Before I start speaking about the CD, let me make this clear: I'm a Shining Force 3 nut. I love the music, I love the graphics, I love the character designs, I love the story, and my current "quest in life" is to collect every item that says Shining Force 3 on it. The Shining Force 3 OST was the first item I "collected", you can say. To put it in a wierd way, the CD is both incredible, and a major letdown.
The reason why I loved the CD, was because it contained arranged versions of the music I loved. The reason why I found it to be a major letdown, is because some of the coolest themes in the game were left out, and a couple of arrangements stunk. I can basically summarize what I think of all the tracks: the Shining Force Medley, and the three scenario openings are absolute masterpieces, A Light To Lead The Way, Tides of History, and Force On The Move are excellent, Force: To Arms, Traveler's Respite, and The Lever To Move The World are not bad, but tracks 4 and 5 are just plain noise, to put it bluntly.
This is going to sound wierd, but I don't really recommend this soundtrack, unless you are a big Sakuraba/Shining Force 3 fan, or you just happen to like the music, because the arrangements may sound odd to those that haven't played the game. I'm not trying to say that I don't like the CD, on the contrary, I do, but I guess I'm trying to say that there is better stuff out there, and Shining Force 3 fans will be better off with the game's soundtest, because a lot of great themes are just not present. |
