But really, all the lighter and mature tracks are highlights within their own right. “Joshua” is slower but more complex with the way the melody is arranged, with the addition of more standard orchestral instruments. Rather than having something on the lines of the slow melody, Sakimoto takes advantage of an upbeat melody. “Joshua 2” has an amazing usage of orchestral strings and piano. “Reminiscence” is emotional and mature, probably more akin to Sakimoto’s Ogre Battle tracks if anything, but the simple piano melody is perfectly associated with the flute and use of strings. There are, however, some tracks which are similar to the Final Fantasy Tactics‘ light but mature attitude. An electronica beat starts out the track, then dark, ominous cellos confront the beat in addition with some strings. “The Great Cathedral” is specially programmed by synthesizer operator Hirosato Noda and you feel he had some influence on the track. Low cello notes and awkward percussion dominates this track, with strings which enter at times to play melodic interludes. “Rosencrantz” is yet another of these tracks, but there is a lot more structure to it compared to the previously explained track. This is not to say that the whole soundtrack is ambient, but by the nature of the game, a good number of tracks have not got a whole lot of action in them. Slow and eerie strings play an ambient melody line while horns come and compliment the strings. Granted, it’s repetitive at times (as, in the game, it was used for the introductory movie) but the track is magically creative.Ī good example of what many of the darker tracks progress like is found in “Catacombs”. But never fear, this is no track that one should take lightly. The strings sound choppy and outdated, but this is no surprise with synthesizer operator Takeharu Ishimoto, who has since worked on Kingdom Hearts II.
One thing that bugged me particularly was the poor synthesizer manipulation.
After the next track, we come to Sakimoto’s largest video game music track ever created, the famed “Climax of the Graylands Incident”. The track has especially tasty brassy textures which lead up to a soft and presentable soft section and fitting conclusion. We begin the adventure of Vagrant Story with “Opening Movie”, a nicely developed track specially programmed by Hidenori Iwasaki.
#Vagrant story opening movie professional#
However, Square Enix did a more professional remastering of the original soundtrack in this new reprint, by Kenzi Nagashima, and now, the music sounds much clearer and the volume has been turned up, making this one of the many good reasons to buy this album. This was largely at fault of the original mastering and the synthesizer programming. The original sound production aspects of the Vagrant Story Original Soundtrack were mediocre and, at times, out-of-date from the standards of Square at that time. But, before I start this review, I’ll let you in on a secret. The timbre of instruments largely resembles that of Final Fantasy Tactics but, like mentioned above, the mood is significantly darker. It is with a listen of this soundtrack that we discover the dark side of Hitoshi Sakimoto. In Vagrant Story, Matsuno specifically directed Sakimoto to use a style and motif in the complete opposition of Final Fantasy Tactics. This has been a tradition since Sakimoto’s work on Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen back in 1993 (with partners Masaharu Iwata and Hayato Matsuo), even 13 years later with Final Fantasy XII. Like all of his games, Matsuno loves to use symphonic/electronica maestro Hitoshi Sakimoto. Combining the traditional elements of Matsuno’s games with a smart new battle system and gripping story, it was rated a perfect 40/40 in an edition of the gaming magazine, Famitsu. However, it has often been said that his work of the year 2000 was his best to date.
#Vagrant story opening movie series#
Those who know him will recognize his work on the Ogre games, Final Fantasy Tactics, and even the recently released Final Fantasy XII, his biggest project yet (with SaGa series executive producer, Akitoshi Kawazu). But no games have been as deep and passionate as the ones created by Yasumi Matsuno and his team of talented developers. Some were surprising gems (including the beautifully created Rudra’s Hidden Treasure). Some were unbelievably well received by the public and critics (classics include Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VII, and more). Square has made some truly memorable games in its long history. DigiCube (1st Edition) Square Enix (2nd Edition)
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