Into the Thick of it

Februrary 28, 2021

As the title implies, the characters are going right into the dangers of the world. This is the theme that plays in most field settings.

From the start, there’s a sense of kinetics. It plays along with the swift, graceful motions of the characters. A pleasing guitar intro has a light syncopation that helps establish the lively tempo—about 140 beats per minute.  A slight but effective reverb implies the expanse of the landscape and is sometimes amplified for different settings. After the intro (:07), a subdued choir-like voice joins the guitar line in accompanying two flutes which provide the melody. The woodsy flutes create harmony in parallel sixths while the choir proceeds mainly in parallel fifths. The guitar line is mostly repetitive, giving it a minimalist quality.

The theme lasts eight measures before dramatically modulating up one half step for the next section (:21). This musical event mirrors the unexpected and involved nature of the active view in the game.  It also accents the sense of motion and eventually descends into the next section. It seems as though the flutes are “falling” into whatever’s coming next.  For this section, the flutes are now in octaves, with the choir providing most of the harmony.

This next eight-bar section (:34) is the most striking of the piece. We have modulated back down one half step, and the flutes give way to an active synthesizer line against the choir which moves higher in pitch.  The changes in color and key center are haunting events that imply the mysterious character of the wilderness and contrast sharply with the preceding section. It’s almost as if a protective musical veil has been lifted, and now we’re exposed to some unknown truth. Every remake of the theme I’ve heard since the original overlooks the character of this section which is, in fairness, very difficult to reproduce.

These twenty-four bars repeat before arriving at a coda (1:29).  After the strong sense of motion of the first part, there is a peaceful keyboard instrument in its higher register against the flutes which have now become the accompaniment. Then, we restart the A section and it repeats ad infinitum.

The remix on the Steam/PS4 version has not been popular with fans for good reason. The guitar part is played by an unremarkable clean synth sound. The choir arrives with an accordion playing the melody. It sounds more like a festival instrument, and is out of place here with the dark mode. The new sound palette coupled with a lack of effective reverb makes the track sound dry at times. There’s been some rearranging of the various sections, and we hear some parts less than in the original. Through all sections, a fairly consistent color, lacking the dynamic buildup of the original, fails to capture its spirit. After it plays once, a heavy string section is added for the second run through with a driving electric bass line. It’s a clever addition that catches us off guard for a moment and ups the intensity but doesn’t overcome the track’s overall shortcomings. It’s worth noting that the new version of the game does not have the sweeping visual feel of the original; this may have led to these changes.

Flute – Yamaha TG55
Choir – Yamaha TG55/77/99
12-String Guitar – Ensoniq CDR2
Piano – Akai S-Series CD-ROM 2
Electric Piano – Akai S-Series CD-ROM 2