Overview

Media Vision's Chaos Rings, a high profile RPG for the iPhone, was met with enough success to warrant both a sequel and prequel. While the sequel will be created mostly from the ground up, the prequel, Chaos Rings Omega, is more of an expansion to the first title. To that end, there are few original tracks penned by Noriyasu Agematsu this time around, though the eight that are new were gathered together for a mini iTunes release. Agematsu's original journey to the series was rather fulfilling, yet can he keep up with the latest release?

Body

The title theme, "Chaos Rings Ω," is a vocal version of the first game's main theme. The melody is heroic and dramatic, ever evolving and as good as it always was, perhaps superior with the addition of vocals. The choir that introduces "Not My Story" helps the piece carry a great deal of weight and brings it into its main, and quite enjoyable, melody, laden with electronic sounds and synth, as well as a sampling of orchestral instruments.

The main battle theme, "Ω Battle," goes through ups and downs. There are sections with entertaining melodies mingled with sections spliced in for a sort of exciting shock value that come off as irksome. "Ω Battle (Boss)," the boss theme, is more enjoyable with a more consistent and melody that is somewhat cinematic in places.

The soundtrack diverts a bit with the jazzy "Anything, Anytime," providing a welcome bit of variation, even if the piece itself isn't terribly interesting. The light yet cinematic "Kicking it with Piu-Piu!" is more in line with the rest of the soundtrack, especially thanks to its occasional referencing the main theme.

Sarah Àlainn contributes the vocals once again to the game's vocal theme, "A World without Tears." This soft piece brims with melodic complexity, though it isn't quite as exciting as the original's vocal. The instrumental version is essentially the exact track with the vocals removed.

Summary

Considering its price and easy availability, anyone who is a fan of the composer or the original soundtrack should definitely check this album out, even if it is overall less impressive than the first game's. Anyone unfamiliar with either should prioritize the first game's soundtrack over this one, certainly. That said, this is a short yet enjoyable romp back into the world of Chaos Rings.