Samurai Legend Musashi

[Karizuma]

The soundtrack to Samurai Legend Musashi, according to Game Music Revolution, is supposed to be released on the 21st of July, 2005.

It's supposed to be an awesome score, composed by Masashi Hamauzu, Junya Nakano, and two other composers.

Does Cocoebiz plan on stocking this soundtrack?

[squaretex]

I haven't seen anything indicating she will. Personally, I preordered from CDJapan, and it came in last week.

And in spite of the fact that it has the same one-loop syndrome as Unlimited SaGa, it's still a very good soundtrack.

[Fatigue]

Personaly, I don't think it's as strong as Hamauzu's or Nakano's previous efforts but I was pleased at Wavelink Zeal Team's contributions. A strong effort.

[squaretex]

I noticed you were having some trouble explaining that over at Chudah's Corner. ;)

I really don't know yet how it compared to Hamauzu and Nakano's previous work. All I know is that it's a very fun soundtrack to listen to. And it only makes me hungrier for Dirge of Cerberus.

...but what will Nakano be doing next?

[Fatigue]

I noticed you were having some trouble explaining that over at Chudah's Corner. ;)

Haha, well Varius is having trouble understanding musical differences between Musashiden II and previous Hamauzu works and also having trouble noting the differences between Drag-on Dragoon 2 Original Soundtrack and Drag-on Dragoon Original Soundtrack Vol.2

[squaretex]

Yeah. Absolutely mind-boggling. :P
And I'm having a little trouble getting over the fact that he thinks Unlimited SaGa was terrible.

[Zenning]

Yeah. Absolutely mind-boggling. :P
And I'm having a little trouble getting over the fact that he thinks Unlimited SaGa was terrible.
Hahaha! I was always of the mindset that people thought Unlimited SaGa was terrible, too, but maybe those people were just talking about the game, not necessarily the music? I, myself, have a particular fondness for the soundtrack of Unlimited SaGa.


Anyway, my two cents about the Samurai Legend Musashi soundtrack:

The opinions on this soundtrack are obviously very clearly divided; fortunately, I don’t have to rely on these opinions alone for, I, from what it seems, am the only one here who had the privilege of playing the game first before the listening solely to soundtrack, and I saw the context that it’s used in. Of course, for a lot of the pieces, upon hearing them for the first time, had me saying "I need to get this soundtrack."

There certainly is more classical-styled work on this soundtrack than I originally thought. I forgot all about the Maidens’ themes: “Mystical Princess,” “Mystical Princess (Casual Version),” “Gaia Serenade,” “Full Heart,” “Aqua Memory,” “Symphony of Fire (First Movement),” “Symphony of Fire (Second Movement),” and “Courage” are all easily distinguishable as Hamauzu pieces, and I will agree with you if you say they resemble the style Hamauzu used on Unlimited SaGa.

Specific Samurai Legend Musashi pieces that resemble Unlimited SaGa pieces:

(1) "Gorpus’s Vendetta" = "Battle (Second Movement)."
(2) "Valiant Dreamer" = "Journey through Time and Space."
(3) "Mystical Princess (Casual Version)" = "Soaring Wings."

(If I knew the mathematical symbol for "like" I'd use it).

Other Samurai Legend Musashi pieces that sound like descendants of Unlimited SaGa : "Boss Battle (First Movement)," "Dark Legacy," and "Holy War." The string sections on all of these are splendid.

And, of course, let us not forget about Yuki and Takayuki Iwai. Maybe their tracks aren’t original, but I still like their style. The organ on “Scarlet Rage,” is spectacular, I like the guitar on “Secrets of the Deep,” “Mysterious Market” is an okay track, and I most definitely like the techno beats on “Boss Battle (Second Movement).” The only Iwai piece I don’t care for is Takayuki’s “Rockstar.”

Strangely enough, I don’t hear any mentions of the Surf Coasters’ contribution, “Samurai Struck.” Personally, I like this piece. It’s very California surfer-boy. What are your thoughts on it, though? Did you also take a liking to it, or do you find these guest appearances on game soundtracks by mainstream musicians to be obnoxious, sneaky marketing ploys?

Things I disliked about the soundtrack:

(1) There were a few mediocre tracks. Nakano had a few such tracks, like “Molten Menace,” and “Wrath of the Spider Queen.” The events that take place with the pieces in the background drown the music out, not that there’s much to hear other than minimal and repetitive instrumentation. “Tension” I also believe was a pretty weak track, at least, in comparison with "Dark Legacy." Mind you, I don't think they were terrible tracks, but there were stronger tracks on the album.

(2) The one track that is definitely my most favorite from the game got rather shafted on the soundtrack: “Village of the Sacred Beast.” The problem? The Erhu (Chinese bowed string instrument) in this piece, as far as I am concerned, is the focus of the piece. Unfortunately, played off of the soundtrack CD, it sounds distorted, and this annoys me to no end; and I’ve tried playing the disc on all of my different sound systems. The poor audio mastering on this particular single track is astonishing. I can still listen to it, but I’ll still be critical of it every time I hear it.

There is a second track of which my opinion changed between the game and album: “Random Recital.” In the game, Sonic Selfie was trying to play a tune on his broken lute; this had the townspeople clutching their heads, and I followed suit. I wanted to break his lute 100%, but fortunately, the town urchin tried telling Selfie off and ended up getting the lute busted over his own head. HOWEVER, off of the soundtrack CD, this track is just as pleasurable to listen to as, say, “Temple of the Ancients,” and “Vault Breaker,” as it is actually very similar to these two pieces. I guess it was just too loud for me in the game?

I will also say that some pieces received longer track times than they needed, and ended up repeating as many as three of four times during their playthrough. “Meltdown,” “Temple of the Ancients,” “Vault Breaker,” and “Resurrection” all got about five minutes to tell their story. These are indeed splendid pieces, but they don’t need five minutes. There, of course, were other long pieces, but these four stuck out as the particularly longest ones who don’t need their extended track lengths, and just left me asking, “When is this track going to end? I’d like to continue to the next track now, please.” HOWEVER, that is but a minor gripe.

All of that said, I must say, I pity you if you cannot appreciate this soundtrack, but I will at least understand that people do indeed have different tastes that are just innate and originally part of their being.

Although, I will say, the game was rather tongue-in-cheeky, and the cover graphic was very rockstar, so you should've expected the music to be more whimsical.

If you haven’t heard this soundtrack yet, again, I strongly suggest you pick it up if you’re a Hamauzu, Nakano, or Unlimited SaGa fan.

Well, look at that…I just wrote a review, didn’t I?