Wild Arms CD mini-reviews.
Jun. 18th, 2004 07:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aruruYay! My Wild Arms CDs FINALLY came in the other day! Got the Alter Code F soundtrack, the Alone the World Vocal Collection, and the three drama CDs (Now all I'm missing is the soundtracks for WA2 and WA3 and my collection's complete, but that can wait, as I have them on mp3.).
Anyway, about the CDs:
WA1 drama CD focuses on Jack's storyline with Elmina/Lady Harken, following it all the way up to when she's revived and working in Milama. I dunno how I feel about Jack's voice, and I don't like the fact that Rudy was still "mute," but it was the easiest one of the CDs to figure out - probably due to the fact that there's few actors in it.
WA2 drama starts out with what seems to be a flashback to the final battle between Anastasia and Lord Blazer (Anastasia says at one point in the end "I'm sorry, Marivel" - which is about the only Japanese phrase I know. XD;;). After that, the first half of the CD seems to mostly focus on Marivel and Tony (as they and Scott have the most lines), while the second half seems to focus a bit more on Ashley and his issues keeping Lord Blazer under control. I couldn't figure out much else after that, due to my not knowing the language, though I think it ends shortly after Marina gets Ashley to recover his senses that time Lord Blazer almost overtook him - there were a LOT of voice actors in this CD, so it was hard to figure out/keep track of what was going on.
WA3 drama didn't have quite as many actors as WA2's, but it was honestly the hardest to figure out of all - I still really have little idea of what was going on. It does feature Janus, Maya and her team, and Virginia's dad, so I'd have to say it was still fairly early in the game's story. There's a girl who I believe to be Beatrice that does have a few lines, though she seems to be talking from behind the scenes (which makes sense, since she makes her real appearance late in the game).
Both the WA2 and WA3 drama CDs feature omakes of sorts at the end, after about a minute or two of silence after the drama ends. No idea what was going on in those either. ^^;
The "Alone the World" CD is quite good overall. The best "new" track is probably "Lullaby," the vocal version of the song that plays when Cecilia talks to the Earth Golem.
The Alter Code F soundtrack is kind of like listening to an arranged version of the original WA score in some parts (Actually, it's surprising to see just how many of the old pieces made it in some form or other to the new soundtrack.). Some of the old tracks that made it to the remake are easy to recognize (a few are even almost exactly the same as they originally were, except with better instruments/sound quality and/or the track was extended), some take a while to place.
There's also 3 new vocal songs in this: one is the old funeral march from the original game (which now has lyrics as well as the chorus), another is called "Windward Birds" (which I like almost as much as "Wings" from the WA3 soundtrack on first listen), and a third track whose title I don't know (but it's placed several tracks after Windward Birds on the 4th CD, so I'm guessing it's the ending theme?).
The score also includes a bonus track on the 4th CD - a medley/mix of sorts of several of the old tunes that even includes a slower version of Zed's original theme music in one (really brief) bit.
Overall, it's an okay soundtrack - it might take a while to grow on folks who're bigger "purists" than I am (Heck, I'm still getting used to it myself, as I just got it.), but I still think it's worth the purchase.
Anyway, about the CDs:
WA1 drama CD focuses on Jack's storyline with Elmina/Lady Harken, following it all the way up to when she's revived and working in Milama. I dunno how I feel about Jack's voice, and I don't like the fact that Rudy was still "mute," but it was the easiest one of the CDs to figure out - probably due to the fact that there's few actors in it.
WA2 drama starts out with what seems to be a flashback to the final battle between Anastasia and Lord Blazer (Anastasia says at one point in the end "I'm sorry, Marivel" - which is about the only Japanese phrase I know. XD;;). After that, the first half of the CD seems to mostly focus on Marivel and Tony (as they and Scott have the most lines), while the second half seems to focus a bit more on Ashley and his issues keeping Lord Blazer under control. I couldn't figure out much else after that, due to my not knowing the language, though I think it ends shortly after Marina gets Ashley to recover his senses that time Lord Blazer almost overtook him - there were a LOT of voice actors in this CD, so it was hard to figure out/keep track of what was going on.
WA3 drama didn't have quite as many actors as WA2's, but it was honestly the hardest to figure out of all - I still really have little idea of what was going on. It does feature Janus, Maya and her team, and Virginia's dad, so I'd have to say it was still fairly early in the game's story. There's a girl who I believe to be Beatrice that does have a few lines, though she seems to be talking from behind the scenes (which makes sense, since she makes her real appearance late in the game).
Both the WA2 and WA3 drama CDs feature omakes of sorts at the end, after about a minute or two of silence after the drama ends. No idea what was going on in those either. ^^;
The "Alone the World" CD is quite good overall. The best "new" track is probably "Lullaby," the vocal version of the song that plays when Cecilia talks to the Earth Golem.
The Alter Code F soundtrack is kind of like listening to an arranged version of the original WA score in some parts (Actually, it's surprising to see just how many of the old pieces made it in some form or other to the new soundtrack.). Some of the old tracks that made it to the remake are easy to recognize (a few are even almost exactly the same as they originally were, except with better instruments/sound quality and/or the track was extended), some take a while to place.
There's also 3 new vocal songs in this: one is the old funeral march from the original game (which now has lyrics as well as the chorus), another is called "Windward Birds" (which I like almost as much as "Wings" from the WA3 soundtrack on first listen), and a third track whose title I don't know (but it's placed several tracks after Windward Birds on the 4th CD, so I'm guessing it's the ending theme?).
The score also includes a bonus track on the 4th CD - a medley/mix of sorts of several of the old tunes that even includes a slower version of Zed's original theme music in one (really brief) bit.
Overall, it's an okay soundtrack - it might take a while to grow on folks who're bigger "purists" than I am (Heck, I'm still getting used to it myself, as I just got it.), but I still think it's worth the purchase.
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no subject
Date: 2004-06-18 04:37 pm (UTC)Now that that's out of the way...
I'm reminded of when I was in Hokkaido and I picked up my copy of Tenchi Souzou Sunawachi Hikari, the fourth J.A. Seazer 'soundtrack' for Utena. There's only one new song on it (Missing Ring, from the last episode), and the rest are all songs from OST 1 and OST 2.
The trick is, they're been remixed and rerecorded and reperformed by my favoritest of all choral groups, Universal Gravitation (aka Ban'yuu Inryoku). I was vary, at first, about buying the CD, because I wasn't exactly sure what it was. But I was not disappointed, after getting to hear new takes on songs that I'd for so long known and loved.
Besides, 'Nanibito mo Kataru Koto Nashi' has this bit at the end which sounds very... piratey, for lack of a better word, and I can't listen to it without getting the mental image of Touga with an eyepatch, big pirate hat, hook, peg-leg, parrot... the whole nine yards.
no subject
Date: 2004-06-18 04:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-06-18 04:49 pm (UTC)