Overview

The Shining Hearts Fan Disc was released alongside the game as a pre-order bonus. It features a range of audio visual content, including a soundtrack sampler, voice collections, wallpapers, and movies. The soundtrack sampler showcases some of the soundscapes you will expect to hear on the full soundtrack. Most tracks have shorter track times than those in the full two disc soundtrack. However, are the selections good?

Body

The album opens up, surprisingly, with the ending theme, "World of Happiness (Ending)." This theme opens up with a very mystical harp and glockenspiel passage with some suspended strings to provide a hint of mystery before moving into a very heroic and uplifting section featuring plenty of drumpad and inspiring strings work. As it moves on, it develops a Mana-esque sound, where the drumpad, woodwind, and strings work are reminiscent of some of the more playful and action oriented themes. I find that some of these themes go on a bit too long, hurting the overall track in the end, but not by much. The ending theme closes with another nostalgic theme that features poppy drum pad work and acoustic guitar leads to create a feeling of closure, before bringing back some of the more action-oriented themes one more time.

"Angel's Castle" has a very regal tone to it, but it's not overbearing. In fact, there really isn’t any brass featured like many royal themes seem to include. Rather, the use of harpsichord provides an equally compelling, softer approach to creating that air of regality. Combined with the glockenspiel, it creates a playful atmosphere at times. The end result is ultimately pleasing. "Rural Scenery" is a very simple village theme that features a focus on percussion, strings, and woodwinds. The woodwind melody help creates a nice sense of openness while the strings and percussion help create a playful, village atmosphere.

"The Awakening of the Machine God" is one of the action oriented themes, but serves primiarly as an event scene, I believe. It has a very uplifting sound, mainly due to the way the strings are incorporated, but it manages to provide a very nice atmosphere with some industrial tones, nonetheless, even if the melody is lacking. "The Crisis Arrives" features frenetic guitar riffs and chaotic strings. In the end, it isn't a melodically charged track, but the strings, powerful guitar riffs, and the keyboard work to create a very tense atmosphere.

"Flour, Eggs, and Milk" is a very playful theme with a strong melody and some interesting drumpad work and xylophone. I find the strings in the B section to add to the overall atmosphere, due to their pizzicato nature. "Key of the Heart," on the other hand, features a more prominent melody. It inspires a feeling of an awakening of sorts. I really find the woodwind passages to be quite beautiful, while the strings work helps create an aura of playfulness as well as an aura of revelation, at times.

"A Lane in Bloom" also features a sort of Asian presence, although it's more in terms of musical ideas, rather than instrumentation. The strings work is deep and powerful, albeit intermittent in the piece, while the piano and xylophone help create more mystical and mysterious tones within the piece. "Scorching Ground" has a very Arabian sound that fits a desert environment. I really like the sitar usage and the exotic percussion samples as they really help create a nice fascinating rhythm. The B section is more atmospheric and less focused on melody, but it complements the more melodically focused A section quite well. Finally, "Pirate Knights" has a very heroic and playful atmosphere that definitely reminds me of an early morning. The piano accompaniment is quite beautiful, but the brass and strings work their magic to create an enticing atmosphere.

Summary

In the end, this is an interesting preview of the full soundtrack. I think some of the weaker themes were selected, although there are some highlights featured as well. It gives a nice range of musical styles to be featured and the ending theme is a surprising addition. In the end, I would say wait for the full soundtrack as it's definitely a better investment monetarily.