First, let me state that I have never played any of the Romancing SaGa games. As such, I had absolutely no expectations about this CD because I had never heard the music for any of the SaGa games. I’m sure that a lot of you are in the same situation that I was since none of the Romancing SaGa games came out here in America. However, don’t let that discourage you from buying this CD because as it turns out, I think it’s one of the best arranged soundtrack that I’ve had the pleasure to listen to. Now, I’ll admit that it may not be to everyone’s taste because of the slow pace and the lack of powerful moments but for fans of strings and beautiful relaxing music, this CD is a dream come true.
Let’s talk first about the technical aspects of this CD. All of the songs are completely arranged and use real instruments so you won’t find any synthesized instruments in there. The instruments used are mostly violins, piano, and a couple of wind instruments like clarinet and flute (I think). There are also some vocals on this CD but not much and it’s mostly restricted to the last song of the CD. In my opinion, the songs flow very well and they are simply beautiful. This is the kind of CD that you can listen to when you just want to relax. None of the songs are really bad and although some of the songs are better than others, overall you won’t want to skip any of the songs which is a rarity for me when it comes to videogame soundtracks.
Overture, the first track of the CD, sets the pace really well and gives you a good indication of what to expect from this CD. The second song is the SaGa theme that is played on the title screen of every Romancing SaGa titles. However, it’s a LOT slower and much more beautiful that way. One of the best songs on the CD. The rest of the tracks are all solid and keep the same relaxing “feel” making this CD an easy listen. My favorite track on the CD is actually track no.8 called Tears. It’s a rather sad song but I think it’s composed beautifully and performed to perfection. The last song on the CD is probably the one that most people will love the most. It’s an extended version of the first song (Prologue) but remixed a bit and with some vocals. It’s the longest song on the CD and it has a very “epic” feel to it.
All in all, I think this CD is one of my favorites because it is different from the usual dramatic Final Fantasy scores or the genre diversity of soundtracks like Chrono Cross. This one is very classical and doesn’t try to do too much and just concentrates on delivering beautiful melodies and in my opinion, Kenji Ito definitely succeeded in doing just that.
