Conception II -Children of the Seven Stars- Original Soundtrack
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Album Title: Conception II -Children of the Seven Stars- Original Soundtrack |
| Record Label: Spike Chunsoft (JP Edition); Atlus (NA Edition) |
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| Catalog No.: N/A |
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| Release Date: August 22, 2013; April 15, 2014 |
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| Purchase: Buy Used Copy |
Overview
Conception II: Children Of The Seven Stars is a familiar sequel to Conception: Please Have My Children that brings back the notion of making Star Children, building up the city, and ridding the world of evil. The main character, Wake, finds that he is God’s Gift and must make friends with and help create Star Children with the seven female Disciples chosen by the Star God. Masato Kouda returns to the series and composes another brilliant collection of music. The soundtrack stays true to the modern electronic feel while still pulling influences from pop, jazz and classical music.
While the original game wasn’t localised, the sequel was, despite its somewhat bizarre concept. Those who pre-ordered the game in Japan or purchased the collector’s edition of the game in North America received a special soundtrack. It features ten tracks from the game. Unfortunately, the soundtrack is not complete and a commercial release still hasn’t been announced. The only way to hear all the music of Conception II: Children Of The Seven Stars is to, you guessed it, play the game. Having said that, the tracks featured here are interesting and mostly enjoyable.
Body
“Spicate ~7-colored Celestial Spheres” is an intimidating opening to this excellent collection of music. The first 10 seconds lifts you up and lets you float a bit, before violently throwing you back down to Earth. Phantasmagoric’s performance is energetic and action-packed, while the lyrics seem to foreshadow the seven female Disciples and the unique battle system. The instrumentalists do not hold back but still allow the vocals to punch hard through the listeners’ ear. In fact, this track motivated me to put some headphones on and play along with the drummer. The fill at the end is fast, progressive and technically precise. It is exactly the kind of musicianship a quality video game such as this deserves.
What really makes this soundtrack shine is the connection between the music and visuals. I still giggle when I listen to the 22 second “A Breaths Distance”. Comprised of mixed vocals, harp, and wind chimes, it is the shortest ‘love’ song I have ever heard. This track signals the ‘beautiful’ moment when the main character and one of the seven female Disciples, or chosen few male Disciples, pours star energy into a device to make Star Children. This track is followed up by “Congratulations!” and plays when a Star Child pops out. The driving beat and synth melodies are fun to listen to and, in game, the music definitely makes you feel like you made a strong child, fit for battle. I believe it is an improvement from the original Conception’s “miracle birthday”, which didn’t make it sound like the Star Child was going to be strong enough to save the world.
In the game, themes appear for the seven Disciples like they did for the twelve Star Maidens in the previous Conception. Sadly though, only four themes are featured on this soundtrack, each with a Disciple’s name and a brief subtitle. The themes are upbeat and carefree, even innocent sounding. Narika’s theme entitled “A Piece of Courage” is particularly melodic and slower paced than the rest, which is very telling of the character’s personality. Each theme brings back memories of meeting these virtual characters for the first time. Among other themes, “Dungeon Battle 1 (First Half)” introduces lyrics to the familiar-sounding battle music heard in the first Conception soundtrack. I appreciated the familiarity of the music and I welcomed the more efficiently mastered sound. The vocals are layered up for a big sound that is mixed well with the wailing synth sounds and progressive rock groove. Yet as with the Discipline themes, the soundtrack left me wanting to hear more, especially with no boss battle music included.
The 10-track disc is a bit of a story of its own, ending with a ballad entitled “Eternally Holding Your Hand”. The layered vocals sound like the seven female protagonists return to serenade you. About halfway through the song, they start jamming as if to signal a peak in dynamics and energy. The ending theme decrescendos slowly ending in a kind-hearted thank you and goodbye sung softly, but with just as much passion the rest of the soundtrack possesses.
Summary
Regardless of its short length, the Conception II soundtrack is a great stand-alone work that I like to put on while reading. I find myself humming the melodies when I am in a good mood, which is enough to make me want to go back to the game over and over. I would be thrilled if I heard wind of a complete Conception II soundtrack. I would be even more thrilled to see a third addition to the Conception series and Kouda return to compose another charming soundtrack. Though it’s not intended for all, this soundtrack is still worth hunting down together with the charming but unusual game.
Do you agree with the review and score? Let us know in the comments below!
3.5
Posted on October 21, 2014 by Marc Chait. Last modified on March 26, 2015.
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