Happinet (formerly Scitron) started releasing a decent amount of reprinted VGM albums in late 2005. Some would be strict reprints, others would come as more “complete” albums with additional tracks, or covering newer releases in a franchise. This trend had a name: the “Game Sound Legend” series.
One of the larger releases was 2006’s Apollon “Memorial Sound of Wizardry” box, featuring the six albums Apollon printed for the Wizardry series (later Wizardry albums would be printed by Columbia and Team Entertainment). All of the “Suite” albums for Wizardry I~V are present (IV never got one). In place of Wizardry IV, Wizardry Gaiden I is put in place (the later Gaidens are Columbia’s territory). Then, disc 6 is a random surprise: “Wizardry CD Drama I.” The cute thing here is that a CD Drama II never happened. Perhaps one was planned under Apollon’s publishing, but after the rights were handed to Columbia for future soundtrack publishing, a second drama album never came to pass.
That’s the history behind the box. Next, let’s talk packaging. Basically, the six albums come in a cardboard box, and each of the six albums are printed in a manner virtually identical to their original counterparts (release dates and catalog info being changed, of course). Simple, yet effective packaging is always a plus; but still, I would’ve liked to see something more with this set.
The music itself…well, it just so happens that I’ve reviewed each and every album in this box separately. So if you want more detailed descriptions, you can feel free to look up those reviews here on RPGFan’s site. A brief description goes like so: Wizardry III has my favorite music, because Haneda just did an excellent job with it. Wizardry II is the worst of the “music” discs, and obviously, I don’t care much for the drama album. The first Wizardry album is good for the sake of posterity and nostalgia, but Haneda has done better. Terashima is an excellent arranger on Wizardry V, and while Ikuro Fujiwara takes a slightly different approach to the music in the Wizardry Gaiden series, Wizardry Gaiden I isn’t a bad album by any means.
All in all, if you’re looking for a decent set of orchestra music that is synthesized rather than performed live by real people holding real instruments, this is one of the first items you ought to look into purchasing. Yeah…you’d have to have very particular tastes to want something like that. Either that, or you were a fan of the Japanese Wizardry titles.
