This soundtrack slaughtered the expectations I had for it. I once owned the Mitsumete Knight OST, and wasn’t impressed. Most of the melodies were completely forgettable, or so I thought. The game, developed by Red (of Sakura Taisen fame), is a cross between a dating sim and a strategy RPG. In other words, it’s Tokimeki Memorial-meets-Sakura Taisen-meets-chivalric era. Hard to put together a good soundtrack for that, right? Well, let’s see what they dished up.
About half of this album is jazz. The rest is classical-style chamber music, with a piano solo here and there (tracks 7 and 8, specifically). One song is clearly a battle theme (“Ominous Portent”), and it’s done incredibly well, something I could compare with the likes of Ogre ~ Grand Repeat. The jazz music is very enjoyable. The jazz runs in standard form; intro, A section, possibly a B section, solos, repeat A section, end. Track 10, possibly the most beautiful of the tracks on the CD, features strings, flute, and piano. The quality of composition, arrangement, and performance on this CD is truly outstanding.
Given what I knew about the original soundtrack, I really didn’t expect much out of this arranged CD at all. I was completely floored the first time I listened to it. This is probably the best *obscure* CD I’ve picked up…ever. I really can’t think of a better obscure album that I’ve picked up over the years. I highly recommend it. If you see it on some sort of online auction, pick it up.
