I am NO fan of the music of this series and I listened to the OST's for both when they came out. I found them lacking melodically and little more than cutesy soundscapes that weren't worth my time.

So imagine when my surprise when I put the soundtrack for Arcana Heart's third incarnation on. BAM! It got my attention right from the get-go. I'm talking near-Guilty Gear quality stuff here. Very 80's speed metal and the production here is actually (IMO) better than many GG albums (lead guitars/synths are extremely crisp and the low end is powerful...drums are probably programmed, but sound excellent. I wish Blazblue's tinny production was anywhere near this strong). Melodically, it falls way short of GG and is a TAD generic in that much of the music sounds similar (admittedly, I'm having trouble picking tracks apart early on) and they are just regular loops with fades (the tracks here are SCREAMING for a proper arrangement), but the if you like the style, have an ear for catchy riffs and are lamenting that this type of light metal has become something of an unfortunate rarity in VGM, you NEED to check this one out. It is downright excellent!

And lordy...I can't say anywhere in Guilty Gear's music exists a solo that kicks as much ass as Ragnarok. The three "final boss" (I'm really guessing here) tracks are easily the highlight.

Listening to a few of the tracks on YouTube, I can say the stage themes have a similar energy to Konami's early-90s style of rock, and I particularly like Clock Tower and yes, Ragnarok (the intro to which reminds me of something else I can't quite remember and it's driving me nuts). But my favorite one is probably White Valkyrja, which reminds me of Into the Crimson from Ontario Tangram in a lot of ways.

Ragnarok's intro sounds a bit like Cut Man to me.

Interesting note...The game is being published by Arc System Works (the guys who make Guilty Gear and Blazblue) for the console versions. Funny coincidence, considering the music direction.

Arcana Heart 3 Heavy Rock Tracks, anyone?

Not quite what I was thinking of, but thanks for kickstarting my memory - I was thinking of Fireman's theme.

Oh yes, the first thing that popped in my mind was also Fireman's Theme! Don't know why Cut Man seemed more familiar.