 | Album Title: Lufia -Curse of the Sinistrals- Original Soundtrack |
| Record Label: Square Enix | |
| Catalog No.: SQEX-10187/8 | |
| Release Date: March 3, 2010 | |
| Purchase: Buy at CDJapan |
Overview
We travel back to the year 1993, in the midst of the glorious SNES era. Neverland’s Lufia & The Fortress of Doom (known as Estpolis Denki in Japan) was a big hit in both East and West. Two years later, the second installment, Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals — actually a prequel to the original — achieved even more success and acclaim, thanks to its unique puzzle-based gameplay mixed with classic RPG elements and, of course, the excellent musical score from Yasunori Shiono.
In February 2010, Square Enix released Estpolis: The Lands Cursed by the Gods, a DS remake of the series’ second title. The first disc contains most tracks from the second game, as well as some from the first, with arrangements by Tomoko Morita (Shining Force series, Rune Factory series) and Yukio Nakajima, who had already worked with Yasunori Shiono on Energy Breaker (1996) and with Tomoko Morita on Shining Force Neo (2005) (Shiono himself didn’t work on this remake, sadly). The second disc contains six drama tracks and fourteen arranged tracks by Square Enix employees Hidenori Iwasaki and Ryo Yamazaki, known for their work on the Front Mission and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles series. A pretty unique constellation, isn’t it? So let’s check out what Square Enix created for the fans here.
Body
Estpolis was a series with music written in a typical RPG manner. We were given peaceful and slow themes for villages, bouncy and lively themes for towns, and gloomy and dramatic themes for dungeons. In terms of battle themes, Yasunori Shiono’s work was highly praised by fans and critics. So we all know and love the original soundtrack, which was released in two albums — first in 1995 as a two-disc set featuring both SNES titles, and then in 2006 as part of the Game Sound Legend Series as a four-disc set featuring the first two titles plus the GBC score for the third game Lufia: The Legend Returns. How about the remake… is it worth purchasing?
Well, the answer is yes and no. On the one hand, the tracks have been remastered to a quality typical for handheld consoles these days. By doing this, the arrangers stayed close to the original pieces. You can barely detect any changes in tracks such as “Town of Abundance, Elcid”, “Water Capital, Parcelyte” or “North Land”. Other tracks — mostly those from Lufia & The Fortress of Doom like “Forest Village, Eserikto”, “Soma Shrine Underground”, “Priphea Flowers”, “Compensation for the Battle” or the rockin’ “Summer” — sound much better than their original counterparts thanks to the enhanced sound quality. To be honest, I expected a little more — at least more completeness in terms of the score’s content. The drama tracks, for example, could easily have been replaced with more tracks from the series that deserved arrangements…
This leads me to the next phase of this review: the second disc. As I said, the first six tracks are drama tracks, a format for which Japanese game-music creators are famous, especially in the RPG genre. Well, these tracks are… Japanese, of course, and if you can’t understand the language it’s hardly possible to follow the lines, sadly. This makes most Western fans skip the first nearly 30 minutes of context and jump to the seventh track. Then it gets slightly more interesting…
Hidenori Iwasaki and Ryo Yamazaki, both extremely talented and acclaimed composers, took the time to arrange fourteen of the best pieces from the second installment into high-quality tracks. By high quality, I mean some tracks sound as if live instruments were used! After the ominous, climactic introduction “Hour of Judgment”, the series’ “Opening Theme” shines with a glorious orchestral rendition. A wonderful arrangement, indeed. And this is just the beginning. “Town of Abundance, Elcid” makes use of soft flute and violin melodies paired with a charming trumpet in the second half. “Parcelyte Presidential Administration” and “North Land” are other excellent tracks where the instrumentation shines, especially the violin. If you like heroic and adventurous orchestral music you’ll definitely enjoy tracks like “Sky” or “The One Who Saves the Earth”. If you are more a fan of soft and melancholy themes, listen to “The Prophet”, another rather short but beautiful track.
In terms of battle themes, all four have been arranged. “Battle #1” makes use of its catchy melody with the help of excellent synth and rock elements. It would be awesome if this version was used in the game itself. The boss battle theme “Battle #2”, another extremely emphatic tune, relies more on distorted electric guitar riffs and a steady rhythm compared to the first track. A mix of the two previous themes, so to speak, is “Battle #3”, where the electric guitar is put to excellent use. These three tracks are definitely highlights of this disc. Lastly, “Final Battle” takes a different approach than its original counterpart. While that one was a lyrical, fast-paced theme packed with sorrow and despair, this arrangement is more climactic in an orchestral, military style; however, in the second half the arrangement shifts and sounds more like the original. Overall, the arrangements are a nice contrast to the originals, but they’re nothing world-shaking.
Summary
The Estpolis Original Soundtrack is definitely a matter of taste. The first disc is enjoyable for fans who don’t own the original soundtrack releases or for collectors, though it’s a little underwhelming. A greater highlight is the bonus disc, especially the fourteen exuberant arrangements. It’s a shame that the full soundtrack release isn’t of this quality. If you’re a true Lufia fan, I recommend checking this out! Yasunori Shiono’s melodies are still beautiful and catchy on their own, and some are even unforgettable classics.
