Monster Hunter Tri

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To say the Monster Hunter series is pretty big in Japan would be like saying you get wet when you jump in the ocean. The latest release, Monster Hunter 3(Tri), sold exceedingly well in Japan and garnered great reviews here. Fans of the Nintendo Wii title and of video game music in general should be celebrating the fact that Capcom saw fit to release the game’s soundtrack album in North America. Grab your provisions and join the Feed as we go hunting for some Monster Hunter 3(Tri) sounds for your ears to feast on.

If there were no further competition coming out this year, Monster Hunter 3(Tri) would win game soundtrack album of the year in this reviewer’s opinion. 52 pieces of music from the game span the two-CD set from Capcom and Sumthing Else Music Works. Featuring just about everything you would want to hear from the game, from themes to battle music, this is the kind of high quality album release game music aficionados outside of Japan dream about.

The real delight here is the music itself, composed by Capcom’s Yukko Miyama (Mega Man X 7 and Mega Man X 8) and Tadayo Shinmakin (Monster Hunter Freedom Unite). Monster Hunter 3(Tri) is a bit of a breed apart from other game titles and so is its music (there have been orchestral concerts performances of it in Japan so that should tell you something right there). Listeners can expect genre-bending style shifts throughout the album, going from a classic RPG motif one minute to a whirling dervish dance the next. Even the intentionally silly sounding jack-in-the-box music you hear while cooking meat in the game is included.

The opening theme to Monster Hunter 3(Tri) is one of those pieces that stick with you from first listen and its recognizable elements reappear throughout the album like a Great Jaggi stalking your character.

Sweeping, majestic orchestral themes are expected in RPG’s, but some of the real gems here are the more tribal-based pieces, which, while they have a Japanese flavor at their core, are arranged and performed in such a way that they feel like music that is truly organic to the game world for which they were composed. A great example of this can be heard in “The Ship has Arrived” with its competing layered blend of Asian, Middle Eastern and island-influenced instrumentation.

Combing layers of percussive elements with dual female vocal chants give this next piece about one of the game’s elder-dragons an appropriately epic level of dramatic effect.

So while the soundtrack album for Monster Hunter 3(Tri) is an amazing listen, who is it really for? If you are outside of Japan and a fan of the game and haven’t bought it yet, really, what is wrong with you?? You are who this release was made for! While actually having play time with the game will make this a more enjoyable listen, game music fans (and soundtrack listeners in general) who haven’t journeyed into the world of Monster Hunter 3(Tri) should also enjoy this album for all of its fantastic qualities. Monster Hunter 3(Tri) is available now from Sumthing Else Music Works in both physical release and digital download formats.