music

There are 3 versions of the soundtrack:

1 Patlabor 2 the Movie Pre Soundtrack
VPCG-84204
Released before the movie's theatrical release, this CD includes the major themes from the film in their demo form. Most notable for the track 'Riot', a theme that ended up on the cutting floor. It is slightly upbeat and pop-ish compared to the other themes (except for the theme used in the main title credits) and you can tell they made the right call leaving this theme out of the movie. Currently out of print, you can still find used copies on Yahoo Japan auctions from time to time.

2 Patlabor 2 the Movie Original Soundtrack
VPCG-84206
The original soundtrack recording from the original release of the film. Contains the full score composed by Kenji Kawai for the film. Thankfully the image J-pop song used to market the film but does not appear anywhere in the film is not included. If you fell in love with the original film instead of the new Sound Renewal DVD release, then this is the CD to get. CD Japan still lists it in their catalog so I guess it's still in print.

3 2002 Patlabor 2 the Movie 'Sound Renewal'
VPCG-84663
Re-recorded score for the film's 2002 Sound Renewal release. Slight re-arrangements and different sound patches, with some of the synthesized parts replaced with live instruments/voices. Also includes 5 tracks from the Patlabor 2 the Movie Pre Soundtrack as bonus tracks - the track 'Riot' is not included as it did not end up being used in the film. I have preferred the original version over this for a while, but now that I listen to them back-to-back on iTunes, the sound quality of the Sound Renewal version is definitely much better and less flat-sounding than the original score. If you can get over the fact of the slight re-arrangements and different sounding parts, you might enjoy this version more. This is the soundtrack recording for the DVD/boxset released by Bandai in the US in 2006. You can find it from any site that carries Japanese CDs such as Amazon Japan or CD Japan.