Music of the Mana series
Encyclopedia
The Mana series, known in Japan
as , is a console role-playing game series from Square Enix
, created by Koichi Ishii
. The series began as a handheld side story
to Square's flagship
franchise Final Fantasy
, although most Final Fantasy-inspired elements were subsequently dropped, starting with the second installment, Secret of Mana
. It has since grown to include games of various genres within the fictional world
of Mana. The music of the Mana series includes soundtracks and arranged albums of music from the series, which is currently composed of Final Fantasy Adventure
and its remake Sword of Mana
, Secret of Mana, Seiken Densetsu 3
, Legend of Mana
, Dawn of Mana
, Children of Mana
, Friends of Mana, and Heroes of Mana. Each game except for Friends has produced a soundtrack album, while Adventure has sparked an arranged album as well as a combined soundtrack and arranged album, Legend of Mana has an additional promotional EP
, and music from Secret and Seiken Densetsu 3 were combined together into an arranged album.
The music of Final Fantasy Legend was composed by Kenji Ito
, while Hiroki Kikuta
composed Secret of Mana and Seiken Densetsu 3 and Yoko Shimomura
wrote the score to Legend of Mana. The music of the World of Mana subseries, composed of Children, Dawn, Friends, and Heroes of Mana, was composed by many different composers, with Ito, Kikuta, Shimomura, Tsuyoshi Sekito
, Masayoshi Soken
, and Ryuichi Sakamoto
composing Dawn, Ito, Masaharu Iwata
, and Takayuki Aihara writing Children, and Shimomura composing the music of Friends and Heroes. Music from the series has been performed in live concerts such as the Orchestral Game Concerts and the Symphonic Game Music Concerts, and made up one fourth of the Symphonic Fantasies concert in Cologne, Germany. Music from the Mana series has also been arranged for the piano and published as sheet music books.
, released as Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden in Japan and Mystic Quest in Europe and marketed as a Final Fantasy
spin-off
, was composed by Kenji Ito
; it was his second original score after that of SaGa 2. The game was released in 1991 on the original Game Boy
. It was remade in 2003 for the Game Boy Advance
as Sword of Mana
, in which features of the original game were reworked to be brought more in line with the direction the Mana series had taken with the later games, fully severing the series from the Final Fantasy series the original game was nominally a spin-off of. Ito was also the composer for the 2003 Sword of Mana, for which he remixed some pieces from Final Fantasy Adventure as well as composing new ones. Ito's music is mainly inspired by images from the game rather than outside influences; however, he never played the games themselves. Final Fantasy Legend received a soundtrack album and an arranged album, which were later released again as a single album. Sword of Mana also sparked a soundtrack album.
for the Final Fantasy
series. The album covers 27 tracks and has a duration of 34:40. It was published by NTT Publishing/Square
on July 15, 1991 with the catalog number N23D-003.
The album was well received by critics such as Ryan Mattich of RPGFan, who termed it full of "quality compositions and timeless melodies" that created a "nostalgic listening experience". Another reviewer, in their review of the combined album, claimed that the sound hardware limitations of the Gameboy "forces composers to create strong melodies" and that the Final Fantasy Legend soundtrack was "a perfect example of what quality Gameboy music should sound like".
l style, with moods ranging from "soft" to "powerful". It was published by NTT Publishing/Square on September 30, 1991 with the catalog number N30D-005.
The album was well received by critics such as Ryan Mattich of RPGFan, who called it "an album of epic ambition" and said that it let "these timeless melodies live on," "freed from the shackles of sound hardware limitations". Kero Hazel of Square Enix Music Online agreed, saying that "those 35 minutes of arranged music are worth every penny" in their review of the combined album. Another reviewer of the combined album called the tracks a "combination of great compositions and excellent arranging" and said that the tracks "flow smoothly between each other" creating "a superb thirty-five minutes of music".
The combined album was as well received as the individual albums that make it up, with RPGFan calling it "one fantastic CD" that combined the "superb" arranged tracks with the "expressive" original tracks. Kero Hazel said that the album was worth buying for either component CD alone, if one did not already have them, but that the combination together made it a "fantastic album" of "great music".
, the enhanced remake of Final Fantasy Adventure. It was composed by Kenji Ito, and included reworked tracks from the original game as well as new material. The second disc of the album contains piano arrangements of songs from the soundtrack, while a bonus disc included in the first edition of the album contains an orchestra arrangement of "Rising Sun ~ Endless Battlefield". The album covers 48 tracks and has a duration of 1:42:51, including the bonus disc. It was published by DigiCube
on August 27, 2003 with the catalog numbers SSCX-10097~8, and republished by Square Enix
on October 20, 2004 with the catalog numbers SQEX-10038~9.
The album reached #118 on the Japan Oricon charts. Patrick Gann of RPGFan enjoyed it, calling it a "truly a gem". Estimating that around twenty percent of the original tracks had received "significant changes", he applauded the increase in sound quality and said that he "enjoy[ed] the OST tracks a great deal". The addition of the piano tracks and the orchestral track made the album a "fine soundtrack" and he said that acquiring the soundtrack would be a "very, very good idea". RPGamer
, in their review of the game, said that the arrangements by Ito were "quite pleasing to the ear", though they noted that the quality of the music was diminished by the "terrible speakers" of the Game Boy Advance.
Tracklist
, originally released as Seiken Densetsu 2 in Japan, and 1995's Seiken Densetsu 3
were both composed by Hiroki Kikuta
. Kikuta was originally chosen for Secret of Mana after Kenji Ito, who was originally slated for the project, was forced to drop it due to other demands on his time such as the soundtrack to Romancing SaGa
. It was Kikuta's first video game score. Both games were produced for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
. Despite difficulties in dealing with the hardware limitations, Kikuta tried to express in the music of Secret of Mana two "contrasting styles", namely himself and the game. The purpose of this was to create an original score which would be neither pop music
nor standard game music. Kikuta worked on the music for the two games mostly by himself, spending nearly 24 hours a day in his office, alternating between composing and editing to create an immersive three-dimensional sound. Rather than use premade MIDI samples of instruments like most game music composers of the time, Kikuta made his own MIDI samples that matched the hardware capabilities of the Super Nintendo so that he would know exactly how the pieces would sound on the system's hardware instead of having to deal with audio hardware differences between the original MIDI sampler and the Super Nintendo. Kikuta considers the score for Secret of Mana his favorite creation. His compositions for Secret of Mana and Seiken Densetsu 3 were partly inspired by natural landscapes, as well as music from Bali. In addition to the soundtrack albums for the two games, 1995, Kikuta released an experimental album of arranged music
from the two installments, titled Secret of Mana +, which features one 50-minute long track.
The album was well received by reviewers such as Eve C. of RPGFan, who called it "a beautifully composed CD" and said that it was one of the best soundtracks of any Super Nintendo game. She said that the largest complaint with the album was the synthetic quality of the music necessitated by the Super Nintendo's sound hardware, though she noted that the music pushed the limits of the system's hardware further than any other SNES game. Jason Walton of RPGFan agreed, saying that "the music is composed extremely well, full of variety", though he did not like that the tracks were kept short instead of looping in order to fit all of the songs on one disc. Damian Thomas, in his review of the North American version of the album, also noted that the music was impressive for an SNES game, and recommended the album as worth hunting for. Gamasutra
, in an interview with Kikuta, described the music of Secret of Mana as leaving "a lasting impression on international audiences". IGN
named the title track as the seventh best RPG title track in a 2006 feature, calling it "soft" and "magical", and saying that Kikuta "uses a mix of upbeat pipes and tinkering piano keys to bring the world of Mana to life".
on October 1, 2004 with the catalog numbers NTCP-5026~8. The main theme from Secret of Mana, "Where Angels Fear to Tread", called "Fear of the Heavens" there, makes a return in this installment.
Freddie W. of RPGFan, in his review of the album, named it as "one of the high points of Hiroki Kikuta’s work on the series". He described it as having a very cohesive "feel", and as being a "more refined and matured" version of the "feeling" of the Secret of Mana soundtrack. Square Enix Music Online's review agreed with the quality of the music, calling it "among the finest ever heard on the Super Nintendo". They also termed it "in many ways superior to the score of Seiken Densetsu 2", which they described as having been an "instant winner" due to the work of Kikuta.
Tracklist
Daniel Kalabakov, in his review for RPGFan, said that while popular opinion of the album was split between those who liked and extremely disliked the album, he personally "loved" it. He praised it for being an "unorthodox arrangement" and trying something new rather than being merely a piano or orchestral arranged album, the most common types. Chris Greening of Square Enix Music Online had similar feelings about the album, praising the wide range of styles and sounds and calling it an "unparalleled achievement". Simon of Square Enix Music Online added that it was "refreshing to see there is no compromise" between Kikuta's artistic vision and more traditional commercial styles.
, released for the PlayStation
in 1999, features music composed by Yoko Shimomura
. She had previously composed for several Square games including Live A Live
and Parasite Eve
and had originally joined Square for the purpose of composing music for fantasy role-playing games. Of all her compositions, Shimomura considers the soundtrack to Legend the one that best expresses herself. Shimomura claims that she prefers "passionate music that comes from the heart", and that she has to "feel the emotions of a piece in the extreme before I am able to write" the music by putting herself in the same mood as the piece is supposed to be in. Legend of Mana featured the first vocal track of any Mana game, "Song of Mana", which also serves as the game's opening theme. It was sung by Swedish
vocalist Annika Ljungberg
, who was chosen by Shimomura because she "wanted to stay away from working with someone popular that everyone already knows". After hearing a sample of Annika's music, she flew to Sweden "straight away" to do an analog recording of the song. Four of the game's tracks were released as part of Drammatica: The Very Best Works of Yoko Shimomura, an arranged
album highlighting the composer's work: "Legend of MANA ~Title Theme~", "Hometown Domina", "Colored Earth", and "Bejeweled City Ruined". Shimomura carefully chose the songs to be included on the album based on their apparent popularity among fans and how suitable they are for orchestra. In addition to the soundtrack album, a promotional album of music from Legend of Mana was produced and was included with preorders of the game in North America.
. The soundtrack features 55 tracks on 2 discs and spans a duration of 2:10:37. It includes "Song of Mana", sung by Swedish vocalist Annika Ljungberg. The song was later made available on the Square Vocal Collection album in 2001. The music covers many styles including piano, hard rock, and techno. The soundtrack was published by DigiCube on July 23, 1999 with the catalog number SSCX-10034, and reprinted by Square Enix on October 20, 2004 with the catalog numbers SQEX-10036~7.
The album reached #65 on the Japan Oricon
charts. Patrick Gann of RPGFan heavily praised it, saying that "it is simply amazing. The synth quality, the composition quality...Everything about it, quality". He cited the "town" themes as Shimimura's weakest, but said that he more "emotional" pieces were much better and noted Annika as an "amazing" vocalist. RPGamer's review of the album was also praising, calling the composition "excellent", the sound quality "superb", and that it kept the "atmosphere" of previous Mana game soundtracks.
Tracklist
, the creator of the Mana series, decided even before he worked on 2002's Final Fantasy XI
about creating new Mana games, but first wanted to create a goal for the new series, and eventually decided to make it about exploring how to add "the feeling of touch" to a game. After he saw the game Half-Life 2
at E3 in 2003, he felt that its physics engine was the one he needed. World of Mana went on to comprise four new games in addition to the remake of Final Fantasy Adventure; Koichi Ishii served as director or producer for all of them as he had for the previous games in the series. In 2006, a Mana installment for the Wii
was considered but did not enter development. In April 2007, a month after the release of the final game of the World of Mana, Ishii left Square Enix to lead his own development company, named Grezzo
; no further games in the series have been announced since. Three of the new games of World of Mana sparked soundtrack releases, with each composed by a different artist or group of artists: Children of Mana
, released in 2006 for the Nintendo DS
, Dawn of Mana
, released in 2006 for the PlayStation 2
, and Heroes of Mana, released for the Nintendo DS in 2007. The music of Dawn of Mana also formed the basis of a promotional album included with preorders of the game in Japan, while the music of Yoko Shimomura for Seiken Densetsu: Friends of Mana, a 2006 multiplayer role-playing game
for Japanese mobile phone
s never saw any album releases.
, and Takayuki Aihara, and covers a range of musical styles including rock and roll, jazz, and classical orchestra. The instruments themselves, however, due to the limitations of the Nintendo DS hardware, have been described as not being "especially aesthetic or realistic". The soundtrack features 33 tracks on 2 discs and spans a duration of 1:24:13. It was published by Square Enix on May 9, 2006 on the Japanese iTunes
store, but has not been released as a physical album.
Chris Greening of Square Enix Music Online, in his review of the album, reacted positively to the score, calling it a "colourful, diverse, and rich experience overall". He called the tracks by Iwata and Aikara the "core" of the album, saying that the tracks by Ito felt "banal" and "formulaic" which he attributed to Ito being too overworked to focus on the album. RPGamer, in their review of the game, called the music "pretty nice". They noted that the music did not stand out as much as the visuals of the game, though they still "conveyed the theme", and that the "town" tracks were in their opinion weaker than the rest of the soundtrack.
Tracklist
, Masayoshi Soken
, Hiroki Kikuta, Yoko Shimomura, and Ryuichi Sakamoto
, with many of the tracks composed by one artist arranged by another. The styles portrayed on the soundtrack cover "soft, heartwarming tunes", fast-paced "rock and roll style" tracks, and "dark and dramatic tunes", while the arranged songs that appear on the fourth disc of the soundtrack album are split between orchestral and rock and roll styles. The theme song to the game, "Dawn of Mana", was composed by Grammy-winning composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, and was inspired by the image of the Mana tree shown at the title screen. The soundtrack features 106 tracks on 4 discs and spans a duration of 4:19:41. It was published by Square Enix on January 24, 2007 with the catalog numbers SQEX-10083~6.
Dennis Rubinshteyn of RPGFan was pleased by the soundtrack, saying that the music met his high expectations for what he called the "only redeeming quality left" to the series since Legend of Mana. Summing the album up as a "solid soundtrack with great songs and a lot of variety", he named Sekito's tracks as the least appealing on the soundtrack, causing some parts of the album as a whole to be "hit or miss". Bryan Matheny of Square Enix Music Online held the opposite opinion, calling Sekito's pieces what "made this work bearable" and saying that he "just can't get into this soundtrack", especially the first three discs, which were full of "boring and underdeveloped" tracks. Chris Greening of Square Enix Music Online's review, however, was more in line with RPGFan's, wherein he praised the "diversity" and "glorious spectrum of emotion" found in the soundtrack. He cited the synthesizer operation as a weak point as well as the order of the tracks, and singled out Sekito's tracks as "forgettable" and "repetitive".
Tracklist
Denis Rubinshteyn, in his review of the album, said that while the game itself was poor, "the music is a treat". Calling the music "solid" and "enjoyable", he highlighted Shimomura's use of drums and variations on themes as particularly worthy of praise. Don Kotowski of Square Enix Music Online agreed, saying that Square Enix "made the right decision" in asking Shimomura to compose the soundtrack, as she was able to "capture the spirit of the Mana series extremely well". He singled out the "battle tracks and event themes" as the weakest tracks and "'The Tale Told by the Wind' and the final battle" as some of the best.
Tracklist
for the third Orchestral Game Concert in 1993, while "Meridian Child" from Seiken Densetsu 3 was performed for the fifth Orchestral Game Concert in 1996. "Fear of the Heavens" was also performed at the fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert in 2007 in Leipzig, Germany. Legend of Manas title theme was also performed by the Australian Eminence Symphony Orchestra
for its classical gaming music concert A Night in Fantasia 2007. Kenji Ito, along with other players, performed "Fool's Dance" from Dawn of Mana at the Extra: Hyper Game Music Event 2007 concert in Tokyo on July 7, 2007. Sinfonia Drammatica, an August 4, 2009 concert performed by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in Stockholm
, Sweden
, featured several Mana songs as part of a combination of Yoko Shimomura's album Drammatica and the previous Stockholm Symphonic Shades concert. These tracks, all from Drammatica, were "Colored Earth", "Sparkling City", "Title Theme", and "Hometown Domina" from Legends of Mana; none of the Heroes of Mana tracks on the album were played at the concert.
Music from the series made up one-fourth of the music in the Symphonic Fantasies concerts in Cologne and Oberhausen in September 2009 which were produced by the creators of the Symphonic Game Music Concert series and conducted by Arnie Roth
. The concerts featured a suite comprising Secret of Mana songs "Fear of the Heavens", "Flight into the Unknown", "Eternal Recurrence", "Premonition", "The Sorcerer", and "Rose and Spirit", as well as a boss battle encore suite which included "Meridian Festival". On February 6, 2011 the Eminence Symphony Orchestra played a concert in Tokyo as part of the Game Music Laboratory concert series as a tribute to the music of Kenji Ito and Hiroki Kikuta. The concert included "Bodorui", "Mana Temple", and "Rising Sun" from Final Fantasy Adventure; "Kind Memories", "Crisis", and "Meridian Dance" from Secret of Mana; and "Meridian Child" from Seiken Densetsu 3. The Final Fantasy Adventure pieces were played on the piano by Ito.
Music from the original soundtracks of the Mana games has been arranged for the piano and published by DOREMI Music Publishing. Books are available for the soundtracks to Dawn of Mana, Legend of Mana, and Sword of Mana. Two companion books have also been published as Seiken Densetsu Best Collection Piano Solo Sheet Music first and second editions, with the first edition covering tracks from Final Fantasy Adventure, Secret of Mana, and Seiken Densetsu 3, while the second adds tracks from Legend of Mana and Dawn of Mana. All songs in each book have been rewritten by Asako Niwa as beginning to intermediate level piano solos, though they are meant to sound as much like the originals as possible. Additionally, KMP Music Publishing has published a book of the piano album included in the Sword of Mana soundtrack album, which was arranged by Kenji Ito.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
as , is a console role-playing game series from Square Enix
Square Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
, created by Koichi Ishii
Koichi Ishii
, sometimes credited as Kouichi Ishii, is a video game designer perhaps best known for creating the Mana series . He joined Square in 1987, where he has directed or produced every game released in the Mana series...
. The series began as a handheld side story
Side story
A side story is a story that occurs alongside established stories set within a fictional universe. As opposed to a prequel, sequel, or interquel, a side story takes place within the same time frame as an existing work....
to Square's flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
franchise Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy
is a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, and is developed and owned by Square Enix . The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and science-fantasy role-playing video games , but includes motion pictures, anime, printed media, and other merchandise...
, although most Final Fantasy-inspired elements were subsequently dropped, starting with the second installment, Secret of Mana
Secret of Mana
Secret of Mana is an action role-playing game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System developed and published by Square in 1993. The game was re-released for the Wii's Virtual Console in 2008, and was ported to Japanese mobile phones in 2009...
. It has since grown to include games of various genres within the fictional world
Fictional universe
A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....
of Mana. The music of the Mana series includes soundtracks and arranged albums of music from the series, which is currently composed of Final Fantasy Adventure
Final Fantasy Adventure
Final Fantasy Adventure, known as Mystic Quest in Europe and as in Japan, is a Final Fantasy spinoff and the first game in the Mana series. Published by Square in 1991 on the original Game Boy, it later saw a North American re-release by Sunsoft in April 1998...
and its remake Sword of Mana
Sword of Mana
is an enhanced remake of the original Game Boy game Seiken Densetsu, which was released as Final Fantasy Adventure in North America and Mystic Quest in Europe. This remake was released on the Game Boy Advance in 2003.-Gameplay:...
, Secret of Mana, Seiken Densetsu 3
Seiken Densetsu 3
is an action role-playing game developed and published by Square for Nintendo's Super Famicom as a part of the Mana series.The game features three lengthy main plotlines, six different characters, each with their own storylines, and a wide range of classes to choose from, which provides each...
, Legend of Mana
Legend of Mana
Legend of Mana, known in Japan as , is the fourth game in the Mana series. The game was released for the PlayStation in Japan on July 15, 1999 and in North America on June 7, 2000, with a delayed release in Canada...
, Dawn of Mana
Dawn of Mana
Dawn of Mana, known in Japan as , is an action-adventure game developed and published by Square Enix for Sony's PlayStation 2. The game is part of Square Enix's World of Mana project that also includes Children of Mana, Heroes of Mana and Friends of Mana. The game was released on December 21, 2006...
, Children of Mana
Children of Mana
Children of Mana, known in Japan as , is a 2006 action role-playing game for the Nintendo DS handheld game console, part of the Mana series and, more specifically, of the World of Mana project launched by Square Enix...
, Friends of Mana, and Heroes of Mana. Each game except for Friends has produced a soundtrack album, while Adventure has sparked an arranged album as well as a combined soundtrack and arranged album, Legend of Mana has an additional promotional EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, and music from Secret and Seiken Densetsu 3 were combined together into an arranged album.
The music of Final Fantasy Legend was composed by Kenji Ito
Kenji Ito
, also known by the nickname , is a Japanese video game composer and musician. He is best known for his work on the Mana and SaGa series, though he has worked on over 30 video games throughout his career as well as composed or arranged music for over 15 other albums, concerts, and plays...
, while Hiroki Kikuta
Hiroki Kikuta
is a Japanese video game composer and game designer. His major works are Secret of Mana, Seiken Densetsu 3, Soukaigi, and Koudelka, for which he also acted as producer and concept designer. He has composed music for seven other games, and worked as a concept designer in addition to composer for the...
composed Secret of Mana and Seiken Densetsu 3 and Yoko Shimomura
Yoko Shimomura
is a Japanese video game composer. She has been described as "the most famous female video game music composer in the world". She has worked in the video game music industry since graduating from Osaka College of Music in 1988...
wrote the score to Legend of Mana. The music of the World of Mana subseries, composed of Children, Dawn, Friends, and Heroes of Mana, was composed by many different composers, with Ito, Kikuta, Shimomura, Tsuyoshi Sekito
Tsuyoshi Sekito
is a Japanese video game composer, arranger, and musician who has been employed at Square Enix since 1995. As a composer, he is best known for scoring the video games Brave Fencer Musashi and The Last Remnant...
, Masayoshi Soken
Masayoshi Soken
is a Japanese video game composer and sound editor who has worked for Square Enix since 2001. He is best known for scoring the Nintendo DS game Mario Hoops 3-on-3...
, and Ryuichi Sakamoto
Ryuichi Sakamoto
After working as a session musician with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi in 1977, the trio formed the internationally successful electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1978. Known for their seminal influence on electronic music, the group helped pioneer electronic genres such as...
composing Dawn, Ito, Masaharu Iwata
Masaharu Iwata
is a Japanese video game composer. After graduating from high school, where his musical projects included composing on a synthesizer and playing in a cover band, he joined Bothtec as a composer. He composed the soundtrack to several games there, beginning with 1987's Bakusou Buggy Ipatsu Yarou, and...
, and Takayuki Aihara writing Children, and Shimomura composing the music of Friends and Heroes. Music from the series has been performed in live concerts such as the Orchestral Game Concerts and the Symphonic Game Music Concerts, and made up one fourth of the Symphonic Fantasies concert in Cologne, Germany. Music from the Mana series has also been arranged for the piano and published as sheet music books.
Final Fantasy Adventure
Final Fantasy AdventureFinal Fantasy Adventure
Final Fantasy Adventure, known as Mystic Quest in Europe and as in Japan, is a Final Fantasy spinoff and the first game in the Mana series. Published by Square in 1991 on the original Game Boy, it later saw a North American re-release by Sunsoft in April 1998...
, released as Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden in Japan and Mystic Quest in Europe and marketed as a Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy
is a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, and is developed and owned by Square Enix . The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and science-fantasy role-playing video games , but includes motion pictures, anime, printed media, and other merchandise...
spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
, was composed by Kenji Ito
Kenji Ito
, also known by the nickname , is a Japanese video game composer and musician. He is best known for his work on the Mana and SaGa series, though he has worked on over 30 video games throughout his career as well as composed or arranged music for over 15 other albums, concerts, and plays...
; it was his second original score after that of SaGa 2. The game was released in 1991 on the original Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
. It was remade in 2003 for the Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
as Sword of Mana
Sword of Mana
is an enhanced remake of the original Game Boy game Seiken Densetsu, which was released as Final Fantasy Adventure in North America and Mystic Quest in Europe. This remake was released on the Game Boy Advance in 2003.-Gameplay:...
, in which features of the original game were reworked to be brought more in line with the direction the Mana series had taken with the later games, fully severing the series from the Final Fantasy series the original game was nominally a spin-off of. Ito was also the composer for the 2003 Sword of Mana, for which he remixed some pieces from Final Fantasy Adventure as well as composing new ones. Ito's music is mainly inspired by images from the game rather than outside influences; however, he never played the games themselves. Final Fantasy Legend received a soundtrack album and an arranged album, which were later released again as a single album. Sword of Mana also sparked a soundtrack album.
Original Sound Version
Seiken Densetsu Original Sound Version is a soundtrack album of music from Final Fantasy Adventure. It was composed by Kenji Ito, with the exception of "Theme of Chocobo", which was composed by Nobuo UematsuNobuo Uematsu
is a Japanese video game composer, best known for scoring the majority of titles in the Final Fantasy series. He is considered as one of the most famous and respected composers in the video game community...
for the Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy
is a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, and is developed and owned by Square Enix . The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and science-fantasy role-playing video games , but includes motion pictures, anime, printed media, and other merchandise...
series. The album covers 27 tracks and has a duration of 34:40. It was published by NTT Publishing/Square
Square Co.
was a Japanese video game company founded in September 1983 by Masafumi Miyamoto. It merged with Enix in 2003 and became part of Square Enix...
on July 15, 1991 with the catalog number N23D-003.
The album was well received by critics such as Ryan Mattich of RPGFan, who termed it full of "quality compositions and timeless melodies" that created a "nostalgic listening experience". Another reviewer, in their review of the combined album, claimed that the sound hardware limitations of the Gameboy "forces composers to create strong melodies" and that the Final Fantasy Legend soundtrack was "a perfect example of what quality Gameboy music should sound like".
Let Thoughts Ride on Knowledge
Seiken Densetsu: Let Thoughts Ride on Knowledge is a soundtrack album of music arranged from the Final Fantasy Adventure soundtrack. The original music was composed by Kenji Ito, while the versions on the album were arranged by Takayuki Hattori. The album covers 7 tracks and has a duration of 35:11. Each track covers several different songs from the original soundtrack. The pieces are arranged in an orchestraOrchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
l style, with moods ranging from "soft" to "powerful". It was published by NTT Publishing/Square on September 30, 1991 with the catalog number N30D-005.
The album was well received by critics such as Ryan Mattich of RPGFan, who called it "an album of epic ambition" and said that it let "these timeless melodies live on," "freed from the shackles of sound hardware limitations". Kero Hazel of Square Enix Music Online agreed, saying that "those 35 minutes of arranged music are worth every penny" in their review of the combined album. Another reviewer of the combined album called the tracks a "combination of great compositions and excellent arranging" and said that the tracks "flow smoothly between each other" creating "a superb thirty-five minutes of music".
Sound Collections
Final Fantasy Gaiden: Seiken Densetsu Sound Collections is a soundtrack album of music from Final Fantasy Adventure combining its soundtrack album and arranged album. The music was composed by Kenji Ito, while the arranged tracks, which comprise the first seven tracks of this album, were arranged by Takayuki Hattori. The album covers 34 tracks and has a duration of 69:51. It was published by NTT Publishing on August 25, 1995 with the catalog number PSCN-5029, and republished on October 1, 2004 with the catalog number NTCP-5029.The combined album was as well received as the individual albums that make it up, with RPGFan calling it "one fantastic CD" that combined the "superb" arranged tracks with the "expressive" original tracks. Kero Hazel said that the album was worth buying for either component CD alone, if one did not already have them, but that the combination together made it a "fantastic album" of "great music".
Sword of Mana
Sword of Mana Premium Soundtrack is a soundtrack album of music from Sword of ManaSword of Mana
is an enhanced remake of the original Game Boy game Seiken Densetsu, which was released as Final Fantasy Adventure in North America and Mystic Quest in Europe. This remake was released on the Game Boy Advance in 2003.-Gameplay:...
, the enhanced remake of Final Fantasy Adventure. It was composed by Kenji Ito, and included reworked tracks from the original game as well as new material. The second disc of the album contains piano arrangements of songs from the soundtrack, while a bonus disc included in the first edition of the album contains an orchestra arrangement of "Rising Sun ~ Endless Battlefield". The album covers 48 tracks and has a duration of 1:42:51, including the bonus disc. It was published by DigiCube
DigiCube
DigiCube Co., Ltd. was a Japanese company established as a subsidiary of software developer Square on February 6, 1996 and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The primary purpose of DigiCube was to market and distribute Square products, most notably video games and related merchandise, including toys,...
on August 27, 2003 with the catalog numbers SSCX-10097~8, and republished by Square Enix
Square Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
on October 20, 2004 with the catalog numbers SQEX-10038~9.
The album reached #118 on the Japan Oricon charts. Patrick Gann of RPGFan enjoyed it, calling it a "truly a gem". Estimating that around twenty percent of the original tracks had received "significant changes", he applauded the increase in sound quality and said that he "enjoy[ed] the OST tracks a great deal". The addition of the piano tracks and the orchestral track made the album a "fine soundtrack" and he said that acquiring the soundtrack would be a "very, very good idea". RPGamer
RPGamer
RPGamer is a media and news website dedicated to covering computer and video game RPGs. Its coverage includes North American game news, European game news, Asian game news, gaming industry news, game reviews, game previews, hands-on game impressions, gaming conventions, game merchandise, release...
, in their review of the game, said that the arrangements by Ito were "quite pleasing to the ear", though they noted that the quality of the music was diminished by the "terrible speakers" of the Game Boy Advance.
Tracklist
Secret of Mana and Seiken Densetsu 3
The scores for 1993's Secret of ManaSecret of Mana
Secret of Mana is an action role-playing game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System developed and published by Square in 1993. The game was re-released for the Wii's Virtual Console in 2008, and was ported to Japanese mobile phones in 2009...
, originally released as Seiken Densetsu 2 in Japan, and 1995's Seiken Densetsu 3
Seiken Densetsu 3
is an action role-playing game developed and published by Square for Nintendo's Super Famicom as a part of the Mana series.The game features three lengthy main plotlines, six different characters, each with their own storylines, and a wide range of classes to choose from, which provides each...
were both composed by Hiroki Kikuta
Hiroki Kikuta
is a Japanese video game composer and game designer. His major works are Secret of Mana, Seiken Densetsu 3, Soukaigi, and Koudelka, for which he also acted as producer and concept designer. He has composed music for seven other games, and worked as a concept designer in addition to composer for the...
. Kikuta was originally chosen for Secret of Mana after Kenji Ito, who was originally slated for the project, was forced to drop it due to other demands on his time such as the soundtrack to Romancing SaGa
Romancing SaGa
is a role-playing video game originally developed and published by Square as the fourth game of their SaGa series. Initially made available in January 1992 for the Super Famicom, the game was later ported to the WonderSwan Color handheld system in December 2002, with both releases being exclusive...
. It was Kikuta's first video game score. Both games were produced for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
. Despite difficulties in dealing with the hardware limitations, Kikuta tried to express in the music of Secret of Mana two "contrasting styles", namely himself and the game. The purpose of this was to create an original score which would be neither pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
nor standard game music. Kikuta worked on the music for the two games mostly by himself, spending nearly 24 hours a day in his office, alternating between composing and editing to create an immersive three-dimensional sound. Rather than use premade MIDI samples of instruments like most game music composers of the time, Kikuta made his own MIDI samples that matched the hardware capabilities of the Super Nintendo so that he would know exactly how the pieces would sound on the system's hardware instead of having to deal with audio hardware differences between the original MIDI sampler and the Super Nintendo. Kikuta considers the score for Secret of Mana his favorite creation. His compositions for Secret of Mana and Seiken Densetsu 3 were partly inspired by natural landscapes, as well as music from Bali. In addition to the soundtrack albums for the two games, 1995, Kikuta released an experimental album of arranged music
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
from the two installments, titled Secret of Mana +, which features one 50-minute long track.
Secret of Mana
Secret of Mana Original Soundtrack is a soundtrack album of music from Secret of Mana, released as Seiken Densetsu 2 Original Sound Version in Japan; the releases are identical aside from the packaging and localized English song titles. Secret of Mana was one of the first soundtrack releases in North America for the North American version of a game. The soundtrack was composed by Hiroki Kikuta. The soundtrack's music covers both "ominous" and "light-hearted" tracks, and is noted for its use of bells and "dark, solemn pianos". The title track to the game, "Fear of the Heavens", was designed by Kikuta to sync up with the title screen as it slowly faded in due to hardware limitations; at the time trying to match the audio and visual effects in a game was rare. Kikuta also started the track off with a "whale noise", rather than a traditional "ping", in order to try to "more deeply connect" the player with the game from the moment it started up; getting the sound to work with the memory limitations of the Super Nintendo system was a difficult technical challenge. The album covers 44 tracks and has a duration of 1:06:01. It was published by NTT Publishing/Square on August 6, 1993 with the catalog number N25D-019, and reprinted by NTT Publishing on August 25, 1995 and October 1, 2004 with the catalog numbers PSCN-5030 and NTCP-5030.The album was well received by reviewers such as Eve C. of RPGFan, who called it "a beautifully composed CD" and said that it was one of the best soundtracks of any Super Nintendo game. She said that the largest complaint with the album was the synthetic quality of the music necessitated by the Super Nintendo's sound hardware, though she noted that the music pushed the limits of the system's hardware further than any other SNES game. Jason Walton of RPGFan agreed, saying that "the music is composed extremely well, full of variety", though he did not like that the tracks were kept short instead of looping in order to fit all of the songs on one disc. Damian Thomas, in his review of the North American version of the album, also noted that the music was impressive for an SNES game, and recommended the album as worth hunting for. Gamasutra
Gamasutra
Gamasutra is a website founded in 1997 for video game developers. It is owned and operated by UBM TechWeb , a division of United Business Media, and acts as the online sister publication to the print magazine Game Developer...
, in an interview with Kikuta, described the music of Secret of Mana as leaving "a lasting impression on international audiences". IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
named the title track as the seventh best RPG title track in a 2006 feature, calling it "soft" and "magical", and saying that Kikuta "uses a mix of upbeat pipes and tinkering piano keys to bring the world of Mana to life".
Seiken Densetsu 3
Seiken Densetsu 3 Original Sound Version is a soundtrack album of music from Seiken Densetsu 3. The soundtrack was composed by Hiroki Kikuta. Kikuta completed it with little assistance, having performed the sound selection, editing, effect design, and data encoding himself. The music has been described as ranging from "bouncy" and "energetic" to "flowing" and "serene". The soundtrack features 60 tracks on 3 discs and spans a duration of 3:19:21. The album was published by NTT Publishing on August 25, 1995 with the catalog numbers PSCN-5026~8 and republished by Square EnixSquare Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
on October 1, 2004 with the catalog numbers NTCP-5026~8. The main theme from Secret of Mana, "Where Angels Fear to Tread", called "Fear of the Heavens" there, makes a return in this installment.
Freddie W. of RPGFan, in his review of the album, named it as "one of the high points of Hiroki Kikuta’s work on the series". He described it as having a very cohesive "feel", and as being a "more refined and matured" version of the "feeling" of the Secret of Mana soundtrack. Square Enix Music Online's review agreed with the quality of the music, calling it "among the finest ever heard on the Super Nintendo". They also termed it "in many ways superior to the score of Seiken Densetsu 2", which they described as having been an "instant winner" due to the work of Kikuta.
Tracklist
Secret of Mana+
Secret of Mana+ is an arranged album of music from Secret of Mana and Seiken Densetsu 3. The music was composed and arranged by Hiroki Kikuta. The album is composed of a single track titled "Secret of Mana" that has a duration of 49:28. This track incorporates themes from the music of Secret of Mana as well as a few themes from Seiken Densetsu 3, which was still under development at the time. The style of the album is described as "experimental", using "strange sounds" such as waterfalls, bird calls, cell phone sounds, and "typing" sounds. The music has also been described as covering many different musical styles, such as "Debussian impressionist styles, his own heavy electronic and synth ideas, and even ideas of popular musicians". It was published by NTT Publishing/Square on October 29, 1993 with the catalog number N30D-021, and reprinted by NTT Publishing on August 25, 1995 and October 1, 2004 with the catalog numbers PSCN-5031 and NTCP-5031.Daniel Kalabakov, in his review for RPGFan, said that while popular opinion of the album was split between those who liked and extremely disliked the album, he personally "loved" it. He praised it for being an "unorthodox arrangement" and trying something new rather than being merely a piano or orchestral arranged album, the most common types. Chris Greening of Square Enix Music Online had similar feelings about the album, praising the wide range of styles and sounds and calling it an "unparalleled achievement". Simon of Square Enix Music Online added that it was "refreshing to see there is no compromise" between Kikuta's artistic vision and more traditional commercial styles.
Legend of Mana
Legend of ManaLegend of Mana
Legend of Mana, known in Japan as , is the fourth game in the Mana series. The game was released for the PlayStation in Japan on July 15, 1999 and in North America on June 7, 2000, with a delayed release in Canada...
, released for the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
in 1999, features music composed by Yoko Shimomura
Yoko Shimomura
is a Japanese video game composer. She has been described as "the most famous female video game music composer in the world". She has worked in the video game music industry since graduating from Osaka College of Music in 1988...
. She had previously composed for several Square games including Live A Live
Live A Live
is a console role-playing game developed by Square for the Super Famicom released in Japan on September 2, 1994. It was never released outside Japan, but it has been unofficially translated into English....
and Parasite Eve
Parasite Eve (video game)
is a horror action role-playing game developed by SquareSoft . The game is a sequel to the novel Parasite Eve, written by Hideaki Sena. It is the first game in the Parasite Eve series.-Gameplay:...
and had originally joined Square for the purpose of composing music for fantasy role-playing games. Of all her compositions, Shimomura considers the soundtrack to Legend the one that best expresses herself. Shimomura claims that she prefers "passionate music that comes from the heart", and that she has to "feel the emotions of a piece in the extreme before I am able to write" the music by putting herself in the same mood as the piece is supposed to be in. Legend of Mana featured the first vocal track of any Mana game, "Song of Mana", which also serves as the game's opening theme. It was sung by Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
vocalist Annika Ljungberg
Annika Ljungberg
Annika Ljungberg, born 1969, is a Swedish female vocalist. She is a former member of Rednex which she left in 2009....
, who was chosen by Shimomura because she "wanted to stay away from working with someone popular that everyone already knows". After hearing a sample of Annika's music, she flew to Sweden "straight away" to do an analog recording of the song. Four of the game's tracks were released as part of Drammatica: The Very Best Works of Yoko Shimomura, an arranged
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
album highlighting the composer's work: "Legend of MANA ~Title Theme~", "Hometown Domina", "Colored Earth", and "Bejeweled City Ruined". Shimomura carefully chose the songs to be included on the album based on their apparent popularity among fans and how suitable they are for orchestra. In addition to the soundtrack album, a promotional album of music from Legend of Mana was produced and was included with preorders of the game in North America.
Original Soundtrack
Seiken Densetsu / Legend of Mana Original Soundtrack is a soundtrack album of music from Legend of Mana, composed by Yoko ShimomuraYoko Shimomura
is a Japanese video game composer. She has been described as "the most famous female video game music composer in the world". She has worked in the video game music industry since graduating from Osaka College of Music in 1988...
. The soundtrack features 55 tracks on 2 discs and spans a duration of 2:10:37. It includes "Song of Mana", sung by Swedish vocalist Annika Ljungberg. The song was later made available on the Square Vocal Collection album in 2001. The music covers many styles including piano, hard rock, and techno. The soundtrack was published by DigiCube on July 23, 1999 with the catalog number SSCX-10034, and reprinted by Square Enix on October 20, 2004 with the catalog numbers SQEX-10036~7.
The album reached #65 on the Japan Oricon
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
charts. Patrick Gann of RPGFan heavily praised it, saying that "it is simply amazing. The synth quality, the composition quality...Everything about it, quality". He cited the "town" themes as Shimimura's weakest, but said that he more "emotional" pieces were much better and noted Annika as an "amazing" vocalist. RPGamer's review of the album was also praising, calling the composition "excellent", the sound quality "superb", and that it kept the "atmosphere" of previous Mana game soundtracks.
Tracklist
Music Selection
Legend of Mana Music Selection is a promotional album of music from Legend of Mana included in preorders of the game in North America. The music was composed by Yoko Shimomura. The soundtrack features five tracks and spans a duration of 18:34. It was published by Square on June 1, 2000 with the catalog number 3TP-0012K.World of Mana
In 2005, Square Enix announced plans for World of Mana, a new series of titles in the Mana franchise, whose titles would span more video game genres than the original series. Koichi IshiiKoichi Ishii
, sometimes credited as Kouichi Ishii, is a video game designer perhaps best known for creating the Mana series . He joined Square in 1987, where he has directed or produced every game released in the Mana series...
, the creator of the Mana series, decided even before he worked on 2002's Final Fantasy XI
Final Fantasy XI
, also known as Final Fantasy XI Online, is a MMORPG developed and published by Square as part of the Final Fantasy series. It was released in Japan on Sony's PlayStation 2 on May 16, 2002, and was released for Microsoft's Windows-based personal computers in November 2002...
about creating new Mana games, but first wanted to create a goal for the new series, and eventually decided to make it about exploring how to add "the feeling of touch" to a game. After he saw the game Half-Life 2
Half-Life 2
Half-Life 2 , the sequel to Half-Life, is a first-person shooter video game and a signature title in the Half-Life series. It is singleplayer, story-driven, science fiction, and linear...
at E3 in 2003, he felt that its physics engine was the one he needed. World of Mana went on to comprise four new games in addition to the remake of Final Fantasy Adventure; Koichi Ishii served as director or producer for all of them as he had for the previous games in the series. In 2006, a Mana installment for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
was considered but did not enter development. In April 2007, a month after the release of the final game of the World of Mana, Ishii left Square Enix to lead his own development company, named Grezzo
Grezzo
Grezzo is a Japanese video game developer. It was founded in December 2006. Koichi Ishii, known for his work on the Mana series of games by Square Enix, signed on as CEO and president of the company in April 2007...
; no further games in the series have been announced since. Three of the new games of World of Mana sparked soundtrack releases, with each composed by a different artist or group of artists: Children of Mana
Children of Mana
Children of Mana, known in Japan as , is a 2006 action role-playing game for the Nintendo DS handheld game console, part of the Mana series and, more specifically, of the World of Mana project launched by Square Enix...
, released in 2006 for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
, Dawn of Mana
Dawn of Mana
Dawn of Mana, known in Japan as , is an action-adventure game developed and published by Square Enix for Sony's PlayStation 2. The game is part of Square Enix's World of Mana project that also includes Children of Mana, Heroes of Mana and Friends of Mana. The game was released on December 21, 2006...
, released in 2006 for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, and Heroes of Mana, released for the Nintendo DS in 2007. The music of Dawn of Mana also formed the basis of a promotional album included with preorders of the game in Japan, while the music of Yoko Shimomura for Seiken Densetsu: Friends of Mana, a 2006 multiplayer role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
for Japanese mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s never saw any album releases.
Children of Mana
Seiken Densetsu DS: Children of Mana Original Soundtrack is a soundtrack album of music from Children of Mana, known as Seiken Densetsu DS: Children of Mana in Japan. The soundtrack was composed by Kenji Ito, Masaharu IwataMasaharu Iwata
is a Japanese video game composer. After graduating from high school, where his musical projects included composing on a synthesizer and playing in a cover band, he joined Bothtec as a composer. He composed the soundtrack to several games there, beginning with 1987's Bakusou Buggy Ipatsu Yarou, and...
, and Takayuki Aihara, and covers a range of musical styles including rock and roll, jazz, and classical orchestra. The instruments themselves, however, due to the limitations of the Nintendo DS hardware, have been described as not being "especially aesthetic or realistic". The soundtrack features 33 tracks on 2 discs and spans a duration of 1:24:13. It was published by Square Enix on May 9, 2006 on the Japanese iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
store, but has not been released as a physical album.
Chris Greening of Square Enix Music Online, in his review of the album, reacted positively to the score, calling it a "colourful, diverse, and rich experience overall". He called the tracks by Iwata and Aikara the "core" of the album, saying that the tracks by Ito felt "banal" and "formulaic" which he attributed to Ito being too overworked to focus on the album. RPGamer, in their review of the game, called the music "pretty nice". They noted that the music did not stand out as much as the visuals of the game, though they still "conveyed the theme", and that the "town" tracks were in their opinion weaker than the rest of the soundtrack.
Tracklist
Dawn of Mana
Seiken Densetsu 4 Original Soundtrack -Sanctuary- is a soundtrack album of music from Dawn of Mana, known as Seiken Densetsu 4 in Japan. The soundtrack was composed by Kenji Ito, Tsuyoshi SekitoTsuyoshi Sekito
is a Japanese video game composer, arranger, and musician who has been employed at Square Enix since 1995. As a composer, he is best known for scoring the video games Brave Fencer Musashi and The Last Remnant...
, Masayoshi Soken
Masayoshi Soken
is a Japanese video game composer and sound editor who has worked for Square Enix since 2001. He is best known for scoring the Nintendo DS game Mario Hoops 3-on-3...
, Hiroki Kikuta, Yoko Shimomura, and Ryuichi Sakamoto
Ryuichi Sakamoto
After working as a session musician with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi in 1977, the trio formed the internationally successful electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1978. Known for their seminal influence on electronic music, the group helped pioneer electronic genres such as...
, with many of the tracks composed by one artist arranged by another. The styles portrayed on the soundtrack cover "soft, heartwarming tunes", fast-paced "rock and roll style" tracks, and "dark and dramatic tunes", while the arranged songs that appear on the fourth disc of the soundtrack album are split between orchestral and rock and roll styles. The theme song to the game, "Dawn of Mana", was composed by Grammy-winning composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, and was inspired by the image of the Mana tree shown at the title screen. The soundtrack features 106 tracks on 4 discs and spans a duration of 4:19:41. It was published by Square Enix on January 24, 2007 with the catalog numbers SQEX-10083~6.
Dennis Rubinshteyn of RPGFan was pleased by the soundtrack, saying that the music met his high expectations for what he called the "only redeeming quality left" to the series since Legend of Mana. Summing the album up as a "solid soundtrack with great songs and a lot of variety", he named Sekito's tracks as the least appealing on the soundtrack, causing some parts of the album as a whole to be "hit or miss". Bryan Matheny of Square Enix Music Online held the opposite opinion, calling Sekito's pieces what "made this work bearable" and saying that he "just can't get into this soundtrack", especially the first three discs, which were full of "boring and underdeveloped" tracks. Chris Greening of Square Enix Music Online's review, however, was more in line with RPGFan's, wherein he praised the "diversity" and "glorious spectrum of emotion" found in the soundtrack. He cited the synthesizer operation as a weak point as well as the order of the tracks, and singled out Sekito's tracks as "forgettable" and "repetitive".
Tracklist
Breath of Mana
Breath of Mana is a promotional album of music from Dawn of Mana included with preorders of the game in Japan. Despite the many composers of the full soundtrack, the five songs on Breath were all composed and arranged by Kenji Ito. Two of the songs, "Breath of MANA" and "Rising Sun (piano solo ver.)", did not appear on the full soundtrack album. The songs on the disc are "gentle melodies" using orchestra and piano. The five songs cover a duration of 13:41. The disc was published by Square Enix on December 21, 2006. A review of the album by Dennis Rubinshteyn of RPGFan called it a "good showcase" of the strengths of the full album, which were in his opinion the tracks by Ito. He felt that the tracks on the single were "superb", and said that it was a shame that two of the tracks were not found on the soundtrack album.Heroes of Mana
Seiken Densetsu: Heroes of Mana Original Soundtrack is a soundtrack album of music from Heroes of Mana, known as Seiken Densetsu: Heroes of Mana in Japan. The soundtrack was composed by Yoko Shimomura. The musical style of the tracks is primarily orchestral, with the addition of a strong piano and drums that sometimes verge on a more tribal rhythm. The soundtrack features 49 tracks on 2 discs and spans a duration of 2:24:28. Three of the game's tracks were released as part of Drammatica: The Very Best Works of Yoko Shimomura, an arranged album highlighting the composer's work: "To the Heroes of Old ~Opening Theme from Heroes of Mana~", "The Way the Heart Is" (as "Tango Appassionata"), and "The Tale Told by the Wind ~Ending Theme from Heroes of Mana~". Shimomura carefully chose the songs to be included on the album based on their apparent popularity among fans and how suitable they are for orchestra. The Heroes of Mana soundtrack was published by Square Enix on April 18, 2007 with the catalog numbers SQEX-10095~6.Denis Rubinshteyn, in his review of the album, said that while the game itself was poor, "the music is a treat". Calling the music "solid" and "enjoyable", he highlighted Shimomura's use of drums and variations on themes as particularly worthy of praise. Don Kotowski of Square Enix Music Online agreed, saying that Square Enix "made the right decision" in asking Shimomura to compose the soundtrack, as she was able to "capture the spirit of the Mana series extremely well". He singled out the "battle tracks and event themes" as the weakest tracks and "'The Tale Told by the Wind' and the final battle" as some of the best.
Tracklist
Box set
Square Enix has announced that they will publish a box set of every soundtrack album from the Mana series, as well as the Let Thoughts Ride on Knowledge and secret of mana + albums. The twenty-disc set, entitled Seiken Densetsu Music Complete Works, is scheduled to be released on September 14, 2011. It will include music composed by Kenji Ito, Nobuo Uematsu, Hiroki Kikuta, Yoko Shimomura, Masaharu Iwata, Takayuki Aihara, Tsuyoshi Sekito, Masayoshi Soken, and Ryuichi Sakamoto.Legacy
The track "Fear of the Heavens" from Secret of Mana was performed by the Tokyo Symphony OrchestraTokyo Symphony Orchestra
The , or TSO, was established in 1946 as the Toho Symphony Orchestra . It assumed its present name in 1951.Based in Kawasaki, the TSO performs in numerous concert halls and serves as the pit ensemble for some productions at New National Theatre, Tokyo, the city's leading opera house...
for the third Orchestral Game Concert in 1993, while "Meridian Child" from Seiken Densetsu 3 was performed for the fifth Orchestral Game Concert in 1996. "Fear of the Heavens" was also performed at the fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert in 2007 in Leipzig, Germany. Legend of Manas title theme was also performed by the Australian Eminence Symphony Orchestra
Eminence Symphony Orchestra
- Piano Stories :Alexey Yemtsov performed the first Piano Stories concert on 15 April, at Verbrugghen Hall. Featuring work from Studio Ghibli, Yoko Kanno and Shirō Sagisu, Piano Stories marked the beginning of a series of concerts celebrating piano scores from a selection of anime and gaming...
for its classical gaming music concert A Night in Fantasia 2007. Kenji Ito, along with other players, performed "Fool's Dance" from Dawn of Mana at the Extra: Hyper Game Music Event 2007 concert in Tokyo on July 7, 2007. Sinfonia Drammatica, an August 4, 2009 concert performed by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, featured several Mana songs as part of a combination of Yoko Shimomura's album Drammatica and the previous Stockholm Symphonic Shades concert. These tracks, all from Drammatica, were "Colored Earth", "Sparkling City", "Title Theme", and "Hometown Domina" from Legends of Mana; none of the Heroes of Mana tracks on the album were played at the concert.
Music from the series made up one-fourth of the music in the Symphonic Fantasies concerts in Cologne and Oberhausen in September 2009 which were produced by the creators of the Symphonic Game Music Concert series and conducted by Arnie Roth
Arnie Roth
Arnold "Arnie" Roth is an American, Chicago-based Grammy Award-winning conductor, composer, and record producer, best known for conducting numerous video game concerts. He is also a classically-trained violinist and a member of the Grammy Award-winning music group Mannheim Steamroller...
. The concerts featured a suite comprising Secret of Mana songs "Fear of the Heavens", "Flight into the Unknown", "Eternal Recurrence", "Premonition", "The Sorcerer", and "Rose and Spirit", as well as a boss battle encore suite which included "Meridian Festival". On February 6, 2011 the Eminence Symphony Orchestra played a concert in Tokyo as part of the Game Music Laboratory concert series as a tribute to the music of Kenji Ito and Hiroki Kikuta. The concert included "Bodorui", "Mana Temple", and "Rising Sun" from Final Fantasy Adventure; "Kind Memories", "Crisis", and "Meridian Dance" from Secret of Mana; and "Meridian Child" from Seiken Densetsu 3. The Final Fantasy Adventure pieces were played on the piano by Ito.
Music from the original soundtracks of the Mana games has been arranged for the piano and published by DOREMI Music Publishing. Books are available for the soundtracks to Dawn of Mana, Legend of Mana, and Sword of Mana. Two companion books have also been published as Seiken Densetsu Best Collection Piano Solo Sheet Music first and second editions, with the first edition covering tracks from Final Fantasy Adventure, Secret of Mana, and Seiken Densetsu 3, while the second adds tracks from Legend of Mana and Dawn of Mana. All songs in each book have been rewritten by Asako Niwa as beginning to intermediate level piano solos, though they are meant to sound as much like the originals as possible. Additionally, KMP Music Publishing has published a book of the piano album included in the Sword of Mana soundtrack album, which was arranged by Kenji Ito.
External links
- Official World of Mana website
- Wiki of Mana at WikiaWikiaWikia is a free web hosting service for wikis . It is normally free of charge for readers and editors, deriving most of its income from advertising, and publishes all user-provided text under copyleft licenses. Wikia hosts several hundred thousand wikis using the open-source wiki software MediaWiki...