Maten Densetsu ~Real Dimension Music~

 

Review by · November 10, 2000

This is DEFINITELY the most obscure CD I’ve ever owned and probably will ever own in my entire life. I bought this CD on a complete whim while searching eBay, and I was in for a surprise after receiving it. This music is tons of synth fun!

For some history on Maten Densetsu (Legend of Maten)…This Japanese RPG was originally released in 1993 on the Sega MegaDrive (or Genesis in America), and then re-released in 1995 on the Super Famicom (SNES). After searching around on the internet, I was able to find pictures of the title screen, but I could not find a ROM for this game on either system. This goes to show exactly HOW obscure it is. The only reason it is known at all is that Yoshitaka Amano did the character design artwork. But whether or not it was a good RPG, the music is spectacular.

The samples should give you an idea of how the music is…Very eerie, using a lot of the same synth instruments. The main theme used in many tracks is definitely cool. The almost-5-minute opening track is a highlight of this CD, setting up for a neat score that you’re not gonna hear anywhere else. I can guarantee you that if you listen to some of these tracks in the dead of night that you could freak yourself out. It can get downright scary at some points. I actually played a trick on my mom once and ran this music softly at the source of the ventilation system in my house, so the music was heard faintly through the entire house. She was so messed up for the rest of the day. 🙂

I’m pretty sure that there is no one in America that would hunt this CD down, because no one in America has heard of it. However, now that this review is up, hopefully someone will go on a frantic search for it. Well, including me, there has to be at least one copy now floating around in America (I have since sold it). So, keep an eye out on eBay…Or, if you have the connections, on Yahoo Japan Auctions, and it could be yours!

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Patrick Gann

Patrick Gann

Therapist by day and gamer by night, Patrick has been offering semi-coherent ramblings about game music to RPGFan since its beginnings. From symphonic arrangements to rock bands to old-school synth OSTs, Patrick keeps the VGM pumping in his home, to the amusement and/or annoyance of his large family of humans and guinea pigs.