![]() ![]() “Burning Fighting Spirit” follows with wailing synthesizers and organs, reminding me of Valkyrie Profile. Flanged electric guitars, pads, and a realistic drum set provide a convincing progressive rock experience. “Furnace of War” finally takes us into the Sakuraba that all of us know, and many of us love. It actually reminds me of something that I’d write, which is perhaps why I have such an affinity to it. My favorite track on the album comes next, titled “1000 Years of Slumber of the Blastia.” It features a new age feel with choir pads, belltones, and harpsichord (the best instrument ever), and is soothing and melancholy at the same time. It’s not bad, it’s just a little too familiar. The next track, “Mach of the Brave Vesperia,” is one of those tracks that you swear you’ve heard before, as it sounds like bits and pieces of Sakuaba’s other works. The opener, “Youthful Days,” is only a minute long, and is uncharacteristically Sakuraba with a mellow harp and flute melody that is quite beautiful. Perhaps he’s settling down as he gets older? Surprisingly a lot of the music here is more mellow than one would expect from Sakuraba, although I’ll admit that many of his recent scores have taken this more dynamic approach. The first twelve tracks are from Tales of Vesperia, and while this may sound like a lot, the original soundtrack is actually 4-discs long. ![]() Hit the jump to find out if this CD is worth the extra ten dollars you’ll be dishing out for the Special Edition. In any event, it’s cool to see Namco Bandai Games taking notice of the music in the series. I think some of the music here suffers from the same problem with a lack of new ideas, but there are a handful of fresh tracks, and even some that I must have missed from their respective 2 to 4-disc original soundtracks. Motoi Sakuraba and Shinji Tamura are responsible for the music here, and if you recall, I wasn’t overly thrilled with Sakuraba’s work on Valkyrie Profile. Titled Tales 10th Anniversary Soundtrack Volume 1, if features selections from across the Tales series, including Tales of Vesperia, Phantasia, Destiny, Symphonia and Abyss. Tales of Vesperia was just released on the Xbox 360, and those who picked up the “Special Edition” got their hands on quite a snazzy package including a sleek metal casing, an art section in the instruction manual, and a commemorative audio disc that celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Tales series. ![]()
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