Game music of the day: Fragile Dreams
GR's ongoing tribute to the beloved world of videogame music
Game:Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon
Song: Hikari
Composer: Takuya Watanabe
Vocals: Aoi Teshima
Above: Hikari from Fragile Dreams
It’s unfortunate when a game has many lovely fundamentals that ultimately fail to come together as a game. Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon had such a situation, which we pointed out ina recent feature. It had a haunting story and a very evocative atmosphere, and some truly sad moments, but its off controls, constant backtracking and the occasional onset of boredom held it back from greatness. But isn’t our Game Music feature a perfect chance to spotlight one of Fragile Dreams’ best elements? (Answer: yes!)
The opening theme to a game about one lone boy’s exploration of a desolate modern city in hope of finding a strange girl sounds as haunting and mysterious as the concept. Sung by Japanese vocalist Aoi Teshima, the song tells the tale of one person holding on to a sliver of light as darkness threatens to wipe away all history and existence, not unlike how protagonist Seto searches the empty world for a silver-haired girl with his flashlight. In spirit and lyrics, Hikari reflects Fragile Dreams’ subject faultlessly.
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Above: Aoi also sang the nearly as good ending theme
Aoi Teshima is a first-rate singer on her own and a great choice to provide vocals for the opening and ending tracks. Fans of Japanese pop should check out her other works, includingthe theme to Ghibli film Gedo Senki and her cover of the Bette Midler songThe Rose.
Sep 20, 2010
Flight by Yoshitaka Azuma
The Battle Begins by Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori
Level one by Naoki Kodaka and Nobuyuki Hara
Henry Gilbert is a former GamesRadar+ Editor, having spent seven years at the site helping to navigate our readers through the PS3 and Xbox 360 generation. Henry is now following another passion of his besides video games, working as the producer and podcast cohost of the popular Talking Simpsons and What a Cartoon podcasts.