The very best SE composer.

[Fynn]

It is time to end the discussion. You, faithfull EoFFers, need to decide, which composer truly deserves the "very best" title. It's not just about Uematsu and Mitsuda anymore - all the composers you know are in the game now! Vote and write why you chose that composer, and also try to say a few words about the remaining ones.

Nobuo Uematsu: This is the man that needs no introduction. One of the main reasons for our series' fame and popularity. He really did a terrific job in making the series come to life. It's really hard to sum up the whole body of his work in one paragraph, but I'll do my best in mentioning the VI and IX soundtrack. In Final Fantasy VI the composer did his best job in utilizing character themes. Plus, the opera scene is just breathtaking, even though it's just SNES game. The FFIX OST is just so diverse it blows your mind. Uematsu also uses medieval techniques in order to emphasize the medieval-esque world - a big thumbs up for that!

Yasunori Mitsuda: This guy's work is really intriguing. Gotta love the way Chrono Trigger feels thanks to him, and all the Celtic stuff in Chrono Cross. Though I don't think his Xenosaga soundtrack gets enough credit, since IMO it's his best work.

Yoko Shimomura: Best known for her work on the KH series. And she deserves the praise for it! She's great with emotional, romantic-styled tracks. The Piano Collection for Kingdom Hearts is probably the best one yet.

Masashi Hamauzu: This guy is the reason for the only good thing about Dirge of Cerberus. And some of the best pieces on the FFX soundtrack - Assault, Summon Monster Battle, The Decisive Battle (though A CERTAIN EOFFER dares to challenge this pieces genius ). Seriously, I love how this guy uses a hybrid between impressionist and expressionist harmony instead of the standart diatonic function. I really love this guy's work

Hitoshi Sakimoto: The Ivalice Alliance guy... He is kinda the underdog compared to the other composers listed here - I mean, I rarely see anyone praising FFXII's soundtrack, which IMO was incredible. Seriously, Sakimoto has a great sense of instrument colour and orchestrates his tracks masterfully.

Noriko Matsueda: Many people dislike the X-2 soundtrack, but I think there are a few tracks that are really nice - Eternity ~ Memory of Waves of Light is a terrific example. I also enjoy Noriko's work on Bahamut Lagoon.

Junya Nakano: Unfortunately, I can't say much about this guy, since the only stuff of his that I've heard are his compositions for FFX and the arrangements for FFIV DS. Both seem rather mediocre to me, but I guess this guy has more up his sleve, seeing that he has so many fans.

So, guys, vote for your fabourites and say a few words.

BTW, sorry if I didn't mention someone's favourite composer, I simply placed those that came to mind on the poll. If you do like someone outside the list, however, feel free to write about them.

[Markus. D]

Nobuyoshi Sano, Yoshiki Aoi and Takayuki Aihara... I absolutely adore their work with Drakengard 1 and 2.

[Vermachtnis]

Mitsuda; Crono Trigger, Cross, Xenogears, Shadow Hearts, and other are my favorite soundtracks.

[Quindiana Jones]

Uematsu. The FFIX soundtrack has some of the finest tunes I've ever heard in my entire life.

[Zeromus_X]

Of this list, probably Hitoshi Sakimoto. I've taken a real liking to his stuff in FFT/TA/XII/TA2.

Mitsuda is really good too but I've really only heard his stuff from Chrono Trigger and Xenosaga Ep. I.

Even though he's not exactly an SE composer, Motoi Sakuraba would probably be my favorite VG composer overall though.

[Shotgunnova]

Although I love FFT's soundtrack, Mitsuda's the only guy I can vote for.

[Slothy]

Gotta go with Uematsu on this one. He's just been too prolific and varied in his composing career for me not to give him the nod. I'd give Sakimoto a good second place nod. I like pretty much every soundtrack he's done including FFXII which doesn't get enough love if you ask me. I also want to give a shout out to Jeremy Soule. Granted he only did one game for Square, but he's consistently impressed me over the last few years, and one game for Square is more than any other non-Japanese composer can claim to have done to my knowledge.

Mitsuda is a little hit and miss for me. Chrono Trigger was brilliant and Cross also had a lot of good stuff on it, but Xenosaga was an absolute bore. I can't remember everything else he's done, and haven't actually played Xenogears so it's difficult to judge if his missteps are less frequent than I perceive them to be, but in my experience he's not at the top of his game as often as Uematsu or Sakimoto.

[Formalhaut]

While Yoko is awesome in the KH series, its got to go to Uemastu.

[Jiro]

It's hard to compete with Uematsu because he has such a massive library. I can't go past him really. That being said, Shimomura's work on KH was fantastic imo.

[the AJman]

I personally like both Uematsu and Sakimoto about the same, but since Uematsu is getting votes like crazy I think I'll cast mine for Sakimoto.

[Depression Moon]

I think I've played most of those games, but the vast majority of songs that I can really remember and like are Nobuo's. Did Nobuo do To Zanarkand and Memories of Lightwaves?

I like the music in Crystal Defenders too.

[MoonZapdos]

Did someone forget about Takeharu Ishimoto? I thought Dissidia: Final Fantasy and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII's soundtracks were gold. Uematsu is still legendary though.

[Slothy]

I guess I forgot him, but to be honest I didn't like Crisis Core's soundtrack. I thought it was quite bland aside from the remixed FFVII stuff and even that was pretty meh. Haven't played Dissidia outside of the demo but I don't remember the music at all so I'm guessing I didn't find it that incredible.

[nik0tine]

I've recently come to the conclusion that Mitsuda is superior to Uematsu. His melodies are super quality but his arrangements are less creative in terms of orchestration than Uematsus. Melody is still the truest test for any composer, though, and he has Uematsu beat in that area for sure.

[I Took the Red Pill]

Mitsuda 3 lief. So many of the Chrono Cross tracks are classics.