 | Album Title: Sonic Heroes Original Soundtrax -Complete Trinity- |
| Record Label: Wavemaster | |
| Catalog No.: WWCE-31027/8 | |
| Release Date: March 3, 2004 | |
| Purchase: Buy at CDJapan |
Overview
Sonic Heroes is the first multiplatform Sonic game to be released during the sixth generation of video game consoles, after the unfortunate demise of the Dreamcast. In a way, Sonic Heroes tried very hard to display a lot of homages, symbolism, and representation of the classic Sonic games. Not just the basic stuff like the green checkered hills, but also how drastically the music could evolve as you travel from the first stage to the last. Not to mention just how varied the explored genres are, in the same manner as Sonic Adventure 2; only this time, the music is created to fit the stages rather than the characters themselves. As always, Jun Senoue is at the helm of music direction, and accompanying him are a team of guest contributors, including Naofumi Hayata, Yutaka Minobe, and Keiichi Sugiyama, classic veterans of the Sonic the Hedgehog soundtracks.
Body
In terms of stage progression, Sonic Heroes‘s format was to play through in acts, like the original Sonic games, specifically Sonic the Hedgehog 2. There are 14 stages, grouped into two acts; within each act the basic layout of a stage looks similar. Not surprisingly, the music, although performed differently between the two acts, maintains the same style and genre, and even maintains the same instruments, in order to better display that classic feeling of traveling through these acts as though they were one long stage.
There are quite a few genres explored on this album. The album starts tranquil and peaceful, and as one progresses to the last few tracks on the second disc, it becomes dark and menacing, yet still enjoyable to listen to. For a Sonic game, it’s almost mandatory to start with a beach stage; that’s where it begins, with peaceful surfer-inspired rock and fast-paced drums in the form of “Seaside Hill” and “Ocean Palace”. Both tracks use a unique fashion of guitar duels, and to keep in tune with that beach feeling, there’s no rhythm guitar. It all fits together very nicely, inspiring the listener to sit down and watch the beach flow by.
Around the album, we also get to hear industrial techno, in order to represent a futuristic kind of world outside our imagination. Use of a strange synthesizer mixed with fast-paced drums characterizes “Grand Metropolis” and “Power Plant”. In a more calming style of techno, we also have these rather strange uses of pinball-esque sound effects played through a synthesizer, and the more casually performed percussion for “Casino Park”. “Bingo Highway” takes Casino Park’s elements, makes them much more fast-paced, and adds hardcore rhythm guitar to make it more frantic. The samples and sound effects that wrap up these tracks give them that Las Vegas gambling fever and a childish feel. It’s classic Sonic the Hedgehog style.
For fans who loved the hard rock performances that came out of both Sonic Adventure titles, these kinds of performances come into full force once again between “Rail Canyon” and “Bullet Station”. The lead guitar plays a very intricate, elaborate riff, and the drummer’s skills have never been more intriguing, as they pummel an echoing percussion complemented by equally echoing cymbal chimes. “Bullet Station” goes one step further, with guitars treated in a techno fashion and more ground-pounding drums, almost similar to “This Machine” by Julien-K from the vocal soundtrack for Sonic Heroes.
Around the middle of the album, we get to hear “Frog Forest”. It’s a pleasant acoustic-guitar performance, mixed with soft percussion and environmental sounds, giving it a rainforest feeling while still matching the velocity of the high-speed hedgehog. Progressing past this track is “Lost Jungle”, a heavy drum-and-bass track, similar to the sounds heard in African chants and other related world music. What makes it stand out is the use of piano and synthesizer. It’s very unique and once again gives off a hint of Sonic nostalgia.
And now leaving the worldly music, we step into “Hang Castle”, a slow-paced, ghoulish techno track. The percussion is played softly, with the sounds of ghosts uttering random shrieks that harmonize. At various points, the drums are played almost statically to allow a flute to take the lead; at other moments, the drums return, supported by a mellow violin. It’s a pretty mesmerizing theme—not intended to scare, but to make you imagine such a scenario and keep you calm.
“Mystic Mansion” continues where “Hang Castle” left off, but whereas that theme had two different sections of exploration, “Mystic Mansion” goes through an even wider selection of styles while still maintaining a trance melody. At different points, a lead guitar will play a hardcore moment, then the chiming of church bells will bellow out, and at other moments, a whistling synthesizer will fill in the eerie gap. Again, it’s not the kind of track created to scare, but one to keep you locked in a deep, dreamy trance while making you want to dance.
During the final moments of the soundtrack, the drums are kicked up a notch with more prominent fills and fast-paced solos in a punk-ish manner. “Egg Fleet” fits that style perfectly, along with the guitars playing fast enough to keep up with the drums. As the theme clears, we enter a more industrial world. “Final Fortress” features an incredibly demonic, wavering synthesizer; the guitar is played slowly to emphasize power and destruction. It all comes down to the final battle with Eggman, and “Egg Emperor” has one of the most awesome drum intros I’ve ever heard.
When everything is over and the adventure is done, the final theme “Finale… Adventure Must Goes On” ends the album on a perfect note. It’s a joyful piano performance accompanied by violins. Rarely do we get to hear such a wonderful arrangement, especially one for Sonic and one to end a soundtrack with such positive charm. It all comes to a satisfying finish, as we begin to reminisce about what Complete Trinity gave us.
Summary
Complete Trinity: Sonic Heroes Original Soundtrax definitely shows the creativity and exploration of Jun Senoue and his group of talented musicians. As I’ve said before, this game tried its best to reminisce about some of the older games and, through the music that can be heard on Complete Trinity, this really shows. While not as expansive as some of the later soundtracks, like Sonic ’06, the tracks on this soundtrack are a well-balanced mix of music that both old and new Sonic fans can easily relate to. With a combination of techno, rock, trance, acoustic, and much more, fans are given a soundtrack that’s easily memorable within the entire Sonic franchise. A highly recommended album for all types of Sonic fans.
