Maten Densetsu ~Real Dimension Music~ (or Legend of Maten REAL DIMENTION MUSIC according to the English text on the album’s spine) This is DEFINITELY the most obscure CD I’ve ever owned and probably will ever own in my entire life. I bought this CD on a complete whim while searching eBay, and I was in for a surprise after receiving it. This music is tons of synth fun!
For some history on Maten Densetsu (Legend of Maten)…This Japanese RPG was released in 1995 for the Super Famicom (SNES). After searching around on the internet, I was able to find pictures of the title screen, but I could not find a ROM for this game anywhere. This goes to show exactly HOW obscure it is. But whether or not it was a good RPG, the music is spectacular.
How should I describe this music? It’s… very eerie, using a lot of the same synth instruments. The main theme used in many tracks is definitely cool. The almost-5-minute opening track is a highlight of this CD, setting up for a neat score that you’re not gonna hear anywhere else. I can guarantee you that if you listen to some of these tracks in the dead of night that you could freak yourself out. It can get downright scary at some points. I actually played a trick on my mom once and ran this music softly at the source of the ventilation system in my house, so the music was heard faintly through the entire house. She did not appreciate this.
I’m pretty sure that there is no one in America that would hunt this CD down, because no one in America has heard of it. However, now that this review is up, hopefully someone will go on a search for it. Well, including me, there has to be at least one copy now floating around in America (I have since sold it). So, keep an eye out on eBay…Or, if you have the connections, on Yahoo! Japan Auctions, and it could be yours!
[Editor’s Note, April 2026: This review used to have incorrect information posted about this game. Maten Densetsu was only ever published for Super Famicom/SNES, and was not on Mega Drive/Genesis at any time. Additionally, the key artist for this game is Katsuya Terada, not Yoshitaka Amano.]
