The first melody is presented initially as a dramatically rising and falling flute melody on “Mystic Ark”, returning periodically in colourful disguises throughout the soundtrack. Two main themes run through the Mystic Ark soundtrack. With the game’s wildly varying locations and bland characters, it’s no surprise Mori focuses on other aspects of the narrative to develop them through musical themes, leading to a unique solution. Take the soundtrack’s thematic components. This is easily Mori’s most ambitious score – a fact that’s reflected on several levels. Ultimately, 51 tracks found their way into the game and it’s remarkable how consistent they are in their excellence. Clearly, Mori relished the opportunity, writing over 100 compositions for the score between the winter of 1994 and spring of 1995 (while also working on the game’s sound effects). Mystic Ark finally gave him the opportunity to work on the broad emotional canvas of an RPG, and its manifold settings and moods. Composer Akihiko Mori had established himself as one of the 16-bit era’s most gifted orchestral composers with Shien’s Revenge and Wonder Project J. In a way, the outstanding level of artistry on display here is no surprise. No, what makes this score so remarkable is its sheer quality, the way it executes genre conventions to absolute perfection – so much so that this might rank as one of the best RPG soundtracks ever composed. No, it’s not as joyfully bizarre as the game’s setting – in fact, its orchestra/rock mix is fairly typical for a JRPG of its era, far more so than say its predecessor The 7 th Saga’s idiosyncratic, stylistically more coherent take on the genre. Well, and then there’s the Mystic Ark soundtrack. Pick your favourite: a desert whose only inhabitants are pirate cats and a witch named Matoya worlds where colour and sound disappear depending on your location or where all adults have disappeared – or maybe cities made of fruit and vegetables? The one thing that set the game apart from the pack was the inspired weirdness of the various worlds its heroes traverse. Mystic Ark’s gameplay turned out to be solid, but not particularly inspired either, settling for second-tier status in the SNES’ busy RPG library. Was this one of the great untranslated SNES gems like Star Ocean and Tales of Phantasia that pushed the hardware and its beloved pixel art to its limits?Īs a ROM translation released years later showed, not so much. A representative of a particularly popular genre amongst retro game fans – the 16-bit RPG – Mystic Ark’s status was elevated further by the dual facts that it was released towards the end of the SNES’ lifespan and only in Japan. Scarcity and nostalgia can have a powerful effect when working hand in hand – just take Mystic Ark. Mystic Ark Soundtrack, Akihiko Mori, 1995
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