 | Album Title: Makaishin Trillion Original Soundtrack |
| Record Label: Compile Heart | |
| Catalog No.: IF-0064 | |
| Release Date: July 23, 2015 | |
| Purchase: Buy Used Copy |
Overview
Makaishin Trillion is the first game for Compile Heart’s new development team. Under the label Makai Ichiban Kan, a series of unconnected games are being developed. Although the game is composed by Kenji Kaneko, of Compile Heart, and Tenpei Sato, known for his work with Nippon Ichi Software, the CD release contains only music composed by Tenpei Sato. How does his small contribution turn out in the end?
Body
The album opens with the vocal, “Noise of Love,” sung by KOCHO. It is a fun pop-rock vocal with a great melody and vocal performance. The accompaniment, consisting of backing vocals and electric guitar, helps reinforce the main melody quite nicely. In addition, the guitar solo featured in the song is also quite enjoyable. The other vocal theme, “Believe Again,” which closes out the soundtrack, is an absolutely beautiful theme and far above any of the ballads for Disgaea 5: Allegiance of Vengeance. Performed by Mitsuki Nakae, the tune has a wonderful melody with a piano accompaniment that really adds to the delicate nature of the vocals. What surprised me most was the guitar solo that comes out of nowhere, but fits quite well with the song and made me think of Xenogears, with its similar tactic in its ending theme.
Unlike his contributions to other Compile Heart games, the music composed by Tenpei Sato is much “softer” in sound, with only the occasional heavier theme. Themes like “Trillion,” with its spooky soundscape, thanks to its focus on vocals and strings, help craft a beautiful yet eerie atmosphere, while themes like “Temptation,” although utilizing similar techniques, fail to stand out as much and are generally forgettable. Fortunately, the other mysterious tunes on the soundtrack, such as “Noble Eyes,” with its somewhat regal sound, and “Gothic Doll,” which also incorporates some choral and rock elements, really manage to showcase quite solid tunes.
One of my favorite tunes is “Jealousy,” a violin-led piece with a bit of a Spanish flair. The backing vocals are also a nice touch and help contribute to the cohesive nature of Tenpei Sato’s contributions. “Beat of Beast” is an upbeat rock tune with some orchestral backing that, while slow to start, really kicks in once the melody comes to the forefront. While not his strongest rock effort, it is still an enjoyable theme. Lastly, “Wild Exhaust” is a dark orchestral theme with some rock tones. It’s quite a dramatic piece of music and really fits well with the theme of the game.
Summary
In the end, the Makaishin Trillion Original Soundtrack is a solid, albeit incomplete, effort. Tenpei Sato’s music, while not as varied as his solo works, manages to provide an overall cohesive soundtrack, focusing more on mysterious music with a few action cues. The vocal themes are both solid efforts, with the latter being one of my favorites of his in recent years. While this soundtrack is hard to recommend for casual fans of Tenpei Sato’s music, due to the limited distribution of the soundtrack, those who can read Japanese and play the imported game might find it worthwhile. In the meantime, we can only wait for a potential full soundtrack release to get a more complete picture of the game’s music.
