Motoi Sakuraba is a composer and keyboardist with an overwhelming presence in the world of game music. Having colored numerous classic games including the "Star Ocean", "Valkyrie Profile", and "Tales of" series, he releases two completely newly written albums at the same time. The lineup is a keyboard trio centered on Motoi Sakuraba's keyboards, with Atsushi Hasegawa on bass and Yoshinori Imai on drums. It is a dense band sound that unfolds while taking in the resonance of vintage keyboards such as the Hammond C3, KORG CX-3, MINIMOOG, PROPHET-10, and Mellotron throughout, and making full use of acoustic piano and synthesizers as well. From beautiful, lyrical melodies to dramatic developments that call to mind a grand story, and on to surging playing that even suggests a fierce battle scene, each song shows a different face, while what runs through the whole is the overwhelming constructive power that only Motoi Sakuraba has, carrying you straight through all 14 songs up to the title track "Philosophical Return". It also includes liner notes by Sakuraba himself with commentary on every song, something fans will covet. This is a disc we strongly recommend not only to game music fans but also to lovers of progressive rock, symphonic rock, and keyboard trios. Commentary included. Liner notes enclosed.