Video Games Music Online have posted a new interview with Saori Kobayashi, which we of course know for her work on the soundtrack for the Panzer Dragoon and Crimson Dragon games. The interview discusses the various projects Saori worked on, starting all the way back on the Game Gear. She mentions how the Saturn’s limitations actually led her to create the unique Panzer world instruments, and how more powerful hardware doesn’t necessarily make it easier to compose a soundtrack for a game. The interview then moves on to discuss Saori’s freelance work after leaving Sega, and how she ended up forming the band AKANE.
What I personally found particularly interesting is that the interviewer asked Saori how she feels about the fact that her Crimson Dragon soundtrack was altered for the Xbox One release of the game (the interviewer uses the word “Hollywoodization”, which I think is rather accurate). While Saori doesn’t think it was necessarily a bad thing, she did find it unfortunate that her original version wasn’t used. She says she’d love to be able to release the original version of the soundtrack if there is demand for it from the fans.
Personally, I’d certainly be interested in seeing the original version of the soundtrack released, as I really think it’s far superior to the “remix” we got in the Xbox One version of Crimson Dragon.