Ys VI -The Ark of Napishtim- Special Sound CD

Ys VI -The Ark of Napishtim- Special Sound CD Album Title:
Ys VI -The Ark of Napishtim- Special Sound CD
Record Label:
Konami Digital Entertainment
Catalog No.:
VW-265
Release Date:
March 10, 2005
Purchase:
Buy Used Copy

Overview

Shortly after the PC release, Konami adapted Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim for its console release on PlayStation 2. For the expensive limited edition version, they packaged a bonus album, an art book, and a watch with the game. The Ys VI The Ark of Napishtim Special Sound CD features six exclusive arrangements of the game’s music. The rest of the album is dedicated to drama and sound effects collections that will be of more limited use for Western consumers.

Body

The album opens with two vocal arrangements by Konami veteran Hidenori Maezawa. The interpretation of the character theme “Olha” is actually quite special. The character’s seiyuu offers a dreamy performance of the mild-mannered melodies and is likely to capture the hearts of many who played the game. The instrumentals are also fascinating for the way they blend ‘new age’ soundscapes with traditional Japanese instrumentation and reflect the type of music featured in Maezawa’s solo works. “Rehda” meanwhile is a much more upbeat arrangement featuring a light-hearted seiyuu and lively backing. This time the instrumentation is more typical RPG fare, yet still exudes beautiful organic flavours.

Moving on, there are also three arrangements by Hiroyuki Nanba. “Adventure of Canaan” is a little reminiscent of spaghetti western music with its lively brass cues and nostalgic accompaniment, while “Requiem of Alma” subsequently provides a tender moment with an acoustic guitar performance and elegaic vocals. It’s with “Boss Generic” that listeners are finally greeted with Nanba’s rock style and it’s worth the wait. There are pleasant of fun progressive rock improvisations here on keyboards, not to mention some juicy dissonant chords. The arranged section is rounded off with Kosuke Yamashita’s “Mountain Zone”, which evolves from a touching piano performance into a formidable imperial march. Talk about leaving the section on an unresolved note!

Unfortunately for Western listeners, this CD may not bring that resolution. After all, the subsequent seven tracks are dedicated to a drama performance based on the game. It’s clearly well done, blending distinctive Japanese dialogue with instrumental backing tracks. However, it’s simply not intended for English speakers and will be lost on most. Even worse, the last 17 minutes of the album are dedicated to sound effects, ranging from icon noises to natural ambience to occasional jingles. I don’t think anyone normal would choose to listen through these.

Summary

The Ys VI The Ark of Napishtim Special Sound CD provides a pleasant recollection of the story and music of the game. However, I wouldn’t recommend importing the expensive limited edition package. The arrangements range from good to excellent, yet there are only six of them, so they’re unlikely to provide value for money. The remainder of the album features the Japanese-targeted drama performances and the weirdo-targeted sound effects collections, so won’t provide much satisfactory. Overall, a good package not intended for Western consumers.

Ys VI -The Ark of Napishtim- Special Sound CD Charles Szczygiel

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Posted on August 1, 2012 by Charles Szczygiel. Last modified on August 1, 2012.


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