VGM of the Day #19: Ieyasu Tokugawa's Theme

Ever heard of Sengoku Basara? Great, me neither.

It wasn't until the third entry in the series (subtitled "Samurai Heroes" in the US) that I caught wind of its existence, taking place in feudal Japan. It's a lot like Koei's Samurai Warriors series, only hyped up to the eyeballs on crack; ridiculous moves and combos, off-the-wall characters, a convoluted storyline loosely based off of real events and a distinct style in telling it. Fun game.

The main plot seems to revolve around the famous warlords Ieyasu Tokugawa and Mitsunari Ishida. In Samurai Warriors, the direction they went in with the story made Mitsunari come off as a pretty likeable guy, with Ieyasu being kind of a jerk. That angle has taken a complete 180 in Capcom's Sengoku Basara, starring Ieyasu as the protagonist trying to unify Japan and bring with it an era of peace. Mitsunari is portrayed as an addled general hell-bent on getting revenge for the death of his ruler, Hideyoshi Toyotomi.

Ieyasu's theme embodies that burning drive to achieve his goals with flying colors, the dramatic air of the piece marking an end of an era when this finally plays in the final battle of his storyline. It's an all-or-nothing battle to determine the fate of the country, and this expresses the urgency of the situation very well. The brief guitar riff in the beginning let you know that shit's about to get real. It doesn't disappoint.

I wonder if the first two Sengoku Basara games were ever released Stateside. This game's got my interest piqued, and tracks like these keep me coming back for more.

The Verdict: Did my homework to this shit once. Got an A.