Rockman 9: The Ambition's Revival!! Original Soundtrack

Capcom's idea to "go retro" with Mega Man 9 was simple yet ingenious. Perhaps no other game or game soundtrack in recent memory has received such publicity and hype from such little technological investment. Marketing matters aside, however, the question is whether the finished product is of high enough quality to warrant the technological leap backwards. Though Rockman 9 Original Soundtrack may well win points from some for nostalgia, it neither eclipses the best efforts from the 8-bit era nor does it fare as well with its limited tool set as it would have through more modern means.

The stage themes are the main attraction of the soundtrack and follow a variety of clearly defined themes like fire, water, electricity and space, to which the artists style their synth instruments accordingly. "Concrete Jungle" begins with an aptly industrial beat, "Plug Electric" features a cool little electronic warble effect, and the trippy percussive synth instrument in "Jewel Temple" could indeed best be described as "crystalline". Though these brief instrumental accents are impressive examples of creative 8-bit synthesis, the main instrumentation is more in line with what a skeptic would expect and brings the soundtrack back to reality. Synth sax and horns are perhaps the best approximation for the lead instrument that carries almost every track, but in reality it amounts to a whiny electronic drone, testing more the listener's patience than any technological boundaries.

It's not only the synth instrumentation that's uneven. Though several of the stage themes offer catchy melodic segments, few if any are consistently entertaining as a whole. "Galaxy Fantasy" has a cool hyperactive intro but once the main melody joins the fray it becomes excessive. "Thunder Tornado" is surprisingly soulful at its peak, as is "Magma Burning" to a lesser extent, but both are uninteresting up till then. Probably the most consistent of the bunch is "Hornet Dance", but in between the catchy intro and chorus even it lags a bit.

The tracks preceding the stage themes seem an intentional tribute to the oldest of old-school NES music, but their melodies and instrumentation are so mind-numbingly simple they're difficult to tolerate. The soundtrack falters again in the home stretch from a string of simple mini-melodies that do little more than disrupt the flow of the soundtrack, only to be followed by the Dr. Wily tracks that, while longer, generally don't offer anything interesting technically or melodically. Still the latter half of the soundtrack does have its moments. "Shop" provides a bright, groovy dose of synth funk and the super-short but super-hyper "Rush Jet" is worth repeated listens for its catchy "Ching!" sound effect alone. "Wily Machine", like "Boss" before it, aptly paints the scenario of some quirky but dangerous, "science gone wrong" mechanical experiment on the loose.

Concluding the soundtrack proper are the closing credits music and the special stage themes. "Staff Roll" would fit right in as the happy, bouncy end theme for a cutesy anime, so the bright 8-bit synth serves it well. And though you would expect a special stage to be the garbage bin for stale musical leftovers, "Overdrive Scramble" has one of the catchiest, most energetic melodies of the album, without suffering from the dull stretches of the regular stage themes. "Maze of Death" does a nice job of combining melody with a bit of experimentation, though as its "Endless Stage" moniker suggests it does become repetitive.

Ironically it's easier to appreciate Rockman 9 OST when imagining what it could be were it not constrained to 8-bit. Some tracks would be much more effective were they to combine their best 8-bit instruments with studio synth for the lead, while others are just begging for a brassy big band performance and some electric guitar.

Rockman 9 OST shows moments of inspiration but not frequently or consistently enough to justify the technological gamble. Long-time game music fans still fond of 8-bit may well find it a nostalgic delight, provided they expect merely a good 8-bit soundtrack and not the second coming. Skeptics and newcomers, however, will be better off relegating this one to history where it belongs.