Hiroshi Nishizawa released his own contributions to the Sorcerian series in an indepently-published two disc set in 2000. The album maintained a low profile until recently, likely due to the revived interest in the series thanks to Sega’s “Sorcerian Mega Drive Version” OST.
What is “Selected Sorcerian,” you ask? These were actually add-ons to Falcom’s Sorcerian series that, while still being official canonized Sorcerian games, were actually developed by a different studio (Amorphous). This soundtrack covers music to these obscure add-ons to Sorcerian.
This extremely rare and obscure album has a lot of music that has never before been published. And honestly? That’s what makes the soundtrack so interesting to a long-time Falcom music fan. How many different versions of the same melody can you listen to without feeling jaded? Now, you get the oldschool synths with melodies you probably haven’t heard before. And Nishizawa’s compositions are top notch, I can tell you that.
Case in point: the “Temple of Time” tracks on disc one. Wow! What a superb series of game music tracks. The last one, “Time of the Second Coming,” is the most bouncy, rhythmic piece I’ve yet heard using this sound chip. What a treat!
The last two tracks of disc two are upgraded-synth bonus tracks, and they are excellent. The boss medley is enjoyable, and the Sorcerian “Fan Club” music is entertaining in a cute kind of way. I’m glad these tracks were included.
There are plenty of other great compositions on these two discs. I’m not going to take the time to describe them, or my reactions to them. I will only say this: the sole limitation on the tracks (the synth used) can be a large obstacle for some people to overcome. The same types of sounds being used, over and over, for each one of these otherwise dynamic compositions, can become very frustrating for certain listeners. Fortunately, I am not one of those listeners. But you may be. Even listening to the audio samples provided with the review might be too much for you. But if you’re down with the synth sound, then know that the compositions here are at least as good as what you’d find on “Music From Sorcerian,” if not better. Yes, I do mean that. This means that, if you like Falcom’s Sorcerian series, and you like having rare CDs in your collection, this is the album to hunt down! Even though it’s not Falcom, it’s still Sorcerian, and it’s still great music!
