Raiden IV Soundtrack

[ranger1982]

Can any of you audiophiles out there tell me why type of synth that is primarily being used in the songs for Raiden IV? I hear stuff like this being used all the time, especially in Japanese games, but have no idea what they are using to get sounds like that? For example in the track "Brightness of Peace", what are they using to get the higher pitched synth sound that comes in at 24 seconds?

[MathU]

I wouldn't mind knowing that myself. I remember Sato explaining in an interview how nice it was to be able to use actual instruments these days. I really like that remix of Brightness of Peace at the end of the album.