Final Fantasy Vocal Collections 2 ~Love Will Grow~

You know a video game series is popular when you can buy a vocal collection soundtrack from it. Final Fantasy ~Love Will Grow~ is in fact the second Final Fantasy vocal collection, and a worthy successor to Final Fantasy ~Pray~.

You won't find any rocking arrangements here; they're all rather mellow versions of the series' tunes. Yet there is plenty of diversity. A couple of the tracks are of the easy listening variety - almost comparable to dentist office fare, with the difference being these tracks are actually good. Others are more upbeat and almost bouncy. Certain pieces defy classification, such as "Long Distance" (an arrangement of the FF4 theme), which conveys the adventuresome spirit of the original but in a very different way. The rest of the CD is softer and even more tranquil. A good example would be "Kami no Yurikago", which is absolutely the most perfect vocal arrangement of Relm's theme imaginable. Better still is "Love Will Grow", which takes the spotlight in this soundtrack. It is one of the most beautiful and moving songs I've heard in my life; the amount of emotion present is astounding.

Regardless of the separate tracks' stylistic differences, they all share the same wonderful instrumentation. The instrumental performance is in fact near the quality of most purely orchestrated soundtracks I've heard. More importantly, they all share the impeccable vocal performance of Risa Ohki. The CD may be worth purchase just as a showcase of this wonderful artist's capabilities, which are stunning in all five languages.

As a whole, what this CD lacks in intensity it makes up for in sheer beauty. Some people might not appreciate the mellow arrangements, but those familiar with the Final Fantasy series' music and looking for a new take on it will find Love Will Grow more than satisfactory.