Chunsoft Archives - The Greatest Game Music

Dragon Quest III Soundtrack (Nintendo 3DS)

Dragon Quest III Soundtrack (Nintendo 3DS), Koichi Sugiyama, 2017

While its predecessors had been immensely successful in their own right, it was really with 1988’s Dragon Quest III that the venerable franchise turned into a commercial juggernaut. The original NES game itself sold a staggering 3.8 million copies in Japan alone. Add in a few more million copies for the game’s various remakes, and Dragon Quest III turns out to be the franchise’s most successful entry (it also spawned an urban myth about the Japanese government blocking future releases of Dragon Quest games on school days to curb truancy). The game itself didn’t revolutionise the JRPG genre. However, developer Chunsoft still expanded upon the first two Dragon Quest titles’ gameplay to introduce a character class system. This feature would become a staple of future Dragon Quest games.

After Dragon Quest II’s music had markedly improved over its predecessor, Koichi Sugiyama returned for the Dragon Quest III soundtrack, further expanding its breadth and diversity. Sugiyama continued to move away from the template he had established on Dragon Quest I, including a greater number of location-specific compositions (instead of using the same composition for each town/dungeon/castle etc.) The NES score’s quality remained somewhat patchy, but the soundtrack also featured several highlights, such as the magisterial ending theme “Into the Legend”.

As previously, orchestral arrangements created and conducted by Sugiyama followed soon – first with the NHK Symphony Orchestra in 1988, then with the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 1996 and finally with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra in 2005. Other versions of the Dragon Quest III soundtrack abound. The 1996 SNES remake featured a score that greatly expanded on the NES original, incorporating material from the orchestral albums. However, like the earlier Dragon Quest I & II SNES port, this remake suffered from poor sample quality that particularly gave the strings an unpleasantly hollow, glassy timbre. The 2000 Game Boy Colour port – different to the Dragon Quest I & II GBC remake – based its compositions on the NES game, not the orchestral arrangements. It improves on the NES original through its fuller timbres and remixing (prioritising melodies more clearly over the ostinato accompaniment), but still suffers from its uneven source material.

A 2014 release for mobile phones based its music entirely on the Dragon Quest III soundtrack’s orchestral versions, although its synth reproduction of the live performances was somewhat lacklustre. Finally, the 2017 Nintendo 3DS port managed to replicate the orchestral arrangements of the Dragon Quest III pieces convincingly enough (certainly outclassing the horribly encoded 2019 Switch version – there’s also the 2017 PS4 port, but no soundtrack rip seems available). In other words, at the time of writing, the Nintendo 3DS version is the best representation of Dragon Quest III orchestral arrangements.

However, Sugiyama’s work as presented in the N3DS game still sounds significantly less life-like than the orchestral recordings, although the woodwind solos tend to fare better than ensemble brass and strings. Is there much on the N3DS soundtrack that’s not already included on the orchestral recordings? The N3DS score indeed features material introduced on the game’s SNES remake that wasn’t present in the symphonic arrangements – and of course, these compositions sound far better on the N3DS than on the SNES. However, none of these pieces are truly essential. The one stand-out is “Adventure 2”, already present on the NES score. Quoting Dragon Quest I’s overworld theme, it was originally a somewhat flimsy composition. Thankfully, the N3DS arrangement turns it into a precious little gem, with its lead melody slowed down and turned into a dreamy, idyllic woodwind solo.

Still, if the N3DS score is essentially an acceptably downgraded version of the Dragon Quest III orchestral arrangements without much in terms of additional content, couldn’t we just stick with the symphonic suites? Essentially yes – there’s no reason why you would trade the live recordings for the N3DS port’s music. But what we are looking at here is music as it is used within the game – not as a separate album release (which is what the orchestral recordings are). In other words – the Dragon Quest III soundtrack has never sounded better within a game than it has on the Nintendo 3DS. As such, this port brings some of the best orchestral game music arrangements ever written back into the title that inspired them.

Indeed, Sugiyama’s arrangement of the original Dragon Quest III material turns an above-average score into a series of orchestral delights (with the odd letdown like “Gruelling Fight” and “Zoma’s Castle”). Of course, some of the NES compositions already held plenty of potential – foremost “Into the Legend”, which showed a staggering degree of melodic development that set new standards on the NES back in 1988. Sugiyama doesn’t have to try very hard to turn the already symphonically-minded piece into an orchestral showstopper that feels like the composer doing his take on the youthful vigour and swashbuckling bombast of John Williams’ Star Wars. “Castle Rondo” displayed Sugiyama’s usual knack for combining light-hearted yet regal melodies with elegant contrapuntal lines. This mix works as well on chiptunes platforms as it does when performed by an orchestra.

One thing that sets the orchestral arrangements of the Dragon Quest III soundtrack apart from the two earlier symphonic suites are Sugiyama’s significantly more creative and colourful orchestrations. His original NES compositions had already laid the groundwork for such increased variety. Take “Jipang”, which sees Sugiyama successfully replicating traditional Japanese music on the NES, making clever use of pitch bends and chromatic harmonies. His orchestral take on the same piece skilfully mixes in Western instruments such as French horns – a heady stew of instrumental colours preserved on the N3DS release. Where Sugiyama’s originality really comes to the fore is on the experimental “Phantom Ship”, which brings together several disjointed musical elements into a surprisingly coherent, eerie whole. It’s a perfect springboard for Sugiyama’s symphonic take on the same material, utilising a plethora of acerbic timbres to bypass easy descriptions of style and genre.

In other cases, it feels like the orchestral arrangements unlock the potential dormant in the NES compositions – as if this was the way the pieces were meant to sound in the first place. On the NES, “In a Town” ’s lead melody feels almost obnoxiously bouncy. Meanwhile, “Village” has a gently lilting tune that ultimately is too thin – and an intrusive ostinato accompaniment overshadows it. Listening to the orchestral takes on the same material, it becomes apparent just how much clever orchestrations can do for a piece of music. Sugiyama doesn’t change the melodic material much, happy to repeat it several times – but by cladding it in different instrumental colours on each occurrence, the melodies remain fresh and charming throughout. Meanwhile, “Village” ’s initially overbearing accompaniment turns into graceful string accents benefiting from the kind of nuanced attack and dynamics possible in a live performance.

Ultimately, the Dragon Quest III soundtrack’s orchestral arrangements – reasonably faithfully reproduced on the 3NDS port – are not the apogee of Dragon Quest symphonic suites. Still, they mark the first time the franchise’s music (by and large) achieved true greatness.

Since an internet search for screenshots of the Nintendo 3DS version came up empty, the screenshots above are taken from the Switch port.

01 - Town Sugiyama, Koichi 2:31
02 - Rondo Sugiyama, Koichi 3:29
03 - Adventure Sugiyama, Koichi 2:57
04 - Village Sugiyama, Koichi 4:00
05 - Dungeon Sugiyama, Koichi 3:17
06 - Fight Sugiyama, Koichi 1:27
07 - Temple Sugiyama, Koichi 2:50
08 - Pyramid Sugiyama, Koichi 2:25
09 - Sailing Sugiyama, Koichi 2:33
10 - Jipang Sugiyama, Koichi 2:05
11 - Phantom Ship Sugiyama, Koichi 2:00
12 - Heavenly Flight Sugiyama, Koichi 3:59
13 - Adventure 2 Sugiyama, Koichi 1:35
14 - Into the Legend Sugiyama, Koichi 2:59

Dragon Quest IV Soundtrack (Mobile)

Since an internet search for screenshots of the mobile version’s cover came up empty, a screenshot of the PlayStation port’s cover has been used above.

Dragon Quest IV Soundtrack (Mobile), Koichi Sugiyama, 2014

It is to the credit of developer Chunsoft and publisher Enix that coming off the jaw-dropping success of Dragon Quest III, they decided not to play things safe with the next game in the franchise. Instead, they went to shake things up, going so far as to turn the game’s story into a series of initially unrelated chapters that introduce the various party members – before they all come together in the final chapter. Other innovations included day and night cycles, an early artificial intelligence system to give non-playable party members combat instructions, and the choice of which characters to use in battle. Dragon Quest IV turned into another million-seller for Enix – not quite as successful as its predecessor, but 3.1 million copies sold just in Japan for the NES original is not exactly a bad result either.

As per tradition, Koichi Sugiyama was back on board to score the Dragon Quest IV soundtrack. It turned out to be one of the most expansive NES scores ever written, clocking in at nearly a whole hour (looped). Sugiyama once more increased the score’s breadth, writing a theme for each world map and several other location-specific compositions – on top of the pieces written for the usual suspects (town, dungeon, castle etc.)

Also, as per tradition, an orchestral arrangement of the Dragon Quest IV soundtrack followed soon. In fact, Dragon Quest IV might well have received more orchestral recordings than any other game or film score – with the NHK Symphony Orchestra in 1990, the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 1991, the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra in 2002 and the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra in 2005. The 1991 LPO album was the first time the orchestra recorded a Dragon Quest score. It was also the first occasion when an internationally renowned, top-tier orchestra recorded video game music, making this a seminal album release. Clearly, Enix had confidence in their product – and a generous budget. This became more obvious still when the company produced a VHS tape, showing the LPO performing the score under the baton of Sugiyama – interspersed with scenes of actors in medieval costumes acting out various short scenes on Warwick Castle!

Thankfully, all this care lavished upon the Dragon Quest IV soundtrack – or rather its orchestral arrangement – was well worth it, with game music fans often considering this work the franchise’s musical apogee. Of course, later remakes of the game – on PlayStation in 2001, Nintendo DS in 2007 and mobile phones in 2014 – preserved the orchestral arrangements and added some musical content, most of it underscoring a new, sixth chapter. As with Dragon Quest III, the new material isn’t all that noteworthy – although “In a Town (Night)” surprises by offering not just a stripped-down version of “In a Town”. Instead, it blossoms into a lovely, flute-led reverie. Out of the three remakes, the mobile phone version provides the most life-like sound – not surprising, given advances in sound chip technology. Still, no one will mistake it for the ‘real’ thing – the live-orchestral performance this soundtrack is based on.

And so, as with Dragon Quest III, once again the question arises – why bother with these console ports of the orchestral arrangements if they sound significantly inferior and add little additional content? In Dragon Quest III’s case, the issue was a bit less complicated – its Nintendo 3DS port was undoubtedly closer in sound to the live performances than the mobile Dragon Quest IV version is. Again, it comes down to the fact that we are looking at music as used in-game, not as a separate album release (like the orchestral live performances). In other words: if you ignored the fact that better versions of this music exist outside of the realm of in-game music, you would be left with what is still a fantastic RPG score.

It’s easy to take the excellence of the arranged Dragon Quest IV soundtrack for granted – but that would mean overlooking the almost schizophrenic quality of the material Sugiyama worked with. The NES Dragon Quest IV score is an odd duck. On the one hand, it is not just one of the longest NES soundtracks, but also the first franchise score where Sugiyama experiments more extensively with the console’s sound chip. Sugiyama gives the melody to the triangle channel in its higher registers on several occasions, while the two harmonising square wave channels provide nearly chordal support. Elsewhere – for example on “Expanding the Map” – Sugiyama makes clever use of echo effects to suggest thicker textures and a lusher sound. “Cursed Towers” and “Ballon’s Flight” are the composer’s most rhythmically daring NES compositions – the latter’s constant metre changes make it an almost head-spinning experience.

On the other hand, many of Sugiyama’s NES tracks are among the simplest he has written – take the various world map themes, all of which present fairly slight melodies against a repetitive rhythmic accompaniment. Other compositions come across as experiments rather than fully-developed compositions – just sample the two colosseum cues, which pit wispy, unpredictable melodies against absolutely overbearing arpeggios. As a result, on the NES the Dragon Quest IV soundtrack presents itself as a confusingly patchy affair, with dizzying heights and lackadaisical lows.

As with Dragon Quest III, it’s through the orchestral arrangement that many of the tracks come to life, courtesy of Sugiyama’s flair for luxurious, sometimes dazzling orchestrations, and the rhythmic and dynamic nuances a live performance allows for. Those previously drab map themes combine into “Comrades”, a ten-minute medley that might be the franchise’s most remarkable musical accomplishment, overflowing with colours as it moves from one delightful, vivacious section to the next. “Expanding the Map” – the sailing theme – becomes one of game music’s most ravishingly swooning compositions, underscoring the romantic nature of seafaring as much as the cyclical motion of the waves (the mobile version struggles to reproduce the density of the live orchestrations and their sheer emotional weight). And those two colosseum tracks sound like they had always been written with an orchestra in mind, turning into a serene woodwind meditation and an ebullient march, respectively.

But what if Sugiyama had indeed written the orchestral pieces first and then tried to convert them for the NES, and not the other way around as usually? Remember that the first Dragon Quest IV orchestral album was released only a month after the game. Without any further confirmation through interviews with Sugiyama or Chunsoft staff, we are left guessing. Still, this order of events might explain why the orchestral version of the Dragon Quest IV soundtrack is so consistently strong (even one of the battle tracks convinces!), but the NES music is so scattershot.

Of course, when the NES tracks soar, the orchestral arrangements easily follow suit. “Cursed Towers” builds on the NES version’s web of polyrhythms by adding a curious mix of constantly bubbling tuba lines, glockenspiel and ethereal string chords, giving the track a surprisingly playful mood. Meanwhile, “Balloon Flight”’s willowy chiptunes leads turn into complex, woodwind-heavy counterpoint clad in chamber music-sized orchestrations. And at the end, there’s even one occasion where the mobile phone port outclasses the symphonic recording. Sugiyama’s orchestrated version of “Finale” is a bit sedate, lacking the constant rush of ideas and excitement that turns the NES track into the platform’s most formidable approximation of symphonic orchestral writing. Thankfully, the mobile phone port of “Finale” is based on the NES cue, not the orchestral version – bringing the score to a truly spectacular finale that helps us overlook some technology-induced shortcomings along the way.

01 - The Warrior Conquers Alone (Chapter 1 Map) Sugiyama, Koichi 2:58
02 - Tomboy Princess' March (Chapter 2 Map) Sugiyama, Koichi 3:26
03 - Weapons Merchant Torneko (Chapter 3 Map) Sugiyama, Koichi 3:21
04 - Gypsy's Dance Sugiyama, Koichi 1:37
05 - Gypsy's Journey (Chapter 4 Map) Sugiyama, Koichi 2:14
06 - In A Town (Day) Sugiyama, Koichi 3:08
07 - In A Town (Night) Sugiyama, Koichi 2:33
08 - Casino Rag Sugiyama, Koichi 3:08
09 - Colosseum Back Stage Sugiyama, Koichi 2:06
10 - Colosseum Stand Sugiyama, Koichi 2:22
11 - Homeland (Chapter 5 Map) Sugiyama, Koichi 3:10
12 - Wagon's Wheel March (Chapter 5 Map with Wagon) Sugiyama, Koichi 5:09
13 - Frightening Dungeon Sugiyama, Koichi 3:37
14 - Cursed Towers Sugiyama, Koichi 3:13
15 - Mysterious Shrine Sugiyama, Koichi 2:12
16 - Expanding the Map (Chapter 5 Map with Ship) Sugiyama, Koichi 3:43
17 - Balloon's Flight (Chapter 5 Map with Balloon) Sugiyama, Koichi 6:09
18 - The Unknown Castle Sugiyama, Koichi 3:34
19 - Battle for the Glory Sugiyama, Koichi 2:06
20 - Finale Sugiyama, Koichi 10:55

Dragon Quest V Soundtrack (PlayStation 2)

Dragon Quest V Soundtrack (PlayStation 2), Koichi Sugiyama, 2004

Considering just how big the Dragon Quest franchise has always been in Japan, it was a bit of a surprise to see it landing on the SNES only in 1992 – maybe the last big 8-bit franchise to make the jump. Of course, once Dragon Quest V was released, it was another massive success for Chunsoft and Enix, selling 2.8 million copies on the SNES. Add in sales of its remakes (PlayStation 2 in 2004, Nintendo DS in 2008 and mobile phones in 2014), and the figure exceeds six million units.

For a franchise that has a reputation for not changing much from instalment to instalment, Dragon Quest V does try some interesting things. First and foremost, there’s how its narrative is structured, covering thirty years of the main protagonist’s life, from birth to the point when he is married and has a family. And while Dragon Quest V didn’t invent the idea of collecting monsters (the Megami Tensei series had been there first), it was still a relatively novel concept that would soon become ubiquitous via the Pokémon franchise.

Of course, another Dragon Quest game also meant another soundtrack by series regular Koichi Sugiyama. Previous soundtracks had seen Sugiyama expand the scope of each score, slowly moving away from the “overture / town / castle / field / dungeon / battle / final boss / staff roll” template that his original Dragon Quest score had established. The Dragon Quest V soundtrack halts this development, clocking in at about the same length as its predecessor and not offering significantly more variety – despite the move to a 16-bit platform. As always, multiple recordings of the score’s orchestral arrangement with the usual suspects followed: with the NHK Symphony Orchestra in 1992, the London Philharmonic in 2000 (nine years after their Dragon Quest IV recording!) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra in 2004.

Previous Dragon Quest titles presented a common challenge when one tried to appreciate their scores in-game. Ultimately, the orchestral arrangement recordings featured always the strongest representation of the music, which the modern remakes of each game tried to replicate – to various degrees of success. The Dragon Quest V soundtrack continues this conundrum in a slightly different fashion.

Let’s start with the SNES original – which like the NES Dragon Quest scores is a fairly uneven affair. The SNES’ capacity to reproduce orchestral sounds would have been a boon for a composer like Sugiyama, whose music is so heavily steeped in Western classical music traditions. However, his ambitions might actually be too much for the limitations of the SNES sound chip. Take a cue like string adagio “Cruel Reality”. Written more like a classical piece than a video game track, with a melody line that is more complex and less obviously articulated than what’s found on many other RPG scores, “Cruel Reality” comes across as rather dreary and monotonous on the SNES. This is music that relies on the performance’s emotional expressiveness, and the SNES’ samples aren’t quite up to the task.

The same issue applies to other pieces as well. The Dragon Quest V soundtrack is an intriguing RPG score in that its mood is rarely particularly adventurous or bold. Instead, much of the music has a curiously elusive quality, as if the whole journey is but a hazy summer dream. This leads to thinner than usual orchestrations that require delicate, heart-felt performances to bring out the music’s subtleties. And often enough, the SNES versions of the compositions lack that level of refinement – take the stiff rather than emotional woodwind soli on “Childhood Memories”, “Theme of Love” and “Travelling Alone”, or the patently odd string glissandi on “Higher and Higher”. You can guess what effect Sugiyama was aiming for on these pieces, but they feel less than fully realised.

Once more – as with the NES Dragon Quest games – it feels like the orchestral arrangements present the music as it was supposed to be heard in the first place. Particularly on the London Philharmonic Orchestra recording, the Dragon Quest V soundtrack reveals itself as a heady evocation of unusual moods and timbres. Just listen to “Higher and Higher”, a rather peculiar dungeon theme. With its initially idyllic flute melody, it’s surprisingly calm. However, there’s danger lurking underneath the quiet exterior, thanks to those disorienting string glissandi and an increasingly unpredictable, chromatic flute lead. It feels like you’re floating on clouds, but the risk of falling to the ground is never far away.

“Taking to the Skies” operates in a similar manner. It’s not as much of a break from tradition as Dragon Quest IV’s “Balloon’s Flight”, but its elegantly removed atmosphere, carried by an intricate, lengthy flute solo, offers far more harmonic and melodic surprises than most other RPG “flight” themes. Again, the atmosphere is dreamy, but the effect is by no means that of a careless lull.

“Deep Underground”’s hushed sense of nocturnal mystery is equally beguiling, courtesy of its swirling string ostinati and a flute lead that mixes sensations of elegance and caution. Sugiyama brings his inclination to explore emotionally ambiguous moods and textures to a head on the first half of “Ocean Voyage”. The composition initially relies entirely on the intoxicating effect of its otherworldly, exquisite string melodies and harmonies. The cue’s second half arguably strains a bit hard to turn the track’s melody into something far grander, replete with unison brass counterpoint and woodwind flutters. However, this unexpected segue is a reminder that, at times, the Dragon Quest V soundtrack can also go passionate and over-the-top sweeping.

Indeed, despite the music’s sometimes understated nature, its depth of feeling is never in question. In the hands of a capable orchestra, “Cruel Reality” and “Theme of Love” bring to bear the full, heart-rending impact of their carefully shaped melody lines, unfolding slowly until they hit home with all their gravitas and patiently built-up drama.

Where then does the problem lie that we brought up above? This is the first time a Dragon Quest game doesn’t just approximate the orchestral arrangements through its respective console’s sound chip. No, the PlayStation 2 version of Dragon Quest V uses an actual orchestral recording. The only issue is that the game’s producers ended up going with what’s arguably the weakest of all three recordings – the NHK Symphony Orchestra one. Comparing this performance with the LPO quickly reveals the shortcomings of the NHK recording. It’s utterly flat in so many ways – there’s a disconcerting lack of dynamics and performance subtitles, made worse by a muddy recording that obscures the crucial details of Sugiyama’s orchestrations. As performed by the NHK, music that is fascinatingly multi-faceted at its best often comes across as one-dimensional.

However, it’s a testament to the innate strength of Sugiyama’s compositions that even in a merely average performance and recording, they hold their own as some of game music’s most enjoyable orchestral pieces. So even despite its shortcomings (and the fact that the PlayStation 2 port features no worthwhile new material outside of the NHK recording), this version of the Dragon Quest V soundtrack earns its place on this site.

01 - Friendly and Peaceful Sugiyama, Koichi 1:16
02 - Childhood Memories Sugiyama, Koichi 1:47
03 - Deep Underground Sugiyama, Koichi 1:41
04 - Higher and Higher Sugiyama, Koichi 1:21
05 - Royal Palace Sugiyama, Koichi 2:12
06 - Mystical Realm of the Faeries Sugiyama, Koichi 1:39
07 - Travelling Alone Sugiyama, Koichi 1:24
08 - Cruel Reality Sugiyama, Koichi 3:54
09 - Ocean Voyage Sugiyama, Koichi 3:26
10 - Theme of Love Sugiyama, Koichi 2:47
11 - Taking to the Skies Sugiyama, Koichi 3:51
12 - Heavenly Castle Sugiyama, Koichi 2:39
13 - Vows of Marriage Sugiyama, Koichi 3:38

Homeland Soundtrack

Homeland Soundtrack, Hayato Matsuo, 2005

Nintendo’s GameCube wasn’t blessed with a vast number of system exclusives – and what made the situation even more frustrating was that many games were only released in specific territories (out of the nearly 650 GameCube titles, only 281 ended up on store shelves in Japan!) As a result, there’s not a huge number of hidden GameCube treasures waiting to be unearthed – but those that do exist can be particularly obscure and little-known. Case in point: Homeland, an online RPG by Dragon Quest developer Chunsoft, was only released in Japan. It proved innovative in several ways – one of only four online games for the system, it was the only GameCube title where the console acted as a server. And instead of allowing parties of just four (like the GameCube’s Phantasy Star Online), Homeland let players band together in groups of up to 36!

Looking at the game’s simple, if charmingly naive visuals, it’s not difficult to understand why Homeland didn’t leave Japanese shores, considering it was released only a year before the next console generation hit the market. Consequently, most gamers missed out on Homeland’s delightful soundtrack by Hayato Matsuo. Considering that Matsuo had started his career under Dragon Quest composer Koichi Sugiyama’s tutelage and that by 2005, he had composed the scores for several of Chunsoft’s Shiren the Wanderer games, it was no big surprise to see him tackle Homeland as well.

For the Homeland soundtrack, Matsuo composed just over two hours of material (looped), covering the broad spectrum of moods and emotions one would expect from an RPG score. However, Matsuo’s work isn’t consistently strong across the soundtrack. The compositions that easily stand out the most – and ultimately warrant the game’s inclusion on this site – are the score’s most carefree and easy-going pieces, which make up about 35 minutes of Matsuo’s compositions for Homeland. “Title” encapsulates the spell that these pieces weave with sparkling effortlessness. Opening with lively castanets and piano, the track introduces a spirited melody is passed on to solo violin and then to a sprightly acoustic guitar. Matsuo works with small, intimate ensembles here and elsewhere, but thanks to his orchestrational skills, he derives a beautiful richness of sun-kissed colours from his instrument combinations.

“Title” is the Homeland soundtrack – or rather its most substantial portions – in a nut-shell. These are compositions that only occasionally pass the two-minute mark when looped and don’t aspire to make any grand statements or generate profound insights. Instead, Homeland charms like few other game soundtracks with delightful tunefulness and fresh instrumental colours, energised by a fair amount of melodic counterpoint and bustling activity. This is relaxed feel-good music of the best possible kind, crafted with immense care to detail while never displaying an ounce of overt effort. In some ways, Matsuo’s work here harkens back to his work during the 16-bit era, when game music compositions tended to get to the point (melodically speaking) without delay.

And so Matsuo generates a string of blithe pleasantries that vary in their approach, but never break the Homeland soundtrack’s graceful spell, bolstered by the composer’s skilful mix of folk and pop influences in his enchanting melodies. “Kaneltown” is a beautiful example of Matsuo’s ability to create tasteful, unobtrusive instrumentations – adding a subtle touch of Caribbean influences by incorporating steel drums and later layering three acoustic guitars on top of each other to achieve a rich yet light tone. “Ilmina” integrates aspiring brass chords into the nimble orchestrations without unduly weighing down the music, as the instruments’ heavier timbres organically contrast with the jovial flute ostinato underneath. “Polka Forest” has shades of bossa nova in its more complex, unusually long-spun flute melody, while “Polkatown” moves listeners with its fragile, tender flute harmonisations.

It’s no surprise that a track like “Event Epilogue” closes proceedings with light dance rhythms and some of the score’s most optimistic melodies. Not all pieces have as much of a spring in their step though – instead, they’re happy to lean back and soak in the game’s joyful world. These tracks often feel earthier and more rustic than their livelier counterparts. Take “Croats”, with its pensive acoustic guitar line and nostalgic harmonica backing, carried by its simple melodic pleasures. On “Kiro”, it’s two accordions placed against gently swelling and ebbing violins that conjure up the music’s warmly welcoming mood. Still, the accordions also produce some passingly chromatic harmonies to prevent the cue from slipping into drowsy contentedness. And while much of the soundtrack feels like it’s bathed in the balmy glow of autumnal sunlight, “Valktown” and the yearning tone of its intertwining woodwind melodies seem to announce night falling.

The Homeland soundtrack is less successful when it travels into less idyllic terrain – but there are still a few tracks that tweak the score’s cheerful disposition carefully and in intriguing ways. Out of the many dungeon tracks, “Dungeon Kousyo” and “Tetunagi Dungeon” manage to incorporate other pieces’ melodic interests. “Dungeon Kousyo” does so by setting a chromatic flute ostinato against a dulcimer and a strange whining background noise, before having fun with playful chromatic woodwind harmonies. Here and on “Tetunagi Dungeon”, melodies are terser and more repetitive, with a sense of urgency and tension that is a welcome change of pace. On both “Tetunagi Dungeon” and the hushed, mysterious “Field 2”, Matsuo also cleverly adds synths to the acoustic ensemble, contrasting the score’s usually earthy tones. The Homeland soundtrack may require some curating, but it offers a short album’s worth of delectable pleasures once that work is complete.

01 - Title Matsuo, Hayato 2:16
02 - Croats Matsuo, Hayato 2:19
03 - Field 1 Matsuo, Hayato 2:09
04 - Kaneltown Matsuo, Hayato 2:11
05 - Dungeon Kousyo Matsuo, Hayato 2:15
06 - Ilmina Matsuo, Hayato 2:15
07 - Kiro Matsuo, Hayato 1:53
08 - Apricant Matsuo, Hayato 2:03
09 - Field 2 Matsuo, Hayato 2:15
10 - Valktown Matsuo, Hayato 1:45
11 - Eggshelltown Matsuo, Hayato 1:47
12 - Event Epilogue Matsuo, Hayato 2:08
13 - Field 3 Matsuo, Hayato 1:54
14 - Polkatown Matsuo, Hayato 1:54
15 - Polka Forest Matsuo, Hayato 2:00
16 - Tetunagi Dungeon Matsuo, Hayato 2:16
17 - Tetunagi Town (Softly) Matsuo, Hayato 2:28

Shiren the Wanderer 3 Soundtrack (Wii)

Shiren the Wanderer 3 Soundtrack (Wii), Hayato Matsuo, 2008

The Shiren the Wanderer franchise is one of those video game series that has generated a surprising number of titles, despite never being blessed with outstanding sales numbers. Upon its release in Japan in 2008, Fushigi no Dungeon: Fuurai no Shiren 3: Karakuri Yashiki no Nemuri Hime was the seventh game in the long-running franchise of roguelikes. Making matters somewhat confusing, Atlus USA released the game in the USA as Shiren the Wanderer (not to be confused with the 1995 SNES original). For the purpose of this review, we’ll stick with Shiren the Wanderer 3. Like more or less all other Shiren the Wanderer titles, the game generated respectable reviews and decent sales without leaving a particularly strong impression either way. What several reviewers did remark upon was that the game’s difficulty had been toned down somewhat from its predecessors, making this a more accessible entry in the franchise.

While the first Shiren the Wanderer game had been blessed by Koichi Sugiyama’s best work outside of the Dragon Quest series, Hayato Matsuo had taken over franchise scoring duties since 2001’s Shiren the Wanderer GB2. For that score and 2002’s Fushigi no Dungeon: Fuurai no Shiren Gaiden: Onna Kenshi Asuka Kenzan, Matsuo had relied extensively on material previously written by Sugiyama. Matsuo took a more individualistic approach on the Shiren the Wanderer 3 soundtrack, which features only a few reprises of Sugiyama’s melodies. The score came at a fortuitous time for Matsuo, hot on the heels of his magnum opus Hellsing Ultimate. Unfortunately, no soundtrack release has been forthcoming for Shiren the Wanderer 3 – maybe developer Chunsoft was wary of releasing a four disc-album for a Wii title that hadn’t been a commercial smash hit.

Yes, Matsuo’s score clocks in at four hours (looped), making it one of the most expansive Wii soundtracks. Thankfully, it also happens to be one of the best scores on the system – when all is said and done, this masterful work contains no less than three hours of excellent music. Matsuo’s skills as a creator of lavishly orchestrated and fluidly developed pieces full of exquisite melodies are on full display here. What might be most striking is how Matsuo manages to create a neverending stream of beautiful melodies (usually on woodwinds), while merging Japanese and Western orchestrations with stunning ease rivalled by very few other composers.

In this journey across soundworlds, Matsuo follows in Sugiyama’s footsteps and the template he had set back in 1995. Naturally, advances in technology and a longer run time allow Matsuo to explore his broad array of instruments in greater detail and variety. While he very rarely ventures outside of the realm of acoustic orchestrations on the Shiren the Wander 3 soundtrack, Matsuo teases a dazzling array of colours and moods out of his (synthesised) ensemble.

For example, an impressionistic piece like “Goten Kaguyagoryou”, with its contently glowing, slowly drifting melodies, reprises the mood of Shiren the Wanderer’s bucolic village tracks. When Matsuo focuses more strongly on Japanese influences – usually lead by shakuhachi and shamisen soli – the mood often turns strikingly ritualistic and austere. On “Toride 1” and “Toride 4”, Matsuo evokes a remarkably arid atmosphere through the use of traditional Japanese instruments, setting a scene that is lonesome but not bereft of hope or melodic beauty. Elsewhere, Matsuo uses his home country’s musical traditions in a more light-hearted fashion. “Goten Tenshu” turns into a nocturnal reverie thanks to its calm shakuhachi solo set against glistening synths. Like “Ryuugaike”, “Goten Tenshu” then surprises by moving from a serene opening to a lively B section that doesn’t interrupt the carefully conjured, enraptured ambience.

It’s on the more cinematic pieces that the Shiren the Wanderer 3 soundtrack wears his other prominent inspiration – Western classical music – proudly on his sleeve, again to excellent results. For example, you wouldn’t expect to find a harpsichord on a score like this. However, “Yashiki 1” effortlessly pulls this surprise off, before it develops into one of the soundtrack’s most complex, ambitious pieces, combining quiveringly dramatic string orchestrations with a thrilling shakuhachi solo. “Yagura 2” sees Matsuo having some fun with the format of a belligerent, brass-heavy march, slipping in some humorous undertones. “Warabeuta Kaguya” delivers an unexpected outburst of choir- and brass-driven bombast that takes an initially innocent flute melody to unexpectedly theatrical heights. And “Kaguya 3” surprises as a superbly written string adagio that might be the score’s most brilliantly melodic, heart-rending composition.

Matsuo’s most assured use of orchestral forces is found on “Epilogue 1” and “Epilogue 2”. The first composition is a delightful mix of gentle dance rhythms and light-footed call and response patterns between various solo instruments. Its successor seamlessly builds from its reflective start to a mighty brass climax that proves Matsuo to be at least the equal of Sugiyama when it comes to writing orchestral compositions of truly classically-inspired gravitas and splendour.

And like Sugiyama before him, Matsuo combines Japanese and Western instruments with commensurate skill – in fact, the Shiren the Wanderer 3 soundtrack might be one of the best amalgamations of Eastern and Western music in any medium. Again, there’s an embarrassment of riches to choose from. “Kaguya” mixes a warm romanticism derived from Western classical music with Japanese woodwind leads. “Yashiki 2” grafts a shamisen melody onto percolating orchestral woodwind lines to underscore a tense scenario in beguiling timbres. On the lighter end of the spectrum is “Touge”, one of the few compositions featuring the pipa more prominently as two woodwind lines intertwine blissfully against swooning strings. And of course, “Staff Roll” is the perfect spot to summarise Matsuo’s eclectic yet unified approach – appropriately upbeat and proud as it delves into a cornucopia of colours and melodies.

Not many soundtrack aficionados associate the Wii with the kind of sweeping, grand RPG score that attracted so many fans to game music in the first place. However, that’s precisely what Matsuo’s Shiren the Wanderer 3 is – a work of immense stature and a boundless supply of melodic delights that is both coherent and kaleidoscopic at the same time.

01 - Opening Matsuo, Hayato 2:08
02 - Chaya Matsuo, Hayato 2:24
03 - Dokodemo Matsuo, Hayato 3:19
04 - Fact Matsuo, Hayato 2:49
05 - Goten Butai 1 Matsuo, Hayato 3:48
06 - Goten Honmaru 1 Matsuo, Hayato 3:18
07 - Goten Kaguyagoryou Matsuo, Hayato 4:29
08 - Goten Tenshu Matsuo, Hayato 3:05
09 - Goten Zenigura 1 Matsuo, Hayato 3:34
10 - Goten Zenigura Matsuo, Hayato 3:32
11 - Hourai Matsuo, Hayato 2:51
12 - Hourai (Under) Matsuo, Hayato 2:52
13 - Izanami 2 Matsuo, Hayato 3:16
14 - Jofuku Matsuo, Hayato 3:10
15 - Juurouta Matsuo, Hayato 2:24
16 - Kaguya 1 Matsuo, Hayato 4:07
17 - Kaguya 2 Matsuo, Hayato 3:33
18 - Kaguya 3 Matsuo, Hayato 2:43
19 - Karakurihime Matsuo, Hayato 3:46
20 - Mizunoyama Matsuo, Hayato 3:48
21 - Monologue Matsuo, Hayato 3:24
22 - Monster Cottage Matsuo, Hayato 2:31
23 - Monster House Matsuo, Hayato 2:18
24 - Noumin Matsuo, Hayato 3:51
25 - Ootsutsukimura Matsuo, Hayato 2:48
26 - Ootsutsukimura (Past) Matsuo, Hayato 2:18
27 - Ryuugaike OYNZ50011512 3:34
28 - S30 Matsuo, Hayato 3:52
29 - Sanukinomori Matsuo, Hayato 3:07
30 - Sanukinomori (Past) Matsuo, Hayato 2:59
31 - Shishanotani Matsuo, Hayato 3:30
32 - Shop Matsuo, Hayato 2:02
33 - Tension 2 Matsuo, Hayato 2:25
34 - Toride 1 Matsuo, Hayato 2:56
35 - Toride 2 Matsuo, Hayato 2:55
36 - Toride 3 Matsuo, Hayato 3:18
37 - Toride 4 Matsuo, Hayato 4:14
38 - Touge Matsuo, Hayato 2:58
39 - Touge (Past) Matsuo, Hayato 3:19
40 - Warabeuta Kaguya Matsuo, Hayato 4:31
41 - Yagura 1 Matsuo, Hayato 3:53
42 - Yagura 2 Matsuo, Hayato 3:12
43 - Yashiki 1 Matsuo, Hayato 4:06
44 - Yashiki 2 Matsuo, Hayato 3:09
45 - Yomigoten 1 Matsuo, Hayato 4:27
46 - Epilogue 1 Matsuo, Hayato 3:37
47 - Epilogue 2 Matsuo, Hayato 2:19
48 - Staff Roll Matsuo, Hayato 3:34

Shiren the Wanderer Soundtrack (SNES)

Shiren the Wanderer Soundtrack (SNES), Koichi Sugiyama, 1995

It’s a bit surprising that it took publisher Enix a full seven years to create spin-off games for its monstrously successful Dragon Quest franchise. Enix’ first attempt to widen the Dragon Quest universe was 1993’s Torneko no Daibouken: Fushigi no Dungeon for the SNES. The game was successful enough to kickstart its own franchise: Mystery Dungeon. The next entry in this burgeoning series was Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer, again released on the SNES. One of the system’s few roguelikes – replete with randomly generated levels and a punishing difficulty level – Shiren the Wanderer sold sufficient copies to create yet another franchise of its own. Looking to put their own creative stamp on the Mystery Dungeon series, developer Chunsoft differentiated the game from its Dragon Quest brethren by setting it in a fantasy version of feudal Japan.

For the game’s soundtrack, Chunsoft sought the services of a known quantity: Koichi Sugiyama, who had provided the music for all of Chunsoft’s previous Dragon Quest games and by this stage was one of game music’s most famed composers. While the Dragon Quest titles allowed Sugiyama to indulge in his fondness for Western classical music, their pseudo-medieval/fantasy settings didn’t give him much of an opportunity to draw upon Japanese musical influences (apart from Dragon Quest III’s “Jurong”). For Sugiyama, the Shiren the Wanderer soundtrack was a chance to remedy this situation, ensuring that his music matched the game’s visually distinct character.

On album, the Shiren the Wanderer soundtrack ended up taking a somewhat circuitous route. An album containing synth arrangements and one live orchestral medley of the SNES compositions was released on December 20 1995 (one day before Sugiyama’s Dragon Quest VI album with the London Philharmonic Orchestra!) The game’s music was later ported for Game Boy title Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer GB and the Nintendo 64’s Shiren the Wanderer 2. Those two scores were included on a 20th-anniversary album release by Chunsoft – but not the SNES version, for some reason.

Interestingly enough, the SNES original remains the strongest representation of this soundtrack across platforms. The N64 port adds a raft of new material that is of variable quality and the samples used are less vibrant than on the SNES; the Game Boy score handles the more lushly arranged SNES pieces well enough but predictably struggles to replicate solo instruments like the shakuhachi convincingly; and the 2008 Nintendo DS remake boasts underwhelming sample quality that is less life-like still than what’s heard in the N64 game.

And this is indeed the kind of score that thrives on the authenticity of its instrument samples. Not surprisingly, given the game’s setting, Sugiyama heavily relies on traditional Japanese solo instruments such as the shakuhachi and the shamisen to carry most of the melodies on the Shiren the Wanderer soundtrack. If a melody is given to a Western instrument, it is often chosen to match the Japanese instruments’ earthy and intimate tones, for example the harmonica on “Summit Town” or the flute on “The Valley Campsite”. In most cases, Sugiyama couches these melody leads in delicate, Western classically-inspired orchestrations. They create colourful and emotionally rich sonorities, courtesy of Sugiyama’s harmonic and instrumental subtleties. It also helps that the score sees Sugiyama at the peak of his melodic capabilities. Many compositions run for more than four minutes (looped), rolling out their instantly captivating melodies with confidence and patience.

What’s particularly striking about the Shiren the Wanderer soundtrack is how it creates a highly original, enthralling sound world that’s entirely in support of the game’s aesthetic. Sugiyama mines the timbres of his solo instruments to evoke a mood that is both down-to-earth and spiritual, using sounds that seem to have travelled across the depths of time. Listen to “Crooked Boulder Valley Kigan”, where Sugiyama retains interest through nothing but an extended shakuhachi solo with its jagged, non-melodic (to Western ears) progression. Like on Stéphane Picq and Pierre Estève’s Atlantis: The Lost Tales, only a single instrument is required to conjure an ancient culture’s wisdom and tradition. This contrast between earthly and otherworldly concerns (which are really just two sides of the same coin) is spelt out more clearly on “Summit Town” and “The Valley Campsite”, where rustic introductions lead into star-gazing, yet still homely B sections with unexpectedly chromatic string harmonies.

What’s even more impressive is how Sugiyama manages to unify not just Eastern and Western styles as well as earth and heaven on the Shiren the Wanderer soundtrack, but yet still more tonal contrasts. His town themes are predictably idyllic but still immensely creative. Take “Bamboo Forest Village Tabigara”, where chromatic, ostinato-like woodwind chords underneath the shamisen lead give the music a subtly haunting and ritualistic, almost religious mood. Still more original are Sugiyama’s dungeon tracks. There’s a wealth of highlights to choose from, be it “Neburi Mine”’s unexpectedly majestic string orchestrations, “Trial Caves”’ unpredictably proceeding shakuhachi solo that leaves the destination of this journey into the dark unclear, or “Mountain Spirit Cave” with its intriguingly agitated disposition and skittish changes of Eastern/Western melody leads. And let’s not forget that Sugiyama somehow manages to make the inclusion of electric guitar on “Monster House” and “Mountain Spirit Cave 2” work!

What helps to make the Shiren the Wanderer soundtrack such a coherent listening experience is Sugiyama’s clever use of a single musical theme. The SNES era saw Sugiyama’s interest in thematic integration within his game scores peaking. Dragon Quest VI is easily his most thematically structured score in that franchise, while Torneko no Daibouken: Fushigi no Dungeon based almost every single composition on the same theme. That was also that earlier score’s downfall, as it presented little worthwhile melodic material outside of that one tune.

Sugiyama doesn’t repeat the same mistake here, writing several secondary motifs and fresh melodies for most tracks. And while he deploys his easily recognisable main theme – ceremonial yet homespun – on most tracks, he repeats it in an impressive array of disguises. Listeners will encounter the theme most commonly in its solo shakuhachi iteration, but also on acoustic guitar (“Pet”), its progression twisted and stretched (“Legend”), on eerie strings (“Thief”) or harmonised glockenspiel (“Labyrinth”) – or even through the stuttering funk syncopations of “Monster House” and on electric guitar (“Mountain Spirit Cave 2”). It’s a masterful display of compositional chops and yet another reason to label the Shiren the Wanderer soundtrack Sugiyama’s best work outside of the Dragon Quest franchise and one of the best SNES RPG scores.

01 - Bamboo Forest Village Tabigara Sugiyama, Koichi 5:10
02 - Crooked Boulder Valley Kigan Sugiyama, Koichi 5:03
03 - Fateful Encounter Sugiyama, Koichi 2:24
04 - Monster House Sugiyama, Koichi 2:32
05 - Mountain Spirit Cave Sugiyama, Koichi 4:51
06 - Mountain Spirit Cave 2 Sugiyama, Koichi 2:34
07 - Neburi Mine Sugiyama, Koichi 3:15
08 - Old Cedar Road Sugiyama, Koichi 4:19
09 - Pottery Master Gaibara Sugiyama, Koichi 1:48
10 - Shop Sugiyama, Koichi 1:28
11 - Summit Forest Sugiyama, Koichi 2:41
12 - Summit Town Sugiyama, Koichi 4:59
13 - Tenma Pass Sugiyama, Koichi 5:25
14 - Trial Caves Sugiyama, Koichi 4:29
15 - Valley Inn Sugiyama, Koichi 3:51
16 - Waterfall Cave Sugiyama, Koichi 2:33
17 - Golden City Sugiyama, Koichi 3:43
18 - Ending Sugiyama, Koichi 5:48