For Spectral Force Genesis on the DS, a new sound team was contracted to do the music (in place of Kenji Kaneko and other Idea Factory regulars). Now, the soundtrack CD was a promotional item that came with the game (hence the disc being the closest thing to “cover art” we have).
The track layout for this soundtrack is interesting, to say the least. It’s become common for DS OSTs to have the music as it was originally created, plus the music as it sounds on the DS (usually a downgrade). But when you do that, most people will split the soundtrack into two sections (if possible, into two separate discs). In this case, however, we get to play the comparison game every few minutes. You get the same 22 songs twice in a row, once as the original music, then as the “in-game DS” music. I’m note sure who came up with this idea, but it certainly is a strange way to present the music.
As far as the compositions go, this is surprisingly good stuff, particularly for the Spectral Force series. There’s some great “serious/sacred event” music that sounds like an updated version of something from Secret of Mana or Chrono Trigger. I wasn’t expecting such high quality from this soundtrack, but there it is. This group of composers deserves to be praised for it, and I guess it’s my job to give that praise.
For comparison between the original audio and the DS audio, I recommend listening to tracks 21 and 22. Both are very good, and even the DS version sounds cool, but you can hear that tinny sound that’s typical of DS-produced audio. It’s far better than early DS games from late 2005 and early 2006, but it still has that undesired compression buried in there. Listen for it.
Fans looking for “oldschool” style RPG music in a new game would do well to try and locate this soundtrack. I’m happy to have had the chance to hear it. If only it had a retail release… (you wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve had to say that about a promotional soundtrack).
