Suikoden music lovers rejoice! Konami has teamed up with composer Hiroyuki Nanba to bring you a compilation of arranged tracks from not one, not two, but all three Suikoden titles, and the result is glorious.
Published under the Konami Game Meets the Famous Artist Collection series, Genso Suikoden Ongakushu Produced by Hiroyuki Nanba is an excellent soundtrack, not only from the standpoint of a Suikoden music lover, but also as a fan of novelty in musical style. By novelty, I’m talking about combining fiddle, drums, clarinet, and electric organ to reproduce a piece such as “Gathered Warriors” from Suikoden I, giving it a distinctly Yiddish feel. Then there are interesting takes on certain pieces, such as the trippy beach electric guitar and electric organ rendition of the main theme from Suikoden I, “To a World of Fantasy.”
There is an eclectic mixture of compositional styles and instruments, and yet none of the tracks were unrecognizable, maintaining the power, emotion, or just plain goofiness of the originals.
Out of all the tracks, however, my personal favorite is the Nanba’s rendition of “Gothic Neclord.” Any fan of the original piece, or that general Castlevania style of dark, gothic pipe organ/hard rock needs to hear this piece. A stunning mixture of electric guitar, authentic sounding pipe organ, fiddle, and synthesizer combine to totally blow away the listener.
The only people I could NOT recommend this CD to are those who just don’t like novelty in their music (even if it IS exceptionally well done), or those who are OST purists. Otherwise, pick this CD up. I found it at Kinokuniya, and it’s been out for a while now, so it shouldn’t be difficult to get a hold of.
