The third game in the âMarlâs Kingdomâ series was, in many ways, more of the same. More cutesy characters from NIS, and more cheesy, lovable music from Tenpei Sato. But this time around, Satoâs musical style showed a bit of maturity.
Now when I say that, I donât mean that the cutesy-girl vocals are gone. Theyâre here, and theyâre intact. But the instrumental tracks, the in-game OST stuff, itâs really good. Satoâs a pretty prolific composer, but Iâm used to hearing certain types of songs, with certain instruments, and nothing beyond that. But if you compare this album to previous Marlâs Kingdom soundtracks, or to Disgaea, youâll notice that this album has some unique charm to it. Things that Sato doesnât use elsewhere are on this album. âOrange Village,â the first town theme, is a striking example. Itâs a simple song, nice melody, sounds like something that Hisaishi would write for a Miyazaki film. What it doesnât sound like is your average Sato âcalmâ piece. I guess thatâs why I like it so much: I wasnât expecting it, and it was a pleasant surprise.
The vocal tracks are really up to oneâs personal taste. I could withstand the melodic ballads like âBaby Bird,â but eccentric vocalists (like in âSabatoâ) really gave me a headache. I know itâs done for personality, and Iâm guessing this song was either written for a villain or a really aggravating support character. Either way, I like to skip over this track. Deep-voiced womenâŠyuck. It doesnât work well here.
Sato fans looking for something a little different can rely on the entire âMarlâs Kingdomâ series, but they can especially rely on this particular soundtrack. Outsiders wonât get it, but if you know Sato, and you love Sato, this is a great album to have in your collection.