Game info: Wikipedia
Listening: soundtrack album (tracks 3.12~26), YouTube, CD audio
Credits
Original arcade version:
Sound Design: Hiroaki Yoshida (as MARO)
Saturn version:
Sound Convert: Hiroaki Yoshida (as MARO), Masaaki Iwasaki (as Koremasa)
Info
I was planning on posting about the arcade version and then the Saturn version, but it turns out that the Saturn version of this soundtrack is very similar to the arcade version, just with uncompressed CD audio and extended tracks, so we’ll just do this on its own instead since it very much feels like the definitive version; you’re not missing a whole lot by skipping the original unless you like fuzzier instruments and shorter tracks. The arcade soundtrack was composed by Hiroaki Yoshida, though it’s not clear if he did all of the Saturn arrangements himself; it’d make sense he did based on the arrangement style, but there are a few extra tracks that Iwasaki maybe could’ve done.
The style of this soundtrack is pretty similar to Wolf Fang’s, synthy melodic rock that never gets especially heavy. It’s compositionally much more straightforward: the jazz/funk influence is mostly gone save for the occasional bassline, the harmonies are simpler, and there’s generally just less unexpected nonsense. So I didn’t really like this that much! There is some fun guitar shreddin’ here and there though, I’ll definitely give it up for that.
The Saturn port includes an “Extra Mode” that features four additional tracks: three stage/boss themes and then an extra epilogue theme. These are all arrangements and not new compositions; one is of “SLAUGHTER MACHINE” from Wolf Fang, and then the other three are from the first game in the loosely-connected trilogy, Vapor Trail (or Ku-u-ga in Japanese, with ga/牙 meaning “fang” so all three games have that word in the title). The epilogue theme is a chill synthesizer and acoustic guitar piece that’s tonally and instrumentally unlike everything else in the game, but the other three in-game arrangements are all in the style of the rest of the music. It feels bad to say, but my favorite track from the game was… the arrangement of “SLAUGHTER MACHINE,” because that song is just more interesting compositionally to me than any of the new pieces.
Recommended tracks:
-
“FLAMING ARROW – Threat – (BOSS BGM 1)” has a nice 2-3-3 riff, and the bass groove at 0:45 is my favorite original part of the whole soundtrack
-
“AIR ASSAULT – Roar – (STAGE BGM 3)” is the jazziest that the new tracks get, the melody at 0:20 is pretty slinky
-
“OVER BOOST – Thunderclap – (BOSS BGM 2)” has a minute-long guitar solo at 1:19 for you
(track titles are unofficial translations from VGMdb)
Leave a Reply