Tendo Dokuta is certainly not a well known video game franchise, at least not in the US. Tendo Dokuta 2 was released in the US under the name “Lifesigns: Surgical Unit” but was not a critical or commercial success. I quite liked the game because it could best be described as Phoenix Wright in a hospital. It was a visual novel, first and foremost, which is why I liked it and many other critics did not. My experience with that game is the reason why I’m reviewing the soundtrack to the first Tendo Dokuta game. I did not get to play that game, but there were very few tracks that really stood out to me as any different melodically or thematically to similar themes in Tendo Dokuta 2/Lifesigns: Surgical Unit. I found the MIDI-based music in the latter game to be rather forgettable and the music here is the same forgettable fare as well. Most of the tracks could be interchangeable between the games and players would not perceive the difference.
Tendo Dokuta, like its sequel, does not contain a large number of musical tracks. Therefore, the OST here has every track as it sounds on the DS as well as upgraded synth versions of every track. There are also a few arranged tracks, a couple of bonus tracks, and a track featuring every sound effect in the game. Therefore, this is the definitive all-inclusive soundtrack.
As expected, the DS sound source tracks sound the worst of the lot. They often sounded tinny to me with some instrumentation being annoyingly shrill. The synth tracks were much more pleasant to listen to. The few arranged and bonus tracks were easily the most dynamic pieces in this soundtrack, but I still found them bland. Overall the music presented on this soundtrack was forgettable. The one standout track was the opening theme, which was annoyingly peppier than the opening theme of Lifesigns: Surgical Unit/Tendo Dokuta 2. I’m sure the game is fun (I liked Lifesigns), but the soundtrack by itself is blander than hospital food.
