Overview

Endless Frontier is a spinoff series from the Super Robot Taisen universe and features a variety of cameo appearances by characters from a variety of animes and games, such as MOMO and KOS-MOS from Xenosaga. Composed by the members of Salamander Factory, this album was released as a promotional pack-in with the limited edition of Endless Frontier EXCEED for DS. Containing the soundtracks to both Endless Frontier games, how do the soundtracks for the spin off series compare to the main series?

Body

The first disc of this release is dedicated to the first game in the series, Super Robot Taisen OG: Endless Frontier. Opening with "Where Infinities Meet," the style of much of the soundtrack is established. This bubbly synth rock theme has great power behind it, in addition to a very catchy melody line. "Time to Come" is a somewhat intense theme that features both synth and electric guitar leads. Throw in some bubbly and lighthearted moments as well and you have yourself a pretty interesting combination of styles. Similar in progression to "Time to Come," "Steel Beowulf" is a bubbly synth-led character theme that features both synth and electric guitar extensively in the melody line. It does, however, spend more time using electric guitar and comes off as a very strong theme overall. Continuing the mainstram-oriented themes, "Orchestra Army" is an upbeat synth piece with a killer melody and some nice strings accompaniment, while "The Whereabouts of Impatience" is a menacing rock-based composition with orchestral accompaniment and some lighthearted sections as well.

However, there are also some orchestral themes on the soundtrack. "True Order," in particularly, is quite epic in nature and oozes heroism, but at the same time, there is definitely a menacing tone to be found. It's not one of the stronger themes on the soundtrack, but its still a worthwhile listen and seems fitting in the Super Robot Taisen universe. "We're the Sirena Pirates," on the other hand, is an uplifting orchestral theme used to represent a female pirate. It reminds me a bit of Grandia in terms of style, mainly through the use of the strings and brass melody. It's a beautiful theme and the beat that accompanies it isn't too bad either, if only a bit basic. "Uninvited Stranger" is another orchestral theme with a heroic tone. Unfortunately, I think it's a bit weaker than some of the orchestral themes featured on the album, but it does manage to redeem itself by having a catchy melody.

Lastly, there are some themes that don't fit into the synth rock or orchestral themes prominent on the soundtrack. "A Mirage Called Tranquility" has a very nice futuristic feel to it that manages to engage the listener with some interesting strings accents, some jazzy flair, and some killer bass. "That's Lost Memory," on the other hand, starts off as a seemingly standard melancholy piano and strings piece, but it throws in some bass guitar to give it a bit of edge and make the whole piece more enjoyable. "Legacy of the Lost, on the other hand, definitely features more of a Wild Arms flair. The acoustic guitar accompaniment and the woodwind whistling definitely accentuate this feeling. The strings work featured is also quite good and helps reinforce the image of a Western sound.

The second disc in the bundle is dedicated to Endless Frontier EXCEED. Opening with a tune similar in style to "Where Infinites Meet," "Where Infinities Are Exceeded," is another bubbly synth rock piece, but ends up being a much stronger one due to the fuller accompaniment that is featured. "Crimson Asura" is another fantastic synth rock piece that features some beautiful piano accompaniment and some great orchestral touches. "Ash to Ash Burst" is another synth rock piece that features some interesting rhythms and a bit of menace. At times, the melody line uses brass and keyboards, to give it a bit of distinguishing features. Overall, it's a pretty good piece. "H.U.N.T.E.R." is another rock based theme, but distinguishes itself from other themes by adopting a quirky style. It's playful and more lighthearted than most of the rock based pieces on here, mainly due to the odd rhythm. It's not a bad piece by any means, but at the same time, I'm not too fond of it either. "Burn Now!" similarly is a bubbly synth rock led piece with some big band brass accents. Although it's nothing groundbreaking, it's still a fun theme and one of my favorites. The more techno-oriented "Fairy Rom-Antic" is also very catchy and bouncy.

The orchestral themes on this soundtrack are a bit less prominent than on the original. "Eternal Recurrence" is an epic orchestral theme that features a very heroic flair to it and the strings harmony is quite wonderful. It's a bit generic at times, but the menace is definitely apparent and this theme probably serves as a fitting battle theme. "Oh People, Oh World," on the other hand, is an orchestral theme that focuses heavily on brass and percussion. I don't find it particularly stimulating and I think the melody is a bit on the weaker side. "Flowercraft Beauty" is a very beautiful and engaging piece full of woodwinds, electric guitar, and strings. Featuring a pretty catchy beat as well, it's a theme that reminds me a bit of the Gust Sound Team, but it also manages to emphasize the Salamander Factory sound.

Moving to some anomalies, "Moon Flower Brilliance" is an Asian-rock theme with an intense bass line and some frenetic Asian instruments, such as the shamisen. Overall, it combines quite well to give a unique feel to the soundtrack. "Elegy for the Hunters" is another Western-themed piece. The woodwind work imitates whistling quite well and the strings work is gorgeous. I don't find it as strong as the similarly styled theme from Endless Frontier, but it's still quite fun! Lastly, I was surprised to find the next theme on the soundtrack. "Brave New World," composed by Yuzo Koshiro and featured originally on the Namco X Capcom game, it's a pretty straightforward transcription to the DS sound source and, although it doesn't feature the higher production qualities of the original, it still manages to retain the atmosphere that made the original such a classic.

Between the two discs, there are also themes that are shared among them. For example, "Exceedingly Near, in a World Endlessly Far," between both games, is very similar in style. Both feature a synth rock basis, but the EXCEED version manages to sound much better in terms of sound quality and the introduction of some heavy percussion work makes it sound more powerful, although at times it can drown out the melody. The Endless Frontier version of "ASH TO ASH" features a great synth line with some fantastic guitar work and piano accompaniment. It's definitely one of the highlights of the album. The EXCEED version, on the other hand, is definitely more rock-based. Both have their strengths, such as the piano for the original, and the edge for the second version. The Endless Frontier version of "Flawless Full Moon," features a nice electronic beat and some beautiful woodwind and electric guitar work in the melody that combines well with some synth lines and Asian accompaniment. The EXCEED version, aside from being resynthed, isn't too much different, with a few different flourishes here and there. This is definitely a highlight of the album.

"Dance Battle All Night" is a nice funky piece with some great electronic beats that combine nicely with the synth melody and accompaniment. The EXCEED version seems to throw in some electric guitar and differs in terms of accompaniment. Both are excellent versions though. "Alice in Fluketown" is a great synth rock piece with some powerful electric guitar riffs and some beautiful crystalline piano synth melody lines. The EXCEED version focuses more on the rock aspect and the lack of piano in the melody line really makes the theme lose a lot of its original charm. Lastly, "Alchemy of the Swaying Heart" is an ethereal synth piece full of mysterious tones and some menacing synth accents. The beat is quite fitting too and gives it a nice funk. The EXCEED version on the other hand loses a bit of its etherealness, but gains a bit of character with a more intense bass line accompaniment. It's a trade-off, but some of the more interesting aspects of the original remain. Other conserved tracks include "All Correct!", "Dark Knight", and "The Trail to Victory", which are rock themes that are generally enjoyable in both versions.

Summary

In the end, this bonus bundle with the DS version of Endless Frontier EXCEED is quite nice. It's the first time both soundtracks to the Endless Frontier series have been published and it features more of the things I like about the Super Robot Taisen series that I enjoy, such as the catchy synth rock themes, than the things I don't generally enjoy about the Super Robot Taisen series, such as the orchestral anime arrangements. There are some nice surprises to be found on the soundtrack, such as the Asian rock themes or the inclusion of Yuzo Koshiro's "Brave New World" from Namco X Capcom. In the end, it's a release you might want to pick up, whether you get it by importing the game or by finding a copy on Yahoo Japan Auctions, if you are a fan of the series or simply love synth rock.