Nobuo Uematsu or Yasunori Mitsuda?

[Azure Chrysanthemum]

Of the two composers who've worked with Squaresoft, whose music do you prefer more? Nobuo Uematsu, most known for his work in the Final Fantasy series, or Yasunori Mitsuda, the man who did the Xenogears, Chrono Trigger, and Chrono Cross scores?

[edczxcvbnm]

Mitsuda but keep in mind he did do music for other Square games. Tobal comes to mind...I think.

[Azure Chrysanthemum]

I'm not familiar with the other Square games he did. If you can list them I'll add them to the initial post.

[edczxcvbnm]

Ask Kawaii. I just know he did other games and I believe the Tobal games are some of them.

[Hinky the Pickle]

I've never actually been too big of a fan of CT or CC's music and Xenogears doesn't exactly stand out to me. I've always really loved Nobou's work though.

[Germ Hamee]

Ah, the question never dies. Yasunori Mitsuda, hands down. He shows an amazing versatility, and unlike Uematsu, he's still young and has great future potential. It's been a long time since Uematsu's blown me away with a soundtrack. He's fantastic with melodies, but lately games are calling for more ambient music, and he sucks at it.

However, my faith in Mitsuda is definitely beginning to falter. It seems he's going too far trying to prove he's not just "the celtic guy." The music's been crap, with the definite exception of Moonlit Shadow.

[Destai]

Nobuo Uematsa can easily deliver a solid soundtrack with hand loads of verying tracks and moods. I think Yasunori Mitsuda usually makes slightly watered down tracks with the occasional gem in his soundtracks, But theres often alot of crap to wade through. The only soundtracks of Mitsudas Ive listened to is CC, CT, XG, XS episode I. CT had a fair bit of Nobuo in it. CC had alot of nice songs but alot of trash as well. I think Xenogears and Xenosaga were the same although both those soundtracks have some of my favourite songs in them.

[Germ Hamee]

I think Xenogears and Xenosaga were the same although both those soundtracks have some of my favourite songs in them.

o.O The same how?

[Destai]

I think Xenogears and Xenosaga were the same although both those soundtracks have some of my favourite songs in them.

o.O The same how?In my opinion, alot of songs that were mediocre and some seriously great songs scattered among the mediocre ones. And I think theyre both better than CC

[Cless]

Nobuo, for the simple reason that I haven't played many games with Mitsuda's music in them. In fact, the only one I've played is Chrono Trigger. And while it had a great soundtrack, I think I'll need to hear a bit more of his work to judge whether he's better than Nobuo.

[Chris]

Nobuo Uematsu. I don't wanna explain why I chose him, just because. O_o

[edczxcvbnm]

Nobou has only one great song in my mind...thats right just one.

You are not alone! - FFIX.

[Germ Hamee]

Now that I think about it, the only soundtrack by Nobuo I felt was very solid and good throughout (I know ed is going to disagree on this one) was FFVI. Every other soundtrack had maybe one really good song and a couple decent ones... none of these being good enough to make me blow money on the soundtrack.

[GooeyToast]

I have to say Uetmatsu, simply because his songs seem to be alot more memorable & melody driven, which I like.

Mitsuda is a very good composer though, but I don't think he can mesure up to Uetmatsu quite yet. Granted, I loved CC's and Ct's soundtrack, and there are a lot of very good songs on those, but i have so many favorite FF songs, I can't even list them all.

However, seeing as how Uematsu is begining to lose some of the magic that he used to have (yes, he is), I wouldn't be suprised if Mitsuda stepped up and became the next Nobuo. In fact, it seems he's almost gotten to that point and he's still got many years ahead of him.

But, for the time being, Uetmatsu is still my favorite.

[squareSOFT]

Nobuo Uematsu is just a plain legend. His music can be remembered like none other. Not that Mitsuda is bad by any stretch but Uematsu's scores just seem more moving and are usually perfect for setting the mood.

[Lady Selphie]

I loved Nobuo Uematsu`s music because it`s nice and wonderful

[Triple T]

I like Yasunori Mitsuda. All Nobuo does is make different versions of the good FF songs. Yasunori makes good ones, like Xenosaga and Xenogears. <3

[Black Mage]

Koji Kondo.

[mcsspitfire]

Although I voted for Nobuo on the poll, I have a huge place in my heart for both composers. Mitsuda affected me emotionally on a fresh and unique level that was vastly different from the Final Fantasy games.

[kikimm]

Koji Kondo.

If we're playing like that, I vote Akira Yamaoka. But alas, he was not involved in the question.

So my vote goes to Uematsu, only for the reason that I've heard very few somgs by Mitsuda, which is unfortunate. I should really make more of an effort to listen to his work. But I believe Uetmatsu is still amazing.

But what do you think, BTV? :)


:D

[crashNUMBERS]

Nobuo. B'sides I've never heard any of t'is other guys work...

[Azure Chrysanthemum]

I prefer Mitsuda's as he seems to have a more varied style than Nobuo, from what I've seen. Both are good composers, but I generally REALLY like more of the music that Mitsuda composes than the music that Nobuo composes.

[Slothy]

Uematsu. His music has always been great and there isn't a single FF soundtrack I've not liked. Mitsuda did a great job with Chrono Trigger, and what I've heard of Chrono Cross was also very good. The only other soundtrack of his I've heard was Xenosaga, and I was less than impressed. None of it stood out as great to me. At best the songs were average. About the only good thing I can think of about the soundtrack was that at least none of the songs were annoying. They were just all very forgettable. So in the end, even though I think his work on the Chrono series was amazing, I couldn't give the nod to him. It'll take more than two great game soundtracks for him to surpass Uematsu in my eyes.

[Sefie1999AD]

I'll say Nobuo Uematsu because to be frank, I think Yasunori Mitsuda makes good music but not good video game music at all. Uematsu's songs are melodic, memorable and beautiful, and it's amazing how emotional they can be, considering his music isn't all that complex if you take your time to analyze it. It works very well with the games, too, which is why I think Uematsu beats Mitsuda in the first place. Final Fantasy IX soundtrack was a real masterpiece, with very beautiful music using varied styles, also including synthesized music and a fully orchestrated cinematic score for FMV sequences.

I've only heard 4 of Mitsuda's soundtracks, but here's what I think about them. Chrono Trigger. Even though most people think this is where he's at his weakest, I think this is his best work. The music fits in perfectly into the game, and I get lots of good memories about the game when listening to CT's music.

Then Chrono Cross. The melodies are quite beautiful, and world map / town themes are well done, even though sometimes I felt like they were given so much emphasis that it bothered the actual gameplay a bit. Doesn't matter too much, but what really bothers me are his battle themes. They're just plain awful! Brink of Death is okay, and Dragon God is pretty good (though nothing compared to CT's battle themes), but the rest... ugh. Either they don't work at all or they just are very bad, IMHO. The former include the calm song Garden of the Gods (plays during the Dragon Shrine boss fights) and Magical Dreamers, a great song but when it keeps playing even during battles, that distortion guitar starts to get really annoying. The latter ones include Hurricane, FATE - God's Destiny (the battle against Lynx/Fate), Star Tower (Terra Tower's boss fights) and In the Time of Disorder (the final battle song, oh man... if someone claims this beats Dancing Mad or One-Winged Angel, they must be kidding or out of their minds or something, no offence to anyone who likes this "song"). I especially have a problem with the song Hurricane. It's played during all the normal battles, and it starts to annoy me after fighting only around 5 battles in the game.

Xenogears. The themes are okay but nothing too great. Lots of Celtic influence, though, which is pretty nice. The battle and action themes fail to impress me, however. Steel Giant, Fuse, Stage of Death, Knight of Fire, Awakening and One Who Bares Fangs at God are all decent at best.

Xenosaga. This game has never been released in Europe :mad2: so I haven't played it. However, I've seen scenes from the game and heard many things about it. It seems the music works so badly in the game that a big majority of the game, including many dungeons and events, don't have any music at all. There's only one battle theme, which is called Battle. It plays during every battles except for the final battle, normal fights and bosses. It sounds nice and orchestral, but let's face it, it's way too bombastic for normal battles, and when the boss battles come, the epic feel the music generates is gone already. The Last Battle track is pretty good, but it sounds less dramatic and epic than the normal battle theme.

The other Xenosaga tracks are mostly orchestral thundering. It is epic, yeah, but I think it goes so much over the top that it just doesn't sound like good video game music anymore. There are some great songs there, though, like Ormus/Resurrection/Miracle theme and both the vocal themes, Pain and Kokoro. I've seen the Miracle scene, and unfortunately, the music is practically overrun by the sound effects and other effects, and the scene isn't even as impressive as the music lets us assume. Kokoro, though an excellent song, is only an ending credits theme, even though the lyrics and events have some funny parts, such as the singer stating "Tell me what you're thinking of / Tell me if you love me now / I have so much I long to ask you / But now the chance has gone. / While your picture fades each day / In my heart the memory stays / Glowing bright, you're always smiling / And I will hold it close." when the main character Shion and her female android KOS-MOS are reunited in the end.

Since Uematsu is mostly composing Final Fantasy soundtracks (though he's been a co-composer in some other games too, and "Ah My Goddess" movie if I remember correctly), I'll just analyze his FF soundtracks.

FF1 - Originally a pretty good debut soundtrack which introduced us some of the FF songs, such as Prelude, Prologue / Final Fantasy, Victory Fanfare and the battle intro. The PSX remake is excellent, though. Great sound quality and good arrangements, and the music still feels like Final Fantasy. I don't remember any bad songs here.

FF2 - Lots of great themes here, like the Rebel Army Theme, the Imperial Army Theme, the battle themes and many others. The first half of the Chocobo theme was introduced here. I liked the original world map theme, but I don't think its PSX arrangement was as good. It's a pretty good soundtrack too.

FF3 - I've only heard the music in NES, but the music is very good and it works very well with the game. Prelude, Prologue/FF and Chocobo themes are back, and they sound great as ever. For the first time, the whole Chocobo theme can be heard, and the Fat Chocobo's theme is also introduced. Town themes, world map themes, airship themes, adventurous dungeon themes, the heroic "Return of the Warrior" theme, the defeat / tragedy theme, Elia's theme, the final dungeons and final battle themes and the ending theme are all marvelous.

FF4 - What would be a good way to describe this soundtrack? To quote Utada Hikaru, this soundtrack is "Simple and Clean." The themes aren't too complex, but they're still very beautiful. The full Prelude theme is introduced in this game, and for the first time, the Prologue/Final Fantasy theme plays during the ending, which it has done ever since FFIV. Lots of great character themes (especially Golbez's theme!), area and event themes are well made, and the special boss and final battle themes are fantastic.

FF5 - The soundtrack feels different from FFIV's, but it's very beautiful and still catches the feeling of FFV's world. A Presentiment is an awesome opening song, town and dungeon themes are great, the battle themes are pretty good though not as good as in FFIV (with the exception of "The Battle with Gilgamesh"), the airship themes are great, the sadness / tragedy themes are tear-jerking, the three world map themes are all very good and the many songs that play during the ending are great. This is also the first FF to use the Moogle theme and the first FF to use a choir (unless you count the chanting during the Tschaikovsky's Swan Lake song in FF2 PSX). Great work.

FF6 - To many, this is the best FF soundtrack. The character and event themes are very beautiful, and the themes that play during sad scenes do their job very well to enhance the feeling of sadness. Tina and Celes' themes are my favorite character themes. The Opera Scene is a pure masterpiece, even though the synth opera singers sound bad, to say the least. The music gets even better during the World of Ruin, IMHO. The battle themes are pretty good though I still prefer FFIV and FFV's battle themes. Dancing Mad is quite good, though, but it's the song that plays after DM that I think really shines: the Ending Theme. First you get to hear a reprise of every character theme, then lots of good music and finally, the Prologue/Final Fantasy theme.

FF7 - This is the FF soundtrack I feel most nostalgic about. The synth quality could be better, but at least the music is superb. The character themes are great (especially Aeris'), the same for dungeon and event themes, the world map theme is very beautiful and the numerous Chocobo themes are neat. The are a good amount of songs that can put a smile on your face or tears in your eyes. The battle themes are also back into being great: Fighting, Still More Fighting, Jenova, Weapon Raid, Jenova Absolute and One-Winged Angel are all superb. FFVII has tons of great themes, so I wish Uematsu reprises them or even has some hints at them in FFVII: AC.

FF8 - Liberi Fatali is an excellent opening song! The world map theme is quite meh, and the game lacks character themes. Other than that, there's lots of good music in the soundtrack. Town themes are pretty good and beautiful, and the battle and action themes are superb. The great battle/action themes include Don't Be Afraid, The Landing, Force Your Way, Only a Plank Between One and Perdition, The Stage is Set, Premonition, The Legendary Beast, Maybe I'm a Lion and The Extreme. While there's no character themes, there is a love theme for Squall and Rinoa, which plays is Waltz for the Moon, My Mind, Love Grows and the vocal song Eyes on Me. My favorite song is the Ending Theme, which reprises the Eyes on Me theme, the Prologue/Final Fantasy theme, Liberi Fatali theme and the Prelude theme.

FF9 - My favorite FF soundtrack. Over 150 songs, where should I start. The character themes are back, and they're pretty good. The music, just like the game, returns to the musical style used in FFs 1-6, although there's still influences of FFVII and FFVIII. Many of the traditional FF themes are also back, such as Moogle theme, the traditional battle intro and the entire Victory Fanfare. The music during the first hour of the game is spectacular, and it remains quality stuff throughout the game. To be frank, I didn't like the soundtrack first, but when I saw how it worked in the game, I was absolutely stunned and amazed. The battle and action themes are great, maybe not as good as in FFVIII, but still enjoyable and back to the quality of, say, FFIV and FFVII. The world map theme is beautiful (whew), and it also features the love theme between Zidane and Dagger. The vocal version of the love theme, Melodies of Life, is very beautiful and much deeper than FFVIII's "aww, it's so romantic!" love theme, IMHO. The music during the ending scenes remind me of Disney, though that's only plus for me. There's about 30 orchestral songs in the game that play during FMV sequences (you can find a few of them in FFIX OST and the rest in FFIX OST Plus), and they're fantastic, setting the mood perfectly for the FMV cinematics, either making the FMV events very thrilling or tear-jerking. In my opinion, this soundtrack and this game are both quite underrated.

FFX - This is where the downhill started. Oh well, with the vast FFIX soundtrack, it's very hard to pull off another one like that. The songs still work very well with the game, which is the most important thing, I guess, though I thought the themes were less interesting. Most of the FF themes are gone, too. I don't know if it's just me, but the synth sounds like it's worse than the one used in FFVIII and FFIX, or at least the music sounds a lot more synthesized. The character themes are pretty good, especially Yuna and Auron's theme. Parts of Yuna's theme are also used in the beautiful love song, Suteki Da Ne. In addition to Nobuo Uematsu, Masashi Hamauzu and Junya Nakano were in charge of composing FFX's soundtrack. Some of the themes the other two created were pretty good, though sometimes their work is quite blarg. I think Hamauzu did a bit better than Nakano. The battle and action songs go between being excellent and being "Ahhh my ears!", or sometimes being both of them. o_O Not a bad soundtrack at all, but it just doesn't seem to reach the quality of FF1-9 music.

FFXI - I haven't played this game, so I don't know how to rate the music. Uematsu has very little role in this game, but his work are the best there, IMHO: FFXI Opening Theme (Memory of the Stone and Prelude), Longfall, Airship, Recollection and a few others. Naoshi Mizuta did most of the soundtrack. While his themes aren't bad, I think they're the least enjoyable and memorable, though that could be because I haven't played the game. The third composer, Kumi Tanioka, did some pretty enjoyable music. Her themes are quite heroic (the Republic of Bastok, Metalworks) or epic (Fury and Awakening, the former features Uematsu's Memory of the Stone theme). The synth quality is also back on track.

Summary: I prefer Nobuo Uematsu over Yasunori Mitsuda.

[Germ Hamee]

About your thoughts on Xenosaga... Mitsuda had nothing to do with a lot of your complaints. It was the game maker's intent to have a mostly silent game, so he just made especially cinematic pieces for where music was needed. I was incredibly upset when The Miracle finally started playing in the game and was completely overrun by the noise of what was going on and the piece didn't fit at all. But all the man does is make the music, what happens from there is up in the air.

Anyway, I actually agree with most of your points -- and they're actually the reasons I prefer Mitsuda over Uematsu. I like that his music takes the focus because it gives him reason to change, grow, and draw people into how wonderful VGM really can be. Uematsu creates beautiful, simple melodies but does little to break the mold of what video game music can be (aside from emotional and touching, which he demonstrated years ago and that was the extent of his growth).

And, yes, Yasunori Mitsuda's battle themes are teh suck.

[Yuffie514]

i only chill with Uematsu :cool: :p .

firstly and lastly, Final Fantasy VIII wouldn't have been so great, were it not for Mr. Uematsu.

[Dark Matter]

I bet Sephiroth1999AD will change his mind on Xenosaga OST if he've played the game. But that's your story, good luck to you. oh, I've Xenosaga: The Animation too.

About Yasunori Mitsuda, nobody seems to mention about Shadow Hearts or Shadow Hearts II, he composed a few great music for the series, eg .... I don't know, I'm dumb that I fail to defend my points of view...


And, yes, Yasunori Mitsuda's battle themes are teh suck. :eek: what?? I disagree, well, with everyone. What does battle theme mean? I guess it's not just been played during battle. It can be played at any time in the game, as long as it can somehow greatly stimulate us.

I consider these soundtracks as very good battle themes:

1.起動試験 - Track 5, Disc 1 (apparently, it means launching experiment)
2.戦闘するKOS-MOS - Track 10, Disc 1 (The first 2 words means 'battle'.... KOS-MOS is one of the main chars)
3.U-TIC機関 - Track 21, Disc 1 ("U-TIC Organization", this one's cool, somehow resembles One-winged Angel, Liberi Fatali...)
4. 虚無の浜辺 - Track 6, Disc 2
5.Last Battle - Track 17, Disc 2

I just list my fave ones because I'm not quite familiar with the OST; I just got it about 3 weeks ago.


Both Nobuo Uematsu and Yasunori Mitsuda are great, it's pointless to argue who is the best. Besides, you maybe can try to find out more about Kenji Ito and Yos-hitaka Hirota, they're as good as NU and YM.

PS: I use - sign in Yos-hitaka becasue without it /xxx.gif/xxx.gif/xxx.gif/xxx.gif will appear, not good..... :mad2:

[ZuZu]

Uematsu

And who is that other guy...?

[elorian]

Both are good composers. I think that Mitsuda is more consistant in quality than Uematsu. Mitsuda tends to consistantly make decent music that works fairly well with the game, while Uematsu composes pure gems as often as mediocre crap. Granted, I've only played Chrono Trigger, and I'm playing through Chrono Cross right now, so I haven't heard everything Mitsuda has composed.


Quoth Sephiroth199AD: I'll say Nobuo Uematsu because to be frank, I think Yasunori Mitsuda makes good music but not good video game music at all. Uematsu's songs are melodic, memorable and beautiful, and it's amazing how emotional they can be, considering his music isn't all that complex if you take your time to analyze it. It works very well with the games, too, which is why I think Uematsu beats Mitsuda in the first place.

I disagree. Mitsuda, I think, makes only good video game music, while Uematsu makes music that is good outside of the game. "Time Circuits", for example, is a good song, but it really only works in the context of Chrono Trigger. Whereas, say, "Aeris' Theme" is a genuinely beautiful work regardless of Aeris' role in the plot of the game.

And I agree with the comments about Mitsuda's inability to compose a good battle theme. The only one of his that I really liked was the CT standard boss battle theme, although Brink of Death and The Battle Iniside the Shell aren't that bad either.

[Aphelion]

I really like them both, but I'll have to pick Uematsu's songs...

[Del Murder]

Boy, this was a blowout...

[The Man]

And I agree with the comments about Mitsuda's inability to compose a good battle theme. The only one of his that I really liked was the CT standard boss battle themeMitsuda didn't write that. Noriko Matsueda wrote that one; it's the only CT track she compomsed.

I like a few of Mitsuda's battle themes. Battle with Magus, The Brink of Death and Dragon's Prayer come to mind. On the whole I agree with Seph though, Mitsuda's music doesn't always fit the way it's used in the game. Uematsu's music usually fits perfectly. On that basis, I have to choose Uematsu, although outside the context of the games I like them both equally.

[ughhis]

Both make pretty music.
It is known.

:fpcow:

[Sefie1999AD]

I bet Sephiroth1999AD will change his mind on Xenosaga OST if he've played the game. But that's your story, good luck to you.

As I said, the game isn't out in Europe, and there don't seem to be any plans of releasing it here, so most likely I'll never get a chance to play the game. Importing isn't an option, either, because NTSC and NTSC-J games don't work on my PAL system.


I like a few of Mitsuda's battle themes. Battle with Magus, The Brink of Death and Dragon's Prayer come to mind. On the whole I agree with Seph though, Mitsuda's music doesn't always fit the way it's used in the game. Uematsu's music usually fits perfectly. On that basis, I have to choose Uematsu, although outside the context of the games I like them both equally.

What's "Dragon's Prayer"? If you're referring to "Dragon's Wish", that song plays when you're walking around in Terra Tower. It's mostly an ambient song, and it's not used in battles. A song you didn't mention which I also liked was World Revolution from CT. Too bad the 2nd last battle song is (IMHO) better than the final battle song. But yes, outside the context of the games they both make good music.

[The Man]

Er. I meant the track that plays when you battle the Dragon God, but I must've mislabeled it in my playlist.

[ApocalypticLeon]

Uematsu, because of the fact he can make music that fits every role. Those sad, like the one you hear on the way to Zanarkand (a variation of Yuna's Theme. Then, those ones that make your heart beat while in a battle or raceing against the clock, such as One Winged Angel and Time to Go.

Meh, they both make wonderful music, but Uematsu's are my favorites.

[Sefie1999AD]

Er. I meant the track that plays when you battle the Dragon God, but I must've mislabeled it in my playlist.

Ah, yes, the battle at the top of the Terra Tower. That song is just called "Dragon God". I think it's one of Mitsuda's better battle songs, though I still prefer CT's battle themes.

[The Man]

Yeah, turns out I had the two tracks mislabeled as each other in my playlist, which I found by actually bothering to listen to them. Happens to the best of us I guess.

[SilverWind]

i only chill with Uematsu :cool: :p .

firstly and lastly, Final Fantasy VIII wouldn't have been so great, were it not for Mr. Uematsu.

exactly.

[GooeyToast]

Uematsu is the man, but so is Mitsuda.

They're both cool in my book.


~Keep it gooey~

[Rostum]

I've loved Nobou's work for so long now, and I've only heard Mitsuda through CC and CT, in which I only have the CC soundtrack. I absolutely love the CC soundtrack.

Hmm. I cannot decide. Oh well.

[Rengori]

Both of them are good, but I think Mitsuda wins this round. While it is hard to forget Aeris's theme after she gets stabbed by a freakin' 7-8 foot long katana, her theme could work outside the game in many occasions. As many people already said, Mitsuda makes more gems and would rarely work outside the game.

[fire_of_avalon]

*waits for the "Both" or "*head explodes*" option to be added*

[The Man]

*waits for the "Both" or "*head explodes*" option to be added*You do realize you can add it yourself now that you're a Knight, right? xD

[fire_of_avalon]

*waits for the "Both" or "*head explodes*" option to be added*You do realize you can add it yourself now that you're a Knight, right? xD

That would be cheating.