Overview

Palutena no Kagami & Metroid is a very old and rare cassette from back in the 80s wiith just six tracks and about 14 minutes of music from the two games. Yet the last time I saw it auctioned on eBay it was sold at a shockingly high price! Was the music worth it?

Body

"Title" from Kid Icarus (aka Palutena no Kagami) is a beautiful and regal synth piece. It layers some lovely ethereal chords over the classic old school blips and drum loops of the original and it works to great effect.

Kid Icarus' "BGM Medley" compiles music from the game using the same style as before. Each segment of the piece has a very specific scene setting. It starts off regal before taking on a Middle Eastern feel and becoming more and more complex like a battle theme. The different tunes are sown together perfectly in a way that many other medleys really fail to achieve. The final track from the game is appropriately the "Ending"; it's dramatic, fast paced and enjoyable.

The Metroid pieces now take to the stage with "Title". It's very futuristic at the start, with a military drum beat and the beautiful original synth melodies ringing throughout. The game's BGM medley follows and this too flows just as well as the previous medley but is a little more darker in tone and plays a lot like a synth stadium rock band. The final track is of course "Ending", which playfully skips along without offence.

Summary

For many, this won't appeal unless you enjoy going back to game music's roots. The tracks, while catchy in places and with nice hooks, are not exactly earth-shattering. They do show the gap between classic and arranged VGM being merged, which is very interesting to listen to from both an educational and a listener's point of view. This is a purist's purchase only.