Overview

The latest tri-Ace game, surprisingly, isn't being published by Square Enix, but rather Sega. Also, for a tri-Ace game, rather than relying solely on Motoi Sakuraba, they've contracted Kohei Tanaka to compose much of the cinematic and town theme music, whereas Motoi Sakuraba is handling the battle and dungeon theme music. Although the original soundtrack isn't released until March 24, 2010, this promotional CD came packaged with the game and offers a small taste of what Kohei Tanaka and Motoi Sakuraba plan on bringing to the official release.

Body

Kohei Tanaka's music is orchestral in nature. To those who do not enjoy Motoi Sakuraba's orchestral offerings, this is probably a fantastic decision. For those who do enjoy Sakuraba's orchestral themes, fret not as Tanaka crafts some beautiful themes for this soundtrack. Opening the promotional album, "The Beginning of Eternity," was first featured in the trailers for the game. It features a beautiful blend of more cinematic action scoring and some exquisite melodies. It may or may not be the main theme of the game, but I'm sure this motif will occur again throughout the game. "The Truth" is another cinematic theme but one that harbors a very sinister image. As the theme progresses, it takes on a more and more sinister atmosphere, starting mainly with some piano and strings work before moving onto some beautifully integrated organ and brass. In the end, this is one of the themes that really define Kohei Tanaka's skill at blending orchestral music rather nicely.

"Resonance of Fate," which is ironically the name of the game in the Western versions of the game, is some more cinematic music. This one carries with it an air of mystery and calm. However, as it progresses, it takes on a more action-oriented approach that emphasizes some sort of crisis-like event. I find the more peaceful sections of this theme to be more enjoyable. This is also a prime candidate for the main theme of the game, but I'm not exactly sure yet. "Chandelier" is one of the area themes, mainly for the upper echelon of Basel. It's a gorgeous theme that is playful at times that also features some motifs from "Resonance of Fate". Lastly, "Cranktown," must be one of the town themes for the game. It has a very bouncy nature, reminds me a bit like Dragon Quest music when it comes to the brass accents strewn about the theme. In the end, it's a beautiful piece, but probably the least impressive of the themes from Tanaka on this promotional CD.

The other half of the promotional CD features music by Motoi Sakuraba. The battle theme "Irruption" is classic progressive rock Sakuraba with a nice focus on electric guitar. It's a pretty rockin' theme and I love the keyboard work that is used as an accompaniment. It's like a solo is always going on in the theme, whether it's in the background or the foreground. "Fighting with the Devil" is used as the music for a cinematic that can be viewed if you wait on the title screen for so long. It's also progressive in nature, with a strong focus on a strong percussion and bass guitar line as accompaniment to some suspended strings, piano, electric guitar, and keyboard work. It's a fantastic theme that really gives off quite a powerful image. There is also another version of this theme on the promotional theme, aptly named "Fighting with the Devil - Another Version," but it is entirely orchestral and doesn't really capture the essence of the original successfully.

"Freud Remnants" sounds like a dungeon theme to me and is one that carries a sinister image as well. The bass line is very powerful, featuring a strong mix of percussion and some industrial elements. However, the real power lies in the strings melody. It is an extremely dark and foreboding theme, but the strings work really adds a sense of urgency and depth to the piece. It's a nice surprise from Sakuraba and reminds me of an evolved form of some of the orchestral dungeon themes featured in Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria. Lastly "Battle to Pay the Debt" is also one of the first themes to be featured in the trailers and is one of Sakuraba's orchestral prog rock pieces. The bass line is powerful bass guitar and drum work with some occasional keyboard work in solos, but the melody is mainly comprised of frenetic strings work. It's a fantastic theme, however, I'm not sure where dit is used in the game. Much of the battle theme music I've heard is less frenetic. It'll be interesting to see how this is used.

Summary

In the end, this promotional album showcases the progressive rock and orchestral music that will be featured in the game. Kohei Tanaka's ability to craft beautiful orchestral themes is ever apparent here and Sakuraba's strengths as a prog rock musician are as clear as day. I'm rather excited for the official soundtrack. As for whether or not to get this, since it was packaged with the game, I'd wait for the original soundtrack to come out. You'll get all of these themes and even more beautiful and powerful work from the composer duo.