Nobuo Uematsu is, with little argument, on the top of everyones list as the
greatest composer of music for RPG's. He should be, he has had over a dozen
games to perfect his craft on. What everyone's number two guy has done may
be slightly more impressive. Although his resume isn't as long or
distiguished as that of Uematsu's, Yasunori Mitsuda has made a deffinate
impact on the world of game music. His single greatest work may be the score
he created for 1999's Chrono Cross.
There can't be many better ways to kick off a soundtrack than the amazing
"Time's Scar." Composed with a beautiful opening of a woodwind and guitar,
it then transforms and adds a violin-like instrument and percussion to
become an incredible high energy piece. Now, "Time's Scar" may be the
signature piece of the soundtrack, but it deffinately isn't the most
beautiful. That falls to "Dreams Bordering the Shore of Another World." The
calm and soothing sounds make it a piece that can be listened to over and
over again. That relaxed sound plays a large part in the Chrono Cross
soundtrack. The game itsself takes place on islands and sailing between
those islands. All of the overworld music is designed to portray this
atmosphere and does it well. The "Voyage" pieces and "Time's Grasslands" use
a slight Carribean beat. The town themes such as Aruni, Termina, and Mabure
take a slightly different approach but reach the same relaxing ends. Instead
of using the Carribean sound they use guitar and woodwinds. There is more to
the Chrono Cross soundtrack than just relaxing beats though.
As is common to RPG soundtracks, there has to be battle and victory themes.
If there is a weakness to the soundtrack, it can be found in these pieces.
"Brink of Death" is a good background piece, and a decent fight song.
However, by itsself it borders on annoying. The victory pieces suffer from
just a little bad writing. While the fanfare is good, the transition to the
main part of the piece seems a little forced. "Summer's Cry" is a slightly
tweaked copy of the victory fanfare of Chrono Trigger, which suffered from
the same problem. This is just knitpicking on what are still good pieces,
but these things can seem a little off to a trained ear or anyone that
listens to a lot of gaming music.
There are several good pieces that round out the rest of the soundtrack. The
general sneaking around type music such as "Snake Bone Room," and of course
the sleeping and death music are present. But, there are several songs that
stick out from the pack because their sound is much different than the other
pieces on the soundtrack. Whether it is the pounding percussion and powerful
strings of "Dreamwatch of Time," the beautiful music box sound of "Dream
Fragments," or the beautiful voice work of Noriko Mitose in "Unstolen
Jewel," each part adds something wonderful to the whole. The most unique of
these pieces is "Magical Dreamers: The Wind, the Stars, and The Sea." The
rock guitar and bass sound that accompanies a gypsy style background is both
interesting and excellent. A perfect end to a wonderful soundtrack.
With all of these songs, Yasunori Mitsuda put together a great soundtrack
that goes with one of the greatest games of all time. No, there are no
sweeping symphonic suites or pounding sythesized beats. What he created is
one of the most enjoyable, and relaxing soundtracks out there. Even though
it has a few rough edges, the Chrono Cross soundtrack can be rated up there
with the best of them.
Final Fantasy Insider
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