What the hell happened to the soundtrack?

[AleX]

I was going to buy this game on Switch until I heard the soundtrack, it's so bad (some Tracks are okay)
especially "Devil's Lab" the Original
is so much better.

https://youtu.be/bKWsvFZ4g1s

And on 33:29 "Sorcery Research
Laboratory" Don't know why it's called differently here.
The "Remastered" Version is just
horrible.

https://youtu.be/yJMhr_ZLb58

[SC_Nikki]

Yeah, they botched Devil's Lab. It should have been more orchestral like some of the other tracks. Same deal with the Floating Continent.

I also think the original Techno de Chocobo is vastly superior to the remastered version.

[Dukeinator]

Do yourself a favor and listen to Zircon - Dirt Devil

That arrangement earned him a meet and greet with Nobuo Uematsu himself

[Mike]

It's funny, I feel like they kinda got Mt. Koltz and Devil's Lab mixed up in terms of style. The former was once more of a prog-ish rock kind of thing that became more orchestral in PR, whereas Devil's Lab went from more orchestral-ish to more straight-out prog. I actually think both are good for the those respective styles, but I do perhaps prefer the original takes.

I'll add this about Devil's Lab.... I think it would have been great if they built on the new prog/synth version by adding a second section that opened up and went a bit more lavish on instrumentation. Plenty of songs in the PR version added new sections to do this kind of thing (to great effect in my opinion), and I would have thought this track a prime candidate for that treatment. I still like the track, but I was disappointed in that.

[Ravalin]

This is just depressing

[Zogtar]

All subjective*. Some songs sound worse, some sound better.

Phantom Train is a good example of a better soundtrack.

[Castor Troy]

It's not SO bad except the horn. It sounds really wrong. The original sounds way better. Also the metal hit sound isn't great.

I hope they add the ability to listen to the original soundtracks soon.

[Mike]

Castor Troy původně napsal:

It's not SO bad except the horn. It sounds really wrong. The original sounds way better. Also the metal hit sound isn't great.

I hope they add the ability to listen to the original soundtracks soon.

I think they very intentionally used a synth lead instead of a horn sound, probably thinking that as so many other songs in the soundtrack use standard brass instruments/ensembles, a song like Devil's Lab presented an opportunity to spice up the sonic palette. And I do, generally, really appreciate that about the PR versions. As much as I love the original soundtrack (I was a teenager when the game came out and people made fun of me for importing the soundtrack...those were the days lol), you are listening to the same relatively limited handful of samples for over 3 hours. It's the exact same trumpet patch in every song that uses it, etc.

But I do think the choice of the more synthy/filtered instruments gives the song a more attenuated, less lively feel from the original. And had the song received an expanded section where it really let things rip, maybe built a beefier string accompaniment for the next part, or added other synths, or whatever, it might have really brought it home. Other tracks more or less got that treatment. I was surprised this one did not.

[PhamTrinli]

Ya I liked several of the key OG sound tracks better as well.

[Rerun]

I shape synth sounds, play piano, sequencers etc. I was really impressed with the orchestral sound vs chip tune. I love both but I thought it was really cool what they did. Its just an opinion, it doesn't mean I am right.

I also liked Mike's comment previous mine, as his synth lead over horn sounded not as repetitive. spot on