Overview

The first. When it came to 8-bit sounds with only three channels to work with, video game composers were often limited in their prospects of arranging plain melodies into satisfyingly full instrumental pictures. The Nintendo Entertainment System got its first sound enhancements around 1990, hence earlier game music had the repute, consisting of nothing more than superficial beeps and clicks. Dragon Quest, alongside Final Fantasy, was one of the first role-playing games with really catchy and interesting songs. Though gameplay and controls were still lacking, the music spreaded it's charm even with three synthesizer channels. It was 1986 when Koichi Sugiyama recorded the Dragon Quest score in the way he originally intended it — epic, classical, and fully-orchestrated.

For the Super Nintendo remake in 1994, the famous London Philharmonic Orchestra, which should be well known for its work with Star Wars componist John Williams, was entrusted with the production task under the conduction of Koichi Sugiyama. In SRCL-2733, the Original Sound Version of the Super Nintendo replaces the arranged synthesizer tracks and the "NES Sound Medley" from the 1986 Dragon Quest Suite, whereas the orchestrated versions were just re-recorded, not modified. In SVWC-7457, the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra interprets the suite after having tackled the suites for the seven other Dragon Quest games previously. It includes a music effects collection for the majority of the Dragon Quest series extending the disc time.

Body

The CD starts off with the "Overture March," the opening idea, which appears in every Dragon Quest game. An Overture is usually an epic piece which introduces a big musical work or an opera. German composers Richard Wagner or George Frideric Handel, for example, were famous for their opera openings, "Xerxes" and "Tristan und Isolde." Nothing could do the job better of outlining the mood of an adventure world like Dragon Quest than an 4 minute lasting meeting of fanfares, floating strings, and propulsive orchestral percussion. The only problem: If you've played a lot of Dragon Quests you'll rather skip the "Overture March" in your player than listening to it for the 100th time. But a few new passages were composed for the midsection of the orchestrated version.

"Chateau Ladutorm," written in minor key, can be heard first in the Castle of Tintagel. It reminds of an baroque organ fugue. Sugiyama takes full advantage of counterpoint, the movement of two or more independent melodies over harmonic shifting, giving the listener the feeling of walking through an imposing old castle hall with soldiers and maids. "People" is the BGM used in villages and towns and my personal favourite on the disc, besides the overworld theme. In contrast to the original 8-bit track, the arranging-scope was widened; there are whole musical sections added, which are fitting perfectly. It's very light-hearted, especially when the contrabass enters.

"Unknown World" is the theme of Alefgard, the world of the first Dragon Quest trilogy and the first overworld theme in the series. The leitmotif, which steadily switches color between flute and strings, has enough emotion to make the listener shake. Splendid work. At two minutes long, it's perhaps a little too short. Anyway, if you take a look on other Dragon Quests and their field themes you will discover something weird; the chord progression utilised is identical, at least for the first 8 bars. This is one thing that makes Koichi Sugiyama's music so interesting. You won't get 30 different tracks, totally seperated from each other in terms of musical structure, but one big score, which draws you into an functional fantasy world.

"Fight" is nicely arranged, with good use of percussion and velocity changes. The initial melodic motif sounds slightly enhanced and faster paced. "Dungeon," with a duration of approximately four minutes, uses the musical apparatus of modulation. Inside the game, the music is pitched down with each level you are venturing deeper into the underground dungeons. This would be way too easy for an orchestral performance, which features great use of instruments, but is more killing than thrilling. "King Dragon," the BGM for the last boss, mirrors the situation of a bloody and reckless battle with deep strings and brasses. Extreme changes in volumes mark this track, but it's not the top of the iceberg anyway.

Forget the last two tracks if your impression became flat. "Finale" has anything a ending song must have. The melody is easy to remember, starting out slowly and calm, then switching between the various musicians and their instruments. The London Philharmonic Orchestra performed a true masterpiece that stands for itself as a fully grown movie/staff roll piece. Whether or not you succeeded in beating King Dragon on the NES/SNES or listening through Dragon Quest's Symphonic Suite, this track flows like water and ends with an bombastic crescendo as the strings rise.

Summary

The first Symphonic Suite is good, but the problem is the plainness in the original material and the consequent short disc length. But it's not to be missed out though, for it's the entry of our beloved series into orchestral halls.

Overview

This will be the first of a set of reviews of the entire Dragon Quest Symphonic Suite collection, so I will spend this overview mostly explaining the format I will be using. First off, this will be a track-by-track review, focusing first on the piece itself, then focusing on the various performances of that piece. I understand that there were in fact three performances of almost every Dragon Quest Symphonic Suite, so I will cover each of them.

For the Dragon Quest I Symphonic Suite, there was a recording of these pieces by the Tokyo Strings Ensemble with additional brass and percussion players, which I consider now to be the gold standard of most of these pieces. This is a well-known and historic recording made in 1986, although it is hard to find today. I will therefore mainly focus on the performances that are perhaps easier to obtain. These are the recordings by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, which were released in 1994 and remastered in 2000 for a CD also featuring the Dragon Quest II Symphonic Suite. Finally, there was a performance by the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra that was released in 2007.

Having explained that, Dragon Quest I was, obviously, Koichi Sugiyama's first time working with the Dragon Quest team. His first effort is rather simplistic, although fairly consistently enjoyable. It may not be a masterpiece through and through, but I'm betting neither was Uematsu's first Final Fantasy title, to choose another example. The orchestrations in later Symphonic Suites took more chances and some were downright experimental, but this first one played it rather safe. What results is an album that should be considered a warm-up for the awesome music for future Dragon Quest titles.

After I've finished each track description, I will give four ratings separated by a slash. The first will be for the track's enjoyment in general. The others will represent the quality of the performance by the Tokyo Strings Ensemble, London Philharmonic Orchestra, and Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra respectively, not necessarily consiering the enjoyment level of a track. You'll see how it works out.

1) Overture March

After a bouncy beginning, the main theme is introduced by steady strings. The development on this track is a bit strange because, after the strings, the theme is reprised with much more gusto, complete with brass and percussion and woodwind trills. I believe that it is the fault of the arrangement to move so jarringly from steady and refined to all out heroic mode. There's a developmental section in the middle where the theme finds itself in all varieties of modes and, for the most part, a minor key. A swirling interlude for descending string scales leads to a more dignified, appropriate reprise of the theme, keeping its whole joyous feel without becoming over anxious or raucous as before.

The London Philharmonic recordings, as a rule of thumb, were usually crystal clear and technically superior, although the Tokyo Metropolitan recordings had more resonance and better dynamics, lending a more dramatic feel when needed. Here, the Tokyo Met wins more marks for the brass being a bit more ballsy and for making the transition from the strings to brass, percussion, and winds performing the main theme a bit smoother as well as having an unusually clear recording quality (for these issues of the Symphonic Suites, anyway).

As I made mention of in the introduction, there is another recording of these pieces by the Tokyo Strings Ensemble. That recording represents the absolute best of this piece. The strings are crisp and carry such emotion with them that I never realized how much the other two recordings were lacking until I heard it. Also, the brass, when it needs to be, is very bold and resonant, and then, again when is appropriate, soft and supportive. Unfortunately, this recording is probably very difficult to find by now, but I consider it to be the gold standard of many of these pieces.

2) Chateau Ladutorm

Ah, here we have Sugiyama's first "castle theme". As is standard with his castle themes, this one is written in quasi-baroque style, with strings only. The piece is constantly moving; when the violin melody isn't moving, the cello line is, and everything in between. This is one of the more interesting castle themes because it presents a simple theme, which Sugiyama expands upon, develops, and eventually repeats.

I believe that the London Philharmonic wins this round. The Tokyo Metropolitan performance is considerably louder and edgy, with harsh transitions between the staccato and legato of the main melody. The London Phil plays it soft and steady, letting the music speak for itself. Again, however, the Tokyo Strings Ensemble outshines the other performances. The strings are appropriately choppy during the staccato parts, and ultra smooth during the development's legato section.

3) People

Beginning with strings only, this track is simply delightful and catchy. Unfortunately, that translates here into slightly overused and predictable. Also, the arrangement at this time doesn't really do anything for me either; it's quite simplistic. Fortunately, while the track still never really 'takes off', it does improve. The next section is for flighty, racing strings playing all manners of scales and arpeggios in congruence with the original chord progressions, making a much more interesting listen. The next development is a winner for sounding just too adorable with pizzicato strings and glockenspiel. The original melody and harmonies are then repeated by winds before returning to strings to end this track.

The Tokyo Metropolitan recording has a bit too much resonance for this piece, making the strings in the fast section blur together. Also, it is played much slower by the orchestra. That said, this just isn't the kind of piece where performance makes much of a difference. The strange thing about the London Philharmonic recording is that it is, as usual, crystal clear. Usually this would be a good thing, but it reveals all the flaws and shallowness of the arrangement. This piece, however, was another whose performance by the Tokyo Strings Ensemble was flawless. It elevates this simplistic arrangement into something wondrous with strings that are, at turns choppy and edgy, at others smooth.

4) Unknown World

Sugiyama has never failed to capture the spirit of adventure with his world themes. "Unknown World" is certainly no exception and actually features one of his most attractive overworld melodies. Beginning with pizzicato strings, the melody is presented by an oboe before being taken over by the strings, featuring lush string harmonies. The theme is then presented by the cello section with more beautiful, lush strings. After a short section where brass makes an appearance, the melody is heard by a solo flute, and then by unison pizzicato and tremolo strings. I can't explain why, but that string combination is just chilling and inspired.

Again, the London Philharmonic wins this round. While the Tokyo Metropolitan's performances usually have superb dynamics, here they begin far too loudly and never quite recover. Also, the London Phil's crystalline recording is able to capture all the intricacies of this arrangement. The Tokyo Strings Ensemble performance of this piece consists of only strings, but, again, evokes so much more emotion than even the London Phil. The lush string arrangements here are the best of the three recordings.

5) Fight

This seems to be a piece that everybody but me hates. It is true that Sugiyama's battle themes are definitely not his best work, but I love the ferocity in this piece and the interesting use of brass. The theme is very simple, but is presented by seemingly out-of-tune trumpets and seem to literally be wailing out the melody. There's a softer, tense interlude section for high, tremolo strings before it returns to the blaring trumpets, separated by cymbal crashes. It ends on a dissonant brass crescendo, a trick that will become standard for Sugiyama in ending his battle tracks.

After a more ferocious beginning than the London Philharmonic recording, the Tokyo Metropolitan simply cannot collect itself enough to finish the piece. It sounds like it gave all the energy into those first few blasts and remained too tame for the rest of the piece. Without the trumpets blaring like in the London Phil, the simplicity of this arrangement is really brought out. I feel like mentioning that for once the Tokyo Strings Ensemble has produced an unsatisfactory result. Here, somehow the brass is even more tame than in the Tokyo Met recording, revealing how thin the orchestration really is.

6) Dungeons

I feel that Sugiyama's dungeon themes are often hit-and-miss. This one is definitely a hit. It has a dark, dismal feel while remaining strangely beautiful. The main melody is performed by strings and consists mostly of arpeggios, separated by tense string trills. What the piece lacks in good melodic content, however, it makes up for by evoking a very uneasy mood throughout with interesting chord progressions, constantly shifting from dissonance to consonance.

The Tokyo Metropolitan is the winner here because I feel that the London Philharmonic is a bit inconsistent. The Phil's dynamics are mostly nonexistent, with the piece staying at a single, low volume for the duration, even when brass comes in for some enhancement. The Met nails this one by not only achieving better dynamics, but also by having a very smooth performance that simply glides from note to note, chord to chord. For a piece that consists of mainly strings, you would think that the Tokyo Strings Ensemble recording would be the best... and you'd be right. They capture all the uneasy nuances of this piece perfectly.

7) King Dragon

Beginning with two interesting choices of percussion including a gong, the "King Dragon" theme begins. It is interesting because it stays almost neutral with its initial horn solo, but as the piece progresses and gains intensity, with choppy string harmonies, you really get the feel that this is a ferocious creature. There are some interesting effects produced by the brass before the piece tames once more with wind solos and more brass solos carrying the theme.

The Tokyo Metropolitan recording here certainly captures the sinister feel of the theme right of the bat, but only because, once again, it starts far too loudly, leaving little room for any dynamics. The beginning should be the softest part in order to successfully build to the terrifying climax; the London Philharmonic recording captures this perfectly. Like "Fight", though, the Tokyo Strings Ensemble actually loses points because it is simply not ferocious enough. It is too steady to be threatening.

8) Finale

This piece should almost be seen as a companion to the "Overture March". It begins with some rousing trumpet fanfares before moving into the sweet yet slightly quirky main theme played by strings and winds. There is a strong section in the middle for sweeping strings, aided by brass, and playful tambourines. The main melody is then provided by strings before the rather standard sounding climax.

Strangely, the issue I usually have with the Tokyo Metropolitan on this album — that they start off too loud — actually works for its favour in this piece. What should be a rousing start in the London Philharmonic is completely let down by the softness of the playing. Other than that, the pieces are nearly identical, but those first few notes are enough to make or break the entire piece. If you don't get off on the right foot, then there's no chance of recovery, in my opinion.

Strangely, since the Tokyo Strings Ensemble have excelled at most other pieces, they fall a tad short on this one. There is too little variation in dynamics. The sweeping strings are too light and have no real dramatic weight.

Summary

The arrangements on this album are, for the most part, very simplistic, and this actually detracts somewhat from the enjoyment of the pieces. There are certainly other Dragon Quest Symphonic Suites I would easily recommend over this one, but I still would recommend it, if nothing else just to see how Sugiyama has progressed. The album may not get marks for complexity, but it is still above average.

The reason I opted to compare recordings is because, with so many different recordings of these pieces out there, which one should you choose? For this particular Symphonic Suite, the answer is much harder to reach than on subsequent ones. Each has its share of pros and cons, but I think I would have to recommend the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra recording over the London Philharmonic Orchestra. However, neither recording is particularly distinguished so, if you are lucky enough to find the recording with the Tokyo Strings Ensemble, I'd suggest you purchase it immediately. It contains the most flawless performances of most of these pieces, although the absence of woodwinds in that album also ensures that it isn't as varied as the other recordings.

One thing to consider when purchasing the suites are the bonuses that come with the orchestral recording. The Tokyo Strings Ensemble recording also features a remastered original version of the music and an original sound story featuring music in conjunction with sound effects. The London Philharmonic recording features the Super Nintendo original version, which is obviously of better sound quality, though the remastered set is presented with the Dragon Quest II Symphonic Suite so there is no original sound version. As a bonus with the Tokyo Met, you get a plethora of nifty, orchestrated jingles. They're nothing special, but they help to fill out the album and a few of them feature some piano work by Sugiyama, which is so rarely heard. This is the main reason the recording is slightly better value than the London Philharmonic original print.