Before GrimGrimoire, Radiata Stories held my personal title fastest completion of a game (only rivaled by Growlanser II. I loved many things about Radiata: it’s unique art style, charming characters, and its fun battle system (although, I really wanted the ability to play as other characters.) One thing that really stood out, though, was the game’s music.

Image courtesy of:

The person behind Radiata’s soundtrack is none other Noriyuki Iwadare. Hmm? Name not familiar?

He’s the same man behind Lunar: The Silver Star Story soundtrack, for which he won a music award for.

Hmm? Never played Lunar? Then how about the Grandia series?

Still no? Well it really doesn’t matter. Fans of Iwadare will be surprised to here that he completely changed his musical style for Radiata. Instead of standard video game-y music (I don’t feel like the soundtrack for Lunar was anything special,) he instead makes every song Jazzy, save for one or two.

The main problem I have with most RPGs is the less than stellar battle music. Sure, most boss battles are fine, but the regular battle music can become quite annoying. Even the catchier tunes can strike a nerve given a long enough game. I mean, I love my FFIV battle music, but there’s only so much of that baseline that I can take.

Fortunately, Radiata avoids that (for the most part.) It’s battle themes are not only catchy, but also musically interesting. STRUGGLE I is silly tune to it starring a jazz saxophone. If my memory serves me correctly, it was mainly used for silly or odd battles. STRUGGLE III is, from what I can remember, used for more important battles. The songs has the same emphasis on jazz sax while adding an additional focus on the jazz piano. It’s easily the catchiest song in the entire soundtrack.

One battle song I do despise is STRUGGLE II. I know this makes me a bad writer, but I can’t really say why. Please forgive me, I played the game about two years ago. It may be that this is the most commonly placed field song, so that I’ve just gotten tired of hearing it. That would basically shoot what I’ve previously said about the battle themes right out the window, wouldn’t it?

Not all of the tunes are jazzy in Radiata. The town section themes are done in a more “normal” style. Unfortunately, most of them are quite forgettable save for one: Magical World. It’s the theme for that magical academy in Radiata. I’m really having trouble describing its style. I’m actually not even sure what the main instrument is. It might be a group of oboes, but I’m not really sure. Yea, I’m sure that’s really helpful. Haha. Anyway, I would recommend picking up this soundtrack if the chance ever presents itself. I’d call it a gem.