Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth Soundtrack, Peposoft, 2020
Few fantasy franchises have shown the same longevity – or generated quite so many spin-offs – as Record of Lodoss War. First appearing as a series of fantasy novels from 1988 onwards, Ryo Mizuno’s creation has since spawned manga, anime, video games and, naturally, soundtrack releases. At the time of writing, the franchise’s latest offspring was 2021’s Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth. Neither of the two companies behind the game – Team Ladybug and Why so serious? – were especially well known, although Team Ladybug’s previous titles, Touhou: Luna Nights and Shin Megami Tensei: Synchronicity Prologue, had both been well received. Built using the same Mogura engine as Touhou: Luna Nights, Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth very clearly takes its cue from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. On release, reviewers found much to admire in its Metroidvania-style gameplay and lovingly rendered 2D visuals.
Scoring duties on the Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth soundtrack fell to Peposoft, who had also written the music for Team Ladybug’s two previous games. Unfortunately, without Japanese-language sources, it is difficult to establish much about Peposoft’s background – including whether the name refers to a single composer or a collective. What Peposoft’s website does make clear is that the name has been attached to other projects since at least 2013.
Given Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth’s style, one might also suspect a background in the doujin fan scene. It is not the first 2021 game score to emerge from that sphere – one need only think of Touhou Kouryudou ~ Unconnected Marketeers or Rakugaki Kingdom, written mainly by former doujin artist Yu Shimoda. One recurring problem with fan-scene soundtracks is that they can struggle to shape their multitude of influences and ideas into coherent compositions – a weakness plainly audible in Unconnected Marketeers, which leaps abruptly from one intriguing thought to the next, often in jarring fashion. Peposoft’s achievement on Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth is that they do not merely fire ideas into the ether like a Gatling gun strapped to a spinning top. They marshal that same abundance of invention into dizzying but controlled pieces that still fulfil their primary function: consistently building mood and evoking the game’s world.
One of the key stylistic principles shaping Peposoft’s cues is the example of late-1980s and early-1990s computer JRPG scores, with their characteristic willingness to mix orchestral fantasy writing with a wide range of other genres. The regal opening strings of “Prologo – Breath of the Labyrinth” immediately show that Peposoft can write appealing orchestral material and dress it in skilful arrangements. The following flute and violin soli, alternating between dramatic and delicate melodic turns, further confirm that point. What truly distinguishes “Prologo” though are the wonderfully intricate, funk-inflected rhythms on rock drums and slapped bass that underpin these melodies, while a synth choir quietly reinforces the labyrinth’s mysterious character. It is a superb fusion of classical and contemporary elements, possessing both the gravitas required for fantasy adventure and an irresistible sense of groove.
That level of creativity and attention to detail is evident throughout the entire Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth soundtrack. There is a ceaseless inventiveness to the music’s centrifugal energy, with individual cues hurtling through a staggering number of ideas. And yet the score never loses sight of the game’s narrative needs. On “Fiamma del Caos – The Cave”, classical, rock and electronic elements are combined with virtuosity comparable to “Prologo”, but here the relatively simple orchestral overlays effectively suggest the immense cavernous backdrop. “Nebbioso – Into the Fog” is an absolute head-spinner, throwing together noisy guitars, pop-inflected piano melodies, reedy synth ostinato leads, majestic horn chords and a dozen other ingredients in a way that threatens to outdo Falcom’s genre classics from the company’s 1980s and 1990s heyday. Yet it all coheres seamlessly, convincingly expressing the determination to push forward through the disorienting, mist-covered landscape.
It is no surprise, then, that once the Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth soundtrack moves into longer compositions, it becomes more dazzling still. “Contrattaco – Emotional Overload” begins with spacious synths more typical of classic shoot-’em-up scores before a thin, fuzzy guitar enters the frame. Over the next six minutes, Peposoft extract an astonishing amount from the clash between chrome-polished electronics and smeared guitar timbres. That collision only heightens the track’s dramatic dynamic contrasts, which hover above constantly shifting electronic beats. A similar friction drives “Cavaliere – The Proud Knight”, where broad, majestic orchestral synths contend with eccentric, perpetually destabilising rhythms – a pairing that gives the cue a wonderfully sweeping yet edgy sense of drama. And “Fine del Labirinto – Completion” is essentially a dancefloor banger set in a crystal cave, with icy synths repeatedly collapsing into spasmodic eruptions of chaotic electronic rhythm.
“Fine del Labirinto” also highlights Peposoft’s willingness to let their sounds become harsh and grainy, with samples audibly crushed and frayed by digital compression. The permanently elevated gain levels certainly ensure that the Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth soundtrack will never be an audiophile’s dream. But, as with every other aspect of this score, there is method in Peposoft’s approach. The PlayStation 2-era quality of the samples strikes a comfortable middle ground between the score’s retro inspirations and the more life-like sheen of modern game music. And by compressing the sometimes mind-boggling number of musical elements into a pushy, aggressive mix, the composers only intensify the music’s manic, breathless momentum.
Naturally, it is the action material that benefits most from this added abrasiveness. The manipulated violin overlays on first combat cue “Conflitto – Into Battle”, which sound like a squealing organ, immediately announce Peposoft’s taste for gritty sonic experimentation. Even on a shorter track like “Arciere – Master of the Bow”, the instrumentation twists unpredictably – just listen to the glockenspiel floating above meticulously layered electronic rhythms at the end of the cue.
Finally, “Potente Potere – End of the Line” and “Superare – Stolen Weakness” are non-stop assaults on the senses – as if someone had strapped a rocket to Final Fantasy VIII’s final boss theme “The Extreme”, hyper-charged it beyond reason and finally made good on its title’s promise. It is thrilling to hear these pieces push themselves so completely amid the howling, crashing, jerking electronics, while still injecting just enough twisted gothic grandeur to function as suitably towering endgame battle cues. If only more mainstream scores showed the same boundless ambition, creativity and refusal to take prisoners as the Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth soundtrack.
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