Eminence Online, Game Music Review

It's clear that Yuzo Koshiro loves the world of Etrian Odyssey. Not only did the original soundtracks contain DS and FM versions of the score, but numerous arrange albums have been released over the years for the two games in the series, all of which culminated in the Live Music by Piano and Strings: Sekaiju no MeiQ I & II Super Arrange Version that was released last year.

It's quite a mouthful, but the album features the best pieces from both games arranged and conducted by Norihiko Hibino and performed by a small ensemble of players including violin (Chieko Amano), piano (Yuichiro Oonuki), cello (Minori Yamazaki), guitar (Shuji Narikawa), and percussion (Naoko Sato). The overall tone is quite soothing while staying true to the memorable melodies that fans should remember from the games, so it's definitely worth your attention if you're a fan of the series.

Read our review of the Etrian Odyssey piano and strings arrange album after the jump.

The album opens with "Spinning the Tale [Opening]," which shouldn't be at all surprising. The slow buildup in the beginning seems like it would be troublesome for a small ensemble like this, but the bassy piano notes throughout lend the piece a deep and epic ambiance. Next it's off to the whimsical town themes with "Town - The Roadside Trees Outside the Window," featuring beautiful string harmonies that sound like a sweet lullaby.

"Labyrinth I - The Green Green Woodlands / Labyrinth I - Woodland Ruins" features two of my favorite tracks from the series, and it's interesting to hear how each of the instruments are layered over one another to create a very full yet subdued sound. Jazzy guitar and piano solos come in towards the middle of the piece and are quite cool. The next piece, "Battle - Initial Strike / Battle - The First Campaign" is a medley of the battle themes from across the series, and is an absolute must. The second half is particularly catchy, and it's kind of humorous to see Koshiro's battle themes turned into relaxing bossa nova pieces.

Things take a turn towards a more foreboding sound with "Labyrinth III - The Thousand Year Old Blue Woodlands" with its melancholy guitar chords and emotionally-tinged strings. "Labyrinth V - The Capital of Shinjuku / Labyrinth V - Heaven's Rock Seat" takes a similar approach, utilizing lots of vibrato to yield a sense of uncertainty.

My favorite track on the album, "Scene - Blue and White" comes next, and I like to pretend that I was partially responsible for its inclusion. When I heard that this album was being produced, I pestered Hibino for many days about this track, and while the arrangement is quite simple, the progression is so deliberate and memorable that I can't help but love it just as much as the original soundtrack versions.

"Labyrinth IV - Cherry Tree Bridge" is the final track on the album, and is as poppy as it gets in Etrian Odyssey. Actually, I'll admit that I can't get the Sekaiju no MeiQ2 *shoou no seihai* Super Arrange Version arrangement of this track by Takahiro Izutani with vocals by Rebecca Evans out of my head. I always want to sing along. I do love the music here though, and the energy of the ensemble provides a rousing closer to an otherwise mellow listening experience. I think they could have worked Evans into this track in a way that would have been unobtrusive though, and made it even better!

So there you have it. If you're a fan of Etrian Odyssey, I highly recommend checking this album out. It's a sort of "best of" collection with a new vibe. The booklet features pictures of the hand-written sheet music created by Hibino for this album as well as profiles for each of the performers (in Japanese), which is a nice touch. Even more, there's a data track on the CD containing scans of all the sheet music, which again is an appreciated bonus. Yuzo Koshiro truly created some of his most memorable melodies with this game, so I'm curious to see if he'll be doing more arrange albums in the future, or if we'll see a new round of albums for his upcoming 7th Dragon soundtrack.

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