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Deep Labyrinth Game Sound CD :: Review by Don
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Album Title: | Deep Labyrinth Game Sound CD |
| Record Label: | Interactive Brains | |
| Catalog No.: | Promotional | |
| Release Date: | March 23, 2006 | |
| Purchase: | Buy at eBay |
Review
Deep Labyrinth was an RPG released in March 2006 in Japan for the Nintendo DS. While Masato Kato was the key contributor in terms of story, Mitsuda was the composer for this game. Since this is only a promo CD, in which two of the compositions are arranged by Takayuki Mitsuhara, this is more of a review based on the musical quality of the compositions featured. The Deep Labyrinth Promo CD is a blend of a few styles. While mainly Celtic in nature, this album does offer hints of ethereality and some orchestration.
"Prologue ~ Guided People" starts out with some fairly strong orchestration, but soon shifts tone into a more ethereal once. While the melody in this track is fairly good, the track as a whole is too short to garner any real development and, in the end, suffers from being a bit too stale. However, the following track "Shou and Alf's Theme" is a much better piece. It contains a nice rhythmic percussion section and the melody offered blends a bit of orchestration with some Celtic influence. This is probably one of the stronger tracks on the album, yet still suffers from an overall lack of development. "Maiden of the Crystal" starts out quite mysteriously. The use of the bass guitar and woodwinds creates an extremely airy atmosphere while the chimes in the background help to maintain the mystery inherent within this track. The melody produced in this track is also captivating.
"To the Labyrinth," the first of two arranged tracks by Takayuki Mitsuhara, is unfortunately very weak. It's extremely repetitive in nature, and while the instrumentation is gripping, I find the lack of development to be an extreme put off. Back to Mitsuda, "Sword of a Lost Legend" is definitely an interesting track. The instrumentation used here, in both terms of melody and accompaniment, are put together extremely well. I also think the Celtic feel implemented, in addition to the mysteriousness, help to convey the track name quite well. The promotion CD ends with the "Deep Labyrinth ~ Main Theme," the last arranged track by Mitsuhara. It is a very mysterious piece in nature, and unlike his last attempt, this track is extremely pleasant. The woodwind and piano combination really do wonders for the track and is a nice way to close the album.
While this release was only a promotional release, it was disappointing on the whole. The tracks seemed very underdeveloped, save for a few, and the lack of tracks really prevents me from doing the entire soundtrack justice, since it may be an improvement from the offered selections. While I don't suggest this album for purchase, due to its short track listing, I do suggest this for only the hardcore Mitsuda fans. Despite myself being one, I didn't really find this promotion CD to actually promote any decent music. Sadly, I must say I was disappointed in Mitsuda for once. I'd suggest a game rip instead.
