
Ypx here—today we’re going to be listening to “Colony 9 (Night)” from Xenoblade Chronicles. It’s a great night theme from one of the first games I can find that have a dedicated night theme for locations. It’s an interesting concept.
Originally released for the Nintendo Wii in 2010, the game was later rereleased as Xenoblade Chronicles 3D on the 3DS, and has a forthcoming port on the Switch as Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition. There were six composers credited on the game, with three listed as the trio “ACE+”. Manami Kyota, Yoko Shimomura, and Yasunori Mitsuda are credited with their names, while Tomori Kudo, Hiroyo Yamanaka (also known as CHiCO), and Kenji Miramatsu comprise the trio.
Soft middle- and back-ground elements including smooth guitar chords and plenty of rounded synths make up the first twenty seconds as we wait for the main melody to enter. This melody is made up of a quick plucked string sound that is sustained by a wind-like sound, a combination of at least two instruments. This gives way to a counter melody played by a wooden wind instrument, and both of these melodies are restated and elaborated by other instruments, at times interpolated with sections of slower harmonic rhythm for balance.