Yamane offers three different versions of “Followers of Darkness” to represent different encounters, each blending hard rock instrumentation with gothic orchestration. The battle themes on Castlevania: Curse of Darkness are also a significant contrast from the approach of its direct predecessor with their upbeat rocking tones. They’re not particularly deep fusions, but are sufficiently lyrical and individualised to warrant repeated listens. Yamane further develops this approach with her fusions of orchestra, beats, and ethnic instruments on “Baljhet Mountains”, “Mortvia Fountain”, and “The Forest of Jigramunt”. It nevertheless manages to exceed its ancestors with its cutting-edge implementation and extensive development, facilitating by the technological freedom offered by the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The track doesn’t inspire rich imagery or evoke deep emotions, and instead just entertains listeners with its upbeat melodies and pleasant soundscapes, just as so many series’ favourites did in the past. Right from the first stage theme, “Abandoned Castle”, Michiru Yamane shows that the series has returned to its rocking roots. The resultant soundtrack will appeal to fans of the series’ music, although not all of the tracks on its two disc soundtrack release are worthwhile.

Whereas the former took the series in a mature classically-oriented direction, the latter is dominated by cheesy rock compositions reminiscent of the series’ classics. While Castlevania: Lament of Innocence and Castlevania: Curse of Darkness shared a number of features, including mediocre reviews, their scores by Michiru Yamane are actually very different.

Castlevania -Curse of Darkness- Original Soundtrack

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