

Gradius rebirth review series#
It's also worth noting there are some exceptions to the straightforward approach like "Last Springsteen" (which has a different order), "New Messiah" (which is a bit shorter), and "A Lullaby Sent to the Devils" (which is actually longer).Īmnother positive trait is that Namiki decided to have a quite varied selection of tracks, instead of referring to all of the classic themes from both series that have been arranged to death (with two mandatory exceptions, "Vampire Killer" and "Jungle Battle"). This is especially in the case of tracks from older games, such as "A Lullaby Sent to the Devil", "Contra Area 2 BGM", "Jungle Base" and others, so the album still remains quite fresh for veterans of the series. That said, quite a few of the original tracks actually benefit a lot from the upgrade. It would have been good to hear Namiki's personal take on the music and give the soundtracks an even more distinctive feel. The main problem with them is that quite a few of the tracks are just more of a translation/upgrade to the new sound module there's not much variation of the original music in regards to new sections and different passages. With stunning synth work, he manages to achieve that same Konami arcade sound from the early 90s, making for a quite fun and enjoyable listen. This could be a major hold back to some people, but don't just leave yet.Īs for the arrangements, I think Namiki did an impressive job arranging the tracks. Bodyįirst of all, an important fact one should know about this album is that, just like in Gradius ReBirth, it is comprised mostly of arrangements of several classic themes from both series (and unlike the Gradius ReBirth Original Soundtrack, the original source tracks have been omitted, most probably due to space limitations). How does this new release stand up? Let's find out. Once again, Manabu Namiki was put in charge of bringing more retro-styled music to these new releases. This time, though, it took a while before they decided to release a soundtrack album for the games, but eventually they compiled both on the album present here. Dracula Densetsu ReBirth & Contra ReBirth Original Soundtrack :: Review by Kevinĭracula Densetsu ReBirth & Contra ReBirth Original Soundtrackįollowing their previous Gradius ReBirth release, Konami revived both the Contra and Castlevania series for WiiWare throughout 2009, with certain success.
