That’s right! Cid Highwind is my number one! Now, before I get into things, I want to address a few potential comments. I want to do this first as otherwise some might read this article with that issue burning away and not enjoy a great piece of music. There are a lot of fantastic themes not included in my top 10. Of course there are – their absence does not mean I think they are devoid of merit! From FFVII alone it was a wrench to leave out the gentle Tifa’s theme, the achingly gothic theme of Vincent, the tribal drum beats of Red XIII and the cheerful and bouncy Yuffie’s theme, let alone the big hitters like One-Winged Angel and Aeris’s theme.
The “Top 10” format is really just a vehicle for discussion, and I’ve deliberately tried to cover a diverse range of Final Fantasy games. Regardless of what your opinion on what the top 10 is, I hope you can at least appreciate this for what it is: an amazing piece of music. Approaching this series, I think I could’ve come at it from two angles. I might have judged the songs on pure musical merit, but what I plumped for in the end was to put an emphasis onto the character and the emotions brought out by the songs. With that in mind, please listen to Cid’s Theme.
A month or so ago, I talked with a friend about the future top 3 themes in this list. When I mentioned Terra's name, she strongly disagreed and told me all of you would be miffed if I put her over Celes's theme, a poignant piece that particularly shone during the suicide attempt. In response to this, I conducted a poll in the Final Fantasy VI forum. The results were rather conclusive. To prepare for this article I spent my entire lunch break listening to this song on repeat on my iPod... now you can experience this too!
Remember when you first heard this song? The start of FFVI. Two soldiers and a mysterious girl in MagiTek armour set off during a blizzard, each step drawing them closer to the glow of Narshe. It wasn't a particularly bombastic or action-packed opening, but I think it was a powerful one.
Listen to the bassline and the drum beat. Steady, precise and rhythmic. Marching music, you could say. Then listen to the main melody and the strings. Hopeful, beautiful and haunting. The bassline and drum? That represents the Empire. The main melody, of course, represents Terra. Terra, constrained by the Empire, longs to be free as she marches off to Narshe. Regular
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I’m now going to bow to popular opinion. You may recall with my first song, Bartz's theme, I received numerous comments for not going with Gilgamesh's piece, Battle on the Big Bridge. I put forward the view that it was more a battle song than a character song. Well, okay, I'll give you what you want. And I guess the title of this song, The Man With the Machine Gun, can refer to only one man.
That opening little beat. I don't know about you, reader, but that's all I need to hear before my foot is tapping without me having any say in it. The beat and indeed the entire song are so vibrant and fast-paced, providing a really sharp contrast to the last two songs I chose.
The main melody then kicks in. I think this melody is actually rather great, because it has to do two things at once. First, it has to build the tension and get the blood pumping for the battle ahead. Does it do that? I'll say. There's a real intensity to it, and a sense of something that I've been struggling to put a word to for the past five minutes. The best I can do is "challenge".
Before I talk about the next task this song has to perform, I just want to quickly show you the Distant Worlds
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Number 4 on our list is the faithful retainer of Doma, a man with the courage and strength of a thousand men. I do of course mean Mr. Thou! ...and by that I mean Cyan Garamonde, of Final Fantasy VI. I would also like to take the opportunity to say FFVI has two representatives in this list, simply because of how astounding the songs are to me. I think this piece is truly underrated among Final Fantasy fans and it saddens me. Let's listen.
It's amazing how this song can convey so many emotions at once. The initial flute and the steady drum beat convey to me a sense of regality. It makes me think of a castle, of Cyan's service to his liege. In comes strings, in a brief transition to the next part, giving you time to pause, and then bam. Out comes the main melody and it hits you. I get such conflicting feelings, that of nobility and honour, but also of loneliness. Then if you listen, you can hear a flute in the background as well, and this short burst is so full of hope.
I know I'm sounding a bit pretentious with this but I truly love this song and it really speaks to me. Cyan perhaps was never one of the major players in
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"This is your story. It all begins now." Powerful and enigmatic words from a powerful and enigmatic character. Number 5 on our list of themes is of course the theme of none other than Auron from Final Fantasy X. Take a listen:
Slow, steady and methodical, you can listen to this song and suddenly notice you've been tapping your foot along to the beat. I simply can't get enough of the piano in this song, and I think it would be impossible not to feel like a badass striding into a room with this playing.
The main melody is engaging too, and it has an almost otherworldly feel to it. The electronic beats complete the trio, and although they are my least favourite part of the song, it is difficult to say they don't add an extra something to it.
Normally with these articles, I like to take old songs and show how they progress. This time I'm going to do it in reverse! YouTuber CakeJarey has recreated the song using the FFVI sound engine.
The song, of course, reflects Auron well. Strong and silent, patient and calm, the man is definitely a leading contender for coolest
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A little bit of a delay on this one, as your humble author has been taking a break before the long-awaited Distant Worlds concert tomorrow. Continuing with the theme of female characters, number 6 on our list of themes is going to be that of Final Fantasy IV's Rydia.
Here's the original. It's a very soothing and gentle piece of music that instantly relaxes and calms the listener. This version of it is very simplistic and basic with just two instruments playing throughout. A phrase I seem to keep calling back to in this series is that the music reflects the personality of the character it belongs to, and once again it's relevant for this song.
Rydia remains an innocent and pure character with a very sweet nature. This makes her perhaps something more of a stereotypical RPG heroine than the likes of Hilda and Beatrix mentioned previously, but that shouldn't be mistaken for poor writing, as she is an engaging and likeable character.
As with all classic FF character themes, Rydia's has been remixed and rearranged also. I think it is even softer and calmer than the
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Ah, Final Fantasy II. With the arguable exception of the third installment in the series, it is probably the least played and well known Final Fantasy game. Before I got around to playing it, I can recall it being treated with derision as the weakest installment by many in the community here on EoFF. After I did so, I was only left wondering why.
Number seven in our top themes hails from that game, and it wouldn't surprise me if many of you will be hearing it for the first time. It is the theme of Princess Hilda and the Wild Rose Rebellion, which, incidentally, would make a fine name for a band. You can also call it the Rebel Army theme, which is not quite as exciting. Let's listen.
This is the original NES version. I imagine you're not overly impressed, although this is the first version of the song I personally heard and it was the one that stuck in my mind. It's really simple, but really what I want to do is show you what that song has become.
As you may know, there have been numerous re-releases of FFII, and as such, the soundtrack has also received a facelift. Let's take a listen to a more modern version that
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I start off Number 8 with a very simple question: Does anybody who has completed Final Fantasy IX dislike Beatrix? I emphasise the word "completed" as if you're only halfway through and she's merrily blasting you down to 1 HP while calling you an insect, then no doubt you're not her biggest fan.
I say themes, because it does appear in two songs on the Final Fantasy IX soundtrack, and I'm including them both because I want to show you how the same song can have such different meanings. Here's the first one, Rose of May:
Neither fast nor slow in tempo, this is a purely piano piece that stays with you. Everybody I've spoken to says the song makes them feel differently. Some say it is a sad song, others say it is more stoic or proud, and others still say it is calm and peaceful. As for your humble narrator, it makes me think of courage, but it is rather sad too, I feel.
An interesting piece of trivia for this song is that it is often called "Loss of Me", amusingly results from a bit of Engrish. It's actually a really fitting title for Beatrix, given who she is and her storyline.
Final Fantasy XIII is a game that's divided Final Fantasy fans, and Snow is very fitting for a game like this, as he too seems to be either loved or hated. Regardless of how you feel about him as a character or FFXIII as a game, I hope you can agree with me that he has one awesome theme.
Pure rock 'n' roll. This song is dripping with both attitude and rebellion. Does the bold, brash nature of the piece remind you of a certain irrepressible, fiery young man who leads team NORA?
It's not ever going to be the kind of song whose melody gets stuck in your head, but as you listen to it, I'm sure you can feel your head slowly bob up and down. It also seems like perfect driving music, be it hurtling down the highway at noon, or cruising through the city at night.
I also want to note that it would not be out of place in a Dynasty Warriors game at all! Anyway, let's have a look at other versions.
This is from YouTube user JillxxxValentineRE1 and I just want to say - he is phenomenal and has a huge amount of talent. This version
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As an introduction to this, I'm going to be doing a regular blog update, each one about a different Final Fantasy character's theme as part of the 25th Anniversary Celebrations. Although some of us don't have the time or desire to play through a big long FF game anymore, I think we can all take a couple of minutes to listen to some great music and feel nostalgic. I'll be satisfied even if you skip over my words and just have the songs playing in the background as you go about your internet business.
First up, we have Bartz's theme.
For those of you who don't know who Bartz is, or even those who do, hop on over to this thread. It's incredible. Anyway, Bartz is the main character of FFV and like all good heroes, his parents have sadly died prior to the game. This song is called "My Home, Sweet Home", and plays when you return to his home village of Lix.
The song itself is really poignant and evokes memories, which is relevant to Bartz given his past, but I also think it would evoke memories in the listener. It makes me remember my childhood and my home.
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Following on from a few weeks of rumours and speculation, Square Enix has announced Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII which as you may suspect from the title, stars none other than Lightning in a whole new quest.
From what little we know, it sounds as though Lightning will be something of a lone wolf in this game, and it will be the final installment in her story. Players will have a lot more control to shape Lightning the way they want, in terms of appearance, fighting and movement style.
This particular episode will take place several hundreds of years after what happened in FFXIII-2. The game is set in a world called Novus Partus, a Latin name which can be very roughly translated to "New Birth". It consists of four islands, all interlinked with a monorail system.
Is there a chance the track could bend? Not on your life, my Moogle friend!
A very intriguing gameplay element that has been made known is the Doomsday Countdown. The world of Novus Partus is destined to come to a screeching halt after 13 days (Final Fantasy THIRTEEN... see what they did
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He just can't resist a cameo appearance, can he? Everyone's favourite multiple armed madman is back, with Gilgamesh set to appear in yet more Final Fantasy XIII-2 DLC. He is due to appear in the Colosseum as a fightable opponent, and apparently can even join Serah and Noel in the party once defeated if a crystal is obtained.
No word as yet as to whether that song will be featured in the DLC, but just to get you in the mood:
There are also rumours that someone from FFVI is going to be added as a fightable villain too. Ultros would definitely be my preference - can you imagine a tag team of him and Gilgamesh? Kefka is another name being thrown about but I just can't see it myself. I wouldn't say no to Chupon showing up and sneezing me away again though. Fungah!
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This week saw the release of two brand new pieces of Final Fantasy XIII-2 DLC in the form of an outfit each for Serah and Noel.
With all the beaches the team visit in XIII-2, Square decided Serah was a little overdressed for the occasion and decked her out in this Beachwear outfit. That or they know their target audience all too well. I think she's been spending too much time with the Gullwings from FFX-2 personally.
This is Noel in his Spacetime Guardian outfit. I don't know if I'd be particularly impressed if a young man dressed like that showed up at my house to pick up my daughter but there we are. Also maybe it's just me, but I'm getting some Kingdom Hearts Riku vibes from the ensemble.
These babies can be yours for 240 Microsoft Points each, or else $2.99/£1.59/€1.99 each.
Following on from that, next week will see the release of Sazh: Heads or Tails?
It will star everyone's favourite XIII character Sazh in a new story questline that will run parallel to the events in XIII-2.
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