At the time of its release, the MMORPG for Shin Megami Tensei had the “Shin” dropped off of it, but it was later added back on. In 2007, when “Megami Tensei Online IMAGINE” was first released in Japanese stores, the box came with a promotional soundtrack. This is a review for that soundtrack.
The lead composer on this project is Kenichi Kikkawa. The two kings of MegaTen, Shoji Meguro and Tsukasa Masuko, had limited roles: Masuko’s music is reused and arranged by Kikkawa (prime example: “Cathedral of Shadows,” track 6). Shoji Meguro wrote the opening theme, track 2 on this album.
The music is, surprisingly, quite good. Being a barely-canonical entry to the series, with minimal effort from Atlus in the game’s actual creation, I didn’t expect much of this soundtrack. But it’s surprisingly decent. And it’s not just because of the re-used tracks from older titles. The original music is really enjoyable too.
The only way you’ll be able to get ahold of this soundtrack, sadly, is by importing a physical (DVD) copy of the Japanese game, which is unplayable in North America. If you want to play the game (and you can do so, for free!), Aeria Games has released the English-language version (with permission from Atlus). But they don’t sell physical copies of the game, nor do they offer any sort of promotional soundtrack. That’s just the way the MegaTen-cookie crumbles. [Editor’s Note, 2026: the American servers for SMT Imagine closed in 2014, and the Japanese servers closed in 2016, making this game defunct.]
