When I played Memories Off: 2nd, one of the coolest things I thought the game did was use 8-bit sounding versions of Memories Off songs as ring tones for characters’ cell phones. Remember that the game came out in 2001, well before the newfangled real music ringtones we have on today’s more advanced cell phones. In any case, when I heard that Takeshi Abo did a Memories Off soundtrack album featuring 8-bit sounding renditions of various themes from the many games in the series, I thought I’d give it a listen. This CD contains selections from Memories Off, Memories Off: 2nd, Memories Off: Sorekara, Omoide Ni Kawaru Kimi ~Memories Off~, and Memories Off #5: Togireta Film.
It is no secret that everyone involved with this soundtrack had loads of fun with it. The booklet art featuring various cute Memories Off heroines in even cuter 8-bit form? Adorable. The badly mangled English text in that 8-bit font poking fun at the broken English in many 8-bit games? Hysterical. 8-bit musical arrangements of various Memories Off themes that sound more involved than those aforementioned ring tone pieces in Memories Off: 2nd? Well, they’re quite good for what they are and have that really nostalgic sound, but admittedly with 35 tracks over two CDs, I feel it’s a novelty soundtrack that somewhat overstays its welcome. It’s a soundtrack that is really great to listen to in small doses or just one or two tracks at a time for giggles, but to listen to the entire soundtrack in one sitting gets to be a bit much. The bleeps and bloops definitely wore on me after a while. Thankfully, the tracks were all quite short. Indeed, the album is so short that the two discs’ worth of music could have fit on one disc.
The sound quality is clear and, well, sounds like 8-bit NES PCM music. The soundtrack as a whole had a nostalgic feeling and it was interesting to hear the compositions realized in a vintage video game sound reproduction format. A lot of effort was definitely put into this soundtrack so it was not a slapdash 8-bit arrange soundtrack simply to cash in on nostalgia fans. The layered arrangements of Takeshi Abo’s compositions were realized quite well in the PCM format. My favorite track was definitely MAHIRO -the wind- on disc 2. I never played Memories Off #5: Togireta Film, the game containing that theme, so I wonder what the true version of this theme sounds like since this 8-bit version of was really good.
To be quite honest with you, I’m not really sure how to sum up this review or what more I can say. I mean, “Memories Off music done in 8-bit PCM format” really says it all. I think the sound samples speak for themselves more than my words really could. As a novelty soundtrack, it’s fun to listen to once or twice or periodically, but the novelty factor can wear off after a while. The compositions themselves may be hit or miss for people, but series fans will definitely get a kick out of this alternative stroll down memory lane.
