God, I
just saw this thread, and felt (with an embarrassing quantity of haste and excitement
) that I had to cast in my lot with Mitsuda before . . . I don't know -- before any more universal decay took place, or something. :laugh:
Anyway, one humble vote for Yasunori Mitsuda. Mitsuda for President -- for
King, perhaps. *Listens dispassionately to cries of "You don't
vote for kings!", followed shortly by a gunshot* You know what, Mitsuda for
God.
To
briefly discuss the choice being made here, these are two composers with extremely disparate styles and resumés who, while they both endeavor to cover the wide range of moods necessitated by a high-end RPG soundtrack, undeniably
specialize in certain areas. Uematsu, for example, really shines when it comes to the
standard battle themes that are not necessarily the "epic final battle tracks" (an area where, I find, Mitsuda rarely finds the ideal balance between complexity and ferocity, with the odd exception such as "Fuse" from the
Xenogears soundtrack, or, at least for a while, "Battle" from
Xenosaga I). Oh, Mitsuda is
brilliant as far as the godlike battles are concerned ("Battle with Magus", "World Revolution", and "Dragon God" from the mainstream
Chrono soundtracks), but his basic battle tracks ("Battle 1" from
Chrono Trigger, and "Gale" and "The Brink of Death" -- technically a boss battle track, but fairly common -- from
Chrono Cross), which one spends a decent portion of the game listening to looping ad infinitum, tend to lack the fluidity with which Uematsu constructs his battle themes. "Fighting" from the
FFVII soundtrack is a damned addictive piece that I do not particularly
mind hearing for extended periods of time, whereas
Chrono Cross' "Gale" gets rather
annoying. *_*
Uematsu and Mitsuda are able to
share a similar pedestal of glory in terms of the epic battle themes, methinks, as tracks like "One Winged Angel" (preferably the
Advent Children version, but anything fully orchestrated will do) and, to a lesser extent, "Fight With Seymour", are able to hold their own against Mitsuda's counterparts in virtually any comparison.
That being said, Mitsuda's overwhelming advantage is in the eloquent speaking of a language in which Uematsu merely dabbles. Mitsuda is an
atmospheric composer, whose ruthless precision and skill positively
blazes in immersive
environmental pieces and profoundly sentimental tragedy/farewell tracks. Certainly Uematsu can elicit an emotion from the player (I would cite "Wandering" from the
FFX soundtrack as among his best despondent tracks that also creates an
ambience in the in-game environment), and he has plenty of experience in wielding the piano and individual strings/woodwinds as a minimalist approach to capturing emotional drama. However,
nothing in his impressive body of work that I am aware of can do more than flutter beneath the soaring beauty of Mitsuda once the latter decides to
mock your composure and manipulate your emotions like the instruments he commands. "Corridors of Time", "Chrono Trigger (part 2)" and "To Far Away Times" from the
Chrono Trigger soundtrack, and "Life ~ Faraway Promise", "Time of the Dreamwatch", and "Dream's Creation" from
Chrono Cross are some of the most profoundly evocative, influential pieces of music I have heard
to date, and no other composer -- from
any genre or era, forget Nobuo Uematsu -- has exceeded him on those terms in my eyes.
It is a shame that the
Xenosaga I soundtrack fails to really measure up to Mitsuda's earlier work.
If he ever gets his hands on the London Symphony Orchestra again, here's hoping that it is on a thoroughly recharged battery of inspiration for the third canon installment of the
Chrono series.
Did it again.
Just so everyone is aware, I do not begin these posts with the explicit
intention of embarking on a prolonged ranting rampage. Just tends to
happen. But a Mitsuda rave is
needed sometimes.
Originally Posted by Vice Nebulosa
God, I just saw this thread, and felt (with an embarrassing quantity of haste and excitement
Reply With Quote