Hey, check it out, it’s another Super Robot Taisen album! The history behind this one is pretty complicated. Super Robot Taisen “F” was a remake of SRT4, but then it was remade again as “F Final.” F Final had two albums released for it, the Gold and Silver albums. Gold has vocal and instrumental arrangements, whereas silver is all instrumental.
Six vocal tracks, which take up over half of the album’s time, open up the album. The first two are classics; we’ve heard these songs in vocal and instrumental formats throughout the SRT series, and they’re found at their best on this album.
The classic Gundam Wing opening, “JUST COMMUNICATION,” shows up on this album as well. It’s a different recording from the actual Gundam version, but it’s so similar, they may as well have just used the original. If you don’t like this song, you’re absolutely crazy. This song is the definitive power-pop piece.
Take a look at those big name composers: Kouhei Tanaka and Koichi Sugiyama wrote theme songs for various anime, and now they appear here on this Super Robot Taisen vocal collection. “Top o Nerae” (“Aim For the Top”) is a fast-paced theme, whereas “To the Cosmos With You” is a slow ballad with strings and an electric piano. They reflect their composers very well.
The instrumental arrangements are not the “feature” songs of the album, but they get their job done. The sound quality if significantly improved from PS1 versions, and even stands higher in quality than recent PS2 albums (such as Alpha 3). For those wondering, yes, “Ride of the Valkyrie” is taken straight from Wagner.
Since the vast majority of SRT albums are OSTs, it’s refreshing to get a fully arranged album. This is one of the better albums of the SRT series, especially for its time. Fans should hunt this one down like it’s really “gold.”
