Nobuo Uematsu VS Yasunori Mitsuda

[Vice Nebulosa]

Vice Nebulosa... Nobody ever said it was quantity over quality. I believe (correct me if I'm wrong) what Wolf Kanno meant was that they are both amazing composers and it's hard to choose between them, but the fact is that Uematsu has written a lot more than Mitsuda.

Which . . . seems to imply that quantity was the deciding factor. I would really rather not go any deeper into this part of the discussion until more is heard from Wolf Kanno himself; if perhaps I have put words in his mouth already, it is not a problem I would like to compound further.

You say Mitsuda's better from what you heard in the Chrono series. You have all the rights to do that, of course.

Win.

But I think you're being a bit unfair judging Uematsu (and Mitsuda as well, for that matter) only on part of his work.

Think so? As far as Mitsuda goes, I am familiar with most of his work (some of the more obscure independent soundtracks and simpler compositions for handheld systems are things I have never acquired). Less so with Uematsu, but I possess more than enough from each composer to form an "opinion", however open to change as a result of hearing more of Uematsu's work it may be. Granted, it would be nice if everyone who will ever enter this discussion will be casting their vote based upon the identical information (having heard every track ever released by Uematsu, every track by Mitsuda), but it just is not the case. And there are other factors that play into the matter, as well; due to the circumstances in which the music was heard, my mind has served to elevate Mitsuda's soundtracks into an entirely different level of artistry than anything Uematsu has displayed in those soundtracks of his that I do possess. The result is a highly idealized perspective on the Chrono soundtracks that often inspires me to analyze the moods and imagery evoked by the music, and to apply the things gleaned to my perspective on the current universe (in which I reside), or my current existence. For example, I sometimes consider "Corridors of Time" (or the extremely faithful remix by the artist known as bLiNd, called simply "Time Circuits") to be the "theme" of certain of the more "enigmatic" shades of my artistic inspiration.

This attitude tends to yield an enormous gap between composers who are able to inspire me to produce this kind of effort for the sake of their music -- and produce it with some regularity, so as to confirm that the special track in question was not a "fluke" -- and those who do not. The distinction really is that simple: Mitsuda inspires me this way to the highest extent of virtually any composer I have heard, and Uematsu does so to a significantly lesser extent. The ability to compose one decent soundtrack after another and basically become the titan of your industry is, to me, all but irrelevant before the ability to break through the barrier of my expectations for the music and inspire me to start working for it. Uematsu does it occasionally, but he is largely casual listening, while Mitsuda is serious business.

In summation, it is quite possible that FFVI is the crucial soundtrack which will turn my opinion on its head, but it will have to be Uematsu's crowning achievement by a considerable margin to enter my personal realms where Mitsuda's past work has dominion. It will need to be more than what is reasonable to expect from mainstream video game soundtracks; it will need to surpass its Final Fantasy title, dwarf all other efforts by Uematsu, and leave me blinking and awestruck, a pair of industrial headphones around my head and images raging in my mind -- it will need to touch Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross, for God's sake.

The oldschool Fantasies hold his most memorable and classic tracks. Hell, IV's Theme of Love is even taught in music class in Japanese schools!

*Hmp* And last I checked, the standard music literature in North American high schools still included Hans Zimmer's soundtrack to The Lion King.

I'm not even going to go into FFVI... Two words - opera scene. IMO, you can't really form an opinion on Uematsu's music without playing at least VI from the older games...

"Can't form an opinion because you haven't heard everything Uematsu has written", I could see, but "can't form an opinion because you haven't heard FFVI" is only putting more weight on that already burdened soundtrack. I believe I have addressed the issue sufficiently in above paragraphs, and I still regard my opinion as a perfectly legitimate one. Your move.

Also worth mention is his extensive soundtrack for FFIX. So many tracks and so many incredible, memorable ones... You mentioned "mountains" and "valleys" - I agree for the most part. It just shouldn't be the bad tracks making the good tracks better. Nobuo has a lot of very tall "mountains" with few deep "valleys".

He does.

Some tracks from the Chrono series are amazing, but that does not make Yasunori Mitsuda the better composer. Uematsu has written a lot of equally (if not more) amazing soundtracks. When quality is similar, it's quantity that determines the verdict.

That is the subjective part. I could not conceivably disagree more with the spirit of your above statement (indeed, I instinctively regard the idea that Uematsu and Mitsuda are "similar in quality" as laughable), but that is what our ability to cast our votes for completely opposite poles is for.

I believe you're still unfamiliar with Uematsu's tallest "mountains"...

VI, you say? I will have to keep it in mind, the next time I am interested in listening to something unfamiliar and synthesized . . .