I love Planetarian. As someone who enjoys compact and self contained experiences, I think itâs a great example of how even a short story can have a big impact.
Planetarianâs soundtrack was really compact, too. Of the ten songs that appeared in the game, four of them are variations on âHoshi Meguri no Utaâ [Song of Circling Stars] (Yumemiâs theme). I really wish we saw more variations on the heroines themes in the other games, but I think itâs used to great effect here because it makes the short game feel very tight and cohesive. An interesting note that I picked up on was that the first two versions of that song you hear are the â~Honky Tonk~â and â~Metronome~â versions which have a very snappy staccato beat, that creates this clocklike âtick tockâ sensation. I think this really reinforces Yumemiâs robotic nature, and sets up a beautiful contrast with the â~Winterâs Tale~â and MELLâs vocal rendition which are much smoother, more lyrical, and really reinforce Yumemiâs inherent humanity.
âAme to Robotâ [Rain and Robot] is, fittingly, the song that plays when Yumemiâs standing out in the rain. I have mixed feelings on this song. The melody and drums are gratingly MIDI, moreso than most of Keyâs songs, but the steady accompaniment conjures up such a strong image of rain drops pattering steadily on the roof that I cannot help but feel like that juxtaposition is exactly what the composer was looking for.
âHoshi no Sekaiâ [World of Stars] and âItsukushimi Fukakiâ [Deep Affection] are also fantastic. The former song is the music-box opening song, and the latter takes that same melody and layers a few more layers under it. Once again, the Planetarian soundtrack is incredibly compact, and it was great to hear the opening sneak back in later.
Iâm not sure why, but I get the sense that âGentle Jenaâ was the song from Planetarian that Key decided should be the iconic one. An arrangement of it showed up on Ma-Na, and to date I believe itâs the most widely remixed of the VNâs songs among fans. Itâs a nice song, and I think itâs quiet optimism does represent the story well, though I do wish more of this novelâs songs would get some love!
I donât have much to say about âHuman Warrior.â Itâs definitely different from the rest of the soundtrack, and itâs definitely appropriate where itâs used. It doesnât stand out to me, but it does its job well.
That, of course, brings us to âMattaki Hitoâ [Perfect Human] A.K.A. the song we all cried to when Yumemi dies. The song has a whole hell of a lot of gravitas, and I think the name really drives home the point that weâre supposed to see Yumemi as a person, not a robot. It reminds me vaguely of church music, with the ethereal chords sounding something like an organ reverberating in a massive hall.
Overall, while there isnât a lot of music in Planetarian, every piece has a job to do and does it well. I think this is helped along by how focused the story is. For other VNâs, there are a wider range of events that might need to use the same music because the moods are similar. But in Planetarian, we only have one character to interact with, which means we can have more variations on her leitmotif, and the other songs only show up a limited number of times, so they donât have to be stretched to fill disparate purposes.
On a side note, if you enjoyed Planetarian, check out Digital: A Love Story, which has some similar themes and was partially inspired by Planetarian, according to the author.
