Overview

While Castlevania: Symphony of the Night featured an excellent instrumental score, it was slightly let down by its closing credits song, "I am the Wind". Konami were apparently proud of the song at the time, even dedicating a vocal single to it, complete with a B-side. The result is not flattering.

Body

Rika Muranaka's "I am the Wind" is the closing credits song for the game and in my opinion is completely ridiculous and cringe-worthy. It sounds like an early 1990s love ballad and not the good kind which leaves you with only a slight headache. It includes vocals, cheesy chords and melody, and an uninspired vocal performance. Thematically and stylistically, it simply doesn't close the musical gaps very efficiently and doesn't stay true to the main gist of the soundtrack.

The B-side "4Ever Yours 2Night" is no less trashy, as if its name didn't give it away. Cynthia Harrell introduces an overly sentimental vocal melody with her characteristically silky voice, complete with sickly lyrics like "My only one is one". It subsequently moves into a verse featuring an equally obnoxious male vocalist, before they characteristically come together for the climax. The accompaniment remains functional throughout, with yet more cheesy chords and last-gen synthesis. In short, absolutely horrible.

Like most vocal singles released in Japan, there are also two karaoke versions of the single. Even if you have a great voice, you'd be laughed off stage for singing these, so don't bother!

Summary

To summarise, "I am the Wind" is an atrocious misfit on the Castlevania: Symphony of the Night soundtrack and a very generic piece of pop music otherwise. It seems that even Konami have turned their back on it, replacing it with a new instrumental composition on the PSP game. This vocal single can be safely skipped.