A very nice CD that has definitely been overlooked.
Reader review by Ramza
This was the first soundtrack I ever bought and listened to, and I bought it only because I liked the game. I now have over a dozen videogame soundtracks, and this one is still in the top three that I own. What does this mean? It means that this is a quality soundtrack that has stood the test of time.
On this soundtrack, you will find all of the music from Alundra, with exception to the American intro music (that loud electric guitar song) and the American vocal credits music (this soundtrack contains the original Japanese vocal credits music). The CD starts with all of the familiar music (Town, World Map, regular Dungeon) and then it gets to songs written for specific placec in the game. A few of these songs have weird little sound effects that actually sound good. For example, track 18 was the song from the volcano dungeon. The sounds that go with the music couldn't be better and help make the track as a whole highly enjoyable.
Tracks 22-25 are boss music. I personally don't like loud boss music at all, be it from any game. Track 22 is a regular boss, 23 is Xorgia's music, 24 is Melzas regular and his dumb dragon, and track 25 is Melzas in his final form (a highly enjoyable track, actually). With all of this said, there's only one track that's overlooked right now and shouldn't be...
Track 21, "The Shrine of the Lake", is one of the best piano tracks *ever*. I'd even go so far to say I enjoy it more than some of the Final Fantasy Piano Collections music. This song is the last dungeon music, and contrary to what most last dungeon music is like, this music is *very* serene and calm. About half-way through the track, it kicks into this major string-like melody with the piano still going. I've listened to this song hundreds of times, and I'm still not tired of it!
Unlike most Squaresoft music, none of these tracks are looped. Well, they are but they aren't. They begin to loop and play, oh, the first five seconds of the track; just to give you that feeling of what it sounds like looped. After the first five seconds repeat, the song fades out and is over.
Alundra OST is an incredibly well-composed soundtrack that many more people should give a chance.