Monthly Archives: December 2017

Reviews

Review: Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY THE JOURNEY OF 100

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Ask, and you shall receive? When we reviewed the Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY THE JOURNEY OF 100 Blu-ray disc back in 2015, my only gripe was that the MP3 files weren’t housed on the disc. Well, this year, to celebrate 30 years of Final Fantasy, Square Enix released the music on CD.

I’ll simply quote our 2015 review here:

They play many of the classics, including the iconic “One-Winged Angel,” a lovely healing rendition of “The Prelude,” the rousing “Final Fantasy” theme, and the wondrous “Main Theme from Final Fantasy VII.” Some new arrangements come courtesy of Piano Opera Final Fantasy pianist Hiroyuki Nakayama, and are a real treat. “Balance is Restored” from Final Fantasy VI stands out in particular, visiting several of the game’s key themes, along with Susan Calloway’s rendition of Final Fantasy XII’s vocal theme, “Kiss Me Good-Bye,” “Roses of May” from Final Fantasy IX, an explosive “Torn from the Heavens” from Final Fantasy XIV (with Masayoshi Soken in attendance), singer Emiko Shiratori reprising her role as vocalist on Final Fantasy IX’s “Melodies of Life,” and an amazing battle medley covering Final Fantasy I – XIV which picks some often-missed tracks, including the final battle theme from Final Fantasy V and a jazzy rendition of the Final Fantasy VIII battle theme. The orchestra reacting to the fan reaction to “Swing de Chocobo” was cute, too, as well as the upright bass player really getting into the piece. Finally, the encore “J-E-N-O-V-A Complete” was also fantastic, really pushing the orchestra to adopt an aggressive battle sound.

Unfortunately this album was sold only at their Tokyo Game Show 2017 booth. While that means it’s not widely available at the moment, I’d suggest keeping an eye on their website to pick it up if you’re interested.

Reviews

Review: Final Fantasy 30th Anniversary Composer’s Selection

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Final Fantasy is 30 years old! Square Enix celebrated the year in style with a number of Final Fantasy soundtrack releases, but one of the promotional items they put out was this composer’s selection disc featuring picks from Final Fantasy composers past and present. The greatest thing about this release is that the commentary from each composer is provided in both English and Japanese, which is a nice touch.

Nobuo Uematsu leads the way with his sweeping piano and string ballad from Final Fantasy X, “Zanarkand.” Junya Nakano picks one of my favorite tracks from Final Fantasy X, the lullaby-esque “Yuna’s Decision.” Naoshi Mizuta is a hero among men for picking my favorite Final Fantasy composition, the whimsical “Troian Beauty” from Final Fantasy IV. Kumi Tanioka goes with the adventurous main theme from Final Fantasy IV, and has a nice story about watching her siblings play through the game to go with it. Hitoshi Sakimoto goes for the original “Final Fantasy” theme that started it all, and from the original Final Fantasy, no less. Masashi Hamauzu’s pick is the dreamy and healing “Sulyaa Springs” from Final Fantasy XIII, one of my personal favorites as well. Masayoshi Soken picks the epic “Torn from the Heavens” from Final Fantasy XIV, which incorporates the series prelude in a clever way. Finally, Yoko Shimomura offers up “APOCALYPSIS NOCTIS,” the bombastic orchestral battle theme from Final Fantasy XV.

I love this album solely to get a sense of the musical tastes of each of these composers who I’ve enjoyed so much over the years. The commentary is the star, here, though, so if you can get your hands on one of these discs, go for it!

Reviews

Review: BRA★BRA FINAL FANTASY BRASS DE BRAVO 3

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We’ve written extensively about the Brass de Bravo series here, and they’ve always come as unexpected surprises. Featuring the Siena Wind Orchestra, these compilations offer orchestral arrangements of tracks that often haven’t received their moment in the spotlight, and this volume is no different.

After an upbeat and energetic “Main Theme” from Final Fantasy V with lots of lovely flourishes, it’s on to the sweet and mellow “Elia, The Maiden of Water” from Final Fantasy III, the regal and decisive “Mt. Gulg” from the original Final Fantasy, and a slow and contemplative take on “Terra’s Theme” from Final Fantasy VI. The gentle sway and bell tolls of “Ami” from Final Fantasy VIII are a real treat, as are the oft-forgotten “Crazy Motorcycle” from Final Fantasy VII with its creative arrangement full of bells and chimes and “Force Your Way” from Final Fantasy VIII which was originally an electronic song and is wonderful with a live orchestra. The swinging jazz version of “Dear Friends” from Final Fantasy V is also a great addition. The album closes with straightforward versions of the regal “Rebel Army” from Final Fantasy II, the stirring “Aerith’s Theme” from Final Fantasy VII, and the folksy “A Place I’ll Return to Someday” from Final Fantasy IX.

The album comes packed in with a sticker, and there’s also an accompanying disc that was distributed at concerts with the original soundtrack versions of each song along with a 15-minute-long discussion about the show with the talent involved.

The album is available on CD Japan if you’re interested.

Reviews

Review: Final Fantasy XIV Orchestral Arrangement Album

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This is a short-but-sweet treat from Square Enix. We’ve reviewed nearly all of the Final Fantasy XIV soundtracks here, and can attest to the fact that the music is excellent. It would be seemingly ripe for an orchestral arrangement album, and given the 30th anniversary of the franchise, they’ve made that so!

The album opens with big choir and bombastic brass and strings in the epic “Ultima.” It’s then on to the sweetly angelic “Serenity” with a tinge of mystery, the tense and dramatic “Calamity Unbound,” the unsettling male vocals of “Rise of the White Raven,” and the desperation of “Revenge Twofold.” The album closes out with the sweeping and emotional “Painted Foothills,” the dangerous and explosive “Ominous Prognosticks” (which works in some great Final Fantasy references), and the dynamic “Heroes” which opens with a beautiful spin on the Heavensward theme before powerful piano and string stabs take over.

In all, it’s easy to enjoy this album as the source material is so strong. I’d love to hear another volume (or two!) of this kind of thing. Pick up a physical copy on CD Japan if you’re so inclined!

Reviews

Review: Battle on the Big Bridge: Bombastic Bonanza

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That’s some great use of alliteration! When it comes to the chocobo theme, Final Fantasy fans know there are too many versions to count out there, but did anyone know that “Battle on the Big Bridge” was so widely covered that it’d fill an entire album? Well, now we do, and there’s actually a decent selection of arrangments to choose from.

You might opt for the classic SNES version, or go with Hitoshi Sakimoto’s live orchestral version from Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age. There was a wonderful “Oriental Mix” version from Final Fantasy XIII-2 that worked in traditional Japanese instruments, and a large number of versions to rock out to with rock organ and metal guitars. I particularly enjoyed the variation Mitsuto Suzuki snuck into the mix with his Record Keeper versions and the spacey electronic one Masashi Hamauzu whipped up for World of Final Fantasy. On the sillier end (Gilgamesh is comic relief, after all), you get a kazoo version and electronic silliness with marimbas in another.

In all, here’s the “Battle on the Big Bridge” compilation you never knew you wanted. It was an event exclusive at Tokyo Game Show this year, so it might not be widely available, but keep an eye out at used CD shops!