The Infinity series, consisting of Never7/Infinity, Ever17, Remember11, and 12Riven, has seen installments on the Playstation, Dreamcast, Playstation 2, and the PC. The games are converging onto the PSP and these versions sport brand new opening or ending themes. This soundtrack features all the opening and ending themes for the original and PSP releases of these games. I have talked about the original vocal themes in prior soundtrack reviews and the new Ever17 opening and ending themes as well. So for this review, I am going to cut the fat and talk about the new PSP vocal themes.
The soundtrack starts out strong with a killer opening theme for Never7 which never had an opening vocal theme. Pretty much any vocal theme would be an improvement over the anemic instrumentals that began those games, but this one had multiple layers of instruments and a vocalist who was higher-pitched without being annoying. Voice and instruments complemented each other well. The song may be a bit too forward and robust for the breezy, beach-themed game, but a good song is a good song. Unfortunately, though the new ending theme, Hokorobishi Hana, was terrible compared to the original Treasure Dream. Hokorobishi Hana (Blooming Flower) was a decent, uptempo pop theme but it just did not sound complementary for Never7.
For the Ever17 pieces, to summarize from a prior review, the new opening, It’s a Fine Day, was not as good as LeMU ~Distant Continent of Lemuria~, but the new ending, The Azure ~Blue Memory~ was an improvement over Aqua Stripe. Either way, the vocalist on both of those tunes was quite good and easily my favorite on the entire soundtrack.
Remember11’s new opening, Space Stencil, was a solid, uptempo piece with a nice vocal but it did not have the mystery of Little Prophet, which I think better captures the game’s atmosphere. I still thought Space Stencil was a good song, though. Although the original ending theme, Darkness of Chaos, is a very good piece, I preferred the downtempo acoustic-based sound and shimmery vocals of the new ending theme Kirenai Knife. I do not think Kirenai Knife would have been out of place in the original Remember11 Vocal Collection.
The first time I heard 12Riven’s opening theme, Third Bridge, I was not too thrilled by it. Although it probably fit the vibe of the game really well, I found the new opening, A World Without Time, preferable to listen to. That was probably my favorite song on the soundtrack. A similar sentiment could be said for the ending themes. The original one, Process, may fit the vibe of the game better, but I found it a bit boring compared to the new one entitled Distance. That being said, I wonder if Distance is too upbeat for a rather dark game like 12Riven.
If you are a fan of KID’s Infinity series, as I am, this soundtrack is a no-brainer to pick up. It is difficult for me to say no to all the original and new vocal themes for the games so far. Although some songs fit their respective games better than others, all of them are quite solid (except for Aqua Stripe, which I never really liked). A vocal collection without helium voices always sits well by me and when it’s songs from one of my favorite video game series, I’m sold.
