Live strings cut through with this sinister urgency that grabs you from the first note. Hiroki Kikuta, the Secret of Mana composer, went fully orchestral for Soukaigi and recorded about 80% of it with real musicians. "Ancient Power" opens with these sweeping string stabs that feel dangerous and beautiful at the same time.
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"Fire Wire" has this wild guitar solo recorded by Tomohito Aoki, apparently played through a massive hangover, and honestly it sounds like it. Raw and unhinged. "Labyrinth" pulls you into something darker and more ambient, almost uncomfortably tense.
The PS1's storage capacity let Kikuta go places his SNES work never could. Criminally overlooked given who's behind it.