PlayStation 2 Archives - The Greatest Game Music

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

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Soundtrack

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Soundtrack, Jeremy Soule, 2002

The Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets soundtrack is easily the best of Jeremy Soule‘s five scores for the franchise. It also benefits from a better album presentation than Soule’s other Harry Potter soundtracks. Only eight minutes of notable material are missing from the album release, which thankfully excises a lot of ruminative underscore. In fact, Chamber of Secrets is Soule’s most satisfying fantasy soundtrack. Yes, that’s a big claim to make, considering his work on franchises like The Elder Scrolls and Guild Wars. But Chamber of Secrets achieves a consistency of quality that Soule’s more bloated scores don’t accomplish. He doubtlessly deserved his 2004 win of the BAFTA Games Award for Best Original Music for Chamber of Secrets.

Soule’s designation as “the John Williams of game music” has always had more to do with hyperbole and facile comparisons than with actual musical parallels. For example, Soule seems almost entirely disinterested in the elaborate thematic structures that shape so many of Williams’ works. However, there’s no denying that at his best, Soule is able to create a lavish orchestral sound broadly reminiscent of John Williams’ works in the science fiction and fantasy genre.

It was this similarity in sound that landed Soule the gig on the first five Harry Potter games. On the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets soundtrack, he shows why he’s the right man for the job. Soule gets the necessary mix of adventure, menace and child-like wonder just right. He crafts the perfect soundtrack for a quest that is light-hearted, but not without dangers and dramatic encounters, set in a colourful world both homely and of immense scale.

All these impressions come together on the album’s opening track “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Title Theme”. The cue successfully evokes the requisite sense of both magic and majestic sweep essential to a Harry Potter score. A substantial choral component gives the music unexpected heft and scope, before the orchestration pulls back to solo piano only. With impressive ease, Soule shows his aptitude at handling these swift, fluid changes of orchestration and mood. At the same time, it’s obvious Soule has found his individual musical entry point to the world of Harry Potter, never coming off as a mere Williams rip-off.

What’s most refreshing about the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets soundtrack is its light touch, and a feeling of affability and charm that is utterly delightful. It also helps that the variety on display on “Title Theme” is present throughout the entire soundtrack. For example, the requisite comedy elements appear on “Washing”, which merrily bounces along without ever turning cloying or childish. In a similar vein, “House Point Theme” has great fun contrasting regal fanfares with tuba-driven, oompah-style humour. In the soundtrack’s liner notes, Chamber of Secrets‘ audio manager Nick Lavier claims that Soule “doesn’t seem to be able to […] very easily […] write light, playful music.” However, based on the winning evidence presented on this soundtrack, it’s an issue that Soule successfully overcame.

At the other end of the spectrum are the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets soundtrack’s action pieces. Despite the odd less than spectacular cue, they manage to outgun the battle tracks on pretty much all of Soule’s other fantasy scores. A comparison with his work for the same year’s The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind proves insightful. By comparison, Chamber of Secrets’ action cues are far more attractive, with no place for stale ostinato staccatos. They also have a real sense of rhythmic elasticity, never content to rest in one spot for long as the whole orchestra contributes to the light-footed compositions.

Most importantly, there’s a real sense of urgency and verve that turns even short tracks like “Draco” into energising interludes. It’s hard to overstate how much a live orchestra’s vivid sound brings to these compositions. For example, the full-throated, rasping sound of the brass section on “Draco” is immensely satisfying.

Many other tracks contribute to the variety of textures and moods that makes the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets soundtrack such a winning work. Take “Flying”, which shows Soule at his most spirited and effervescent. Here, the music truly cuts loose, unable to contain its excitement at the wide-open skies ahead. Then there’s “Willow Level 3”, a beautifully contoured string adagio with Wagnerian overtones that displays Soule’s classical inclinations. “Spell Atmos” and its calm solemnity and mystical gestures feel like a test run for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The cues’ feeling of otherworldly wonder and gazing finds its charmingly unassuming counterpoint in the gorgeously meandering “Day”. The composition’s hazy, sustained woodwind chords set against piano and celesta are something to savour. It’s a rare moment of absent-minded daydreaming that later Harry Potter scores with higher dramatic stakes don’t allow for.

01 - Harry Potter and the Chamber Of Secrets Theme Jeremy Soule 2:23
02 - The Burrow Jeremy Soule 2:16
03 - The Washing Machine Jeremy Soule 0:58
04 - Fighting Imps Jeremy Soule 1:09
05 - Diagon Alley Jeremy Soule 1:04
06 - Stealth Pursuit Jeremy Soule 1:00
07 - The Leaky Cauldron Jeremy Soule 0:55
08 - Hedwig Jeremy Soule 2:14
09 - Fighting the Whomping Willow Jeremy Soule 2:08
10 - Return to Hogwarts Jeremy Soule 1:26
11 - Day Follow Jeremy Soule 1:29
12 - Day Wander Jeremy Soule 1:03
13 - Hogwarts Neutral Jeremy Soule 1:03
14 - Happy Hogwarts Jeremy Soule 1:06
15 - Fred & George's Shop Jeremy Soule 0:45
16 - Day Jeremy Soule 2:07
17 - Broom Lesson Jeremy Soule 1:09
18 - Flying Jeremy Soule 1:48
19 - House Points Theme Jeremy Soule 1:00
20 - The Library Jeremy Soule 1:16
21 - Spell Atmos Jeremy Soule 2:14
22 - Quidditch Anthem Jeremy Soule 1:03
23 - Bumping Slytherin Jeremy Soule 0:48
24 - Searching for Aragog Jeremy Soule 1:04
25 - The Chamber of Secrets Jeremy Soule 0:59
26 - Harry Potter and the Chamber Of Secrets (Alt.) Jeremy Soule 4:37

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Soundtrack

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Soundtrack, James Hannigan, 2009

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix turned to be industry veteran James Hannigan’s breakthrough work – a delectably luscious orchestral game score that topped Jeremy Soule’s previous contributions to the franchise and could proudly sit aside John Williams and Patrick Doyle’s Harry Potter soundtracks. It’s no surprise then that Hannigan’s Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince soundtrack doesn’t change the winning formula. Hannigan’s follow up work is as riveting as Order of the Phoenix, but it does introduce a few noteworthy changes.

The most important thing first: Half-Blood Prince once again features near-symphonic depth in its orchestrations and counterpoint. And of course, once more its melodies are gorgeous, full-bodied creations. Like Order of the Phoenix, it’s a work that sits very near the top of orchestral game soundtracks. The most significant difference between Half-Blood Prince and Order of the Phoenix is a greater sense of scope and scale. Outside of its roaring battle cues, Order of the Phoenix mostly pivoted between light-hearted mischievousness and hushed nocturnal wonder. The Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince soundtrack tips the balance in favour of a sweeping sensation of adventure.

“Return to Hogwarts” begins proceedings with a soaring all-guns-blazing opening that catapults listeners into the skies above an immeasurably large fantasy world, bursting with joy and anticipation. As always on Hannigan’s first two Harry Potter scores, the composition rarely stays in one spot for too long. Order of the Phoenix’s Friendship theme is reprised and led through a number of permutations, from bombastic to a solo flute rendition against humming choir.

Arguably, Half-Blood Prince – like Order of the Phoenix – doesn’t feature much thematic coherence. Once caught up in the music’s orchestral splendour – an easy undertaking – such concerns matter little though. Following “Return to Hogwarts”’ spectacular curtain-raiser, “Quidditch Tryouts” bursts forth, full of youthful energy and a dancing mood that can still erupt into bombastic, more combative strains. Again, Hannigan and orchestrator Allan Wilson handle such changes of atmosphere with absolute ease through their dazzling instrumentations. “Race Ginny”’s whirlwind of orchestral colours is the most impressive display of their virtuosity.

From Half-Blood Prince’s more serious inclinations, Hannigan derives the license to indulge more often in long-winded, emotional string melodies. Compare “Hogwarts by Night” with similarly nocturnal tracks on Order of the Phoenix. As a calm string adagio with harp accompaniment, “Hogwarts by Night” is allowed to revel in its melodic beauty. Like on “Boathouse at Night”, this time Hogwarts’ nightly locations project restful serenity, rather than intertwined tension and bewonderment.

This greater melodic focus allows Hannigan to tug at listeners’ heartstrings effectively when the game’s narrative requires this. Witness how “Loss at Hogwarts” makes its statement with a sorrowful, yet noble variation of the Friendship theme. That sort of emotionality is the main reason why Half-Blood Prince’s album finale hits hard. “Sadness at Hogwarts” is one of the album’s melodic highlights in its calm sorrow and yearning. At the same time, it never makes the same mistake as Nicholas Hooper’s movie score – to underplay the tragedies at the heart of Half-Blood Prince’s story. Album closer “Friendship Theme” is even on par with the finale of Patrick Doyle’s Goblet of Fire. Both scores manage to convincingly snatch optimism and hope from the jaws of defeat and death.

Another difference between Half-Blood Prince and Order of the Phoenix lies in each soundtrack’s narrative arc, at least on album. The Order of the Phoenix album producers arranged its music clearly to move from light to darkness and then to a blazing finale. The Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince soundtrack is more flexible in its progression, but also less focused. Moving through the album, there is little sense of momentum or urgency building. The way “Wandering Day 1” segues into “Final Battles” is a bit baffling, so jarring is the transition and lack of build up to the soundtrack’s final battle cue.

However, one positive effect of Half-Blood Prince’s more varied running order is the earlier introduction of Hannigan’s outstanding battle cues. “Duelling Club” hits early on and announces the album’s greater rhythmic focus during its action tracks. On “Duelling Club”, it’s the ever-changing orchestrations that make such a focus on potentially repetitive material work. On “Slytherin Combat”, that job gets done courtesy of the awe-inspiring intensity that Hannigan forges from his relentlessly hammering ostinati. Hannigan avoids listener fatigue by turning these ostinati into catchy melodic hooks that push the composition with white-hot single-mindedness. It all culminates in a triumphantly gigantic climax that is impossible to resist.

Even “Final Battles” doesn’t quite reach the same monumental heights. Still, 99% of game soundtracks would be glad to call its crashing waves of brass, choir and percussion their own. And so it is with the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince soundtrack as a whole. It falls just short of perfection, but still outguns almost everything else in its genre.

01 - Return to Hogwarts James Hannigan 3:25
02 - Quidditch Tryouts James Hannigan 1:32
03 - Race Ginny James Hannigan 3:02
04 - Journey to Hogwarts James Hannigan 2:06
05 - Hogwarts by Night James Hannigan 1:46
06 - Duelling Club James Hannigan 2:31
07 - Wandering Day 5 James Hannigan 1:02
08 - Slytherin Combat James Hannigan 3:25
09 - Loss at Hogwarts James Hannigan 1:09
10 - Wandering James Hannigan 2:08
11 - Mixing Potions James Hannigan 1:59
12 - Quidditch James Hannigan 4:44
13 - Get to Quidditch James Hannigan 2:23
14 - Wandering Day 4 James Hannigan 1:36
15 - The Boathouse at Night James Hannigan 2:49
16 - More Potions James Hannigan 1:37
17 - Wandering Day 3 James Hannigan 1:47
18 - Wandering Stealth James Hannigan 2:20
19 - Get to Potion James Hannigan 1:59
20 - Wandering Day 1 James Hannigan 2:42
21 - Chase Draco James Hannigan 1:08
22 - Lovesick Ron James Hannigan 2:50
23 - Fred and George Return James Hannigan 1:29
24 - Exploring with Luna James Hannigan 2:30
25 - The Final Battles James Hannigan 3:42
26 - Sadness at Hogwarts James Hannigan 2:00
27 - Friendship Theme James Hannigan 2:14

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Soundtrack

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Soundtrack, James Hannigan, 2007

There is some irony to the fact that in several interviews, James Hannigan voiced his concern about film scores by default overshadowing the music written for the game adaptation. If anything, Hannigan’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix soundtrack is the opposite case. Nicholas Hooper’s movie soundtrack was largely deemed underwhelming. Meanwhile, Hannigan garnered praise for his game score that in the eyes of many was the superior work. Indeed, it hits almost all the right notes for a sweeping, yet relatable fantasy epic like the Harry Potter series. Hannigan achieves a perfect balance between humour, magic and gravitas, mixing moods and orchestral colours masterfully. The only thing missing might be a more pervading sense of adventure and romanticism. Fortunately, this is something that Hannigan would address on The Half-Blood Prince.

Stylistically, Hannigan’s lushly orchestrated and meticulously crafted compositions don’t deviate from a certain generic fantasy sound one would expect from a soundtrack like this. This is not a work like Everquest II, out to expand and subvert genre conventions. Then again, on an assignment like this – writing for the sixth entry in a game series with an established sound world – upending expectations was never the aim. Instead, Hannigan’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix soundtrack fits snugly into the franchise’s musical history. At the same time, it is most definitely not a copycat of its illustrious predecessors.

Hannigan pens three recurring themes of his own, although they are heard less often than “Hedwig’s Theme” throughout the game. Thus, Hannigan’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix soundtrack sits somewhere between John Williams’ heavily thematic work and Jeremy Soule’s largely theme-less franchise scores. Easily the standout among Hannigan’s thematic ideas is the Friendship theme, spectacularly setting the scene on “Welcome to Hogwarts”. The theme is a warmly ingratiating, malleable creation. No wonder it easily adapts to the various contexts Hannigan deploys it in: calmly inward looking on “A Gathering of Friends”; a love theme of sorts on the beautiful cello/flute duet that is “Cho and Harry”; surprisingly skittish on “A Task at Hand”. However, the theme’s most memorable appearance occurs on “To Catch An Owl”. Here, it turns into a majestically soaring melody – one of the score’s few instances of optimistic grandeur.

Hannigan’s imposing action cues deliver some of the most viscerally satisfying bombast game music has produced. Starting with “The Inquisitorial Squad”, Hannigan never makes the mistake of fashioning directionless sound and fury – a trademark of so much action game music. Instead, his raging battle pieces always retain a sense of melody that helps shape and direct the massive brass explosions, crashing percussion and insistent string ostinati. The album release bundles these pieces at the end of the album, raising stakes at precisely the right moment.

And even after all the orchestral outbursts that precede it, “Dumbledore & Valdemort” manages to outdo its album brethren. Its passage for unaccompanied fortissimo choir is a moment of hair-raising intensity. In their sombre, almost religious gravitas, Hannigan’s action pieces recall Patrick Doyle’s similarly heavy compositions for The Goblet of Fire. But the sheer elemental force possessing Hannigan’s battle tracks ultimately stands alone in the Harry Potter canon.

The second facet that establishes the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix soundtrack’s stylistic independence is the sense of sustained nocturnal wonder and mystery that pervades the album after its sunny first half – something not found on Williams, Doyle or Soule’s franchise scores. Feelings of hushed tension and loneliness run through these intriguingly brooding pieces. At the same time, Hannigan doesn’t neglect the necessary sense of magic and makes frequent use of harp and celesta. One might argue that the soundtrack album’s subdued second half moves further away from any sense of swashbuckling fantasy adventure. At the same time though, it’s here that Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix deviates most strongly from common fantasy score tropes and evokes a surprising degree of intimacy.

This ongoing expedition into darker territories is a result of the soundtrack album sequencing, which follows a fairly obvious pattern. The first half of the album is stacked with playful, at times frolicking compositions. Signifying encroaching danger, the mood then darkens, before exploding in the turbulent home stretch of rousing battle pieces. Hannigan handles the shift from one emotional pole to the other with utmost aplomb.

During particularly busy sections of the album, Hannigan adopts the scherzo format often found on John Williams’ scores. The album’s whiz-bang agility hits its peak when Hannigan applies this scherzo format to his action music on “Wand Combat”. Combining the album’s magical celesta-aided sense of mystery with the brassy force of the soundtrack’s battle cues, “Wand Combat” is the most spectacular, virtuosic composition on a score that is hardly lacking these attributes at any moment. Imagine Raiders of the Lost Ark’s “Basket Chase” transposed into the world of Harry Potter – it’s that good. Arguably, here and elsewhere Hannigan follows a prescribed formula – but within these parameters, he comes enticingly close to perfection.

01 - Intro James Hannigan 1:56
02 - Main Title James Hannigan 1:10
03 - Fred and George James Hannigan 1:09
04 - Portrait Gallery James Hannigan 2:25
05 - Dolores Umbridge James Hannigan 0:43
06 - Invisibility - Stealth and Scurrying James Hannigan 2:47
07 - To Catch an Owl James Hannigan 2:13
08 - Witchcraft James Hannigan 2:03
09 - Cho and Harry James Hannigan 0:47
10 - The Inquisitorial Squad James Hannigan 2:12
11 - Dark Hogwarts James Hannigan 1:01
12 - A Task in Hand James Hannigan 1:58
13 - A Sense of Urgency James Hannigan 1:44
14 - Climbing the Owlery James Hannigan 2:16
15 - Darkness Falls James Hannigan 2:29
16 - Death Eaters James Hannigan 4:13
17 - Evading Filch James Hannigan 1:42
18 - Darkly Wandering James Hannigan 2:23
19 - Navigating the Grounds James Hannigan 1:21
20 - The Dark Acts James Hannigan 1:43
21 - Welcome to Hogwarts James Hannigan 2:43
22 - A Gathering of Friends James Hannigan 1:06
23 - Beware Umbridge James Hannigan 2:36
24 - Courtyard Frolics James Hannigan 1:31
25 - Navigating the Grounds Part 2 James Hannigan 2:00
26 - Wizardry James Hannigan 2:45
27 - Wand Combat James Hannigan 2:35
28 - The Department of Mysteries James Hannigan 2:18
29 - Exploring Hogwarts James Hannigan 1:13
30 - Dumbledore & Voldemort James Hannigan 2:32
31 - Ending James Hannigan 0:29

Kessen Soundtrack

Kessen Soundtrack, Reijiro Koroku, 2000

Since their inception in the mid-80s, KOEI’s many historical strategy games had always been more of an insider proposition. It felt a bit like series such as Nobunaga’s Ambition and Romance of the Three Kingdoms were reserved for those gamers who were willing to spend hours parsing menus and stats, while carefully planning their next move. Several of these titles had made it to the US market but never turned into eye-catching best-sellers. That changed with Kessen, one of the PlayStation 2’s launch titles. Set once more in feudal Japan, Kessen emphasised spectacular visuals and battlefield action, attracting far more attention internationally than any previous KOEI game. Ultimately, Kessen was successful enough to spawn two sequels. However, several contemporary reviewers pointed out that the game lacked the usual complexity and depth of a KOEI strategy game, making for an entertaining but shallow experience.

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Medal of Honor: Frontline Soundtrack

Medal of Honor: Frontline Soundtrack, Michael Giacchino, 2002

Both Medal of Honor and Medal of Honor: Underground had made a point of treating World War II not as a fun shooting spree (well, mostly). Instead, they approached the subject matter with an unusual degree of seriousness and respect. Medal of Honor: Frontline went further still, basing its story line on a failed Allied offensive: Operation Market Garden. This allowed the game’s developers to aim for an even greater sense of gravitas, born out of defeat and tragedy. Medal of Honor series regular Michael Giacchino responded similarly to the game’s comparatively downbeat subject matter. For Giacchino, Frontline is the ideal opportunity to once more expand the Medal of Honor franchise’s emotional palette. The result is one of the most operatic, grand Western game soundtracks ever written.

Where Frontline truly sets itself apart from previous Medal of Honor franchise scores is on its slower, downright elegiac compositions. These take the score’s theatricality to melodramatic heights that rival the game-music-as-opera surges of Heroes of Might and Magic II. “Arnhem” is one such piece, taken to emotional extremes by a full choir, to absolutely heart-rending effect. Based on a gently rocking, almost lullaby-like four-note motif, “Arnhem” is a stunning creation whose emotional impact is nearly overwhelming, climaxing in two massive choral outbursts. Patriotism had always featured in this franchise, but on “Arnhem”, it doesn’t come from a place of solemn pride. Instead, it is born out of sorrow and the desperate will to survive.

It seems then that Giacchino is exploring for the first time the darker side of war. However, he does so in monumentalising, melodically pleasing fashion. This is not Call of Duty’s depiction of war that embraced musical chaos. However, Medal of Honor: Frontline addresses the horrors of war to some degree through other means than extrovert pathos. Such compositions add necessary shades and subtlety to Giacchino’s treatment of the subject matter. Take “Border Town” and its desolate first half. This downcast atmosphere leads into a collision of the Medal of Honor main theme and an increasing feeling of dismay. “Nijmegen Bridge” takes these emotional contrasts one step further to represent the feelings of the Allied soldiers who had to hold Nijmegen Bridge against the approaching Nazi forces, waiting in vain for desperately needed reinforcements to arrive.

This interest in the psychology of the games’ protagonists had already characterised Medal of Honor and Medal of Honor: Underground. Not surprisingly, the Medal of Honor: Frontline soundtrack continues this tradition. In fact, it’s the successful combination of the operatic with the personal that allows Giacchino to write a score that’s so grandiose in scale, but never feels overwrought or emotionally hollow.

With Jimmy Patterson’s return on Frontline, his theme and the Medal of Honor theme also return to the fold. Both themes sound wearier and more inward then before, right from the moment when the Medal of Honor melody is presented on opening track “Operation Market Garden” by a lone boy soprano. There’s a undeniable feeling of bereavement to most presentations of Patterson’s theme and the Medal of Honor theme on Frontline. This results in an effective musical contrast when these melodies collide with the antagonistic sounds of a frenzied battle track.

The thematic elements that the Allied themes face off against include of course the Nazi fanfare from Medal of Honor. Surprisingly though, the motif plays a relatively minor role on this score. Instead – in tune with Frontline‘s focus on the personal dimension of the conflict – it’s the antagonist Rudolf von Sturmgeist’s theme that shapes the score’s thematic foundations more strongly. Von Sturmgeist’s theme is a far more malleable creation than Medal of Honor‘s harsh Nazi brass attack. The theme makes its first appearance on “Kleveburg”, where it’s presented as an ominous, slithery melody on woodwinds. With convincing ease, it creates a sense of anxiety through its pronounced chromaticism. From here on, the theme works its way through several variations until it takes “Escaping Gotha” – and the score as a whole – to a suitably powerful conclusion, as the full choir gets to throw its weight behind the theme’s mad scientist sensibilities.

Not surprisingly, Giacchino’s action writing on the Medal of Honor: Frontline soundtrack is just as excellent as one would expect. A more pronounced change in dynamics and moods within compositions means that the cues on Frontline are less immediate than their rambunctious counterparts on Medal of Honor, which hit the ground running at full speed. At the same time, it’s all the more exciting when the music kicks into overdrive and ventures into fortissimo territory. Giacchino’s Medal of Honor action pieces have always stood out for their masterfully implemented development. However, a perfectly self-contained composition like “The Halftrack Chase” manages to even surpass the composer’s sterling earlier efforts.

It all comes to a head on “Escaping Gotha”. This is probably the best action cue Giacchino has ever written for a game score. By the time “Escaping Gotha” closes with a cathartic recapitulation of the Medal of Honor main theme, finally heard on unadulteratedly triumphant trumpets, the Medal of Honor: Frontline soundtrack has established itself as one of the most superbly conceived, fully-realised game scores committed to album.

01 - Operation Market Garden Michael Giacchino 5:33
02 - Border Town Michael Giacchino 3:36
03 - U-4902 Michael Giacchino 4:44
04 - Shipyards of Lorient Michael Giacchino 3:14
05 - After the Drop Michael Giacchino 5:38
06 - Kleveburg Michael Giacchino 3:32
07 - Manor House Rally Michael Giacchino 3:48
08 - The Halftrack Chase Michael Giacchino 3:40
09 - Nijmegen Bridge Michael Giacchino 3:22
10 - The Rowhouses Michael Giacchino 4:40
11 - Arnhem Michael Giacchino 5:51
12 - Emmerich Station Michael Giacchino 3:02
13 - Thüringer Wald Express Michael Giacchino 2:52
14 - Sturmgeist's Armored Train Michael Giacchino 3:55
15 - Approaching the Tarmac Michael Giacchino 3:48
16 - Clipping Their Wings Michael Giacchino 3:27
17 - Escaping Gotha Michael Giacchino 7:16

Secret Weapons Over Normandy Soundtrack

Secret Weapons Over Normandy Soundtrack, Michael Giacchino, 2003

Among Michael Giacchino‘s WWII scores, the Secret Weapons Over Normandy soundtrack is conceptually and emotionally the most straightforward one. There’s none of the anguish and tragedy of Medal of Honor: Frontline here, none of the subtle character beats of Medal of Honor: Underground, or even the few injections of solemn patriotism of Medal of Honor – and the viciousness of Call of Duty, released almost at the same time as Secret Weapons, seems worlds away. Instead, the Secret Weapons Over Normandy soundtrack takes Medal of Honor‘s ‘war-as-adventure’ aesthetic to its extremely entertaining, bombastic extreme.

How to locate Secret Weapons Over Normandy within the context of Giacchino’s body of work? You might accurately describe it as a return to the original Medal of Honor‘s ballsy gung-ho attitude. That spirit is channelled through Medal of Honor: Frontline‘s superior grasp of orchestral colours, but without its sense of tragedy. This is partially due to Secret Weapon‘s arcade-like nature, which didn’t require a score of operatic emotional range.

Instead, it’s all about the joys of tearing through the skies and racing into dog fights. And to be honest, it’s hard to imagine a more exhilarating musical accompaniment for all this than Giacchino’s music. Secret Weapons is also an interesting counterpoint to the other great score for a WWII combat flight simulator: Jeremy Soule‘s IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey. Both soundtracks are lush orchestral creations, but otherwise take very different approaches. Majestic masses of imperial sound carry Birds of Prey, while Secret Weapons is a breathless rush of excitement, a hotbed of orchestral activity, held together by an inextinguishable sense of heroic bravado.

As on Giacchino’s Medal of Honor soundtracks, Secret Weapons‘ opening track straight away highlights where the score will be going. “Main Theme” presents a melody that despite superficial similarities differs significantly from the Medal of Honor theme. This is not a calmly confident gesture of courage, but instead a gladiatorial, brassy call to arms. From here, Giacchino embarks on his most densely written, colourful game score. Deliciously excessive, Secret Weapons shows the young composer trying out how far he can push his own limits.

The number of primary and secondary themes on this score matches the sheer exuberance of Giacchino’s music. This dense web of themes permeates every minute of the Secret Weapons Over Normandy soundtrack. And it is not just a welcome bonus, but integral to Secret Weapons‘ artistic success. Keep in mind that the score’s sprawling soundscapes need a good amount of recurring thematic elements to ensure its compositions remains cohesive.

Firstly, there’s of course a patriotic main theme that’s memorable, if not exactly subtle in character. Still, the way it oozes triumph and fighting spirit makes it an effective sonic marker each time it rings out. The game’s bad guys – the German Nemesis flying squad – get an aggressive, fast fanfare-like motif. It’s certainly effective, but it doesn’t possess a huge amount of personality. In addition to these two omnipresent motifs, there are several secondary themes running throughout the score.

How effective the interaction between these primary and secondary themes is becomes obvious for example on “Copenhagen”. Here, a secondary, flighty motif first heard on “The Rescue of Pauline” follows a particularly brutal rendition of the Nemesis theme and breaks the suffocating atmosphere created by the latter theme’s ferociousness. To make the soundtrack thematically denser still, Giacchino deploys a by now familiar technique. He builds a cue around a motif particular to that specific piece. Examples include the exotic flute melody on “Zuara” or “Fjords of Norway”’s propulsive string motif.

The Secret Weapons Over Normandy soundtrack’s “more is better” philosophy also manifests itself in the score’s wealth of orchestral colours. Recorded with a large orchestra, choir and a taiko drum ensemble, Secret Weapons pushes Giacchino’s music into various distant corners of the globe, more so than Medal of Honor: Underground did. “Zuara” brings lithe North-African hand percussion to the table, while “The Siamese Coast” and “Midway” respond to their Pacific setting by including the aforementioned taiko drums. Finally, there are the choral sounds of “Stalingrad”, “East Prussian Factory Run” and “Fjords of Norway”, communicating icy environments.

Arguably, there’s not a huge amount of emotional depth to all of this. But in some ways, the Secret Weapons Over Normandy soundtrack is a singular testament to Giacchino’s compositional skills. Although the score almost constantly draws upon the same mode of expression for nearly 70 minutes – all guns blazing battle music – this whirlwind of musical ideas, colours and themes doesn’t become tiring. Giacchino manages to pull together all that martial posturing in exceedingly well-developed pieces. His achievement is to bring structure to what could have descended into a lot of sound and fury signifying little.

The experience is similar to Kinect Star Wars, another non-stop bombardment of furious action pieces that doesn’t grow stale. It’s also understandable why Giacchino’s later game scores (Medal of Honor: Airborne and Turning Point: Fall of Liberty) would look for new approaches. It’s hard to imagine Secret Weapons Over Normandy‘s stuffed-to-the-gills aesthetic being pushed much further.

01 - Main Theme Michael Giacchino 4:57
02 - Dunkirk Harbor Michael Giacchino 3:20
03 - Battle of Britain Michael Giacchino 4:18
04 - Operation Sea Lion Michael Giacchino 3:53
05 - Zuara Michael Giacchino 4:12
06 - The Siamese Coast Michael Giacchino 4:26
07 - The Rescue of Pauline Michael Giacchino 4:16
08 - Midway Michael Giacchino 6:05
09 - Copenhagen Michael Giacchino 3:33
10 - Stalingrad Michael Giacchino 4:07
11 - East Prussian Factory Run Michael Giacchino 3:35
12 - Fjords of Norway Michael Giacchino 4:35
13 - Stealing the ME-262 Michael Giacchino 5:06
14 - Peenemunde Michael Giacchino 4:44
15 - Harz Mountains Michael Giacchino 3:07
16 - The Normandy Coast Michael Giacchino 4:40

Taikou Risshiden V Soundtrack

Taikou Risshiden V Soundtrack, unknown composer, 2004

There’s no doubt that Koei’s most prominent franchises of historical war simulations are Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Nobunaga’s Ambition – both of them spanning several dozen games and ports. However, Koei worked through this particular subject matter in other games as well – enter the Taikou Risshiden titles. The first game in this particular franchise – almost unknown outside of Japan – was released in 1992 for PC-98, Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis. The series continued up until Taikou Risshiden V, which saw the light of day in 2004 and concluded the franchise. The Taikou Risshiden games set themselves apart from other Koei history simulations through their sandbox-style gameplay that gave players greater freedom in choosing their path to victory. For example, available job classes included not just samurai but also pirates, merchants and blacksmiths, while gamers were free to roam the game’s world at their leisure.

Musically speaking, the Taikou Risshiden franchise had always held promise but ultimately failed to make waves – despite renowned anime composer Michiru Oshima scoring the first game in the series early in her career. Finally, the Taikou Risshiden V soundtrack managed to unlock the potential that lay dormant in these games, producing one of the best orchestral PS2 scores that charms listeners with an exquisite wealth of melodies and colours. Unfortunately, there’s no information in the English-speaking parts of the internet about who composed the music – and while the game’s Wikipedia page details a score album, such a release isn’t confirmed by any other sources such as VMGdb.

It’s a frustrating situation, but that shouldn’t stop us from enjoying what’s on offer here. While the Taikou Risshiden V soundtrack lacks the longer running times and sustained musical development of the best works in Koei’s more famous franchises, it still delivers a splendid listening experience. The game’s cover gives a good idea of where the differences with other Koei history games lie. Instead of featuring warriors in battle-ready poses or staring into the distance, Taikou Risshiden V’s cover is downright genial and light-hearted.

The Taikou Risshiden V soundtrack mirrors these sentiments beautifully. Of course, the music doesn’t entirely dispose of martial elements, but they feel a lot more welcoming than the usual battle cries. “Track 02” gives a good idea of the score’s approach to the often stale and inflexible format of march compositions. The cue is suitably bombastic yet always approachable thanks to its jolly timpani rhythms and noble, warm horn and cello melodies. Other marches on the score equally benefit from the composer’s superior orchestrational talents – for each grand brass statement, there is a seamless breakdown into sometimes cheerful, sometimes moving woodwind interludes. “Track 12” highlights how much the music benefits from its luxurious orchestrations as woodwinds dart around the smartly layered brass fanfares and soaring strings. “Track 19” then has no trouble turning the music’s good-natured bluster into something more sincerely grandiose to conclude the album on a fittingly spectacular note.

Given the at times outstanding subtlety and richness of expression evident on these compositions, it’s no surprise that the Taikou Risshiden V soundtrack is equally adept in other emotional registers. Its march tracks’ welcoming nature translates with ease into several homelier pieces that likely underscore village life. A cue like “Track 04”, with its lyrical clarinet melody against layers of pizzicato strings, captures the idyllic, placid aspects of roaming through a hamlet. “Track 06” marks the other end of the spectrum – no less charming, but far busier, with virtuoso woodwind orchestrations that segue into a swooning string episode. That the composition marries first-rate development of its material with a myriad different shades of instrumental colours while always retaining its light touch is quite astounding. “Track 13” nicely adds more variety still with its cheekier woodwind leads before once more leading into a nostalgic string melody.

Other pieces on the Taikou Risshiden V soundtrack take the composer’s proclivity for heart-warming melodies and amplifies their romantic character to evoke the kind of cinematic sweep befitting a historical epic. “Track 05”’s plaintive cello solo develops with care against a simple orchestral background before the music once more blooms into something more elaborate and expansive. Again, the composer’s ability to carefully shape the music is on constant display, from the interplay between strings and woodwinds that lead into the cue’s passionate outburst, to the bassoon counterpoint that grounds a particularly lofty violin melody later on. “Track 12” benefits from material that’s melodically equally rich and complex, while “Track 14” is a poster child for the score’s habit of flawlessly developing its pieces, moving from folksy woodwind soli and playful percussion into an opulent string melody backed by bells.

Its carefully integrated local influences of course enhance the music’s abundance of colours. Arguably, the Taikou Risshiden V soundtrack is mostly steeped in Western orchestrations. However, the composer weaves enough trademarks of Japanese and Chinese music (pentatonic scales, particular instruments) into the music’s fabric to give its symphonically-styled compositions the required historical and geographic specificity. Cues that more strongly rely on Far Eastern musical elements are rare. The most obvious example is “Track 08”, featuring sparser orchestrations and more monolithic melodic utterances. Through this approach, the music smartly harnesses its solemnly repetitious sounds to turn the inevitable melodic breakthrough into something more abstract and exalted than usually.

All this is not to say that there’s no overt drama to be found on the Taikou Risshiden V soundtrack – the score does have its fair share of heavier, sometimes sombre compositions. Curiously enough though, these pieces often fall short of the standards set by the rest of the album, with uninspired melodies and simpler orchestrations that feel one-dimensional compared to the soundtrack’s better, more mellifluous moments. However, “Track 16” and “Track 17” do manage to transpose the score’s wealth of creativity into an action setting, hyper-charging the score’s flow of ideas while still adding more colours to the soundtrack’s vast palette. On “Track 16” it’s a choir, while “Track 17” ventures into Gothic territory through mighty brass declarations. The Taikou Risshiden V soundtrack takes a bit of curating, but the result are 50+ minutes of excellent orchestral music that really deserves to be better known.

01 - Track 01 Unknown 2:10
02 - Track 02 Unknown 3:05
03 - Track 03 Unknown 3:07
04 - Track 04 Unknown 2:03
05 - Track 05 Unknown 3:08
06 - Track 06 Unknown 3:32
07 - Track 07 Unknown 3:06
08 - Track 08 Unknown 2:23
09 - Track 09 Unknown 2:41
10 - Track 10 Unknown 2:27
11 - Track 11 Unknown 2:45
12 - Track 12 Unknown 3:00
13 - Track 13 Unknown 2:51
14 - Track 14 Unknown 3:11
15 - Track 15 Unknown 2:28
16 - Track 16 Unknown 3:01
17 - Track 17 Unknown 2:09
18 - Track 18 Unknown 2:14
19 - Track 19 Unknown 2:38