naruke)",
"tracks_in_corpus": [
"EX_121"
],
"route_class": "B",
"store": "Used market only (eBay / Discogs) - Japanese import, out of print",
"url": "https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=wild+arms+original+game+soundtrack+cd",
"url_verified": "false - UNVERIFIED. eBay returns HTTP 403 to scripted requests. Standard search URL form, not a fabricated deep link.",
"format": "Physical CD, Japanese import. Yields files after ripping.",
"drm_free": true,
"price_usd": null,
"checked": "2026-08-05",
"notes": "Released 1997-01-22, Japan only, never digitally reissued - I searched Apple JP for the Katakana title and the composer and got zero official hits. The corpus cue 'Into the Wilderness' is the whistled main theme and is the album's headline track. Discogs master for identification: https://www.discogs.com/master/1456166-Michiko-Naruke-Wild-Arms-Original-Game-Soundtrack (url_verified false - Discogs also returns HTTP 403 to scripted checks).",
"substitute_if_unobtainable": "No true substitute exists - Naruke's whistle-and-guitar Western idiom is unique in this corpus and that uniqueness is exactly why it is a TITLE_CHARACTER exemplar. If the import fails, let the rig declare EX_121 MISSING rather than measuring something else."
},
{
"album": "Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete - Soundtrack",
"publisher": "Working Designs / Game Arts (Noriyuki Iwadare)",
"tracks_in_corpus": [
"EX_164"
],
"route_class": "B",
"store": "Used market only (eBay / Discogs) - out of print",
"url": "https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=lunar+silver+star+story+complete+soundtrack+cd",
"url_verified": "false - UNVERIFIED. eBay returns HTTP 403 to scripted requests. Standard search URL form.",
"format": "Physical CD. Yields files after ripping.",
"drm_free": true,
"price_usd": null,
"checked": "2026-08-05",
"notes": "IMPORTANT NEGATIVE RESULT, CHECKED DIRECTLY: the 2025 LUNAR Remastered Collection has NO soundtrack DLC. I queried the Steam storefront API for app 3255380 - the dlc field is null, and the base game is $34.99. So buying the remaster does NOT get you the files. Apple JP and US searches for the album returned only fan covers, no official release.",
"substitute_if_unobtainable": "'Wind's Nocturne' is a vocal MELANCHOLIC piece; the closest purchasable original in this cluster carrying that same grammar is the Suikoden II Vol.1 row above. Otherwise let the rig declare EX_164 MISSING."
},
{
"album": "Harvest Moon 64 (Bokujou Monogatari 2) - soundtrack",
"publisher": "Victor Interactive Software (Tsuyoshi Tanaka)",
"tracks_in_corpus": [
"EX_044"
],
"route_class": "D",
"store": "None found",
"url": "https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=bokujou+monogatari+2+soundtrack+cd",
"url_verified": "false - UNVERIFIED. eBay returns HTTP 403 to scripted requests. Offered only as a speculative search, not as a known-good route.",
"format": "n/a",
"drm_free": null,
"price_usd": null,
"checked": "2026-08-05",
"notes": "NOT LEGITIMATELY OBTAINABLE, stated plainly. I could not confirm that a commercial soundtrack album for this game was ever released at all - Apple JP searches for the Japanese title returned nothing related, and no official digital or physical release surfaced. This is the weakest row in the cluster. Do not spend time hunting it.",
"substitute_if_unobtainable": "'Goddess Pond' is a pastoral EXPLORATION loop. The purchasable stand-in with the closest grammar is the Ape Escape Originape Soundtracks row below ($9.99, US store, no region friction) for warm-loop construction, though its idiom is house rather than pastoral. Better: accept EX_044 as MISSING and let the rig declare it - the pilot rule only needs 10 tracks spanning the seven classes and EXPLORATION is already well covered by Banjo-Kazooie's two."
},
{
"album": "MediEvil (1998) - Original Soundtrack",
"publisher": "Sony Computer Entertainment (Bob & Barn - Andrew Barnabas & Paul Arnold)",
"tracks_in_corpus": [
"EX_171"
],
"route_class": "D",
"store": "None - no official release exists",
"url": "https://www.bobandbarn.com/tracks/",
"url_verified": "true - HTTP 200, but it is the composers' portfolio page and sells nothing. No store, no Bandcamp, no download links.",
"format": "n/a",
"drm_free": null,
"price_usd": null,
"checked": "2026-08-05",
"notes": "NOT LEGITIMATELY OBTAINABLE. Checked and eliminated: (1) the composers' own site bobandbarn.com has no store; (2) Laced Records does NOT carry it - I searched their catalogue and the six 'medievil' hits were all DOOM: The Dark Ages products, a false match; (3) Apple US, GB and JP return only unrelated fan singles. Only the 2005 MediEvil Resurrection score got a commercial CD, which is a different, orchestral re-scoring of the game, not the PS1 cue you logged.",
"substitute_if_unobtainable": "MediEvil Resurrection Original Soundtrack (Prague Philharmonic, Nic Raine) is the same composers writing the same game's material and IS findable used on Amazon - but it is a full orchestral re-scoring, so it carries the melody and not the PS1 TENSION production grammar. For TENSION specifically, buy Blast Corps (row below) instead: $39, instant FLAC, verified in stock, and it is genuinely tense N64-era Rare material."
},
{
"album": "Blast Corps - Original Soundtrack (CLUSTER EXPANSION - Rare, not yet in corpus)",
"publisher": "Rare / Microsoft (Graeme Norgate), released by Fangamer",
"tracks_in_corpus": [],
"route_class": "A",
"store": "Fangamer (official)",
"url": "https://www.fangamer.com/products/blast-corps-vinyl-ost",
"url_verified": "true - HTTP 200. Parsed price field 3900 cents. Body contains verbatim 'Each Blast Corps vinyl purchase includes an instant digital download of the full soundtrack in MP3, WAV, or FLAC.' 32 tracks by Graeme Norgate.",
"format": "Instant digital download: FLAC / WAV / MP3, plus 2LP vinyl.",
"drm_free": true,
"price_usd": 39.0,
"checked": "2026-08-05",
"notes": "SWEEP FINDING, not in your list - surfaced while auditing Fangamer's catalogue. Graeme Norgate is one of the three credited composers on your Perfect Dark cue EX_175, and Blast Corps is the same Rare N64 house and era. Since Perfect Dark itself is unobtainable as files, THIS is the way to get authentic Norgate/Rare TENSION grammar onto disk legitimately and instantly, in FLAC, for $39. Recommend buying it alongside Banjo-Kazooie.",
"substitute_if_unobtainable": "n/a - in stock and verified."
},
{
"album": "Ape Escape - Originape Soundtracks (CLUSTER EXPANSION - named in brief, not yet in corpus)",
"publisher": "Sony / Soichi Terada",
"tracks_in_corpus": [],
"route_class": "A",
"store": "Apple iTunes Store - US storefront",
"url": "https://music.apple.com/us/album/484461254",
"url_verified": "true - HTTP 200. iTunes lookup API confirms album price $9.99 on the US store, artist Soichi Terada.",
"format": "256kbps AAC via iTunes Store purchase, DRM-free.",
"drm_free": true,
"price_usd": 9.99,
"checked": "2026-08-05",
"notes": "You named Ape Escape in the cluster but no corpus track cites it yet. Good news: Terada's Ape Escape score IS officially purchasable on the US store with no region friction - one of only a handful of PS1-era JP titles in this whole cluster that is. Ape Escape 3 is also available ($17.99, id 541254451). Fangamer additionally sells an Ape Escape vinyl (https://www.fangamer.com/products/ape-escape-vinyl-soichi-terada, HTTP 200, $29.00) but it is only six tracks and mentions NO digital download - buy the iTunes album instead.",
"substitute_if_unobtainable": "n/a - in stock and verified."
},
{
"album": "Genso Suikoden ORIGINAL GAME SOUNDTRACK (Suikoden I) (CLUSTER EXPANSION)",
"publisher": "Konami (Konami Kukeiha Club)",
"tracks_in_corpus": [],
"route_class": "A",
"store": "Apple iTunes Store - JAPAN storefront",
"url": "https://music.apple.com/jp/album/1450241976",
"url_verified": "true - HTTP 200. iTunes lookup API (country=JP) confirms 58 tracks, 1528 JPY.",
"format": "256kbps AAC, DRM-free.",
"drm_free": true,
"price_usd": 10.5,
"checked": "2026-08-05",
"notes": "You named 'Suikoden I-II' - only II has a corpus track, but I is equally purchasable and sits on the same JP storefront, so buy both in one JP-account session if you are going to the trouble of a gift card at all.",
"substitute_if_unobtainable": "n/a"
},
{
"album": "STAR OCEAN THE SECOND STORY ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK (CLUSTER EXPANSION)",
"publisher": "Square Enix (Motoi Sakuraba)",
"tracks_in_corpus": [],
"route_class": "A",
"store": "Apple iTunes Store - JAPAN storefront",
"url": "https://music.apple.com/jp/album/1649921332",
"url_verified": "true - HTTP 200. iTunes lookup API (country=JP) confirms 87 tracks, 3056 JPY.",
"format": "256kbps AAC, DRM-free.",
"drm_free": true,
"price_usd": 21.0,
"checked": "2026-08-05",
"notes": "You named Star Ocean; no corpus track cites it yet. It IS purchasable, JP storefront only, 87 tracks - the largest legitimate haul in this cluster and a strong BATTLE/BOSS grammar source (Sakuraba's prog-rock battle idiom). Bundle with the two Suikoden buys on the same JP account.",
"substitute_if_unobtainable": "n/a"
},
{
"album": "Conker's Bad Fur Day - Vinyl Soundtrack (CLUSTER EXPANSION)",
"publisher": "Rare / Microsoft, released by iam8bit",
"tracks_in_corpus": [],
"route_class": "B",
"store": "iam8bit (official)",
"url": "https://www.iam8bit.com/products/conker-s-bad-fur-day-vinyl-soundtrack-2xlp",
"url_verified": "true - HTTP 200, product page live in iam8bit's Rare collection.",
"format": "2xLP vinyl - no digital download offered. Requires a turntable rip.",
"drm_free": true,
"price_usd": null,
"checked": "2026-08-05",
"notes": "You named Conker. It is in print at iam8bit but vinyl-only, so it costs you a rip to get files. No corpus track cites it yet, so this is optional - only buy if you want Conker grammar specifically.",
"substitute_if_unobtainable": "Rare 40th Anniversary Box Set carries Conker's Bad Fur Day and Conker Live & Reloaded tracks."
},
{
"album": "Banjo-Tooie (CLUSTER EXPANSION)",
"publisher": "Rare / Microsoft (Grant Kirkhope)",
"tracks_in_corpus": [],
"route_class": "B",
"store": "iam8bit (only via the Rare 40th Anniversary Box Set)",
"url": "https://www.iam8bit.com/products/rare-40th-anniversary-box-set-4xlp",
"url_verified": "true - HTTP 200, $100.00, in stock, description explicitly lists Banjo-Tooie.",
"format": "4xLP vinyl only, no digital.",
"drm_free": true,
"price_usd": 100.0,
"checked": "2026-08-05",
"notes": "You named Banjo-Tooie. There is no standalone Banjo-Tooie release in print and no digital route - the old Kirkhope Bandcamp upload is gone. Checked https://www.fangamer.com/products/banjo-tooie-vinyl-soundtrack directly: HTTP 404, no such product. The 40th box is the only official carrier.",
"substitute_if_unobtainable": "The Fangamer Banjo-Kazooie 164-track FLAC download already gives you deep Kirkhope EXPLORATION grammar from the same composer and engine; Tooie adds little the rig cannot already measure."
},
{
"album": "The Legend of Dragoon (Original Soundtrack) (CLUSTER EXPANSION)",
"publisher": "Sony Interactive Entertainment (Takeo Miratsu, Dennis Martin)",
"tracks_in_corpus": [],
"route_class": "C",
"store": "Apple Music - STREAMING ONLY, not a purchase",
"url": "https://music.apple.com/us/album/1082681268",
"url_verified": "true - HTTP 200. iTunes lookup API confirms the album exists with 50 tracks, but collectionPrice is NULL - it is stream-only and cannot be bought.",
"format": "Streaming only. Yields NO file on disk.",
"drm_free": false,
"price_usd": null,
"checked": "2026-08-05",
"notes": "Saying this plainly rather than dressing it up: this is officially released but NOT purchasable. A stream is worth nearly nothing to the measurement rig. Every other 'Legend of Dragoon' result on the store is a fan cover or metal-remake album by unrelated artists - do not buy those by mistake, they are not the SIE score.",
"substitute_if_unobtainable": "No purchase route found. If a Dragoon cue is ever wanted in the corpus, treat it as MISSING."
},
{
"album": "GoldenEye 007 (CLUSTER EXPANSION)",
"publisher": "Rare / Nintendo / MGM (Graeme Norgate, Grant Kirkhope, Robin Beanland)",
"tracks_in_corpus": [],
"route_class": "D",
"store": "None",
"url": "https://www.iam8bit.com/collections/rare",
"url_verified": "true - HTTP 200. I enumerated all 50+ product slugs in iam8bit's official Rare collection; there is NO GoldenEye product. Also absent from Fangamer's vinyl catalogue and from the Rare 40th box's stated title list.",
"format": "n/a",
"drm_free": null,
"price_usd": null,
"checked": "2026-08-05",
"notes": "NOT LEGITIMATELY OBTAINABLE, and structurally unlikely ever to be - the Bond music rights sit with MGM/EON, not Rare, which is why GoldenEye is the one Rare title missing from every official Rare release including the 40th anniversary box. Do not go looking.",
"substitute_if_unobtainable": "Blast Corps (row above) is Graeme Norgate writing in the same year for the same studio, and it yields instant FLAC for $39. That is the closest legitimate GoldenEye-adjacent grammar available."
},
{
"album": "Diddy Kong Racing (CLUSTER EXPANSION)",
"publisher": "Rare / Nintendo (David Wise)",
"tracks_in_corpus": [],
"route_class": "D",
"store": "None",
"url": "https://www.iam8bit.com/collections/rare",
"url_verified": "true - HTTP 200. Enumerated the full Rare collection product list; no Diddy Kong Racing product exists. Not in the 40th box's title list either.",
"format": "n/a",
"drm_free": null,
"price_usd": null,
"checked": "2026-08-05",
"notes": "NOT LEGITIMATELY OBTAINABLE. Nintendo co-owns the Donkey Kong family characters, which keeps it out of Microsoft-side Rare releases. Note: the Donkey Kong Country tracks already in your corpus (EX_027, EX_028, EX_153) are also David Wise and also Rare-developed but Nintendo-published - those sit in the NINTENDO purchase lane, not this one, so another researcher should be covering them.",
"substitute_if_unobtainable": "David Wise grammar is already represented in the corpus through the DKC rows; route those via the Nintendo lane."
},
{
"album": "Grandia - Original Soundtrack (CLUSTER EXPANSION)",
"publisher": "Game Arts (Noriyuki Iwadare)",
"tracks_in_corpus": [],
"route_class": "D",
"store": "None found",
"url": "https://music.apple.com/jp",
"url_verified": "true - HTTP 200 for the storefront root. Searched Apple JP for the Katakana title plus 'original soundtrack'; zero official results, only an unrelated symphonic-suite album and fan covers.",
"format": "n/a",
"drm_free": null,
"price_usd": null,
"checked": "2026-08-05",
"notes": "NOT LEGITIMATELY OBTAINABLE digitally. No corpus track cites it, so this is informational. Out-of-print JP CDs exist on the used market.",
"substitute_if_unobtainable": "Same composer as Lunar (Iwadare); both are blocked. Use Suikoden II / Star Ocean 2 for same-era JP RPG grammar."
},
{
"album": "Valkyrie Profile - Original Soundtrack (CLUSTER EXPANSION)",
"publisher": "Square Enix / tri-Ace (Motoi Sakuraba)",
"tracks_in_corpus": [],
"route_class": "D",
"store": "None found",
"url": "https://music.apple.com/jp",
"url_verified": "true - HTTP 200 for the storefront root. Searched Apple JP for the Katakana title; the only Sakuraba results were Valkyrie Elysium (2022) and Star Ocean, not Valkyrie Profile.",
"format": "n/a",
"drm_free": null,
"price_usd": null,
"checked": "2026-08-05",
"notes": "NOT LEGITIMATELY OBTAINABLE. No corpus track cites it, so informational only.",
"substitute_if_unobtainable": "STAR OCEAN THE SECOND STORY ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK (row above) is the same composer, same era, same battle idiom, and IS purchasable at 3056 JPY. Use it as the Sakuraba grammar carrier."
}
],
"recommended_buy_order": [
"1. Fangamer Banjo-Kazooie $68 - instant 164-track FLAC, covers 2 corpus tracks, LIMITED STOCK, buy first",
"2. Fangamer Blast Corps $39 - instant FLAC, the legitimate stand-in for the unobtainable Perfect Dark/Norgate grammar",
"3. Apple US: Spyro Reignited $9.99 + Crash N. Sane $9.99 + Ape Escape $9.99 - no region friction, ~$30 total",
"4. Apple JP session (needs a JP-region account + JP gift card): Suikoden II Vol.1 + Suikoden I + Star Ocean 2, ~6100 JPY total - do all three in one sitting",
"5. Optional physical: Rare 40th box $100 (vinyl only, tracklist unpublished - lowest value per dollar to the rig)"
],
"already_owned_check": "None of this cluster is bundled with a game you may already own. I checked the two candidates directly against the Steam API: LUNAR Remastered Collection (app 3255380) and Suikoden I&II HD Remaster (app 1932640) BOTH return a null dlc field - neither sells a soundtrack DLC, so owning the games gets you no files. There is no GOG/Steam soundtrack bundle anywhere in this cluster.",
"totals": {
"albums": 21,
"class_a": 8,
"class_b": 6,
"class_c": 1,
"class_d": 6
},
"corpus_tracks_covered": [
"EX_036",
"EX_038",
"EX_039",
"EX_043",
"EX_044",
"EX_121",
"EX_134",
"EX_163",
"EX_164",
"EX_171",
"EX_175"
]
}