PixlBit

Dreamcast, 2000

Composer: Noriyuki Iwadare

RPGs from this era usually had soundtracks that were mostly orchestral, but Iwadare went a different route for the Grandia games. His music tends to be more unconventional, which I love. His style is often bizarre, yet infectious and very entertaining. He had previously done the OSTs for the Lunar games on Sega CD, and he would later work with Capcom on some of the soundtracks for the Phoenix Wright games. I love his style, as it’s very upbeat and often catchy. And yet he can also do very slow and beautiful music too. You’ll see what I mean. 

LIVE!! LIVE!! LIVE!!

This song seems to be something played for a festival (not sure if that’s what it’s used for in the game). It’s so lively and happy. A violin and a pan flute seem to share the melody while there’s a constant array of percussion to back them up. What’s great about this song is that you never know what’s going to happen next. Even when it seems that the song is going to loop, it doesn’t, opting instead to do another variation of the melody. Then there’s a key change! It’s just a really fun song—try to listen to the whole thing. 

Middle Boss Battle

I love how Iwadare does battle music because it’s often crazier than your typical RPG battle music. Case in point is this song. It’s got a heavy dance beat with a jazzy piano and some kind of techno sound carrying the melody. Strings will jump in occasionally to make things more exciting, and the vibe of the song isn’t dark or sinister, instead simply being fun. It never sounds annoying either, which can be a problem when you go this route for a battle theme. 

Despair and Hope

Iwadare can also do very slow and beautiful songs, which is what we have here. This song is nothing more than just a piano and a violin. It’s deeply emotional, as there’s a great sense of sadness. The two instruments compliment each other perfectly, the violin carrying the melody most the time, but also handing it off to the piano at times. At 2’10” we get to the “hope” part as the song changes to a major key and we get a very hopeful feeling. It’s so beautiful! 

Have Faith in Yourself

This is another fun and upbeat song. Some kind of woodwind (maybe a pan flute) carries the melody while piano, guitar riffs, organ, and a heavy beat back it up. This certainly feels like a “get back up and keep going” kind of song. Once again, the song doesn’t loop when you think it does as Iwadare changes things up—the organ takes over at 1’23” and then the pan flute continues after that as the song culminates with all the instruments ramping up for successive notes—and then the song loops. I think Iwadare likes to do that—ramp up everything together before looping the song. 

The Final Battle 

This song! I could’t believe what I was hearing the first time I listened to this. This has to be the most upbeat, dance-heavy final boss theme in video games. Heavy guitar riffs and drums accent the action as trumpets blast—it’s pure adrenaline! At 1’47” things slow down as a choir comes in, but then the song loops. I love that for just a moment, there’s a sinister feeling before the song kicks into high gear with the crazy awesome dance beat and trumpets. It’s exhilarating! There are plenty of great final boss themes in RPGs, but this is a standout, and kudos to Iwadare for doing something so different. 

Also check out: Grandia OST, the Lunar series OSTs

Download this OST here