RPGamers Network > Reviews > Game Music Reviews > Legend of Mana / Seiken Densetsu OST
Reviewed by: Kie
Legend of Mana (Seiken Densetsu 4 if you will) isn't particularly like by many, or known by many for that matter, but I'll save game talk for reviews, let's talk soundtracks. Yoko Shimomura does a brilliant job with this album, some songs here being some of his best works to date. Some may not like the game, but this OST is for everyone to like.
As the album is two discs, I'll pick out some noticeably good ones and maybe a bad one if there are any. Some songs are repetitions or slow versions of other songs so I'd be repeating myself if I did all 55 tracks.
The first 2 songs are worth mentioning. The title theme plays through a few cutscenes at the beginning of the game. It is an orchestral piece to begin with, then the rest is a faster paced piece with a little more tune. It then ends quietly to finish it off. The Nostalgic song is one of my personal favourites. It is a very peaceful song, set like an orchestrated piece but it isn't really. It has a brilliant tune and a slow beat. Quite excellent considering it's only for the title screen and one or two short parts in the game.
Hometown Domina is another peaceful song with two completely different instruments playing roughly the same tune, which by the way, is also great. I like the way everything just merges into one piece after a while. It also really gives a great scene for the town of Domina itself.
Starting to get a bit faster as the game begins to get more battles into it and less storyline. Along a few enemy areas is Wanderer's Path, a faster paced piece good for small enemies so it ties in well with the areas it accompanies. It has a nice drum beat and adds a slight bit of orchestral tune to a faster beat which works effectively.
Pain the Universe is the Battle Arena theme mainly in Legend of Mana. It is the first song in the album that includes heavy and light guitar. The guitar pieces in Legend of Mana are the best you'll find on a non-arranged OST. Yoko Shimomura did an excellent job fitting this one together, a fast paced guitar and many other instruments used to create an awesome tune which will keep you headbanging.
Skipping ahead a bit to two songs which are worth noting. Calmly Travelling is a drum-based piece which has a distorted keyboard playing the tune but the song would be nothing without the drums. Not a bad piece. Memory of Running uses a light trumpet to add effect to the heavy chimes and synth in the background to create a mystical feeling to the song. A great piece by Yoko Shimomura.
The Darkness Nova is my personal favourite. Starting off with a small drum solo, it quickly cuts into a heavy guitar with a cool guitar bass and an awesome theme to match. The best guitar part I've ever heard comes in at about 1:25 and involves a lot of high notes that sound so good with a guitar.
Skipping ahead through the second disc, and I come to The Excitement of Both of Us. It starts off with sort of indian drums and a low flute also. It then cuts into the marching drums and the music gets louder beginning an awesome light trumpet piece. The only thing wrong about this I can see is that it repeats too much.
And I get to one of the best on the album, Irwin of Reflection. Truly amazing this one, and it plays just twice in the game. It's a guitar all the way through and includes some very high notes with it and a long pitch at the end which just...rocks, yes it rocks. The drums are quite weak unfortunately.
Aid starts off sounding like it's going to be really great, and it kind of is. Though I think that Yoko Shimomura could have done more with the orchestral part of the song and maybe included more of the better tune rather than the bad part.
And at this point, I get to Depression Blues. This one really disappointed me, as it is the only song over 2 minutes long that isn't good. All it really is, is chimes doing the same 3 chords each time, with a speckle of tune in the background and a few vocals.
The last song I can mention is Those Who Are Shining, which is a vocalized lengthier version of City of Flickering Destruction, and plays just once in the game, but it is well worth the play to hear it. A brilliant orchestral piece to mark the end of a particular in-game storyline.
The only real problem I have with the OST is that most of the songs are very short, and look longer only because they play over twice or three times in the OST. Altogether though, a near-perfect OST by Yoko Shimomura that may entice you to play the game, but if it doesn't, it's still worth the buy.
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| Album Information | Reviewer Rank |
|---|---|
|
Legend of Mana / Seiken Densetsu OST Published by: DigiCube Release Date: July 23rd 1999 Composed by: Yoko Shimomura Arranged by: Osamu Katsumori, Yoko Shimomura 2 Discs, 55 Tracks Catalog: SSCX-10034 |
97 |
Reviewed by: Kie
Legend of Mana (Seiken Densetsu 4 if you will) isn't particularly like by many, or known by many for that matter, but I'll save game talk for reviews, let's talk soundtracks. Yoko Shimomura does a brilliant job with this album, some songs here being some of his best works to date. Some may not like the game, but this OST is for everyone to like.
As the album is two discs, I'll pick out some noticeably good ones and maybe a bad one if there are any. Some songs are repetitions or slow versions of other songs so I'd be repeating myself if I did all 55 tracks.
The first 2 songs are worth mentioning. The title theme plays through a few cutscenes at the beginning of the game. It is an orchestral piece to begin with, then the rest is a faster paced piece with a little more tune. It then ends quietly to finish it off. The Nostalgic song is one of my personal favourites. It is a very peaceful song, set like an orchestrated piece but it isn't really. It has a brilliant tune and a slow beat. Quite excellent considering it's only for the title screen and one or two short parts in the game.
Hometown Domina is another peaceful song with two completely different instruments playing roughly the same tune, which by the way, is also great. I like the way everything just merges into one piece after a while. It also really gives a great scene for the town of Domina itself.
Starting to get a bit faster as the game begins to get more battles into it and less storyline. Along a few enemy areas is Wanderer's Path, a faster paced piece good for small enemies so it ties in well with the areas it accompanies. It has a nice drum beat and adds a slight bit of orchestral tune to a faster beat which works effectively.
Pain the Universe is the Battle Arena theme mainly in Legend of Mana. It is the first song in the album that includes heavy and light guitar. The guitar pieces in Legend of Mana are the best you'll find on a non-arranged OST. Yoko Shimomura did an excellent job fitting this one together, a fast paced guitar and many other instruments used to create an awesome tune which will keep you headbanging.
Skipping ahead a bit to two songs which are worth noting. Calmly Travelling is a drum-based piece which has a distorted keyboard playing the tune but the song would be nothing without the drums. Not a bad piece. Memory of Running uses a light trumpet to add effect to the heavy chimes and synth in the background to create a mystical feeling to the song. A great piece by Yoko Shimomura.
The Darkness Nova is my personal favourite. Starting off with a small drum solo, it quickly cuts into a heavy guitar with a cool guitar bass and an awesome theme to match. The best guitar part I've ever heard comes in at about 1:25 and involves a lot of high notes that sound so good with a guitar.
Skipping ahead through the second disc, and I come to The Excitement of Both of Us. It starts off with sort of indian drums and a low flute also. It then cuts into the marching drums and the music gets louder beginning an awesome light trumpet piece. The only thing wrong about this I can see is that it repeats too much.
And I get to one of the best on the album, Irwin of Reflection. Truly amazing this one, and it plays just twice in the game. It's a guitar all the way through and includes some very high notes with it and a long pitch at the end which just...rocks, yes it rocks. The drums are quite weak unfortunately.
Aid starts off sounding like it's going to be really great, and it kind of is. Though I think that Yoko Shimomura could have done more with the orchestral part of the song and maybe included more of the better tune rather than the bad part.
And at this point, I get to Depression Blues. This one really disappointed me, as it is the only song over 2 minutes long that isn't good. All it really is, is chimes doing the same 3 chords each time, with a speckle of tune in the background and a few vocals.
The last song I can mention is Those Who Are Shining, which is a vocalized lengthier version of City of Flickering Destruction, and plays just once in the game, but it is well worth the play to hear it. A brilliant orchestral piece to mark the end of a particular in-game storyline.
The only real problem I have with the OST is that most of the songs are very short, and look longer only because they play over twice or three times in the OST. Altogether though, a near-perfect OST by Yoko Shimomura that may entice you to play the game, but if it doesn't, it's still worth the buy.
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