Unicorn Overlord Original Soundtrack

 

Review by · December 24, 2024

Prior to listening to the Unicorn Overlord Original Soundtrack, I had heard good things about Unicorn Overlord. The latest in the unique, creative lineup of games from development studio Vanillaware has received a great deal of praise, including my colleague Joshua Lindquist granting the game a 92 out of 100 and an Editor’s Choice award. With that in mind, and knowing that Vanillaware had once again turned to Hitoshi Sakimoto’s Basiscape team for the music, I considered it in my best interest to check out the OST.

Through my first listen and initial research, I learned two very interesting things: (1) Sakimoto himself didn’t compose any music for this one, and (2) the Unicorn Overlord Original Soundtrack is a strong contender for best soundtrack of 2024. Yes, I acknowledge the latter is opinion, but it feels just as factual as the former in my own mind. I am resolute in this argument.

Basiscape brought a cavalcade of great composers to the fore for this album, including veterans Mitsuhiro Kaneda and Yoshimi Kudo, alongside relative newcomers Toki Takeda and Gabri Richter (artist name being simply “RICHTER”), and formerly-of-Basiscape composer Rikako Watanabe. RICHTER’s presence struck me as particularly interesting: an Italian-born composer who studied at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, he is one of Basiscape’s newest members, having joined in 2022. Though he only composed five of the nearly 100 tracks on this OST, his work stands out as especially impressive and very much a protégé of Sakimoto in terms of style. “Elheim’s Theme” is one of the most luxuriously soft and peaceful compositions on the whole OST, and if someone told me Sakimoto wrote it, I would have believed them. Bravo, RICHTER, bravo!

Another European makes their composition debut here, though he seems to have been contracted separately from Basiscape. This composer is Denys Fontanarosa, co-founder of Wayô Records. Fontanarosa’s contributions come to a total of ten tracks, most of which are songs for incidental dialogue outside of the main kingdom themes. Among them, I loved the orchestral tension of “Impatience” and the tranquility of “Rite of Covenant.”

In some ways, it is fitting that so many composers, some hailing from different parts of the world, would come together to compose music for a game about different kingdoms. I must say, it is in these kingdoms that we find some of the best music on this OST.

The kingdoms identified here are Drakenhold, Elheim, Bastorias, and Albion. There is also the starting kingdom of Cornia and the final confrontation with Galerius (and the titular Unicorn Overlord stage and associated battle themes). There are six pieces of music for each of the four main kingdoms: a main theme, two overworld themes (day/night variants), a stage theme, a battle theme, and a final battle theme with a unique title (ex: “Albion -The Holy March-“). These tracks anchor the sprawling four-CD set with melodic motifs and select instrumentation for each kingdom, helping the listener set apart the differing soundscapes. The battle themes, as you might have suspected, feature the most motion and are generally the most impressive. I especially enjoy Toki Takeda’s “Bastorias Battle” and Mitsuhiro Kaneda’s leading “Cornia Battle.” Simply put, if you like the strong battle themes of Final Fantasy Tactics and the Ogre Battle series, you’re going to like what you find here.

The best of the best, however, are in the bookends. The opening vocal theme “Farde Mal Diavolo -Come, Foul Daemon-” has quickly become my favorite track on the OST. This is a gloriously frenetic piece, with a central 7/8 time signature traded out for others without warning. The intersection of orchestra, prog rock rhythm, and the chant-style vocals of Eureka Republic thoroughly wooed me. These elements come together for the game’s finale tracks “Fighting off Galerius,” “Haades -Enthronement-,” and “So We Sing.” Truly, Eureka Republic is the secret weapon of this OST. She, alongside the Koichiro Muroya string quartet, breathes life into the Unicorn Overlord Original Soundtrack.

(Aside: if you enjoy the prog/math rock of irregular time signatures, listen for the other Kaneda and Kudo tracks throughout the OST! They are everywhere, and they are awesome!)

I don’t know how to explain this key point, beyond simply stating it: Basiscape has a tradition for maintaining a consistent sound quality and style and simultaneously baking unique traits into each soundtrack. When I listen to Unicorn Overlord, I can pick up on its similarities to 13 Sentinels or Odin Sphere, but I can also identify which music comes from which game. I find that to be impressive. And, perhaps most importantly, I do think I enjoy Unicorn Overlord more than the other Vanillaware projects.

If you want to support Vanillaware and Basiscape by purchasing or streaming this soundtrack, there are plenty of avenues for you to consider. You can stream the album on Spotify, stream/purchase digitally via Amazon Music, or purchase the physical 4 CD set via online retailers like CDJapan. I would personally encourage a quick streaming listen, at minimum, because this truly is one of the best OSTs of the year.

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Patrick Gann

Patrick Gann

Therapist by day and gamer by night, Patrick has been offering semi-coherent ramblings about game music to RPGFan since its beginnings. From symphonic arrangements to rock bands to old-school synth OSTs, Patrick keeps the VGM pumping in his home, to the amusement and/or annoyance of his large family of humans and guinea pigs.