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Arc Rise Fantasia Promotional Soundtrack :: Review by Don
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Album Title: | Arc Rise Fantasia Promotional Soundtrack |
| Record Label: | Marvelous Entertainment | |
| Catalog No.: | Promotional | |
| Release Date: | June 4, 2009 | |
| Purchase: | Buy at eBay |
Overview
This small promotional album was released alongside the game in Japan. Featuring compositions from veteran Yasunori Mitsuda, Procyon Studio composer Shunsuke Tsuchiya, Yuki Harada, and Yoko Shimomura, it offers a broad range of styles. Am I anticipating a full soundtrack release?
Body
On the promotional album, Mitsuda offers the most, although a few of his themes are quite short. "Luminous Rain" is a melancholy piano and strings piece, presumably the title screen. "Imaginal Song" is a short piano piano piece featuring vocals in the style of Eri Kawai, but without the magic of her voice. Another vocal piece similar to "Imaginal Song" is "Real Song," which carries with it a haunting atmosphere. "The Capital of Diamant" definitely reminds me of his work on Inazuma Eleven and Soma Bringer in regards to town themes. There are some common motifs, such as the string accompaniment, but I think it's a beautiful melody that is crafted nicely with strings and woodwind and a marvelous section before the loop that is just absolutely stunning.
In addition to the more piano focused themes, Mitsuda offers two darker themes. "Meridian 2nd Hikoutei Squad" is a dark, brooding orchestral theme that also carries a more exhilarating soundscape featuring choral and woodwind accents. It's quite a nice piece that reminds me a bit of Xenogears. "Contaminant Dragons" is a bit shorter, and also carries with it a dramatic flair via the use of orchestra and choir. It also manages to throw in a very haunting section as well. "Great Existence" is another orchestral piece that incorporates some frenetic strings, some interesting industrial beats as well as some ethereal vocal work. It's kind of mystical as well.
Shunsuke Tsuchiya contributes three themes and one arrangement. It has become clear now that Tsuchiya's favorite style, at least when it comes to battle themes, is prominent use of militaristic percussion. "Furiously" is an interesting composition that features prominent use of choir and strings with some brass and piano accents thrown in there. "Decisive Battle" is also very choir focused and manages to throw in some nice accompaniments such as frenetic string sections and piano flourishes.
"Waiting at the Farthest Ends" reminds me a lot of Kingdom Hearts music. It has a very haunting use of choir and the string and piano sections remind me a lot of Shimomura. It's probably Tsuchiya's best contribution on this album. Speaking of Shimomura, Tsuchiya arranged her composition "Where the Heck is Kopin" from Luminous Arc 2. Now entitled "Kopin Race", it's a playful, quirky theme with a focus on woodwind and string melodies with an underlying maraca accompaniment. I find this one to be rather weak, personally.
Lastly, Yuki Harada, in his first foray into video game composition, provides two themes. "Fulheim" is a fantastic theme with a beautiful string and brass melody. I can hear some of Mitsuda's influence in this one, particularly with accompaniments. It kinda reminds me of Chrono Trigger for some reason. His other theme, "Taking the Road Through the Wilderness" is very mystical. I find this to be his best contribution. It manages to portray a nice mysterious soundscape through the ethereal string and choir work and also harbors a beautiful melody.
Summary
In the end, the promotional album is worth looking into, as I'm not sure if there will be a soundtrack release. Although Tsuchiya's militaristic style may get old fast, there is enough variety in these themes to keep me interested. Harada has a nice first impression for me. His themes definitely contain a lot of beautiful melodies and soundscapes. Lastly, Mitsuda manages to show some of his more orchestral and brooding themes. While I still don't think this vocalist can replace Eri Kawai, she manages to bring a similar feel to the music.
