聖剣伝説2 Original Sound Version

by

Hiroki Kikuta

At its core, Secret of Mana is about the imaginative backyard adventures any kid could find themselves in. The kind where you stumble into a grassy area with 3-4 tall trees, maybe with a pond nearby, and something about it inspires magic in you. Then you notice it's getting dark out and you have to get home before your parents get worried. Straddling that line between fantasy and reality is part of being a kid. Secret of Mana leans into that, as its core gameplay loop guides the player from cozy villages through bustling forests into dank caves and then back again.

Hiroki Kikuta's soundtrack reinforces that feeling by effortlessly merging modern jazz/prog-inflected pop sensibilities with folk guitar and wind instruments. He leans heavily on upbeat and intricately sequenced melodies, held together by some of the hardest-hitting drum programming in a 16-bit game. It really just sounds incredible. Kikuta's compositions maintain a happy and hopeful quality overall, and he effectively deploys nostalgic pulls and tension at precisely the right moments.

Compared to other role-playing game soundtracks from this era, it stands out as one that focuses on the moment-to-moment joy and wonder of being on an adventure. I can listen to this literally any day of the week.