Recommended Soundtracks: Castlevania: Lament of Innocence

Konami’s Castlevania series has a laundry list of games with good soundtracks. This constant has been maintained since the original NES/Famicom game, regardless of the quality of those actual games. But in these cases, it’s the work for titles that weren’t as well-received that don’t get recognized enough. Games like Symphony of the Night and Rondo of Blood are commonly cited as having the best soundtracks in the series, and in gaming history. That’s true! But there are several other games whose soundtracks are at least almost on par with those titles, but happen to be saddled with games that aren’t worth playing.

Among those titles is Castlevania: Lament of Innocence. This was the first 3D Castlevania title from Koji Igarashi and his development team at Konami, who previously handled the aforementioned SOTN, Harmony of Dissonance, and Aria of Sorrow at the time, and to say it was a rough experiment would be generous. Those games mentioned were Metroidvania titles, so in a way, it was a little disappointing that LOI contained more linear levels that could be completed in any order — not to say that’s a bad decision in terms of game design, of course. Instead, they were bad due to their repetitive cut-and-paste designs. Its enjoyable battle system prevents it from fully being classified as a bad game, but it’s certainly an underwhelming and unremarkable one.

Its fantastic soundtrack shines throughout the experience, though. It was composed by Michiru Yamane, then-previously the lead composer for SOTN and AOS. But she was able to flex her muscles more here thanks to the PlayStation 2’s sound capabilities, as her previous work at the time was done for PSOne and Game Boy Advance titles.

It was a pity that she didn’t reuse all her music techniques from SOTN, as this soundtrack is lacking the fast-paced techno and new age styles that made that title’s soundtrack memorable. But this wasn’t a bad decision, since she used several other styles to create a distinct soundtrack that sticks out from other Castlevania games.

For instance, Yamane brought a style she didn’t utilize for tracks in previous games with the “Anti-Soul Mysteries Lab” theme, which accompanies the stage of the same name. It’s kind of track that wouldn’t be out of place in a disco located close to Transylvania, but it still fits the pace of the game to ensure that it doesn’t sound out of place, similar to many other tracks she’s composed for the series:

Meanwhile, the theme for the “Dark Palace of Waterfalls” is a melancholier one, which accompanies a darker and flooded location full of enemies that thrive in the water. It’s reliant on fantastic piano work, though the use of other instruments helps carry it. This stage is slower-paced than the others in a bad way thanks to several of its rooms having similar designs, but it’s also similar to the other stages in how the good music makes it easier to power through:

“Stone King Golem” plays when players encounter the giant Golem boss, which is one of the faster-paced tracks in the game, and alternates between grand and calmer (though not calm, per se) tempos. It’s a pity this couldn’t have gone with a tougher boss, but that doesn’t harm the quality of the track itself. It’s neat how all the game’s biggest bosses have their own themes, but it helps that it has a lower number of big encounters compared to those other titles:

There are two themes for the comparatively smaller encounters and rooms full of enemies: “Resonance of Malevolent Souls” and “Statue Enchanted by the Darkness.” They’re good tracks, but not among Yamane’s best work.

The final theme I’ll highlight here is “Lament of Innocence ~ Leon’s Theme,” which feels like the game’s main theme given its name. It plays during the final stage, and is exactly the kind of grand track you want to hear during the final run to the last couple of boss encounters. Like other tracks, the stage itself doesn’t live up to the name, even though it’s slightly better in design compared to the most notoriously repetitive ones. But the track is also good enough that it helps the player power through it:

The entire soundtrack for Lament of Innocence is good. It’s a shame it didn’t accompany a better game, but it’s thankfully easy to listen to outside it, so I recommend doing that instead. The 3D successor to the game, Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, unfortunately inherited some level design issues this title contained. But its soundtrack is even better than this one’s, something I highlighted in my “Recommended Soundtracks” post about it nearly eight years ago.

It’s funny how this post is coming after the Valkyria Revolution Recommended Soundtracks post I made last week, and it’s enough to make you think I’m starting a “Bad Game, Great Soundtrack” series. This isn’t the plan (and the Revolution post was originally planned for September 23rd until something happened), but the thought is intriguing. This won’t be the last example I feature, though you shouldn’t expect it next week.