First, one has to question the format of this CD. For the most part, it's all synthesized with a few real instruments. Does it work? Yes! The most important aspect of arranged music is to make it sound different, yet try to retain the melodies at the same time. Dear Friends does an excellent job here. In fact, some of the songs sound *exactly* like their video game counterparts, such as "Ahead On Our Way", "Lenna's Theme", "Dear Friends" and "My Home, Sweet Home". It all sounds great, especially with the better synthesizer and those few real instruments (i.e. acoustic guitar, piano, and harp). Yet the songs are reproduced with the same familiar Nobuo power we all know and love.
There are those who have mixed feelings about this soundtrack, either because they think it's "cheap", meaning it's not fully instrumental, or because they never liked the music in the first place. I couldn't disagree more. I believe that Final Fantasy V was Nobuo Uematsu's best work yet, and this soundtrack sounds totally cool.
