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Dodonpachi Dai-Ou-Jou/Ketsui Original Soundtrack :: Review by Dave
OverviewThe Dodonpachi series is another shooter from Cave. This company generally rules the arcade when it comes to battling against bugs and pattern memorisation. Your ill-fated destiny will ultimately be decided by your reaction times and manoeuvre skills, and hopefully, if you are good enough, you will be able to play the games for long enough to experience their great music. Naturally, making objects on the screen explode is a great deal of fun, but maybe you should try playing the game with no sound on. The music is truly at the heart of any shooter game. As you will come to notice, this album is split up into three distinct sections: a Dodonpachi Ketsui ~KizunaJigokuTachi~ section, a Dodonpachi Ketsui ~KizunaJigokuTachi~ arrangement section, and a Dodonpachi Dai-Ou-Jou section. These compositions are the original score for two Dodonpachi games, namely Dodonpachi Dai-Ou-Jou and Dodonpachi Ketsui ~KizunaJigokuTachi~, which were designed and released by Cave. Manubu Namiki is the man behind every track on this album, and although Masaharu Iwata, Sizlla Okamura, and Hitoshi Sakimoto arrange the Dodonpachi Ketsui ~KizunaJigokuTachi~ tracks, his melodies remain untouched. This album was released at the same time as the Dodonpachi Dai-Ou-Jou & ESPGaluda -Perfect Remix-, and it is compiled in a very similar style, just except that the two games featured here are from the same series. Nonetheless, this electronica album should be received by most as a great selection of original themes. BodyNamiki's talents are widely spread across each of the sections, and his distinct electronica style is fused with different genres on many occasions here. The album starts off with "Doomsday (Select)," which is a short, yet atmospheric opening theme. The style of this track is very similar to the boss themes on the arranged albums. The next theme that we are treated to is the mystical, yet powerful, "Interception - Town in Upheaval (Stage 1)." An airy chime melody is the first melody that we hear, and with its airy sense of nature, it creates an aura of wonder, too. Nonetheless, the asset that each of these tracks have in common is their dangerously catchy drum beat. Namiki flaunts a crazy drum line in a majority of his tracks, and it is these that make his compositions writhe with life and atmosphere. In comparison to the Dodonpachi Dai-Ou-Jou section, these themes are very different. DoDonPachi Dai-Ou-Jou's main theme, namely "Fog Warning (Select)," doesn't rely upon the drum part as much as "Doomsday (Select)" does. There is a great melody in this track that is upbeat, flowing, and wonderfully effective. This is very similar in DoDonPachi Dai-Ou-Jou's stage one theme, too. Once again, Namiki provides the listener with a different type of track; "East Asia (Stage 1)" is melodically dependant, so this is a total diversion from the style given for the stage one theme in Dodonpachi Ketsui ~KizunaJigokuTachi~. There is a great use of synth sound effects in this track, as with there being some synth vocals too, a really precise image is portrayed. So, how do the themes from each section compare to each other? Well, the most notable difference comes in the stage themes. Collectively, Dodonpachi Ketsui ~KizunaJigokuTachi~'s stage themes explore a large number of atmospheres, and with "Suburb - Armored Green (Stage 2)" being an ambient gem and "Defensive Line - Lurking in the Darkness (Stage 4)" being an aggressive electric guitar track, this becomes evident straight away. Dodonpachi Dai-Ou-Jou, on the other hand, doesn't explore such a wide amount of atmospheres, and although some tracks ("Grieving Womb (Stage 5)") take an overly aggressive stance, they soon resolve in the end to create a sense of buoyancy. The most unique track is "Canal Fleet - Twilight Armada (Stage 3)" from Dodonpachi Ketsui ~KizunaJigokuTachi~; with its extremely captivating synth sound effects and warping background noises, it is melodic ecstasy. Even so, it isn't the best stage theme in this section, and this is simply because it doesn't develop enough in areas where it should. The best stage theme from Dodonpachi Ketsui ~KizunaJigokuTachi~ is "Evac Industry - Day of Judgment (Stage 5)"; this theme seems extremely well planned out as Namiki develops it wonderfully. Nonetheless, it doesn't compare to Dodonpachi Dai-Ou-Jou's "Grieving Womb (Stage 5)," which is a track that explores many different aspects of its unholy atmosphere. All in all, these stage themes are very different in nature; furthermore, with one soundtrack exploring as many different atmospheres as possible and the other creating just a selection of emotions, it becomes evident that Namiki can be extremely versatile in his approach. Nonetheless, he also proves that diversity isn't always required, as, with his battle themes, he uses the same techniques throughout. Dodonpachi Ketsui ~KizunaJigokuTachi~'s regular boss theme, "Darkened (Boss)," is built up against an extremely fast paced drum rhythm and a series of rockin' guitar lines; this is the same with the boss theme from DoDonPachi Dai-Ou-Jou. "Burning Body (Boss)" features a dominance of guitar lines and a drum rhythm, and although it features a nicer melody and some atmosphere enhancing sound effects, the overall aura given off is extremely similar. The final battle themes on each section of this album are also composed in a similar style. "No Remorse (True Last Boss)" is just as fast paced as the earlier battle tracks, but one feature that it contains that the latter tracks do not is a consistent harmony. This type of flair and harmonic dominance is also shown in "Red Bee (True Last Boss)," which is another invigorating, yet slightly less melodic track. Nonetheless, although these themes are very similar, there are some tracks that significantly stand out. The track that stands out the most is "Yellow Stream (Last Boss)" from DoDonPachi Dai-Ou-Jou. This theme has a really well thought out bass line and a great melody for it to fight along with. Namiki produces a feeling of tension in this track through the repetition of this melody and a dominance of the lower octaves. En masse, Namiki's lack of variance in this section may disappoint when each part is listened to simultaneously, but if only one section is heard, then there is enough variation from him to make each theme sound original. Dodonpachi Dai-Ou-Jou and Dodonpachi Ketsui ~KizunaJigokuTachi~ are great albums, so it is hard to bore of the themes. Namiki does well to keep his styles consistent throughout each score, and so, he is further consistent through his melodic development, too. The main tracks to look out for in these two sections of the album are the ones which feature the fastest drum lines, as, believe it or not, these are generally the most pleasing and well developed, too. There isn't a track here that lets the games down, but seeing as though this is a compilation album, where would we be if there were no arrangements around? Namiki's Basiscape partners come together in the middle section of this album to arrange three tracks from the Dodonpachi Ketsui ~KizunaJigokuTachi~ section of the album. The first arrangement is Masaharu Iwata's "Interception - Disposable Squad"; this track takes a very basic electronica form at the start, but it soon develops. Over the four minutes that it plays, the drum beat goes into an absolutely adrenalin pumped phase, whereas the melody stays the same. A lot more can be said about Hitoshi Sakimoto's arrangement though; "Evac Industry - Hells Tiers" is a really impressive track that features some harmonic development, too. Sakimoto does well with this arrangement, as it develops far more than any of the original tracks. "Suburb - Taxidi Sta Outopias" is another impressive arrangement, but unfortunately, Sizilla Okamura takes a cheesy Final Fantasy X-2 Original Soundtrack approach. The melody that Okamura comes up with is entirely respectable, but he chooses a totally uninspiring instrument to do this on. Okamura chooses the wrong technology here, and so, he should have stuck with the instrumentation that Namiki, Iwata, and Sakimoto all used. SummaryAll in all, Namiki's efforts are profound in this album. Each soundtrack was as good as the other, and this is simply because of the similar techniques that he used on each of the albums. Namiki should impress many fans through the way that his stage themes are all so tightly linked melodically, yet when one listens to them deeply, one can easily pick out a number of differences. Shooters are very hard games to compose for as the composer has to consider the needs of the player, too. Many players rely upon the music to set a rhythm to their movements, whereas others choose to ignore it as they find it a distraction. Namiki needs to find the exact equilibrium to provide an equal state of mind amongst the players, the boss, and the game producer. The music in shooter games is entirely different to any RPG music, and this is because the music is electronica orientated and they rely upon melodic development instead of harmonic variety. Namiki's best track is definitely "Yellow Stream (Last Boss)" from DoDonPachi Dai-Ou-Jou, and, seeing as though all of the other tracks are just as good as each other, it becomes hard to pick out any true bad tracks. Most fans will find this a pleasing album, and some Sakimoto fans should be especially interested. His arrangement is the best of its kind and it rings out the original theme at twice the amplitude. This is a successful and consistent album that leaves the listener with very little to criticise. Percentage Overall Score: 84% |
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