Guilty Gear Isuka Original Soundtrack
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Album Title: Guilty Gear Isuka Original Soundtrack |
| Record Label: Team Entertainment |
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| Catalog No.: KDSD-00036 |
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| Release Date: March 21, 2004 |
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| Purchase: Buy at CDJapan |
Overview
Guilty Gear Isuka, a spin-off title for the main Guilty Gear fighting games, is rather interesting. Rather than having a one-on-one battle, you could essentially have a four person free-for-all. Ironically, this album also has three composers. In addition to Daisuke Ishiwatari, the new composers include Yoshino Kusano, the arranger for the Guilty Gear 2 Overture Vol. 2 album, and Tetsuya Ohuchi. How does this spin-off’s soundtrack compare to that of the main series?
Body
If I could sum up this album in a few words, it would be ‘an album with a heavy focus on guitar solos’. Almost every single piece on here has a guitar solo, in varying degrees, and they are all pretty good. This album also introduces new composers to the series, though unfortunately their tracks are fairly short and, for the most part, the weakest of the bunch.
Ishiwatari still shows off his dominant skills in this one. “Sheep Will Sleep (if they become fatigued)” is easily my favorite piece on the album. Featuring piano, nice synth chorals, and an excellent melody, I could listen to this one for days. The combination of these elements helps to create a very exhilarating piece of music. The guitar solo is really nice as well with hints of distortion.
“Exceptional Routine Workî” is another excellent piece, and one that could reflect Ishiwatari’s overall involvement in the composition for the series. The piece is much slower, but employs some interesting rhythms that the guitar solo seems to complement nicely. Unfortunately, the other composers, Yoshino Kusano and Tetsuya Ohuchi, aren’t nearly as strong. Despite their compositions having short track lengths, they aren’t that great to begin with.
Summary
While not as strong as Guilty Gear XX, this album also has a lot of highlights. The reasons to listen to this album are definitely Ishiwatari, while his collaborators somewhat disappoint. Overall, it’s a great album and definitely worth a purchase.
Do you agree with the review and score? Let us know in the comments below!
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Posted on August 1, 2012 by Don Kotowski. Last modified on January 16, 2016.
About the Author
Don Kotowski Currently residing in Philadelphia. I spend my days working in vaccine characterization and dedicate some of my spare time in the evening to the vast world of video game music, both reviewing soundtracks as well as maintaining relationships with composers overseas in Europe and in Japan.
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