Samantha Ballard

Going live on twitch.tv/ongakuoverdrive for their annual charity livestream! Stream starts at 6 PM ET and I’m on just before 8 PM ET. See you then!

1 week ago | [YT] | 29

Samantha Ballard

I can’t tell you how gratifying it is, after so many years of doing this, so see that number over one million for the second year in a row. But truly none of it would be possible with you, choosing to listen to my music.
Thank you so much, especially on an album release year. And an extra shoutout to the 101 of you who had me as your top artist ❤️❤️

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1 week ago | [YT] | 94

Samantha Ballard

Join me and an incredible lineup of musicians for a night of live video game music in support of Give Kids the World Village! The stream starts at 6pm EST next Sunday, Dec. 7 on the Ongaku Overdrive Twitch channel.

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 43

Samantha Ballard

Before I get consumed by Octopath 0, I thought I would share my thoughts on Final Fantasy Tactics!
The remaster was my first time ever playing it, so I was excited to see what all the fuss was about.
I definitely had fun with the gameplay and enjoyed getting into the mechanics (though honestly, I feel like I barely scratched the surface). Levelling jobs was both exciting to see what new skills would unlock but also so stressful to try and decide how to build my team 😂 I unlocked arithmetician but never used it because it didn’t fit with my build (and also it get intimidating), and I never unlocked mime (or at least I’m assuming it’s mime, but again I didn’t unlock it lol).
My final build was Ramza as dual wielding samurai, Beowulf and Orlandeau as their unique classes, generic white/time mate and generic black mage/chemist (honestly his casting really fell off and for a while was using oration to buff my generics’ stats and then was the total item mule lol).
I did do a bit of poaching which came in clutch on multiple occasions! Got a barrette from a red chocobo and managed to tame a pig for the perfume near the end of the game, so that felt pretty cool.
It was definitely more grindy than I tend to prefer, but it is an older game, so I was okay with forgiving that.
There were a few things like that for me - in some ways I feel like I almost came at this game with a more anthropological lens than just judging it how I would a modern release.
(Possible story spoilers ahead)
I thought the story and political intrigue were interesting, although I felt that the added dialogue actually detracted a lot from the overall message of the game. Truthfully, from the way all the characters kept yelling about it, I thought it was going to be a game about class struggles and dynamics but it honestly really wasn’t 😂 so I felt a bit confused with the way the game ended at first.
Definitely felt the mechanic of bad guys running away was overused, but again, I’ll forgive it.
All in all, I’d say I had enough fun to get me to the end, but it didn’t really excite me all that much. But, I can see why it’s some people’s favourite, especially if you played it when it first came out. 7/10
(Photo is from when I cheesed the Wiegraf fight and laughed my butt off when the damage predictor read 999 damage hahaha)

1 month ago | [YT] | 64

Samantha Ballard

Hey all! Just letting you know my harp studio is currently taking new students. If you've been thinking of working with a harp teacher, head to studio.samanthaballardharp.com/ to book a call with me and see if we'd be a good fit!
(Link is also in my channel description)

1 month ago | [YT] | 43

Samantha Ballard

No stream today! I'm getting ready for my album release concert tomorrow. (If you live in Winnipeg, check it out!) See you for stream next week :)

2 months ago | [YT] | 55

Samantha Ballard

Thanks so much for listening everyone 🙏

2 months ago | [YT] | 64

Samantha Ballard

FINALLY got my hands on the CDs after some manufacturing delays!! They’re so preeetttyyyyyyyyyyyyy
I’ll be working on getting preorders shipped out as soon as I can, and if you want to get your hands on one of the 37 currently left, head to my bandcamp!!!
P.S. Patrons, you can see your names on the liner notes in the third picture 😄

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2 months ago | [YT] | 92

Samantha Ballard

DAWN'S LIGHT IS OUT TODAY!
My new album of Octopath Traveler II harp covers is now available on Spotify, Apple Music, Youtube Music, Bandcamp, and more!
Go stream it right now OR buy directly from me and get an exclusive BONUS TRACK not available on streaming services.
Or.. both? 🤔 haha.
Seriously though, go give it a listen and let me know what you think. I've been pouring my blood, sweat, and tears into this thing for nearly 2 years and I am SO glad to finally send it directly into your ears and finally share this with the world.
Thank you so so much to my patrons, to everyone who preordered, to my husband Eric who puts up with me losing my mind all the time over all the stressful moments, and to you, for listening.
THANK YOU!!!
#harp #octopathtraveler #squareenix #vgm #gamemusic #album

2 months ago | [YT] | 55

Samantha Ballard

Dawn's Light comes out TOMORROW!!!! Come listen to the album together with me tomorrow, Sept. 18 at 11:00 am Central Time (that's the normal stream time)!

2 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 37