This special box is ideal for the Falcom fan who wonders "where can I find an arrangement of ____ that's not found anywhere else?". This, my friends, is the place. Starting off with vocals from obscure Falcom games like Lord Monarch and Dinosaur, moving on to a musically complex Legend of Heroes SAV, and ending with a breathtaking Wanderers From Ys Symphony. Friends, it doesn't get better than this.

Slowly but surely, I've made a personal quest in hunting down every single Special Box Falcom has to offer. This was the third one I found...so far, this one's definitely the best. While '89 did have some great diversity, it couldn't compare to this (and of course, '96 was just packed with drama so that doesn't even come close to being this good). The best thing, in my opinion, is that this Special Box has absolutely NO affiliation with the first two Ys games or any Sorcerian (these two being two more popular games to find music from on any other Falcom CD).

The vocal disc has some great stuff. I mean, who else but Falcom could make vocals out of a "Map Edit" screen music? The strangest track on here has got to be track 4. It has weird synths, dripping water, and then a girl breathing heavily...it's really abnormal, not natural (like sunlight in my room...heehee). However, I can't help but think "man, this is good!" The song is sung in French, and it's a good listen when you're in the right mood for it. Outside of this, "White Magic X'mas" is an AWESOME track (note: Many sites list the song as "White Magic Christmas", but everywhere on the packaging of this box it says X'mas...maybe the webmasters don't want to offend Christians or something, but we're listing this song the correct way!). Also, track 3 takes the "Field" from Dragon Slayer music and straightens out the beat to make it a ballad...crazy fun stuff! The disc is short, short enough to fit on one of the other discs (about 20 minutes)...this sort of thing bothers me about Falcom, they COULD conserve space but they don't.

Disc 2 is the best disc in the collection. Each track is different from the other...and I bet you can't find a better version of the LoH Opening track. There was something about this version that just made it stand out...nothing was annoying, it was just the best thing in the world! The standard piano chord progression and percussion sound very similar to "We Form in Crystals" from Star Ocean: The Second Story (this is heard in the last 15 seconds of the sample). Note the sample length of this track ;). Another great track is "The Voice of God", where you get to hear the voice of God mixed in. It's low and scary, but it's reassuring. The only part I can make out are the last few words of his speech, "But the greatest of these...is love" (this is heard in the sample I made). So anyway, yeah, I feel musically inspired after listening to this fine fine disc, any fan of REAL music will like it.

A good friend of mine was at my house one day when I was listening to disc 3. He knows a lot about orchestras, and he was convinced that this was real, and I told him that this is the JDK Electric Orchestra, with a lot of synth. Well, even though this fact bothered him, he still agreed that this is some of the best symphonic music out there. And I agree, I think Ys III's music is better suited for Symphony than other arrangements (though other arrangements of Wanderers From Ys music are good too). I had a very hard time deciding which track not to sample, because they're all so good. I ended up not sampling Tower of Fate, because it seemed to have the least substance. And even this track is better than some of the tracks from LoH IV Electric Orchestra, so, this is quite the disc right here kids.

The complete packaging features a cardboard box, from which you can pull out a sticker that has the famous Lilia picture on it, and then the double-size case which has the same front cover as the box. So the packaging isn't too special, but that doesn't matter. What's important here is the great music. I personally received only the case and paid a good chunk of change for the box, but I feel it's still worth it. I suggest you find this music in any way you can, because it's just awesome.

Reviewed by: Patrick Gann