Soundtrack Review: Xenoblade Chronicles

Born in the Wii's twilight days, Xenoblade Chronicles was an astounding success story, hailed by many as the best JRPG to grace a television in decades. Xenoblade Chronicles' impeccable quality extends firmly into the territory of music, its team of accomplished composers delivering a soundtrack every bit as majestic as the world it helps bring to life.

Table of Contents

• Game Information
• Creativity
• Implementation
• Replay Value
• Notable Tracks
• Final Score

Game Information

Release Date: April 5, 2012 (US)
Consoles: Nintendo Wii
Developer: Monolith Soft
Publisher: Nintendo
Composers: Yoko Shimomura, ACE+, Manami Kiyota, Yasunori Mitsuda

Creativity

I'll go ahead and be straight here: I really, really like the Xenoblade Chronicles soundtrack. In fact, I liked it before I even started playing the game, when I unintentionally came across the title theme on YouTube and immediately fell in love with it.

Main Theme -- Yoko Shimamura


It's hard to succinctly describe exactly what makes Xenoblade's soundtrack so great. Perhaps it's the great melodies: Japanese video game scores tend to be more melody-driven than their Western counterparts, and Xenoblade certainly has no shortage of catchy or haunting themes that linger in your head. However, this focus on melody doesn't leave other musical qualities, such as harmony and texture, by the wayside. I'm fondest of the textures; each track is very appropriate for the level in which it is being demonstrated. The forests are built of woodwinds and drums, the seas are supported with soaring strings, and the residential areas are a medley of organic and synthetic sounds.

I've never yearned for 1080p as hard as when playing Xenoblade.

Not only is the music of Xenoblade Chronicles of exceptionally high quality, it also sets itself apart from other JRPG soundtracks via a creative day/night music scheme. As players traverse the Xenoblade's massive world, hours pass and the sun rises and sets, filling Xenoblade's sky with various shades of blue, red, and violet. In concert with the visuals, the music also changes with the time of day. Each area has two distinct music tracks, corresponding to day and night. As might be expected, the day and night tracks in each area are variations upon the same theme, with appropriate (and sometimes quite liberal) differences to lend each its unique "day" or "night" feel. It's a simple system, but effective. The two tracks below demonstrate one such day/night pair:

Colony 9 (Day) -- Yoko Shimamura


Colony 9 (Night) -- Yoko Shimamura & ACE+


Although perhaps a bit literal, the Colony 9 themes demonstrate well the common thematic basis of the day/night themes. The "Colony 9 theme" is obvious in both renditions, presented with the violin in Day and the saw-like lead in Night, and is presented fairly faithfully in both. The harmonic structure is also naturally conserved between the two, but textural similarities remain as well, most notably the prominent use of the guitar. In the Daytime version, the guitar presents an energetic strumming pattern, which morphs to a gentler arpeggio in the Nighttime version.

Xenoblade Chronicles doesn't do anything exceptionally daring with its soundtrack; it's fairly standard, albeit the really, really good kind of standard. Nonetheless, the soundtrack is of very high quality, and the day/night tracks specific to each area lend it some additional uniqueness. Great stuff.

Creativity Score: 9/10

Implementation

Xenoblade's music fits the game's grand settings remarkably well. The various areas in Bionis are fittingly organic, with string and wood instruments taking the forefront, while the later Mechonis areas have an appropriate mechanical feel, but in a way that feels more steampunk than science fiction. It takes but one swim across the seas of Eryth or one sunset in the grassy hills of Bionis' Leg to fall in love with the musical soundscape the composers have created. Speaking of sunsets...



The video above demonstrates the simple but effective system used to switch between day and night tracks in Xenoblade. Well, maybe "system" is overstating the simple fade from one track to the next, but that simple change in texture and tempo is surprisingly effective at conveying the mood switch as day gives way to night (or vice versa). Here are a few more examples of the switch (for what it's worth, the last one is my favorite). I wouldn't have minded something more dynamic, perhaps a more gradual change in music to mirror the environmental shift, but if it ain't broke, why fix it?

Dynamic music does exist in some regard throughout the rest of the game, most notably in the battle system. Again, the actual "dynamic" part is no more than a sudden change in music, like you might see in any RPG. The music changes when to a hectic battle theme you enter a confrontation with an enemy, with more dramatic music for more powerful enemies and bosses. More interesting than this simple system, however, is the way in which the music changes to reflect the current state of the battle. Let's take a look at an example:



This clip from a unique monster battle demonstrates the highlights of Xenoblade's battle music system. As the video starts, the music is still the ambient music of Bionis' Leg, up until the giant spider crawls up. The boss music kicks into full gear at 0:04 with "Those Who Bear their Name", and the music definitely reflects the intensity of the battle. When one party member is incapacitated at 1:30, the music shifts to the gloomy "Hectic Pursuit" theme until the fallen member is revived at 1:42.

An interesting feature of Xenoblade Chronicles is the "future-smashing" system. The main character of Xenoblade wields a sword that has the ability to predict the future, manifesting in visions that show future events. However, the characters need not abide by these often gloomy futures, and if the right steps are taken, the future can be changed. The sequence starting at 1:46 shows an example of this: the characters see a vision of the boss mauling a party member, but by taking the right actions, they are able to avoid this future. Here, the music shifts to the "Vision Reacts" theme (whose mood I can't figure out for the life of me), which persists until the end of the battle at 5:44. It's a nice little feel-good moment when you accomplish this in the game, and the music definitely adds to it.

Apart from wishful thinking regarding dynamic music, my main complaint about Xenoblade's soundtrack implementation is that the in-battle music gets old after a while. Particularly later in the game, when smashing futures or dying happens in nearly every unique monster or boss battle, the music switch loses its impact, especially since I'm not particularly fond of those themes. Regardless, Xenoblade's soundtrack solidly supports the gameplay, even if it isn't anything groundbreaking.

Implementation Score: 8/10

Replay Value

As great as some video game soundtracks are, they often lose their appeal when outside the context of the game. The soundtrack for Xenoblade Chronicles is not one of those soundtracks. I mentioned earlier that I fell in love with Xenoblade's main theme before I ever opened the shrink-wrap on a copy of the game, and I'm certain I would feel similarly about a number of the other tracks in the game.

Unlike many video game soundtracks, Xenoblade's music spans a variety of styles, and you'll almost certainly find a few (or many!) that speak to you. I'm typically a fan of the upbeat tracks with plenty of acoustic guitar and percussion, and there are certainly a number of such tracks in Xenoblade. However, I also really enjoyed several slower, more expressive pieces in the soundtrack, such as the beautiful night theme from Valak Mountain:

Snowy Mt. Valak (Night) -- ACE+


Also unlike many video game soundtracks, Xenoblade's tracks are quite long. Individual tracks are typically between 3 and 5 minutes long of unique musical content, unlike many games with looping music that actually have a reasonably small amount of unique, unlooped music. This greatly enhances the offline listening experience. Here's one of my favorites, "Those Who Bear Their Name":

Those Who Bear Their Name -- ACE+


The first time I listened to this track, I was blown away by just how much musical content was in this single track. Every time I thought the track would begin looping again, it introduced yet another section with another new and interesting musical theme. I really enjoyed every moment of this track.

Xenoblade's music is a great listen, even outside of the game. If you've played the game, no doubt you're already in love with the music, but I'd recommend the soundtrack even to those who have never played, or never intend to play Xenoblade Chronicles. The full soundtrack can be found on Amazon.

Replay Value Score: 10/10

Notable Tracks

Colony 9 -- Yoko Shimamura


Satorl, Phosphorescent Land (Night) -- Manami Kiyota


Confrontation with the Enemy -- ACE+


Field of the Machinae -- ACE+


Beyond the Sky -- Yasunori Mitsuda (feat. Sarah Alainn)

Final Score

The Xenoblade Chronicles soundtrack is, in a word, phenomenal. I admit that this score may be a bit biased by how much I love the soundtrack, but for me, the catchy melodies and beautiful harmonies of the soundtrack really hit home. Xenoblade's soundtrack is thoroughly enjoyable both in and outside the game, and I highly recommend it. It is truly the product of musical masters.

Final Score: 10/10