Monday 13 February 2012

Lost in the Music: Chrono Symphonic




You ever have that soundtrack that sticks to you? One that to you defines how game soundtracks should be. That it is just as important as the story. The soundtrack is what set's the mood in a game and this is no more evident then in the 1995 epic Chrono Trigger.

I can go into great detail about the games soundtrack, but my mission here is to get you familiar with a different album, the Chrono Symphonic OCRemiX Album which you can download here. To show how great this album is, I will do my Top 5 personal favourites.

5: Inciting Incident . Arranged By Sephfire

If there was ever to be a Chrono Trigger movie, Inciting incident would be the ideal intro. According to Sephfire, that was the intention when he arranged this piece. The song does well to incorporate both the Chrono Trigger track and Presentiment track. The track has a feeling of grandness and epic fit for a fantasy movie of this stature. This is a great way to start off the album.


4: Confronting the Mystic. Arranged by Sephfire

This song gets straight to the point. There is no fluff and no build up, which is why it's high on the list. It is an incredible piece of work as it gives the sense of urgency and dread. A feeling where you think there is no turning back and you might not return. As good as this track is however, it is also painfully short, clocking in at just over 2 minutes. It gets the job done with Magus' theme, but could have been so much more.


3: The New Beginning Arranged by Sleepy Em
If Inciting Incident is for the opening credits then The New Beginning is the first scene. A song that fills the listener with hope and wonderment. This is a new world we must explore. Something amazing. However, that spot is taken by Blue Skies over Guardia. It seems this song has no place in the game.

Well it does. There is a reason why it is called, the New Beginning. It is a theme to exemplify the fact that there is now hope for the future. That the future can be changed. That it is indeed a new beginning for the future. Great piece and Sleepy Em's usage of several themes from Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross and even Radical Dreamers.

This is a theme of winners. This is a theme specifically for the players. We've won. We overcame adversity and saw it through to the end. Sleepy Em did a fantastic job on this piece.


2: Blue Skies Over Guardia Arranged by Darkesword.
If you wanted a theme that would not be out of place in a cartoon about the thrill of adventure. DarkeSword's remix of Guardia Millenial Fair is a tune filled with looking into the unknown, which is perfect because that is how every great adventurer starts. It is a great tune to have on your iPod to listen when you are on your own personal adventure, be it hiking in the mountains, kayaking down a river, or jetting off to see your friends at a Anime Con, Blue Skies Over Guardia is a theme of adventure and one should embrace that feeling and not let go.



1: To Far Away Times/The Place We Knew Written by Claadu Shou, performed by Reuban Kee and pixietrix.

Someone put a love song in my Chrono Trigger Remix, this is blasphemous. I'll get my pitchforks and torches once I can wipe these damn tears from my eyes. All joking aside, this track is absolutely gorgeous with Mr Kee's piano work and Mrs Aversa's vocals. Taking a song such as To Far Away Times and adding lyrics to it is an incredible risk. But the group did it and it this is what set's it above the rest.

In this song there is a sense of finality. The end of an adventure and within that adventure there is an unbreakable bond that can stretch to the end of time. And with their friends back at their respective time periods leaving Crono and Marle together to live out the rest of their lives, not as friends but as something deeper. What holds the future, nobody knows, all that is important is the moment they have right now. Such a perfect end to a great album.

There you have it, my top 5 samples from Chrono Symphonic. Hopefully you found this useful in deciding whether you should get the soundtrack or not. There are other excellent tracks on the album so I am sure you can find your own top five.

This has been Daimo Mac and I am Lost in the Music






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