#365DaysOfVGM Day 193:
Kumiko Watanabe - SIGN OF HERO (Klonoa Heroes: Densetsu no Star Medal; Full version, especially the Klonoa Heroes Legendary Star Medal Music Collection version [2002])
Yes, a vocal track working on a Game Boy Advance game released not even a month after Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire; the Game Boy Advance was in its earlier days and already had compositions sometimes thought unimaginable on it. It’s got all the emotion for an epic RPG adventure, and the album version even talks about the “pain” of a hero to represent the 2nd half of Klonoa’s character arc in this game. I also have to appreciate the vague callback to what appears to be a lore tidbit for Klonoa: Door to Phantomile in supplementary material, where dreams are said to power the world in a way attributed to how wind works as a power source for windmills.
Of course, the uncompressed full version is where we can notice the instruments most clearly. A light Guitar and upbeat Horns are constantly contrasted by much heavier Strings below, probably to depict the struggle part of the song, with a hint of sad emotion in an otherwise cheery song. In the middle of both are catchy Drums that scream 90’s spirit in how they’re used, same for the brief Violin highlight around 163 seconds into the song!
The video I have linked in the full version also have an English fan translation of the lyrics if you’re interested! Like with “Stepping Wind” from Klonoa 2, Kumiko Watanabe sings this one, being the voice actress Klonoa, so it’s easy to see this as another character theme for the fluffy hero himself!
The game itself isn’t very good though. It’s too grindy, and most of the difficulty dies off once you learn that you can heal in the middle of a K.O. If you want to see Klonoa at its best, look elsewhere, specifically the console platformers for the story plus tight action gameplay, and the handheld platforms for the satisfying puzzle gameplay that expands upon what the puzzle rooms of the console games established!
(Length [GBA]: 2.5+ minutes, [Album]: 4+ minutes)
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