Dragon Quest IV Symphonic Suite (NHK Symphony)

Dragon Quest IV Symphonic Suite is in many ways the pinnacle of the series, from its captivating character themes to its rousing classical highlights to its almost perfect pacing. The only question then becomes which of its numerous orchestral versions to acquire. This earliest recording by the NHK Symphony Orchestra doesn't boast as robust a sound as the newer London Philharmonic symphonic suite (which is reviewed separately with a complete description of the score itself). Nevertheless the NHK version has some magical moments of its own that make it a very respectable take on a fantastic score.

As in Dragon Quest III, the performances by the NHK Symphony on strings and woodwinds are excellent, enough so that its rendition of the sorrowful "Elegy ~ Mysterious Shrine" sounds at times even more beautiful than the others. Thanks to distinctive lead instrumentation and a delicate performance, "Balloon's Flight" is also at its best as the arrangement cycles sublimely through the different woodwinds of the orchestra. There's something about the NHK recording in these quieter pieces that makes it sound like the orchestra is right in front of the listener, the strings less distant than in their London Philharmonic counterparts (even though overall the latter boasts the more pristine sound quality of the two).

Also as in Dragon Quest III, the brass in the NHK version is not at the level of the others, though it's not as significant a problem in the more evenly balanced score to Dragon Quest IV. "Battle for the Glory" suffers the most, as the weaker brass combined with a brisker tempo diminish the threatening quality of the piece somewhat. (The faster tempo is pervasive to most of the soundtrack, but only those making direct comparison to the other symphonic versions are likely to notice.) Both "In a Town" and "Homeland ~ Wagon Wheel's March" have a quaint sound in the NHK's performance of their early moments, and while the brass in their sweeping second halves lacks the presence of the London Philharmonic, the climactic strings of the NHK Symphony give those versions their own very special quality.

It's hard to discuss Dragon Quest IV without mentioning "Comrades". The classic character medley is for many the track that epitomizes the score, and it's also the one that differs most among symphonic suite renditions. The middle portion of this NHK version gives stronger focus to the lead instrumentation but is a tad rough around the edges, while the gypsy segment near the end is uptempo almost to the point of resembling modern dance music. It's an interesting rendition and the themes are delightful as always, but I prefer the more elegant performance and exotic quality of the other symphonic versions of the medley.

Overall I would recommend the London Philharmonic version over the NHK Symphony recording of Dragon Quest IV Symphonic Suite, but the advantage isn't one-sided and the differences are often negligible. Those who find themselves in possession of the NHK suite are far more likely to spend their time marveling at Sugiyama's tremendous work than wondering about the alternatives that are out there.

I'll tell ya right now, I'm definitely biased. Not only was the NES Dragon Warrior IV the second RPG I'd ever played (and still my favorite RPG of all time), but this symphonic suite was also my first video game music soundtrack. Having said that, I can still honestly say that if you (a) like the Dragon Quest games, and/or (b) like your video game music done in the full-orchestra, Western-classical style, then DQIV is a must-have. It's the strongest work in the series.

To give you an idea of how good it is, rent "Godzilla vs. Biollante", the only Godzilla movie scored by Koichi Sugiyama. The music that accompanies Godzilla on his rampages is partly recycled from Sugiyama's own work for DQIV, namely Necrosaro's final stage theme. (The GvB score itself is nowhere near as good as DQIV's, though - guess Toho should have stuck with Akira Ifukube.) Also, if you're lucky enough to get a choice between owning this one or Dragon Quest IV in Brass, you should know that In Brass uses almost exactly the same arrangements as this one does. Which makes it a ripoff, because one would expect new arrangements better suited to an all-wind instrument ensemble. The devices and harmonies that were written for a full orchestra, including heavy use of percussion and strings, come off sounding stunted and strained in DQIV in Brass.

Unlike Nobuo Uematsu's more experimental and eclectic work for the Final Fantasy series, DQ soundtracks are very easy to compare against each other because they all follow the same formula. First up is the trademark DQ trumpet "Overture". About the same for all six games in the series. It's nice the first hundred times, but if you collect DQ CD's like I do, then chances are you have a habit of skipping this track by now. The DQ 1 and 2 fanfares have a catchier introduction than the this one, but that's about the only major difference.

The castle music is typically a somber Baroque piece for strings. DQIV's "Menuet" is my favorite of the lot - heavy, rich, and complex. It's got more of the power one would expect from a Durante composition, as opposed to the lighter Vivaldi-esque sound of DQ2. Village music is also a staple in the series. In addition to the typical walking-and-talking music, "In a Town" has a rousing Tournament theme and a charming Casino piece that is pure Americana, evoking an old frontier saloon.

One of the things that makes DQIV stand apart from the others in the series is its multitude of characters and preliminary subplots. Thus the DQIV score has seven overworld exploring themes and two overworld battle themes, as opposed to the standard two and one of the others. In "Comrades" a vivid contrast in tempo, instrumentation and style (from English pastoral to Spanish flamenco) brings five of these themes together in a delightful arrangement. The other overworld theme is from the main chapter of the story. This piece carries both the lonely, plaintive young hero's theme of "Homeland" and the militaristic "Wagon Wheel's March", which is a scary little masterpiece in itself. I say "scary" because it'll get you so worked up you'll want to run off and enlist in the army!

"Frightening Dungeons - Cursed Towers" brings off the sinister, almost modernist tones of the original game's dungeon music. "Elegy" is is by far the best death music of the DQ series - long, complex and filled with pathos. "Shrine" is a rich and cathartic piece from the House of Healing typical to the series. Dragon Quest IV's sailing/flying theme, "Balloon's Flight", is a radical departure from the perfect simplicity of Ramia's theme from DQIII. It's the one truly modernistic, sometimes even atonal piece on the CD. When you play the game, it's hard to even know at which point the line loops back to the beginning, because of the sometimes disturbing jumps and clangs and pauses along the way. This curious piece then segues nicely into the evocative harmonies of "Sea Breeze", which is given an arrangement here that is, while lush, a little too slow for my taste.

"The Unknown Castle" doesn't have an equivalent in the other DQ scores, and that's probably a good thing. It's a stately, royal-sounding piece that really needs fuller orchestration to avoid sounding flimsy and vain, as it does here. The CD then returns to following the conventions of the series with it battle theme. "Battle for the Glory" begins with the frenetic, involving complexity of the overworld battle music and then comes face-to-face with the looming, pounding themes of Esturk and Necrosaro. Esturk's music especially recaptures the frightful, monumental power of Malroth's theme in DQII. Finally comes "The End", a romantic finale like something out of John Williams. Weaker than its equivalent in DQVI, which emulates and almost tries to rival Stravinsky, but grander than the ending pieces of DQI, II, or III.

In short, while some of these arrangements lose sight of what made the original game music so effective, the others more than compensate with their imaginative use of the full orchestra. Overall, this is the best of the Dragon Quest soundtrack CDs because of its variety and its sweeping, epic scope.