Square Enix Music Online

It took a surprising amount of time for me to even think of writing a journal about this, stupidly.

It came out yesterday here in the UK and by golly... IT'S BLOODY FANTASTIC. Out go the random battles, in come sprawling wildernesses to fight in at your own leisure, while only using half the polygons that FFX did with surprisingly beautiful results!

I don't know yet whether it's a Final Fantasy 7 killer, the best one so far of the franchise in my book, I doubt it though, it's got a much different feel to it than the other "fantasies", which isn't a totally bad thing, it just takes a bit of adjusting to.

The soundtrack plays a big part in this, it's much, much different than the other official soundtracks of the previous FF's. It has been created by 崎元仁 and not by the master Nobuo Uematsu. The tracks are much more cultured, upstanding and almost medieval in conception and instrument use. Brass and "drummer boy" style drums are used alot which does add a large sense of grandeur(?spelling) and almost overwhelment as they are used quite lavishly. With the exception of a few tracks (I know I said I havn't finished it yet, but I've got the soundtrack) Hitoshi does hit the right notes, minding the pun, significantly, Boss Battle is a great example of him at his best in the game, while East Dalmasca Desert, one of the first songs you hear, really tells the story of the game in a happy, grand, welcoming way. Also the fact that the music for the boss battles is so good (something I look for in every FF) it amplifies the atmosphere just needed for those tense fights. This isn't the first time Hitoshi has made his mark on Sqaure-Enix though, he also did the soundtrack for Final Fantasy: Tactics, a very good game, and I think Vagrant Story, which, like FF12, got the top 40/40 mark from Japanese magazine "Famitsu", a rare event. However, like I have said, the soundtrack does change the feeling of the game quite alot, with the much different gameplay aswell it takes those few little reminders like the moogles and "Gil" to bring you back and refresh your memory that this IS a Final Fantasy you are playing. Other than that though, the soundtrack is excellent, but Mr. Nobuo Uematsu will always have the first place in my heart.

Jord.

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