The third Tales title to hit the DS, which actually came in two different versions (you could buy the “CG movie” or “anime movie” version separately in Japan), Tales of Hearts brings back some of the classic sounds of the series, but the synth is forced into a level of compression that may displease VGM fans.
The first thing to come back is DEEN, the vocalist who performed the original “Tales of Destiny” theme over a decade ago. “Eternal Tomorrow” is a great opening single, if only because DEEN’s smooth voice makes him one of the best male J-pop performers out there.
Next up, the battle themes from Motoi Sakuraba are spot-on. These battle tracks sounded really oldschool, like Destiny or Phantasia. I genuinely enjoyed these tracks.
The rest of the album, featuring music from Sakuraba and other (newer) members of the Tales audio team, doesn’t shine quite as bright as the vocal track and the battle themes. But if you take a listen to the audio samples, you will immediately notice that they are also comparable to the earlier Tales soundtracks. This slight change in style (going back to Phantasia/Destiny sounds instead of sticking with the Abyss/Vesperia soundscape) really stunned me. It’s a subtle difference, but one that ultimately made me appreciate the soundtrack more.
Between Tempest, Innocence, and Hearts, I am confident in my choice: Tales of Hearts OST is the best DS-based soundtrack in the Tales series thus far. Even so, it’s still a much weaker soundtrack than most any console-based Tales soundtrack, primarily due to the hardware limitations. Keep that if you’re contemplating a purchase of this soundtrack.
