Trails in The Hymns

Dungeon-crawling turn based story RPGs(Which I mean most JRPGs but this is more descriptive and I will use JRPG when I mean that) put generally a lot more attention and effort on music over other games. This is not just about the individual quality of the soundtrack, they put a lot of effort into how much the music is vowen into the experience itself. I see a couple of reasons for such a focus:

• They demand a lot of time from player. Not only overall playtime easily can pass 60 hours, Gameplay loops have longer intervals,each can last minutes and are distinct from each other. Explore the area, go into a battle, repeat for grinding, bosses, story progression in between, rinse and repeat. Which means you will listen most of the soundtrack repeatedly and for a longer time. The music needs to be kept you on the mood and not be tiresome.
• The usually low action, low attention demanding nature of the games puts music forward.
• In especially older ones, more minimalist 2D or primitive 3D graphics, lack of cinematography outside of cut scenes, lack of voice acting and extensive sound design puts the music even more forward as music has to handle most of the atmosphere.
• The above reasons is why they have to use silence and low-key background music quite sparingly.

Contrast it with a fast action game, that has very short intervals of fighting, moving and item management that easily blends for each other. High action puts music into the background and. You only need music to differentiate between levels or specific conditions, such as a boss fight with a high spectacle. No matter how excellent the soundtrack is it doesn't get much attention on itself, because music blends into the action, it can feel replaceable. But in a JRPG, music can define the scene, the atmosphere, the setting itself.
When game devs actually put this much focus and nails it, not only it results in a feast for the ears, it elevates the game experience beyond better polish. Despite years after playing it, I can't separate any scene from Final Fantasy 7 from music that plays at that moment, even when I don't enjoy that specific track that much in itself.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in The Sky games are in many ways classic JRPGs which perfectly embody such a design focus. Let's listen some pieces together and examine:





























https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCzkJ1PfFMg&list=PLPDoxoGA-MPQX6G_praYBdPDpM4VEbvdR&index=57
This piece itself says so much.  It sets up the overall tone of the soundtrack; violins and light guitar rhythms dominate this game, sometimes helped up by piano, trumpets and flutes. It almost summarizes the game itself; An humble, optimistic adventure in a peaceful country, without any grand narrative. Compare this with the Second Chapter's menu theme.



























https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WH51t8SNmU
It trusts on the player's familiarity with the setting(as it really doesn't make sense to play this one first), so instead it just gives a slow, not glooming, but incredibly bright mood. It reflects the wide contrast between two game's moods, instantly reminding the player of the overall situation.
Now, let's look at the battle theme. This is the most important theme of the game, as you will hear the most, no matter how amazing some other pieces are, the game just won't feel right.
























https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHpzhJ5O2Cs&list=RDxHpzhJ5O2Cs
Oh. my . Gosh. This is just perfect.  Dumms, little piano beats and whistle like flutes flow with battles perfectly,  it never gets old even when you listen it the millionth time. It's lively, doesn't intend you make you feel powerful and it's even a little relaxing! It delivers your purpose of battling so elegantly: Rookie teenagers trying to become better; just like you, they grind, learn and grow on the road just like you do. It also reflects the light-hearted nature of the fights. The monsters you fight aren't scary or most of the time aren't that malicious, you aren't trying to survive with all your might, and while the game is not 100% consistent about this, you aren't even killing the monsters most of the but, but regardless main character is having fun while battling, just like you. If you can guess it, I love this song so much, it's one of my favourites, not just because it sounds great, but just how much it synergies with the game!
Most music in the game enhances the narrative's mood at that moment, but there are some music that can wake you up in a split second. Let's have a look:




















https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VROFKShvlw4
It instantly gives a feeling of urgency and being cornered, that's right, it's the music when you get low health at battle, and if I recall correctly, it can play in almost every type of battle. It is just breaking into the scene, telling you should worry and it can do this without being annoying, unlike, say, annoying low health sound of Pokemon. And it's structured in such a way, after the beginning fast notes, flute and piano starts to make an energetic dance right until along 1:20, then the notes rises up again to remind you once more you should do something quickly. When you quit the song get back into the normal battle theme or even boss themes, it feels just more relaxed and you feel a little more okay.
When our fight is done, what happens, we gotta celebrate it of course! Some games can saturate their victory themes too much and some do too short that loses most of its energy after first few seconds. So let's listen:
















https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkF1YfiWjeA&t=3s
It flows with he victory screen perfectly. Trumpets congratulate you while character is doing their victory pose, then it switches to proud by low-key enough tune that blends with the sounds of counting your experience, items and leveling up.
Now let's look at some examples of the series making their cities alive:













https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGTldvD3PZk
Rolent is the first city you see in the game, it's a fairy small and mostly quiet city. It fills you with a sense of familiarity and belonging. A safe place unlike in every other city where something grows wrong. I love the dialogue of the flute and violin here, while guitar just chills in the background. It's relaxing and lively at the same time.











https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr1uU9iKRZk
This is a classic sea-side themed music but it has the soundtrack's touch that makes it truly energetic.  The clicks and low-key chorus chants mix so well together to provide a great atmosphere full of wonder and energy, which part cities feel like when they aren't full of traffic, noise and pollution.









https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cANh9TZGalM
You wouldn't expect the capital of a monarchy to be so humble, but I guess when the country is so peaceful and humble itself, it's bound to happen. The music really gives the feeling of an old, classic style city, but without any grandeur, it's still down to earth
Obviously while we are traversing between cities, we need to use the roads. How exactly Trails expresses this in music?







https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnlX39kvWwg
By now, you probably understand I have a violin bias but just listen... It's so great capturing the feeling of adventure. This is especially important because the roads don't have the most complicated level design, yet you can still remember them by the music alone. Two young adventurers, with various people tagging along with them traversing around country to solve problems. This is the music of their growth and little memories of their footprints and it happens to be one of the best road themes ever.
And now, let's look at something that feels completely different.





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gmX63w55Zw
Towers are a cliché in JRPGs, but in Trails in the Sky they feel so out-of-place and deliberately so. They are unlike anywhere else you visit in the series, besides some quests that just happens to be there, they feel so unconnected to everything and this sentiment is shared by people who live in the setting. They feel so mysterious and alien. And if you want to make a song about strange, slightly creepy but awe-inspiring towers, yeah, you need to study this. It's amazing that a soundtrack that is so warm and peaceful across the board excels at feeling so alien and startling, in more than a few tracks too. Especially in Trails in the Sky Third, they were able to make a soundtrack out of mostly mysterious songs and still make them perfectly memorable as everything else.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpjEJD4pcwI&t=2s
The first time you hear this music, you are in a dense forest, just somewhat away from your home town. Monsters are stronger than usual, fixed camera angles and large trees makes it hard to see. It's generally dangerous, stressful and confusing place and unlike anywhere you have visited so far. Just another instance of Trails in the Sky OST  perfectly blending with story progression and level design. Unfortunately it doesn't work as well second time you use it, when you are on a passage in the woods, the monsters aren't that threatening and you just walk a straight path in a hurry, the song' s effect greatly diminishes. Still it keeps the spirit of the wild forest intact and a few other times it is used, it's more succesful again.
While classic-style violins dominate the game,  a few times it switches to rock. And ok, I will spare you the obvious pun but, it's great!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ok9bzDzaS0
One of the best battle themes ever, precisely because it has so much weight in the story. Main characters are fighting in tough battles that has deep personal connections to them, with enemies unlike they have encountered with yet so familiar. It directly contrasts to the themes of peace and forgiveness, dictates that you cannot escape the fighting, you have to face them, here and now. The song paces itself to the rhythm of the battle nicely, when it hits the 1:30 mark and changes tone, the enemy is likely doing their special move, which amplifies the feeling of dread unless you are prepared. One of the clear advantages of turn based battle system is that allows room for such dominating tracks, In an action game Fateful Confrontation would be little more than cool rock strings.
As they consist of three long RPGs, the soundtrack of Trails in The Sky series is deservedly huge and has too many great examples of narrative and atmosphere building songs. Examining them all is simply out of my reach but you still ought to treat your ears by some great pieces: Blood-pumping A Challenger Invited, bleak and ominous The Black Orbment,  mysterious but silly Peace Given By Darkness, violin's total conquest of all senses The Merciless Savior, the fighting for survival in an unknown world Determination of Fight. and the series' signature song which deserves a small article on its own, Silver Will. Of course they shine the brightest while you are playing them and you shouldn't miss out on that experience! And Let's hope that more games will care about the relation between music and the other parts of the game beyond presentability.