Star Ocean ~Second Story~ Original Soundtrack

Wow! I never even paid much attention to Motoi Sakuraba's work until I first bought "Star Ocean: The Second Story". I never really even knew who he was, but after hearing the music from the game and purchasing the soundtrack, his music has found a permanent place in my heart.

First off, I should mention that this soundtrack has nearly the best instrument synthesis in a Playstation soundtrack (second only to Crono Cross OST). So you should have no problems enjoying the sound quality.

This soundtrack is packed with songs for everyone. It's fun, it's suspenseful, it's epic! It's everything you could look for in an awesome game soundtrack, only multiplied ten-fold. The composition itself is as good as it gets where videogames are concerned. The soundtrack starts off sounding very much like a Jerry Goldsmith sci-fi score, but soon shifts to a much more fantasy-like setting. The fantasy sound starts in disc 1, track 5 "The Venerable Forest", which is the first arrangement of Rena's theme, not heard again until disc 2. This is probably my favorite videogame theme *ever*! It's *that* good! My favorite arrangement of it is "A Quirk of Fate", which opens Rena's scenario in the most elegant way possible. Some of the other elegant pieces include the town themes such as "Pure a Stream", "Cuddle", and "Moderate".

If it's the good old epic sound that you're looking for, then you've just gotta hear the two overworld themes "Field of Exper (Expel)" and "Field of Nede". The main battle theme is an enjoyable techno romp, and the boss music "Dynamite" is pulse-pounding heavy metal.

The finale is spectacular in "The Fateful a Moment", as the synth strings build up suspense only to drop off and be replaced by major pipe organ chords that sound absolutely heavenly.

Now, to get to the matter that probably has you worried most. Yes, the songs are only played through once, but, you must believe me, it doesn't hurt the soundtrack in any way. It may be nice to have the tracks play through twice, but playing them through only once eliminates much of the cost seen in other soundtracks, and nobody's going to tell you that you can't play the track over again.

In conclusion, I *have* to recommend this soundtrack. I just have to! It ranks right up there with Final Fantasy VI OSV and Chrono Trigger OSV. Motoi Sakuraba truly is a musical genius, and I plan on purchasing a few of his past works. This is a composer that I hope we will see for years to come!

Unbelievable. That one word describes this soundtrack. Simply *unbelievable*! This is the best game soundtrack I have heard in a long time. A very, very long time in fact. No other game soundtrack out there today has moved me as Star Ocean: The Second Story OST has.

First of all, I must say that Motoi Sakuraba is an absolute genius. Sakuraba has created one of the most beautiful and sweeping scores ever. And that goes for all genres of music, not just video games. This OST sounds more like a film score than a game soundtrack. The opening CG theme, "Silent the Universe", sounds like something straight out of a sci-fi space film. It sets the mood for this amazing game and its equally amazing score. With its uplifting and heart-rending melodies, listening to SO2 OST really is like watching an epic movie.

Now, onto the music itself. Most of the composition in this OST far surpasses anything out on the game music market today (yes, even by Square's gods of music, Uematsu and Mitsuda). I nearly dropped dead when I heard "Pure a Stream" playing in the first town in SO2. It has a beautiful flute (the flute instrument used in this OST sounds extremely real) playing a warm, dreamy melody while strings float in the backround. It is the best town theme I've ever heard and, as a friend of mine put it, it just carries you away. "Sacred Song", the castle theme, starts off with a haunting (and suprisingly real sounding) choir singing a chant, then bagpipes join in and carry the song to its end. "Breath of Air", the ship theme, is another song that carries you away with its use of strings and what sound like a synth french horn. These are just a few of the amazing tracks on this OST.

I cannot review this soundtrack without mentioning the two overworld themes, "Field of Exper" and "Field of Nede". In my humble opinion these songs are the best on the OST and by far the best overworld themes in any game. "Field of Exper" starts off with a powerful and dramatic opening (with the same synth-horn as in "Breath of Air"), then cuts over to a very beautiful and haunting flute solo, followed by strings and the synth-horn joining in together. It's just too good! This song builds from the very beginning and is terrific until its end. "Field of Nede" is also beautiful, but not quite as powerful. It starts off slow and almost menacing, then builds up to a another beautiful flute solo. These two songs are just incredible.

Another high point of this soundtrack is the sound quality. It's excellent. As I mentioned earlier, the flute used in this OST sounds very real. I've never heard a better synthesized flute in a game (it's even better than Genso Suikoden OST which has also has great sound quality). The choir, flute, strings, etc., all sound like live instruments and not synthesizers (well... maybe very good synths).

This soundtrack has only one fault: the songs on this OST are only played through once! Once! Yes, it's Final Fantasy IV OST and Dracula X Nocturne in the Moonlight OST all over again. This flaw is what keeps this soundtrack from being the best ever. I knew something wasn't quite right when I ordered this OST and saw that it was only two CDs for 87 tracks. And alas, my fear came true. But when you consider how amazingly beautiful these tracks are, it really doesn't matter if the songs are short (and thankfully the two overworld themes are four minutes a piece).

Besides its one fault, SO2 OST is a very good purchase. The composition and sound quality are excellent, and the two CDs are long and packed with beautiful music. If you like game music, you have to get this soundtrack. It's an experience that must be heard.