Soundtrack Review | Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals (Yasunori Shiono)

From the same hands that later brought you Energy Breaker and Chaos Seed, one of the best JRPG soundtracks ever written.

Oh, GameFaqs, you never fail me. Thank you to hydao.

Known in Japan as Estpolis Denki II and simply as Lufia in Europe and Australia.

Developed by Neverland. Released 1995 in Japan by publisher Taito, 1996 in North America by publisher Natsume, and 1997 in PAL regions by publisher Nintendo. Reception at the time was mixed, but in the two decades since release opinions have turned towards considering this a shade below, even - by a few - on par with, greats like Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger.

The composer of Lufia II was the very talented Yasunori Shiono, of who I have remarked upon twice before in my posts on this website (which, incidentally, it's been almost a year. Maybe I'll do a retrospective, do some points adjustment).

Way back in July-ish last year I posted a review of the first Lufia game's soundtrack, and here's what I said about it at the time:

The soundtrack would be best appreciated, and liked, by those who remember playing the first game and are nostalgic for it. I couldn't recommend it to an audience outside of Lufia fans. It's not top-tier. It's not even second-tier.

Still. It shows a great deal more promise then a lesser composer might've. A talentless hack does not write "The Last Duel", and Shiono is never quite a talentless hack here. He's simply someone new to the job he's doing, and, based on the results, may've been pressed for time, too.

I stand by that. Last month, I posed an article about five favorite lesser-known JRPG soundtracks on the SNES console and one of the games I made note of was Lufia II, and this is what I said:

Against Chaos Seed and Energy Breaker, Lufia II is demarcated by its consistency, and it's that consistency - of instrumentation and of excellence - which puts it up there with Final Fantasy VI and Terranigma. (Even in spite of the lack of a clear main theme. So sue me.)
...
Frankly, between Lufia II, Chaos Seed, and Lufia: The Legend Returns, it is an absolute shame that Yasunori Shiono did move on to greater things and I truly hope that we see another JRPG score from him in the future.

(With regards to that last paragraph, that was said in full knowledge that Lufia: The Legend Returns was a soundtrack of four composers - Shiono, Nakajima (from Energy Breaker), Tomoko Morita, and Akiko Ishibashi - and without detailed knowledge about who composed what.

In fact, the only information comes from Neverland's old website. Shiono, of course, seems to have been the lead composer, and obviously composed the four reprised tracks. Nakajima composed two original tracks and arranged the four reprised tracks. Morita composed 3-4% of the music, and Akiko Ishibashi's involvement is unknown. However, their order in the credits is Shiono, Ishibashi, Morita, Nakajima. Possibly a clue towards how much each did? I think so. But even with that, there's no way of knowing the credits.

Even knowing that Shiono was the sole composer, I still stand by what I said in that post.)

Besides his work at Neverland, Shiono may be known to a few as member of Wolf Team's sound team in its early years alongside Masaaki Uno (now at Camelot) and the ludicrously famous (and ludicrously prolific) Motoi Sakuraba. Despite only working there for two to three years (from 1989 to 1991) he's credited as composer on nine games.

Including both his time at Wolf Team and his time at Neverland, here's a table of credits:

Game / Company	Year	Composers	Notes
Miracle Ropit's Adventure in 2100 Micronics	1987	Michio Fujisawa, Yasunori Shiono	[1]
Gaudi: Barcelona no Kaze Wolf Team	1989	Yasunori Shiono	[2]
Arcus II: Silent Symphony Wolf Team	1989 & 1990	Masaaki Uno, Motoi Sakuraba, Yasunori Shiono
Arcusyu Wolf Team	1989 & 1990	Masaaki Uno, Motoi Sakuraba, Yasunori Shiono	[3]
Akushu: Kagarou no Jidai wo Koe Wolf Team	1989 & 1990	Masaaki Uno, Motoi Sakuraba, Yasunori Shiono
Mid-Garts Wolf Team	1989	Masaaki Uno, Motoi Sakuraba, Yasunori Shiono
D: European Mirage Wolf Team	1990	Masaaki Uno, Motoi Sakuraba, Yasunori Shiono
FZ Senki Axis Wolf Team	1990	Yasunori Shiono, Motoi Sakuraba, Masaaki Uno (x68k only)
Ryu: Koku Ki no Ryuu Yori Wolf Team	1990 & 1991	Masaaki Uno, Motoi Sakuraba, Yasunori Shiono
Granada Wolf Team	1991	Motoi Sakuraba, Yasunori Shiono (x68k only	[4]
Lufia & the Fortress of Doom Neverland	1993	Yasunori Shiono	[5]
Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals Neverland	1995	Yasunori Shiono
Chaos Seed Neverland	1996	Yasunori Shiono, Katsuhiro Hayashi, Yukio Nakajima	[6]
Energy Breaker Neverland	1996	Yukio Nakajima, Yuusei Yamamoto, Yasunori Shiono	[7]
Lufia: The Legend Returns Neverland	2001	Yasunori Shiono, Akiko Ishibashi, Tomoko Morita, Yukio Nakajima	[8]
Disney's Magical Park Neverland	2002	Yukio Nakajima, Tomoko Morita, Akiko Ishibashi, Yasunori Shiono	[9]
Lufia: Ruins of Lore Atelier Double	2002	--	[10]
CIMA: The Enemy Neverland	2005	Tomoko Morita, Yasunori Shiono, Yukio Nakajima
Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals Neverland	2010	--	[11]
Red Spider: Vengeance Studio Wasp	2014	Yasunori Shiono	[12]
Red Spider2: Exiled Studio Wasp	2015	Yasunori Shiono, Yukio Nakajima	[13]
Red Spider3 Studio Wasp	2017	Yasunori Shiono, Yukio Nakajima	[14]

[1] An orchestral arranged album was released on vinyl.
[2] First, and only solo, score at Wolf Team.
[3] Wolf Team games were for Japanese microcomputers and releases were sometimes spread out over the course of a couple months.
[4] His last Wolf Team game.
[5] Also credited: Aki Zaitsu and Naomi Kuroda. Refer to my review for more details.
[6] Nakajima composed only one track.
[7] Shiono composed two original tracks for the game. "Priphea Flowers" from the Lufia series was also reprised.
[8] For slightly more details on composer break down, refer to above.
[9] Composers are unclear here. On Mobygames, Nakajima is listed as Sound Director, Morita and Ishibashi as composers - no Shiono. However, Shiono's TAB profile lists it.
[10] This one's a little bit of a mystery. The game was developed by Atelier Double, not Neverland, and even lacks a credit roll. So it's a little bit of a mystery: it may've been just Shiono, it may've been just Nakajima, it's possible it was a collaboration, and that is to say nothing of Morita or Ishibashi - or even the possibility that none of them were involved and that the entire score was handled by Atelier Double's own in-house sound team. So who knows.
[11] After over a decade away from vgm - working at his father's soba shop! - he returned with this visual novel, writing four tracks for it, the remainder, library music.
[12] Music from Lufia II and a handful of tracks from the first Lufia were reprised, arranged by Yukio Nakajima and Tomoko Morita. Shiono to my knowledge had no involvement with this remake of Lufia II, and there are no new, original compositions. I include it here for completeness sake. There will be an addendum post soon after this one covering the rearranged soundtrack.
[13] Shiono composed four tracks, Nakajima two.
[14] Shiono composed ten new tracks, Nakajima two.

Apologies for the copious notes. Steemit really needs to widen its posts, and, well, including the notes in the table made the problem of spacing abominable.

(There is also the suspected credit on the Sharp x68000 version of Mugen Senshi Valis II, which was if VGMRips is to be believed a collaboration between Telenet Japan and Wolf Team. Credited are Masahiro Kajihara, Shinobu Ogawa, Tenpei Sato, and Yasunori Shiono. This credit would make sense due to its collaborative development, as Wolf Team had no involvement in any other version of the game to my knowledge. According to MobyGames, Shiono only did sound effects.)

Here's hoping that Shiono one day gets the opportunity of writing a nice, big JRPG score.

There's such a wealth of music here that I'm not sure where to begin. Maybe at the beginning - ironically with one of the few tracks I don't really like: "Time of Judgement", which in my opinion is rather a dull track, low string sustains and percussion, not much melody.

"Rumbling", the second track, is far better - a theme and variations, as it were. Not, mind you, that the theme returns - in fact, the only part to really return is the flute melody of the second half, which comes back in "The Strongest Man". It's a shame, too, because that opening strings melody is arguably strong enough to serve as a main theme for the game. However, the length of "Rumbling" may irritate it for some listeners - it goes six minutes, but it ends with a short but very good funeral march.

Bracketed above: the opening "main theme"-worthy melody from "Rumbling".

Afterwards we're introduced to the first of a couple tracks that fit very roughly into 'melancholic and/or hopeful scene themes'. There's four of these, and I'll restrain myself to covering just two of them.

"Start of the Journey", the first of them, brings back the 'main theme' from Lufia & the Fortress of Doom (Heard in "99 Years Later" on that game's score.) It's a marvelous opening track, adventurous and hopeful. It even brings back the up-and-down ostinato heard in the accompaniment of "Town" in Lufia & the Fortress of Doom.

Is this kind of musical recycling from the composer's own work laziness? I'd say not. It's effective and practical, whether it's reprising tracks from the previous game (and there's a fair few of those) or reprising melodies as parts of new ones or recycling accompaniment figures in new tracks. And to an extent, it could be called laziness, but if so, it is not "laziness" in the sense of "neglectful of work" so much as "laziness" which allows the composer to place their energies somewhere more deserving of their energies.

And regardless of those opinions, it's a marvelous way of connecting the two games. Music is an extremely effective storytelling tool, and in my opinion, the leitmotif (a recurring theme or motif associated with a particular person, place, emotion, or idea) is an extremely effective tool. (Even if the accompaniment up-and-down figure isn't, technically speaking, a leitmotif so much as a recurring compositional tool.)

Of the four tracks I mentioned, the second one mentioned is the last one: "Parting", which includes a beautiful cello solo. Well, I say, beautiful, but the sampling is not the greatest - but at heart, it is a beautiful cello solo. Were it played by a human player, it would be a marvelous usage of the cello's upper range, which absolutely sings.

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What of town themes? There's a good selection here, ranging from good to great. "Town" has a very quaint melody to it, but its second half with the harmonica is much better. "Village" gets us started straight in with the harmonica with another melody I'll call 'quaint', but here I wouldn't call that a bad thing. Once again, the second half betters upon the first with a solo trumpet.

Skipping ahead many tracks we arrive at "Port Town", which is marvelously bright and energetic, with one of Shiono's simplest and most jovial melodies. Harmonica once again features - perhaps the intention is that the harmonica is being placed by one of the townspeople?

Let's go backwards a little bit. "The Earth" from the first game returns it's even better than the first time around thanks to the leap in sound quality. Leaping forwards once again we arrive at "Castle", and believe me when I say it's a far superior piece of music to its Fortress of Doom counterpart. It really brings that majestic feeling - the bells add a lot of color alongside the martial, almost anthemic snares.

"Cave" is a decent cave theme, though in-game it'll probably grate on the nerves. Much better is the oppressive, dramatic "Labyrinth" - the descending xylophone figures really bring the drama alongside the relentless timpani. "Tower" takes an entirely different approach from the oppressive temperaments of those two, instead going for a major-key 'climbing' sensation. "Towering Mountain" takes a similar approach and captures the majesty and power of ascending a mountain very well. (For a counterpart which goes for the awe of a mountain, and even the fear one might experience at the prospect of climbing it, try Terranigma's mountain track.)

Skipping once again (we'll be seeing a lot of that) "Shrine" and "Despair" are bleak and dull while "Shudder" is far easier on the ear, ominous and powerful in its simplicity. One thing that made me like it is its 7/4 time signature, an observation practically worthless to 99% of my already small readerbase.

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Let's jump to some character themes! First, the very beautiful "The Prophet", regarded by Lufia II fans as a classic, and rightly so. It's a gorgeous, mysterious track, deeply evocative of, well, mystery. The choice of solo oboe is an inspired one, and I for one love that the second go-around adds celeste and choir to that.

The melody of "The Prophet", one of Shiono's finest tunes.

"The Strongest Man", meanwhile, is the grandstanding theme of the character Dekar, who, as I understand it, is meant to be the world's greatest idiot, in befitting with the 'strength' thing. Coming back is a flute motif from the second section of "Rumbling", this time reprised on the strings.

Oh yes - before we move onto the battle themes and the climactic tracks towards the end of the game, I simply must mention to tracks that give me a perhaps inordinate amount of pleasure. "After the Ceremony" is a waltz, you see, and I love the waltz form. This has to be one of my favorites - it has the flowing melodies of all the best waltzes and I have always loved that.

And, of course, "Casino", a track which goes for over two minutes before it loops! It's a gloriously fun track with its tambourine and detuned piano (though often it sounds more like a harpsichord) and even accordion! It's just a very fun, fun track to listen to, and entirely fitting with the 'casino' aesthetic. The second half, mind, is pretty much a straight clone of the first, changing out instrumentation to switch piano with trumpet. (You decide rather it's "legit" or not.)

And, before those same tracks, there are two others - "Azure Ocean", presumably the sailing theme, and it's entirely suitable. Its accompaniment line, with that continuous 'stream' (see what I did there) of eighth notes really brings a sort of motion to it that I find suitable to the ocean. There's also "To Those of the Azure Skies" (we like azure, don't we?) which fits the 'airship' vibe, though I don't find it particularly excellent. Disappointing, even, arguably, though others may disagree.

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At last, we reach the battle tracks.

"Battle #1" is a fun little battle theme, a far cry from its predecessor - namely, it's good. The opening melody on the strings is one of the most fun battle melodies I've ever heard, and I once attempted to orchestrate it (the attempt has since been deleted, but I may try to do so once again at some point), with the end result that I can't stop hearing the first melody on the clarinet. I mean, it fits, since the second one is on the oboe!

"Battle #2" is much more intense, bringing in the brass (in the form of a trumpet), but still keeping the fun and sense of joy. Especially dramatic are the occasional chromatic descents.

Finally, we have "Battle #3", with one of the - in my opinion - most intense opening bars of any SNES-era battle theme, ever. The battle theme once again leans towards the fun side, but here it's more muted in keeping with the drama of the final battle. Despite the lofty nature of the Sinistrals, Shiono is playing much more to the heroism of the heroes (poetry in action, everyone) than the awe and power of the Sinistrals. (Which have sinister in the name, which you'd think would be a giveaway.)

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And we come, I believe, towards the end of the game, and its climactic, dramatic, intense music. ("To Those of the Azure Skies" was one of them, actually, but I didn't want to include it, because I am picky that way.)

"The Abysmal Depths of the Ocean" is not quite so bleak as a word like 'abysmal' might imply. Even so, the lengthy string sustains and glissandos on the bass, to say nothing of the harp (with its up-down figures - compositional tool or compositional tic, I don't know anymore) and the choir. It's definitely got that underwater vibe of slowly moving around in a somewhat mystical setting.

"The Quieting World" as I understand it is a town theme. It's a favorite of mine, too - it brings in some acoustic guitar! I especially like how Shiono implements the harmonica this time around.

Those two tracks, however, were preludes. From here it's going to be a gradual build-up of intensity, an incredible run of over a half-dozen astonishingly good pieces of music.

"The Lost World" opens us to this with its vibes similar to "The Abysmal Depths", albeit with the choir now a background role. There's almost a sense of march here with the timpani and bells (the latter of which has a really cool effect of playing in one ear than the next - a lovely, subtle, brilliant usage of stereo sound).

A personal favorite of mine is "Watchtowers of the Seal" with its magnificently heroic melody and string ostinato. It's a simple track, but it doesn't need to be complicated. It'd be mighty challenging to better it more than it already is. The fifths in the timpani add a lot of power to the track, to say nothing of the snare rhythm.

Following this is "The Island in the Void" which, although sharing a name with a track from Lufia & the Fortress of Doom, is nothing like it. The Fortress of Doom track was befuddling simple, a straight reprise of the 'Sinistrals motif' from that game against a string ostinato. This track however is an ominous, powerful, foreboding track with low bells tolling and an almost 'dojo'-like feel - it's faint, but it's there. (Look to the strings in the bass.)

And then, "The Theme of Daos". Let's start with an understatement and call it a very confrontational piece of music. It fits the villainous nature of Daos very well with its descending bassline and its melody - which, speaking of, actually brings back the 'Sinistrals motif' from the first game!

The 'Sinistrals Motif' from Lufia & the Fortress of Doom.
Though lengthened and altered compared to its original form, the first melody is still recognizable as the 'Sinistrals motif'. The second melody is wholly original, used for a heroic moment at the end of "The Theme of Daos.

Afterwards we get Lufia II's version of "The Last Duel". Every Lufia game, except Ruins of Lore (which doesn't count), has this piece in it. It's as powerful as before, and there have been a couple of changes: the hi-hats in the first half have been slowed down, increasing the sense of awe, compared to urgency. It is, I repeat, one of the classics of not just the Lufia series but of the entire 16-bit era. Every game has its classic track - Secret of Mana has "Fear of the Heavens", Final Fantasy VI has "Terra's Theme", well, Lufia II (and the whole series by extension) has "The Last Duel".

The most famous tune from Lufia II and indeed the entire series.

Moving alongside "The Last Duel" as the Lufia II track, and depending on who you talk to or where you look supplanting it, "The Savior of Those on Earth" provides a potent blend of heroism and despair. It looks at your heartstrings and dives right for them - I can't imagine how powerful it must be in-game.

"Priphea Flowers" is reprised, also. It sounds about the same as the first time around besides improved sound quality - which is fine. Minimal arrangement is need and would only clutter it.

Finally, we have the ending track, "To the Future", which - alongside the harmonica in so many other tracks, and his previous work Gaudi: Barcelona no Kaze at Wolf Team - makes me think that Shiono must have a fair few Western influences, which we can see in this ballad-like track, with its electric piano and slow percussion. There's even an acoustic guitar solo about half-way through. We even get a piano solo, later on, and a trumpet reprise of that same melody.

Throughout the track there's only one melody, reiterated in a variety of different ways - and the way Shiono creates variation through different instrumentation and accompaniment creates real emotional power. It's hopeful and melancholic at once.

There's just so much good stuff. The battle themes are fantastically listenable, the area themes are amazing, the town and city themes are great, "The Last Duel" is even better than the first time around, new classics like "The Prophet" and "The Savior of Those on Earth" are introduced (the latter of which actually returns in Lufia: The Legend Returns). It's one of the most stunningly consistent soundtracks of the era. Disappointments are far and few between.

Few tracks, it's true, hit quite the magnificent peaks of Terranigma's tracks or Uematsu's original compositions for Final Fantasy VI. But, regardless of that, Lufia II is one of the most consistent soundtracks of the era - only the aforementioned Final Fantasy VI matches it for consistency and on top of that is Uematsu's amazing talent.

In the end, once again, I must grant a 10 out of 10 score, because - just like Terranigma - it is one of the best, an A-tier score.

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Next, I think, I'll do another short series on Naoki Kodaka's scores for Sunsoft's short-lived RPG series Albert Odyssey. Anyone want to come up with a punny title? As always, comments, remarks, observations, and opinions are always welcomed.