Thanks to Square's newly introduced team of synthesizer operators, the samples featured in such compositions are excellent and bring so much humanity to the experience.

Other memorable depictions include Lumina, where the resounding chime parts contribute to a mystical soundscape, and Palpota Harbour, where the phrasing and orchestration is completely liberated. 'Cliff Town Gato' elaborates further on these influences, while providing a more multifaceted representation of the town with its sudden shifts from light to heavy textures. Shimomura deviates from the typical clichés of town themes in favour of a classically-oriented chamber piece featuring a dance-like metre and elegant melodies. For example, 'Hometown Domina' perfectly complements the peaceful and historic town featured the start of the journey. Most of the setting themes for Legend of Mana portray the scenery in a fitting way. Likewise, 'Nostalgic Song' inspires subtle emotions from listeners with its wistful oboe melody and slow-building orchestration. The dark piano-based interlude brings further depth to this extensively developed composition. The enigmatic string suspensions and spiritual harp arpeggios at the introduction inspire listeners to imagine the beautiful world they are entering. The overworld theme 'World of Mana' is one of the most atmospheric additions to the soundtrack. However, Shimomura's stylings are clearly more inspired by romantic symphonists than Celtic performers the melody is a gushing one and the piano lines are intimate throughout. The composition is more similar in structure to Chrono Cross' 'Scars of Time' than Secret of Mana's 'Fear of the Heavens', shifting from a slow scenic introduction towards an action-packed climax. The lavishly produced title theme introduces the main theme of Legend of Mana. She took the series' music firmly in her own direction, conveying the organic scenery and spiritual story of the game with various semi-orchestrated pieces, and was also given the resources to create one of Square's most impressively implemented scores to that date. Following Hiroki Kikuta's departure from Square, Yoko Shimomura was offered to compose the title in his place, having long desired to score a traditional RPG. Legend of Mana was the modestly received instalment of the long-running Mana series for the PlayStation.

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