The preorder/LE bonus for the Japanese release of Atelier Rorona was this digipak-sized artbook/CD combo. On it, we find nine tracks from Ken Nakagawa. B-Sides, arrangements, previously unreleased music: all quite good. And it comes from a wide range of games.

"Die Musikkiste des atelier" may be the subtitle for the album, but it isn't just music from the Atelier series. You'll notice that track two is an arrangement from the Ar tonelico series (and is the only piece not originally written by Nakagawa on the album: this is an Akira Tsuchiya track). And while the opening track may be a slightly changed version of the Atelier Rorona opening vocal track, most of the album doesn't come from Atelier Rorona.

Indeed, four tracks on here (my favorite of the lot) are the "Private Prelude" tracks. I have no idea where these songs came from; they are definitely unused pieces, but as to which games they are "unused" from, I cannot say. All I can say is that they are some fine pieces from Nakagawa's personal repertoire.

This bonus CD was a lovely bonus from Gust, even better than the "Luce ~ Another Fantasm" CD that showcased Daisuke Achiwa's music a few years ago. The more opportunities we fans have to learn more about the Gust Sound Team, the better off we all are.

Reviewed by: Patrick Gann