Medieval 2: Total War
Your Majesty
Yesterday's announcement of Total War: Medieval 3 is not the reason why I am writing this review today... even though it is a nice coincidence and leaves me full of hope. Rather, I've been itching for weeks, no, months, to write a detailed review of the music from the best medieval strategy game of all time. Because it also has the best medieval score (in my opinion), which is why the accompanying album took first place in my Top 10 medieval scores – but I'm getting ahead of myself!
Having adored its predecessor Rome: Total War, the announcement of Medieval 2 was like a dream come true. I remember devouring the preview article in GameStar magazine and absorbing every detail: the whole of Europe and even parts of America could be conquered! There would be new agents such as princesses, and the Pope would play a role. But what stuck with me most was the fact that cities could be developed in two ways: as a knight's castle with few civilian buildings but a strong fortress, or as a metropolis with a simple wall and high income. To this day, I still have the accompanying artwork in my head.
Unlike what is common these days, the developers thankfully kept their promises and Medieval 2 was fantastic. Sure, there were a few bugs here and there – nothing that couldn't be fixed with the patches installed later via CD. Major problems such as the notoriously poor AI were more the norm at the time, which is why this could also be forgiven. In general, there was nothing that could dampen my enjoyment of the game. Well, except for the hardware requirements, which forced me to reduce the number of units – because that even caused balance issues in the sieges.
Explaining exactly why would take too long, but let's just say that the defense towers had infinite ammunition and the AI liked to take the path of least resistance. Once the wall or gate was breached, there was one route that was consistently stormed. And as we know from 300 it only takes a small number of defenders to wear down a huge number of attackers. So if you have a lot of soldiers in a unit to begin with, you need fewer defenders overall to hold the bottleneck and let the towers do their job.
Anyway, that's not even my favorite memory of Medieval 2. That actually goes to a multiplayer battle, which was a highlight in itself because it was multiplayer in 2006 and 2007. But not against just anyone, but a friend of mine named Marvin. He was and still is a min-maxer extraordinaire, who naturally led the French into battle, who, with their mix of gendarme cavalry, dismounted noble knights, and adventurer crossbowmen, fielded one of the best unit combinations on the battlefield. Since I didn't stand a chance against my brother's buddy, who was 3.5 years older than me (and who, by the way, would later become a doctor on a scholarship), I wanted to try something new.
Shortly before, I had been thoroughly beaten by the Turkish Janissaries in my single-player campaign, so I thought to myself: If you can't beat them, join them. Said and done. So I sent a full-stack army into battle, consisting only of experienced and well-equipped Janissaries. I double-clicked on Marvin's army, which had even strategically retreated to a hill, with its ranged fighters in the back row and cavalry on the flanks – and what can I say? That was the last time we played Medieval 2 against each other.
But for me, the Total War-series has always been primarily a single-player experience, as I was able to listen to the fantastic soundtrack during my games, which I'll finally get to now. As usual for the series, it was composed by Jeff van Dyck, who this time received support from Richard Vaughan and James Vincent. Van Dyck, who was to accompany the series until the Shogun 2-addon Fall of the Samurai delivers a masterclass for Medieval 2 conjuring up a medieval fantasy that, despite the inclusion of classic contemporary instruments, may not be historically accurate, but who cares when the result is so exciting?
To achieve this, the composer builds on the concept of his predecessor and divides the 22 pieces of the original soundtrack and the additional 31 tracks of the gamerip into casual background music for the strategy map and relentless action in the battles. Experience has shown that I prefer the latter, but the music that accompanies us as we move our troops and plan our next crusade can also entertain us with its gentle (Lilly) and menacing (Devil’s Harp) harp tones, guitar (Field of Blood,Olivia) and flute sounds (Peter the Piper) or dark harpsichord (Grey Meadow). This is reminiscent of games like Beasts & Bumpkins or, to a lesser extent, the Stronghold-series, but remains more tame and less melodic.
In contrast, Amen is a stylish theme whose monk choirs singing church hymns (intoning “Hallelujah” and “Hosanna”) evoke a medieval feeling par excellence. The track accomplishes the feat of weaving together various emotions in a length of 3:19 minutes. It seems equally reserved and deliberate – threatening and lurking – hopeful and fatalistic, and is ultimately rounded off by the use of the flute, guitar, and the later addition of the singing of a single boy.
This can be explained by the ecclesiastical element that enters the game and thus also van Dyck's composition in the form of the organ, church bells, and chorales: this dark, oppressive power, which significantly influenced the events of that era, often hangs over the tracks in the score like a musical sword of Damocles. It accompanies us, guides us, and fills us with zeal during the battles. It is the determination that steers our units and us. But not like in Star Wars: Republic Commando, where the male choir in Vode An conjures up brotherly solidarity. The music of Medieval 2 never promises redemption, but instead demands that we ask for forgiveness.
Phew, that was profound. Back to the tracks! Going Home, the tragically mournful Did They Have to Die Here Today? and the panickyNothing Left are examples of classic, high-quality Total War-fare, while Song for Toomba brings back memories of the first Assassin’s Creed . Other pieces such as Bladegrass, Secret Sandals, Octli, Call of the Sheep orSpirit Fingers, which precede the battle, are located in the dark ambient genre, which we know from fantasy games such as Enclave , for example.
Now I would like to discuss each of the titles in detail, with all their musical peculiarities and accents, but that could take a while. Nevertheless, I would like to take the time to give each of my favorites and noteworthy works from the OST and Gamerip a ‘briefer’ classification. If you don't feel like it, I recommend you just listen to the score and see for yourself! So, let's go:
- Duke of Death: The second track of the album, Duke of Death, already makes it clear where the sequel is headed: fast, driving percussion, supported by strings, initially evokes a Rome-like feeling. However, this is contrasted by medieval influences such as harpsichord and zither, before a fast flute melody drives us into battle. A great pull that draws us right into the action!
- Solenka: Here, I always think of the powerful, rhythmic drumming aboard a galley, as I described in String Attack! for the first Age of Empires . Only this time, the music is not a rowing bench moving steadily back and forth; it is the herald of an unstoppable army, a divine power accompanied by choirs, proclaiming the inevitable downfall of the enemy. Unrelenting and reinforced by the tolling of bells, Solenka is the glorified cruelty of the Crusades.
- This Is It: This track strikes the same note. Dominated by organ and choirs, This Is It is more pragmatic but equally dramatic. The church may demand blood, but we are here because of our sense of duty.
- High Winds: High Winds represents the other direction, from the Orient to the Occident, so to speak. Its instrumentation screams “Middle East!” at us in a stereotypical way, but its fast rhythms and the swelling and subsiding of the orchestra make it no less enjoyable than the drama of its Western counterparts.
- Crack Your Head with a Tabla: If High Winds was already classically Oriental, one of my absolute favorites takes it to the point of ridiculousness: Crack Your Head with a Tabla is just plain fun! It's fast, it's wild, it's driving, and at the same time melodic. Uncompromising action that conjures up battles in the hot desert sand before our eyes, but could just as well accompany the hustle and bustle of a busy bazaar—during a chase!
- Mare Nostrum: militaristic, driving, systematic. This track showcases the cold efficiency of our troops, who shed blood for our glory. This iciness gets contrasted by the use of flute and acoustic guitar, which promise a brief hope for peace before the army advances.
- Lifted to the Hotplate: Classic battle chaos, more reminiscent of its predecessor in this form. In the category of good tracks, this one is one of the weaker ones due to its relative uniformity.
- Destiny: What we hear before we go into battle. Destiny is, as the name rightly suggests, our fate. The battle is imminent, it is inevitable – unless we click on “Retreat”... But for the sake of the narrative, we'll ignore that fact for now. As with its predecessor, the composer's wife, Angela van Dyck, does us the honor of singing a version with lyrics for the credits in We Are All One.
- Crusaders: While Solenka symbolizes the sublime and This Is It the inevitable, Crusaders is the result. Hectic, dramatic, ups and downs – we already know this from Rome, but it's no less well done here and, for me, better than Lifted to the Hotplate. Lifted to the Hotplate.
And that would basically and consequently conclude the original soundtrack, were it not for the game rip, which, in addition to a lot of filler, also includes four no less exciting tracks that are unfortunately missing from the OST. First and foremost is the fantastic Time and Again. I described it in my top list as "an interpretation of the Christian litany Kyrie eleison, or in English Lord, have mercy on us, [...] [whose] call for mercy is blended into a death-defying, oppressive march melody with the pendulum swing of a grandfather clock." Or in other words: clock ticking meets monastery meets my taste.
After the intro, it forms the acoustic backdrop for our first encounter with Medieval 2, namely the main menu. And anyone who has seen the shadowy soldiers marching facelessly across the screen from left to right will surely have felt a shiver down their spine at this sickening mixture of praise for God and a complete lack of mercy... or at least the editor of these lines did...
In contrast, The Widow and Duty are sad yet hopeful melodies that give us a glimpse of the fate of those left behind. Finally, Death Lullaby with its castanets, brass instruments, and swelling and fading sounds, is simply a beautiful action banger. And with these words, I would like to officially conclude this review. To those who have read this far: thank you! And to those who have read this far and haven't listened to the score yet: please listen!
Nostalgia warning
The rating of the individual tracks is purely subjective and clearly colored by my own experience with the game. You can find out more in the article About Nostalgia.
- Titel bereits im OST enthalten.
