{"id":11168,"date":"2019-08-07T15:12:15","date_gmt":"2019-08-07T13:12:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.satrapov.net\/mysst\/?page_id=11168"},"modified":"2019-09-11T12:36:25","modified_gmt":"2019-09-11T10:36:25","slug":"music","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.grafskaya.club\/mysst\/detailed-reviews-g-z\/lost-odyssey\/music\/","title":{"rendered":"Music"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"Terrific<\/a>Nobuo Uematsu has done it again: the soundtrack is simply beautiful, and there are a lot<\/em> of songs. The overall tone is one of melancholy, as befits the theme of the game. This is perfectly showcased by the \u201cMain Theme\u201d, which plays during the game\u2019s grand introductory sequence, when Kaim travels back to Uhra from the Wohl Highlands: a martial opening beat with the orchestra gradually swelling in the background, segueing into a wordless, goosebump-inducing vocal solo. It\u2019s poignant and majestic at the same time. However, your first encounter with the theme will be as the \u201cPrologue\u201d on the game\u2019s introductory screen. This is a somewhat toned-down version: both the martial beat and the sweeping instrumental parts are still present, but the vocals are not. You will also hear it under yet different guises throughout the game: as a simple piano melody in \u201cAn Immortal Life\u201d, which plays in some dream sequences; and as a warbling flute-and-guitar duo building up towards a rather unexpected riff in \u201cNeverending Journey\u201d, which is the World Map theme. It also features as a lull in the middle of the otherwise very tense \u201cEscape!\u201d, which plays while the party must escape from the Experimental Staff.<\/p>\n

The game\u2019s battle themes are also an unmitigated success: you have the rousing, restless \u201cThe Gun Barrel of Battle\u201d, which accompanies regular random encounters; the distinctly groovy \u201cAn Enemy Appears!\u201d, which plays during Backyard battles; and then the various boss themes, from the frantic electric guitar stabs of \u201cBattle Conditions\u201d, to the whirling strings of \u201cA Mighty Enemy Appears!\u201d, to the brassy \u201cBattle with the Demons\u201d, to the nefarious-sounding \u201cDark Saint\u201d, which plays during the party\u2019s first confrontation with Gongora.<\/p>\n

Speaking of Gongora, his ominous, creepy theme, \u201cGongora\u2019s Plot\u201d, is also prominently featured on the soundtrack and notably serves as a backdrop in his mansion in Uhra. Its various iterations play during different scenes involving Gongora, sometimes one after the other. \u201cMystery of the Demon Machine\u201d, which plays, among other things, when Gongora finally uses Grand Staff as intended, adds an extra layer of techy malevolence. \u201cThe Demon-Possessed Man\u201d, which notably plays when Gongora takes over Uhra, is both more solemn and more furtive. The aptly-named, discordant \u201cSpace Distortion\u201d, plays when the party confronts Gongora for the second time, as well as, oddly enough, in the two boss battles in the Sorceress\u2019 Mansion. There’s also “Howl of the Departed”, which plays during the final battle, but that one doesn’t work so well: it starts off very intensely, but then devolves into a screechy, oversynthesised mess. A bit like \u201cDancing Mad\u201d from Final Fantasy VI<\/em>, actually.<\/p>\n

Then you have the songs which are mainly used in dream sequences, all piano-driven. There\u2019s the very oddly named, \u201cDemonic Infringement\u201d, a slow, wistful melody which has absolutely nothing to do with demons. Then you have the goosebump-inducing \u201cParting Forever\u201d, a string of haunting notes falling like teardrops, which, strangely enough, also reappears as a sunny, vaguely calypso-sounding reprise as the theme for \u201cSaman, Town of Merchants\u201d. And there\u2019s also \u201cA Sign of Hope\u201d, which, as the name indicates, is a happier, more luminous melody, which brings in strings and brass to liven things up.<\/p>\n

Some of the location themes also stand out. \u201cThe Capital of Uhra\u201d, with its Oriental overtones, gives an appropriate aura of solemnity to your explorations of the city. \u201cThe White Mother Ship\u201d, which plays when you first see the White Boa, is light and breezy. \u201cNumara Palace\u201d sounds eminently zen, as if you were wandering around a Buddhist temple. \u201cThe Capital of Numara\u201d is a soothing flute melody set against a lilting percussion and piano backdrop. \u201cKelolon Forest\u201d has a minimalistic cuteness to it. \u201cThe Witch\u2019s Mansion\u201d, which also plays in some of the dream sequences, features a tinny, eerie, off-key piano, which sounds like stray beads scattering from a torn necklace. \u201cThe Great Voyage\u201d, which plays onboard the Nautilus once the party decides to enter the Hall of Mirrors, sounds like an inexorable march towards danger and fits the setting very well.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the stuff that doesn\u2019t work so well. Oddly enough, this includes all the songs that have vocals. Cooke and Mack sing a horrendous little lullaby upon first encountering Sarah. I say horrendous, because neither of their voice actors can actually sing. The lyrics are also clearly translated from the Japanese, as they sound awkward and disjointed. Heck, the English version isn\u2019t even on <\/em>the official soundtrack. Mind you, the Japanese version of the song, \u201cKaette Kuru, Kitto\u2026\u201d, is no better. It still feels disjointed, and the singer is also <\/em>off-key. It\u2019s a shame, as the background melody is quite pleasant.<\/p>\n

\"Harping<\/a>Something similar happens with the two songs contributed by Sheena Easton: \u201cWhat You Are\u201d, which plays during a specific scene in Gohtza and serves as a theme for Jansen and Ming\u2019s blossoming romance; and \u201cEclipse of Time\u201d, which is the song Ming plays on the harp when Jansen first meets her and essentially serves as her theme, although the vocal version isn\u2019t actually featured in the game. It\u2019s not so much that the singer is off-key, but you can feel that the songs strain at her vocal range, especially \u201cEclipse of Time\u201d, which goes too high for her. The lyrics also sound\u2026too long, for lack of a better word? Just listen to that \u201cbut then I feel the boldness that\u2019s inside my heart just melt away\u201d in \u201cWhat You Are\u201d: it\u2019s like she\u2019s struggling to fit it all in within the allotted time. Again, it\u2019s a shame: \u201cWhat You Are\u201d has a nice melody (which you can enjoy in its pensive instrumental version), and \u201cEclipse of Time\u201d has rather poignant lyrics, as it\u2019s obviously sung from Ming\u2019s point of view.<\/p>\n\n

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