Genso Suikoden Original Game Soundtrack

Ah! I love Konami. I especially love their composers. Why do I love them you ask? Simply because they have created on of the *best* soundtracks ever in an RPG. The quality of the music in this CD shines with originality, incredible synth quality, and a great sense of variety.

Genso Suikoden ships on two CDs, and those CDs are packed. If you're expecting something akin to Ys Perfect Collection you're wrong. Each CD is around an hour and all of the tracks have a decent length. Each song is played through at least twice making the average track length somewhere between three and five minutes. I cannot explain how very nice it is to be able to listen to a favorite tune for a while. I thank Konami for this, and I hope other companies follow suit.

Of course long tracks don't mean squat if the music stinks. I assure you GS delivers and delivers big. This CD takes familiar styles as well as new ones and creates a world through music. Each part of the game world had a different style of music. For example Gregminster has a happy, upbeat, almost gaudy tune, while another town would have a slow, eerie tune. GS has the best array of town music ever in an RPG. All the music is done with synthesizers but these are all incredible - perhaps even topping the sound quality of Symphony Ys '95. Also deserving mention are the liner notes which even include some sheet music.

Originality is also something that GS has going for it, unlike many RPGs this soundtrack relies very little on strings. It does have its Final Fantasy'ish themes, but even they shine through with their own style. Genso's music ranges from chamber music, to oriental, to Renaissance, to eerie ambiance. Guitars, flutes and drums are what you'll find here; there's even an occasional vocal or two. Don't expect any new arrangements - there are none. What you hear on the CD is exactly what came out of your PSX, but then again, with music this good who needs arrangements.

The main tracks of note are all on disc two, which include: "Village of the Hidden Rune", which simply the most beautiful haunting melody I've ever heard, and "An Old Irish Song/The Dragon Knights", which delights me. Neclord's Castle is a great homage to Castlevania, and "Avertuneiro Antes Lance Mao" (credits) is great as well.

I could go on for pages describing each track, but I'll simply leave you with this. Unless you *have* to have a traditional FF/DQ style soundtrack, buy Genso Suikoden Original Game Soundtrack. You won't regret it.

For those who enjoy traditional RPG music, the soundtrack to Konami's PlayStation RPG Genso Suikoden is about as divine an object as one could hope to lay hands on, even though to describe the content as merely "traditional" is an insulting slight. Suikoden stands as a modern triumph of musical ingenuity, a landmark in the evolution of game music that could instantly convert anyone under the long antiquated notion that video game scores are of no artistic merit. The venerable Konami Kukeiha Club has driven itself to the edge, and produced a work of stylistically expansive, culturally broad musical erudition, rivaled by few for sheer breadth of artistry.

The two-disc set begins with the rousing, ebulliently western "Into the World of Fantasy" main theme, one of the most perfectly developed, satisfyingly crafted melodies ever heard in a game. From there it plunges the listener head-first into a spectacular musical exposition gleaming with examples of classical, modern orchestral, folk, new-age, ambient, eastern traditional, military, Celtic, and baroque genres.

The album is literally a bursting mine of gems. Those that sparkle brightest include the heart-wrenching "Theme of Grieving", an indescribably beautiful, haunting requiem performed by an ethereal, echoing live acoustic guitar that chills to the bone. The blood-stirring, electrifying "Advancing Army" march features a soaring, ascending chorus of strings which cries out with dramatic heroism. Most notable of all is the ending credits music, "Avertuneiro Antes Lance Mao", which builds slowly on a repeating motif from a simple, wistful flute melody to full orchestra and percussion, and closes the song with an overwhelming, profound glory of a live chorus.

Throughout, the presentation is solidly supported by the astonishing sound quality. Apart from the occasional use of real instruments throughout the soundtrack, the digital instrumental quality is eerily, perhaps suspiciously (What does Konami know that the others don't?) realistic. Music of this magnitude comes along agonizingly rarely, and must be snapped up the moment it materializes. I unreservedly recommend this soundtrack not just to fans of RPG music, but to all music fans in general.

Any person who plays role playing games and has a pulse will tell you that Konami's Genso Suikoden has an excellent soundtrack. In fact, I've come across the phrase, "Suikoden has a marvelously lush soundtrack" in more than one review of the game. How true this is. Konami's Kukeiha Club managed to pack more emotion into these two CDs than Hallmark can pack into an entire greeting card store! This is one beautiful soundtrack! If you've played the game, you know what I'm talking about. It really creates a mood. Geez, I'm getting teary eyed just thinking about it. Poor Gremio...

The Genso Suikoden soundtrack is housed on two compact discs and has a total of fifty-eight songs including one that doesn't appear on the game. Pretty cool, huh? The ending music is also slightly extended over the game and features a little more singing... very nice. All in all, this is an extremely well-produced and written soundtrack that deserves a spot on your shelf near Symphony Ys '95. I truly love this one.

As an extra note, I strongly recommend an American CD by David Arkenstone as an accompaniment to the Suikoden soundtrack. The CD is titled "Return of the Guardians" and is very similar to Suikoden and may even be better in some ways! If you love Suikoden's music, you'll love this! The best thing of all is that it can be purchased easily in America.