A Place for That Music

           "Let's mix them all up to make a new category, yes, make an animation into a game. Let's enter the world of animation and run wild! Action Adventure? Yes! that kind of game! Lets have dubbed in actors and actresses talk a lot! And the music. Yes, the style of an old anime song. Let's do it all-out."
~Inafune Keiji
          Excerpt From the Rockman DASH Original Soundtrack

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                 From these words, it's easy to imagine the level of excitement that was involved with the development of Rockman DASH in the late 90's.  But those words does beg the question: If they were going for an anime feel with the music, what's happened with Rockman DASH's opening theme song?

CD single for Another Sun

                 When one talks about music and anime, the first thing to come to mind is the opening theme song.  While providing an audio cue of the start of the show, it also fills the important role of framing the mood of a series.  So much so, anime spanning multiple seasons will regularly change their opening theme to suit the tone of a particular story arc.  Anime Theme songs have become their own pocket industry, providing a vehicle for many artist to go main stream as well. 

                I would suspect such sentiments were on the minds of the Rockman DASH Development team as they did commissioned the production of opening and ending theme songs for Rockman Dash. This opening song would be titled Another Sun, a composition by the combined efforts of 友利歩未 (Tomori Fumi) and 深田太郎 (Fukuda Tarou), with vocals provide by 森下玲可 (Morishita Reika).  Those with good memories of that time can tell you that this song can be found on the Rockman DASH's TV Commercial, as well as sold both as a CD Single and as a part of the Rockman DASH Original Sound Track.

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You won't find it in the opening at all.

                 But anyone who have played Rockman DASH will tell you, there's NO opening theme song sequence.  There is no music base at all on the game's title screen. If you leave things at start up, the title screen takes turns with two other sequences that alternate;  Telling of the Halycon setting or spotlighting the Gesellschaft as it prepares to land on Kattleox.  Neither of these have Another Sun playing.  And in fact there AREN'T ANY storyline sequence where that song gets played.  So was all that effort for an lyrical opening theme song just wasted?

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                As it turns out,  the song did make it into the game. But rather it being placed in any sort opening, major storyline sequence or as background music at a critical game stage,  it was tucked away in a music store. Quite literally.  In the Apple Market Shopping Arcade's High neck Record Shop on Kattleox island, players are able have Rock freely sample a variety of music.  And on the store's "Hit Song Corner",  You can find the full version of Another Sun for your listening pleasure.  So that you don't have to dig up your copy of DASH too see this for yourself, Joseph has graciously recorded the play sequence for you:

            So how did it end up this way? While a definite reason would require an interview with the Rockman DASH's production staff, it is probably a safe theory to say that the High neck Record Shop is a repository for left over music compositions that did not find a place in the game. I come to this conclusion because as with Another Sun, the other music tracks in High neck do not appear in any other part of the game. This includes one of my personal favorites: Concerto Of Hashi Code. With that before mentioned zealousness to go "all out" for Rockman DASH I mentioned, it is not hard to imagine a slew of tracks were composed way before they found a place in the game. With Another Sun, the opening sequence and narrative needs for the game I suspect muscled out it's place in the beginning. It would of been an utterly waste if it was merely left on the cutting room floor. Fortunately the High neck Record Shop saved the day.