Aight, the concert ended just a little over two hours ago, so even though I'm dog tired, I'll write my report on it now before I forget too many details.
Simply put, the concert was magnificent. The orchestra seemed to have grown larger compared to last year, and I wasn't even talking about the addition of the choir which consisted of I think at least a couple of dozen members. It was a grand spectacle to see and hear them play in Hamer Hall, which is a huge amphitheatre housing an open stage, three levels (two balcony levels) with an huge pipe organ in the back.
I was lucky enough to be seated on the third row to the front on the top balcony. From there, I could see pretty much straight down to the orchestra down below. The theatre was packed with people. Just to explain how packed, I was sitting on Row C on the top balcony. That balcony goes all the way to Row M and would typically contain enough people in your fairly decent size cinema. The top balcony was perhaps the smallest of the levels. So yeah... a lot of people saw the orchestra, and of course, your videos.
For two hours, I was having goosebumps all over as the orchestra played. The highlight of the evening for me were the music in combination with the videos from Mario Bros, Metal Gear Solid, Legend of Zelda and Kingdom Hearts. If I had to pick a favourite, it would be the Metal Gear Solid track. I think the orchestra and that video were right on side by side tonight. Typically in a live performance, videos and the performance gets out of sync, but the Metal Gear Solid track really was just superb enough to counter this (or was lucky enough to be fully synced

).
There was a draw for some prizes at the end of the night, and whenever a winner was pulled out, the victory music from Final Fantasy was played. I just thought I'd mention that quaint experience
Oooh, the guest composers for the night were Go Shiina, Junichi Nakatsuru and Hitoshi Sakimoto. I was far too hungry by the end of the concert to wait in line for an autograph and when I returned later after dinner, there was still a long line, and since I didn't think I'd have much chance of sneaking in to the Eminence after party (I think my luck only stretches so far), I decided to call it a night.
I wasn't really disappointed with much, however I was actually expecting more from Final Fantasy 7, in particular One Winged Angel. Also, there was no Katamari track either. Oh, and I'm sorry to say this for those curious, but none of us here were in the credits of the program book this time around.
Anyway, I'm going to pass out now. Been an exciting night and it's all just been very draining, so I end my summary of the night here.