Overview

This album contains the music from two of Toaplan's titles, the run and gun title Out Zone composed by Tatsuya Uemura, and the cheerful platformer Snow Bros. by Osamu Ohta. In addition, there is an arranged version of the Out Zone music. Is this album worth a purchase?

Body

The Out Zone soundtrack, composed by Tatsuya Uemura, is quite enjoyable overall. "Chapter 1: The Command ~ To the Earth (Ver. 1.0)" is an upbeat and heroic tune with a great melody and some catchy accompaniment. The B section is particularly impressive with its progressive rock tone. There is also a 1.1 version of this theme featured that changes the instrumentation slightly. "Chapter 2: Present of Bullet for the Crowd" is also quite similar in tone and has a great melody as well. "Chapter 3: The Undertaker of O.Z" is an extremely catchy tune with a slightly dark tone. Overall, it still manages to capture a very adventurous tone. Another very catchy melody is that of "Chapter 4: Soldier Barrels Along." It has a definite progressive rock sound but, despite its energy, is one of the weaker themes.

"Chapter 5: Mystery of Ogiwara" has an energetic, yet mysterious, sound with some Japanese sounding music. It is quite intense as well, thanks to the brooding accompaniment. "Chapter 6: Just Before the Boss" features a catchy rhythm and a semi-foreboding sound, but at the same time, doesn't offer as strong a melody as some of the other themes on the soundtrack. Finally, "Get the Last Dance" offers a fantastic melody and atmosphere, providing an upbeat, energetic theme that really gives that feeling of a final battle with a slight serious tone with an overall heroic vibe.

There is also an arranged medley on the album. Titled "Out Zone (Arranged Version)," it features a compilation of various tunes on the soundtrack providing a fantastic synth rock tone. While it sounds a little dated today, it really fortifies the already strong melodies featured.

The Snow Bros. soundtrack, composed by Osamu Ohta, is quite weak overall. All three stage themes, "Yukidama Ondo," "Yukida March," and "Dosskoi Snow," suffer from repetition and weak melodies, but do offer some differences in atmosphere. "Yukidama Ondo" is quite playful and quirky, giving off a feeling of winter. "Yukida March" gives off a bit of a funk rock sound, while "Dosskoi Snow" has a bit of a melancholy tone to it.

Snow Bros.'s boss theme, "Boss Yade," is a very bubbly theme that doesn't really give off a feeling of a boss. It has a bit of a calypso vibe, due to the instrumentation, but the overall theme is extremely repetitive and overstays its welcome very quickly. The final boss theme, "Boss de Ska," compared to the regular boss theme, is definitely a bit more of a sinister nature with a bit of a funk influence, but it also suffers from poor development and repetition. There is another version of this soundtrack that features synthesizers, which helps the overall atmosphere of the album, but still suffers from repetition and the lack of strong melodies.

Summary

Overall, this album is passable, thanks mainly to Out Zone's soundtrak. I fail to see anything captivating about Ohta's contribution to the track and, given it comprises the majority of the album, it really manages to bring the overall quality of the album. If you can find it for cheap on an auction site, I'd suggest it, only for Out Zone, but if not, it's definitely worth passing on.