Seiken Densetsu -Heroes of Mana- Original Soundtrack
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Album Title: Seiken Densetsu -Heroes of Mana- Original Soundtrack |
| Record Label: Square Enix |
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| Catalog No.: SQEX-10095/6 |
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| Release Date: April 18, 2007 |
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| Purchase: Buy at CDJapan |
Overview
Released on the DS in 2007, Heroes of Mana is the latest and possibly last game of the Mana series. Unlike its predecessors, this game focused on real-time strategy gameplay rather than traditional RPG components, and thus split its audience considerably on release. After the wonderful reception to Legend of Mana‘s score eight years prior, Yoko Shimomura was asked to return as the sole composer of this title. Did she live up to expectations?
Body
Right from the opening of “To the Heroes of Old” — with mystical piano notes and sorrowful violin lines — Shimomura brings back memories of her rich score for Legend of Mana. However, she hybridises these features with the marching rhythms and intense textures more typical of tactical RPGs — reflecting that the intense action here is more important than the storyline. With “Heroes of Mana”, Shimomura develops the militaristic focus featured throughout the score and offers a particularly heroic melody. The orchestration demonstrates the composer has matured over the years, while the orchestral samples are expressive and realistic throughout. Other memorable marches include “Tense Movement”, “Set Up”, and, best of all, “Tale of the Old Nostalgic Kingdom”. Such themes affirm that Shimomura is perfectly capable of scoring a real-time strategy title.
There is a decent bunch of setting themes to portray the various environments of Heroes of Mana. “The Beast Kingdom” is a colourful theme ideal for the start of the experience; the organic and spiritual elements inherent to the Mana series are definitely reflected here, though the brisk tempo reflects this is no slow-paced conventional RPG. The overworld’s “A Moment’s Rest” is a wistful classically-oriented orchestration that maintains the right balance between simplicity and richness; however, it is too brief to be the definitive highlight it could have been. “Prayer for the Holy Capital” and “A Song of Ice and Snow” uses a range of fragile and ethereal elements to create suitable soundscapes for their respective locations. Finally, “Illusionary Fragment” reflects the exotic nature of the Jungle of Illusion with its ethnic polyrhythms, while revealing the climax is near with its bittersweet violin solo.
Among the action themes, “Charge!” plunges listeners with a relentless succession of string crisis motifs and racing percussion beats. Yet it’s definitely more about rhythm and texture than melody, and will leave some longing for a more thematic action track. Other tracks such as “The Way This Heart Is”, “And Thus Fate Becomes Cruel”, and “Battle with the God Beast” build on this format and are reminiscent of Kingdom Hearts‘ more intense themes, albeit more developed; they’re lavishly produced and highly effective, but not particularly unique additions to the game. Shimomura does make some attempt to individualise the game’s worlds in her action themes, for example incorporating East Asian instruments in “Army of the Beast King”, Arabic tonalities into “At the End of the Hot Sands”, and tuned percussion motifs in “A Cold Beat”. Yet these additions only bring variety in a stereotypical and gimmicky way.
The cinematic themes are more formulaic in their approach. Shimomura presents some beautiful timbral colours on “The Premonition Begins”, contrasting the fluid melodies of a solo oboe with the offbeat rhythms of a glockenspiel. However, the composition simply doesn’t develop far enough to leave one completely satisfied, unlike her meticulous offerings on Legend of Mana. “Black Mirror” conveys dark happenings using clichés such as tremolo strings and eerie electronics; it achieves its function well, but is completely derivative otherwise and only partly redeems itself with its penetrating violin solo. Other event themes such as “Hidden Light”, “Retreat”, and “Sadness” are equally serviceable, but entirely boring on a stand-alone level. It’s entirely clear that, while the storyline of Legend of Mana deeply influenced her approach, she felt the scenes of Heroes of Mana were less significant or special.
Coming towards the climax of the soundtrack, there are several highlights. These include a glorious extended reprise of the opening theme, an ominous new overworld theme (fittingly entitled “Why We Are Without Hope…”), and a chilling composition to introduce the Master of Mirages. The final battle sequence features five themes that each build on the next in pace and potency. While a couple of these compositions are similar to the rest of the material, “It’s Either Real or Not” and “Time for the Mask to Run” have a special aura due to their multifaceted development and incorporation of romantic and gothic elements. While most of the soundtrack is emotionally superficial, the ending theme “The Tale Told by The Wind” is a much deeper effort that compares with Legend of Mana‘s best. Listeners are likely to be drawn in by the simple but intimate writing for piano and violin, while the gradual orchestration is quite touching.
Summary
Of the recent soundtracks in the Mana series, Heroes of Mana stands out as the best on a stand-alone level. There are several tracks are truly memorable and emotional, particularly the character-focused marches. The remaining tracks are still refined and enjoyable, even though most adhere to a conventional palette. That said, this soundtrack does lack the same depth and personality as Legend of Mana before it and sometimes seemed to have been composed in a derivative manner. Shimomura was still meticulous enough to produce a solid soundtrack, but it’s not a particularly special one.
Do you agree with the review and score? Let us know in the comments below!
3.5
Posted on August 1, 2012 by Chris Greening. Last modified on August 1, 2012.
About the Author
Chris Greening I've contributed to websites related to game audio since 2002. In this time, I've reviewed over a thousand albums and interviewed hundreds of musicians across the world. As the founder and webmaster of VGMO -Video Game Music Online-, I hope to create a cutting-edge, journalistic resource for all those soundtrack enthusiasts out there. In the process, I would love to further cultivate my passion for music, writing, and generally building things. Please enjoy the site and don't hesitate to say hello!
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