SQEX-10635~7: Secret of Mana Original Soundtrack

[Ramza]

I already have it preordered.

Trailers suggested it was worth having in my mind.

People getting their copies today are butt-hurt 'round the world ... apparently they don't know what the Rise of Mana engine is, and that it was already used in Adventures of Mana?

I watched someone livestreaming the game today but the audio wasn't mixed well so I couldn't hear a significant difference. That or they turned on the "classic" audio version in the game's menu.

My copy of the game arrives tomorrow. CD Japan will probably take 2 weeks to get me the OST. Here's hoping my choice to preorder was a good one!

[jb1234]

I've heard about half of the remade soundtrack now from game rips that have been uploaded to Youtube. The emotional tracks are handled okay (although I still prefer the originals) but everything else is a butchery. This music really deserved better, especially since they did such a good job on Adventures of Mana.

[Alcahest]

A debacle of epic proportions. You were right on the money Don ^^;
Then again I expected arrangements along the vein of LORD of VERMILION Re:2 FAN KIT track13, such a fool I was xD

[razakin]

Been playing this for a bit and really keen to know what tracks those guys did arrange, some of them are quite interesting at least.

[Phonograph]

I'd have preferred that the remake looked like rune factory 4

[franzito]

As a very dedicated arrange album, it handles the job well. But I had quite a hard time picturing game and song going together in the new release.
Original "Did You See the Ocean?" and running in the green wilderness were such a beautiful combination. This new "Did You See the Ocean?" sounds like you're in a battlefield with bloodlust monsters everywhere and no sign of wilderness...

DÉ DÉ MOUSE arrangements are hit and miss... and Kikuta san self-arrangements try too hard to "recapture" what made Mana really good back there.

[dancey]

- Added additional performers, credits, etc. to Album Info and linked artists (from inserts)
- Will add track times from CD source once I finish ripping Mario Odyssey
- Fix to summarized arrangement credits (added D3M8 to Sekito/Yamaoka)

* Note: The album inserts list the tracks from 1 ~ 53 but they are split across three discs (D1M1~17 = 1~17; D2M1~13 = 18~30; D2M1~23 = 31 ~ 53)

[Psychonotes]

So, I may have a different copy of this album than everyone else, because for me, this is a fantastic 3-disc ride, full of brilliant, bizarre, and wildly creative arrangements. There isn't even a single track I dislike. If this had been released 20 years ago as an SD2 arranged album, it would have blown my mind.

However, I understand the complaints from the perspective of it being a poor "soundtrack" - which it absolutely is. I have no interest in the remake itself, which looks like cheap mobile garbage, so I don't care about this album's utility as a soundtrack, but it is in no way an update or faithful recreation of the SD2 OST. What it is, is an SD2-specific "SQ" arranged album, full of reimagined, deconstructed, and genre shifted tributes from a diverse mix of arrangers, with no consideration given to maintaining any score-appropriate tonal consistency. Some tracks go further afield than others, but I can count on one hand the number that actually try to preserve the tone and instrumentation of the originals. That's great for a stand-alone arranged album experience, but I fully agree that I'd hate to experience the game for the first time with this album as the soundtrack - with 14 arrangers, all working in their own studios without restriction, there's no consistency of style and mood, and the particular meditative magic of the SNES OST, which was crucial to establishing the game's aesthetic, has been replaced by something else entirely.

The irony is that this "soundtrack" is exactly what I was hoping the SoM Genesis album would be: fresh, blue sky reinterpretations of themes from a stone-cold classic score - while the Genesis album approach would have been absolutely perfect as the updated soundtrack for the actual remake (if only it were worth playing).

[dancey]

It has, ironically, grown on me from my original impressions from the samples on the websites. You're right -- in most cases it's not making any attempt to preserve the original. It is a decent reimagination, though. I've actually played through the game in it's entirety and while there are some pretty bad songs (generally), overall I think it actually works much better in game than it does standalone. I think a large part of that has to do with the fact that you end up hearing the songs looped over and over and you're not just going from track 1 .. 53, so the variety of arrangement styles isn't as overbearing when you're playing the game.

[jb1234]

Yeah, now that I've heard the whole thing, there are some great arrangements here. I like Kamikura’s work the most (as the production values are higher and he does clever things with the originals) and think DE DE MOUSE should have been fired the instant he sent out "The Color of the Summer Sky" for review. The rest of his tracks fare no better.

Still, even with its highlights, I can't imagine any of this working well in-game. There's no consistency whatsoever.

[SNKhero]

heh nice this soundtrack missing same song vs original snes sound track "character name song"

[aquagon]

Originally Posted by SNKhero

heh nice this soundtrack missing same song vs original snes sound track "character name song"

It's the track titled "Door to the World".

[Kaleb.G]

Originally Posted by franzito

Original "Did You See the Ocean?" and running in the green wilderness were such a beautiful combination. This new "Did You See the Ocean?" sounds like you're in a battlefield with bloodlust monsters everywhere and no sign of wilderness...

Did you ever play through the game all the way? "Did You See the Ocean?" is most notable for playing in one of the last and most difficult dungeons of the game (Undersea Palace / Sunken Continent / whatever you want to call it). I think it's perfectly suitable.

[SNKhero]

Originally Posted by aquagon

It's the track titled "Door to the World".

yeah that's it.. =)

[Ramza]

Just got mine in the mail today. Haven't listened yet. But I'm preparing full scans for vgmdb now.

Good times: the liner notes are in Japanese *and* English. I especially enjoyed Kikuta-san's liner notes. He starts off with a Heinlein quote, so ... y'know you're in deep territory. <3

[Revoc]

I've removed Nijuhachi Haneda from the performers list since he is only credited for "score making".

[franzito]

Originally Posted by Kaleb.G

Did you ever play through the game all the way? "Did You See the Ocean?" is most notable for playing in one of the last and most difficult dungeons of the game (Undersea Palace / Sunken Continent / whatever you want to call it). I think it's perfectly suitable.

I finished this Mana a long time ago, so memories of some music are fuzzy.
I see now I confused "Did You See the Ocean?" with "Into the Thick of it" as they share similarities. Still, the image of "the battlefield with bloodlust monsters everywhere" comes to my mind. And with that I just meant "it's quite different from the Mana I remember". Though some monsters were quite brutal in the original and sorta bloodlust too.

Also, in the original game "Did You See the Ocean?" played randomly much before the dungeon you referred (one of these parts was in Elinee's Castle right before the Spikey Tiger boss)

[BartyMae]

I uploaded a new front cover that is very similar to the one that was set to default previously, but without the big transparent banner watermark near the bottom. I accidentally uploaded a duplicate of the original, too - that should be removed as well.

[dancey]

I deleted all the front covers including your correct one (by mistake). If you can reupload the correct one I (or someone) will set it as the default. Sorry about that.

[dancey]

I uploaded a new front cover and set it as default (instead of the Front Tray), courtesy of Ramza.

[BartyMae]

That one works fine, too. Previously, there was a scan (what you made the default) and a digital version - the digital version is what I attempted to replace since it had a giant watermark, but the scan being the default is fine, too.

[zierts]

The only question I have after hearing "Now Flightless Wings": why wasn't Shimotsuki ordered to do a dubstep remix of "I Closed My Eyes"?

I'll echo franzito's and Psychonotes's sentiments. A great arrangement album for the most part, but an unfitting or at the very least uneven soundtrack for the game. Some arrangers who I'll not namedrop here completely butchered their pieces, making them easy to skip during a casual listen. Others like Tsutomu Narita and Yuzo Koshiro did marvellous work even with their more daring arrangements.

[Jormungand]

Originally Posted by zierts

Some arrangers who I'll not namedrop here

I will. Why do Endo's arrangements not even use the right notes?

[Kaleb.G]

I can sum this album's problems up in three words: DÉ DÉ MOUSE.

And it's not just because his arrangements are bad. He arranges several of the most high-profile tracks--typically field/dungeon themes--in a style that's completely inappropriate for use in-game.

I don't necessarily blame him though. Sound Director Yasuhiro Yamanaka should have found someone else to arrange those tracks.

That said, there are still a lot of awesome arrangements here, including some solid work from Kikuta himself that bring me back to the Soukaigi days.