Doubt Is What I Do/Ku, Land of the Scarlet Sunset

Track 3-17: Doubt Is What I Do

“Mystery-solving mechanics in OCTOPATH TRAVELER!?”—I imagine quite a few players were surprised when the first event began, haha! Add in the performance of Akira Ishida, Temenos’s voice actor, and this is my favorite aspect of the game. I composed this music as a classic mystery piece that also alludes to Temenos’s theme.

In the game, you can’t hear any of the surrounding conversations when you’re in mystery-solving mode, which also feels very “classic mystery” to me. I incorporated the sound of a ticking clock and wrote a constantly spinning melody loop to convey the idea of the wheels turning in Temenos’s mind.

Track 3-18: Ku, Land of the Scarlet Sunset (Day/Night)

I love the title for this piece, which I believe was director [Keisuke] Miyauchi’s idea. Using “sunset” for a country that is on the decline was the perfect choice. The sun and moon are used symbolically in various places throughout OCTOPATH TRAVELER II, and this title is part of that, with the music composed to evoke the land of Ku in its sunset age.

Although Ku is on the decline, it was once a highly prosperous and flourishing place. I aimed to express an air of nobility that has nevertheless begun to lose its luster, with hints of melancholy here and there as a result.

For the night version of this piece, I made the bold choice to have no melody at all. The day version already had a slow, melancholy feel, so when I was trying to come up with ways to distinguish the night version from it, I ended up thinking, “I’ll just take the melody out altogether!” Ha! The land of Ku is visually very beautiful, and the dully glowing lanterns amid the darkness make a strong impression. When arranging the night version of the piece, I wanted to convey a sense of life even in the dead of night—of people living their lives, quietly but proudly.

Translation: Matt Treyvaud