In the first of what will hopefully become a regular feature here on GameBump, we turn our eyes to our ears and take a closer look at one of gaming's more underrated aspects: music, of course.

For our inaugural review, we couldn't have a better contender: the soundtrack release to Odin Sphere, Vanillaware's beautiful 2D action game. While the game was released back in May for both its US and Japanese releases, the soundtrack just saw the light of day last week in Japan. This may seem strange, but it's not uncommon; even a major soundtrack release such as Final Fantasy XII's was released over 2 months after the game.

Speaking of Final Fantasy XII, if you've played that (or Final Fantasy Tactics, or Vagrant Story, or countless others) you've already heard the work of Odin Sphere's composer: Hitoshi Sakimoto. A former employee of Square, Sakimoto's time there was brief before he broke off and formed his own studio named Basiscape, who of recent have exploded in demand (and by no lack of talent).

Sakimoto leads his Basiscape crew (including long-time composing partner Masaharu Iwata, whom he worked with on Final Fantasy Tactics and others) in providing the distinct orchestral sound in Odin Sphere he is known for. While Odin Sphere is not Sakimoto's best work (nor did he compose the majority of it), there's enough color in the material to provide the perfect backdrop to the already vibrant world of Odin Sphere.

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The 2-disc soundtrack starts off appropriately with the main theme of Odin Sphere, a melody that Sakimoto will weave throughout the soundtrack. This is a beautiful piece - and good thing - because as mentioned this motif appears throughout the soundtrack. But nowhere is it as stunning as in this opening vocal arrangement (well, with one exception, below).

The majority of the first disc is spent on the themes of the stages players visit in Odin Sphere. On the whole, they are hit or miss. Some are bombastic and fit the action (such as "Battle on the Snowy Mountain", the battle theme of Winterhorn Ridge) but others are downright grating ("Battle in Fairy Land", heard while fighting in Ringford Forest). This could be due to Sakimoto himself only contributing one of these stage tracks ("Battle in the Land of Fire", battle theme of the Volkanon Lava Pit). Veteran Iwata does provide the majority of them with aplomb but the weaker ones can be attributed to the newer composers of the Basiscape team. Another highlight on the first disc is Sakimoto's "Attic Archive", the theme of Alice, the little girl whose reading of dusty old books forms both the frame of the game's action and serves as a stage select. Light, airy, and playful, it serves as a great contrast to Odin Sphere's largely dramatic tone.

And for drama, look no further than the second disc. This disc contains all of the music from the game's cutscenes and series of final battles. Iwata provides appropriately somber tunes in "Sinking in Sadness" and "The One Left Standing At the World's End" but the highlight again goes to Sakimoto's sorrowful reworking of the main theme in "A Fate Accepted." Sakimoto provides other memorable tracks of a more upbeat kind with "Restaurant", the theme of the Pooka Kitchen and "Study Time", which sounds very similar to his work in Final Fantasy XII.

But for what negatives they created for the first disc, the "freshmen" of Basiscape prove themselves with the greatness of some of the final battle themes. Mitsuhiro Kaneda shines with "Rally", while Kimihiro Abe fixes his previous faux pas of "Battle in Fairy Land" with "Facing the Darkness." These themes serve to make an already memorable final sequence of battles all the more exciting.

However, possibly the greatest track is Sakimoto's ending theme ("Odin Sphere's Theme -Shanachie ver.-"), an orchestral, Celtic (!) arrangement of Odin Sphere's main theme. While the original theme was already gorgeous enough to the ear, this version is a special treat due to the Celtic arrangement, a style not normally associated with Sakimoto. To round out this disc and the soundtrack, video game music performers the Eminence Orchestra provide some string arrangements of Odin Sphere's theme and Attic Archive, to good effect.

The orchestral-sounding music of Odin Sphere as a whole may not be strong enough to stand on its own. Sakimoto's work again is the highlight, but he composed moderately few tracks in comparison to the others. But that is not to say it is not a success. The music supports the action in-game nearly flawlessly and whether or not you enjoyed the game is going to be the major factor in how positively or negatively the soundtrack affects your perception of it.

As with most video game soundtracks, the Odin Sphere Original Soundtrack is a Japan-only release. So yes, *groan*, that means it must be imported. If you want to take the plunge, an immediate and safe solution is CDJapan. Great selection with fast service, they list Odin Sphere for 3200 yen, which is just over $27. Shipping is generally $15 for 3 day air from Japan, which may seem unreasonable but it's not. All's in the cost of having a great conversation piece, eh?

Interested in a complete tracklisting? Try Game Music Revolution, my friend.

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