When I was seventeen, I went to London to a friend to what would be my only anime convention. It was EXPO London 2005. Here would be where I gained my love of Fullmetal Alchemist and a popular film composer from Japan. One stall was selling Video Game Soundtracks, so naturally I was brimming with excitment. I walked away with two cds, as it was all I could afford. The first one was Nobuo Uematsu and Tsuyoshi Sekito's score to Final Fantasy Origins, and the second was the soundtrack to Onimusha 2. I must clarify I have only just played Onimusha 2 about a fortnight ago, so why did I have the soundtracks so early? Well the trailer for the game had been released on a Playstation magazine demo, and the music in the trailer had a particular resonance. The version of Onimusha 2 I had just purchased was the Western release, so with English liner notes gave insight into the composer's process.
Here I will provide the liner notes to the original soundtrack. I have retained the original grammar and translation as it was found in the booklet.
ONIMUSHA 2 AND ITS MUSIC
The music which we casually listen comforts, entertains and encourages us in everyday life. I should say that the music is almost necessities in our daily life. I love movies, and try to see as many as movies I can whenever I have chance. Needless to say, the music is one of elements which are essential for making a movie like an image, a script and sound effects. Then, how about the music in a game? I’ve been making games for the last 15 years. When I started making games for the TV video game, the music was created by using limited sound resources, and it was totally depended on a creator’s creativity. When I look back, we were trying to express each character’s emotion in spite of the fact that both music and graphic in the game back then were nothing but symbols. Contrary to this, if you see the current video game: e.g. Play Station 2, you will notice that any kind of expression is possible by a sound, including the sound something like an orchestra. Naturally, this makes me more eager to make the music for the game. Not only that, I feel like creating the best music for the game ever. During the last production of Onimusha, finally my wish really came true and I was able to create the tune by using an orchestra which consists of more than 200 people. This was not the only the first time it happened in the game industry, but we decided to use these tunes for Onimusha which nobody ever thought of trying back then.
“Onimusha 2” ’s music was created by Mr. Taro Iwashiro. His music is a perfect for climax the drama which is magnificent, graceful, sensitive and spectacular.
When I listened to Mr. Iwahiro’s music, I was impressed by its beautiful sound. Naturally, I thought he was a perfect choice when I thought of stirring the players emotions while they play this dramatic game. In fact, his music was so good or sounded so beautiful, and I eneded up asjing him not to make it too damn beautiful. So, after trial and error, we finally came up with something both of us could agree; something that describes each character’s personal trait and climax the development of the story while a player plays the game. Moreover, we successfully came up with the music which does not interfere with playing the game. All staffs involved in the creation of “Onimusha 2” are happy with the work of Mr. Iwashiro who knows inside and out of creating a drama.
The music is a vital element for a game. And this “Onimusha 2 Soundtrack” created by Mr. Taro Iwashiro reminds us what really beautiful music is.
"Onimusha 2" producer, Keiji Inafune
THE CORE OF MUSIC
The great composer, Beethoven’s symphony No. 5 which is called “The Fate Knocks at the Door” starts with four notes. And these notes are continuously played for 30 minutes and create a core component of this music. Whether we’re creating arts, literature or music, the more we expect to create a high quality work for ourselves, the more we have to expect to cut something we don’t need. In short, creating a great work is all depend on whether we can refine the work by sticking to only essential designs. When we see this in terms of different stand point, we could say it’s very tough to keep the quality of work intact when the music or song is consisting of 8 to 16 measures. Of course, it can be done, but it’s not easy. In movies, TV dramas, or something like this project which requires majestic music which goes with its game theme has to depend on a wide range of music and creative talents of the composer who is in charge of the music. However, creating an excellent music which can enhance the work is not an easy task. In spite of this difficulty, the composer tries his best by contriving something new. All staffs who were involved in this CD creation; of course, this includes myself are hoping you could sense the struggle and efforts we went through when you’re listening to this CD
At last, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all staffs who were involved in producing this CD.
Taro Iwashiro, Composer.
SOUND & ARRANGE
Most people who purchased this CD might already have finished playing “Onimusha 2.” And hopefully, those who played the game have noticed this 2nd version’s scale is bigger than the original version. Moreover, I’m wishing that you’re carried away by each individual character’s unique characteristiques. In fact, I asked Mr. Taro Iwashiro to create the music that perfectly matches with the large scale and dramatic nature of this “Onimusha 2.” The first creation was the theme song for this “Onimusha 2.” Unlike the first version’s theme song that used many Japanese instruments, this second version’s theme used song used strings, horns played by an orchestra. Not only that, Mr Iwashiro used more ethnic sound to expand its world. In addition, he also combined pre-programmed rhythms and a sythesizer to produce the sound so he could create a perfect score for this magnificent and dramatic game. To make it more reminiscent, Mr. Iwafhiro came up with the music which suit for each character like Oyu, Magoichi, Taka-onna, Tokichiro or demons. Then we arranged the music throughout the game so that it makes the events and important fields more dramatic. In order to make the best use of music, we paid a lot of attention by thinking how we could express Oyu’s love story, Magoichi’s cool personality, Ekei’s energy or Kotaro’s grief, and we thought how we could combine the music with each scene. In other words, we put our efforts trying to utilize a beautiful melody, a chord and a rhythm so that the music makes the game more theatrical. To create the music for this “Onimusha 2,” we kept two things in our mind: the music for the battle scenes and the music for more a movie like scenes, and we wanted to distinguish these two. Instead of seeking for a movie like tempo, we yearned for arranging the music the way it enhances the dramatic development of game. In the actual game, we used more back ground music than we put together in this CD. So this CD has only a few collection of music we picked. I would be honoured if you could picture each scene when you listen to tis CD. Now I would like to give you a brief comment on each soundtrack.
YAGYU VILLAGE I: We tried to create the image of the village ruined by Oda troops by using traditional Japanese instrument like a Shakuhachi (pronounce Sha-ku-ha-chi, a vertical bamboo flute). Also we tried to express villagers’ anger whose village was ruined and their family members killed by Oda Troops. In order to accomplish this, we used the beat of a Japanese drum or Taiko. And this drum also gave the sound effects of raining. In “Onimusha 2” Japanese instruments are used here and there to create a certain image of the scene. If you compare this “Yagyu Village I” with “Yagyu Village II” which expresses a quiet village after rain, you can easily recognize the contrast of these two.
THE TOWN, KONSHO: In the game, this town is portrayed as a gold mining town which is full of ambition and greed. Naturally, we created the image of energetic and cheerful music for this. This music, along with “Konsho’s Tavern” are used quite often throughout the game. This town is a new addition to this game, and the most memorable place.
GIFU CASTLE: This setting was used in a previous version. As in “Onimusha 1,” this Gifu Castle has a lot to do with the story line. This “Gifu Castle” is played in the castle tower scenes. This has a unique rhythm which is created by the combination of a Japanese drum or Taiko, clappers, a bell and ethnic percussions. I think it’s interesting to compare this music with the ones played for the scenes which show the inside of the castle.
GENMA’S NEST: We asked Mr. Iwashiro to image a demon when he creates this music. The music is used throughout this game. This music adds an excitement in the scenes where Jubei dashing in Onigashima Island that is controlled by a demon (or demons). By the way, there is a music titled “”Farewell Room” in this CD. Let’s me explain why this name came up. There is an arena in an underground od Onigashima Island, and the developers of this game used to call the waiting room for this arena, simply “Farewell Room.” So, we decided to use it for the title of music.
After this CD, another Cd which was recorded by Mr. Iwashiro himself will be released. This CD includes “Jubei (main theme),” and the rest if characters’ theme song: Oyu, Magoichi, Kotoaro, Taka-onna, Tokichiro Kinoshita. In addition to these, it includes the music for Genma (or Demon) and Nobunaga Oda. So please look forward its release.
BGM Composer/arrange: Hideki Okugawa
The CD in question is the tour de force in Onimusha 2's discography.
The Onimusha 2 orchestra album realises the full potential of the game's music. While the in-game score was handed by Capcom's Sound Team, this album is arranged and orchestrated by bith Iwashiro and Hideyuki Fukasawa. The latter would go on to compose Chaos Legion, The fourth Onimusha game, Street Fighter IV and Marvel x Capcom 3. It's interesting how Iwashiro mentions Beethoven in his statement, as the previous Onimusha composer, Mamoru Samaragoch, is famous for composing Onimusha 1's music whilst he was permanently loosing his hearing.
Regardless Onimusha 2's score was my introduction to Iwashiro. The opening music, main theme and character themes are by far the strongest element to the soundtrack, and they left a lasting impression on me. Subsequently when I started University, I discovered a soundtrack on CDJapan with Iwashiro's credit. It was 2005 and the CD in question was his latest release. I took a gamble and ordered the CD, and I was not disappointed. The majority of Iwashiro's background is as a film and TV drama composer. The CD in question here was the score to a Romeo & Juliet plotted love story between two rivalling ninja clans. The music is layered with deep emotion and melancholic themes. Here is an example from that cd; the score to Shinobi -Heart Under Blade-
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