Masashi Hamauzu wrote an almost entirely piano-driven RPG soundtrack in 1999 and it still sounds like nothing else from that era. SaGa Frontier II's score is restrained, intimate, and constantly beautiful in ways PS1 games almost never attempted.
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"Feldschlacht I" turns a battle theme into a tense piano etude that keeps you on edge without a single power chord. "Reminiscence" is just devastating. Quiet and unhurried. "Dithyrambus" brings this rare burst of energy with rapid passages that feel genuinely virtuosic.
"Rose Wreath" layers gentle melodic lines over soft harmonic shifts that sound almost impressionist. The whole soundtrack feels like watercolor paintings made into music. If you care about composition in games at all, Hamauzu's work here is essential listening.