Jump to content

Music of Final Fantasy XII

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Anticipation of a New Lover's Arrival, The (talk | contribs) at 23:35, 1 April 2008 (grammar and redundancy). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Music of Final Fantasy

The music of the video game Final Fantasy XII was composed primarily by Hitoshi Sakimoto.

Creation and influence

Former Square Enix composer Nobuo Uematsu's only work for this game is "Kiss Me Good-Bye", the theme song sung by Angela Aki. However, XII's soundtrack also includes other songs composed by Uematsu for previous Final Fantasy games, with new arrangements by Hitoshi Sakimoto. These tracks include:

  • "Final Fantasy ~FFXII Version~"
  • "Victory Fanfare ~FFXII Version~"
  • "Chocobo FFXII Arrange Ver. 1"
  • "Chocobo ~FFXII Version~"
  • "Clash on the Big Bridge ~FFXII Version~"

Of these, all but "Clash on the Big Bridge" are recurring pieces used in almost every Final Fantasy. "Clash on the Big Bridge" plays during the battle with Gilgamesh, as it did in Final Fantasy V.

Musical pieces

Kiss Me Good-Bye

Main article: Kiss Me Good-Bye
The cover of the "Kiss Me Good-Bye" single.

"Kiss Me Good-Bye" is the theme song of Final Fantasy XII, and is the third Japanese single by Angela Aki. The only vocal piece in the game, it was set to tunes composed by Nobuo Uematsu, arranged by Kenichiro Fukui and produced by Motoki Matsuoka. The single was released by Sony in Japan on March 15, 2006 bearing the catalogue number ESCL-2810. A limited edition was also released bearing the catalog number ESCL-2808 featuring a DVD containing the Kiss Me Good-Bye video clip which included both shots of Aki performing the single (with special effects art) and clips from the video game. The song peaked at number six on the Oricon charts.

Unlike the previous games, the theme song is sung in English in both the Japanese and North American versions of the game. The version featured on the CD single has a slightly different arrangement and Japanese lyrics; however, the English version that was featured in the game is included as a bonus track. On May 16 of 2006, Aki released an English version of the single as a digital EP under the title "Kiss Me Good-Bye [EP]" in North America through Tofu Records.

Symphonic Poem "Hope"

File:Symphonicpoemhopehakase.jpg
The cover of the Symphonic Poem: Hope.

Symphonic Poem "Hope" (交響詩「希望」, Kōkyōshi "Kibō") is an EP released by renowned violinist Taro Hakase, which contains five promotional tracks also included in the original soundtrack as one piece, arranged by Yuji Toriyama and produced by Taro Hakase. These tracks were used in a promotional video for the game. The album was released on March 1, 2006 bearing the catalogue number, HUCD-10015. A limited edition of the album was also released and it features a special 2 region DVD, a folded Final Fantasy XII character poster, and one of three original character stickers. The DVD contains clips from the CGI scenes from Final Fantasy XII, some featuring the game's characters. The album was composed and performed by Taro Hakase.

Albums

Final Fantasy XII Original Soundtrack

Untitled

Final Fantasy XII Original Soundtrack (ファイナルファンタジー XII オリジナルサウンドトラック, Fainaru Fantajī Tuerubu Originaru Saundotorakku) is the soundtrack album of Final Fantasy XII. The album contains musical tracks from the game, composed and produced by Hitoshi Sakimoto. Additional music was provided by Hayato Matsuo (who also orchestrated the opening and ending themes) and Masaharu Iwata (2 tracks). The vocal song for the game (not to be confused with the main theme) was composed by Nobuo Uematsu. Vocals were performed by Angela Aki for the theme song, "Kiss Me Good-Bye". Also included in the soundtrack is Taro Hakase's "Symphonic Poem: Hope", arranged by Yuji Toriyama and based on the game's main theme by Hitoshi Sakimoto. It was performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Robin Smith. The soundtrack spans four discs and 100 tracks, covering a duration of 4:54:34. It was released on May 31, 2006 in Japan by Aniplex, bearing the catalog number SVWC-7351~4.

File:Boxfrontffxiiost.JPG
The front cover of the limited edition of the soundtrack

The soundtrack is made of four discs with a hundred tracks in total. It also includes tracks not included in the game, only used in promotional stages. The limited edition of the soundtrack is stored in a DVD-style box complete with printed images on each disc. The limited edition also includes a 28 page booklet with many more printed images, providing more information about the soundtrack.

The Best of The Final Fantasy XII Soundtrack

The Best of The Final Fantasy XII Soundtrack, a promotional album was released by Square Enix on the Japanese localization of iTunes. The album can only be purchased through iTunes as there was no official CD release for the album. It was released on March 15, 2006 accompanying the release of Aki's single for the game. The album contains 11 tracks handpicked by Hitoshi Sakimoto himself, including versions of "Theme of Final Fantasy XII" and "Chocobo FFXII Arrange Ver.1" that were ultimately not used in the game. Click here to visit the iTunes page for this album.

Reception

The music of Final Fantasy XII is different from Nobuo Uematsu's melodic rendition of previous Final Fantasy series, where the composer Sakimoto emphasizes more on ambience and orchestra. One of the reviews from Square Enix Music Online website cited that the soundtrack "utilizes ambience, power, intensity and beauty", though the lack of melody "hurts this soundtrack".[1] IGN considers that the composer was "trying too hard to evoke emotion", though there are certain tracks that "manages to be stirring". It also cites that Uematsu's only work for the soundtrack, Kiss Me Goodbye, is a "strong end to a surprisingly trite collection".[2]

References

  1. ^ Jared (2007). "Final Fantasy XII Original Soundtrack Review". Square Enix Music Online. Retrieved 2008-02-01. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
  2. ^ Sullivan, Meghan (2006-08-02). "FF Tactics composer proves that sometimes more is less". music.ign.com. Retrieved 2008-02-01. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Music_of_Final_Fantasy_XII&oldid=202672667"