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MAIN
THEME, MY THOUGHTS
Melodic
speed metal. I think that's what DragonForce describe their music
as and I'd have to agree with them. There is a passion and energy
in their music that makes you want to get up and fight for justice.
I always thought that the lyrics of DragonForce songs were steeped
in the feeling of a fantasy adventure, and would be perfect as the
theme for an RPG. What better song to use as the opening theme for
DSK? The lyrics are all quite relevant. Take the chorus for example:
'On the black wind forever we ride on together/Destroying your
evil with freedom our guide… Our hearts filled with splendour/Our
swords will shine over the light.' Perfect words to inspire
an epic feel to the start of DSK.
SERIES
III THEME, MY THOUGHTS
From
the soundtrack of Shadows Hearts: Covenant, I thought this
uplifting piece was a good choice to set the mood for Series III.
The haunting vocals add a feeling of mystery and suspense, until
the explosion of energetic strings in the middle section giving
a sense of awe-inspiring power.
THORN'S
THEME , MY THOUGHTS
Evanescence's heavy
guitar and Amy Lee's brooding voice combine to make a satisfying
theme for everyone's favourite Dark Angel. I feel the verse that
begins 'Fallen angels at my feet …' and ends with
'I rise to meet my end' is particularly significant to Thorn,
as it relates to his time possessed by Ares. 'She beckons me/Shall
I give in,' could be depicting Thorn's struggle to keep control
of his body and out of Ares' hands.
KUJA'S
THEME , MY THOUGHTS
It's no coincidence that
The Rasmus' Lauri Ylonen has feathery hair like Kuja's. Heh no,
seriously now, I wanted a theme that was slightly rocky for Kuja
to show the power behind his character. It's a song about never
giving up because you're with the one you love. ''Cos I've been
down and I've been crawling/Pushed around and always falling/You're
up there, you're always with me/Smiling down on me.' No matter
how tough things get, if Kuja has Thorn, he will never back down.
LAURENZA'S
THEME , MY THOUGHTS
Laurenza's
theme was picked by me quite early on in her conception as a character.
I chose this song to represent her constant rejection in love, for
example, Levanté and then Thorn and Kuja. The chorus that
begins 'You don't know me…' and ends 'Make me go
away' show this very well. Music-wise, it is a loud and intense
song that suggests that even when rejected, the Dark Queen still
stands strong.
RED'S
THEME , MY THOUGHTS
Right
from the title, this song is an apt choice for Red. The obvious
connection of course is 'Lucifer's angel,' as that is exactly
what Red is, a Dark Angel, one of Lucifer's best. The rest of the
lyrics, including 'Behind those eyes lies the truth and grief,'
are words that subtly express her tragic experiences with Roseanne.
LI'S
THEME , MY THOUGHTS
Li
was a difficult person to find a theme for. I originally chose 'Do
It Again' by Stroke 9, but it wasn't quite as appropriate as this
song. The song is about a boastful pretender, which I thought fits
Li's description quite well. 'Tell people I'm down with all the
cool kids downtown/When I've never even been there' makes Li's
wildly unbelievable 'famous stories' spring to mind. It has the
feel of someone who wants to look really tough and would pick a
fight with anyone, but really is only faking it. There's also a
reference to a girl, which of course makes you think of Scorn.
SCORN'S
THEME , MY THOUGHTS
I'm
a big fan of Sonata Arctica, so no offence intended, but I have
to say I sometimes find their slightly forced English lyrics rather
funny. In the case of using a song by them as Scorn's theme, it's
quite appropriate, as she is not a native English speaker herself.
The essence of the song sums up Scorn's feelings before she left
in Series IV- that she wanted to go home. The chorus that begins
'I want out--to live my life alone' and ends 'I want out--to live
my life and to be free' shows this very well.
TIFANEL'S
THEME , MY THOUGHTS
For
Tifanel, I wanted a song that sounded carefree, as he's quite an
easygoing guy. This song fits the bill quite nicely, with some relevant
lyrics to boot. 'I gave up 'cos I couldn't feel' makes me
think of young Tifanel, nothing but a tool that takes orders. This
is going to sound cruel, but the lines that really hooked it for
me was 'And my less than large brain is contorting the synapses/Sent
from the ends of my dangling nerves,' because Tifanel isn't
the brightest star in the sky.
LIERLO/APATHY'S
THEME , MY THOUGHTS
I
think this song may be a little too heavy for Lierlo, but there's
not much I can do about that. The fact that it's also Apathy's theme
makes up for that. It was the lyrics more than the tune that I chose
this for, anyway. The many references to fire, of course, are useful.
'The window burns to light the way back home' and 'Keepers
of the flames' are representative of Lierlo being a Fire Spirit.
'Mama they try and break me' makes me think of Lierlo calling
out to his mother about what Siun and the Luneblanche did to him
as a child.
ADRIENNE'S
THEME , MY THOUGHTS
This
song has to be Adrienne's theme because I named the character after
this song. The best way to see how this song relates to her is to
imagine it's sung from Allen's point of view. 'Spent my money,
drove my car/I treated you like a shining star.' We all know
how Adrienne liked her material possessions. 'And I'll have the
last laugh, when I see you walking with some other guy/'Cos I know
you're gone end up all alone.' Allen didn't want Adrienne back
when he met her again, because he knew she was someone else's headache
now.
LAHRNE'S
THEME , MY THOUGHTS
Lahrne
was another difficult character to choose a theme for. I didn't
want to fall into the trap of picking something silly simply because
he's a child. I decided on this song because it inspires a sense
of adventure in the listener. 'I've waited for/The thrill, the
chase forever more' makes me think of Lahrne's overwhelming
enthusiasm for a quest. Lahrne has always wanted to be able to fly
just like his daddy, so one day he hopes that he will be able to
say 'watch me fly.'
KITZIE'S
THEME , MY THOUGHTS
The
first of the two Japanese-language themes on this collection is
for Kitzie's theme. This is a cute love song and is rather energetic,
just like her. The English lines such as 'candy star' and
'sugar heart' are very sweet. It has a very innocent feel
as well, which suits Kitzie very well. Perhaps she's singing about
Lahrne...
PAIGE'S
THEME , MY THOUGHTS
Well,
my feelings for Marilyn Manson aside, I can see that this is quite
a suitable song for Paige. It has a creepy feeling and underlying
sense of terror that is quite fitting for Series III's major antagonist.
'He is the raper' and 'Dry
up all the wombs' are
particularly apt considering what he did to Thorn and then Scorn's
baby. Also, 'The things that he has you'll never want to see'
makes me think of his true form with all the tentacles.
SERIES
IV THEME , MY THOUGHTS
Good
old Yoshitaka Hirota. Here's another song from the Shadow Hearts
series, this time from the third game, From The New World.
Although it is not quite as epic as the song I chose for the opening
to Series III, it has more of a sense of mystery, again created
by those beautifully haunting vocals. Mysteries are something that
Series IV is not short of, along with energetic battles, represented
by the powerful riffs of electric guitars.
ARES'
THEME , MY THOUGHTS
This song makes me think of Ares when she first arrived in Series
IV, and her struggle against her feeling of guilt due to what she
did before. She wants to know if it's too late to change the way
her life is going. 'And I wish I could know if the directions
that I take/And all the choices that I make won't end up all for
nothing.' She is no longer the villain she was, but she's still
searching for who she is now. 'Is there something more than what
I've been handed/I've been crawling in the dark looking for the
answer.'
RIN'S
THEME , MY THOUGHTS
When
we thought about making a collection of songs to use as character
themes, I knew instantly what song to use for the amorous Rin. There's
not much to say about this. He loves his ladies, so what better
song to use than one that is a long boast of all the girls a man
has had? '100 girls or maybe more/Who left me passed out on the
floor,' sounds like something Rin would say to try and impress
the others.
CHIARA'S
THEME , MY THOUGHTS
For Chiara, I had to decide between two different songs, both in
Japanese. The first was Ayumi Hamasaki's Teddy Bear, but I decided
on this song instead. It's a lively and slightly silly song, just
like Chiara. You just can't take a song seriously when the chorus
is 'WAI YAI YA AI YAI YA!' (Yes, that makes as little sense
in Japanese as it does English.) It has a slightly eastern feel
to the tune, which made me think of the 'mystic east,' fortune telling,
dancing - things Chiara is famous for. For me, I imagine Chiara
singing the song about herself and Tifanel. Just look at this line's
translation: 'Even though you're overly macho/You've got a gentle
heart.'
ENDING
THEME , MY THOUGHTS
Much
like the opening theme, Starfire is a great fantasy adventure song,
but it is slightly more down tempo so it would work better as a
closing theme. 'And we're standing one and all fighting till
we fall/Hoping for a better day/Never giving in' is very characteristic
of our DSK gang, as that's exactly what they do so very often.
REESON
FAMILY CIRCUS/RINGMASTER'S THEME
, MY THOUGHTS
Ooh,
doesn't this song just give you the chills? Just like the Ringmaster
himself. This quite clearly relates to his use of Saffron in his
big top: 'Fail to see the tragic, turn it into magic.' The
poor girl was exploited for the sake of a good show. 'The crowd
begins to grin/But they seem to scream when darkness fills my eyes'
shows when his amazing show went pear-shaped and hideous things
were created, frightening the audience.
LOVE
THEME ~ THORN, KUJA AND LAURENZA
, MY THOUGHTS
I
always this song would be appropriate for the love triangle between
Thorn, Kuja and Laurenza during the period of chapters 34-42. It's
about Laurenza's pain of losing Kuja, but also the pain Thorn and
Kuja feel because they upset her: 'Someone cries and you're to
blame.' 'The picture you see it won't disappear/Not unpleasant
dreams' also makes me think of Lierlo (or Apathy as he was)
being his evil night time self and bothering the heck out of Kuja
during this period of time.
THEME
OF LINKING SOULS
Here we have a melancholy love song from one of my other
favourite bands, Savage Garden. I chose this song to represent Laurenza's
lingering feelings for Kuja that forced her to move away from the
castle. 'It's
been seven months and counting/You've moved on/I still feel exactly
the same'
shows she still felt for Kuja, even though he didn't feel for her.
Quite a few of the lines make me think of her walking the streets
of Mirendal, lamenting the loss of Kuja. 'It's just that everywhere
I go/All the buildings know your name like/Photographs and memories
of love/Steel and granite reminders/The city calls your name and
I can't move on.'
LOVE
THEME ~ THORN, KUJA AND PAIGE
Oh yes, another Stroke 9. But the first time I heard
this song, I knew I had to use it for Thorn/Kuja/Paige. I mean,
the first two lines are just perfect: 'No one tastes like you/and
no one wastes me with their words like you do' is definitely something
Thorn would think about Kuja. Now the chorus could be Kuja when
he thought Thorn dumped him to get back with his old flame, Paige,
or indeed Paige's inner thoughts about Thorn. 'I'm the reject that
you never accepted/Now I'm left wrecked and forever affected.' The
end of the song shows just how much Kuja and Thorn need each other:
'And now when I'm all alone/There's nothing else I can see/There's
no one else I can be anymore.' It makes me think most strongly of
Kuja's utter depression after stabbing Thorn.
THEME
OF ROSE HEART
This German-language
song chosen for the theme of Rose Heart has some symbolism that
I can see related to Red and Roseanne.
'A girl saw a little rose/It bloomed there in bright height'
could be taken as Red first laying eyes on Roseanne, someone
who eventually rose to Heaven.
The translation 'Deep
wells must be dug/if you want clear water/Rose-red, oh Rose-red'
makes me think of the rose water Red refused to drink, perhaps one
of the factors that lead to Roseanne's death.
THEME
OF WARRING SPIRITS
Stroke 9
again, this time for Tifanel and his first love, Evelyn. I chose
this song mainly for its chorus: 'Don't hate me, don't regret
me, don't ever forget me/Wherever you go, whatever you do, don't
say I never loved you.' It makes me think of when Tifanel slaughtered
all the people of his hometown because he thought Evelyn was dead.
He wanted Evelyn's spirit to forgive him, remember him and know
he loved her. There's also a feeling of naivety on Tifanel's part:
'Even then you knew what you wanted/Even then I had no clue/I
was just living in the moment/And the moment was all about you,'
that made me think of Evelyn having to teach Tif about everything.
LOVE THEME ~ RIN AND SHAYA
Usually I'm no big fan of dance
music, but I chose this song for its apt lyrics. As we know, Rin
is very reluctant to stare truth in the face when it's something
uncomfortable, and would rather live in illusions. Shaya was there
to try and open his eyes. 'I can see things that you walk right
through… as you race to escape the truth.' The upbeat tempo
of the song shows that her attempts were not malicious, but trying
to help Rin.
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