The Summon Night Ex-Thèse OST is a fairly obscure item that was published by Choir in 2006. Like many albums printed by “Choir,” the composer is a trio of Japanese composers, two of which go by the pseudonyms Kenny K and “Zeal Blood” (or maybe “Jill Brad”…no one knows, it’s always in katakana). Whatever the case, the composer for the OST is not the usual standby of “Chiaki Fujita” (which is also a strange name, also listed as “Sing Like Talking” at times). If you were a fan of the music from Summon Night 1, 2, and/or 3, know that your status as a fan does not necessarily mean you’ll enjoy this one. It’s a whole new ball of wax.
Despite coming in a three disc set, the OST to this Summon Night title comprises of roughly 90 minutes of music. We get it in two versions: the original MIDI compositions, and then their upscaled transition to PS2 synthesizers. As to which version is superior, I found that it truly varies from track to track. There were songs that didn’t stand out at all in the MIDI version, but really hit hard on the PS2 version. “clock stops time” is just one example. The synth used in the MIDI version made it to drab, too muffled. But the PS2 version of the song was excellent. Conversely, the silly song “cheerful SAMURAI” came out great in the MIDI version, but sounded downright awful on the PS2 side.
As a whole, the music isn’t as clever or rhythmically complex as what we’ve heard in previous Summon Night works. The music truly feels more like that of a “traditional” RPG, complete with generic themes. They aren’t bland–indeed, there are plenty of quirky tunes and interesting melodies–but ultimately, this OST is a stockpile of standard RPG music. It’s not going to make you sit up and say “wow!” like some other songs in previous Summon Night soundtracks may have done. That said, if you don’t compare this OST to the rest of the Summon Night series, which I consider to have relatively high value in terms of composition, you may still find something truly enjoyable in the Ex-Thèse OST.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, albums printed by “Choir” are not available in many English-friendly outlets. Fortunately, it looks like Cocoebiz (VGM World) is on the job. Pick it up and add this interesting set of music to your collection, especially if you’re a fan of all that is truly obscure.
