Elemental Gimmick Gear, or E.G.G., was one of the first RPGs for the Sega Dreamcast. This action RPG had lush, hand-drawn environments and fun, Zelda-like gameplay. Unfortunately, it also had an embarrassingly choppy localization and often vague plot direction. I did not remember much of the music from playing the game, yet listening to Haruyoshi Rokudo’s soundtrack was a pleasant surprise. The music wasn’t revolutionary but it was more enjoyable than I expected it to be.
The influences from many heavyweights of VGM (video game music) composition were present in Rokudo’s music. However, the compositions never felt like cheap imitations. Rokudo managed to pay homage to the stalwarts while still injecting his own flavor into the music. The soundtrack also showcased his versatility as multiple styles of music and a variety of sonic textures were represented. A major theme in the game was nature vs. technology and music reserved for natural environments had a more organic feel whereas music in the technological ruins felt more industrial.
Versatility was also displayed in another manner on this soundtrack. The soundtrack started off with a couple of arranged tracks of two of the game’s major locations: Eastokion and Fog Edge. These arranged tracks sounded radically different from their source tracks. For example, the arranged version of Eastokion was an uptempo smooth-jazz piece with a funk feel. On the other hand, the actual Eastokion track was a slow track that had a sadder feel and sound to it. As much as I liked the arranged tracks, I definitely think the originals fit better within the context of the game.
The compositions had a lot of layering and each part breathed very well. Some pieces incorporated a variety of sound effects that not only evoked ancient ruins but ancient industrial ruins. The synthesized instrumentation worked well because the game featured technology and even the organic environments were affected by ancient and modern technology. Except for the boss battle themes and a couple of other uptempo themes, the tracks generally had more relaxed tempos. Despite the generally relaxed tempo of the soundtrack, it was never boring and remained enjoyable to listen to the whole way through.
E.G.G. may not have been a great Dreamcast RPG, but at least it had surprisingly good music. The soundtrack featured nothing innovative or revolutionary, but it did provide solid, enjoyable RPG music. The long and short of it is that I did not expect to like the soundtrack, especially since I did not think much of the game, but I wound up liking the soundtrack, regardless.
