Soundtrack Name: Dracula X: Nocturne in the Moonlight OST
U.S. Game Name: Dracula X: Nocturne in the Moonlight / Castlevania: Symphony
of the Night
Musical Genre: Assorted
Original Game System: Sony Playstation, Sega Saturn (came later)
Publisher: King
Copyright Holder: Konami
Number of CD's: 1
Number of Tracks: 1
CD Length: 68 min 31 sec
Composers and Performers:
Michiru Yamane
Review:
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night was actually the first in the Demon
Castle Dracula series that I played. A friend of mine had the fortune of
owning a Japanese PSX and introduced me to his imported game. Of course, I
was too poor to buy a Playstation at the time so I occupied my time by
playing the earlier NES and SNES incarnations. One thing that stood out in
the series was the music.
The Nocturne in the Moonlight OST contains all the music from the game, plus
an extra track that didn't make it to the North American version.
Unfortunately, this is one of those soundtracks that you either love or
hate. There is no middle ground. To begin with, the CD contains a lot of
different music styles. Tracks like "The Tragic Prince" utilize an electric
guitar and are very energetic. However, tracks like "Woodcarving Parteeta"
and "Dance of Pales" lean towards the classical genre. Furthermore, there
are tracks like "Lost Painting" that was a definite eastern flavor. Some
people may be immediately turned off by the fact that the soundtrack doesn't
stick to one style. Others may not like the slow pacing of some of the
songs. With the exception of "Moonlight Nocturne" the tracks seem to lack
the extra "BAMF" that makes a Castlevania soundtrack special. It's not to
say that the music is bad. The music is, in fact, excellent. It's just not
the kind of thing that classic Castlevania players might like to hear.
The "Tragic Prince" is my personal favorite track in the entire OST simply
because it has a "beginning", "middle, and an "end." A lot of the songs
never really picked up its rhythm. This probably had to do with the nature
of the game. In older Castlevania games, the player had a rather linear path
to take. In Castlevania: SOTN, the player must explore an entire castle with
backtracking involved, in the style of Metroid, if you will. As a result,
the music is supposed to flow freely as the player transitions from one
section, say... the Long Library, to another section, like the Outer Wall.
The final track is "I am the Wind," a vocal track used in the ending credits
of the game. Strangely enough, I found that it fit. Many people complain
that the last track is horrible and ruins the feel of a gothic horror theme
but I disagree. It is meant to provide closure to an awesome gaming
experience. Oh well, that's just me. Because the music is great by itself,
I'm giving this OST a B. You don't have to play the game to enjoy the music.
In fact, I recommend that hard-core classic Castlevania fans don't listen to
this OST unless they have an open mind. In conclusion, this is a very good
example of how videogame music can sound good by itself without the aid of
flashy graphics, CG movies, or animated sprites.
Final Rating:
B
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