Overview

I'm a diehard fan of the Guilty Gear series. If you've read my other reviews about their soundtracks here, you know that I hold composer Daisuke Ishiwatari in very high regard, mostly for his role in keeping the fighting genre of video game music alive by delivering what is fair to call the be-all, end-all of heavy metal in original game music. Intense, thrashing, powerful, but at the same time, loaded with character, brilliantly planned out, and downright memorable are the adjectives I would use to describe the music from the original Guilty Gear Original Sound Collection and the much-heralded Guilty Gear X Hard Rock Tracks. The third main game in the series, Guilty Gear XX (known as Guilty Gear X2 for the stateside release) didn't attempt to re-write the book on the games. It merely offered a Super Street Fighter II-like upgrade with new characters, new moves, and a few different play mechanics. In that same vein, very little has changed about the music. On one hand, it's definitely good to keep the same feeling. On the other hand, the fact that every returning character has retained their Guilty Gear X theme for the sequel forces me to review this alongside its predecessor, Guilty Gear X Heavy Rock Tracks, as opposed to on its own. Normally, in such a situation, it would be best to pick a clear-cut winner. In this case, it's simply not possible for me to do that. The Guilty Gear XX Original Soundtrack improves over Hard Rock Tracks on plenty of counts, but it stumbles on quite a few other ones.

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The first thing you're going to notice about the track listings is all of the familiar names. On Disc One, as I said before, you have just about every single character theme from X returning for another round. So that begs the question, "What's different?" The answer: Other than a couple of instrument upgrades and some changed passages, not much. Make no mistake that these are newly recorded, so fans of Heavy Rock Tracks can have a ball dissecting every little difference between the different versions, as I have done since the day I received this. Disc Two almost makes it a moot point though, because it contains most of the brand new material, including character themes, confrontation themes and endings.

One thing that originally threw me off about this soundtrack was the fact that it was the soundtrack to the arcade version of Guilty Gear XX. As I started listening to it, I noticed that there was a sharp difference from the smooth rock feel of Guilty Gear X Heavy Rock Tracks and these newer versions. At first, I feared that some of this soundtrack was done with arcade synth. However, one look at the liner notes of both albums gave me my answer: The reason for the smoothness of Guilty Gear X Heavy Rock Tracks was the fact that it was performed by a single guitarist, and a keyboardist (a bass player only performed in two of the tracks) with some heavy mixing to make it sound like a much larger instrument set was performing. In contrast, the Guilty Gear XX Original Soundtrack has a live drummer and a bass player credited for the entire soundtrack. At first I felt stupid for mistaking the bass guitar for arcade synth, but I have to say it's not the cleanest sound in the world. Shinji Matsumoto gives a great performance, but his bass just has a naturally harsh feeling behind it. I guess Sammy decided not make the same mistake as the all-synth Guilty Gear X Original Soundtrack and stream the arcade version. This was more than a pleasant surprise, as the home version is virtually identical (or rather upgraded Kliff and Justice apparently weren't in the arcade version of XX, as their themes are credited for Guilty Gear X Plus on Disc Two).

By and large, the returning tracks make triumphant returns. About half of them are on par with the Heavy Rock Tracks versions. In some cases though, they manage to improve on the perfection of the Heavy Rock Tracks versions. The two most notable of these are Baiken's "Momentary Life" and Johnny's "Liquor Bar and Drunkard". The new drummer makes the difference here, as does the new rhythm from the lead guitarist between parts of the main melody and the great new ending. It all adds up to one of the most intense of the Guilty Gear themes and my overall favorite. "Liquor Bar and Drunkard" gives Matsumoto his chance to shine. His bass playing has a different feel from Ikuo Sibutani's (who did the Hard Rock Tracks version) but it fits the tune like a glove, arguably improving it as a whole. The deep pounding sound of "Burly Heart" becomes a much livelier experience with the addition of the bass, as do "Fuuga" and "Babel Nose".

Two of the largest changes are made to two of the classic themes that have been around since the original in "Holy Orders (Be Just or Be Dead)" and "Suck a Sage". The endings of these have been completely reworked, so that people who are familiar with the original versions are going to be thrown off near the second (and final) playthroughs of the pieces. These new tricks work great for "Suck a Sage", but this version of Holy Orders can't touch the Heavy Rock Tracks version in the thrills department; the organ doesn't sound anywhere near as menacing, so that exciting feeling when the guitar comes flying out of it is largely missed. It does provide a fresh take on a theme that was basically identical in the previous two versions of the score, but it's just not the best one. Some of the more disappointing returns are unfortunately some of my favorites from Heavy Rock Tracks. These versions of "A Solitude That Asks Nothing in Return" and "Feel a Fear" don't just feel weak; they've lost their deep, menacing, Dracula Battle-like sound for more of a disjointed and confused (even goofy) feel. I'm not sure if they're supposed to symbolize the lost feel that the Assassins Guild is going through inside the game (it's in total chaos during the game) but these versions of the themes were the disappointment of the album for me. This version of "Bloodstained Lineage" feels much weaker than the Heavy Rock Tracks version as well, though not to the extent of the other two disappointing ones.

Disappointments aside, the most compelling case for buying the soundtrack is the new material on Disc Two. These new themes manage to make themselves a name right alongside the returning tracks, almost sounding as if they've been part of the score the entire time. The only difference is really in the overall progression. While most of the tracks on Disc One feel like they play through twice, these seem to either go for two and a half playthroughs or they'll do one and a half. A moot point, considering their high quality. The best of the bunch is Bridget's theme, "Simple Life". It opens with the lead guitar playing a series of notes, then the drummer joins in playing the same set, then again with the bass, then finally with the keyboard. After that, the piece explodes into one of the more compelling melodies of the series. As Bridget is one of the more, er, innocent characters in the game, the feeling of the song is light-hearted and almost doesn't feel like fighting music. "Haven't You Got Eyes in Your Head?" is driven by a saxophone and is very similar to Faust's theme, while "Good Manners and Customs" is anything but good manners and customs, as its one of the craziest of the Guilty Gear themes. "Existence" picks up some of the slack for the poor Assassin's Guild, as it explodes into a fun, menacing and completely engaging melody. Finally, "The Midnight Carnival" IS Guilty Gear boss music, as it just bursts into an all-out rockfest that will not disappoint fans expecting an exciting conclusion.

But that's this? Just when you think the best is over, the soundtrack delivers an almost equally compelling encore performance of sorts courtesy of Koichi Seiyama. First you've got the three ending themes from XX: one that is actually very similar to Bridget's theme in its' playfulness, one that has sort of a heavy-blues feel, and one that is mostly piano-based. After that comes the tracks for the rest of the game, most notably "D.O.A.", the fiery music used for the character selection screen. The last five tracks are a treat for Guilty Gear veterans and a godsend for people who are brand new to the series. Here you have Kliff's "Pride and Glory" and the super-epic "Meet Again", which served as Justice's theme in the original Guilty Gear. Both of these have been upgraded appropriately to the Guilty Gear XX sound set and are simply great. Justice was one of those bosses that felt it wasn't fair for you to be able to hurt him as he tore you apart, leading to one of the more aggravating boss battles in fighting game history. I've spent well over 20 hours fighting him in the original game, so the original theme of his was already lodged in my head. For me, getting this new version almost justified the purchase of the entire soundtrack. To finish things off, the original endings from Guilty Gear X Heavy Rock Tracks make slightly-altered appearances with the XX instrument set.

Summary

The Guilty Gear XX Original Soundtrack is no doubt a masterpiece, but there is still the nagging question of whether or not you should buy this if you have Heavy Rock Tracks. Conversely, there is also the question if you should get Heavy Rock Tracks if you own this one already. My honest answer: I can't live without having the both of them, so I'm recommending getting both if you even remotely like the Guilty Gear style. No doubt, this one contains the most material and plenty of the best versions of the returning songs... BUT, it's impossible to quantify the shear quality of the best tracks from Guilty Gear X Heavy Rock Tracks that this one is lacking. If you're interested in getting into the series' music and can only pick one... Geez, I don't know... Making that kind of decision hurts my head... Flip a coin or something. They're both equally excellent, but for different reasons. On a side note, if you have both of them already and are looking for more, be sure to look into Guilty Gear XX Sound Alive, which is a smoldering live performance by most of the same guys who performed these original pieces. This soundtrack is widely available from most major game music sellers.

Overview

Guilty Gear XX is the next part of the Guilty Gear storyline. Introducing new characters and themes, Daisuke Ishiwatari creates the epitome of the Guilty Gear sound in this one. How are the new themes in the series and are the sound improvements a drastic change from Guilty Gear X? Let's take a little journey...

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Many of the tracks featured in Guilty Gear XX bear close resemblance to those in Guilty Gear X Heavy Rock Tracks, meaning the veteran themes have a much more raw sound and more focus on the electric guitar. I'll spend this review looking at tracks that are just now being featured in the Guilty Gear series while I'd suggest you refer to my box set or Guilty Gear X Original Soundtrack review for discussion of returnees.

"Simple Life," the theme for Bridget, is a slower rock composition, with some piano accents here and there. The overall melody is rather strong and is a great addition to the series' music. It helps to create this feeling of bliss. Another character, Slayer, has a theme that resembles "The Original" in terms of instrumentation. "Haven't You Got Eyes in Your Head?" is a nice combination of electric guitar and saxophone. The overall jazzy feeling is even stronger in this piece.

One of my favorites, "Good Manners and Customs", belongs to perhaps the most interesting of characters, Zappa. It's an awesome combination of electric guitar, complete with solo, organ, and some nice synth work. It has the most infectious melody of all the character themes, and helps go nicely with the nature of his character. I-No's theme, "Kagematsuri (Festival of Shadows)," is rather standard for the series. Heavy focus on the electric guitar, with very little development in other instruments, it still provides a nice listen.

Finally, absent from Guilty Gear X, "Pride and Glory" makes its return in this album. This is part of the five bonus Guilty Gear X Plus Unreleased Tracks. Rather than regular piano, electric piano replaces the piano portions of this piece, while the remainder of the piece is the classic electric guitar found in the original. It's quite a pleasant listen.

Summary

Guilty Gear XX is the definitive Guilty Gear soundtrack. It offers a much improved sound, the new themes offer a fantastic treat to the listener, and the energy is so much higher than in previous soundtracks. It's a well executed album and it captures the spirit of the game amazingly. If you were to only buy one Guilty Gear soundtrack, I highly recommend it to be this one.

Daisuke Ishiwatari can't be called the biggest player in the video game music arena, but his soundtrack to Guilty Gear XX is pretty gifted work, more often than not. It's primarily composed of wicked, awesome heavy metal full of guitars howling like ferocious wolves with occasional orchestral, jazz and even traditional Japanese and Chinese sounds here and there. Besides the metal tracks there are also some "lighter" rock, jazz, blues and piano ballads. The guitars, bass guitars and drums on the CD are all live. It's all made even better by the tracks being not too short, and when they loop there's often some kind of twist present to provide a little variation.

"Noontide" is one of my several favorites, bringing my thoughts to German metal bands with its epic sound. Another favorite, "Holy Orders (Be Just or Be Dead)" goes even further taking that epic sound, speeding it up and throwing in some organs and a lavish chorus resulting in a memorable song. Further favorites continuing on the theme of speed are "Suck A Sage" and "Elegance". "Suck A Sage" has a powerful opening riff reminiscent of the one from Metallica's song "Hit The Lights" and "Elegance" has some more cool riffing throughout and a catchy chorus giving the feeling of freedom, with what I think is a shamisen in the background, one of the manifestations of traditional Japanese musical influences. "Momentary Life" has Japanese influences made even more prominent, opening with a shamisen intro and having a flute in the chorus. The song gives a feeling of being a ronin, wandering the roads of the world, seeking vengeance.

"Make Oneself" and "Haven't You Got Eyes In Your Head" combine hard rock with some jazz. Sandwiched in between the heavy riffing on "Make Oneself" is a laidback part with jazz guitar and cymbals, and "Haven't You Got Eyes In Your Head" has a saxophone that gives a feeling of mysteriousness. "Meet Again" starts semi orchestral before going heavy, and even has some techno sounds throughout. The frantic organs on "Writhe In Pain" gives an even more classical feel. "Awe Of She" sounds like it could have been the final boss BGM of a fantasy RPG. Though it is only the character select BGM, I'd really have wanted "D.O.A." to be much longer than it is. It's quite rocking and has a memorable solo, actually.

"Blue Water Blue Sky" and "Simple Life" give a break from the heavy tracks by being cheerful and innocent while still not fully letting go of that guitar sound. The staff roll song "Boom Town Blues" is, as evident by its name, blues oriented. Also blues is the faster "Pride And Glory". It has a good riff that makes me think of blues musicians dressed totally in black with sunglasses, traveling from town to town. Some of the other staff roll tracks stick out from the rest by being piano ballads. "Missing..." is probably the best of them, like "Awe of She", it might have been able to be used in an RPG. Perhaps during the ending credits again, or as some kind of "sadness theme"?

The booklet following the CD is a bit disappointing. Three pages are used for pictures of the characters, and further three are used for track listing, only a few comments, and credits. Couldn't there have been more comments, preferably from the composer himself or the arranger Koh-Ichi Seiyama, with pictures of the musicians during the recording sessions?

The booklet is of course not an integral part, and Guilty Gear XX Original Soundtrack is still a formidable creation and highly recommendable to those of you who like your video game music rocking. If you like Guilty Gear you probably already have this one, but if you don't, why not give the potentially unsung hero of a composer that is Daisuke Ishiwatari a chance?