My favorite parts of the SRT series’ music have always been the character theme songs. Other songs were good, but it is the character themes that have so much style and the catchiest melodies. The music in Original Generation 1 and 2 on the GBA were especially good, featuring songs present in that game only. Sadly, those games have never got and OST. In 2007, a PS2 remake of both games is released, and months later, the OST is released. It features every song from the two games in better quality and much more. Was it worth the wait? Totally.
Disc 1
The OST starts off with another rocking intro from JAM Project, and from there, a lot of the songs present on the disc are themes from the SRX themes such as “Everywhere you go,” “Ice Man”, “Psychic Energy” and more. Those songs didn’t get much of an upgrade, and while they are enjoyable, I was never a big fan of those themes with the exception of “Marionette Messiah.” Theme songs from the first originals are also included. Masaki’s theme “Hot Wind! Hurricane! Cybaster” had some changes and sounds as if parts of the melody are missing, most notably in the beginning. Lune’s “Flapper Girl” remains the same, but Shu’s “Dark Prison” features a more powerful beginning, and sounds more epic than ever. For something newer, the inspector themes from OG2 make their debut on an OST. Their songs were never released on a CD before, and it was enjoyable hearing them again. Though several of the songs were present in numerous OSTs before, they were not as exciting when I first heard them. Regardless, it was nice listening to them, and new additions like the inspector themes are more than welcome.
Disc Highlights
Violent Battle – This is the primary inspector theme and it is catchier than before. The fast tempo and the constant beats make the song frantic, and utilizing a little bit of electric guitar makes gives the song an intimidating factor overall.
The Judge, the Judged (Wendolo’s theme) – This was quite surprising for me. I found his GBA version of the theme to be generic, but it’s much more interesting this time. The violin and drum beats along with the occasional chanting made the melody sinister and haunting. It’s very fitting for a cunning character like him.
Disc 2
This is the disc I wind up listening to the most because it has the most interesting set of songs. This disc starts of with the ATX theme songs, which I find them more interesting than the SRX music. The Einst music is also here, sounding better before, and they’re not as rehashed unlike most of disc 1.
Several songs present on this disc were only heard on the GBA, and it was great to hear them in live format. The songs have more polish now, and they’re a lot more dynamic, even generic themes like “BORN TO FIGHT” and “RAIL TO THE DANGERZONE,” which sound more edgy now. To top it all off, the end of disc 2 are my favorite songs in OG2 are included for the first time in the OST, and they sound better than ever.
This disc introduces several new theme songs for the characters too. Some characters include Radha who has a mystical Indian theme, and Katina who has an upbeat song. They, and several others were semi-important in the GBA games, but they wind up sharing the same, generic themes as many others.
Disc Highlights
TREUE (Leona’s theme) – Leona has her own theme now, and it completely fits her graceful nature and vicious skills as a pilot. The main melody uses synthesized organ and a few seconds into the song, it gets a lot more upbeat when the techno bits complement the organ, and it gradually gets better when electric guitar kicks in at key moments. This is what I would imagine if Castlevania music ever goes techno.
ASH TO ASH (Lamia’s theme) – The song has some strange elements, but it worked out very well. The first few seconds off with a simple piano piece, then quickly kicks it up a notch with electric guitars and techno. The transition is smooth, and the PS2 incarnation of this song is the best yet.
Dark Knight (Axel’s Theme) – This song isn’t as versatile as several other themes, but the melody is quite catchy after a few listens. The song mainly sticks to electric guitar to create an upbeat, dynamic melody for a hot-blooded character like him.
Chaos (Vindel’s Theme) – Whenever I hear Vindel’s theme, the word “epic” pops into my mind. I always imagined this song would get an orchestral arrangement when I first heard it on the GBA and I was right. The tempo is slower than its GBA counterpart, but it’s more powerful than ever, and more haunting to boot.
Disc 3
The array of character themes continues, but most of them are new to me and interesting too. There are also a few familiar themes present too like the classics, “Trombe!” and “The Sword That Cleaves Evil” with slight tweaks to the melody to make them more dynamic. Like the three songs at the end of disc two, there are two other songs from OG2 I greatly enjoyed, but were only present in a GBA game. The other themes are from characters that were in other SRT games, but debuted in the PS2 remake or like Radha and Katina; semi-important characters got their own themes now. Like majority of the themes, the primary styles of these theme songs are various kinds of techno beats, and some songs heavily utilize brass instruments, giving a similar style to many super robot shows in the 70s and 80s, but a little more modernized.
Towards the end of the disc, the character themes end, and now come the scenery music. The ones present consist of easygoing tunes which use some techno beat to compliment the lighthearted tone. The darker themes are orchestrated and while they are fitting, they’re not as interesting to listen to. With the exception of “Omnipotent Arbitrator” which I’ve heard many times in the Alpha soundtracks, the rest are present in higher quality for the first time.
Disc Highlights
Fairy Dang-Sing – It sounds a little less cute than the GBA version, but it is still catchy. The song utilizes techno and drum beats to give the sensation of the techno fairy tale.
RUSHING DANDY (Kai’s theme)- The old man has his own theme now, and it definitely sounds hot-blooded. The electric guitars aren’t gritty, not the song moves in a fast pace, but has enough spunk to it to give the listener the urge to bust some robot heads.
Dance of the Machine God – This is one of the several songs in the OST I haven’t heard before and managed to really impress me. It starts off with a trance, and then when the electric guitars come in, they are done in a gentle manner. It’s a simple song that I find easy to listen to.
Disc 4
At this point, the OST loses some steam, but there are still some goodies. Most of the songs are general battle themes and more dark scenery music using an orchestra style like the other moody scenes in the previous disc. Some of the scenery music is interesting to listen to, but they’re not the kind of songs that I would listen to a lot of times outside the game. On the other hand, the battle themes are great. I didn’t think much of the battle themes in the GBA games, but they sound great here. Some of the songs are a little calm, but the others sound epic and create a lot of tension like a good battle theme should have.
The most interesting part comes at the end of the disc. Some of the other opening themes JAM Project did receive orchestrated arrangements like “SKILL” and “GONG” in the Alpha games. A few other hyper songs such as “MACHINE SOUL” and “A Distant Battle, the curtain rises” received the same treatment. All of the songs were great and with the game version of JAM Projects ending theme, “Portal,” the OST came to a satisfying end.
Disc Highlights
‘Give Up’ He Whispers – This battle theme managed to not only sound good, but completely hit the mark to give the player and listener a sense of urgency. The violins, drums, trumpets and various other instruments to create the chaotic feeling, and the tempo is fast, but not fast enough to make it sound a bit over the top.
GO!! (ver. OG) – I didn’t expect that one of JAM Projects grittier songs work out so well when orchestrated. The pace is a lot faster than the original song, and despite a different musical genre, the trumpets and violins retain the edgy spirit of the song, especially the “GO! GO!” chorus. It was not one of my favorite JAM Project songs, but this arrangement was quite a surprise.
MACHINE SOUL (ver. OG) – The orchestra version of this song turned to the beautiful. The beginning was fast and powerful, giving off an epic vibe, and the times the song suddenly slowed down and the violin comes in was very touching.
If you are like me who is a fan of the character themes or the original music in the game, then this is the best OST with those kind of songs currently available. You’d get your moneys worth is 118 songs, and even for those who have not played the game, there is a huge variety of different song that a music enthusiast can enjoy. If you only liked the anime theme remixes present in other SRT games, the name alone would indicate it is not for you, but for everyone else, it’s definitely worth it.
