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Akumajo Dracula Castlevania Chronicles Original Soundtrack :: Review by Chris
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Album Title: | Akumajo Dracula Castlevania Chronicles Original Soundtrack |
| Record Label: | Konami Music Entertainment | |
| Catalog No.: | KMCA-104/5 | |
| Release Date: | May 23, 2001 | |
| Purchase: | Buy at CDJapan |
Overview
In 1993, Konami remade the original Castlevania for the Sharp X68000, a Japan-only computer. The soundtrack by Shin Chan emphasised the rock flavour of other classic titles in the series with a mixture of arrangements of famous themes and completely new compositions. In 2001, Konami remade the X68000 title for the PlayStation and released it as Akumajo Chronicles: Akumajo Dracula in Japan and Castlevania Chronicles overseas. Gamers could either play the original mode, featuring X68000 gameplay and music, or an arranged mode, featuring various enhancements including an arranged soundtrack. Bemani electronica musician Sota Fujimori was responsible for the arrangement this time and offered a mixture of conservative enhancements and experimental remixes.
The Akumajo Dracula Castlevania Chronicles Original Soundtrack features the arranged soundtrack and original version in the first disc. There is also a second disc featuring two MIDI sound versions of the original version and two bonus tracks. How do the arranged and original versions compare? Were four different versions of the same soundtrack really necessary?
Body
Akumajo Dracula X68000
The opening theme "Black Mass" initially seems more bouncy than intended, but quickly builds up into something more dramatic. The second half of the theme sets the mood nicely with a mellow but melancholy melody against creepy arpeggios. "Something Loopy" suffices as a name entry theme, but is exposed as a barren motif on stand-alone listening. A soundtrack often carried by past classics, "Vampire Killer" opens the first stage with a straightforward arrangement emphasising the bouncy melodies of the original in conjunction with a prominent bass line and some novel twists in the development. Groovy bass line and quirky track title aside, "Wiched Child" is still as peppy as ever. An even more welcome appearance is "Bloody Tears" in one of its most rhythmically and melodically compelling arrangements.
Moving on to the remaining original contributions, the stunning "Thrashard in the Cave" combines gothic melodies with hard rock riffs and solos. Fitting for Simon's second trial, there is a wonderful sense that the music is always pushing ahead and going somewhere. "Moon Fight" achieves a similar atmospheric quality with its mixture of jazz and electronic infusions, while "The Tower of Gears" disorients in a level of malfunctioning machinery by repeating rhythmically irregular phrases. "The Tower of Dolls" provides an expressive interlude carried by a beautifully shaped melody tinged with gothic influences before the moody "Etude for the Killer" impresses with its Baroque instrumentation and counterpoint. Overall, a fine set of stage themes.
Love it or hate it, "Simon's Theme" just had to be included as well. This arrangement is a little more elaborate and experimental than most given it is used as the final stage theme. The boss theme "Creatures in the Depth" is humble in timbre because of synth limitations, but nevertheless creates just the right dynamism with its crisp, brisk phrases. Following an elaborate introduction, the final boss theme "You Goddamned Bathead" offers a surprising and compelling fusion of techno beats with gothic melodies. The ending theme "Mother Earth" is a dazzling blend of quasi-orchestration, gliding electronic frills, and over the top timpani rolls. It is one further example of how Shin Chan managed to offer so much colour and dynamism into a score despite the humble resources available.
Castlevania Chronicles
Aware of the inappropriate mood of the original, Fujimori transforms the cinematic half of "Black Mass" into something far more intense, perhaps even overbearing, with a mixture of heavy orchestration, booming percussion, and organ use. The subtle title screen portion is quite a contrast, but sounds more beautiful than ever thanks to the upgraded synth. "Something Loopy" feels much more mature and balanced in this version even if Fujimori is conservative enough to leave it as underdeveloped as before. He makes his biggest statement with an upbeat techno remix of "Vampire Killer". The remix firmly asserts his love for electronica, but he still keeps the old adventure feel of the original alive and gives a nod to the rock elements of the series with some blistering guitar work. In a further tribute to the original, he even incorporates fragments from Castlevania's "Prologue" and "Stalker".
Keen to diversify the styles of Castlevania Chronicles, Fujimori transforms the brash "Thrashard in the Cave" into an extraordinary downbeat mix. The rapid drum samples and increasingly elaborate synth solos are simply gorgeous here. The arranger further emphasises his versatility by transforming "Moon Fight" into a glissading electric guitar solo with salsa and funk accompaniment. The less accessible remix of "Wiched Child" juxtaposes a bizarre electronic bass line with late-emerging upbeat melodies taken from the original. "Bloody Tears" is a pretty straightforward arrangement, on the other hand, loudly proclaiming the melody and providing lots of cheesy rock moments. "The Tower of Gears" didn't need many changes from the original either, but the revamped synth and additional distortions make it even more hypnotic than before.
Moving towards the climax, "The Tower of Dolls" is massively enhanced by an invigorating blend of gothic, orchestration, and electronic influences. In another novel twist, "Etude for the Killer" blends features of the original with the sweeping ballroom dance approach of Symphony of the Night's "Golden Dance". "Simon's Theme" receives perhaps its best remix to date, asserting the character's nobility and courage while also pulling together the diverse stylistic strings of the score. The remix of the boss theme invigorates the gothic phrases of the original with bombastic instrumentation and wild beats. Perfect source material for an electronica musician, "You Goddamned Bathead" gains the vibrant trance arrangement the original merely aspired to. Moving to the conclusion, the bombastic orchestration of "Mother Earth" loses the dazzling feeling of the original somewhat, but is nevertheless spectacular. The "Ending Movie" is more of an assembly of sound effects rather than new music.
MIDI Version
On the second disc, there are completions interpretations of the original score for Akumajo Dracula X68000 by the Roland CM-64 and the Roland SC-55 synthesizers. Both of these versions provide a richer interpretation of the original score thanks to cleaner samples and thicker timbres. There are also occasionally novel features due to the balances and choices of instrumentation to create the MIDIs. While both versions have their merits, they are certainly not worthy of having an entire disc dedicated to them. Past Castlevania scores have satisfied without such treatment and these didn't already have a complete rearranged score to show what could be done with the music. In short, these versions are perfectly listenable, but ultimately redundant.
Rounding off the CD are two bonus arrangements by Sota Fujimori. "Bloody Tears RMX" is a blistering trance remake of the original theme. While the mixing is excellent and there is plenty to love about the development section, the melody itself isn't as catchy here and seems somewhat out-of-place. This remix was likely rejected from the remake in favour of a more conservative arrangement, but it's good that it still made it into the album. "Dracula ~Medley~" begins and ends with an edit of the "Vampire Killer" arrangement and also incorporates Castlevania's "Heart of Fire" and "Out of Time". Incorporating five of the themes from the original in total, it's another very nice tribute.
Summary
Akumajo Dracula X68000's score is worthy of Dracula's name with its solid mixture of compositions and arrangements. It features great melodies, plenty of gothic and rock influences, and some diversity and experimentation around the edges. Almost all the arrangements in Castlevania Chronicles massively enhance the originals, however. The synth really helps to improve the more straightforward interpretations, but it's Sota Fujimori's use of electronica, rock, and orchestration that makes the rest such highlights. However, the largely redundant second disc of the album makes it a bit of a problematic purchase. While still worthwhile for hardcore collectors, casual fans would be advised to consider other Castlevania soundtracks since they're usually better value for money and of at least equivalent quality.
