Overview

This year, Noriyuki Iwadare has had somewhat of a revival. Between shooter arrangements, dating simulations, Gyakuten Kenji, Grandia Online, and original albums, he managed to handle the music for the PSP remake of Lunar: Silver Star Story. The soundtrack for the remake was released with both the Japanese release, as a pre-order bonus entitled Lunar Harmony of the Silver Star Limited Soundtrack, and the American release, as a limited edition bonus called Lunar Silver Star Harmony Musical Selections. Featuring new themes, some piano arrangements, and a reworked soundtrack, was it what I expected it to be?

Body

The first three themes on the soundtrack are the additional ones created for the game, presumably for the Prologue section of the story that was added. The first, "Yell of the Black Star," is a dark and ominous orchestral theme with some nice use of choir. It really manages to capture a sense of urgency and despair. Unfortunately, it's not the most interesting theme for repeated listenings, so it may be hard to stomach more than once for some listeners.

The new battle theme, however, is one that really has some legs. "Battle of Light and Shadow" is very much like a fusion of Grandia and Lunar style battle themes. There is some awesome piano work that helps give it a touch of ominous atmosphere, but it's the other elements that really make it shine. For example, at times, you'll hear some nice keyboard and guitar work to give it some edge, but at the same time, you'll hear some big brass sounds that help give it a bit of a jazz flair. There is a small tension easer thrown in the middle, the famous Luna's theme. It makes me think this is an important battle theme in the game. Lastly, "Tales: Mother and Father" is a piece that is both melancholy and cosy. The woodwind and brass combination goes well with the keyboard work and bass guitar. In the end, it's a rather nice addition to the soundtrack.

The original soundtrack, for the most part, is resynthed. Overall, it makes the experience a whole lot nicer than the originals. There are some slight changes to accompaniment in the two vocal themes, as well as some of the other themes, but for the most part, it's just updated synths. Exceptions include the vocal themes "Wings" (aka "Tsubasa") and "Wind's Nocturne" (aka "The Boat Song") that feature wonderful new performances by Kyoko Hikami. For a greater idea of what the meat of the soundtrack sounds like, feel free to read some of the other Lunar reviews we have posted from the earlier versions of the soundtrack. They'll do more justice than I could.

The end of the soundtrack also features a few piano arrangements by Michiko Naruke. The first, "Let's Take a Walk," is easily my favorite. It has a nice ragtime jazz feeling to it, with its bouncy and upbeat nature. It's one of those arrangements that will easily make any sorrow you have temporarily disappear. As the piece progresses, the tempo increases, bringing with it a whole new atmosphere. The other two arrangements, "The Pier that Invites the Sea Breeze" and "And the Door to Adventure Opened," are both very slow and peaceful arrangements that pour a lot of emotion into the original melody. They are both extremely satisfying additions to the soundtrack. In fact, I'd love to see a Grandia or a Lunar piano arrangement album in the future because these piano arrangements are very promising.

Summary

In the end, I think this is definitely the definitive version of the soundtrack to own. Unfortunately, in order to obtain it, you have to either pre-order the Japanese release of the game or purchase the limited edition version of the Western release, though thankfully the latter isn't too expensive. I think Iwadare really improved upon the originals, due to the updated synth, and Michiko Naruke's piano arrangements are a nice bonus. Although there are only three, for the most part, the new compositions really fit into the Lunar universe. Perhaps one day we'll see a new Lunar game with brand new compositions, but for now, I'll take the remakes.