Welcome to GamesRadar's daily blast of all things pertaining to the ever-growing field of game music. Each post will introduce new sounds, games, composers and fan-made remixes of gaming's greatest aural achievements.
June 8, 2010
Game: Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
Song: The Sinking Old Sanctuary
Composer: Michiru Yamane / Sotaro Tojima
Above: Sinking Old Sanctuary from Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
There are enough excellent Castlevania songs to fill an entire month of Game Music of the Day articles, so it's always going to be tough to narrow things down when I do decide to dip into this vast resource. Today, rather than pick one of the well-knownlegacy tracks, I went with a song from GBA launch title Circle of the Moon. If you bought a GBA within the first few months of its 2001 release, odds are you'll recognize the tunes.
This version of Sinking Old Sanctuary comes from Circle of the Moon, but it's actually a cover of the Michiru Yamane original from Castlevania: Bloodlines. Both are immensely listenable melodies that burrow into your brain and set up shop for hours at a time - I just happen to prefer the GBA sound in this instance.
Above: All three versions of the song, from Bloodlines to the N64's Legacy of Darkness to GBA's Circle of the Moon
Composer Yamane had been with Konami for quite some time before Bloodlines, but this is considered her first personal breakthrough. Its songs have been reused in several games since, and she then went on to score Symphony of the Night as well as pieces of Aria of Sorrow, Portrait of Ruin, Harmony of Dissonance and the two PS2 Castlevanias. Here's a brief excerpt from aFebruary 2010 interview, discussing herBloodlines musicin particular:
Even though I prefer the GBA version of the song, the Bloodlines level fits much better with the music. It opens with a sun-blasted walkway leading into a sinking temple, an already interesting locale made even more captivating by the mirrored effect from the rising and sinking water. Hey, it was the 16-bit days. Little things like that really made a difference.
Sadly Yamane left Konami in 2008 to make music elsewhere. With her gone, and the usual artist (Ayami Kojima) MIA for several games now, it's up to 2010's Lords of Shadow to bring this series back on track. So far, we'rethinking it just might.
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