Talk about a monster. The Breath of Fire Original Soundtrack Special Box covers the series' complete range of music, from the SNES original right up to Dragon Quarter on the PS2. At 11 CDs and 327 tracks, the sheer size of the soundtrack is both daunting and delightful, a work of truly monolithic proportions.

One

To be up front and honest about things, I don't like Breath of Fire I's music. I probably never will. It's not that the compositions are bad, but it's not particularly inspiring MIDI and I just can't listen to it for very long. I've been ruined in recent years by high-quality orchestra on redbook audio, that to return to the days of MIDI is truly difficult.

Nonetheless, the original BoF is worth listening to if you can get past the MIDI. It spans the first two discs of the set and features a handful of tracks that stand out past the media they were created with. One such track is Expedition, a wandering but potent melody that gives the listener the sense of a great journey about to occur. The use of drums in this particular piece give it a volume not felt in most of the other tracks, and a welcome presence in the original game's tracklist. Another exemplary theme from this set is A Powerful Emperor which carries an imperial majesty befitting its title.

Yasuaki Fujita, Yoko Shimomura, Minae Fujii, and Mari Yamaguchi are all responsible for Breath of Fire I's soundtrack. Shimomura in particular should be familiar to contemporary RPG fans for composing the Kingdom Hearts 2 soundtrack. SNK fans may recognize Yasuaki Fujita for his work on Metal Slug 2nd Mission, while Mari Yamaguchi is probably best known for Street Fighter II: The Championship Edition.

Two

Disc 3 grants us the work of Yuko Takehara, composing for Breath of Fire II. The MIDI quality alone is generally improved with this second batch of songs, although the music itself is not quite as compelling as its predecessor's. A general perusal of the soundtrack reveals that Breath of Fire II has one of the weakest scores to its name, a fact that is quite surprising considering the pedigree of the composer. Takehara's comparable work includes Megaman X, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, and the fighting classic, Marvel VS. Capcom.

Overall, the soundtrack is quite well constructed, but singular tacks don't hold up that well. Some notable tracks include Wanderer and White Wings, both of which have a joyously relaxed feel to them. Wanderer is a bit on the heavier side, but is still quite a soothing listen, where White Wings is expressly composed to uplift. One of the best tracks however, has the longest name and comes right at the end of the game: The Closing of the Dragon's Eye at the End of the Tale. It still holds up as one of the most enjoyable closing themes to a game, even nearly twelve years after its original release.

Three

Now, I will admit to being partial to Breath of Fire III, but with disc 5, I finally felt like the box set was proving its worth to me. BoF III has some of the most enjoyable music in a classic-style RPG I've ever come across. Right from the initial track Opening the Door, right through to Pure again, I just love listening to the discs over and over again.

Breath of Fire III's music begins with disc 5 and goes right on until disc 7, covering the game's impressively large roster of tracks. Some pieces, like Falling Green amuse me, because I feel like I've heard them before. Falling Green has always reminded me of the forest outside of Guardia in Chrono Trigger, and while it's not quite the same, it's certainly a pleasant melody either way.

Quiet, atmospheric melodies like Eden add a lot of character to the soundtrack, mixing a more contemporary rhythm and blues beat to the game's more traditional adventuring atmosphere. Thankfully this addition doesn't violate the integrity of the music, but enhances it instead. Similar strains can be found in tracks like Waking Up in the Morning Leads to All the Encounters, Nina's principle theme in the game. This track is a bit more upbeat than Eden, but still demonstrates the rhythm and blues influence to great effect.

One excellent addition to the tracklist is Battle in the Coming Days ~SE Collection~, featuring a number of the game's sound effects mixed in with the regular battle them. I usually object to these sort of tracks as they tend to be a lot of noise that either wholly overrides the music or jars with it discordantly. Here however, there's a perfect balance in volume, and it's a rather nice digest of the game's many combat sounds.

Indulge me for a second while I segue over to the track Pure Again. I've already brought this up once, but I totally enjoy this track. The vocals are excellent, and while it's far more contemporary than it should be, the actual song is one of the few I can separate from the game and enjoy just on its own. It's upbeat tempo and dancing rhythm are a delight to listen to, and I consider it one of the better RPG songs out there.

Akari Kaida and Yoshino Aoki are the principle composers here, either a well-known name when it comes to Capcom products. Both have done work on the Megaman series, and Aoki is a veteran of Breath of Fire compositions. Especially, fans of Megaman: Battle Network are sure to recognize some familiar strains in the compositions.

Four

When it comes to Breath of Fire IV, I'm incredibly torn. There are some tracks I absolutely adore, but a great many that are either little more than background music, or downright annoying. In truth, I'm that way about the game in general, and the music all too accurately reflects similar feelings.

A great deal of it bears an South-Eastern influence, using Indian sitar strings to exact an exotic flair. It's an interesting addition to the music, and much of it is used well. Some pieces such as Breath of Fire IV ~Opening Animation~ are absolutely gorgeous, and just a little too short. God of War is another track that uses similar themes, though with a great deal more intensity. It is a battle theme after all, and a well constructed one, evoking feelings of both majesty and acute tension. It's a very intimidating theme in some ways, and leaves a great impression.

As I mentioned however, some tracks just make you want to scream. Floating Along is one of the tracks that just digs at your ears. It's too chaotic, using all sorts of wrong chords that step all over a person's nerves. Even worse is What the Samba?, which not only bears a strange name, but is wholly out of place amidst the rest of the tracks. It's not even a good samba theme either, bearing little more musical variety than a bit of digitized hooting to a vaguely Caribbean rhythm.

Overall, I'm 50/50 on IV's compositions. Yoshino Aoki does a fair job, but it's definitely not the best selection of work available.

Five

Dragon Quarter was not a well-received game, being so very different from the normal tropes of an RPG, especially one whose legacy consists largely of medieval fantasy and a touch of steampunk. It was sci-fi, featuring a truly different art direction from previous titles, even more bizarre in many ways than the monster designs from part IV. All that aside, its music is fantastic, and I for one am a huge fan of V's aural component.

While I still consider III to have the best overall soundtrack, V is a close second. Tracks such as Origin and Trinity Pit are emotionally rousing, despite their calm, something I have a hard time finding amongst RPG soundtracks. Trinity Pit in particular is a beautiful tune, providing a melancholy, yet relaxing atmosphere that lets one be thoughtful. It's a haunting track in some ways, perhaps something for a quiet day when the mind needs to rest and sort things out. Definitely a great piece that stands alone from the game itself.

Castle-imitation (Breath of Fire V Dragon Quarter) is another track I'm very fond of. It's the main vocal track for the game and Chihiro Onitsuka has an absolutely gorgeous voice. There's a pleasant lilt to her tone that draws on her early influences being Alanis Morissette and Jewel. Although a relative newcomer, her vocal talent showcased in this piece have made me a definite fan. The track itself is emotionally uplifting, a definite plus considering the game's generally dark atmosphere.

Overall, Breath of Fire V's soundtrack is a winner. Hitoshi Sakimoto is the main composer, a name many RPG fans will associate with Final Fantasy Tactics. His other works include Ogre Battle, Radiant Silvergun, Vagrant Story, Stella Deus, and Final Fantasy XII. Pieces sure to perk up an ear or two from fans of the aforementioned titles are Going Out to See the Sky and Mid Sector Borough, either one an excellent example of Sakimoto's signature style.

And the Verdict Is...

In total, the box set is a sure treasure for any video game music lover, as well as Breath of Fire fans everywhere. In particular, BoF III and V are my personal favorites, sporting some of the best RPG music available. A massive set, it's sure to daunt more than a handful of potential buyers, but trust me, it's worth every penny.

Reviewed by: Mark P. Tjan

Everyone has to have a beginning. Breath of Fire was first introduced at a point in time when many gamers were getting their first taste of RPGs. I am one of those gamers. The original Breath of Fire was my first RPG and started my love of both the series and the genre. And as it grew, so did I. Naturally, I have a little bit of a love affair with the music, something of which this Special Box has obscene amounts. Eleven discs of it, to be precise.

Wrap your head around that a moment. Eleven discs. The sheer weight of this thing would cost you twenty bucks in shipping and handling alone. What possessed Capcom to release this monstrosity, limited to an issuing of only 2000 copies, is beyond my understanding. But release it they did, and with a twist. The main draw of the album isn't just that it covers the five games within the franchise, but that it covers them so completely. Not ones to sit on their laurels, Capcom decided against simply re-issuing old soundtracks and instead recorded every track from all five games...mostly. There are a few curious exclusions, but for all intents and purposes this mega-album contains every last piece of music ever put to a Breath of Fire game. This doubles, triples, maybe even quadruples the amount of music that was previously available. And, for the first time, the original Breath of Fire gets an OST release.

There are a few issues regarding the OST for the first game, however. Primarily, my problem lies with how the music was arranged on the CDs. Chronological order, apparently, wasn't considered when they put it together. The game's opening songs, which were originally merged into one large song in-game, have been split up and placed almost haphazardly over the course of two CDs. Other songs also show up in a strange order. The music itself is crystal clear and just as enjoyable as it was on the SNES, but the placement is muddled. Additionally, the final track "Great Achievement" is incomplete and is missing about half of the full song. I'm guessing they pulled the "bad ending" version from the game instead of the "good ending" version, as the song in the less favorable finale ends at exactly the same point that this track does.

Apart from those gripes, the soundtrack has been faithfully reproduced here. It's not the most original thing ever, but the songs have spirit and are fun to listen to. And I still think the original overworld theme, "Starting the Journey," is a classic SNES song. There's a lot of filler material, however. Included is not only the BGM, but also all the little jingle songs. To be frank, a portion of the BGM is also reasonably boring, but it's worth a trip down memory lane if nothing else.

Moving on, the original OST release for Breath of Fire II was, to put it simply, a travesty. Only about a half to three-fourths of the music used in the game was put to CD. Thankfully, the Special Box corrects that issue, putting the full soundtrack to disc. Or at least what I believe to be the full soundtrack. I never liked BoF2, so I don't have as much experience with the music. For what it is, the two discs devoted to BoF2 appear for all intents to be a perfect restoration of the original music. I have no issues with it...apart from being what it is.

This is to say, the music for Breath of Fire 2 is nothing at all similar to the original BoF. The songs sound like they were considered for but never managed to make it into a Mega Man X game. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, just one of personal taste. Judging it based solely on composition and sound, it's perfectly fine. "I'll Do It" is amazing and "Breath of Fire" is a wonderful re-envisioning of the first overworld theme from the first game. It's just that they never fit in my mind as music for a BoF game. Still, music is music, and this second pair of CDs is a treat to listen to.

Unfortunately, Breath of Fire 3 did not receive the primo treatment that the first or second games were presented. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what happened here. What I believe happened is that Capcom decided to record music from the PSP version of the game instead of the PSX version. The result is, sadly, that the reverb on every song was jacked up beyond reason. Tracks that were once crisp are left muddled and some songs even lose synthesized instruments that were present in the PSX version. It's not a total butchering, (except for "Angels and Dragons" which was mutilated) but it is a big disappointment. The bright side is that the entire soundtrack is here, instead of the pathetic one-third that was present on the originally released OST. But jeez, with quality this poor, it almost doesn't make it worth the effort. Beyond that, the only other noticeable issue is that there is no version of the boss theme "Everyday Battle" present that contains no sound effects. One of the best songs from the game and the only form available on the Special Box is the one tainted by strangely-placed battle cries.

As far as the compositions themselves go, there are opinions on both sides. Some people hate the jazzy undertones most of the soundtrack contains. Personally, I love it. I'd dare say BoF3 contains my favorite music from the entire series. "Self-Determination" is one of my all-time favorite final boss themes and it's a joy to see it on CD. And it's hard not to bop along to songs like "Peach Engine." I think the main complaint you could level against the music is that it's not all that mature. Whereas BoF1 featured epic, grandiose compositions and BoF2 just plain rocked out, BoF3 is considerably more cutesy. The music is light, usually perky, and overall more childish than the previous or latter games. I would like to note that I think this makes the songs that do break from the mold, such as "Regret Comes From Relying on Others" and "DONDEN," all the more powerful.

Breath of Fire 4 is a very, very strange bird, however. There are no quality issues, the soundtrack is complete just as the original release was, and I can't fault the songs as being poor. But it is a departure like none other. Compared to the rest of the series, this music is strange. Heavily influenced by Asian and Middle-Eastern music, Breath of Fire 4 is more likely to throw a sitar at you than a guitar. Odd chanting is also a staple used here, along with about a hundred other things that you just really never, ever see in RPG music. Just listen to "A Warring God" or "A Raging Emperor's Banquet" to see what I mean.

I'm a little iffy on it, myself. While it's good music, it's so unusual that it took me off-guard when I first listened. And, upon repeated listening, I'm still left scratching my head. A lot of people, including our own Patrick Gann, consider this an improvement over Breath of Fire 3. I'm just glad it was restricted to one game. I don't think I could take a second soundtrack of this, composition strength be damned. It should be noted that both BoF3 and 4 share a composer. Maybe Aoki was the less jazzy one?

Breath of Fire 5 was a much more enjoyable experience for me, both as a game and as far as the music went. In a manner, the music of BoF5 is a return to the series roots, basing itself on an epic orchestral style somewhat reminiscent of the original BoF. There is, however, a twist to it. Much of the music here is heavily subdued and oppressive, based on the game's new setting of a world underground. As such, many of the themes tend to serve as much as atmosphere as anything else. It is therefore difficult to really enjoy without the proper reference point in the game. "The Center Ministry Area," for example, is a strong song that holds its own. But when heard in combination with navigating the area in question, a misty, almost castle-like zone with some cues from cathedral architecture, the song takes on a whole new appeal.

Some songs do stand on their own without need for playing the game. "Out of Mind" is amazing and is a true testament showing what it is that Hitoshi Sakimoto is really capable of accomplishing. Equally so is "Trinity Pit," a perfectly beautiful melody that, although it becomes a tear-jerker when combined with the placement in the game, is still some of the best BoF music produced. So it's not as if the album is a disappointment on its own. It just gains that much more power with reference playing.

So, what to say in closing...Lord, collections like this come out so amazingly rarely that it's hard not to make an event of it. Ignoring that the total cost spent on this when it was released could probably buy you a PS2 these days, this collection is more than worth having for the collector or even the general public. The downer is that you cannot buy this album. When Capcom said 2000 copies, they meant it, and as such this beast is no longer in print in any form that I can find. Buying this creature on eBay is going to be a major pain, too, as I'd imagine the price for this has doubled by now, and God knows what other hoops you'd have to jump through. If you can find it and if you can justify to yourself the purchase of it, I do not believe you will be disappointed. Despite the mistakes that were made, this special box is worth every dime spent. As a bonus, the box includes a 28-page booklet with commentary from various people that dealt with the series. It would have been nice if they had offered more bonus items, but having eleven discs of music is probably asking enough. Overall: recommended.

Reviewed by: Derek Strange