In 2000, the popular adventure RPG series Shin Megami Tensei, developed by Atlus, was brought to the Game Boy Color. The game was released in two versions, Shin Megami Tensei -Devil Children- – Black Book and Shin Megami Tensei -Devil Children- – Red Book, both of which had different characters and story, but identical gameplay. These were considered by many to resemble Pokémon’s cuteness. The composer was Tomoyuki Hamada, quite new to the VGM industry, having only composed for Enix’s Dark Half in 1996; he fully contributed to both Black and Red Books. Soundtracks were planned for both, but cancelled due to low demand. One year later, Hamada teamed up with Motoi Sakuraba, best known for his acclaimed compositions for the Star Ocean series, and they created an arrange album containing tracks from both Books. The album was unique for two reasons. For Sakuraba, this was the first time he had arranged another person’s work in an arranged album, so an interesting result would be expected; and, for Hamada, he got use of a small two-guitarist team which would surely enhance his arrangements. But the outcome of the album would surely surprise the listener in both good and bad ways.
Body
Motoi Sakuraba opens the album with a power synth rock arrangement of Hamada’s “Reality Theme (Black Book)”. It holds nothing back to pull you into the Shin Megami Tensei world. The electric guitar alongside the synth makes the theme sound like an epic showdown, and it appeals especially to people who love battle themes. A combination of techno and acoustic drum beats noticeably adds excitement to the piece; the composer programs and uses both flawlessly. This track is one of the more addictive themes on the album, mainly thanks to Hamada’s engaging melody; without the arranger’s compelling skills, it would be just a plain good track. In comparison to Sakuraba’s strong opener, Hamada’s opening theme, “Reality Theme (Red Book),” doesn’t stand as strong. It doesn’t grab my attention as much as the previous track, but on its own it’s an exceptional arrangement with much to offer. Hamada, unlike Sakuraba, takes advantage of a two-man band comprising bassist Satoshi Miyashita and guitarist Toshiki Aida. Both have their time to shine with short solos, Miyashita’s being more interesting—perhaps because of my unusual fondness for his instrument. Hamada definitely knows how to make a piece entertaining, though I feel this piece can also be repetitive and sometimes dry in parts.
Regular battle themes are supposed to be energetic but generally not very serious. Hamada does manage to follow this guideline in his arrangement of his own battle theme from Shin Megami Tensei -Devil Children- – Black Book, but, similar to his previous arrangement, he doesn’t seem to fully understand how to amaze the listener. Once more, the band is in fine form and all players do their best, but I can’t help feeling that something is missing. Maybe it’s the style the whole track is arranged in, as it seems too light and not threatening, especially for a battle theme. I thought Aida’s guitar solo was unnecessary, and Hamada doesn’t use time efficiently; this is clearer in this track than the others. Sakuraba’s “Battle Theme 4 – Event (Redbook)” is a good example of how less can be more. Hamada used a bass guitarist and an electric guitarist, while Sakuraba only uses his synth, yet still manages to produce a better result than the version by his fellow arranger. Not much stylistic diversity comes from the arranger compared to his other pieces on the album, but using another style would have killed the arrangement’s life. The sound quality is very good for synth, especially the sampling of the electric guitar, brass, and techno beats. However, the generic nature of the original melody is somewhat limiting.
Hamada brings us the first real dark tune, “Demon World Town 3”. I feel this track is one of the weakest arrangements on the entire album. Why? First off, Hamada tends to make the composition drone on tiredly, and his attempts to add life with unusual synth instruments don’t succeed as they should. Secondly, no matter how much effort is put into the guitar work, it never seems to go the extra step to satisfy me—not even the solo after the synth—while the development and track length are a little underwhelming. Easily the most creative arrangement on the album, Sakuraba presents us with a dark electronic track in “Demon Combination Theme”. The electronic harmony is appealing—repetitive yet memorable—and supplies much of the track’s quirk, even overriding the main melody. As a result, the track isn’t melodic so much as beat-filled and ambient. This could be a problem to some listeners who like more melodic compositions. If you listen closely to the background, you can hear recorded voices, adding a more haunting, chilling atmosphere. There’s nothing remotely flawed in the production of the piece; my only minor gripe is its consistent approach.
The first of two contrasting themes representing heaven and hell is arranged by Sakuraba. “Angel’s Theme” is, as the title hints, an angelic arrangement with a mixture of standard Sakuraba excitement. The arranger uses much of his famous style from the Star Ocean series to form this saintly track and makes effective use of the female opera vocals he often employs. The piano is the triumphant instrument here and is the key to the track’s holiness. It works incredibly well after the orchestral introduction, when the theme suddenly stops to allow the piano’s entrance; it is simply moving and inspiring. As with the piano, the choral and vocal samples are top-notch, neatly accompanying the other instruments. The second of the two contrasting themes, “Devil’s Theme”, is composed and arranged by Hamada. His light approach to the dark theme is interesting as it once again resembles Iwadare’s approach to the same kind of theme. Compared to Sakuraba’s godly track beforehand, this one doesn’t quite reach that status (in a dark way, of course), but it’s still very good nevertheless. As with most Hamada arrangements on the album, it is mainly synth- and guitar-driven, but this track’s instrumentation is more bass guitar and orchestral-driven, and it isn’t half bad, considering there is less guitar supporting the other instruments. The melody is like something from a Halloween theme, containing spooky, freaky features.
Hamada really nailed “Ending,” passing with flying colours and beyond. The idea of having an ending theme almost directly in the middle of the album seemed a bit farfetched at first, but after hearing the track for the first time, the arrangement doesn’t sound conclusive enough to be credited as such a composition. I was instantly hooked on this track from the very start with its synth melody and orchestral backing, but the power of the electric guitar, which enters directly after the introduction, simply takes me away. Aida doesn’t really perform anything complex or awe-inspiring, but the simple chords are exceedingly impressive and do well to help the memorable melody line that Hamada creates. The solo is pretty decent, being the fastest and the catchiest on the album, and is guaranteed to please guitar fanatics even though its length is questionable. Tomoyuki Hamada chose the most obscure pieces for his final arrangement. “Victory,” quite obviously a victory theme, would have been very hard to arrange, and, more importantly, impress the listener, because of its painfully short length. To make things even stranger, the composer hired another guitarist, Ken Yasumichi, to perform the supporting chords in a surf rock style. The weak synth, accompanied by the typical fanfare jingle that actually transitions well into the guitar, is partly satisfying at first, but I would have liked more variability. Indeed, Hamada returns to his old problems with track length and time.
For some, arranging a final battle track can be risky, but for Motoi Sakuraba this isn’t a problem. “Final Boss Theme” isn’t progressive rock, but more of a powerful orchestral arrangement mixed with a mean dose of techno and a little bit of opera to emphasise the demonic scenario. The main body is a brass-dominated synth orchestra, which performs the somewhat distant melody and keeps the whole track bunched together. Within the orchestra’s depths, the dark techno beat rages on, keeping the brass and the rest of the ensemble in shape and reflecting the enemy’s menacing form. Finally, the operatic vocals maintain the piece’s natural chaos. The final track, “Title”, is like most of Sakuraba’s main themes — powerful, dreamy, and enticing — and it is apparent that the composer easily made the original seem very average when compared to his own. The overall atmosphere is dark and epic, with some typical Sakuraba instruments to keep the impression consistent throughout the theme. This theme could have been used in a movie sequence, since it is split into segments—the slow beginning, fast-paced middle, and conclusive ending—and I could see it working much better as an ending composition than, say, Hamada’s arrangement of the previously discussed “Ending.”
Summary
In almost every collaboration album there are flourishing themes and a number of substandard tracks, and unfortunately the same problem afflicts this album. The main issue here is a tension between quality and quantity. Hamada had the privilege of using real electric and bass guitars, but he suffered from not using time and freedom to his advantage (for example, “Demon World Town 3” and “Victory”). Sakuraba had only his synths, yet he managed to create outstanding arrangements and manipulate the use of time (best shown in “Reality Theme (Black Book)” and “Final Boss Theme”). Given this, there’s no question that Hamada was the weaker of the two in terms of arranging, because of a lack of thoughtful, interesting development in his themes; yet he comes up with great additions like “Ending,” which makes me wonder if he was simply having a few bad days when molding the other tracks. But if Hamada hadn’t been included on this arrange album, I’m quite sure that with only Sakuraba involved it would have sounded very different, for better or worse. Shin Megami Tensei -Devil Children- Game Music Arrange Tracks is a two-sided album, but the album’s strong qualities more than make up for the small number of average themes. If you can find it, buy it. It’s well worth your money.
