Hanjuku Hero Original Soundtrack :: Review by Dave

	Album Title:	Hanjuku Hero Original Soundtrack
	Record Label:	DigiCube
	Catalog Number:	TIN-50
	Release Date:	June 25, 2003
	Content:	1 CD - 19 Tracks
	Purchase:	Buy at eBay

Overview

The score for the Hanjuku Hero Original Soundtrack was composed by Nobuo Uematsu 1988, but it was only until the release of the Hanjuku Hero VS 3D Original Soundtrack that it made itself in soundtrack form. Though many other Uematsu works had been released in the 15 years this soundtrack was unavailable, in terms of chronology, other than the score of Final Fantasy, created a year earlier, this is the earliest of Uematsu's scores to be released on CD. This CD is only available as a bonus disc with the Hanjuku Hero VS 3D Original Soundtrack in its limited edition form. Since the limited edition stocks have run out, this album is very hard to get, with eBay now being your only chance. This review should help you decide whether you want to search for it or not. It's certainly an interesting item historically, but does the music suffice?

Body

The first track we hear on this album is "Opening," which is both ear piercing and underdeveloped unfortunately. The melody consists of a falling arpeggio, which is then accelerated in a second section. The harmony is almost non-existent, as it consists of just a single bass beat. It sounds almost like the Final Fantasy signature track, "Prelude," but is less memorable and loved, and also consists of descending arpeggios rather than both ascending and descending ones. The next track, "Map Theme," is certainly a notch up; however, once again not a lot goes on with the track, and as with most of Uematsu's early themes, he widely uses arpeggios and forgets to develop the melody. Considering the limitations at the time, these aren't bad attempts, but we know that he could do better. "Battle" is amongst the opening tracks, and its cheesy melody just rips right through the action. The fast accompaniment adds a sense of urgency to the track, and apart from this, it really has no other purpose. This is one of Uematsu's shortest battle themes and not an apt rival to his Final Fantasy ones.

The album contains four tracks prefixed "Field" which are then suffixed by the season at that time. The first of these, "Field (Spring)," rivals the likes of Final Fantasy's "Matoya's Cave" melodically. This is an upbeat track which has a unique flavour added to it through the constantly moving bass line. Although not as sweet as "Matoya's Cave," it is certainly as memorable. "Field (Summer)" is also a wonderful track, and it features one of the most complex harmonies on the score. The track is jazzy, and it really gives a good image of a field in the summertime. "Field (Fall)" is a lot more epic than the other two, and this one certainly rivals most of Uematsu's most-loved early themes. The accompaniment is developed wonderfully once more, and the melody manages to fit the quirky melody perfectly. Finally, we have "Field (Winter)," which actually sounds extremely icy, almost as if snow is falling. The melody is a lot more gentler in this track, and again we have a fine arrangement of the melody.

"First Moon Event" seems to be the most successful track, as it has appeared in subsequent Hanjuku Hero soundtracks, with the most obvious of these scores being the Hanjuku Hero VS 3D Original Soundtrack. The melody is simple, but it creates the light-hearted feeling that the game designers were after. Strangely, this track is surrounded by filler tracks, and each of them are under seven seconds long. "Victory," "Defeat," "Lucky," and "Unlucky" are these four tracks, and they are each entirely undeveloped. "Defeat" has a nice melody, but it has no sense of loss added to it. "Unlucky," on the other hand, is a different story, as it is effective in gameplay due to its shocking and surprising melodic descent, though is too short on a stand-alone basis.

This album has, as any Hanjuku Hero soundtrack should have, many egg related tracks. "Egg Dance" is the most obvious of these and has been countlessly arranged on the Hanjuku Hero 4 -The 7 Heroes- ~Sound Collection~. It has a relatively simple and cheesy feel, which just makes it all the more interesting to listen to. "Egg Monster (Weak)" is a theme for a battle against an Egg Monster, and despite its overall jolly feel, it also has some descending slides to lower octaves to add a slight ominous feel. "Egg Monster (Medium)" is the track for a harder Egg Monster, and the urgency seems to be increased so much more by the change in metre of the track. This track is much more active, and we are given a really nice effect overall. After hearing the development into "Egg Monster (Medium)," one would hope for a similar change in tempo for this next track, "Egg Monster (Strong)." However, this doesn't happen, but instead the melody turns much darker and desperate. The melody frequently descends to give an image of damage or loss of hope. This track has very similar qualities to "Battle With Gilgamesh" from the Final Fantasy V Original Sound Version in some sections. This collection of tracks is certainly interesting, but the "Field" track variations are better.

The album finishes with three ending themes, and at least two of them are developed well. "Ending" begins with a snare drum which beats out a steady pace for the wavering melody to weave around. A really memorable section is reached when we go into a section filled with broken chords, and despite the sound quality, the melody really gets through well. This track is supposed to represent the pinnacle of your success, and it certainly should do as it is one of the best tracks on the album. "Congratulations" is the next track on the list, and it has a really lovely melody which unfortunately cuts off after twenty seconds. If this theme were to be developed further, I am sure that it could easily rival other great themes on the album, but as it stands, it is an average track. The soundtrack closes with a rendition of Chopin's Funeral March. The March is kept in its traditionally minor form at first, but then, all of a sudden, the track seems to come to life around it. This is a lovely track, but it certainly isn't the right one to end the album on.

Summary

The key feature about this album is that its score was good for its time, and as there were plenty of good melodies featured, it gave the game a great vibe. Although this album doesn't rival the scores for Final Fantasy or Final Fantasy II, since it is hardly as consistent, it has many tracks that rival the best from both of the scores, with "First Moon Event" and the "Field" tracks faring up particularly well. Indeed, I have mixed thoughts on this album, and as an answer to the original question of whether it is actually worth the bother, I can't answer it affirmatively. If you are after some charming and cute Nintendo tracks, then buy it, but otherwise don't waste your money. There aren't really that many special tracks on the album, with many being filler tracks being present and the others often suffering from underdevelopment. Still, the pleasant surprise of its inclusion in the Hanjuku Hero VS 3D Original Soundtrack really gets us back in touch with the younger days of video game music and this album firmly set a light-hearted style for the subsequent four scores to the series. Certainly, Uematsu pushed the sound quality of the Nintendo to its limits here, and for his efforts, he deserves at least a 70%.

Percentage Overall Score: 70%