This promotional CD was given out to the lucky people who reserved the Japanese copy of Radiata Stories. Unfortunately, if you’re expecting this to be the best thing since the tomato, you’re going to be disappointed. If you’re interested in Motoi Sakuraba and Noriyuki Iwadare and want to learn more about them, that’s great, but don’t start with this.
For a promo CD featuring two Radiata Stories battle tracks, it’s a shame that they don’t make the experience worthwhile. “Struggle II” is generally unimpressive, and I can just imagine the grim looks on the faces of the Japanese when they heard this song for the first time. “Powerful Enemy” is actually pretty awesome, but you’ll love yourself a lot more if you just pick up the Radiata Stories soundtrack instead. This promo CD is a poor sample of what was to come.
This CD also includes battle themes from Star Ocean, Star Ocean 2, Star Ocean: Blue Sphere, Star Ocean 3, and Valkyrie Profile. While the concept is cool, it ultimately falls flat. If you’re reading this review, chances are, you’ve heard all of these battle themes, and you probably have these soundtracks sitting on your hard drive somewhere. Even worse, the overall track quality isn’t as good as it could be. Don’t do it.
There’s also a bonus track, which is a medley of all the battle themes in Star Ocean 3. I really enjoyed the SO3 battle themes, but I’d rather listen to them separately. This bonus track is not the best bonus in the world, but I’m sure there’s someone out there who will adore it.
I have a hard time recommending this promo to anyone. I’m giving it a 5 out of 10 because the concept doesn’t succeed. Granted, there is some great music here, but there’s absolutely no reason to go hunting for this. I recommend that you grab the OSTs of the represented games instead.
