When Falcom ran their very first run of the "Falcom Millenium Series", one of the many albums they chose to reprint was Falcom Special Box '89. But, to confuse its fanbase even further, they took the 6 8cm set and put it on two regular sized CDs. This is the second of those two CDs. It contains discs 2, 5, and 6 from the original print.

If you were to ask me, "what makes this disc so special?" I would reply, "the Symphony section." This section is truly beautiful: all three tracks are worthwhile. However, the first track is 8 minutes, whereas the others are only 3 minutes long each. These opening three tracks are what really make this disc worthwhile.

The next section, the "disco" section, is different from the original print in that rather than exist in one single 20 minute track, it has been split into 14 separate tracks running smoothly together. This allows for a more convenient mode of listening, and I did appreciate this. Within this section we also find songs from very obscure Falcom titles including Romancia and Temple of the Sun. The same beat runs behind all of these songs, and the melody changes to fit each song. The section is interesting, but nothing to get too excited about.

Finally, we reach Surround Theater Ys. This album is of interest only because there are very few Ys drama tracks in existence, and for drama buffs, this section is definitely worthwhile. For everyone else...well, it still has good music! The last track, for example, is pure music without any narration, and it's a great arrangement of First Step Towards Wars. However, strangely enough, this disc cut the two minute track "Feena (Reprise)" which was on the original print. I have no idea why it got cut, as it would fit on the disc, but it did. Ah well.

Between the two discs, I'd recommend part 1 of Special Box '89 to you first; if you're trying to complete your collection, then go ahead and get this disc as well. You can usually find either of these two discs for under $20.

Reviewed by: Patrick Gann