A day late and a dollar short - October 26th, 1999 - Drew Cosner
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this column are those of the participants and the moderator, and do not neccessarily reflect those of the GIA. There is coarse language and potentially offensive material afoot. They say the best things in life aren't for me. Don't say that I didn't warn you.
Logistics show that if you've clicked on the link which brought you here, chances are you're going to read the column. Don't try to be a maverick. You're not going to accomplish anything by opposing the status quo. Do you want to swim upstream like a some kind of mindless salmon, just so that you can mate and die shortly thereafter? Are you that horny? Are you some kind of pervert? I didn't think so. Just read the column, don't try to be a rebel.
| Throwing money down the drain |
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GIVE ME MY RUPEES BACK, YOU CRUMMY CON-FAIRY, OR I'LL BUST YOUR SHITTY POND UP!
~Algus
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The Great Fairy is on a vacation in Tahiti, so I've been asked to fill in for her. I was trying to go to the bathroom for a minute, is that alright with you? Would you like to have to drop everything that you're doing every damned time some punk decides to toss a few rupees into your pond?
I would've done something nice, like given you the ability to carry several more explosive devices at a time, or upgraded your shield, but with an attitude like that you can just forget it.
| It's all about the music |
Hey Drew,
Square has an ungodly amount of musical talent. Nobuo Uematsu in many ways is the master of MIDI. Listen to FF8. You can barely tell it's MIDI. Although the actual sound quality is good, I could count the standout songs on the FF8 OST on one hand. Nobuo's best composing days are behind him, and I do believe Square should replace him for the sake of the series.
Square has other uber-musicians that could easily replace Nobuo. There's Yoko Shimomura, as you mentioned yesterday. Although her music is excellent (listen to 'Primal Eyes' from the Parasite Eve OST, and the remix in the PE2 Trailer), it's much too techno for the Final Fantasy Series. She's more fitting for the PE Series, as it is more modernly oriented. Her techno drumbeats with beautiful piano overlays are excellent, but not for the FF Series.
Next, there's Hitoshi Sakimoto. Although I believe he is technically a freelance worker, he has worked for Square in the past, most notably for Final Fantasy Tactics. He also worked on my all-time favorite game, radiant Silvergun. One word could some up his scores: Epic. All of his scores relate the feeling that one is on a great adventure. While this is good for games like Final Fantasy Tactics and Radiant Silvergun, it just wouldn't float with the FF Series in general. In the FF Series, there may be a place for epicc sounding music, but in general, the Final Fantasy Series' music has covered just about every emotion, from sadness to adventure, to silliness (Mambo de Chocobo, anyone?).
Kenji Ito has shown promise. Saga Frontier had a decent OST, but Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon 2 was a step backwards. He didn't work on the Saga Frontier 2 soundtrack (that was handled by newcomer Masashi Hamauzu), which shows Square hasn't really been impressed by his work. Maybe someday he'll rise out of mediocrity. He's probably Square's least popular composer.
The Square composer who I think should be Nobuo's replacement is Yasunori Mitsuda, now known for his Xenogears and Chrono Trigger work. I can't wait to hear his Chrono Chross OST, because what I've heard so far is probably some of the most breathtaking music ever in a videogame. Square obviously has faith in him, because he actually worked with Nobuo on the Chrono Trigger OST. If you listen to the Xenogears OST, it goes through all the emotions of a Final Fantasy Soundtrack. Everyone I know, whether they love or hate Xenogears, loes the music. It's amazing stuff. Currently, it's the best video game OST out there.
I seem to remember some rumors from several months ago pointing to Ryuichi Sakamoto as being the next FF Series composer. I have no idea how true these rumors are, but I do like the bits of Sakamoto's work that I have heard. I don't know if he can go through the full scope of musical emotions as Uematsu or Mitsuda because I simple have to hear more of his work.
Any way it does turn out, I'm sure the next FF title will have excellent music. Even though FF8's Soundtrack was a letdown, it was still far and away the best soundtrack this year.
-DarkSilvergun
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The points you make regarding each composer are certainly sound (although Mitsuda has left Square -- he's scoring Chrono Cross, but only as a freelance musician and not as a Square employee). All of these musicians have their various strong suits; it would be a tough decision to make should Nobuo step down in the near future. Should there be a need for someone to take up Nobuo's role, there are several options available. For one, they could have someone work alongside him on the Final Fantasy soundtrack. In this manner, Nobuo could make the more key titles of the game, such as the final battle music and opening themes, and leave the lesser portions to other writers. This would certainly give Nobuo more time to concentrate on his efforts, and I have faith that the others could create highly complementary tracks that are equally memorable in their own right.
Another option would be to use several composers for a Final Fantasy. Usually, this type of arrangement simply isn't an option due to costs, but the series is already one of high production rates. Obviously, these are just my own thoughts. I could act as though that automatically makes them in some way superior than if they'd been the viewpoints of your own, but I don't think anybody needs to have additional opinions forced upon them. That's what television, radio, newspapers, and various monthly journals are for.
| The true identity of THE MAN? |
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Ok, It's 1 AM so I'll make this short. Though I do feel the need to rant and rave a little. :)
Nobuo is a god. He composes the best music in any games I've ever heard. From the simpilistic melodies of FF1 to the cinematic, ambient drama of FF8, Nobuo has always delivered in spades. Every single Final Fantasy soundtrack has sounded great, even on such crappy 8 and 16 bit cartridge synth. In an age where people would relate game music to bad music automatically, (Ick, that sounds like music from a video game!), Nobuo produced some utterly fantastic scores. Scores that riviled some big screen hollywood efforts, though all Nobuo had was a synth keyboard, (or whatever he uses), instead of a full orchestra and chorus.
Nobuo is far from finished. Even you hard core old school rpg fans can't say that you didn't drop your jaw in awe at some of the truly amazing pieces in FF8. Liberi Fatali, Edea's parade song, the last boss theme, Maybe I'm a Lion, and mods de chocobo. And let's not forget a little number called 'Eyes on Me'. Sure, it had some tracks that were crap, but every ost has crap tracks. FF7 had the barret and coral themes, FF6 had a couple, FF5 had that god damn pirates song, etc... I think that people are just expecting a lot more out of him now that he's become so established.
Sorry, must end letter now. It's too late, brain not functioning properly. Damn, that wasn't a really well written letter. I bet it's not gonna get posted, oh well.
-Kojiro
P.S. Gilgamesh is only the semi-man, Nobuo is the MAN.
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You shouldn't say that a letter won't get posted within the body of it. Then, should it get posted, you look rather silly. Your success has been marred by the admission to your own lack of confidence in your writing. But that's okay, we love everybody equally around here.
As I've personally stated before, I wasn't a particularly big fan of the FFVIII soundtrack. It wasn't horrid, and it didn't make me resort to popping in a CD as I played, but I've certainly heard better from Mister Uematsu. If I had to guess, it sounds as though he'd attempted to create a more cinematic, orchestrated-sounding collection of tunes for the game, and the limitations of the hardware itself prevented him from fully accomplishing what he'd set out to do.
I don't think that Nobuo's talent has run dry; just the opposite, as a matter of fact. I feel he's grown tired of creating the same kinds of music and being limited by the machine's capabilities, and his reach has extended his grasp. I'm eager to hear what his scores for the PS2 and possibly Dolphin Final Fantasies will sound like.
| Watch your back, Williams |
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Drew,
It may be me, but any one person who wrote the theme song for THE MAN
must have a place to write a movie score. Amen.
-Mike Drucker
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Anyone who produces the theme song for the greatest villain in RPG history deserves to win a Grammy Award. And hell, give him an Oscar and an Emmy too. He may not be an actor, but I think that he deserves several golden plaques to server as ornate paperweights on his desk.
I'd love to see what kind of a soundtrack Nobuo could concoct when size and hardware limitations weren't a object, as would be the case should he end up composing for the Final Fantasy film. I bet that he'd make John Williams look like his sorry little bitch.
| Please don't tip the sacred cow |
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First of all, thank you for printing my letter the other day. I was
afraid that I might have committed an unmentionable sin by attacking FF6
(which seems to be the "sacred cow" of the North American J-RPG community)
Anyway, you brought up some most interesting points in your response, and
got me thinking again.
There are two major streams in science-fiction literature. On one hand,
there are books and films in which the central focus of the story is the
science itself and its philosophical implications. These are called "hard
science fiction", and Isaac Asimov's books would be an example of this
subgenre. On the other hand, there are books and films in which the
sci-fi setting is merely a backdrop, and the story focuses on human
relationships and conflicts. These are called "soft science fiction", and
the best known example would be Star Wars.
Many hard-sci-fi fans hold soft-sci-fi in contempt, calling it "space
opera" or worse. On the other hand, there are many readers who enjoy
soft-sci-fi but find hard-sci-fi dull to the point of unreadability and
consider its adherents to be rather strange people.
(Look how many people have seen the Star Wars films; many of them wouldn't
touch Asimov with a ten-foot pole.) It's clear that soft-sci-fi has a
much larger audience in the general public, but most genre fans (i.e. people
who read sci-fi because it's sci-fi) probably prefer hard-sci-fi.
I'm not sure what the equivalent of "hard" vs. "soft" in fantasy would be
called, but it's obvious that FF5 is an example of the first while FF6 is
an example of the second. Perhaps this is why FF6 has more widestream
appeal, while FF5 has more "hardcore" fans. Gosh, perhaps it has nothing
to do with gameplay after all. FF5 and 6 aren't *that* different in
difficulty level. FF5 has combinations of abilities which can make the
game just as trivial as FF6's Ultima does. It's just that the cheap
tactics in FF6 are better known to North American gamers because the
game's been available here for much longer.
Anyway, whatever you say about FF5 and FF6 really doesn't say anything
about "odd FF/even FF" patterns, because neither of the previous even FFs
(FF2, FF4) are any more character-driven than FF5 is. I'm sticking to my
previous analysis. Odd FFs have successively refined the
job/ability/storebought-magic system, while even FFs have used deviant
systems (and sometimes tied those systems into the plotline). FF6 changed
the tone of the series from pure fantasy to character-driven storylines,
but that fact has nothing to do with "odd vs. even", because (even) FF4 is
pure fantasy and (odd) FF7 is character-driven.
-Alex W. Jackson
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I think that FFV was the last in the series to follow this pattern. Whether or not you'd agree that the difference in focus between the even and odd titles was intentional, there's no denying that there is a distinct separation. Final Fantasy IV's battle system was rudimentary, at best. For the time it was innovative and enjoyable, but it comes nowhere close to equaling the job system in intricacy and freedom of customization.
I personally feel that the entire argument is ridiculously anal when you take into consideration the fact that FFI was the first in the series upon which all subsequent titles were based, leaving only FFIII and FFV to be considered the "odd" titles. It's true that both III and V narrowed in on the battle system more specifically than others in the series did, but these are only two games in a franchise which is approaching its ninth installment.
Additionally, while parts III and V may not have been as plot-driven, they were still superior to practically every other RPG at the time, and remain classics to this day, especially with FFV finally seeing a North American release. A comparatively weak FF story line still puts that of many other RPGs to shame.
| A piece of P |
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Hmmmm...How interesting...I buy FF8 and neglect to send you a letter for
Monday's column and you type up a bucket load of text...Does this mean
that somehow my letters affect you, Drew? Are my letters that
overwhelming? Do you look at my obvious talent and sink into a deep
depressing in which you find it pointless to write? I am presented with
a moral dilema...Should I send you a letter and gratify my own ego, or
should I stay silent and let you entertain the thousands (How many
people read DA anyway?) that visit your column...Hmmm. What to do what
to do...
*Hits Send*
~Ian P.
P.S. I've yet to complete FF8 and thus listen to all it's soundtracks,
and if that is to be what we are to judge Uematsu upon I cannot do so
fairly. But I will anyway. I've found the tracks to be somewhat bland
compared to his other works, but as it's been said, still exceptional in
comparison to other video games soundtracks. The intro, Liberi Fatali
was stirring however, so I will reserve a more solid judgement untill
later of course. As for whether or not he should keep composing, or more
specifically, keep composing for the FF series...Yes, I think he should.
Sakaguchi, Amano, and Uematsu are arguably what make FF what it is.
How's that for Post Script abuse? I feel compelled to leave a second
signature. Time to find a save point and go to bed.
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I admit it, Ian. Whenever one of your letters is beaming forth from the pages of this column, I find myself unable to utter nor type anything beyond a monosyllabic grunt. I get butterflies in my stomach, and can't so much as stutter out my own name. In order to remedy the situation and win your heart, I have composed an 80's style rock ballad, complete with trite lyrics and droning, obtrusive guitar solos. I'll be certain to stop on by and play it outside of your window at around 3 in the morning, every morning until you finally surrender to my will.
Really, this is all just a thinly veiled attempt to trick you into following me to my lair, where I will force you to work in my salt mines. A large poster of myself forever hangs above the quarry and its workers serving as a constant reminder that I am, indeed, watching.
Rest assured that as you have always been a loyal writer and proven yourself ready and able to judge without proper cause or incentive, something which I highly endorse, I will go easy on you. I'll let you whip your fellow workers when they begin to run ragged, or try to hurl rocks at your head when they think that you aren't watching. It won't be so bad.
As for my opinions on Nobuo and his work, I've already expressed them. I could be vain and repeat myself in the assumption that my thoughts matter enough that you wouldn't mind hearing them twice, but that would require extra typing. And I am a lazy, lazy man.
| Catapults are for wimps |
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Okay this isn't a question completely about games, but lets try
anyway. Why on the Pokemon TV show can Meowth speak in perfect English
while other Pokemon can only say their name. Doesn't it seem like the
extent of his conversations would be "Meowth Meowth Me?"
Okay, I also feel it necessary to say that I fear a medieval theme
Final Fantasy IX. I believe the greatest accomplishment of recent Final
Fantasies has been the incorporation of Technology and a traditional eastern
view of spiritualism. FF7 had themes of the collective unconsious
(lifestream, shared soul of Sephiroth and Jenova and the clones) and astral
projection (Cloud's final battle against Sephiroth.) FF8's draw system is
reminiscent of Chi Kung's idea of drawing and pushing Chi energy between all
living things. Wouldn't you hate to have the oversimplified explanation of
"It's Magic" It would have to be more like the political storyline of FF
Tactics, however a recent FF series games have been about the conflicts of
technological advances and the nature of humanity. I would have little
excitement as the characters debated the use of a catapult.
Oh well , have a neat day guy.
-St. Hayden Y. McCabe Esquire I
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I'm a strange Final Fantasy fan in that I'm all for the incorporation of technology and a futuristic setting into the games. I thought that Midgar was the best part of Final Fantasy VII simply because it had style. Every structure and factory had its own unique appearance, and the merging of the seemingly dichotic mako energy and dark, gritty urban areas was "fantasy" in every sense of the word.
Not only that, but it served to exemplify the merging of the life force of the planet and technology that is the focal point of the entire game's story line. The ill effects of this precarious balance were amply visible in Midgar; far moreso than if the game had started in a quite, rural town in another area of the world.
However, I think what people such as you and I enjoy about these settings is not the fact that they are futuristic or technological, but that they were innovative and immersive. When creating a world along the lines of FFVII or FFVIII's, there are no set rules about just what makes such a setting, as there are with medieval settings. I've mentioned this before, so why the hell not mention it again?
As long as the characters have personality, and the backdrop is unique, I'm not particularly concerned with the style of the setting.
Closing Comments
Tomorrow will be another free topic day. Why? Because this column has come to be lost in the winds of time, and nobody would see it if I specified a topic, anyhow.
-Drew Cosner, the gorilla who likes vanilla
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