Atlus USA loves to spoil their customers. And, luckily for us game-audiophiles, it is common that part of the spoiling involves a soundtrack release. This CD is one of those lovely perks for people who picked up the first print of The Dark Spire for DS.

Now, the album is a combination of tracks from two different Japanese releases. In Japan, The Dark Spire was called "Genmu no Tou to Tsurugi no Okite." The Japanese developer/publisher, Success, released a full two disc OST, as well as their own promotional CD. Their promo CD included some unique arranged tracks (two piano, one vocal, one guitar/band), as well as two unreleased tracks. With the exception of the unreleased tracks, Atlus USA's disc picks up all the unique tracks from that promotional album.

From there, they also picked as many tracks from the two disc OST (both the DS "arranged" synth and the classic, 8-bit "original" synth) as they could fit onto one disc. And, to top it all off, they added an original track. "Special Arrangement" cannot be found on any Japanese CD. They even picked up the bonus track from disc one of the OST (now just listed as "Special Arrangement").

If you're not willing to commit to spending a full $40 just trying to import a two disc CD, you're definitely better off getting the game and this single-disc treat from Atlus USA for around the same retail price. And I highly, highly recommend this music. Kenichi Arakawa's style is unique, but the intentionally retro sound (similar to Etrian Odyssey and 7th Dragon from Yuzo Koshiro) will really make people's ears perk up.

Reviewed by: Patrick Gann