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The Best of Chocobo to Mahou no Ehon Original Soundtrack :: Review by Chris
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Album Title: | The Best of Chocobo to Mahou no Ehon Original Soundtrack |
| Record Label: | Square Enix | |
| Catalog No.: | iTunes | |
| Release Date: | December 27, 2006 | |
| Purchase: | Buy at eBay |
Overview
The DS' Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales, aka Chocobo to Mahou no Ehon, is the first new game in Square Enix's once-wretched Chocobo spinoff series for over half a decade. Its score comprises of simplistic and mundane arrangements of various Chocobo themes and Final Fantasy classics by Joe Down Studio, a large team of composers who also recently worked on Culdcept Saga. While Chocobo scores were always somewhat restricted due to their requirement to incorporate an over-arranged but classic theme and generally be sickeningly light-hearted, Joe Down are largely responsible for this score's failure. The other contributor is synthesizer operator Yasuhiro Yamanaka, who, after valiant efforts on several recent PlayStation 2 scores, seems extremely limited by the DS and basically fails here. Even though it was exclusively released on iTunes, the score is merely a 'best of', featuring ten tracks in total, for reasons that seem to betray economic sense but spare humanity.
Body
Opening conservatively with a rendition of the "Prelude", the score is dreary from the start. It's identical to the Final Fantasy IX ending arrangement of the theme, except with much worse synth, giving a dated, fragmented, and infantile sound. I hear some ask, "How can the Prelude ever be bad, heathen?". I'm not implying it is an incarnation of the devil or anything, dude; merely, dreary synth doesn't do an overplayed theme any favours. Talking of over-arranged themes, the dreaded Chocobo theme makes four appearances here. "Going Out, Chocobo" and "Retro de Chocobo" are original arrangements seemingly inspired by Final Fantasy VIII's "Odeka de Chocobo"; they're written in the Naoshi Mizuta style, comprising of an old-school melody looping over a endlessly repeating simple ostinato. While Nobuo Uematsu's initial arrangements of the theme were limited, they had a certain bounce, not to mention true chord progressions; these arrangements, on the other hand, are unbearably repetitive and a killer to gamers, given they're used in many of the mini-games. Why do Square Enix insist on reflecting badly on Nobuo Uematsu's early years with these god-awful retro arranges?
Moving on to tracks arranged from specific games, Final Fantasy VII's "Fiddle de Chocobo" is also included. It's basically the same as the original — goofy and annoying — though it has a little bit more clarity due to synth usage. It's a very strange track choice, given it's one of the least popular Chocobo themes ever created. Masashi Hamauzu's "Chocobo Village" from the flop Chocobo no Fushigina Dungeon also makes an unexpected but welcome appearance. The DS manages to preserve some of the bounce of the original's fiddle melodies while Joe Down are keen to demonstrate the intricacy of Hamauzu's playful phrasing. Even so, the rendition is inferior to the original and Coi Vanni Gialli versions of the theme, particularly with respect to accompaniment and a tangential development section. Kenji Ito's dire score to Chocobo Racing also gets a modest reference on the track listings with "White Mage's Theme", though most know this theme as Final Fantasy's "City Theme". This calming and nostalgic theme was a nice choice, though the arrangement sounds no better than the site's MIDI used in the All Sounds of Final Fantasy I & II page.
An odd selection of four other Final Fantasy tracks are also 'arranged' here. Final Fantasy V's "The Book of Sealings" is a big bore — a hackneyed tribal-influenced mystery theme with no real sense of drama. More welcome is Final Fantasy's "Battle Scene", popularised by The Black Mages' first album, and the Final Fantasy V classic "Clash on the Big Bridge". Both renditions are fun and upbeat, inarguably highlights within the game, though are nonetheless the worst arrangements of the themes available. Most disappointing is Final Fantasy VIII's "Ride On" that concludes the release; this classic airship theme has been completely ignored in arranged productions up to now so a decent arrangement would have been a lovely highlight. Unfortunately, it manages to be bombastic and dreary at the same time; the main melody is presented with a jarringly pronounced but lifelessly phrased trumpet melody while the timpani-dominated accompaniment is simply nauseating. There are attempts at creativity here and the quieter parts of the piece are enjoyable, but the atmosphere is inconsistent and the melody loses its flair. It also lacks a proper conclusion, meaning the album feels rather unfinished.
Summary
In summary, I think this iTunes album isn't worth your time. Each arrangement just seems to suck all life out of the original tunes and, within seconds, tempts one to press 'skip' or, by the fourth track, 'stop' on the CD player. Even the best tracks, namely "White Mage's Theme", "Chocobo Village", "Battle Scene", and "Battle with the Big Bridge", are inferior to their originals. Certainly, the implication that this score is a 'best of' is bound to lead one to ponder about just how awful the rest of the score is. Perhaps the most irritating aspect of the album is the poor treatment of Uematsu's mostly excellent original creations; Joe Down are just a team of musicians on hire and it's very clear from their unambitious, simplistic, and often downright degradatory arrangements that they have no respect for the man or his creations.
