Overview

Fall of the Samurai is a stand-alone expansion for Total War: Shogun II, focusing on the civil war in Japan following the arrival of Western powers in the 19th Century. Testifying to the scope of the expansion, returning composer Jeff van Dyck was asked to create over an hour of new music to accompany scenes in the game. The score, just like the game, captures a clash of eras and civilizations with a tapestry of musical colours. The soundtrack was an exclusive for downloading the game through Steam.

Body

Given the scenario, the score tends to hybridise the traditional Japanese instrumentation with the more modern orchestration of the West. "Attack of the West" first conveys this conflict, with dominant brass and stabbing strings leaving a lone shakuhachi crying for survival. "Fudo Myo March" thereafter provides a more dynamic — and even — blend of styles. It's incredible how van Dyck incorporates the instruments, rhythms, and characters of East and West into this extensive action cue. When combined, his artistic composition and polished implementation ensure the final result is convincing and satisfying, as opposed to a giant mess. One key of the success is the percussion line that ferociously and persistently drives the piece while the leads come in and fall down. It sounds incredible both in and out of context.

The revealing, and often tragic, scenario of Fall of the Samurai provides room for van Dyck to explore deeper emotions than on the original game. "It Will Never be the Same" is a fully-fledged cinematic cue that captures both the scenic and personal component of the opening events. Every note is filled with such emotion, but never to the point of melodrama. "Falling Thunder" is a further centrepiece that, at five minutes long, exceeds the rest of the series' material in scope. But despite its persistence, it becomes clear that the resolve of the samurai is not enough to overpower the brute force of modern warfare. "Clash of the Katana" is also momentous for the way it captures the desperation of the warring forces. The occasional piano cluster and orchestral discord further testifies to the modern, ravaging influences.

Despite this, van Dyck does spend considerable time revisiting the traditional Japanese stylings of Total War: Shogun II. Little has changed in his approach to "The Harvest", an arrangement featuring the wanderings of a shakuhachi and koto, or "Call of the North", which captures a fragile resolve. Though such pieces are unspectacular on the outside, they are still filled with thought and integrate well with the recurring tracks from the original game. As with most scores in the series, Fall of the Samurai tends to waver in its development. Short cues such as "Genmaicha" or "Winter's Last Breath" serve their role in the game, but are unremarkable otherwise and detract slightly from the stand-alone experience. Nevertheless, the soundtrack does tell a rich story and its finale, with "Winds of Fate" and "The Fall of Samurai", is both spectacular and bittersweet.

Summary

Jeff van Dyck succeeded in producing a soundtrack for Fall of the Samurai that is at least as substantial as the original. He maintains a fine balance between continuity and change, incorporating plenty of modern orchestral elements while retaining the dark, beautiful aura of traditional Japanese music. Despite the album's slightly uneven flow, there are various setpieces here that will yield widespread appeal. This soundtrack is a very worthy bonus with the expansion through Steam.