I came into Sea of Stars and its music with some prior context: Sabotage Studio’s 2018 title, The Messenger. That particular indie gem featured action platformer gameplay akin to Ninja Gaiden and an incredibly catchy soundtrack by Eric W. Brown (who utilized the moniker “Rainbowdragoneyes” at the time). The Messenger OST featured two parts: “The Past,” which utilized chiptunes, and “The Future,” which featured compressed 16-bit variants of the first bit. However, with Sabotage making a major shift in genre for their next title, Brown followed suit with a soundtrack that graduated from chiptunes to sequenced music that straddles the fence of 16-bit audio and more sophisticated MIDI of the late ’90s and early ’00s. Brown also saw fit to publish a massive, nine-hour OST with collaboration from three additional artists.
The sheer size and scope of Sea of Stars‘ original soundtrack is truly overwhelming. I have begun adjusting to these mega OSTs over the past few years (cf. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 OST). When digesting a collection of music like this, I find myself asking these questions: (1) Is there a way I can group the audio into smaller bites?; (2) how much of the music is variation on a similar theme?; (3) do we have a “quantity over quality” problem on our hands?
As I delved into the Sea of Stars soundtrack, I found my answers. We can answer the first question with a resounding yes in many ways, and that’s helpful! For starters, Brown published the soundtrack in three separate partitions, labeled as “discs” even though it’s digital. The first disc is “Solstice,” and with a run time of approximately five hours, it serves as the base OST. The second disc, “Eclipse,” features nighttime variants of town and environmental music, and it clocks in at just under two hours. Then there’s the third disc, “Pirate,” which is essentially an arranged album even though the music is utilized in-game. This disc features two additional hours of tracks first found in “Solstice,” but with new recordings from Reece “Celtic Metal Dude” Miller. More on the “Pirate” tracks later!
A further solution to the first question comes via experience playing the game itself. Sea of Stars is a fairly linear title in terms of locations, with exploration and side quest prioritization just before the endgame. In this way it mirrors the structure of Chrono Trigger—a stated source of inspiration for the Sabotage team. Given this location/event linearity, Brown did a great job presenting the “Solstice” tracklist roughly in the same order one would hear when playing through the game. This also makes it easier for fans to navigate to their favorite part in the soundtrack. For example, if you loved playing through the Mesa Island area (with real and plot-driven callbacks to The Messenger‘s music), tracks 70 through 85 are a great listen. As for me, I love the near-endgame music of the Spires and Sky Base, so tracks 106 through 117 are some of my favorites to revisit. Again, thinking back to Chrono Trigger, this reminds me of my love for the 12,000 BC music at the beginning of disc three—”Corridors of Time,” “Zeal Palace,” “Schala’s Theme,” and “Undersea Palace.”
This leads to a third way to slice the quandary of the first question. Sorting this music by composer nets some interesting results. While Brown composed the vast majority of the soundtrack, there are about a dozen songs composed by Yasunori Mitsuda (he of Chrono Trigger fame). Mitsuda was announced as a guest composer during the game’s 2020 Kickstarter campaign, not as a stretch goal reward, but as something Mitsuda chose to invest in when he saw the project for himself. It is a testament to Brown’s consistent, quality soundscape that while Mitsuda’s composition style and polished production are noticeable, they do not make Brown’s music feel inferior. Mitsuda’s music in this game is somewhat subdued, though Mitsuda fans will recognize some of his signature scoring (melody, structure, instrumentation) almost instantly.
As an aside, I would be remiss if I failed to point out that Mitsuda’s tracks are not available via Brown’s Sea of Stars listing on Bandcamp. These few songs appear in other listings, including iTunes and the Steam release of the soundtrack.
When sorting by composer, we also find Vincent Jones, who is credited as co-composer alongside Brown on ten tracks from “Solstice” and their accompanying Night and Pirate versions on the remaining discs. Had I not used this particular grouping in my own listens, I don’t know that I would have picked up on which songs were infused with Jones’ additional work. When listening to them combined, I hear a smattering of extra care and attention to detail, with some strong production value. The harp work in “The Great Archives,” the xylophone synth and compressed percussion in “The Mole Masons” (giving strong Secret of Mana vibes), and the eerie pitch-bending synths and groovy bass in “We Shouldn’t Be Here” are all examples of how Jones’ contributions help elevate Brown’s own work.
The second question remains: “How much of this music is variation on a theme?” Well, there isn’t much to say here. We’ve already established that the second and third virtual discs are variations of music from the first disc. Beyond that, there isn’t much reuse of prior motif, unless you count the handful of songs from The Messenger that made it to Sea of Stars (my favorite being the classic “Hills of Determination”). We are looking at a 5-to-4 split of original compositions and variations/arrangements of those compositions. This is impressive, yes, but it also makes the five hours a little daunting. I might have preferred more motif work to help me string together the musical experience. However, it’s not necessary, is it? That’s probably just personal preference.
And now, the big question: “Do we have a quantity over quality problem here?” If we consider the music’s use in the game, the answer is a clear no. Not only is the long soundtrack run-time justified by the bevy of content in Sea of Stars, but the varied genres and styles are of appropriate and sufficient quality to match. As an independent listening experience, however, I am less convinced that “quantity over quality” is a non-issue. Subjectively, across three listens, I feel comfortable saying that “Solstice” is backloaded. The melodies and accompanying harmonies of the first two hours don’t hold my attention as well as the remainder.
Additionally, while I was impressed with Brown’s strong sense of rhythm and good use of percussion, I was frustrated by a noticeable lack of irregular and/or complex time signatures. I could not find a single example of Brown deviating from 4/4 or 3/4 (including 6/8) in all of Sea of Stars. I felt like this was a missed opportunity, especially given Brown’s intuition for catchy rhythms.
I have heaps of praise for the “Pirate” disc, however. While the recording and mixing can feel rough around the edges on a handful of tracks, the majority of Celtic Metal Dude’s arrangements and performances are both lovely and catchy. If I am to speak from a place of pure personal preference, I will say I enjoy listening to “Pirate” more than “Solstice” and “Eclipse” combined. Infusing new life into already brilliant compositions is not an easy task. This may be why I appreciate this two-hour capstone so much. That, and I love traditional Celtic instruments.
My recommendation: if you played and enjoyed the game, purchasing and/or streaming the soundtrack can boost your appreciation of the game through the magic of synergy while simultaneously sending a monetary message of gratitude to the composers. You should probably get on it. If you haven’t played Sea of Stars, my colleague Caitlin makes a good case that it’s worth your while.
Finally, I note that as I pen this soundtrack review, Sabotage Studio is on the cusp of publishing the Throes of the Watchmaker DLC, which will feature more new music from Brown and Mitsuda! I am looking forward to this one and will hopefully have more to say about it in 2025!
