Earlier in 2010, Takashi Okamoto worked with Takeshi Abo on Summon Night Granthese. The people that left Flight Plan to create their own titles, Apollosoft, collaborated with NIS to create a new strategy RPG called Blue Roses. Okamoto followed that crew to work on Blue Roses, and he worked solo. Okamoto’s previous works with Flight Plan include Poison Pink and Dragon Shadow Spell. In my mind, he’s a rather talented composer. How’d he do on this new game?
In some ways, I suspect this was a rush job. The transition to Apollosoft went quickly, and there are things about this soundtrack that suggest a rush job. No, the quality isn’t lacking, and the melodies are no less interesting. But in terms of sheer quantity, the count is low. This hardly makes two disc status (cut the bonus tracks and maybe one or two more songs, and you can fit it on one disc). More importantly, however, there is serious repetition of themes. Look at how often “Roots” and “Bouncy” appear. And the melodies that appear in these songs are also alluded to in pieces with other track titles. Repetition on a mammoth soundtrack like FFXIII or NieR I understand. But here, I worry that the key melodies overstay their welcome. I’m fine with the “Space Dust Remix” of Roots, but the piano and flute versions, I didn’t really need. Did the game need them? I’m not sure.
That’s how I felt about them, anyway.
The good news is that, among the 30 tracks here, very few are worth skipping. Using a pretty sophisticated palette of both synth and real instruments, Okamoto-san skillfully weaves together modern jazz-fusion style with other styles: at times classical, at times straight-up Western pop. Piano, organ, and other “keyboard” sounds dominate the soundscape. If you’re not into that, this might not be for you. But for this amateur pianist-turned-VGM-nut, it’s always refreshing to hear a composer stick to this all-important instrument.
Consider my words, and do consider a purchase. While I think Summon Night Granthese is the superior release among Okamoto’s 2010 projects, both it and Blue Roses have their merits.
