"Dragon Quest Suite 2" Akuryo no Kamigami ~ Digital Sound Explosion    Publisher Apollon Length 54:08 h Version 1st Print Discs 1 Release Date 02/05/1987   Composer Sugiyama, Koichi   ID BY30-5136   Price 2800 yen   Tracks 12   Tracklist 01 - Dragon Quest March (1:34) 02 - Only Lonely Boy (3:14) 03 - Chteau (3:28) 04 - Town (1:48) 05 - Fight In Dungeon / Devil's Tower (3:20) 06 - Requiem (2:10) 07 - Hateshi Naki Sekai - Endless World (4:14) 08 - Beyond The Waves (2:16) 09 - Deathfight / Dead or Alive (2:18) 10 - My Road My Journey (4:02) 11 - Dragon Quest II Game Original Sound Story        "From Opening to Finale" (25:15) Cover Scans Front | Back | Inlay The Erdrick Saga (or Roto in Japanese) was continued due to the success of its predecessor. This DQ boom is often explained by the enormous fame of star drawer Akira Toriyama. It has to be said that Dragon Quest was advertised in many early DB Classic Mangas. So the japanese kids went out buying the game...and the DQ producers were encouraged in continuing. The first track of each Symphonic CD is the Dragon Quest March. This will not change in decades... but in comparison to the last Symphonic Suite, the track is only 1:43 long, so there's no boring repetition. Recording/Performance quality is way higher and there are new clashing cymbals added to the mix. The Love Song: Only Lonely Boy ("Sagashite") marks the beginning of this great CD. Instead of arranging the menu song for the whole orchestra Sugiyama decided to do it for a few violins (played pizzicato), a harp and one contrabass. This decision was no failure, because the sweetness of the melody gives us the chance to hear a completely new area of his composition style. In my opinion he even tried to create a anime/pop feeling, at the start of DQ2. Wonderful song. Track 3: In DQ2, which takes place 100 years after it's prequel, the player experiences a 3 minute long intro before he gets able to bash into his controller. "Pastoral", a quiet piece of music is played at the beginning text roll, "Catastrophe", when the castle of the sorceress, who will join the party of the hero later, is attacked by demons and destroyed. Very cinematic, fast and emotional, even if you've never played the game. An alternative recording of "Pastoral" was also featured on the Orchestral Game Concert No.4, played by the Tokyo Philharmonic. "Chateau" means castle in French. This slow baroque piece, played by the string section fits perfectly into the line of DQ castle BGMs. Have a ear for the opera trills (trills which are lasting at least one bar or more) and the solos, which are played by a beautiful trembling violin. "Town" - I never liked this town theme, because it was kind of annoying on the NES. The arrangement is okay, there are some good alternations throughout the song, but the performance is lacking accuracy. Percussion and Toms are, when present, often besides the rhythm...apart from this, it's quite a nice song on the symphonic suite. Interesting fact: Did you recognize this melody? The start sounds exactly like the "Feather Theme" from Forrest Gump, starring Tom Hanks. This is no accusation of plagiary Mr. Alan Silvestri, but the first 20 seconds of the song are similar, there's no doubt. Check it out if you don't believe me. "Fright In Dungeon ~ Devil's Tower" starts and ends very ambient and in RUBATO (free tempo). The dungeon theme is played by string section, a glockenspiel and percussion. The tower theme on the other hand sounds rather sick and atonal and you will be happy to hear it end. "Endless World" is the musical quintessence of this CD, 6 minutes long and parted into 3 different overworld themes. "Faraway Journey" is played when the hero travels alone. Sugiyama takes full advantage of the symphonic orchestra to rise the musical tension. Time after time, there are more and more instruments joining the whole performance. My personal favourite will be yours too my young padawan. Without silence in between "Alefgard" sets in, the same piece of music you heard in Dragon Quest I. Time for some nostalgia, but for nothing new. "Travelling with friends" is more joyful than "Faraway Journey", but similarly to remember. One of the reasons why both songs were used for the Dragon Quest Animes. If you've played DQ2 you will like the 8th Track even more. Great work! "Beyond the Waves" is the first sailing song in the DQ lineage. K. Sugiyama did a wonderful job on this song, giving it the feeling of a Johann Strauss Waltz with 3/4 rhythm and a reproachless performance. When the track reaches 1:25 minutes a completely new part can be heard...i'm questioning myself why the composer left this part out in the original sound version. This arrangement rocks. Let's have a look on "Death Fight" ~ "Dead or alive". Time for some critism: There is one mistake at 0:25 (the horn plays a little too early), and the musician who is in charge of the percussions appears to be a little drunk. Apart from these taints a fabulous orchestral work. As in all following Symphonic Suites Sugiyama composes a few seconds of new music between the battle and the last battle song, making the whole track more interesting even for a die-hard fan. "Dead or alive" is the song of the evil demon Malroth, the last boss in the game. The leading motif is frightening and the melody in between is a fast repetition of notes played by brasses. Thumbs-Up! "My Road, My Journey" closes the book of this Dragon Quest episode. In my opinion it's the ultimate and best ending song, which has ever touched a DQ game. Mr. Sugiyama even chose this track to be the ending of the Dai no Daiboken Anime , complete with lyrics and sung by a male japanese vocalist. This track, as well as a few others can be heard in the download section. The 2nd Dragon Quest Symphonic Suite has improved on many points, and the few flaws on this disc are washed away by the big amount of fascinating and stunning songs. Reprints are still out there, so have an eye on eBay auctions if you are interested! Review Date 20.06.04 Rating Not reviewed yet