Tales of Graces OST | |
![]() [back cover] |
Catalog Number: AVCD-38050~3 |
Released On: February 10, 2010 | |
Composed By: Motoi Sakuraba, Hibiki Aoyama, Hiroo Yamaguchi | |
Arranged By: Motoi Sakuraba, Hibiki Aoyama, JUNKOO | |
Published By: Avex Trax | |
Recorded At: Unknown | |
Format: 4 CDs | |
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Tracklist: Disc One
01 - Mamoritai ~White Wishes~ (Tales of Graces Version)02 - Tales of Graces 03 - Beyond the Sunlit Trees 04 - Grasp it With All Your Might 05 - Raise the Song of Victory! 06 - Requiem of Decay 07 - Is filled with flowers 08 - Innocent eyes 09 - Sophie 10 - Refreshing Atmosphere 11 - Progress with the Same Number of Dreams 12 - A Town of Dancing Wind 13 - The Children's Adventure 14 - Heart Separation 15 - Imminent Crisis 16 - Oath 17 - Invitation to a Voyage 18 - Blown by the Sea Breeze 19 - Royal Capital ~Majestic Grandeur~ 20 - Lying in the Darkness 21 - Unrest 22 - Unlucky Star 23 - Different conflict 24 - First benefited 25 - Protects the hazard 26 - Unspoken Feelings Total Time: 47'48" Disc Two
01 - Sword-Drawing! Grind!02 - A Village Vanished Beyond the Woodlands 03 - Those Standing in the Way 04 - Reminiscence 05 - Conflict 06 - Over the Waterdrops 07 - Arrival! 08 - Perplexed Sword 09 - Pascal's Theme 10 - From the Faraway Distance Towards Here 11 - Seeking Wisdom 12 - Lively Lake Shore 13 - Guidance to Victory 14 - Fort of Breath 15 - A Mansion of Stagnant Malice 16 - Decisive Battle! Cheer Up 17 - New king of the wind 18 - The Mad King's Invasion 19 - Second coming of that day 20 - Moment of parting 21 - Furious storm 22 - Warm Feelings 23 - A Wharf Mixed with Men, Things and Sand 24 - Hot Sand and Heat Haze Myriad 25 - Scorching Brawl 26 - The Depths of Magic Science 27 - Cavern of the Giant Beast 28 - Dance of the Unified Water 29 - The Land of a Single Sigh is Thirsty Total Time: 69'54" Disc Three
01 - To the Fascinating Oceans02 - Look! The Sky is Crimson 03 - To a Sea of Dancing Snow 04 - Frozen Heel 05 - Cold Wind Flash! 06 - Drifting Town 07 - A Fortress of Hundred Blacks 08 - The Ends of the Faraway Memories 09 - Taboo Heritage 10 - A Crevasse Where Winter Has Started 11 - Rejection cage 12 - Countdown begins 13 - Put the feelings into the sky 14 - Endless Silence 15 - What Appeared at Eternity's End 16 - About the Sleep Stopping Progress 17 - What Was Born Inside That Door 18 - Lambda 19 - Crush that Steel! 20 - Struggle to regain 21 - Tales Writing Club Start 22 - Everybody's Playing Cat! 23 - Adventure in the Shore 24 - Kamenin Chief's Relaxation Diary 25 - The Supreme King's Cage 26 - Soul Evangelist Total Time: 63'52" Disc Four
01 - Muddiness Confined in a Chest02 - The Corroder 03 - Promised Battle 04 - Twisted Smile 05 - The Stage's Opening 06 - Mad Dance 07 - Pour in the debris 08 - Earth-Piercing Sword 09 - Impatient Sword 10 - Connected Feelings 11 - Shaking Heavens 12 - Life's Cry 13 - Towards Tomorrow 14 - Dancing in the Wind 15 - When the promised 16 - Ride the wishes 17 - Mamoritai ~White Wishes~ (Ending Version) 18 - Forever forever Total Time: 49'27" |
I've long held the belief that Motoi Sakuraba has had diminishing returns in terms of his musical output due to being tapped for nearly every entry of the Tales series. Considering that the Tales series has been known to push out at least two or three games per year, it's expected that at some point Sakuraba would have reached his zenith and continues on a downward slope. Where his pinnacle lies is certainly debatable but it seems that it has long passed and now his work is consistently in a slump. None of this is more evident than in his more recent works in the Tales series, which have gotten more stagnant and generic with each new iteration of the franchise. In the past, Sakuraba's music has offered well-composed and memorable battle themes, at the very least. With Tales of Graces, however, this is no longer the case. Hibiki Aoyama's name has been added to the mix this time around, and it's anybody's guess as to whether Aoyama or Sakuraba had more influence over the musical direction. As far as I'm concerned, though, regardless of who had more creative control over the soundtrack, the quality of the music suffered, and is a pedestrian offering at best and an insult to my ears at worst. What might contribute to the declining quality and stagnation of the music of the Tales series (and, by proxy, Sakuraba's musical talent) is the fact that nearly the same tunes are used between each game, with only minor changes made to the composition; I honestly cannot differentiate between this soundtrack from any of the previous soundtracks of the series, barring the battle theme, and even then it's only because a good chunk of every RPG is spent in battles. This isn't something that can be said of all JRPGs either; each entry of, say, the Suikoden or Final Fantasy series offers thematically varied musical scores that are dependent on anything from the inspiration of the setting to the art and story direction. That's not to say that the Tales of Graces soundtrack is totally unsalvageable, though. There are a few passable, if not well-composed songs that save the soundtrack from being a total trainwreck. Chief among these is the song I Want to Protect You, which is a remix of the game's original theme, which coincidentally, wasn't even composed by Sakuraba. Sakuraba and Aoyama offer a few decent battle pieces, as well. However, buying the soundtrack for these tracks is comparable to digging through manure to find a few dollar bills. It's not worth the effort. Music is a huge part of the experience for any game, and having a substandard soundtrack hurts the overall quality of the game itself regardless of the quality of gameplay or graphics. Though they are unlikely to do so, Tales Studio needs to give Sakuraba a sabbatical to refresh his talents and rope in some new blood for the music in their games; Go Shiina's tracks in Tales of Legendia were excellent and a breath of fresh air – why not give him another shot? As it stands, the music in the Tales series is in serious danger of being deemed inadequate by anyone not enamored with the series. Reviewed by: Ashton Liu |