Million Diffusion Arthur Original Soundtrack
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Album Title: Million Diffusion Arthur Original Soundtrack |
| Record Label: Square Enix |
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| Catalog No.: SQEX-10439 |
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| Release Date: September 10, 2014 |
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| Purchase: Buy at CDJapan |
Overview
Million Diffusion Arthur Original Soundtrack accompanies the mobile title of the same name. Composed by Hyadain, otherwise known as Kenichi Maeyamada, who is known for his quirky vocal arrangements of classic Final Fantasy and Megaman tunes, as well as for the mobile soundtrack for the iOS port of Dodonpachi Daifukkatsu, the soundtrack offers a variety of tunes, but is the end result something worth picking up?
Body
The album opens with “Faction Selection,” a tune that features a fun melody and a blend of rock/synth, but in the end is rather one-note. This is how I would describe much of the soundtrack. There is a lot of flash, but not too much substance. “Thirst for Victory” suffers similarly, with its fast-paced synth/rock blend. “Faerie Sighted!!” is also a bit one-note with its serviceable melody and synth tones. “Carefree Britain Days” is a quirky electronic tune that features tuba and piano and its comical approach doesn’t really do much either.
Problems don’t end there. In addition to the more one-note tunes, there are also a few tracks with absolutely atrocious brass synth that easily mar what might be decent tunes otherwise, although not always. “JUDGE!!” is one such tune, with its comical and intense orchestral meets synth approach, but is brought down by the brass. “Arthur! You There, Arthur!” is a quirky upbeat synth tune that also suffers from this terrible brass synth, although the tune itself isn’t much to write home about either. “The King Returns,” with its upbeat and celebratory nature, decent melody, and synth elements makes for a great listen, but is bogged down by the reliance of brass in the melody line. Lastly, although “Pumpkin Soooup” doesn’t suffer from any of the aforementioned brass issues, it is an absolutely grating piano and woodwind tune that tries to be quirky, but fails to elicit any positive reaction from me.
Fortunately, there are some decent listens on the soundtrack. “Footsteps to Fortune” is a step in the right direction. It’s a bright and upbeat orchestral tune that definitely gives off a feeling of a world map and boasts a great melody as well. Themes like “Welcome Back, Lord Arthur,” with its upbeat pop sound, great usage of piano and keyboards, and excellent melody, and “Won’t Say Goodbye” with its bright and synth tones give a similar vibe to the aforementioned tune.
There are, of course, other moods featured on the soundtrack. “Round Table Congregation” is a tense and dramatic orchestral meets electronic tune that is martial in tone, while “Evil Snicker” offers some ominous touches, industrial tones, and a blend of rock and synth to create a nice atmosphere and an extremely enjoyable tune on the album. “God Save the King” is a regal tune featuring an orchestral soundscape and also features a decent melody and harpsichord while “Sadness Shall Someday Fade” is a melancholy strings and piano theme that is one of the more enjoyable tunes on the album. Lastly, “Morgan Le Fay” is features some light gothic rock elements with its incorporation of organ amidst the orchestral and rock blend, but does come off as fairly shallow.
Summary
In the end, the Million Arthur Diffusion Original Soundtrack is sure to please some individuals, but for me, the shallow approach to many of the tunes, combined with some hard to overlook instrument synths, makes for a very hit or miss soundtrack, with more misses than hits. Fans of Hyadain’s pop works will certainly find something to enjoy, but this might be hard to recommend for someone not familiar with his work, given the inconsistent production values and the mainly one-note tunes on the soundtrack.
Do you agree with the review and score? Let us know in the comments below!
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Posted on February 9, 2016 by Don Kotowski. Last modified on February 9, 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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