Dragon Quest (Franchise) 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

Dragon Quest VI Soundtrack (Mobile)

Dragon Quest VI Soundtrack (Mobile), Koichi Sugiyama, 2015

Dragon Quest V was the first game in the franchise to hit a 16-bit platform. But while it sported one of the era’s more original and moving narratives, its presentation felt like a relatively minor upgrade over its NES predecessor. Thankfully, Dragon Quest VI fixed this particular issue. Released in 1995, Dragon Quest VI wholeheartedly embraced the SNES’ technical capacities, featuring far more detailed and colourful graphics. Players also enjoyed a much larger game world, thanks to Dragon Quest VI’s ‘real world/dream world’ set up. Development duties passed from Chunsoft on to Heart Beat, founded in 1992 by Manabu Yamana, director of Dragon Quest III-V. Needless to say, Dragon Quest VI became the best-selling game of 1995 in Japan. On top of those 3.2 million SNES cartridges, it later sold an additional one million copies on the Nintendo DS.

Of course, Koichi Sugiyama returned once more to deliver the Dragon Quest VI soundtrack. On this occasion, he was joined by two unusually famous collaborators: seasoned fellow game composers Hitoshi Sakimoto and Tsukasa Tawada, who handled sound design duties. Maybe as a result, Dragon Quest VI’s instrument samples are a marked improvement over those used on previous SNES Dragon Quest games. However, their quality is strangely inconsistent – listen to the watery strings on “Monsters” and “Eternal Lullaby”. Then again – as always – all eyes were on the orchestral arrangement of the score anyway, released less than two weeks after the game and once more performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. A re-recording with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra followed in 2006. Compared to other games in the franchise, Dragon Quest VI received relatively few ports – to the Nintendo DS in 2010 and smartphones in 2015.

As with previous Dragon Quest games, the question remains: “Do I need to listen to the game score, or can I just get the orchestral album?” And as with every Dragon Quest title since the very first one, the answer remains: “Strictly speaking, you don’t have to bother with the game score.” Once more, the orchestral arrangement covers more or less all of the music heard in the original game and the various ports – any exclusive material isn’t particularly noteworthy. And of course, the live performances sound significantly better than anything the console versions can produce. That being said, some intriguing details found on the SNES original – like the underwater ambience of “Wandering through the Silence” or the ghostly woodwind lead on “Satan’s Castle” – are sadly missing in the orchestral arrangements.

Ultimately – if we simply look at the music as used in-game – the most recent Dragon Quest VI port emerges as one of the best RPG soundtracks on its respective platform (as was the case with Dragon Quest III, IV and V). Naturally, the ports can’t hope to produce a 1:1 emulation of the orchestral performances’ splendour – but even an approximation delivers outstanding results.

Upon closer inspection, the Dragon Quest VI soundtrack presents an intriguing set of contradictions. On the one hand, it might reveal the limitations of Sugiyama’s approach. Where previous series soundtracks expanded the template laid down by the original Dragon Quest (town theme/castle theme/dungeon theme etc.), Dragon Quest V had slowed down this momentum, and Dragon Quest VI follows suit. What added scope there is comes from increased quantity: instead of one field theme, there are now three; instead of one battle themes, there are four etc. And where Dragon Quest III and IV had introduced some novel orchestral colours, and Dragon Quest V had a peculiarly dreamy atmosphere, Dragon Quest VI’s orchestrations stylistically give it the feel of a relatively standard high-fantasy score.

But if Sugiyama adheres to formula more closely than before, he also manages to execute it better than almost any other game composer. His compositions had always highlighted their creator’s inspiration through Western classical music – take Dragon Quest IV’s ending theme. But with the Dragon Quest VI soundtrack, Sugiyama writes his most classically-minded score so far – maybe a result of being more familiar with the SPC sound chip’s capabilities. These are pieces that are reluctant to deliver hummable melodies or rhythm hooks. Instead, compositions unfold slowly and patiently, with melody lines that are longer and more complex than what’s usually found on orchestral game soundtracks. The cues on the Dragon Quest VI soundtrack don’t feel so much like underscore for a particular scene, but more like pieces that develop according to their own purely musical logic.

The best example of Sugiyama’s symphonically-inspired approach is “Eternal Lullaby”, this soundtrack’s ending theme. Compare it to a closing track like Final Fantasy VI’s “Ending Theme”, which for nearly 22 minutes flits from one theme to the next, seamlessly underscoring whatever action is taking place during the mammoth closing scene. “Eternal Lullaby” does almost the opposite. Sugiyama carefully develops and varies one single theme, exploring its various emotional shades – until the stage has been set for a monumental reprise of the theme that concludes the soundtrack on a sufficiently grand note. In short, game scores rarely mine the peerless – if maybe initially elusive – richness of classical music more successfully than the Dragon Quest VI soundtrack. As a result, a composition like “Ocean Waves” plays like a ravishing miniature tone poem.

And while the template that Sugiyama works with is very familiar by now, that’s not to say this score is bereft of surprises. Sugiyama’s dungeon tracks are unexpectedly jagged and disjointed – easily the most experimental music he has written so far for the franchise. “Frightening Dungeon” is downright creepy, full of wild instrumental lines and an eerie woodwind lead that almost leads the piece into the abstract realm of avant-garde classical music. It’s a far cry from Sugiyama’s usually late-romantic inspirations. Still, he manages to write a piece that keeps listeners wondering with bated breath where the music heads next, as stinging musical fragments swirl through the darkness, disappearing again as quickly as they emerged. Other dungeon tracks like “Dungeons” and “Last Dungeon” manage to mix this sense of dread with a greater degree of melodicism, building captivating tension between the competing emotional tones.

Where the Dragon Quest VI soundtrack really turns heads is with its battle tracks. No matter how strong on average, previous Dragon Quest scores had cemented Sugiyama’s reputation for writing underwhelming battle themes. Either they just plain lacked urgency and power, or their bombastic tones covered up thin material. And suddenly, Sugiyama composes four battle tracks that pulse with unbridled energy and incessantly propulsive rhythms. These power massive brass outbursts and intricate interplays between instrument groups – now there is far more counterpoint and melodic material on these cues than on any previous DQ action track. Dynamics are equally varied – take the sudden, extended flute lead on “Brave Fight” or “Monsters”’ surprising mix of jaunty and menacing tones. All of a sudden, there’s a rousing, fierce drama to the Dragon Quest VI soundtrack that previous franchise scores couldn’t muster – another reason why this might be the best score of the entire series.

01 - In the Town Sugiyama, Koichi 2:38
02 - Happy Humming Sugiyama, Koichi 2:55
03 - Folk Dance Sugiyama, Koichi 1:37
04 - Inviting Village Sugiyama, Koichi 4:49
05 - Through the Fields Sugiyama, Koichi 3:37
06 - Another World Sugiyama, Koichi 2:28
07 - Saint's Wreath Sugiyama, Koichi 3:47
08 - Ocean Waves Sugiyama, Koichi 5:07
09 - Dungeons Sugiyama, Koichi 3:55
10 - Frightening Dungeon Sugiyama, Koichi 2:58
11 - Satan's Castle Sugiyama, Koichi 2:35
12 - Last Dungeon Sugiyama, Koichi 3:36
13 - Ocarina - Saint Sugiyama, Koichi 3:21
14 - Pegasus Sugiyama, Koichi 5:23
15 - Courageous Fight Sugiyama, Koichi 2:43
16 - Brave Fight Sugiyama, Koichi 2:35
17 - Monsters Sugiyama, Koichi 3:36
18 - Demon Combat Sugiyama, Koichi 3:19
19 - Eternal Lullaby Sugiyama, Koichi 6:46