Dracula X: Nocturne in the Moonlight (Castlevania: Symphony of the Night) had one of the most artistically superb soundtracks of any video game to date. Perhaps because of its excellence there really hasn’t been much in the way of arranged versions of any of the game’s tracks, so when I stumbled upon MIDI Power Pro 6 in my favorite used CD store, I thought myself quite lucky. I’ve always wondered what NitM‘s soundtrack would sound like if it were arranged, and, slightly to my dismay, I found out.
MIDI Power Pro 6 contains just that: MIDI arranged versions of various NitM tracks, including some of my favorites such as “Ring of Pales,” “The Tragic Prince,” and “Wandering Ghosts.” Most are on the range of 6+ minutes long and build on the original melodies in a logical and beautiful way. In addition, the instruments employed range from harpsichord and accordion to acoustic guitar and maraca.
The only problem with this album is that the MIDI quality really shows itself. Anyone who has listened to the Nocturne in the Moonlight soundtrack knows that the sound quality, the fidelity of the synths to real instruments, was quite high. These MIDI arrangements, unfortunately, rarely sound faithful to their respective instruments, especially the electric guitar, surprisingly enough. Though piano and accordion are pretty well done, most of the other instruments sound rather fake. Now, one could very well argue that this was the purpose behind it being a MIDI album, but I just was left with the feeling that had these wonderful arrangements been done on real instruments, or even just higher-quality synths instead of MIDI, that this album would have topped the OST in every respect (aside from quantity of tracks).
Still, if you can get over the MIDI, this is a great album to pick up if only for the wonderful arrangements. I found this album for $10 used, but expect to pay a good bit more for it new.
