Uploaded April 2013 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Valiant Mirror (鏡の威力), a Final Fantasy SNES, PS1 Inspired turn-based JRPG is coming soon to Kickstarter:
kickstarter.com/projects/studioishiwata/valiant-mirror
Final Fantasy Acoustic Renditions are covers produced with a fusion of preformed acoustic instruments with a handful of virtual instruments. The album stays honest and true to Uematsu's beautiful original compositions by creating a human element from using high definition acoustic recordings.
Eiko is a game composer specializing in RPGs. Her notable game credits include 'The Girl and The Robot' and 'Earthlock'.
Produced, performed, mixed & mastered by Eiko (Ishiwata) Nichols.
Check out Eiko's other Final Fantasy covers and her original music here:
eikoishiwata.com
ayco.bandcamp.com
facebook.com/#!/pages/Eiko-Ishiwatas-Music-Remixes/137626216278557
twitter.com/#!/eikoishiwata Valiant Mirror (鏡の威力), a Final Fantasy VI Inspired turn-based JRPG is coming soon to Kickstarter:
kickstarter.com/projects/studioishiwata/valiant-mirror © 2015 Buy all 22 tracks here: ffviar.com
Final Fantasy VI Acoustic Renditions are covers produced with a fusion of preformed acoustic instruments with a handful of virtual instruments. The album stays honest and true to Uematsu's beautiful original compositions by creating a human element from using high definition acoustic recordings.
Eiko is a game composer specializing in RPGs. Her notable game credits include 'The Girl and The Robot' and 'Earthlock'.
Produced, performed, mixed & mastered by Eiko (Ishiwata) Nichols.
Check out Eiko's other Final Fantasy covers and her original music here:
eikoishiwata.com
ayco.bandcamp.com
facebook.com/#!/pages/Eiko-Ishiwatas-Music-Remixes/137626216278557
twitter.com/#!/eikoishiwata eikoishiwata.com
aycomusic.com
DOWNLOAD HIGH QUALITY VERSION HERE:
eikoishiwata.com/2012/playlist/ffviacousticrendition/ffviacousticrendition.html
Join my Facebook Info page:
facebook.com/pages/Eiko-Ishiwatas-Music-Remixes/137626216278557
Acoustically performed and recorded version of Castle Damcyan using real acoustic orchestral instrument in addition to virtual instruments/sample library instruments. As close as possible to the original MIDI arrangement.
Recorded in Whisper Room Isobooth with Shure SM27 condenser mic and AEA R84 Ribbon mic Apogee Duet
Recorded Acoustic Instrumentation:
Eastman VL-80 Violin recorded and layered 3 times
No-name handmade Viola recorded and layered 3 times
Yamaha YFL-225SAC Flute
Epiphone Embassy Special IV Bass guitar
Other Worlds Celtic 22-String Harp
Performed, recorded, edited, mixed and mastered by Eiko Ishiwata Nichols.
Sample Libraries/Virtual Instruments:
EZ Drummer Drumkit
Composed by Nobuo Uematsu
If people would like to use this version, please credit Eiko Ishiwata Nichols as the performer and engineer.
A Canadian composer and multi-instrumentalist living in Vancouver for film, television, games etc.
PLEASE CHECK OUT MY CHANNEL FOR MORE MUSIC FROM UEMATSU AND ORIGINAL MUSIC FROM EIKO ISHIWATA.
Note to Youtube: This is for non-commercial use. Only used as to Demo my Skills.
©2013
Valiant Mirror (鏡の威力), a Final Fantasy SNES, PS1 Inspired turn-based JRPG is coming soon to Kickstarter:
kickstarter.com/projects/studioishiwata/valiant-mirror
Final Fantasy Acoustic Renditions are covers produced with a fusion of preformed acoustic instruments with a handful of virtual instruments. The album stays honest and true to Uematsu's beautiful original compositions by creating a human element from using high definition acoustic recordings.
Eiko is a game composer specializing in RPGs. Her notable game credits include 'The Girl and The Robot' and 'Earthlock'.
Produced, performed, mixed & mastered by Eiko (Ishiwata) Nichols.
Check out Eiko's other Final Fantasy covers and her original music here:
eikoishiwata.com
ayco.bandcamp.com
facebook.com/#!/pages/Eiko-Ishiwatas-Music-Remixes/137626216278557
twitter.com/#!/eikoishiwata Valiant Mirror (鏡の威力), a Final Fantasy VI Inspired turn-based JRPG is coming soon to Kickstarter:
kickstarter.com/projects/studioishiwata/valiant-mirror © 2015 Buy all 22 tracks here: ffviar.com
Final Fantasy VI Acoustic Renditions are covers produced with a fusion of preformed acoustic instruments with a handful of virtual instruments. The album stays honest and true to Uematsu's beautiful original compositions by creating a human element from using high definition acoustic recordings.
Eiko is a game composer specializing in RPGs. Her notable game credits include 'The Girl and The Robot' and 'Earthlock'.
Produced, performed, mixed & mastered by Eiko (Ishiwata) Nichols.
Check out Eiko's other Final Fantasy covers and her original music here:
eikoishiwata.com
ayco.bandcamp.com
facebook.com/#!/pages/Eiko-Ishiwatas-Music-Remixes/137626216278557
twitter.com/#!/eikoishiwata eikoishiwata.com
aycomusic.com
DOWNLOAD HIGH QUALITY VERSION HERE:
eikoishiwata.com/2012/playlist/ffviacousticrendition/ffviacousticrendition.html
Join my Facebook Info page:
facebook.com/pages/Eiko-Ishiwatas-Music-Remixes/137626216278557
Acoustically performed and recorded version of Castle Damcyan using real acoustic orchestral instrument in addition to virtual instruments/sample library instruments. As close as possible to the original MIDI arrangement.
Recorded in Whisper Room Isobooth with Shure SM27 condenser mic and AEA R84 Ribbon mic Apogee Duet
Recorded Acoustic Instrumentation:
Eastman VL-80 Violin recorded and layered 3 times
No-name handmade Viola recorded and layered 3 times
Yamaha YFL-225SAC Flute
Epiphone Embassy Special IV Bass guitar
Other Worlds Celtic 22-String Harp
Performed, recorded, edited, mixed and mastered by Eiko Ishiwata Nichols.
Sample Libraries/Virtual Instruments:
EZ Drummer Drumkit
Composed by Nobuo Uematsu
If people would like to use this version, please credit Eiko Ishiwata Nichols as the performer and engineer.
A Canadian composer and multi-instrumentalist living in Vancouver for film, television, games etc.
PLEASE CHECK OUT MY CHANNEL FOR MORE MUSIC FROM UEMATSU AND ORIGINAL MUSIC FROM EIKO ISHIWATA.
Note to Youtube: This is for non-commercial use. Only used as to Demo my Skills.
©2013
![Eiko Ishiwata Shares Valiant Mirror Trailer on The Leanne Newton Show
Gouache-painted animation trailer, shelved since 2021, shown publicly for the first time.
Japanese-Canadian artist and composer Eiko Ishiwata premiered the long-unreleased trailer for her animated game project Valiant Mirror on a recent episode of The Leanne Newton Show. The trailer, built around Eiko Ishiwata’s hand-painted gouache artwork, had been shelved since 2021 due to surrounding controversy and what she describes as an emotionally charged creative history.
“Yes, I kept it offline,” Ishiwata said during the broadcast. “I haven’t accessed the files since 2021. When I looked for it, I was quite emotional… I couldn’t really remember where I put it.”
The trailer was originally created for a Kickstarter campaign, but never released. “I put a lot of effort into it,” she explained. “I think I painted around 70 paintings in one year… and I only took like a day or two off for Christmas to try to meet the deadline.” The project was paused when parallels with a mainstream show emerged. “Then we discovered Mythic Quest… and also our best discretion [was] to cancel the Kickstarter until we [could] solve this.”
Valiant Mirror is a Japanese Role-Playing Game (JRPG) prototype with a retro cinematic style that plays more like an interactive animation than a conventional game, drawing comparisons to the 1983 arcade classic Dragon’s Lair. The animation is fully hand-painted using gouache on watercolor paper. “It’s one of the hardest mediums to use,” Ishiwata noted, explaining that it allowed for visual effects “in between watercolor and acrylic.” Her visual workflow included scanning, digitizing, and animating in Spine, a tool commonly used in video game production.
The trailer was co-created by Eiko Ishiwata and her longtime collaborator Brett Douglas McDowell. “Brett was the one directing it,” she said. “He did a lot of the camera movements and editing… I did the artwork, the animation, the music, and the sound design.” And the underscore was mastered by Greg Mindorff. The trailer blends Ishiwata’s hand-painted gouache artwork with cinematic visual effects, creating a distinct hybrid of retro Japanese technique and modern game prototyping.
After the trailer aired, Newton asked if she planned to complete the full game. Ishiwata hesitated but said yes, emotionally:
“It’s been a long time since I’ve actually thought of it… I want to finish it. During the heat of the conflict, I felt like I was done. I didn’t want to do it anymore… I was worried about people possibly plagiarizing it again.”
Ishiwata confirmed that the game’s core theme was self-defense against toxic behavior:
“The whole reason we did this game is to teach gamers about toxic behaviors, like narcissistic behaviors, so young people… can learn how to properly defend themselves.”
The Valiant Mirror segment arrives amid growing cultural conversations about creative authorship and representation in media. In recent months, artists and commentators—including Leanne Newton, Kassidy O’Connell, Ashley Brianna Eve, In Frame with Mandy Magnan and many others—have explored questions of credit, visibility, and originality in creative industries. While the trailer makes no reference to any public controversy, its resurfacing has resonated with audiences engaged in these ongoing debates across gaming and entertainment.
The episode also included a retrospective of Ishiwata’s early art, and the animated debut of “Newton,” a character she designed for educational legal literacy content.
The trailer for Valiant Mirror will be made available later this month on Eiko Ishiwata’s YouTube channel, accompanied by an artist statement.
Link to full Video (Leanne Newton, Special Guest - Eiko Ishiwata) https://www.youtube.com/live/p5MmLOREpws?si=1USfr-8ke0muk8DA
Leanne Newton Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@leannenewton1572
Brett Douglas McDowell Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@brettdouglasmcdowell Eiko Ishiwata Shares Valiant Mirror Trailer on The Leanne Newton Show](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/afOqsX6ExUc/mqdefault.jpg)









