ACE TOMOri’s weeping piano arpeggiation and sympathetic strings suggest he may have taken a leaf from Yoko Kanno’s “Walt”, were it not for the addition of Ihara-san’s subtle sax flourishes. The same could be said for the album’s titular exploration theme, “Kingdom of Torna”. The pace is still brisk, but the tone is decidedly less grand and predominantly minor. In its Torna iteration, “Four-limbed Titan/Gormott” mutes the excitement of the once exuberant fan-favorite, trading its iconic, thunderous beat and soaring strings for lighter drumming, spunky piano clusters, and Ryoji Ihara’s sleek saxophone lines. No track better demonstrates the juxtaposition than ACE CHiCO’s new take on “Gormott”. Where previous Xenoblade installments packed rollicking field exploration themes, driven by invigorating beats and ecstatic orchestration, Torna turns to smooth jazz for a milder – and perhaps more mature – approach.
They will, on the other hand, find a radical new direction for Xenoblade music that’s totally unique to Torna. The piece still makes a charming first impression, but fans seeking Xenoblade Chronicles 2’s same attention to leitmotif and interconnectivity will have a tough time finding it here. Instead, listeners are treated to a sneak preview of “A Moment of Eternity” (more on that to come) in a style evocative of Yiruma’s “A River Flows In You”. Yet where Xenoblade Chronicles 2’s title music introduced players to its main theme, Torna: The Golden Country has no such theme to speak of. True to form, so did Torna: The Golden Country – and the Kingdom of Torna album begins on that very same note. Just how well does this contrast distinguish Kingdom of Torna from the main body of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 music? Bodyīack in 2017, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 made a strong musical impression right off the bat, with a sentimental piano piece by lead composer Yasunori Mitsuda. Where its predecessor reveled in grandiose orchestration and high-octane, synth-infused battle themes, Kingdom of Torna narrows its focus in large part to smooth jazz and acoustic arrangements. Yet Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Kingdom of Torna is anything but more of the same. That’s just fine by us: here at VGMO, we’re big fans of Xenoblade Chronicles 2’s musical score. To some extent, Monolith Soft did rely on old assets but even so, they invited Procyon Studio to liven up their Torna, the Golden Country expansion with fresh contributions. Given the sheer volume of original music (nearly five and a half hours’ worth) at Monolith Soft’s disposal, the developer could have just as easily opted to reuse musical assets, calling it a day then and there. The fact that Xenoblade Chronicles 2’s DLC expansion even has its own soundtrack is, in some sense, impressive enough. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Kingdom of Torna Original Soundtrack
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