Overview

Arcana Heart 3 is the third title in an ongoing fighting game series that features an all-female cast. As with the other two titles, Motoharu Yoshihira reprises the role of composer, but does this soundtrack offer a different sound than the predecessors? Thankfully, this time the soundtrack release features just the original music and omits any superfluous arranged side or voice collection.

Body

The album opens up with the title theme, "Arcana Heart 3" and like its predecessor in Arcana Heart 2, it carries a nice rock focus. It's probably my favorite version of the Arcana Heart title theme due to the fact that it combines some effective synth and rock portions, similar to the second one. Hey, if it isn't broke, no need to fix it, right? "Maidens ver. 3" is a bubbly character select theme. It's got a great rhythm, some great crystalline synth effects. In addition, it also adds some rock riffs to keep it in tune with the focus of the album. It's a bit repetitive (but what character select themes aren't), but it's so much fun.

The stage themes for Arcana Heart 3, unlike the diverse ones of the first two games, are clearly inspired by the successful soundtracks of the Guilty Gear and BlazBlue series. Each is rock based, but throws in small nuances to help distinguish themselves from one another. "Clock Tower," interestingly enough, sounds a lot like "Eternity" from Blue Dragon in its introductory bars. After that, it moves into a fast paced rock piece with a fantastic energy and melody. It's one of my favorites on the soundtrack. "Mountain Temple" slows down the pace considerably. Here, the melody features an almost sinister sound. The synth sections and the progressive keyboard work also help distinguish this one the others on the soundtrack. In fact, this is also a favorite of mine. It's just got such a great soundscape! "Spa Resort" is another one in the vein of "Clock Tower." It's a fast paced rock theme with some synth accents here and there. The guitar solo here is pretty nice as well and the sinister-like synth before the loop is pretty cool too.

"Kuroyon Dam" is pretty awesome too. The guitar riffs, electric guitar melody, and the synth all work in harmony to create a pretty effective theme. The melody, in particular, is pretty strong and really gives this feeling of a "do-or-die" kind of situation. On the other hand, "Tsuten Tower," is an awesome rock theme that combines some guitar riffs with a more synth/harpsichord-like melody. It's another fantastic energetic theme and when the electric guitar takes over in the melody, it only gets stronger. In the end, this is probably my favorite theme on the entire soundtrack. Speaking of another strong theme, "Kamiari Shrine" is a fantastic rock theme down to its core. The riffs and the electric guitar really make for a powerful combination and the work from the lead guitar is quite awesome. There are some synth accents thrown in for good measure, but this is one of those themes where even if they were absent, it'd still be fantastic.

"White Valkyrja" is an awesome synth rock piece that really stands out. The synth melody is bubbly, yet sinister at times, while the electric guitar melody really helps to accentuate the power and atmosphere of the theme. It also helps that the rock accompaniment is pretty kickass too. On a similar note, "Crimson Valkyrja" also carries with it a sinister sound. However, unlike "White Valkyrja," this one relies on a strong rock accompaniment and melody to get the point across. The guitar riffs here are the true star of this theme as they just help give the theme so much power. There are some subtle synth effects thrown in as well, but they are just an afterthought to the rock elements in this piece. Lastly, "Ragnarok" combines some strong rock melodies with that of some orchestral accompaniment. It reminds me of some of the themes on Arcana Heart 2. The guitar work is awesome and in the end, there is a true sense of power from the piece. The atmosphere is dire at times, yet there are also moments of heroism. Overall, it's a fantastic way to end the stage themes on the soundtrack.

As with the previous two albums, there are a plethora of shorter themes, in a variety of styles, but most are very short and I didn't find them pertinent to review. Most people who are interested in the Arcana Heart series' music do so for the stage themes, and in this regard, they are easily the strongest in the series, despite the lack of variety in styles. Fortunately, this is only a one disc release as well. I guess they learned that including the voice collection wasn't really worth printing a second disc for.

Summary

To summarize, Arcana Heart 3 Heartful Sound Collection was heavily inspired by the success of the rock-based soundtracks to the fighting series initiated by Daisuke Ishiwatari. Although not nearly as diverse in terms of musical direction as previous albums, it's still a very strong set of rock-based themes. The shorter themes are also nice, with a variety of style that helps to counterbalance all the rock, but they aren't really the meat of the soundtrack. This is, in my opinion, the best of the three soundtracks in the Arcana Heart series and it doesn't include second disc harboring just voice collection data. If you can only buy one, I suggest this if you are a big fan of rock based themes.