Meridian Dance

February 28, 2021

We’ve arrived at the Mana Beast. Meridian Dance has reprises of musical tricks that were used throughout the soundtrack.  The track begins with a series of quick arpeggios and relentless hits on the kick drum, driving the tense chord changes.  There are two themes joined by a bridge—timepiece rockers that wouldn’t have been out of place on the Wide World of Sports. The second theme (:55) is a thoughtful trek into B♭ minor, having a character that recalls the later sections of Danger. It’s some time into the battle and more drama is needed, especially as you may need this long to get your Mana Magic figured out. Kikuta shows off his bass line talent again, making these themes more memorable than they’d be otherwise. The end of the second theme leads to another dramatic shift (1:18), less animated than before, and again reminiscent of Danger.

The remake’s usual increase in intensity is vastly effective here, and this is one of the most improved tracks over the Super Nintendo version.

Choir – Wave 32 (Itopia) on Yamaha TG55/77/99
Strings – Yamaha PSLCD-104
Brass Section – Roland SC-55/U-220
Fingered Bass – Fingered 1 on Roland U-220/LCDP-02
Slap Bass – Brite Thumb 1a on Roland U-220/LCDP-02
Cymbals – Yamaha TG55/77/99
HiHats – Yamaha TG55/77/99
Snare – Ouch Snare from Roland R-8
Kick – Mondo Kick from Roland R-8