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Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Sound Selection :: Review by Don
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Album Title: | Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Sound Selection |
| Record Label: | Square Enix | |
| Catalog No.: | Promotional | |
| Release Date: | January 29, 2009 | |
| Purchase: | Buy at ebay |
Overview
The Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Sound Selection is a promotional album featuring four themes from the Crystal Chronicles series. It was released as a pre-order bonus for the Japanese release of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time.
Body
The first theme, "Endless Sky," is featured on the original Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles soundtrack. It features a very medieval sound, full of exotic instrumentation that made the original soundtrack so popular, something lacking in the later releases. It's a fantastic theme for the promotional album and one of my favorite Tanioka themes.
The second theme is the "RoF Medley" featured on the original soundtrack for Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates. I wasn't a fan of the original soundtrack and this medley just seems to combine many of the themes that I did not enjoy. It's energetic, but it seems to try to fit too much in. To its credit though, it's better than some of the arranged medleys for games that have been released.
The next theme is the main theme to the WiiWare game, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King. It's a very peaceful theme and one of Tanioka's better Crystal Chronicles compositions, in terms of those after the first soundtrack. It features some beautiful woodwind and string work while boasting a regal yet bouncy melody.
The last theme is the main theme for Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time. This one seems to recollect the ethnic feel of the original soundtrack. It's quite bouncy and full of woodwind passages. The percussion is also a nice touch. This isn't bad, considering Tanioka's track record with the Crystal Chronicles series, though the rest of the soundtrack didn't exactly maintain this sound.
Summary
In the end, this is a pretty good promotional album. Sure, I'm not a big fan of the Ring of Fates medley, but the other three themes are quite nice. It's still a short album and I can't justify buying it in an auction, the only place you'll be likely to find it now. I'd just go for the original soundtracks, if you can find them.
