A must-have if you like rock, jazz, and techno.
Reader review by Alonso Paredes
When I bought Tobal 2 I immediately fell in love with it. The same happened when I received Tobal 2 Original Soundtrack in my mail. It is truly a masterpiece.
Most of the tracks fall into a genre that is known as fusion, a mix of funk, jazz and rock. Even if you've never heard fusion music, some of the tracks are very relaxing (like the endings), while others will make you dance as soon as you hear them ("Knee Drop", "The Origin No. 5").
The soundtrack includes music from every fighting arena, an arranged version of the opening movie, the intro sequence of the Quest mode, and music from the tutorial movie ("Knee Drop" and "The Speeder"). What is missing is music from the Quest mode itself. Not a big loss if you ask me, as that music is *very* repetitive and is PCM music, so who cares?
Some tracks that deserve a special mention are "Amethyst" (Epon's stage), "The Origin No. 5" (Nork's stage), "Hero's Looking Glass" (Ill's stage, which is really Chuji's theme), and "Knee Drop" (tutorial movie). "Amethyst" is one of the most relaxing tracks in the CD. In the middle of the track a guitar starts to play, which enhances even more the already great tune. Chuji's theme is perhaps one of the coolest tracks, and it is almost 100-percent pure rock, with just a little jazz... too bad it is too short. "Knee Drop" is probably the best tune the whole CD. Extremely well performed, it is mix of rock and techno - *very* fast-paced. "Origin" is much more relaxing, with the synthesizer being the main lead (as in most tracks). The two bonuses, as mentioned earlier, are "The Speeder" and "Knee Drop".
Tobal 2 Original Soundtrack is perfect for relaxing, working, and doing homework (honestly, my grades have improved ever since I bought it). If you don't mind the missing quest music, and if you are a Tobal 2 fan or like fusion music, then this CD is for you. The music is as good, or maybe even better than the game itself. Takayuki Nakamura has created the perfect soundtrack for a fighting game.