Overview

The Sega Rally 2 soundtrack was quite a sequel, but did the music stack up? Featuring compositions by Tatsuhiko Fuyuno, Jun Senoue, Takenobu Mitsuyoshi, and others, it aims to deliver as captivating an experience as the first soundtrack. There are actually two sound versions, the original master version and the downgraded game sound, which are both similar in composition. I will mainly focus on the former since the latter is not entirely necessary. So does the album succeed or end up breaking down before the finish?

Body

The opening theme, "Go Go! Sega Rally" features a pretty jazzy bass line, but is ultimately extremely repetitive for the most part. There are some interesting melodic lines thrown in occasionally, but the vocals for the most part, combined with the repetitive bass that it accompanies, really kill this one for me. There is also an instrumental version of this, and while it's a bit better, I still think it suffers from too much repetition with many uninteresting sections and only a few interesting ones.

In addition to that vocal theme, there are also a few more centrepieces on the soundtrack. "Estrada Nova" has a jazzy electronica sound with some vocoder usage with a deep bass accompaniment. Meanwhile the similarly accomplished "Euro Fight!!" features a clear eurobeat influence; the piano meshes well with the electronica and rock elements interspersed throughout the piece. "Searchin' For My Dreams" has a real urban flavor; it really reminds me a bit of the Persona 3 Original Soundtrack with its jazzy hip-hop sound. The vocals are pretty interesting as well, and although they aren't a turn off, I'd really like this one as an instrumental.

Of course, there is also the rock that made the first one so good. It's a shame there's less of it. "Ignition '98 ...In The Groove," is a nice jazz/rock arrangement of the theme "Ignition". I'm not as big a fan of it has the original, but it still has a great edge to it. However, the true star of the rock themes has to be "Soul On Desert". It's a catchy theme, with a real raw sound. The guitar riffs, combined with the melodic electric guitar, create an energetic mix that really reminds me of Sega Rally Championship Ignition. If only the rest of the soundtrack were like this...

Summary

For the most part, I found this to be much weaker than the first game's soundtrack. Sure, there's a bit more diversity, yet at the same time, I found that the electronica based themes were generally weak with a couple exceptions. The focus on vocal themes also hindered what I thought could be a better soundtrack. I'm sure someone out there enjoys the vocals though. It's probably better to stick with the arranged album instead.