NCSoft's Master X Master was an ambitious MOBA-action hybrid that pulled characters from across their game universes -- Blade & Soul, Lineage, Guild Wars -- and threw them into a tag-team arena brawler. The soundtrack reflects that crossover energy with a diverse set of character themes that each try to capture a distinct personality.
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"Poharan's Invitation Remix" brings Blade & Soul flair into the mix, while "Hold on Tight" for the mech character Mba-07 goes full sci-fi action, and "Beauty and the Poison" for Lorraine drips with theatrical menace. The character themes are where the composers clearly had the most fun.
"Once Upon a Happy Day" for Arami is disarmingly cheerful in a roster otherwise dominated by intensity, while "Get up and Dance" for Bonahk leans into funky, upbeat grooves that feel totally out of place in a combat game -- in the best possible way.
"The Phoenix" for Lilu soars with orchestral grandeur, and "Supernatural Forest" for Cagnazzo conjures something genuinely otherworldly. Each track works as a miniature portrait of its character. Despite the game's unfortunately short life -- NCSoft shut down the servers in early 2018, less than a year after Western launch -- the soundtrack remains a testament to what the project got right.
The main theme "Master X Master" and battle tracks like "No Man's Land" and "Apocalypse" deliver the adrenaline you would expect, but it is the sheer variety across the character themes that gives this OST lasting appeal.
It is a snapshot of a game that deserved more time than it got.