The Witch and the Hundred Knight 2 Original Soundtrack
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Album Title: The Witch and the Hundred Knight 2 Original Soundtrack |
| Record Label: Nippon Ichi Software |
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| Catalog No.: PLJS-70096 |
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| Release Date: February 23, 2017 |
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| Purchase: Buy Used Copy |
Overview
The Witch and the Hundred Knight 2 Original Soundtrack, composed by Tenpei Sato, accompanies the action RPG sequel to the first game. With a different director, how does this soundtrack compare to the previous one and is it worth trying to track down from a third party?
Body
The album opens with “Despairful Carthasis,” a rock vocal in typical Tenpei Sato fashion. The melody itself is quite lovely and the vocal performance is decent, although not everyone’s cup of tea. However, the chorus of the song leaves much to be desired, especially when it is repeated ad nauseum towards the end of the song. It’s one of his weakest opening tunes in quite some time. Fortunately, this isn’t a harbinger of things to come on the album as a whole. There are two other vocal tunes on the album as well. “End of the Rainbow,” which also features a piano version, is a romantic pop tune with a wonderful melody. The vocals fit the style of the tune but do leave a bit to be desired and while the piano bits are gorgeous, the overall tune is a bit more saccharine than other vocal tunes present on the album and on the previous game. Lastly, “Say Good-bye,” with its uplifting sound and pop rock approach boasts an excellent melody and easily the best vocal performance on the album.
Following the opening tune are four character themes. The first, “White Witch,” is a solemn and mysterious strings driven piece featuring operatic vocals. The end result is a beautiful tune with a haunting atmosphere. “Chelka,” my personal favorite, features a very romantic sound with an strong violin and accordion driven melody with Spanish guitar and vocal samples to create an engaging, upbeat tune. “Milm,” on the other hand, is more playful and quirky, with its woodwind driven melody, reminiscent of Phantom Brave stylistically. The vocal accompaniment is a bit much and detracts from the piece a bit, but the end result is still decent. Lastly, “Weib Ritter,” surely meant to be “Weiß Ritter,” meaning “White Knight” in English, is a heroic orchestral tune with a brass focus. The militaristic sound and choral textures elevate an excellent melody.
“Mystic Zoon” is a piano and strings driven tune featuring a beautiful atmosphere and ethereal vocal accompaniments. The violin helps to add a romantic touch to the piece. Another atmospheric piece is “Fall to Ruin,” and while it does not have as strong a melody as other tunes, it makes up with its atmosphere. The haunting woodwind and violin passages really give a sense of mystery. Similar atmospheres are present in “Shadow of Witch” and “INWALL.” The former relies on haunting operatic style vocals combined with ominous bell tones, mysterious strings passages, and ethereal synths to create a beautiful piece of music that becomes richer, more orchestral focused, and dramatic as it progresses. The latter relies on a choral driven orchestra and piano tune to give off an ominous atmosphere. It does suffer a bit on the melodic side of things, but the end result is fairly enjoyable. “Ancient Wave” features a traditional Japanese sound that gives off a nice sense of tension thanks to the tempo and percussion elements. It suffers a bit on the melody side and isn’t as memorable.
There are also plenty of upbeat tunes as well. “Romantica” is an upbeat tune with some pop flavor, a vocal accompaniment, and sultry violin leads to create a playful tune with a great melody and a sense of romance. A similar pop influence, although mixed with some Japanese influence, is present in “Durga,” a bright woodwind/violin driven piece with vocal accompaniment with a decent melody. It isn’t the strongest piece on the album, but isn’t offensive either. “Quantum Leap” is an upbeat orchestral tune with a heroic sound focusing on strings and brass. The melody itself is quite strong, especially during the piano lead, and the overall piece does manage to give off a sense of tension. It’s one of the highlights on the album for me. “Vivid Yellow’s” uplifting and memorable melody is accentuated by its blend of violin, synth, and electronic elements.
Of course, there are more battle oriented tunes on the soundtrack as well. “Scramble Cross” is a rock battle theme with an energetic melody and strings accompaniment that really manages to shine with its memorability. In addition, there are also some violin elements that help give it a more endearing touch. “Mr. Big” has more of a gothic sound to it with its choral and violin melody giving it a haunting sound while the rock accompaniment helps give it a bit of an edge. The brass and piano interplay is also worth noting and helps elevate the melody. One of the weaker tunes is “Dread Night,” a dramatic and tense orchestral tune with a militaristic sound. There are some horror-esque elements, particularly in the strings, but the end result is merely average, although the atmosphere is quite fitting. Finally, “Third Eye” manages to rebound with its violin driven melody, haunting chorals, and rock elements to craft an invigorating tune with an excellent atmosphere, blending romance and tension to great effect.
Summary
Although different from the first game, I would say that the soundtrack for The Witch and the Hundred Knight 2 is on par with the first game, although some of the vocal themes leave a bit to be desired. In addition to all the new tunes created, the soundtrack features some of the best tunes from the first game, and a cohesive sound. Fans of Tenpei Sato’s work will enjoy this soundtrack as well; however, at the moment, it is hard to justify a third party purchase or an import of the game for the pack-in bonus. Should the game get localized, I’m almost certain it will also include the soundtrack as a pack-in.
Do you agree with the review and score? Let us know in the comments below!
4.5
Posted on October 4, 2017 by Don Kotowski. Last modified on October 4, 2017.
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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This game is coming West, as NISA recently announced. I’m a big fan of Tenpei Sato’s compositions and I think the soundtrack for the first game is beyond amazing. It’s definitely one of the absolute highlights of the game. Great review, it has made me even more excited for this game’s release. I’ve listened to Weiss Ritter and Quantum Leap and I won’t listen to any more because I want to be surprised but I am excited!
Thanks for commenting on the review! I’m also a big fan of his work. My favorite recent soundtrack of his is for Coven and the Labyrinth of Refrain. I really hope that gets a Western release, especially since a PS4 version was just released in Japan.