Disgaea 3 was released on the PlayStation 3, the first of Sony’s consoles to offer “downloadable content.” So much extra content was developed for NIS’s latest in their flagship series, that they were able to put together a full soundtrack for the new music Tenpei Sato wrote to support all the new content created for the game.
“Raspberyl” is a prominent playable character in Disgaea 3 who would go on to have her own adventures, thanks to the DLC. She’s the resident “bad” girl, in that what she does for a living is considered taboo by the residents of the Netherworld. That is, she’s a caring do-gooder. Silly, no? Well, silly is the name of the game, and it’s what allows Tenpei Sato to write the zany, though occasionally emotional, music he’s best known for.
There are a few carry-over tracks from the original Disgaea 3 OST, including fan favorite whistling-Western “Wanderer’s Poem.” In fact, I’d say at least one quarter of this OST is re-used material, if not more. But! Whether it’s old music or new, what matters is that this collection of music is the same high quality you’ve come to expect from Tenpei Sato. And if you haven’t come to expect that, then you’re either very new to his music, or else you and I have a very different standard for what constitutes “good” music.
As usual, Sato wrote a bunch of silly vocal tracks. The opening and ending tracks are the prominent additions to the vocals (another good one in here is track 17, “A Song For My Old Enemy”). The vocal performances are always spot on, the harmonies are great… Sato just doesn’t seem to make mistakes when he writes this sort of music. I wonder if it comes naturally to him. The melodies and harmonies are simple and traditional, but I still imagine that it’s not easy to write music like this.
Because of all the track repetition, I’m not sure if it’s worth buying this OST if you already have the full Disgaea 3 OST. But if you’re a completionist, be sure not to miss this album. There’s plenty of good music to be found here.
