Dragon Quest on Piano Volume 2 Music from Dragon Quest II & III   Publisher Sony Length 46:40 h Version Unique Print Discs 1 Release Date 10/08/1990   Composer Sugiyama, Koichi   ID APCG-4005   Price ~ 2800 yen   Tracks 26   Tracklist 01 - Rondo (1:30) 02 - Town (1:31) 03 - Jipang (1:17) 04 - Pyramid (1:26) 05 - Village (1:42) 06 - Adventure (1:37) 07 - Dungeon (1:58) 08 - Tower (1:16) 09 - The Phantom Ship (1:07) 10 - Requiem (1:04) 11 - Hokora (1:05) 12 - Sail on the Sea (1:29) 13 - Flying in the Sky (2:07) 14 - Battle ~ Alefgard ~ Hero's Challenge (3:59) 15 - Into the Legend (3:32) 16 - DragonQuest March (1:25) 17 - Love Song (3:17) 18 - Chateau (2:52) 19 - Wandering about Town (1:22) 20 - Fright in the Dungeon ~ Devil Tower (2:55) 21 - Requiem (1:43) 22 - Faraway Journey (1:10) 23 - Travelling with Friends (1:32) 24 - Beyond the Waves (1:57) 25 - Deathfight ~ Dead or Alive (1:47) 26 - My Road, My Journey (3:22) Cover Scans Front | Back Dragon Quest on Piano Volume 2 was released on the same day as Volume 1 and contains all songs of Dragon Quest III (15 Tracks) and II (11 Tracks). Although there are the same arrangement problems, i personally prefer the second volume. This has two reasons: First off all Dragon Quest III and II had great original sound versions, each song told a different story, each song created a certain mood. So if you are a fan of the 2 OSTs you will like this cd even if you know that it's nothing special and a shame for the capabilities of a piano with a two-handed experienced pianist. 2nd Reason: I think that sometimes it's a fault to judge music just by their complexity. While recording technique advances, the melody of an old song doesn't change, only the color you hear (if we talk about arrangements). Robert Schumann said:"It's your duty to preserve good compositions, as it's your duty to damn and destroy bad ones." -_-, but it's up to oneself how a good composition is defined, right? The highlights on this disc are definitively: "Village", this song is very fond and repeated twice. The harmony layers created in the left hand, are doing a good job making the melody move forward. "Flying in the sky" reminds me of some smooth jazz piano compositions by Mike Sch�nmehl. Syncopes, free tempo, jazzy major7 chords and a sweet main melody makes this one unforgettable. "Love Song", the password theme of DQII is as pretty as ever and lasts full 3:17 minutes. The bass in the left hand sometimes sounds boring, but the catchy melody wipes out this disadvantage. Although this arrangement cannot keep up with the symphonic suite version for harp and strings, it's acceptable. "Wandering about Town" is the most pleasing version of this song i've ever found. The orchestra version is too intrusive and the original NES synth version a harassment for your ears (The SNES version is okay though). "My Road my Journey" and "Into the legend" have quite good transcriptions on the piano. Both songs are sounding great, and can almost (aaaaalmost) measure with the Final Fantasy Ending Songs for piano. It's sad what would have really been possible with the note material of DQIII and DQII. My conclusion: Mr. Sugiyama isn't the best when it comes to piano arrangement, despite his great works for orchestra. Again: Not a must-have (go for the corresponding symphonic suites), but more recommendable as DQ on Piano: Volume 1. Review Date 15.06.04 Overall Rating 6/10 Slimes Writer George Vallant ([email protected])