Persona 4 Original Soundtrack

Persona 4 Original Soundtrack
[Audio CD, 1 Disc]
Source: Persona 4 [PS2]
Composer: Shōji Meguro
Release Date: 2008
Label: Phantom Sound & Vision

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 is the latest iteration of the Persona series. The game itself was released in 2008 for the PS2. The soundtrack is composed primarily by Shoji Meguro with a few vocal tracks that are voiced by Shihoko Hirata. The soundtrack is a mix of modern pop with rpg standards, which compliments the games modern setting and characters quite nicely. Despite Persona 4 missing some of the urban cityscape inspired beats from Persona 3, Shoji Meguro demonstrates why he's the go-to composer for the Shin Megami Tensei series. While some of the tracks might be a little too pop induced (the main battle theme comes to mind), the soundtrack as a whole is very listenable and has a lot of charm, albeit not quite as much as Persona 3. One of my only complaints about this particular collection is that the full game soundtrack is actually 2 CDs, although this collection has nearly all of the 'best of' tracks. Unfortunately, it is missing 'Mist', one of the overdriven final battle themes in Persona 4, and quite frankly Shoji Meguro does some of his best work on battle themes (as evidenced in Digital Devil Saga).

Track List

01 Pursuing My True Self
02 Aria of the Soul
03 New Days
04 Your Affection
05 Who's There
06 Reach Out to the Truth (instrumental version)
07 Castle
08 Border of Insanity
09 I'll Face Myself (battle)
10 Muscle Blues
11 Sauna
12 Striptease
13 Heartbeat, Heartbreak
14 Game
15 A New World Fool
16 Reach Out to the Truth
17 Junes Theme
18 Traumerei
19 Secret Base
20 Heaven
21 Deduction (another version)
22 Long Way
23 The Almighty
24 Never More

Recommended Listening: The Almighty, Heaven, Long Way.

Persona V.3

Persona V.3
[Audio CD, 2 Discs]
Source: Persona 3 [PS2]
Composer: Shōji Meguro
Release Date: 2006
Label: Sony

Shin Megami Tensai: Persona 3 was released in 2006 (2007 for North America) by Atlus. This two disc collection features 58 compositions and arrangements by Shoji Meguro, a longstanding composer for the varied Shin Megami Tensai series. The soundtrack itself is quite varied and reflects the modern tone of Persona 3 and its gameplay. The soundtrack jumps between classical sounding arrangements, urban inspired battle themes, overdriven guitars, and still manages to keep some classic RPG charm intact. The diversity of the soundtrack compliments the dual nature of Persona 3's gameplay, which has you planning your daily schedule around attending high school, improving your social links and fighting through the hellish tower Tartarus at night. While most of the Shin Megami Tensai series (and most games in general) has a relatively narrow thematic range to draw emphasis to the gameplay, this soundtrack incorporates a variety of elements that work quite well together to create an extremely listenable album. The number of remix and band arrangement compilations based on this soundtrack attests to this.

Track List

DISC I
01 Burn My Dread
02 Poem of Everyone's Soul
03 Beginning
04 This Strange Sensation
05 Want to be Close
06 Troubled
07 Crisis
08 Shadow
09 Invoke Persona
10 Unavoidable Battle
11 Peace
12 When the Moon's Reaching Out Stars
13 Iwatodai Dormitory
14 The Voice Someone Calls
15 tartarus_0d01
16 Mass Destruction
17 After Battle
18 p3ct004_01
19 Deep Breath Deep Breath
20 Master of Shadow
21 Paulownian Mall
22 tartarus_0d02
23 Unsettling Premonition
24 Fearful Experience
25 Calamity
26 Junior Exam
27 Adventured Act
28 Joy
29 tartarus_0d03
30 Deep Mentality
31 The Path is Open
32 The Path Was Closed

DISC II
01 Changing Seasons
02 Basement
03 Master of Tartarus
04 This is Fine
05 Living With Determination
06 tartarus_0d04
07 Kyoto
08 Afternoon Break
09 Current Net Price
10 tartarus_0d05
11 Remembrance of 10 Years Ago
12 Mistic
13 Power of the Heart
14 Street of Memories
15 Memories of the Academy
16 Living With Determination - Iwatodai Dormitory Arrange
17 tartarus_0d06
18 The Thing Comes From the Darkness
19 Battle for Everyone's Souls
20 Nyx
21 Determination
22 Burn My Dread -Last Battle-
23 Bonds
24 Because I Protect
25 Memories of You
26 Blues in Velvet Room

Recommended Listening: Want to be Close, Mass Destruction, Battle for Everyone's Souls