The Shin Megami Tensei 30th Anniversary -Special Sound Compilation- is a massive collection of music split between a 5-CD set and the baffling addition of a USB stick for what would have been another 14 CDs’ worth of music. In some ways, this set offers a massive, inclusive look at the music of Atlus’ flagship series. In other ways, there are frustrating gaps in coverage. In this review, my intention is to give an overview of what can be found, as well as what is missing, in this set. The box set is largely reprinted materials from other albums, and where possible, I will be linking to relevant reviews for previously published soundtracks.
Disc One: Shin Megami Tensei Super Famicom Version
The first CD in the box set is the soundtrack to the first game in the Shin Megami Tensei series, in its original Super Famicom format. This soundtrack can be found, largely, on the first disc (the LAW disc) of Shin Megami Tensei Law & Chaos Disc (VICL-40046~7). There are a handful of differences between that print of the OST and this one for the box set, however. This disc, alongside the next disc for Shin Megami Tensei II, contains fresh recordings and remasters from the Super Famicom titles. My quick comparison with the old LAW disc is that this new release sounds cleaner and has fewer sound artifacts. Additionally, this new disc has two tracks not found on LAW: track 5, “Pascal,” and track 28, “Secret Track.” The latter of these new tracks sounds like music for some kind of racing minigame, but I’ll confess I’m not entirely sure of the context behind what I’m hearing here. What I can say with certainty is that these classic Tsukasa Masuko tracks are a treat for the ears. No one can deny the sweet, smooth bass grooves of “Shopping Arcade.”
Disc Two: Shin Megami Tensei II Super Famicom Version
This release is largely the same as the OST portion, disc two, of the old Shin Megami Tensei II Sound Relation (PCCG-00261). The same note from above applies regarding this being a new sound source recording. Additionally, we again have two newly unearthed tracks here: track 12, “Terminal – Factory,” and track 27, “Terminal – Expanse.” One wonders if these two background tracks were originally left on the cutting room floor due to their brevity and repetition, bordering on a looped jingle as opposed to a fully developed song. Nonetheless, the completionist in me is happy to have them. Those looking for more of Tsukasa Masuko’s sweet Super Famicom grooves will be well pleased with this set, particularly in environmental themes like “3D Underground.”
Disc Three: Shin Megami Tensei MEGA-CD Version
The original Shin Megami Tensei I and II have great audio. The games also got ported and enhanced for many subsequent releases, especially throughout the late ’90s in the 32-bit era. Of these, one got a notable facelift with MEGA-CD (Sega CD) version of the first Shin Megami Tensei. Not only do we find arrangements of Tsukasa Masuko’s classics, but we also have some new compositions and some narrated voiceovers for the game’s major cutscenes (see tracks 18 through 27). My standout track in this collection is the new arrangement of track 14, “Shibuya.” This arrangement elevates Tsukasa Masuko’s envisioned music with some disquieting percussion effects, while keeping the chill melodies and tasty bass grooves intact.
I should add that this is one of the box set’s true “previously unreleased” discs. The closest one could find are the PlayStation version of this soundtrack, which I believe, but cannot confirm, relied on the MEGA-CD upgrade as a baseline. Said PlayStation version soundtrack appeared in the Shin Megami Tensei Sound Collection (SVWC-7175~6). I will reiterate, the PS1 version is not apples-to-apples the same as MEGA-CD SMT, so this third disc of the box set really is a fun new addition!
Disc Four: Shin Megami Tensei if… Super Famicom Version
Unlike the former three, this disc is our first exact replica of a previous release, published as recently as 2018 by SuperSweep. Said album, Shin Megami Tensei if… Original Sound Collection (SRIN-1131), is a three-disc set of music for this game, with the first disc covering the original Super Famicom version, and the other two discs covering the PlayStation upgraded audio. And here we reach my first point of consternation. Atlus, if you’re going for a complete set of music, why exclude the PlayStation audio of SMT if…? Even if you don’t want to produce more CDs, you could at least tag on the PS1 audio to the handy little USB drive you incorporated!
In any case, yes, disc four of this box set is an exact replica of the first disc of the SuperSweep collection: so much so that when I put the CD from the box set into my optical disc drive, iTunes immediately identified it as disc one from SuperSweep’s SMT if… Sound Collection. I am glad SuperSweep and Atlus were willing to play ball and work out a way to include this excellent collection of sourced OST music here, rather than Atlus duplicating effort and doing a new recording and remastering. Given if… is already a collection of reused and rearranged music from SMT I&II on the same hardware, what we’re getting here are essentially alternate versions (without the hardware upgrade as an option) for some of our favorite tunes, including “3D Underground” from Shin Megami Tensei II. The version on if… (disc 4, track 16) once again stands out as a great experience. That said, I do find the PlayStation versions superior, so it leaves collectors asking the question: should I pick up SuperSweep’s if… album in addition to this box?
Disc Five: Shin Megami Tensei NINE Xbox Version
Only the most hardcore SMT fans know about the the Japan-exclusive, Xbox-exclusive game Shin Megami Tensei NINE. And no, it is not a far-future-projected ninth game in the main series. The “NINE” referred to the game’s nine alignment paths (it’s essentially the 3×3 grid you’ll see in Dungeons & Dragons, laying moral good / neutral / evil across a structural law / neutral / chaos). While a previous OST release does exist, it is a rare find as it was a pack-in with the poorly-selling Xbox title: Shin Megami Tensei NINE Premium Sound Trax (ATLUS-HA-02-001). I reviewed this album about 15 years ago, and I stand by what I said back then. There are some solid original compositions here, and Masaki Kurokawa’s funky guitar-led arrangements on tracks like “Kichijoji – 1” and “Shibuya” (as well as the new “Shibuya 1009”) demonstrate a clear understanding of Tsukasa Masuko’s vision, while helping SMT step into the new millennium. This is a gem of an album, and I was glad to see this soundtrack included in the box set.
USB: Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne
And now we get to the silliness.
I gave the warning in this review’s introduction. After five discs, someone at Atlus said, “Nevermind, let’s just throw everything else onto a USB drive and call it a day.” The next five albums are found in respective folders on a USB flash drive. Four of the five albums are compressed as 320k MP3 files, so you’re getting inferior audio quality to a CD. Strangely enough, though, the fifth album arrives not as MP3s, but as high-resolution 48kHz 24-bit WAV files (which is to say, superior quality compared to an audio CD!). Again… baffling choices. I know why Atlus was able to provide this for that last set of music but not for the others. Even so, why not give standard WAV file audio for the other soundtracks? Perhaps a space limitation on the size of the flash drives they had manufactured?
Okay, enough of all that. Let’s get into Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne.
When Nocturne for PlayStation 2 was released stateside, it came in its full form (and with the III dropped from the title, likely because they didn’t want to acknowledge to fans that they never got the first two games). When I say “full form,” I mean base game plus expansion. This USB folder is a reprint of Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Original Soundtrack (SVWC-7173~4), first published in 2003. The only difference in this collection is the tag-on a bonus track 50, “Normal Battle – 2023 Redux.”
While this is undeniably a great collection of music, the one where we see the torch passed down from one legend to another (Tsukasa Masuko to Shoji Meguro), I find it infuriating that Atlus’ 2020 album Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne Sound Collection (LNCM-1342~6) is absent. Well… sort of. That collection is (generally) reprints of this album and Maniax (getting there…). But in this set, Atlus included piano arrangements and “rare tracks” for discs 4 and 5. I wouldn’t have minded having those in this set…
All other quibbles aside, this is the Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne soundtrack we’re talking about here. Yes, Meguro is a bit rough around the edges, still finding his footing between this project and what would become one of his most celebrated works (Persona 3). But if you’re looking for some heavy industrial beats to groove to, alongside some surprisingly light and reflective piano pieces, look no further than the Nocturne OST.
USB: Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Maniax
Much like the later IV: Apocalypse and V: Vengeance, Nocturne Maniax was released as expanded content from the original game, though released alongside the original content. As I noted earlier, by the time we in North America got Nocturne, the entirety of Maniax was already folded into the package. So these 21 songs may seem like part of the original package to you, but once upon a time, it was “the new stuff” for SMTIII. I should also note that “Maniax” and “Maniacs” appeared to be interchangeable, not just in fan attempts to localize the title, but in Atlus’ own marketing of the project in Japan at the time.
Originally published in 2004 as Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Maniacs Soundtrack extra version (SVWC-7185), this is a decent expansion of the OST, but as a standalone release, I felt that it left something to be desired. Coupled with its full OST, it makes for a great companion listen!
USB: Shin Megami Tensei IV
This folder is a direct reprint of the Shin Megami Tensei IV Original Soundtrack (LNCM-1043~6). Here we see the beginning of a new trend in musical direction, with Ryota Kozuka taking a leading role as Shoji Meguro stepped away to put more focus on the Persona franchise (and, more recently, Metaphor: ReFantazio). As for a detailed look of this collection of music, I defer to the review linked above, from my colleague Matt Wardell. I appreciate his take on the material and don’t think I could do a better job in this space.
USB: Shin Megami Tensei IV FINAL
The expansion that we call Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse stateside was actually called Shin Megami Tensei IV FINAL in Japan. And this USB folder is a reprint of the two disc Shin Megami Tensei IV FINAL Original Soundtrack (LNCM-1133~4). The link provided will take you to a detailed review of the soundtrack, which I penned earlier this year with the express intent of being able to link to it when I finally got to writing about the 30th anniversary box set. So, there you go! The same applies for our final block of music, too…
USB: Shin Megami Tensei V
Here is my review of the Shin Megami Tensei V Original Soundtrack (LNCM-1377~81). Five hours of great music from Ryota Kozuka, Toshiki Konishi, and more. As previously noted, there was one set of music on this USB drive that got the VIP treatment, and it’s this one. I suspect that Atlus doesn’t have the original masters of III and IV saved at a higher fidelity than CD audio. But here, they did, so as a bonus, they gave us the hi-res experience. You’re not going to be able to detect the differences with the CD audio without having some decent audio output to match. I broke out my most expensive set of headphones for the comparison, and only then could I hear the difference. But this hi-res audio is a great listening experience, to be sure!
What’s Missing?
Here’s the part where I get into gripe mode. Now, look, I wasn’t expecting this set to delve into any spin-off material. If this set were to include Devil Summoner, Devil Survivor, Digital Devil Saga, Last Bible, Majin Tensei, and goodness gracious Persona, we’d be looking at 40-50 hours of audio. That’s insane. However, given the choice to include if… and NINE, I was frustrated that a few other standalone releases that seem to be part of mainline/canon SMT went missing. Chief among these is Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey. Strange Journey is a standout entry in the series, and while it’s not a numbered entry, it seems as legitimate an SMT titles as Legend of Mana is a Seiken Densetsu title. Additionally, its soundtrack (by Shoji Meguro) is a memorable piece of SMT musical history.
I also think that Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine (the weird online game that actually got localized for PC) could have had a complete soundtrack published here. This game was an outworking of NINE, so that adds credibility and reasoning to include it. I could have gone without it, I suppose. But I’m still salty about Strange Journey being omitted.
As for those wondering why SMTV Vengeance isn’t here, just remember that this collection was released in 2023, prior to the release of Vengeance.
In Conclusion
The Shin Megami Tensei 30th Anniversary – Special Sound Compilation – limited edition set only had 2000 units printed. However, since the release of this physical product, Atlus has published digital versions of each set of music found within, even the previously unreleased music. For example, the unique release of disc three (the Sega CD version of the first Shin Megami Tensei) is available for streaming via Apple Music and for purchase via iTunes. Even the two bonus battle tracks for SMTIII and SMTV, respectively, got their own digital releases as Shin Megami Tensei III & V Additional Battle Soundtrack. To that end, it’s fair to say that this hefty collection of music is a boon not only for the 2000 lucky collectors who got the physical package, but for anyone who wants to stream or digitally download the music from this collection, from the mainstream and well-celebrated to the rare and obscure.
