Tracklist:
01 - Sunsoft (Sunsoft Logo)
02 - The New Hero's Anthem (Prologue)
03 - Into the Distant Sky (Title)
04 - Soaring (Opening)
05 - Dirge of Sorrow (Event: Sadness)
06 - Goth Kingdom Song -Noble Spirit of the Lion King- (Town BGM: Goth)
07 - Reflect Upon the Bitter Experience (Event: Hard Battle)
08 - Quickening of the Evil God (Event: Boss)
09 - The Goth Knights' Song -Raise Your Sword- (Event: The Goth Knights)
10 - Seeking a Meeting (Field: Prayer 1)
11 - Gathering Comrades (Event: Interim)
12 - Hero's Home Town (Town BGM: Tiberis)
13 - Shopping Skill (Shopping BGM)
14 - Children of Holiness (Event: Tiberis Church)
15 - Stir with Hostility (Field: Enemy 1)
16 - Hope of the Princess (Event: Princess Yuna)
17 - Shadow of Evil (Event: Crisis)
18 - Magical Maiden of Glacier (Event: Kuresha)
19 - The Silent Earth (Town BGM: Coatroad, Etc.)
20 - Swaying in the Sea Breeze (Town BGM: Mariuna, Etc.)
21 - Journey (Moving By Ship)
22 - Twilight Capital (Town BGM: Ventura, Etc.)
23 - Calming Cahin (Town BGM: Akos, Etc.)
24 - Wandering in the Abyss (Field: Dungeon)
25 - Guardian Spirit (Guardian Spirit Image BGM)
26 - Treasure Hunting (Event: Dash)
27 - New Sunlight (Town BGM: Bananteji, Etc.)
28 - Blazing Assault (Field: Enemy 2)
29 - The Hero's Investigation (Event: Albert)
30 - The Hero and His Companions (Field: Prayer 2)
31 - Good Night Sophia (Inn BGM)
32 - Land of the Ice Tree (Field: Prayer 3)
33 - Overflow with Strength (Level Up)
34 - Beautiful Capital (Town BGM: Runotsa)
35 - Warrior's Road (Field: Enemy 3)
36 - Requiem -Warrior's Gravestone- (Game Over)
37 - The Mad Dog Lord of Hell (Field: Big Enemy)
38 - Transcend Sadness... A New Hope (Ending)
39 - Overflowing Emotion (Epilogue)
40 - Be Happy (End Title)
Total Time:
71'23"
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The second of three Albert Odyssey soundtracks (all written by Naoki Kodaka), this one definitely holds its place as the middle child. While it is not quite as impressive as Albert Odyssey Gaiden ~The Legend of Eldean~, it out-performs its predecessor by leaps and bounds. First, on a practical level, this soundtrack is a solid 20 minutes longer than the first soundtrack, yet it is only 4 tracks more: this means the songs are, on average, longer.
Yet, if this were the only improvement from the original, that would not be very impressive. Another point at which Albert Odyssey 2 excels is in the quality of the synths. They sound one step closer to realistic, while yet retaining the 16-bit VGM feel that we fans of nostalgic old-school VGM cherish so much.
Also, Kodaka's compositions for this soundtrack, while having less stylistic variation than the previous soundtrack, do manage to hit more of the expected "themes" you'd want from a VGM soundtrack: battle themes are much better, and there are more town themes than you can shake a stick at! Some of them are bland, but even the blandest song is better than not having the theme there in the first place. Agreed?
One complaint I have is that many songs on this soundtrack, including a number of important themes, are the same songs as from the first Albert Odyssey, now with some slight improvements. If this were the case with just one or two song, that'd be okay, but I heard familiar melodies on this album about six or seven times...which means they came from the previous game...which is a little disappointing...but I guess we can let that go...and I guess I can stop rambling now...
The samples should help you to get a more complete picture of what Sunsoft's second Albert Odyssey was all about musically. Kodaka's second attempt was better than the first, but it's still nothing compared to Legend of Eldean. And hence I give my final word of advice: don't worry about finding this soundtrack, just try to get the two disc Albert Odyssey Gaiden soundtrack. It is in every way better than this album, though this album isn't bad in itself (it's just too darn hard to find!).
Reviewed by: Patrick Gann
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