Final Fantasy U.S. soundtrack impressions

[01.05.02] » The alpha and omega of Final Fantasy scores.

   Tokyopop has released another batch of Final Fantasy soundtracks, spanning the entire history of the series. All three of them are in their own way compilation CDs drawn from preexisting albums, and hence the track selection is crucial to their quality.

   For the first of the soundtracks, these choices have already been made for them. Final Fantasy N Generation is essentially an American release of the album Final Fantasy 1987-1994, which was released in Japan after FFVI. As such, one can't really blame Tokyopop for some of its minor shortcomings, such as the overrepresentation of FFIV Celtic Moon, or the decision to "remix" FFV's "Legend of the Deep Forest" with Japanese vocals instead of the original Swedish. However, that doesn't stop N Generation from being very much worthwhile for series fans who haven't yet made forays into purchasing imported soundtracks: every track on the CD is an arranged version of the tune from one of the various symphonic and arranged companion albums in Japan, rather than the original in-game music. This allows for a variety of approaches and interpretations, from the vocal-centered version of FFIII's "Roaming Sheep" to the seemingly Mario Paint-inspired take on FFV's "Critter Tripper Fritter" (listed here as "Moogles' Theme").

   Final Fantasy S Generation takes the same approach of compiling arranged songs from the three PSone titles. Unlike N Generation, a few in-game tracks can be found here, but the difference is that they were already fully orchestrated, as with "Liberi Fatali" from FFVIII and "Melodies of Life" from FFIX. Since there are only three games to cover here as opposed to six, each game gets more time in the spotlight, which is both a blessing and a curse: more selections from the Piano Collections are featured here, but with comparatively little to draw from, there's a tad more filler here than in the N Generation disc. Still, those who haven't already heard orchestral versions of "Main Theme of FFVII" or "The Man With the Machine Gun" should definitely consider tracking this down.

   The most impressive feat of condensation comes in Tokyopop's one-disc, 17-track abridgement of the full four-disc, 91-track Final Fantasy X OST. Although the full soundtrack contains a couple pieces of dialogue and no less than 11 variations on the Hymn of the Fayth, it's still a lot to pare down. The final result is mostly solid, though, with just about every major orchestrated piece in the game showing up, and a good selection of the game's more interesting regular themes. Strangely, the most off-putting choices here are the more traditional themes such as the standard battle music and FFX's version of the chocobo theme: while they worked well in the game, they sound a little dated and thin out of context. Any disc that has "To Zanarkand," "Otherworld," "Besaid," "Blitz Off!," and the full complement of final battle themes is worth getting just for that.