I listen to a LOT of videogame soundtracks. Sometimes I read positive things about a new soundtrack for a game I haven’t even played and end up listening to it. This is one of those cases.

Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 3 is an odd case for me. It’s a racing game for the ps2 based on a manga named “Wangan Midnight”. I can’t think of any other time I have actually sought out a soundtrack to an Anime/Manga based, import only game. But I recognized the composer and had heard very positive things, so I decided to check it out.

Yuzo Koshiro was in charge of this OST with a few vocal performances by Australian singer, Paula Terry, sprinkled throughout. For anybody not already familiar with Koshiro’s work, he has done music for the Streets of Rage series, Shinobi, Ys, ActRaiser and the original Shenmue, to name just a few.

The entire 22 track OST sticks to just one genre: trance. This is one of the things that drew me to it. I enjoy a good trance album from time to time and this definitely delivered for me. The average song is a 1 and a half to 2 minute long loop played twice making the tracks 3 to 4 minutes a piece. A bit on the short side as far as most trance I listen to is concerned, but what’s there is pure ear candy.

The production values in place here are better than some of the trance albums I’ve picked off the shelves at record stores. The kicks are nice and punchy, and the synths are crystal clear. Every instrument used fits into its respective place in the mix perfectly. It’s about as far away from muddy mid-ranges as you can get.

One of my favorite tracks, entitled “Wanna Try One Last Time”, has an excellent feel to it. In one section, most of the other instruments drop out, letting a little minimalistic piano shine through, just before some subtle reversing leads you into the razor sharp synths, punctuated by a single kick with just the right amount of reverb to give it a very full, powerful sound that really accentuates the section. Here is a clip.

When I first got this album, it stayed in my car’s CD player and was repeating for weeks on end. I highly recommend this album if you enjoy trance music. However, if you don’t, I doubt this will change your mind.

This album can be purchased at most vendors of imported videogame soundtracks including, but not limited to, Play-Asia.com!

Tags: soundtrack review, trance, wangan midnight, wangan midnight maximum tune 3, yuzo koshiro

This entry was posted on Monday, February 2nd, 2009 at 6:00 am and is filed under Music, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.