"Into the Legend" from Dragon Warrior III / Dragon Quest III on the Nintendo Entertainment System (1992)
Composer: Koichi Sugiyama
Album: Symphonic Suite Dragon Quest III: Into the Legend
Label: Apollon Music Industrial Corp
Publisher: Enix
Developer: Chunsoft
I learned last week that composer Koichi Sugiyama had passed away on September 30th, 2021. He was 80 years old. He wrote the music to every mainline Dragon Quest game starting in 1988. He was also someone who held right-wing nationalist views, denying Japan's involvement in the murder of 200,000 to 300,000 Chinese citizens and the rape and subjugation of 40,000 to 80,000 Chinese women and girls. I feel like it is hard to celebrate the music without bringing up the faults of this magnitude from the man, and then being able to separate the two while still acknowledging both; In a similar manner when discussing Richard Wagner's white nationalist views or H.P. Lovecraft's anti-Scemitism. It is possible to appreciate the advancements and accomplishments that Sugiyama had on video game music at large, while still acknowledging that he may not have been a great person with the most forward thinking stances while denying the lives of nearly 400,000 people.
"Into the Legend" seemed like a fitting send-off after hearing about Koichi Sugiyama's passing while coming to terms with his social viewpoints. The song has been recorded, featured (most recently during the announcement of the Dragon Quest III 2d-HD Remake), and arranged many times and for good reason. The fanfare opening is just as grand yet different enough from the "Overture March" that it takes on a more heroic and less regal feel. I decided to use the version from Dragon Quest III (Dragon Warrior III in NA on the NES) because at the end, there is the reprise of the "Unknown Land" / "Overworld BGM" theme from the original Dragon Quest and having that there as the song fades out completes Erdrick/Loto's story and legend. It's just a great song and I wish that more arrangements had that overworld theme from the first Dragon Warrior/Quest game because it's a great send off.
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