"The wishes of those who are cornered and still live strongly and boldly.
Here is the complete collection of the sounds of iX (Extreme) that resonate in a world of chaos."
—Tagline
The GUNVOLT CHRONICLES: LUMINOUS AVENGER IX SOUNDTRACK,[1] also known as the White Steel of X: THE OUT OF GUNVOLT Soundtrack (白き鋼鉄のＸ（イクス） THE OUT OF GUNVOLT サウンドトラック) is an album for Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX, containing all the game's tracks including the game versions of the vocal tracks. Also included is a booklet containing composer credits, track comments, comments from the game's staff, and background information on the game's story and characters.
Link to pure text document of the booklet translation:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qgIFroDnQtWF7IuIiKqATtJbaxFyGFF5aBh3m8TWas4/edit
Gallery
Booklet Contents
Narration
A future sometime, an island nation somewhere.
In this era, most of humanity has evolved into “Adepts”, who host abnormal powers.
Those without them, the “Minos”, were fated to be killed on the spot whenever they were found by the Sumeragi Institute for the Promotion of Human Evolution.
“An inferior species like the “Minos” are undeserving of life.”
...In a world where no-one questioned this distorted common sense, there was a man who protected and fought for the Minos.
The “Luminous Avenger iX”
It’s an urban legend of a warrior who keeps on fighting to protect the Minos as he travels along with the Muse of Hope, Lola.
Rumors of a savior that wears a sparkling pure white armor, and engraves the “iX” mark on his foes.
A hellish town filled with dark clouds of despair.
The Minos children who despite that wish for a tomorrow and earnestly live on.
When they meet the savior, the curtain of this story will rise.
A new verse is about to be written into the urban legend of the “Luminous Avenger iX”.
Production Notes
- Comment by Ippo Yamada (Producer)
The making of this side-story (game) started very early into 2018, right after the year began. The previous person in charge of Lola, Ms. Endo, announced her retirement from the world of entertainment, and we were already searching for a new Lola (VA). 3 candidates were left in the final selection after an audition, and Ms. Mineda was chosen, to then immediately record “Luminous Promise”.
But then I became busy with another line (of work) and the sound making ended up pending. By early summer, Copen’s VA, Mr. Masuo, asked us to quit the role because he wanted to seek other lines of work. We postponed the answer, I went on an overseas tour, fall flew by and the year became 2019.
The other line of work became less busy, and the making (of this game’s music) resumed at high speed. Mr. Kawakami was appointed head of (sound making) along with Sato Takumi, Yoshinaga Ryo, and Sato Hiroyuki; Lola’s songs are handed over to the duo of Hakofactory for lyrics and Yonao Keishi as composer, same as in the previous installments.
This new Lola is a net creator idol, spreading propaganda for the sake of the Minos. So while we did use some arrangements from the previous games, the direction was a wholly new thing. Lumen had Sumeragi-made ballads for the general populace, so Lola’s concept is that of a life-sized cheer singer.
However, ever since 2019 began, we were only making one (or two?) songs per month and yet the making of the lyrics was suffering delays. We were worried about whether we’d make it in time. When we were about to give up and go ask for help to another lyrics writer, things began to get better, and we managed to complete the job by making about 2 songs per week towards the last stages.
In parallel, the actor for Copen still kept that idea so we used this opportunity of starting a new series to re-cast the two main characters. Mr. Uchida took up the job despite his busy schedule. Inheriting a role is very hard but I want to thank him for his struggles he went through to achieve it.
For this game, we made live tours and music videos as well, apart from other things outside of the game. I left Mr. Kawakami and his team to handle the game itself, so I really was out of the loop for a lot of things, and that allowed me to enjoy the game with a fresh feeling. This song order applied to this game follows that feeling, and I listed them up after making a few adjustments. I hope you remember the game as you listen to them.
I added the “White something” towards the end as a “Secret Track”, so please enjoy it.
Track List
- (C) = Composition
- (A) = Arrangement
- (L) = Lyrics
The sound team (III) is credited as the arranger for all non-vocal tracks.
- Disc A
| Number | Length | Name | Context | Musicians |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 1:06 | White Steel (Luminous Avenger) 白き鋼鉄 |
Title theme | Ryo Kawakami (C) |
| 02 | 2:01 | Desolate World 荒涼世界 |
Opening cutscene | Ryo Kawakami (C) |
| 03 | 2:51 | First Mission ファーストミッション |
City Slums (Opening stage) | Ryo Kawakami (C) |
| 04 | 2:11 | Luminous Promise (Game loop version) 白銀の約束 （ゲームループ版） Platinum Promise |
Ryo Kawakami (C) Hakofactory (L) Keishi Yonao (A) | |
| 05 | 3:38 | Igniter (Game loop version) 大祓 （ゲームループ版） |
Ippo Yamada (C) Hakofactory (L) Keishi Yonao (A) | |
| 06 | 1:02 | Battle Machine バトルマシン |
VS Medium Bosses | Ryo Kawakami (C) |
| 07 | 1:53 | Hidden Beneath the Mask 仮面の下に隠すものは |
Blade encounter | Ryo Kawakami (C) |
| 08 | 1:57 | Lightning Berserk ライトニングベルセルク |
VS Blade | Ryo Kawakami (C) |
| 09 | 0:06 | Mission Clear ミッションクリア |
Ryo Kawakami (C) | |
| 10 | 1:03 | Open Card オープンカード |
Mission results | Ryo Kawakami (C) |
| 11 | 2:19 | The Whereabouts of Serenity 安らぎの在処 |
Minos introduction | Ryo Kawakami (C) |
| 12 | 2:06 | Underground Hideout 地の下の隠れ家 |
Mission select | Ryo Kawakami (C) |
| 13 | 2:32 | The Past Peace is Distant かつての安寧は遠く |
Store Ruins (Rebellio's stage) | Ryo Yoshinaga (C) |
| 14 | 3:23 | Chronicle of Our Lives (Game loop version) リアルダイアリー （ゲームループ版） Real Diary |
Ryo Kawakami (C) Hakofactory (L) Keishi Yonao (A) | |
| 15 | 2:21 | Wishing for a Megalopolis メガロポリスを望む |
Sumeragi Building 13 (Stella's stage) | Ippo Yamada (C) |
| 16 | 2:49 | Original Chord (Game loop version) オリジナルコード （ゲームループ版） |
Ryo Kawakami (C) Hakofactory (L) Keishi Yonao (A) | |
| 17 | 2:30 | The Evil Palace of Distorted Beauty 歪曲せし美の魔殿 |
Auto-fab Plant (Crimm's stage) | Hiroyuki Sato (C) |
| 18 | 2:07 | Kindled Spirits (Game loop version) キミとエクスプロージョン （ゲームループ版） Explosion With You |
Ryo Kawakami (C) Hakofactory (L) Keishi Yonao (A) | |
| 19 | 1:41 | Wavering Emotions 感情は揺れて |
Sick Kohaku | Ryo Kawakami (C) |
| 20 | 2:06 | Before the Curtain of the Night Rises 夜の帳が上がる前に |
Medical Center (Blade's stage) | Ryo Kawakami (C) |
| 21 | 1:56 | Positive Girl ポジティヴガール |
Kohaku healed | Ryo Kawakami (C) |
- Disc B
| Number | Length | Name | Context | Musicians |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 2:31 | Beyond Probability (Game loop version) 記憶解放MIAOU （ゲームループ版） Memory Release MIAOU |
Ippo Yamada (C) Hakofactory (L) Keishi Yonao (A) | |
| 02 | 2:29 | Runway to the Skies ソラへのランウェイ |
Radio Tower "Artemis" (Isola's stage) | Takumi Sato (C) |
| 03 | 3:13 | Resonating Hearts (Game loop version) ぼくたちのシンパシー （ゲームループ版） Our Sympathy |
Ryo Kawakami (C) Hakofactory (L) Keishi Yonao (A) | |
| 04 | 2:22 | Wielding the Abandoned Feelings 棄てられた想いを背に |
Data Center Alpha (Bakto's stage) | Hiroyuki Sato |
| 05 | 3:24 | Countdown: 3-2-1-0 (Game loop version) 3.2.1.0 （ゲームループ版） |
Ryo Kawakami (C) Hakofactory (L) Keishi Yonao (A) | |
| 06 | 2:13 | Synaptic Code: IRE シナプティックコード：IRE |
Data Center Beta (Dystnine's stage) | Ryo Kawakami (C) |
| 07 | 2:50 | Inner Alarm (Game loop version) ストレス☆アラーム （ゲームループ版） Stress☆Alarm |
Ippo Yamada (C) Hakofactory (L) Keishi Yonao (A) | |
| 08 | 1:31 | The Thin Dark Waiting on Ahead その先に待つ薄闇 |
Falcon encounter | Ryo Yoshinaga (C) |
| 09 | 1:28 | Critical Moment 一触即発の瞬間 |
Falcon transformation | Ryo Yoshinaga (C) |
| 10 | 1:29 | Septima Burst セプティマ・バースト |
VS Falcons | Ippo Yamada (C) |
| 11 | 0:10 | Battle Ended バトルエンディッド |
Boss defeated | Ryo Kawakami (C) |
| 12 | 1:42 | Giant Murderball ジャイアントマーダーボール |
VS Giant Lola | Takumi Sato (C) |
| 13 | 2:32 | The Core of All Distortion すべての歪みの中心地 |
Sumeragi Secret Bunker 1 through 3 | Ryo Yoshinaga (C) |
| 14 | 1:53 | At the Bottom of Despair 絶望の底で |
Butterfly Effect encounter | Takumi Sato (C) |
| 15 | 2:41 | Painful Determination ペインフルデターミネーション |
VS Butterfly Effect | Ryo Kawakami (C) |
| 16 | 1:48 | Endless Nightmare 覚めない悪夢 |
Demerzel encounter | Ippo Yamada (C) Takumi Sato (C) |
| 17 | 2:27 | Thunderstorm サンダーストーム |
VS Demerzel hologram | Ippo Yamada (C) Hiroyuki Sato (C) |
| 18 | 0:56 | The Electrical Mad God 電気仕掛けの狂神 |
Demerzel reveals himself | Takumi Sato (C) |
| 19 | 2:37 | Avalanche Breakdown アヴァランシェ・ブレイクダウン |
VS Demerzel | Ippo Yamada (C) Hiroyuki Sato (C) |
| 20 | 0:56 | Intuition - A faint hope - 予感 -かすかな希望- |
Kohaku senses | Ippo Yamada (C) Ryo Kawakami (C) |
| 21 | 4:05 | Searchlight (Game loop version) 希望灯 （ゲームループ版） |
Credits song | Ippo Yamada (C) Hakofactory (L) Keishi Yonao (A) |
| 22 | 1:41 | The Sword Opening the Future 明日を拓く剣 |
Blade saves Kohaku | Ryo Kawakami (C) |
| 23 | 1:48 | Believing in Their Return 帰還を信じて |
Back on the surface | Ippo Yamada (C) |
| 24 | 1:43 | X | Final cutscene | Ryo Kawakami (C) |
Creator's Comments
- Comment by Toshiaki Tai (Planning / Scenario)
“The White Steel iX THE OUT OF GUNVOLT” (Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX) is a spin-out of the “Azure Striker Gunvolt Series”. It’s not a simple “spin-off” but a “spin-out”! And that’s why I gave it this subtitle.
The title of this game, “The White Steel iX THE OUT OF GUNVOLT”. When I finished writing the scenario, I was “This has to be the title!”, and my intention was to have pour several other meanings into it but, for those of you who’ve beaten the game… Did you understand them?
The “Gunvolt” series is aimed at youth with a showiness in the scenario and the words by characters, as well as a very flashy attacks that fill the whole screen; those are the main sellings points but this time around I did the very contrary.
This is a game for those (me included) who like old 2D action games, polished in a simple and smart way, shining with harshness… That’s the game I aimed to make during the development.
The scenarios that make you feel excited… As this game’s director, I was “Kuh!” as I endured it, and balanced it to make it a good action game and…
Or so was my intent, but I got excited as I wrote these lines, and I might have written more than what I initially intended to write (sweats).
Well, this is the game’s soundtrack so let’s talk about the tracks. Personally, the last boss battle’s “Avalanche Breakdown” is my favorite. When making the last boss battle, we always struggle a lot to make it, thinking “what does it need to be a last boss battle?”. But this time around, the wonderful “adlib” by one of the graphics team, “those” that shortly appear (during the battle), burst, and then, when this track was added to the game, I hit my knees; “This is indeed a last boss battle!”. Also, even though there was barely time left for it, I asked the impossible and got the ending theme “Searchlight” added in; thanks to that track, I think it helped neatly wrap up the story.
What is/are your favorite BGM(s), I wonder? Progress in this game is quick so there are some tracks you didn’t have time to sit down and listen to, so maybe by listening to this CD you might get a different impression of them. Make sure to dive deeply into the “apeX” of 2D action with this CD.
- Comment by Munehiro Araki (World View Supervisor / Character Designer)
This game is part… or not… of the Gunvolt Series, that’s how it’s supposed to be. Director Tai asked me to do a radical change in the impression (the characters gave). He wanted something stylish and cool, a classical vague order; and so we graphics staff headed to our desks each day as if we were heading to the depths of the Amazon.
It’s been 5 years since the 1st “Azure Striker Gunvolt” game released… Huh? 5 years already?? That much? ...Really? That’s how I felt like, but during these 5 years, new people have joined us, and they turn became mid-career employees.
I was stimulated by their youth and strength and they helped me out a lot; like how it’s written in the beginning, “Luminous Avenger iX” is “part of the series but has its own visual image”. Or so I think this was the end result. I think that the sound-making must’ve been hard too, since the “image” of the game is somewhat different to its predecessors. Since you have this soundtrack in your hands, so how about you enjoy these differences? Joking.
Speaking of music, I was charged with designing the outfit for the live performances, something I’d never done, but the pressure I felt was incredible… It’s always like this, a schedule that’s like running into the darkness while cutting through the asphalt; this topic dropped all of a sudden and I was confused on how to do it but enjoyed it at the same time.
On the other hand, when thinking that the performers would be wearing that during their performances, I let a cheap thrill possess me and days went on as I feared the tomorrow, but thanks to the strength of “Lola” as played by Ms. Mineda, I stroked my chest, feeling very relieved. It’s rumored that a small bit of her songs are included here so forget this behind-the-scenes tale and fully enjoy the power of the music!
- Comment by Ryo Kawakami (Sound Director)
I first met Copen when I did his theme song for the 1st “Gunvolt” game. The music involving him as well as the SFXs… I made a lot of them, but this time around I was entrusted with handling the sound direction of the game. Great!
Since the hardware specs for this game were better, we could not only improve the sound quality, the stereo effect sound which we’d kept away due to volume and memory issues… We were able to add a lot of them. The screen before you leave for a mission and the results screen, as well as many other screens have a lot of sounds! The latest hardware is so great!
When making the BGMs, I sought to fuse the “dystopian feeling” that the scenario had as well as the “speedy feeling” of the gameplay. Heavier and faster. While all BGMs have their BPM set at 150, I was worried about whether I’d be able to achieve this slightly contradictory goal but… Since all members of the sound team understood the concept, we went on making songs very quickly. Comradeship is great!
And the songs as well. We tried making them with a positive melody so that the listeners would feel energy from them. The setting is that Lola herself created them, and I seriously tried to imagine her feelings during the making of them. I read aloud her “navigation messages” when I read them while working… I think that I was constantly muttering to myself, then! That’s bad!
…. Seeing how I’m writing comments filled with a weird tension, I feel confident that I was able to do all that I wanted to do. There are some “challenging” songs as well, but do enjoy the listening. You’ll get in very high spirits!
- Comment by Hakofactory (Lyrics)
This is already the 3rd game of the “Gunvolt” series. I couldn’t imagine at the beginning that it’d still be going or that we’d be making so many songs. For those of you that got into the series through this game… Please try giving the previous games and songs a try, too. The new songs of Lola for this game have a different concept and image from what we’d been doing insofar. They basically are “supporting songs to give hope to the Minos” but in several spots there’s Lola’s deep psychology, unconsciously (written). Some of her feelings are oozing, without her noticing...Maybe.
- Comment by Mayu Mineda (Voice Actress of Lola)
The episode that left a bigger impression on me when I began working on the making of the Lola songs was when I recorded my first song, “Platinum Protocol”, I was told “don’t use long tones and vibrato”. Lola is but a machine so this has to be done to avoid “feeling too human”. I was impressed at the level of detail.
At the utmost, I recorded 3 songs per month. I began to get closer to Lola during that period. All songs felt speedy and cool, and I was so excited as I recorded them. One that I really am fond of is “Igniter”. It was an assignment song during the auditions, and it was the song that led me to knowing Lola. When I first heard it, I was a bit anxious, thinking “Will I be able to sing such a difficult song?”. But I used my guts to make it through (laughs). Looking back at it, these guts might have linked with Lola’s singing voice…
“Our Sympathy (Resonating Hearts)” is one of my favorites. The climax of the last hook is so cool! When I sung it in a live performance, I sing like I’m pouring my gratitude along with Lola, when at the last (line) of “Thank you; the miracle I met and”. Thank you for listening to Lola’s songs! Hope you keep on supporting me from here onwards, too!
Character Profiles: Minos
A mysterious young man called the “Luminous Avenger iX”. Since he doesn’t talk much about himself, very few know about his origins. He travels as he takes Lola along and saves the Minos. He’s also called the “savior” of the Minos. He’s searching for Sumeragi’s Permanent Peacekeeping Device, the “Butterfly Effect”.
A “Battle Pod”, a battle support mecha developed by Acura. She’s equipped with a Septima Scanning System capable of analyzing the Septima (superpowers) of the enemy Septima Holders. It controls the “Bits” and by pseudo-recreating many Septima as “EX Weapon”, it makes her his reliable partner.
14 years old. The leader of the Minos kids living in hiding beneath the city slums. She has a very bright and positive personality, and leads the kids within this desperate situation. She specializes in fixing machines and most of the equipment in the base is junk stuff that she herself has repaired.
12 years old. A serious and kind indoors boy. He has extensive knowledge, and is right-minded. He struggles to keep up with Kyota and Maria, who often go wild. He doesn’t say it aloud most times, but he’s a Lola fan and he apparently has hand-made and self-made goods stocked up on his room.
10 years old. A little girl who’s extremely shy. She idolizes Kohaku as if she were her own sister, and isn’t too fond of Copen who suddenly appeared and is the target of Kohaku’s envy. The plush she cares so much about is a present from her late parents.
10 years old. He’s straightforward but a hot-blooded boy who cares for his friends. He’s the one amongst the children who most sees Copen as a hero, calls him “Bro” and idolizes him. He loves “cool” stuff such as weapons or mechas.
Characters: Sumeragi Institute
Sumeragi’s Administrative AI. Thanks to his regulations, the Adepts, wielders of a huge power, live in peace. For some reason it claims that a united society of Adepts is supreme, and stubbornly pushes forward the extermination of the “Minos”
17 years old. She’s a girl who was transplanted with the “Azure Striker” septimosome from Gunvolt’s corpse, and Kohaku’s sister. She’s being brainwashed by Demerzel, and does his bidding as the strongest Sumeragi Adept. Demerzel told her there’s a time limit to how much she can be active, but that’s actually a means to have her retreat at once whenever her brainwashing is about to come off.
18 years old. “Energy Wool” Adept. He changes his body into a thread-shaped energy body, and by knitting them together he can create all kinds of matter. He’s a death row inmate, and was given several reasons to become a Falcon by Sumeragi, such as reduction of his sentence or protecting his family’s lives.
21 years old. “Detonation” Adepts. Shoots compressed explosion energy, and can directly make the surrounding air explode although the effective radius is very small. He gets equipped with additional armor to generate a barrier field when he transforms, and his anti-shock towards his own explosions is perfect.
24 years old. “Gravity” Adept. She can easily use some very heavy chakram called “Edge Saucers” through her control of gravity. She’s the CEO of the Electronic Makers “Gargantua” and doesn’t trust her subordinates too much but she’s open towards her secretary, Dystnine.
“Vectored Cloth” Adept. He can create cloth capable of deflecting the vectors of anything it touches. He’s one of the mass-produced Humanoids of “Gargantua”, and this unit named “Dystnine” was the only to incidentally sprout a “heart” and a Septima.
27 years old. “Spiral” Adept. The torrent of huge spiral energy can directly blow the enemy away as well as diverge their attacks. He’s a young Mafia boss, and has very thick emotions as part of his personality. He obeys Sumeragi to restore the “Family”.
17 years old. “Companion” Adept. She can create human-shaped energybits known as “EXSIA” as well as decoys identical to herself to then freely control them. Her job is being an idol, and because she gets too engrossed with her roles, it’s said that she forgets her original personality.
Character Profiles: Weapons/Others
An ancient old model tank remade from junk parts through the “Possession (Fusion)” Septima. It uses junk parts to compensate for the missing pieces and has become something wholly different than what the original was. When damaged to some extent, the “possession” is cancelled. AKA “Stock Mantis”.
Serial number BSM-02.
Developed by Sol Electronics Inc., it’s a cutting-edge unmanned fighter jet. It was designed to hunt down Minos and to operate in places with complicated terrains such as cities, so it’s far mobile than past fighter jets and more flexible.
It’s equipped with a high-output energy cannon, the “Accel Blast”, and can turn Minos’ living spaces into scorched earth instantly.
A big security battle mecha placed in the Data Facility. Its main weapons are the dropping special bomb “Blaze Bomb”, and, apart from that, it can repel intruders with its spinning shield system “Spinning Dark”.
The septimosome extracted from a test subject girl, Joule, was transplanted into Copen’s sister, Mytyl, and then her brain was used as an organical unit by this diabolical machine. Due to repeated life prolonging, the organical unit that the brain is has been greatly enlarged. By receiving the “contract signature” from the Falcons, it transforms them. It acts upon the subconscious of all Adepts across the world and slowly makes them lose interest or concern for the Minos.
An unmanned tank that Demerzel developed on his own to wipe out the Minos. It recreates Copen’s tech and can pseudo-reproduce many Septima but Sumeragi’s tech couldn’t make it smaller than this. It’s designed to look like Lola as part of a psychological attack: “Lola, the symbol of hope for the Minos, will trample them down”.
Track Notes
- Comment by Ryo Kawakami
It’s been a while since I last wrote the explanations for a soundtrack’s tracks. The lyrics tell what there is to tell about the songs, so I think I’ll limit myself to write about the instrumental tracks instead. It’ll be a long read, but please stick around.
- White Steel
The title screen BGM. To match the stylish design of the interface, I went with a cool and simple direction. The track “X”, the iX theme song, is a developed version of this track.
- Desolate World
Apart from the opening demo, it’s also used in serious scenes or situations seen from an overhead view. It’s made with the image of Copen and Lola calmly and cooly analyzing a situation.
- First Mission
The BGM of the city slums, this game’s opening stage. It incorporates emptiness and decadence, and since it’s Copen, I used a hard and edgy sound as axis. In terms of melody, I avoided using sparkling expression of emotions, and made it in the image of “iX” silently advancing through. I’d be glad if you noticed the phrases of “Judgment: Annihilation” scattered (across the track).
- Battle Machine
The classical sudden turn (of events) BGM used across the series. It’s made so that complicated phrases get intertwined at high speeds; the image is that (Copen) is processing at high speed within his brain a plan to get out of this pinch.
- Hidden Beneath the Mask
Blade’s theme track. A mysterious sword warrior hidden beneath a mask reinforces the feeling of mystery, and to feel the burdening background hidden behind (that image), so I made it taking attention into incorporating Japanese chords’ vibration accompanied with piano “phrases. This track’s melody has actually a secret to it. Read the description for “The Sword Cleaving the Tomorrow” for the details.
- Lightning Berserk
The track of the battles with Blade. It’s a powerful foe, fast and shooting zapping lightning at you, so the music reflects that feeling. The melody for this track, apart from being an evolved version of “Hidden Beneath the Mask”, it has another trick to it; it reuses phrases and tones from another track. When you speak of lightning... It’s “him”, right?
- Mission Cleared
As the name indicates, it’s the “single” that plays when you clear a mission. There was a suggestion to reuse the previous ones, but after going through this game’s world view and scenario, I decided to make a wholly new one.
- Open the Card
The results screen BGM. I made it an up-tempo track, joyful that feels like it’s taunting you with expectations for you, to match the new system of the “Result Cards”. I took into consideration the “win poses” of each character and aimed for a bit of a “cool” atmosphere.
- The Whereabouts of Serenity
The Talk Room BGM. My intention when making it was to make it a kind track, for the sake of these children living in such a harsh environment. This track focuses on the Minos children and so it prioritizes an acoustic echo. Copen and Lola take part, too, so I added a bit of mechanic tone too.
- The Underground Hideout
The base menu screen BGM. It’s the base of operations to head out to missions, but a hideout where you can relax a bit too. I tried to merge two opposite images, those of tension and relief. The screen design was made with Copen’s PoV in mind, so the arrangement has a mechanical direction to it, to be closer to Copen’s thematic.
- The Past Peace is Distant
The store ruins BGM as well as Rebellio’s theme. It’s peaceful but, at the same time, it has a dark decadency filled with danger… It makes you strongly feel the images of a ruin and of a convict. This track’s structure has detailed sharp tones entangled within in, because it was made with the image of strings, the (foe’s) ability, in mind. Also, this track is made of 6 tonalities of “beta”, a strange E minor, but when I asked the composer, Mr. Yoshinaga, the why, he told that since the “beta” looks like a sheep’s horns, he added a lot of them. I like these little details.
- Wishing for Megalopolis
The Sumeragi Building 13 BGM, and Stella’s theme. The slightly fancy techno sounds are the speciality of Mr. Yamada, and perfectly fit the image of the female CEO and of a modern building. This baseline that moves with elasticity makes the first half of the stage, the train sequence, get exciting, in a perfect manner. Also, this track has a very deep relationship with the theme of Data Facility Beta “Synaptic Code: IRE”. Please pay attention to the phrases spread in the gaps of the melody.
- The Evil Palace of Distorted Beauty
The BGM of the Auto-Fab Plant, and Crimm’s theme. He’s a self-fascinated type of bomber so the track was made by adding a feeling of “danger” to it. The unpredictable progress of the chords, the suddenly appearing bright hooks, all is blasted away. The rhythmic added in, with the image of a factory’s pipes, is hard to decipher, assures that the listeners’ emotions will be shaken. The track’s maker, Mr. Sato Hiroyuki, once muttered “this track is so creepy”, and that left an impression on me.
- Wavering Emotions
This track first plays when Kohaku falls ill, as well in scenes with a feeling of uneasiness. To give a nervous and unrestful feeling to it, it’s composed so that 4/4 beats and ¾ beats loop, forming a rhythmic. To also display concern for her state, I also sought to not only make it anxious but to add kindness and worry in the melody, to give it that feeling, as well.
- Before Night’s Curtains Rises
The Medical Center BGM. The still silence of the night and the tension from an infiltration. And Copen’s feelings of wanting to find the drug at once. I took care of balancing all elements and try to make of it a melodious track. The subtle electronic sounds that lightly play along have the image of medical equipment working in the middle of the night.
- Positive Girl
Kohaku’s theme song. It feels like I simply wanted to give it the image of a cheery girl who tries to keep her brightness despite the desperate situation she’s in. I was very influenced by pop songs from the 80s when making the arranging. While a cybernetic tone is predominant, I added a retro and raw feeling to it, to create a feeling of having been left behind by the world. This track’s melody also has a secret for it. For more details, read the description “The Sword Opening the Future”.
- Runway to the Skies
It’s the BGM of the Super Radio Tower “Tsukuyomi” ("Artemis" in the localized version) as well as Isola’s theme. I did ask the impossible and the hardest to Mr. Sato Takumi, who looked like he knew a lot about idols; “Make an instrumental track that’s cute, cool and song-like! (star)”, he produced a song with an odd balance to it indeed. The spaces to add the cheerings were calculated as well, talk about a great work indeed. By the way, Tsukuyomi is the “sibling tower” of Amaterasu so I used phrases of “Amaterasu’s Glory” (Media Tower/Jota theme) to play along.
- Wielding the Abandoned Feelings
The BGM of the Data Facility Alpha, and Bakto’s theme as well. It’s filled with “devastation” since it’s a ruined stage, and I sought to make a melody fitting for a Mafia boss, with awesomeness and chivalry. He’s a big man speaking in Hiroshima dialect, with heavy lines having a low sound, along with a Japanese feeling to him and… Huh? I feel like I’ve written something very similar before, de sourou*
- T/N: “de sourou” is a speech quirk Carrera always adds to the end of most his phrases. An archaic form of “to be” or “to do”
- Synaptic Code: IRE
The BGM of Data Facility Beta, and Dystnine’s theme. A digital feeling matching the stage’s background, and an adherence to formalities, something a robot secretary would do; I sought to fuse both. To show how advanced emotions like anger and sadness have sprouted on him, the indifferent melody eventually changes into something complicated and dynamic; that’s how I made it. Also, this track and “Wishing for Megapolis” each contain the melody of each other within them. I’d be happy if you can perceive the relationship between Inters and Dynein from this music.
- The Awaiting Thin Darkness
Apart from the scenes when the bosses appear, it’s also used for anxious scenes. Mr. Yoshinaga, a newcomer to the series, made his debut with this song and kept the atmosphere of the previous installments while also adding a new essence to it. The music staging from when a boss appears and until it transforms eventually established itself as beauty of style indeed, or so I think.
- A Critical Moment
The track that plays when the bosses transform and when the scene becomes tense at facing the forces of Sumeragi. Mr. Yoshinaga made this one too, and it’d seem he felt an enormous pressure during the making of it, and so the melody reflects in the real world his feelings. According to him, the track reflects too much tension and it was about to become as intense as a battle track so he desperately toned it down during the making.
- Septima Burst
The battle track VS the Sumeragi Falcons. Unlike the heavy feeling of the 7 Swords and the Grimwald 7, the feeling of extra flesh being scraped off, this dynamism, is emblematic. The phrase feeling of being blown into the sky instead of made to hit the floor does indeed feel like “wings”. In terms of arranging, I wanted to give the feeling of a powerful Septima “bursting” so I added filters and made the synthesizer ring loudly.
- Battle Ended
The single when the bosses are defeated. This one’s new, and remade. Speaking of which, I always hesitate during development… The timing in which the single rings out after a boss is defeated. I always work hard to calibrate it so that it’s not too fast or too slow and that it feels good.
- Giant Murderball
The battle track of the Giant Lola. While it’s a fearful weapon made to exterminate the Minos, on the other hand it has a a bit of a comical shape since it’s copying Lola; I wanted to show that gap through music; so I asked Mr. Sato Takumi, the maker, to give it a “round” feeling as well as a heavy feeling. When it was done, we added a lot of special effects such as a wave being broken. Full of decorations and a fishy over the top feeling; that’s what I think the end result is.
- The Core of all Distortion
The BGM of the final stages, the Sumeragi Bunker stages. A massive feeling typical of the enemy homebase, as well as the cold of a vast underground space, and a feeling of speed of making your way through it; this reef is what stands out. The song progresses flatly, to avoid being over-decorated, making it different in gist from other stages’ BGMs. It strongly makes you envision the greatness and cool-headed feeling of what lies on ahead.
- At the Bottom of Despair
This track plays on the latter half of the story, in sorrowful feeling scenes. It’s not only sadness; despair and agony and hatred; many negative emotions mix in within this track. The fragmentary phrases that swap without having been properly resolved emerge and vanish one after the other, as in “regret”.
- Painful Determination
The battle track of the Butterfly Effect. The true nature of this grotesque device is… It focuses in the inner side of Copen, who fights without emotions clouding him, it’s themed in a painful determination that’s beyond anguish and conflict. The first half of the melody is a transformed version of “Siblings By The Window”. I “broke it down” to a point where you can barely tell what the original song was, but I felt pain as I was doing that.
- Endless Nightmare
It’s a new version of the “Visiting Nightmare” and the track of the (unexpected?) encounter with “him”. Apart from the darkness of the original track, I added many types of sound materials with an echo to them, to increase the creepy intimidation and tension.
- Thunderstorm
The BGM of the 1st battle VS the final boss. A chord feeling that dodges a simple harmony and phrases that sound like an alarm; these many phrases increase the tension. The maker, Mr. Sato Hiroyuki, said that he poured the theme of “two different characters that will never be in accordance, and the feeling of their clash”. “Collision of Thunderstorms” is largely used as a motif in the beginning, but afterwards it evolves in a wholly new format. This is the time axis of this world.
- The Electrical Mad God
The final boss appears, having become a total electrical existence. The tension and the ominous feeling and a huge energy surging out; we expressed all of those through a noisy tone. By the time this track plays, the story has reached a very exciting climax, and the effects of noise filling the screen impressed me.
- Avalanche Breakdown
Very flashy effects burst in this BGM of the 2nd battle VS the final boss. In terms of image, the scene is amazing. So I wanted the music to match it as well. A feeling of overwhelming tension and a storm of glistering digital sounds. The SFXs and the voices have too much syllabic sounds, and I did struggle to balance them towards the end. But I have no regrets. Since it’s the “apeX”.
- Intuition - A Faint Hope -
Lola’s song, which only Kohaku can hear. I did thinking of making the (vocal) song begin playing at this point, but as a result of hesitating until the end, I hurriedly added an overture that had intuition and commotion as themes. It’s a small track based on toying with the beginning of “Searchlight” but I think the end result was good enough.
- The Sword Opening the Future
The track that plays in the scene when Blade gallantly rushed to save Kohaku, who’s in trouble. To express the bond of both sisters through the music, I included a certain “trick”. I took out the melody from “Hidden Beneath the Mask” and “Positive Girl”, glued them together and added a new accompanying… Ta-dan! This is the end result! When composing a song, and to avoid issues, I stare at the score and wrote the 3 songs at the same time. It was a hard task, but the joy you feel at completing the puzzle is so great.
- Believing in Their Return
The children who worryingly wait for the return of Kohaku and the others. This track is for a scene in which their feelings sway and move, uncertainness and believing that the others are OK. I asked Mr. Yamada to do this one along with the global staging. This game has important story scenes after the staff roll, and it was very hard to add the ending. But thanks to this track we could add a very good atmosphere to the ending without too much trouble.
- X
The end of the story concluded with this track, theme of iX. Turning Copen, the protagonist, into music, I sticked to enforce the objective image of “The White Steel iX” (Luminous Avenger iX), rather than Copen’s inner side. He wears a pure white steel armor and engraves the “iX” mark on his enemies, he’s a very strong warrior. The hope of the Minos. I valued a cool and heroic feeling… Yet, at the same time, I used a phrase from the “Silver Bullet of Revenge”* in the later half of the track. There are some odd parts to him as well but Copen is Copen . That’s it.
Creator Profiles
- Ippo Yamada (Sound Designer & Producer)
Born in Kanazawa Prefecture. Joined Capcom in the year 93. Worked on “Super Street Fighter II (SNES), “Resident Evil (PSX)”, etc. Joins Inti Creates’ foundation in the year 96. Works in “Convertible Running Attack Gunbike (SNES)”, “LOVE & DESTROY (PSX)”, “Rockman Zero (GBA)” series, “Crayon Shin-chan (GBA, NDS)” series”, “Rockman ZX (NDS)” series, “Rockman 9 (Wiiware, XBLA, PSN)”, “Rockman 10 (Wiiware, XBLA, PSN)“, “Pack World (3DS)”, “Armed Blue Gunvolt (Switch, 3DS, PC)” series, “Gal Gun (Xbox360, XboxOne, PS3, PS4, Vita, Switch, PC)” series, “Demon Universe App Monsters (3DS)”, “Blaster Master Zero (Switch, 3DS)” series, “Bakutsuri Bar Hunter (3DS)”, “Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (Switch, 3DS, PS4, PSVita, XboxOne, PC)”, making of Inti Creates label CDs, producer of live events as well as Director of Monster Designs in “Shin Megami Tensei Devil Children The White Tome (GBC)”.
- Ryo Kawakami (Sound Designer)
Born in Tokyo Prefecture. He began his musical activity as an electron demonstrator in junior high, and after several bands and support sessions, he became an arranger-composer focusing on game music.
After providing tracks for the “Rockman ZX (NDS)” series, he joined Inti Creates in the year 07. After he works in several “Crayon Shin-chan (NDS)”, he works in many other games such as “Rockman 9 (Wiiware/ XBLA, PSN)”, “Rockman 10 (Wiiware/ XBLA, PSN)”, “POWER RANGERS SAMURAI (NDS, Wii)”, “Gal Gun (Xbox360, XboxOne, PS3, PS4, Vita, Switch, PC)” series, “Armed Blue Gunvolt (Switch, 3DS, PC)” series, “Mighty Gunvolt (3DS, Switch, PS4, PC)” series, “Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (Switch, 3DS, PS4, PSVita, XboxOne, PC)”, “Dragon Marked for Death (Switch)”, “Blaster Master Zero 2 (Switch)” and many more.
He does a lot of sound engineering on his own, starting with CD Mastering.
- Takumi Sato (Sound Designer)
Born in Hokkaido, Kushiro City. After graduating from college, he advances into a speciality school to study in a Sound Creator Course. He began making music during his period there, as a composer, guitarist and other types of activities. He joins Inti Creates in the year 16. His wish fulfilled, he becomes a Game Sound Designer. He works in many projects such as “Armed Blue Gunvolt: Saw (3DS)”, “Armed Blue Gunvolt (Anime)”, “Demon Universe App Monsters (3DS)”, “Blaster Master Zero (3DS, Switch)”, “Mighty Gunvolt BURST (PC, PS4, Switch)”, “Bakutsuri Bar Hunter (3DS)”, “Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (Switch, 3DS, PS4, PSVita, XboxOne, PC)”, “Dragon Marked for Death (Switch)”, “Blaster Master Zero 2 (Switch)”, and so on.
- Ryo Yoshinaga (Sound Designer)
Born in Saitama Prefecture, Kawagoe City. After graduating from college, he also graduates from the Music Artists Study in the Japanese College of Engineering, Specialty School. He’d become musical activity on his own since middle school, and began activity as a composer when studying at the specialty school. He provides music to vocalists and plays and so on.
His love for retro games and classic 2D action games rises, and he joints Inti Creates in the year 17. He works in games such as “Armed Blue Gunvolt Striker Pack (Switch)”, “Gal Gun VR (PC)”, “Gal Gun 2 (PC, PS4, Switch)”, “Mighty Gunvolt BURST (PC, PS4, Switch)”, “Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (Switch, 3DS, PS4, PSVita, XboxOne, PC)”, “Dragon Marked for Death (Switch)”,“Blaster Master Zero 2 (Switch)”, and so on.
There are many tracks in this game the shape of which has greatly changed compared to their initial versions, and I was able to slowly think about the gap between my own impressions and the impressions of others in this title. Thank you, Copen-kun.
- Hiroyuki Sato (Sound Designer)
Born in Yamagata Prefecture, Yonezawa City. When he was in middle school, he built up a stock of self-made ear copies of game music MIDIs, and relying on his MIDI knowledge, he went through jobs as making MIDIs for karaokes, as well as making ringtones.
He joined Inti Creates in the year 18. He worked “Dragon Marked for Death (Switch)”,“Blaster Master Zero 2 (Switch)”, and so on.
In the latter half of development, I felt like I ran out of ideas on what kind of BGMs and SEs make (for the game). I will spend a while coming up with new ideas, I guess.
- Keishi Yonao (Composer)
Born in Fukuoka Prefecture, Fukuoka City. Debuts in the year 89 with “Hydefos (MSX)”. Afterwards, he became a freelancer and provided music for the MSX, X68000 and its PC games.
Apart from game music, he made original concept albums as well as taking part in many events by using KORG DS-10. He received the BGM specialty gold (first-place) prize of “Moe Game Award 2010”.
His representative works are “Alice Gear Aegis (Android, iOS)”, “Dies irae (PC, PSP, mobile, anime)” series, “YU-NO: A Girl Who Chants Love at the Bound of this World (PS4, anime)”, “Strania - The Stella Machine (Xbox360, Steam, exA-Arcadia)”, “Asuka 120% (PS, X68000, FMTOWNS, PC-Engine, SegaSaturn)” series and others.
Credits
(Too see who made which track, check the Track List section above)
III: Sound Create Unit
- Ippo Yamada: Keyboards, Computer Programming, Composition, Arrangement
- Ryo Kawakami: Keyboards, Computer Programming, Composition, Arrangement
- Takumi Sato: Keyboards, Computer Programming, Composition, Arrangement
- Ryo Yoshinaga: Keyboards, Computer Programming, Composition, Arrangement
- Hiroyuki Sato: Keyboards, Computer Programming, Composition, Arrangement
- Keishi Yonao: Keyboards, Computer Programming, Composition, Arrangement
- Lola (Mayu Mineda): Vocal
- Hakofactory: Lyrics
Staff
- Produce, Supervise: Ippo Yamada
- Mastering: Ryo Kawakami
- Recording Engineer: Yasutaka Sato (Allblue)
- Illustration: Yoshitaka Hatakeyama
- Layout: Shun Maruta
- Special Thanks:
- Yoshihisa Tsuda (INTI)
- Toshiaki Tai (INTI)
- Munehiro Araki (INTI)
- and All Inti Creates Staff
- Sales Promote:
- Go Maeda
- Shigeru Nakagawa
- Matt Papa
- Executive Producer: Takuya Aizu