Ready to listen to the same music twice, with varying sound qualities? Then you're ready for this two disc promotional treat from Falcom!

Here you'll find the Brandish OST for two different ports of the game. The "FM TOWNS" version is the less powerful of the two in terms of synth (for those ignorant of the console, "FM TOWNS" was actually a variant of a home PC built for Japanese consumers in 1989, but quickly phased out after a few years). The synth is very simple, MIDI-based synth, and it reminds us of Falcom's humble origins. And, especially, it reminds us that the Brandish soundtrack was a far cry from Ys or The Legend of Heroes (though, at times, I am reminded of Sorcerian music when I listen to Brandish).

"Brandish Renewal" came alongside a series of "Renewal" projects from Falcom. Yes, they were remaking their own games not long after their original release, and have since had ample opportunity to re-remake, and re-re-remake, most of the games in their early catalog. The Renewal music applies to the PC Engine (PC-98) remake, and the upgrade in audio quality isn't that large.

Many Falcom nuts toss aside Brandish in favor of Ys or Sorcerian. Brandish has had some good musical arrangements, particularly its piano album. This particular paired OST gets on my nerves if I try to listen to it all at once. I recommend listening to each disc separately, rather than attempting to compare them. There isn't a huge difference between the audio quality, after all.

The battle themes sound too frantic in a synthesized form to be enjoyable at all. I tend to enjoy the slow- and moderate-tempo pieces on this OST. Each of the three ending tracks are enjoyable, moreso on the Renewal disc.

I have little else to say about this package. It's nice to have for posterity, but I wouldn't want to listen to the vast majority of these tracks more than once every few years. There are better things from Falcom, and even from the Brandish series, that I'd rather have entertaining my ears.

Reviewed by: Patrick Gann