Tanioka shows off her “dirty” side
Ragnarok Online had one of the best soundtracks of all time. For that reason alone, I’ve since gravitated to anything related to the franchise. However, while soundTeMP (the Korean sound studio responsible for RO’s soundtrack) has been out of the picture for some time, Ragnarok Odyssey has picked up another talented artist, Kumi Tanioka, who you may know from her work on Final Fantasy XI and the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles series.
We’ve been fortunate enough to have some of Tanioka’s time as she describes her experience working on the title and comments on some of the tracks found in the game. This, of course, comes alongside exclusive full-length samples from the soundtrack that we have for you courtesy of Destructoid’s Soundcloud.
The full soundtrack will be included with the Mercenary Edition of the game, so look forward to that along with our review in the coming days, but in the meantime check out the samples and let us know what you think.
On her approach and impressions of Ragnarok Online
“I was very familiar with the Ragnarok series already and knew it had been around for a long time. It’s definitely a series with a strong backbone.
However, the staff requested that I approach the music differently than that of the main title (Ragnarok Online), and since I was going to be involved, I wanted to tackle the project based on my view of the Ragnarok world. It was great to be able to not focus too much on what had already been done and just create the music freely.”
On the soundtrack’s length and the possibility of hearing her live piano work
“I haven’t really calculated my work on the game down to minutes, so I’m not sure [laughs]. For those who are interested, please give it a try.
As for the piano work, there isn’t any for this title. I really didn’t have the mindset to have any piano pieces for this game from the start I suppose…”
On “Ragnarok Odyssey Opening Theme”
“The theme song used in the opening movie was probably the most discussed track for this title. It was a real process of trial and error with the game development staff, the movie production staff, and the sound effect staff all locking horns with each other [laughs].
Of course all the music in the game needs to be liked/approved by the development staff, but the main theme song is an important piece which enabled me to start working on all the other songs in the game, so I remember feeling a great deal of relief when I got approval for it.”
On “Leading the Giants”
“The main theme song is one of the songs that the staff really liked. After creating all the songs, this one seemed to be the most ‘game music’ type track. I think it really encapsulates the “gaming” atmosphere that’s been around for a long time, and it’s something that people who have been playing games since they were little can relate to. It’s a little weird to say it myself, but it shows a little bit of me in it too.”
On “GREN/DEL”
“For this song… I tried to make it as dirty as possible [laughs]. Grendel (the giant) has a beastly look that’s rough and full of hair. I discussed it with the staff members and tried to make it unpleasant to the ear. I really wanted to make people say ‘eww’ when listening to it. It’s an interesting song considering the music I usually create.”
