Year: 1998
Type: Original Soundtrack (OST)
Composer(s): Joachim Schäfer; Gerd Hofmann
Number of tracks: 18

★★★★★

Fair and town square

A game that I had long believed to be a fever dream and only recently became aware of again. I had my first contact with Knights and Merchants , by a conservative estimate, when my age was still in the single digits. The fact that I don't have many memories of this gem is due to three factors: Firstly, we only had the demo that our kind cousin Basti slipped to my brother and me. The fact that we only had access to the first level wasn't a problem, as the game was really difficult. With its mixture of settlement and economic chain building à la The Settlers and the complex real-time strategy, in which we not only have to train our soldiers, but also constantly supply them, the inexperienced strategist was quickly overwhelmed.

And while at least this problem could have been overcome with enough practice, the first factor was probably the most serious, as I tragically deleted the demo one careless day. Here is a brief recollection of what happened: I wanted to drag the exe to the desktop so that you didn't always have to click on the folder (yes, I was that smart). Suddenly I couldn't start it anymore, the game must be broken - nobody can expect the exe to stay in the directory. From today's perspective, of course, this is pretty stupid, but you really can't hold it against me - after all, my PC expertise at the time was on a par with that of a CSU voter today.

OK, so the game was no longer working - what to do? Instead of moving the file back, I tried the other icons in the folder ... including one labeled 'uninstall'. Seen, clicked, despaired. I couldn't stop the uninstall and suddenly Knights and Merchants was gone. I think I cried. Because in a time before regular income, losing entertainment software was like losing a good playmate. I probably lied to my brother and firmly claimed that the defrag (the OGs will remember) had broken it.

After this therapeutic reappraisal of youthful sins, I'll jump straight to the soundtrack, which was of course the decisive factor in my rediscovery of Knights and Merchants . According to this Steam thread , it was composed by Joachim Schäfer and Gerd Hofmann, of whom we at least know the former. Fortunately, this OST proves to be much more entertaining compared to Schäfer's mind-fuck-fest Earth 2140 or the lackluster Emergency: Fighters for Life.

For Knights and Merchants , the music was composed close to the subject matter and focused on classic medieval tropes. This works predictably well: while the typical ensemble of lutes, flutes, horns and percussion drones towards us, a feudal atmosphere is created thanks to a few simple melodies in pieces such as Middle Ages Horn, In the Marketplace and Deep Blue . This is also due to the fact that some classical compositions were used, unfortunately I can't identify them all. In the conversation on Steam noted above, for example, it is pointed out that Spirit and At Court are adaptations of Mozart's 11th Piano Sonata (K. 331). So it may be that I am inadvertently attributing works by Bach and others to the composers here - happens.

Since the great soundtracks of the first Anno-games also included pieces by the Austrian classic, it is of course possible that this is why Knights and Merchants appeals to me so much. For example, Spring with its flute sounds reminds me of Windgames from the Anno 1503 addon Treasures, Monsters & Pirates. Conversely, Lute brings back memories of old-school RPGs such as The Elder Scrolls: Arena. That fits perfectly and adds a new dimension to the sound scape, without, like with Earth 2140 becoming a foreign body.

However, not everything is rainbows and sunshine - or an abundance of it. Where a Stronghold brilliantly treads the line between light-heartedness and seriousness, some tracks seem a little too similar to Settlers and poorly copied. Every now and then Schäfer and Hofmann overshoot the mark and end up with exaggerated cheesiness and happiness on tracks like Busy, Mercenary and On the Battlefield, which are somewhere between Trine and the Smurfs . Not a deal-breaker for me, but those who find the examples above too childish will have less fun.

Generally speaking, the focus is clearly on the positive vibes, despite some minor hints such as the marching drums of The Army. Only Struggle breaks out of this tonality somewhat and seems more reminiscent of Age of Empires or strategy games of the Westwood brand. You can find that a bit dull or take the OST for what it is. A nice medieval twist that has its strengths where the composers don't ride the good mood bear too much, but instead lead us through the winding alleyways of a medieval town. The fair is in the town, but you don't have to go there.

No.	Title	Artist(s)	Ratings
01	Spirit [Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K. 331 - I. Andante grazioso]	Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart	4
02	Busy	Joachim Schäfer; Gerd Hofmann	3
03	Middle Ages Horn	Joachim Schäfer; Gerd Hofmann	3
04	Spring	Joachim Schäfer; Gerd Hofmann	3
05	Lute	Joachim Schäfer; Gerd Hofmann	5
06	Mercenary	Joachim Schäfer; Gerd Hofmann	3
07	The Princess	Joachim Schäfer; Gerd Hofmann	4
08	The Queen	Joachim Schäfer; Gerd Hofmann	3
09	In the Marketplace	Joachim Schäfer; Gerd Hofmann	3
10	On the Battlefield	Joachim Schäfer; Gerd Hofmann	3
11	Court Dance	Joachim Schäfer; Gerd Hofmann	4
12	The Army	Joachim Schäfer; Gerd Hofmann	4
13	In the Castle	Joachim Schäfer; Gerd Hofmann	3
14	Fanfares	Joachim Schäfer; Gerd Hofmann	3
15	At Court [Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K. 331 - I. Andante grazioso]	Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart	4
16	Entree	Joachim Schäfer; Gerd Hofmann	3
17	Deep Blue	Joachim Schäfer; Gerd Hofmann	4
18	Struggle	Joachim Schäfer; Gerd Hofmann	3