In addition, when the different sections come together, certain sections get a spotlight to soar through with the underscoring this is particularly true with the brass over the strings in the first half. I also love how the piano is actually heard in this piece, even if it is far too frequent for my tastes. Putting all of that aside, the basic fact of this piece is that the melody is catchy and memorable, which really plays to the strength of both the original composition and the way the track has been arranged.
I can honestly say I have never heard a brass and woodwind duet in any piece like the beginning of this one. Both sections blend extremely well without being overpowering and, when the woodwinds are joined by strings which later continue the same melodic pattern , the whole piece exudes energy and light.
Using these pieces to compare with the Kingdom Hearts tracks, you really hear a difference both in the composition style, but in the way that they have been arranged. In this case, less is more is definitely an asset. In this review, I've looked at a lot of the faster paced or grand expressive pieces.
With this one, we get a distantly melodic piece that really conveys a mood serenity rather than an emotion tension. The entire arrangement is slow and expressive, with much of the orchestra providing an accompaniment for the piano. We finally get to hear Shimomura's piano work! I am, however, disappointed with how this track plays out. What starts off as an exceedingly beautiful track turns into a wall of sound due to the percussion and the unnecessarily loud brass.
Luckily, that segment doesn't last very long and the piece closes out just as smoothly as it started. In this piece, I really like how the melody is passed from woodwinds, to strings, to the piano, and back around again in a constant wave.
It never stays with one individual section, allowing the sound to change and mould itself to the different instruments. Off all the pieces on the album, this one most closely resembles what we might hear in an actual game, and it is also one of the few pieces which is not impacted by the overly loud percussion, which again is a great effect; these two pieces certainly wouldn't have sounded the same otherwise.
Instead, this is the actual piece from the game, and is the first complete track to be commercially available from the entire Final Fantasy XIII game set. Many have heard this piece with the trailers which have been produced for the game, but this is our chance to hear it without guns and swords and all that racket.
At its core, it is a beautiful piece. Expressive piano, slow strings, and a soaring operatic vocal from Aundrea Hopkins provide all the necessary elements for a positive Final Fantasy vocal theme. Or rather, you would hope so. Much to my disappointment, much of the track comes out sounding muted and far from the polished perfection we, as fans, have come to expect. Particularly in the latter half of the track, where the tempo changes and we have an extremely intriguing rhythm my favorite part of the piece , you can barely hear any of the subtleties in the piano and even the vocal gets a bit buried.
I like that the piece requires no percussion to keep it moving, but I expected a lot more from this piece. I really can't fault the concept of this arrangement album.
That being said however, there are a lot of disappointments within the arrangements. The percussion is too loud, the volumes are often out of whack, and many of the intricate melodic details of the original pieces are absent. There are, however, a few really nice arrangements that manage to avoid these problems and present something quite solid. I think one of the main issues plaguing this album is the arrangement choices. Those fans will no doubt savor hearing nostalgic melodies from the bit era onward arranged orchestrally, but others may wonder what all the fuss is about.
The most powerful theme of the collection is arranged superbly, from the lonely, poignant piano intro, to the flood of strings that overtake it, to the periodic blasts of brass that drive in a sense of urgency. In a way it's too good of a start, as the album never again approaches the same dramatics heights. Aside from the opening track, the definitive success of the album is the inspired selection and generous arrangement of themes from the formerly mediocre Kingdom Hearts soundtrack.
Front Mission and Live a Live are the two oldest titles included, and though they played a role in cementing Shimomura's place as a fan-favorite composer in the SNES era, some simple compositions from both titles show their age here.
Front Mission's "Take the Offensive" manages to overcome that through pure militaristic bombast, but the base melodies in the other tracks are just too plain to salvage. Strangely, the selections from the most recent title of the album proper, "Heroes of Mana", similarly suffer from either shortness or simplicity. In addition there are a couple of tracks that are embarrassing to see on a best collection.
Generally, though, Drammatica is perfectly listenable, albeit rarely exceptional. Twinkle Twinkle Holidays Kingdom Hearts. Tango Appassionata Heroes of Mana. Forgotten Wings Live a Live. The 13th Anthology Kingdom Hearts. Manifold Irons Front Misson. The Other Promise Kingdom Hearts.
Ending Theme from Heroes of Mana. Stream or buy on:. Genre International. Recording Date January 14, - January 18, Destati Kingdom Hearts Yoko Shimomura. Legend of Mana Yoko Shimomura.
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