La Tale Returns With the Mecha Empire and New Music (Review)

That’s right! There’s a new area to explore in OGPlanet’s free-to-play MMO, La Tale. If you don’t recall, we loved the hell out of the 3-hour long (and FREE) La Tale soundtrack, and even got some time with lead composer DINY to talk about his work on the game.

While the Mecha Empire update doesn’t feature a whole lot of new music (just 4 tracks totaling about 10 minutes), it is certainly in line with the amazing original score. DINY returns for three of the four tracks, while Electronic Boutique tackles the fourth.

Find out what we think of La Tale’s new music after the jump.

DINY starts us off with “Steel City,” which is hands-down the best song in this pack. It would have stood out even among the 3 hours of material from the core game, but it’s made even sweeter given that it can shine on its own with this update. It opens with mechanical whirring in the background as layers of melancholy belltones provide a crystalline backing for a beautiful flute melody. It feels like… well, a super-depressing Christmas song, but it’s beautiful.

Electronic Boutique breaks up the tears with “Showdown,” an electronic track with a razor-like synth melody an blazing electronic guitars. It’s the longest track of the set at 2:35, and I dig the cool electro breakdown towards the end that really gets the adrenaline pumping.

DINY returns with “Choas! Break! Manga!,” a piece in the same vein as “Steel City” with its lonely atmosphere, but more solid with its electronic percussion and groovy bass work. The flute melody is similarly melancholy, and the chip arpeggios during the chorus section are a nice touch. The final track, “Factory 8186,” is a little more energetic with its traditional techno approach. The 4/4 beat, reverberated synth leads, and guitar work allows the cool ambiance from the previous DINY tracks to warm up slightly, but the piece still sounds desolate with its heavy use of reverb.

Well, I hate to say it, but that’s it! Somewhat if a tease, I know, but at least they added something, which is surprising given the huge amount of music featured in the game. DINY and Electronic Boutique have done a great job creating new pieces that fall in line with the already-amazing score, so I highly recommend hunting down these new tracks, especially “Steel City.”

Have you been playing La Tale since it was released for free last year? Do you have any thoughts looking back at the La Tale soundtrack?