Overview

The Attouteki Mugen Souls Z Soundtrack once again brings together Tenpei Sato and Kenji Kaneko together to continue the musical vision created by the first game. How does the sequel’s music compare to that of the original?

Body

The first disc on the soundtrack is composed by Tenpei Sato. The first track on the CD is “Infinite Field,” which is used as the opening tune for Mugen Souls Z. It’s sung by Myou and has a pop rock sound and a bit of a Disgaea flair. It also sports a pretty nice guitar solo. Overall, it’s a playful song that fits the style of the game. The ending theme, “A Kiss that Looks Like You,” is a beautiful pop ballad that really has a charming sound to it. The use of harmonica is also appreciated as it helps give it more of jovial sound.

There are a lot of staple Tenpei Sato sounds on the album. Violin is showcased quite a bit. “Spring Step” is one such tune that is quite playful and upbeat that also incorporates some soft choral backing. “Lost Violin” is a beautiful piece backed by acoustic guitar and features a very peppy melody. “Brown Leaf Garden” has a very rustic sound mixed with violin, strings, and some spacy synth tones with a nice R&B style rhythm. There are also some pieces that feature some playful woodwinds and brass. “Dark Legend” is an orchestral theme with a darker tone mixed with some bright woodwind work and is very reminiscent of his other darker orchestral tunes throughout his NIS game scores. “Cold Age Blues” isn’t really a blues tune, but it is a good theme nonetheless. It features some vocal work, a mysterious air to it, but also a bright and airy one thanks to the woodwinds and piano. “Happy Carnival” is a peppy tune that has a bit of a gospel sound, similar to Disgaea 3, mixed with a playful brass that would fit a carnival environment. “Popn’ Clover” is a playful brass tune that fits in game, but may not stand up to standalone listens.

There are also a few battle themes as well. While “Space Diving” may or may not be a battle theme, it does have a very powerful atmosphere thanks to the beautiful mixture of rock, orchestra, synth, and choir. This is definitely one of the best new tunes from Mugen Souls Z. “Screming Wave”  is a chaotic and mysterious orchestral tune; however, the tune doesn’t stand as strong as others on the soundtrack due to its random nature. Lastly, “Black Attack” is an awesome rock tune with some choral and orchestral backing. It really creates a nice battle environment. There are also some tunes that are rehashes from the first game and these are denoted by an added Z in the track title.

The majority of the soundtrack, however, is composed by Kenji Kaneko, similar to the first game. The main theme, “Mugen Souls Z” has has a very playful orchestral tune that would fit well in one of Tenpei Sato’s games. Before moving onto the more substantial tunes, there are some presumed event and scenario themes that are worth mentioning. “Vodka” is a violin piece that has a very intense electronic sound with altering tempo speeds and some heavy bass. It works pretty well at creating a nice energy.“Reality like a Nightmare” is a sinister orchestral theme with some rock influence in the accompaniment. It definitely gives off a sense of determination as well. “Future☆Ambitious” is a beautiful orchestral theme with some drum pad accompaniment that gives it a nice pop feel with a classical air. Lastly, “Mistake” is a melancholy piano tune that has a very beautiful melody. Not entirely sure, but it sounds like this might be the game over theme.

However, the world and dungeon themes are some of the highlights on the soundtrack. “Gray Seikai ~Aquarius~” has a sort of a renaissance feel that also incorporates a lot of violin and deep bass with some electronic distortion at times. “Red Seikai ~Scorpio~” is an orchestral tune with lots of heavy percussion and violin. It definitely has an intense sound and at times, sounds like it would fit the high seas! “Blue Seikai ~Gemini~” is definitely one of my favorite of the world themes. It has this lovely electronic atmosphere mixed with some beautiful acoustic guitar, piano, and bright synthesizer that helps create a fantastic melody. “Purple Seikai ~Pisces~” is another electronic based theme that is quite successful. It features a nice house style beat with some harp and woodwind incorporation to give a really airy feeling overall while “White Seikai ~Cancer~” is an electronic based theme that incorporates acoustic guitar, brass, and jazzy piano to create a pretty vibrant atmosphere. However, “Silver Seikai ~Libra~” with its bright and bubbly synth/orchestra mixture, while interesting, is one of the weaker world themes on the soundtrack. Likewise, “Green Seikai ~Taurus~” is an upbeat theme that features plenty of woodwinds to give it a nice, delicate, and playful air, but it doesn’t really manage to stand out either.

“Ruins of Light ~A Angel’s Stairway~” is an upbeat and peppy tune that also has a bit of an eerie and ethnic air to it. It definitely fits the atmosphere of the game, but I feel it doesn’t stand up to standalone listens that well. On the other hand, “Ruins of Darkness ~Under Dark Shadow~” is an ominous orchestral theme with some haunting choral accompaniment, plenty of brass, and some ethnic percussion. “The Cave of Babylon” is a rock theme that has a bit of an ominous atmosphere; however, among the other rock themes, this one doesn’t stand up as strong. Still, it does have some really interesting accompaniment going on though.

The other rock based themes on the album are most certainly battle themes. “Broken Glass of Platinum ~Z~” is a riff heavy rock tune that also incorporates the organ and violin. It has a haunting atmosphere to it, but still has plenty of energy. “Stand Up and Fight” is another riff heavy rock tune that features violin as the primarily source of melody. It definitely has a more upbeat nature to it giving it a rather heroic sound. “We Will Rise Again” is similar in the riff department, but features an uplifting synth/guitar melody line. Lastly, although not a rock theme, “Requiem from Hell” is an intense orchestral tune that features frenetic strings and ominous chanting. It definitely gives off a nice battle vibe.

Summary

In the end, I think that the Attouteki Mugen Souls Z Soundtrack is on par with that of the first game’s soundtrack. Both Kenji Kaneko and Tenpei Sato craft some fantastic tunes that fit the world of Mugen Souls; however, both of them also create tunes that may not be appreciated outside of the context of the game. However, it is clear that the two work well together since I do hear some influence from one another in some of the pieces on the soundtrack. If you are a fan of the music while playing it in game, this soundtrack may be for you!