Monopoly String Quartet Compositions :: Review by Z-Freak

	Album Title:	Monopoly String Quartet Compositions
	Record Label:	Apollon
	Catalog No.:	APCG-4035
	Release Date:	April 21, 1993
	Purchase:	Buy at eBay

Overview

Here is what I would consider the weirdest soundtrack in my collection. People play Monopoly, but how many are aware that a Monopoly video game was made for the Super Nintendo in the early 1990s? Very few, I'm sure. And to top it all off, Koichi Sugiyama of Dragon Quest fame scored this... crazy.

Body

To start things off, the first six tracks are performed by string quartet, comprising two violins, a viola, and a cello.. As classical listeners will know, this ensemble is a surprisingly versatile one and rather charming. That said, you don't need to be a classical music lover to enjoy these pieces. Elegantly orchestrated and performed, these tracks are highly reminiscent of Sugiyama's various castle themes from the Dragon Quest series.

The Super Nintendo tracks make up the following 13 tracks. They don't suffer too much from poor synth quality — the samples are clear and highly enjoyable. I can't really take a track and describe it in detail as they sound too similar to one other. That's the only weakness from this soundtrack.

The last 20 or so tracks are sound effects from the game, which is nice to make the album complete. But who really wants to listen to sound effects from a Monopoly game? It's best to stick to the arranged or original versions.

Summary

To conclude this short review, if you're a fan of Sugiyama this album might be worth your while. Just be aware that it is fairly short, despite the awesome string arrangements at the beginning. If you enjoy string quartets, why not give it a chance? You might enjoy it as much as I do.