Drakengard 3 Soundtrack Selections
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Album Title: Drakengard 3 Soundtrack Selections |
| Record Label: Square Enix |
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| Catalog No.: N/A |
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| Release Date: May 20, 2014 |
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| Purchase: Buy Used Copy |
Overview
Drakengard 3 was localised earlier this year to mixed critical and popular reception. Those who purchased the collector’s edition of the game were eligible to receive the Drakengard 3 Soundtrack Selections, featuring seven tracks from the game composed by the Monaca team. What should you expect?
Body
The seven tracks featured here give a good taster of what to expect from the soundtrack as a whole. Emi Evans (who also sang on Nier) lends her voice to the two gems of tracks, “Descendeus” and “Aethervox”. Featuring soft and beautiful instrumentation combiend with ethereal vocals, these tracks would altogether not have felt out of place in Nier, which is a great thing.
The two Battlefield tracks, “Thundervalor” and “Antipurity”, capture the intensity of the gameplay. Though their are some differences in their palettes and melodies, these tracks share a similar structure as with the other Battlefield tracks: swirling strings and heavy brass arrangement with fast-paced percussion, with one of the sections playing the melody of the theme. In the second half of each song, vocalist Nami Nakagawa (the Nier female chorus) comes in to sing the melody.
“Exculsion” and “Prevolt” are boss battle variants of the sisters theme. These tracks and the boss themes as a whole are again all stylistically similar, this time trading the orchestra for a gritty electronic-rock approach. However, there’s enough variety here to keep things interesting and the distorted J-Pop vocals from YoHRa are well-suited to this style.
The ending theme “Kuroi Uta” is also featured here, performed in English by Emi Evans. This track encapsulates the beautiful tragedy of Drakengard 3 with its progression from a soft opening to explosive finale. While not my favourite of the game’s vocal themes, it’s a truly momentous highlight.
Summary
This disc is a good taster of what to expect from the full soundtrack, since it covers the stage, boss, and storyline tracks. However, it’s disappointing that Square Enix couldn’t have presented more in this disc given the significant pricetag of the limited edition collector’s package. Those interested in the soundtrack would be better off going for the full commercial release.
Do you agree with the review and score? Let us know in the comments below!
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Posted on May 20, 2014 by Christopher Huynh. Last modified on September 20, 2014.
About the Author
Christopher Huynh recently finished an undergraduate degree in Physics at McMaster University. He has some proficiency in singing, piano, organ, cello, and gaming. He hopes to continue exploring the vast world of music while sharing it with others however possible.
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