If you’re reading this review, you’ve probably read my first one, so without preamble, let’s explore the land of Dragon Quest Daizenshu Vol. 2!
Volume 2 starts out with the Super Famicom renditions of the first 3 games’ theme music. The SNES versions definitely tout the upgraded sound chip it had. The most noticeable change is in Dragon Quest III, with Roto and Interlude being particularly noteworthy.
Next it’s on to Disc 2, which is a combination of more of III’s Super Famicom music, and a sound playthrough of V. If you’ve never gotten the chance to play V, then this disc is worth a listen, as all the orchestrated goodness got its start here, from Castle Trumpeter to Bridal Waltz. But how come there’s no beefed-up IV music? Check out my Volume 3 review for that info.
The third disc in this volume contains is all the music from Dragon Quest VI for the Super Famicom. So if you always wished that Enix had brought out Dragon Quest V and VI to the US, here’s your chance to hear what it sounded like, fresh from a Super Famicom sound chip.
So how does this volume stand up in the series? I’d have to say that it’s the most straightforward of the albums, not doing anything nifty like ringtones as the first volume did, nor presenting the higher-quality, latter day DQ games’ soundtracks like volume 3. Overall, this album is strictly for nostalgia seekers and completionists, so all others beware. And for the wrap-up of the Daizenshus, check out my volume 3 review.
