Does FF XII have the worst music of the series?

I think so..

It just can’t compare to VII and IX…

Or X, VIII and VI..

That must mean you love Nobuo Uematsu and not Hitoshi Sakimoto. Two different composers. Two different styles.

I aslo happen to prefer Uematsu’s work from the pre-FFX era. But the more I played FF XII the more I enjoyed the music.

But I still think it’s sub Uematsu’s caliber.

I prefer catchy melodies to epic star wars-ish themes.

I didn’t really care for the music in XII either. Some of it is pretty nice to listen to, but none of the songs stood out to me for me to really remember it like in past FF’s.

I aslo happen to prefer Uematsu’s work from the pre-FFX era. But the more I played FF XII the more I enjoyed the music.

But I still think it’s sub Uematsu’s caliber.

I prefer catchy melodies to epic star wars-ish themes.

To add onto that, I didn’t find any of the Star-Warish songs/themes that appealing either. The one song that I kind of enjoyed was the song before you entered Old Archades.

I guess it’s safe to say that I prefer Uematsu’s music to the other guy (sorry I’m too lazy to scroll down and read/type the other guy’s name).

I guess overall I wasn’t a huge fan of it either. There are a few I can think of that I enjoy however. I like what they did with the main Final Fantasy theme that plays during the opening (of course, there’s just a version of Uematsu’s work.) I like the piece I think is called "Penelo’s Theme." Whatever it is, it’s the one that plays when she meets up with Vaan at the Giza Plains. I absolutely adore the theme that plays in the Phon Coast — it also plays briefly when you first see the airship launch. Then there’s "Clash on the Big Bridge," which plays when you fight Gilgamesh (and yes, this is another remix of an Uematsu piece.) Finally, yes, I actually did enjoy both the ending theme song and the instrumental piece played during the ending, which I found unusual, but likeably different.

One of my favorite on the OST is "seeking Power". That’s the one playing when you’re in the Paramina Rift.

And apart form the remix of Uematsu’s themes, I also think the Phon Coast theme is one of the best on the entire soundtrack. Curiously, the 2 themes I mentioned are very similar to Uematsu’s style.

I only liked a few of the original (not originaly by uematsu) songs like the Imperial theme and the one that plays in the Gariff village

Sakimoto is great, but Uematsu’s knack for creating memorable tunes is amazing. So I would have to agree with everyone so far.

"Penelo’s Theme is also one of my favorites. As well as "Sandsea" and "Speechless Battle".

The FFXII OST isn’t all that memorable, but it served it’s purpose and matched the game perfectly. IMO this soundtrack doesn’t even come close to Sakimoto’s work in Final Fantasy Tactics. If you ever want to check it out, try "Battle on the Bridge". AND no it’s not the Glgamesh song.

This game felt too much like modern day war…just with nethicite and shit

Story just isn’t as good as past Final Fantasys

Personally, I really enjoyed the soundtrack. I enjoyed the boss fight musics and battle music. The area muic usually was very apropiate.

best music for me was VII and X.

X-II had the worst soundtrack I think… it was like a slightly shinier welcome screen from VII.. I haven’t heard it for a while, but there’s vertually no difference. I think they just made exactly the same song again instead of recycling it. And Sakimoto, I agree is not nearly as great as Uematsu… But then, what type of music would Uematsu have made with the unique style that FF XII has? He surely would have put more heart into it… but I’ve yet to complete the game, so I probably haven’t heard some of the tracks.

Uematsu is legendary, Square(Enix) was lucky to of kept him for so long. If I ever get enough money to waste on a 360, I’ll check out some of the Xbox RPGs he composed soundtracks for…

I hope there’ll be another Uematsu in the future..

As a big time MP3 collector of the Final Fantasy sound tracks from FFVIII to FFXII…

I don’t know, FFX-2’s sound track was pretty bad… However, there were still a few salvagable tunes out of it. Yes, I think that FFXII’s soundtrack was probably the worst that i’ve heard in the series. I believe the only song I kept from the FFXII soundtrack was one of the battle themes titled ‘105 Boss Battle’.. not sure if that’s the actual name of it or not.

The majority of my 100 favorite FF tunes came from FFVIII, about a third of them probably. In second place (though not a FF game…) is ChronoChross – it was not done by Uematsu, and doesn’t quite have his variety, but a wonderful sound track nonetheless with many winners. Chronocross was done by Yasunori Mitsuda I believe. The third most of my MP3s came from FFX. I only have two or three songs from FFVII.. but I can’t remember if I sampled all of its sound track yet or not. I don’t think I bothered with FFVI and prior since the systems at the time didn’t have the audio capabilities to render a really good song.

Uematsu certainly has some big shoes for someone to fill… I don’t think the FFXII composer managed to do it that time around. I’d love to see what kind of a soundtrack Yasunori Mitsuda could whip up for a Final Fantasy game.

You would be surprised by the richness of FF VI’s OST.

You should definitely give it a try. I’m sure you’ll enjoy a lot of melodies form that SNES game, and you’ll realize that even if the sound capabilities of the SNES wasn’t on par with the PS, it still delivered some of the series all time best musics.

You should also look for the orchestral versions of FF themes.

You would be surprised by the richness of FF VI’s OST.

You should definitely give it a try. I’m sure you’ll enjoy a lot of melodies form that SNES game, and you’ll realize that even if the sound capabilities of the SNES wasn’t on par with the PS, it still delivered some of the series all time best musics.

QFT. Johnny C Bad and Kids Run Through the City. *sigh*

I’m oversimplifying, and neglecting a lot, but those are the two video game songs that I actually know the name of, and can’t help mentioning.

Ditto. FFVI had some catchy tunes and probably one of the best OSTs for the FF series.

"The Phantom Forest", "Terra", and "Mt. Koltz" are some of my favs.

You should definitely give it a try. I’m sure you’ll enjoy a lot of melodies form that SNES game, and you’ll realize that even if the sound capabilities of the SNES wasn’t on par with the PS, it still delivered some of the series all time best musics.

Hmm, I played FFVI but couldn’t recall any songs that were that memorable. I’ll do as you say though and give it a shot. I’m always looking for new songs to stick on a CD.

Btw, here’s one of the good songs from the ChronoChross soundtrack on a youtube video. Video might have a few spoilers if you haven’t played the game, but you can always set it to play and change windows to listen to the music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPiw7Oh1DN4

I got no problem with the music in general but
The problem with FFXII’s music was the battle. In all the FF series the battles would break out with some awesome music that was suited for battles. in this one the music doesnt change from when your normally running around and when you start fighting.
where’s the inspiration to fight good?

I’m playing Dragon Quest VIII now..(about my 3rd restart)

Some good music so far

If anyone is familiar with this soundtrack…is the music in every town the same?

I don’t mind a little veering off the topic, but I’m not sure how exactly we got from the quality of XII’s music to asking about the music in Dragon Quest VIII. Sorry, but take it to another thread.

I made this thread so why does it matter?

People bring up Chrono Cross you don’t say nothing but I bring up Dragon Quest you be a smart ass…

We’re on the topic of music obviously..

When the moderator of the fucking forum (Agent0042) tells you to get back on topic, arguing with him is not a great idea.

Just realized he was the mod

Y’all got some strict rules..

Ain’t no need to be actin tough on the net though boy

Calling Prak a boy is not a great idea, either 🙁

Who’s acting tough? I’m telling you the way it is. Now shut up if you don’t want Agent to close the thread. I don’t care either way since it’s a shit thread to begin with.

yeah i agree, the OST for this one is definately not as good as previous versions, my favourite being FFVII & FFVIII

i was very disapointed when i made it to vayne/vayne novus/the undying. the music was boring

i love the music to the Jenova battle and the final 4 battles on FVIII

Alright so back on topic. I prefer Uematsu’s work, but I can’t say that I didn’t enjoy the music in Final Fantasy XII.

I enjoyed it but it’s just not memorable

Music is where people argue a lot… I’m gonna stay out of arguements since everyone has different taste, so it’s pointless to try and change opinions when nobody can actually be wrong.

FFXII’s OST was very dry, I got bored of it too quickly. I think that FFVII had the best OST. I’m yet to complete VI.. have to find it again >.>

Oh, FF VII had a really good soundtrack that had sound sampling that seemed to come out of someone’s ass. The brass sounded terrible in that game.

Most intruments didn’t even sound as good as those used in FF VI, except maybe for the strings. All it had over FF VI in term of sound quality was the number of sound it could play at one given time, and the fact that it was on CD, the songs could last longer before looping.

Take the samplings from FF VIII and IX and apply them to FF VII’s OST and you’ll get a much better experience from hearing it.

The FFXII OST isn’t all that memorable, but it served it’s purpose and matched the game perfectly.
Meaning the game wasn’t all that memorable, either, right? 😉

…well, at least, that’s how it was for me. XD

I liked FFXII’s music, but it just became so ambient and just faded into the background so that I didn’t find myself remembering any melodies, I just knew there WAS music. But I do have to say that FFXII has my favorite prelude from the entire series. The chorus makes it sound really powerful.

You know, I miss Nobuo Uematsu’s whimsical style. His scores definitely sounded like video game music. They were always well done and memorable (Aerith’s Theme, FF7 Main theme, One-winged Angel, Man with the Machine Gun, Eyes on Me, Suteki Da Ne, etc.)

However, I’m absolutely enamored with about half of this new soundtrack. It sounds to me a little more like the score to a feature film. The other half is so-so, not as memorable as Uematsu’s work. But highlights of the new score include:

Seeking Power (Paramina Rift theme)
Henne Mines music
Theme of the Empire (Archades music)
Barheim Passage (So creepy sounding…)
Esper Battle music
Eruyt Village music
Stillshrine of Miriam music
Sochen cave Palace (if not a little repetitive after spending an hour there)
Time of Rest (after finishing Sochen Cave)
Salikawood music
Feywood music
Bahamut music
And of course, Uematsu’s "Kiss me Goodbye."

The soundtrack to this game is basically terrible.

That eruyt village music is good.. and i enjoyed it.

And the music in Paramina Rift was OK too

Other than that.. pretty dire. Such a crying shame that FF has gone down the drain, i’m not even looking forward to FF 13.

The music in FFXII wasn’t bad at all, the problem is is that there were just no memorable songs, at least in my mind.

I mean, in past greats there were always songs you could remember and sing in your head such as Eyes On Me, Tifa’s Theme, To Zanarkand, etc… but in this game none of the songs just stuck in my mind… perhaps because there weren’t that many touching scenes in the game? Who knows.

I personally like the music of FFXII. I’ve always liked the music to the Tactics games though. Sometimes it feels a bit too "soft" but overall .. I give it an A+.

I enjoyed the slightly mellower themes of final fantasy XII. I hate to admit it but sometimes I’d walk to a cliff top or balcony and just listen to the music and look at the view they must have worked tirelessly for. As much as I love the catchy jingles from the older FF’s, FFXII really doesn’t get the credit it deserves.

As much as I love the catchy jingles from the older FF’s, FFXII really doesn’t get the credit it deserves.

The music is definitely not bad. It’s just not as memorable as some of the songs from the previous FFs. But I really like some of the songs, namely, Royal City of Rabanastre, Jahara, Nalbina, and of course, my favorite, Eruyt Village.

But like BB said, it’s just not catchy. I don’t know how long Hitoshi Sakimoto had been writing music for video games, but I’m assuming Nobuo Uematsu had many more years than him. But was Uematsu’s first songs very memorable either? I think Sakimoto needs more experience, because his songs show a lot of potential for being as great as Uematsu’s.

the quality was very good. but the music wasn’t very nice to listen to seperate from the game.

sounded too much like film / background music.

opps double posted it.

How can you hate the FFXII music? o_O
It’s one of the best of the series, well maybe that’s because I love his work on the FFT and FFTA games, I simply…Love his music *___*

Most people here don’t HATE the FF XII ost. Most of us just think it was not as good as the other titles.

Yeah, I think its quite easy to listen to, but it is lacking in epic scores when compared to ff7 or ff8.

FFVI-FFX OSTs are all amazing.
Others are less…

FFX and FFIX didn’t do much for me.
FFX had a handful of really great songs, but…well I guess I really just didn’t care for the game.

FFVIII has to be my favorite of the Uematsu-era.

http://www.rpgfan.com/soundtracks/ff12/index.html

–

Listening to it again, the bahamut/"Undying" music makes me want to get all juicy. (You know what I mean.) 😉

Edit: I should not post things on the internet after having drank all night.

The music is different, but still enjoyable in my opinion.
The only thing that annoys me is Hitoshi Sakimoto absolutely RUINED the chocobo theme!

The music is great but I don’t think Hitoshi’s work in FF XII is as good as FF T for PS 1. I think I prefer Nobuo Uematsu’s work but it’s hard to tell until I get the soundtrack on cd, rip it to the computer and listen to it for a while along with the other FF soundtracks I have.

I got 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 7:Dog, plus some extra soundtracks for FF. I’m talkin about the main series.

Actually, the more I listen to FFXII’s OST, the more I dig it. There are more and more tracks on it that I find particularly moving.

It’s just not the same style that I’m used to for a FF OST.

EDIT: I realised after reading terabyte’s reply that "mpving" was not the proper word for what I wanted to express.

Actually, the more I listen to FFXII’s OST, the more I dig it. There are more and more tracks on it that I find particularly mpving.

It’s just not the same style that I’m used to for a FF OST.

That’s pretty much how I came about liking it, too. It definitely grows on you.

I actually gotta say I like Hitoshi Sakimoto’s work much more, Uematsu’s was alright, but I enjoyed Tactics’ music more too.

I don’t know, it probably isn’t the worse but it doesn’t have any memorable music either. It’s just average, probably like a 6.5 out of 10 I would say.

Not really? i would give like a 6 out of 10

I’m really liked the FF12 soundtrack myself (in particular the tracks Dalmasca Estersand, Phon Coast, Boss Battle, A Flash of Blades and Esper Battle), but then I’m a big fan of Sakimoto’s work previously, especially his boss type themes.
For example, I loved the Wyvern Battle theme in Vagrant Story and Trisection from FFT. I’ve not heard any of the FFTA stuff though.

One of my favorite on the OST is "seeking Power". That’s the one playing when you’re in the Paramina Rift.
Ooh, I love that one, too! It’s the French horn. I also like the piece that plays after you fight Garuda/before you enter the tomb.

I got a Star Wars vibe, like several other people. I listened to the soundtrack before I played the game (yay, preordering!) and I wasn’t particularly struck by many songs. Yes, it’s different after you’ve played, listening to those same songs, but if any music has strength to stand on its own, it obviously can’t rely too heavily on its original outlet.

I mean, I listen to FF8 songs and it makes me want to play the game. I haven’t listened very much to the FF12 score, because I can’t say I’m that compelled to.

i hated the ff12 score only about 3 songs really spoke to me. It may have had to do with the fact that it was so quiet in the background.

I think it was just a different experience; the past FF games had interrupted background music because of random battles. In FF12 the music keeps playing as you fight. It’s kind of funny getting attacked by forest creatures to a happy little ditty.

Kingdom Hearts does it differently. You generally fight enemies as you roam along like in FFXII, but in the Kingdom Hearts games, a battle version of the area theme starts up as you get into a battle. KH’s system of engaging in battles is somewhat different though — in XII, enemies generally roam the field and yous spot them, but in KH, they pop up as you go along, so there’s no way to see the enemy as you approach.

I’ve never played Kingdom Hearts; I watched my brother play for about ten-twenty minutes. I was more focused on the visuals at the time.

It’s nice listening to a song without the interruptions, but sometimes hearing it loop for the thousandth time if you’re on a sidequest is annoying. The effect reminds me of Blue Fields from FF8, which has imprinted itself on a large portion of braincells.

Overall, I just think some of the music is…I hesitate to say "bland," but I don’t find it as likeable, in a way. I’ll actively seek out video game music to listen to on my iPod, but rarely do I pick this game, let me put it that way.

Sakimoto is a great composer, but with this soundtrack, he can’t compete with Nobuo’s FF music. Almost the whole soundtrack is like a mass of meaningless songs that you don’t want to listen to outside the game. There are some great ones too, but even those I can’t consider to be top material in the series.

In my opinion, FF V’s soundtrack was the worst that Nobuo composed, but even with that, XII pales in comparison.

Of course there are some great songs too, like:

The Dalmasca Estersand
Royal Capital Of Rabanastre
Esper Battle
Theme Of The Empire
Battle For Freedom
To The Place Of Gods

But what’s the fuss about Kiss Me Goodbye? I was happy to hear Nobuo would compose one song for XII, but I was disappointed when I heard it. It’s the worst vocal song in the series.

Actually, the more I listen to FFXII’s OST, the more I dig it. There are more and more tracks on it that I find particularly moving.

It’s just not the same style that I’m used to for a FF OST.

Yea I did the same and it has really grown on me. It’s a lot more catchy than I remember.

It definitely doesn’t stack up against VII but then again VII has THE best soundtrack in any video game ever (my opinion but my opinion is right). X was also extraordinary. The XII soundtrack is very good but just not superb.

VII has THE best soundtrack in any video game ever (my opinion but my opinion is right).

If this issue is the measure of a man, you should out of the gene pool at once before you do more damage to it.

You’re the one talking smack on a RPG forum. Get over yourself.

Well, pardon me for not being a mindless moron who ignores everything I disagree with. This is a discussion forum, not a say-any-retarded-thing-you-like-without-any-consequences forum. You say something dumb, you’re getting called on it.

If this issue is the measure of a man, you should be out of the gene pool at once before you do more damage to it.

:smrt:

Actually, it was meant to be "get out."

Hum… I wonder what is wrong with prefering FFVII’ OST more than any other game OSTs…

Did you even read the post in question? It was hilariously moronic.

Did you even read the post in question? It was hilariously moronic.

Yeah well, he thinks his opinion is right… but so do most of us. 😛
He did sound moronic by saying his opinion is best and all… But I tought you replied to that post more for his apparent FFVII fanboyism than for the remark about his delusional opinion being right, which seems to imply that any other opinions are wrong if they do not follow his… In any case, the thing that would make me laugh, if the guy was worth it, is when he told you to get over yourself… Pretty laughable when you consider he said his OPINION was right.

Personally, I think FFVII’s ost is quite good, but suffers from bad intrument samplings. The composition is there, but the sound quality is at times not even on par with what can be heard in FFVI.

Worst of the series indeed. Blue Dragon has better music than FFXII, then again Blue Dragon’s music is darn good 🙂

Blue Dragon, isn’t that that XBox 360 game that just came out recently, not released by Square Enix, but what was worked on by some former Final Fantasy staff, including music by Nobuo?

Did you even read the post in question? It was hilariously moronic.
Yeah, dude commented that FFVII’s soundtrack was the best in any video game ever. Now I actually happen to rather like most of FFVII’s soundtrack, but I would certainly never be so silly as to claim it being the best of any video game ever, even if I happened to think it was the best of the Final Fantasy soundtracks.

Good grief guys, I was kidding when I said my opinion is right. I love the soundtrack but I still wouldn’t honestly say it’s the best. One Winged Angel was amazing. As for you Prak, I’m new here but I can already tell what kind of internet personality you are. I see it plenty on eBaum’s.

One-Winged Angel was simplistic, repetitive tripe.

And as for my personality, I’m considerably better than anyone you’ll find in places like that. However, the fact that you’ve acquainted yourself with such communities speaks rather badly of you.

The music of Final Fantasy XII was really sub-par in comparison to other games in the series. I will also have to agree with those who disliked the Final Fantasy X-2 soundtrack. It was absolutely horrible for the most part. It was like mixing "That 70’s Show" with a team of Japanese female game music mixers absolutely wasted on sake.

One-Winged Angel was simplistic, repetitive tripe.

Yeah… With those kind of comments, you’re really starting to look like someone with bad faith.

As if nothing in FFVII was great.

Personally, I think your stance towards FFVII is a bit obsessional.

It’s possible, but this is the wrong thread to have that discussion in.

Yeah… well, what about the Music in FFXII? Is it all that bad because you didn’t like the game?

I’ve defended FFXII’s music pretty vehemently, actually. I try to be objective about everything, you know.

I find FFXII’s soundtrack to be rather strong, actually. Sakimoto is nothing like Uematsu, so it’s not surprising to me. The thing about FFXII’s soundtrack is that it’s just not very "videogame-y". It doesn’t have those simple melodic tunes of the SNES era. It doesn’t have those overly adored synth orchestra tunes of the PS era. It has a drier, but more mature air about it, much like the majority of FFXII.

I can understand why it wouldn’t spark some people’s interest as much as soundtracks of the past, but I find it ill-considered to call it "the worst" or even "bad" just because it doesn’t fit into certain notions or comfort zones you’d expect or are used to. A lot of it is pretty well-accomplished stuff, and even more of it is genuinely memorable if you’ve spent a decent amount of time with the game.

Yeah, it doesn’t have goofy character themes and sweeping epic numbers, so I don’t expect this’ll be a soundtrack people will be talking about for ages, but I think it did the game well. Its tone and aesthetic just would not have worked without Sakimoto’s approach.

I like all the Final Fantasys music tracks. Yes, even X-2. Haha.

I wasn’t much of a fan of Final Fantasy XII’s soundtrack was it wasn’t really "bad" either. I guess you could say I was indifferent. I’ll never get why so many people disliked Final Fantasy X-2’s soundtrack as I thought it had some of the more interesting music in the series. It didn’t sound as trite and repetitive like a major of the music in RPG’s. But then it wasn’t a traditional RPG either.

it took me a few months to like xii ost, cause im not really into heroic themes but i gave it a try and i ended up buying the limited version, but nobuo is still in my book.

^i also liked x-2, it wasnt the best but it just shows that FF can play many types of instruments, also if anyone likes electro FF songs, go to ocremix.

Yeah… I think I don’t like XII as much as the others ’cause it hasn’t got any romantic themes like the other games… I like a little romance to blossom between say, Zidane and Dagger, or Tidus and Yunie, or well, Cloud and Tifa kinda. Squall and Rinoa, and Selphie and Irvine had a thing for each other, which was really cool. XII was heroic, yeah, but without a romantic thing between Vaan and Ashe… meh. No thank you. I’ll stick to me other Final Fantasys.

I agree with the opening post. The music was so uninspiring that I actually stopped playing the game. I know that was going to the extreme, but I just couldn’t get into the game even after playing it for almost twenty hours.

I actually beat the game, then put it away, and I’ll probably not play it ever again.

Well, I love Nobuo Uematsu’s music more then Hitoshi Sakimoto so yes, its the worst soundtrack in the series.
Now, Im not saying that Hitoshi Sakimoto is bad or anything. His music is also good mut no where near as good as Nobuo Uematsu’s.
Hitoshi Sakimoto is a prince of music but Nobuo Uematsu is the King. 🙂

I try to be objective about everything, you know.

oh really? since when did any of us find any of your words OBJECTIVE?

oh really? since when did any of us find any of your words OBJECTIVE?

Is this meant to be insulting or something? You really have to try harder if you don’t want me to laugh at you and forget what you posted after two minutes.

Also, L-O-fucking-L @ you attacking a post I made four months ago. Seriously, fuck off and die. I don’t care how. Just get out of the gene pool and take the parents that shit you out with you.

Yeah, it’s a well known fact around here that TrueLugia121 is a retard.

Not only this, but he doesn’t seem to take any precautions to try to hide it.

Well, I like the music from FFXII and FFX most.
I guess I have a different taste~~~ 🙂

TrueLuiga is on my ignore list. It’s been a while since s/he surfaced though…

Is this meant to be insulting or something? You really have to try harder if you don’t want me to laugh at you and forget what you posted after two minutes.

Also, L-O-fucking-L @ you attacking a post I made four months ago. Seriously, fuck off and die. I don’t care how. Just get out of the gene pool and take the parents that shit you out with you.

Yeah, it’s a well known fact around here that TrueLugia121 is a retard.

Not only this, but he doesn’t seem to take any precautions to try to hide it.

TrueLuiga is on my ignore list. It’s been a while since s/he surfaced though…

yeah? got anymore shit?

You fill everyone’s shit quota on your own, thank you kindly.

I agree with the comments about FFXII being uninspiring. I wouldn’t call it bad, though. But I when I listen to it, I’m not compelled to listen again. Other FF soundtracks make me want to try them once more. Not FFXII. But I wonder, could it really be because of the music or because we’re expecting an especific type of music for a FF game?

You fill everyone’s shit quota on your own, thank you kindly.

uh-huh. anymore shit?

TrueLugia, you have managed to flunk humanity. Please do not ever post in any section I mod, because I will delete your posts. Well, that is, unless you actually manage to post something decent.

uhhhhhhh

good sound track i like the chocobo theme for this one

I liked the soundtrack, it was very reminiscent of FF Tactics. But then again, I may be a little biased since I’m a Sakimoto fan.

Alright, so probably a lot of people are going to hate me, but…

FF7 has, by far, one of the worst soundtracks from Uematsu, if not the worst. It has a few good themes, but in the end most of it can’t compare to the catchy tunes of the predecessors nor the epic orchestral neatness of the following ones…
And Liberi Fatali > One Winged Angel. <_<

So, although FF12 is not composed by Uematsu, it still has a better one than FF7. 😡

On that I must agree. I think that One Winged Angel is overrated, as well as FF7 itself. But let’s not forget that the value of FF7 is much more than the music or the game itself. It was the first 3D FF & CG movies. It basically redefined the way to make RPG’s. There is a reason why it’s so popular.
When one compares its music to other FF (FF8 for example), it might fall behind in its composition, but it’s not really as unexpected as FFXII. I mean, I am also not too fond of FF7 music, but it’s the kind of music that I would expect from a FF. FFXII on the other hand, has a better composition, but IMHO, it’s just not "Final Fantasy".

The only thing that is sub-par with FF VII’s music is the sound quality of its instruments samples. Not the composition in itself.

I think music is one of the few areas FFVII gets it right. As Hynad points out, the quality of the music files in FF games wasn’t as great in those days, but the music itself was sound.

I generally think the music in FFVIII was slightly better, but there are some good tracks and some bad tracks on both.

I generally think the music in FFVIII was slightly better, but there are some good tracks and some bad tracks on both.

I think the same.

No, FF12 it is my favorite FF OST to listen to because Sakimoto’s music is so dynamic, it’s hard to get tired of.
But Vagrant Story is his best work.

The main problem I see with XII’s soundtrack is that it’s spotty. There’s a number of standout tracks (at least a couple of them being versions of Uematsu’s work), but there are also some that are really boring/lame.

My main complain with FF XII’s soundtrack is that too many tracks retake the same melodies over and over again (mainly the Empire’s and Liberation Army’s themes).

It’s good to have some of the melodies be done in different ways, but in FF XII, I think it was overdone.

But at the same time, it helps the great themes to stand out. Like the Phon Coast and Seeking Power themes.

I only like five musical pieces out of the whole soundtrack. So I guess that’s bad compared to my infinite FFX music. I found it quite boring actually. To the Place of the Gods (The Great Crystal music) is my favorite piece.

Hynad — what’s the name of the Phon Coast tune, or is it simply "Phon Coast?" Do you know? I love that tune. Absolute favorite. Helped make that area my favorite of the game, and want to level up there.

I’d say I like more than five. Offhand, I like…

The Prologue (Main Theme)
Penelo’s Theme
On the Riverbank
The Mosphoran Highwaste
To Be a Sky Pirate
The Archadian Empire
Phon Coast
Clash on the Big Bridge
Ending
Kiss Me Goodbye

You know, I listened to more of the music… and I actually like more now? Isn’t that sad…. I never paid special attention to the opening theme. I was too busy oogling over the graphics.
Agent 0042, I think the music is just called "Phon Coast." Archades’s music made me want to drink tea and use an extensive vocabulary, haha.

Agent0042, the answer to your question is yes. It is simply called "The Phon Coast".

As for my favorites, here goes (with the proper titles):

– Loop Demo
– Opening Theme
– Penelo’s Theme
– Coexistence (Imperial Version)
– The Dalmasca Eastersand
– The Dalmasca Westersand
– The Giza Plains
– Theme of The Empire
– The Skycity of Bhujerba
– Seeking Power
– Eruyt Village
– Clash on the Big Bridge
– Time for a Rest
– The Salikawood
– The Phon Coast
– Near the Water
– To the Place of the Gods
– Ending Movie
– Kiss Me Goodbye
– Symphonic Poem "Hope" (This one is a true masterpiece and should have been used in versions throughout the game as some kind of main theme)

Cool list. I’ll name mine too!

1. To the Place of the Gods
2. Sochen Cave Palace
3. Ozmone Plains
4. Time for a Rest
5. Eruyt Village
6. Loop Demo
7. The Salikawood
8. Archades
9. Clash on the Big Bridge
10. Paramina Rift

Jftr. the proper titles for Archades and Paramina Rift are Theme of the Empire and Seeking Power.

Now that I think about it, I’m particularly fond of the piece that plays outside of Raithwall’s Tomb (by the Gate Crystal). I can’t recall the name, but it’s very nice. Along with "Seeking Power" it’s probably one of my absolute favorites.

I think this is a game that’s fairly low on the instant gratification scale, and I guess the music is the same way. In my case I’ve found that I like the music more since my second playthrough began. I think the quality in this soundtrack is more consistent and coherent than some past Final Fantasy games; nothing in FFXII is excruciating and at worst is just something I might skip on a playlist on a whim.

I think the soundtracks to Final Fantasy VII and even Final Fantasy VIII (whose soundtrack is my favorite) are a lot more uneven. While both contain really great songs, there are an even higher number of songs I simply cannot stand. The noteworthy songs from both games would fit on one disc of the four released. I guess it comes down to whether the measure of a good soundtrack is uniform consistency or a handful of great tracks and a lot of bad ones.

Jftr. the proper titles for Archades and Paramina Rift are Theme of the Empire and Seeking Power.

Ah, thanks! Abandoning Power and Basch’s Reminiscence are more of my new favs, since I just listened and downloaded them off of ff-fan.com.

Hynad — I completely agree with Symphonic Poem "Hope." It’s the game’s ending credits theme, right? Wonderful track. Far better than it’s generally given credit for.

Anyway, I don’t have the soundtrack. I’ve only heard the Selections version that was released in the U.S., which I thought was crap — they had some good choices out there, but they left out a lot of the game’s best material and put in too many junk tracks. The full soundtrack is on my "To Buy" list.

I like the music in Final Fantasy XII. It’s not quite as good as the music Hitoshi Sakimoto wrote for Tactics, but it’s all still very enjoyable. The action motif in Loop Demo gets the blood pumping, Opening Movie is a film-quality piece of composition, Esper Battle is big and epic, and The Theme of the Empire is wonderfully militaristic.

I think the reason a lot of people like the score less than what’s been in previous Final Fantasy games is due to Sakimoto’s style of composition. Uematsu usually wrote stand alone tracks with some scattered leitmotifs tying it all together, but Sakimoto wrote the music in Final Fantasy XII with a more cinematic approach. As a result, it has a very different stylistic feel from what Uematsu usually does (I think the only time Uematsu’s soundtracks ever had a uniform motif that appeared throughout most of the music was in Final Fantasy VIII, and I seem to recall that wasn’t a very popular score when the game first released).

I think it was appropriate for Sakimoto to score this since he’s worked on all of the games featuring Ivalice, but I would like for Uematsu to come back full-time for Final Fantasy XIII (but apparently that’s not to be, as Masashi Hamauzu will be handling composition duties).

It’s sort of ironic that people refer to the music in this game as "Star Wars-like", because I recall reading an article in Time Magazine about the work of Nobuo Uematsu, and in that the reporter declared that Uematsu was the Japanese John Williams.

I really like the Boss Battle music in 12, but other then that there’s nothing too special, but it’s not bad. In my opinion, I think 8 has the best music.

Well, Spike — if people refer to it as "Star Wars-like," it’s probably because of the general Star Wars feel of the game in general. Evil Empire, etc. etc., Biggs and Wedge (who, of course, have been in all FFs since VI), the general attempts by the game itself to convey an "epic" nature (such as the stopping every so often for the narration.)

Well, Spike — if people refer to it as "Star Wars-like," it’s probably because of the general Star Wars feel of the game in general.

I’m certainly not denying that the game has a Star Wars feeling about it. In fact, when I first played the game, I had a discussion with my brother about it and we came to that very conclusion over the course of the conversation. We even went through passing out character names: Vaan is Luke, Ashe is Leia, Basch is Lando, Balthier is Han, Fran is Chewie, et cetera.

But I don’t think the music is very John Williams-like. About the only motif that gives off a Star Wars vibe is Theme of the Empire, which isn’t surprising. The rest of the music sounds like it would be perfectly at home in any of the Tactics games.

Anyhoo, my initial point was that there’s a certain level of irony about the fact that Uematsu has been declared to be the Japanese John Williams, but then didn’t work on the Final Fantasy game that most resembles Star Wars.

Yes, I can definitely see the irony there. I suppose the only reason he’s really referred to as the Japanese John Williams is his extensive body of work. Though Williams seems rather more prolific to me. Star Wars may be his most well-known work, but he’s certain composed for a number of other films, including the first three films of the overall-higher-grossing Harry Potter series.

Williams does have a more prolific body of work than Uematsu, no doubt, but I think they both suffer from a similar problem: they don’t have a terrifyingly wide range. They both write good music, but you can listen to a piece of music written by either composer and know that they’re the ones who wrote it.

I’ve just seen the first two Harry Potter films over the last couple of weeks, and the musical score kept distracting me because it sounded like Williams was scoring a sequel to Hook. The main Harry Potter theme would be perfectly at home in Hook.

The few scores I’ve heard by Sakimoto are all pretty similar, too.

– Symphonic Poem "Hope" (This one is a true masterpiece and should have been used in versions throughout the game as some kind of main theme)

Err, that is a variation of Sakimoto’s main theme.

I adore this OST (and personally find Uematsu boring), but four reasons I can think of that help explain its unpopularity:

1. FF fans are accustomed to Uematsu’s sound. Something different doesn’t sound Final Fantasy to them so they’re biased before even giving it a chance. Maybe a crude generalization, but kind of true.

2. XII’s melodies aren’t written to be infectious, lyrical, or catchy, and this makes music memorable to many, and more memorable music is usually considered better. Instead, Sakimoto employs larger intervals in his themes, written as more of a starting point (or to effortlessly drift in) to a piece that adapts and changes, concerned with conveying multiple ideas and feelings, rather than building an entire song around a single idea and simple melodies and chord progressions Uematsu often writes. Sakimoto’s musical language is broader, the joy as much in huge harmonic build ups, rhythmic contrasts, transitions, and orchestration details as it is in the melodies. I’m not trying to be elitist, but to many people this is a more challenging style to listen to and appreciate.

3. The main themes describe big, vague ideas rather than specific moments or characters, so the music has less direct assocation with key moments in the game. It also plays during real time cutscenes with spoken dialogue, so it’s harder to hear the music. This is very different from the SNES and PSX era FF’s where the presentation was so much more limited that often the music alone could make or break a scene. FFXII’s music finds its way into the background more often. Not because it’s bad, but because that’s how the game was designed.

4. The ingame synth is worse than the OST, sometimes entire instruments are cut. I’ve seen many people change their opinion after extensively listening to the OST.

Symphonic Poem "Hope" wasn’t written by Sakimoto, and in no way is a variation of his main theme. So you can come back the way you are, and check your facts straight.

Yeah, Hynad is right. "single is Hakase’s first release in five years, performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra."

http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-8l-49-en-70-16s9.html

Yeah, I know what it is. The album notes also say it was "Inspired by" Sakimoto’s theme, and I hear derivations of it in there, with a direct quote at one part.

I think so..

It just can’t compare to VII and IX…

Or X, VIII and VI..

Probably because it sounds more orchestrated?

4. The ingame synth is worse than the OST, sometimes entire instruments are cut.

That’s surprising to hear, because apart from a couple of scattered tracks, it all sounds pretty much identical to me (I played the game on a 5.1 sound system, and frequently listen to the soundtrack on the same system).

2. XII’s melodies aren’t written to be infectious, lyrical, or catchy, and this makes music memorable to many, and more memorable music is usually considered better. Instead, Sakimoto employs larger intervals in his themes, written as more of a starting point (or to effortlessly drift in) to a piece that adapts and changes, concerned with conveying multiple ideas and feelings, rather than building an entire song around a single idea and simple melodies and chord progressions Uematsu often writes. Sakimoto’s musical language is broader, the joy as much in huge harmonic build ups, rhythmic contrasts, transitions, and orchestration details as it is in the melodies. I’m not trying to be elitist, but to many people this is a more challenging style to listen to and appreciate.

A challenging style to enjoy and appreciate. You may not want to sound like an elitist, but you do come up with shit as stupid as them.

There is no denying that Sakimoto’s compositions are great. But writting a music piece to let the player feel the right emotions of a given moment in the story, in which there is no voice acting to help, is a lot harder in my book. Sakimoto’s themes in most of his works are overly orchestrated to the point where you can’t even be sure what is the emotion he’s trying to make you feel. With FF XII, all of it is compensated by the use of voice acting.

As for Sakimoto’s musical language being broader than Uematsu’s, his work beg to differ. Uematsu is well known for his varied styles of composition. He touches (to name of few of them) Rock, Jazz, Metal, Ballade, and of course, the only one Sakimoto touches. Which is Orchestrated music (Liberi Fatali, The Ending Themes of Final Fantasy VIII and X, and the Main Theme of Final Fantasy VII quickly come to mind).

There is no denying Uematsu’s musical language is much broader, and more varied than Sakimoto’s only style.

When I read your comment up there, it looks like you’re one of those apologists making excuses for FF XII’s lack of memorable moments in its OST compared to the other games in the series.

EDIT: There is no quote from a theme from Sakimoto in any parts of Symphonic Poem "Hope".

A challenhing style to enjoy and appreciate. You may not want to sound like an elitist, but you do come up with shit as stupid as them.

There is no denying that Sakimoto’s compositions are great. But writting a music piece to let the player feel the right emotions of a given moment in the story, in which there is no voice acting to help, is a lot harder in my book. Sakimoto’s themes in most of his works are overly orchestrated to the point where you can’t even be sure what is the emotion he’s trying to make you feel. With FF XII, all of it is compensated by the use of voice acting.

Not really, I think his music is plenty emotional in pretty much every game.
Joshua’s theme from Vagrant Story for example is very emotional and describes the character just by the music.
FFXII has less emotional music but that’s because FFXII barely has any emotional moments period.

As for Sakimoto’s musical language being broader than Uematsu’s, his work beg to differ. Uematsu is well known for his varied styles of composition. He touches (to name of few of them) Rock, Jazz, Metal, Ballade, and of course, the only one Sakimoto touches. Which is Orchestrated music (Liberi Fatali, The Ending Themes of Final Fantasy VIII and X, and the Main Theme of Final Fantasy VII quickly come to mind).

There is no denying Uematsu’s musical language is much broader, and more varied than Sakimoto’s only style.

Uematsu is more diverse but exactly which of Sakimoto’s works have you heard to come to the conclusion that he only uses orchestral music?
Sakimoto has his roots as an electronic composer, and this is reflected heavily in a lot of his music.
Games like Gradius V and Breath Of Fire V: Dragon Quarter feature a mix of his electronic and orchestral styles.
This music from BOFV is a good example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YuCqKC4LM4

His latest work, Opoona, is almost exclusively electronic/techno style.
And there’s quite a few other styles he has employed.

I was basing everything there on his work on the Ogre series and Ivalice series.

Everything in there sounds the same. Unlike Uematsu, Sakimoto seems to think that each pieces must sound the same for them to fit the whole in which they are. Yet at the same time, this method prevents any particular event to stand out musically, when compared to Uematsu’s work.

As for his Techno work, yeah, I heard a lot of it, and personally prefer when he does that style rather than orchestration music. I don’t like much techno, but in the cases in which he used it, it often fit the game more than his ochestration does for his other projects.

Especially since I don’t feel a lot of emotions when I listen to his them, I prefer when he composes upbeat light hearted music style for games like Gradius V and GrimGrimoire.

Anyway, about the idea that anyone is biased to Uematsu’s sound — I adored the music from the Kingdom Hearts games. If the composer for that had done the music for XII, I would been cool with that. There are some KH tracks that I feel may be better than any FF track.

Not that I’m saying I don’t like a lot of the music from XII — I do.

The music is in FF12 is not any worse than the music from earlier Final Fantasy games.

For the record, yes, I preferred the OSTs from games like FF8, FF10 etc. but that’s not to say that the music from FF12 isn’t good, it’s just different.

With earlier games, Nobuo had to put extra emphasis on the music because the music needed to convey BOTH the scenery and emotions, as there was no dialogue. There was much more emphasis on the music to express feelings, ideas and emotions. With games like FFX and FF12 there’s dialogue, so music isn’t the only source of audio.

Also, Nobuo is a legend, so of course his composistions will be more favourable (for me atleast)

u cant compare the music from ff12 with previous FF’s, cuz the music in FF12 was composed and developed in a more passive way. the music is supposed to ‘fit’ and blend in with the scenery. while in previous games, the music is much more forceful/dramatic, it literally has to stand out and shout at you because there was no voice acting. It needed much more emphasis.

so to conclude, the music in FF12 is technically just as good. I prefer the earlier games (and the music too) because that’s my opinion.

I adored the music from the Kingdom Hearts games. If the composer for that had done the music for XII, I would been cool with that.

Yoko Shimomura is scoring Final Fantasy Versus XIII. I love her work on Parasite Eve and the Kingdom Hearts games, so I’m glad she’ll be tackling a Final Fantasy title.

She’ll also be scoring the next three Kingdom Hearts games — 358/2 Days, Birth by Sleep, coded.

Well, I don’t know how much opportunity I’ll have to play any of those little spinoff games, and am eagerly awaiting KHIII.

Versus XIII? Awesome! I don’t have a PS3 yet, but whenever the next-gen FFs come out is probably when I’ll probably go ahead with it. It’ll almost certainly be cheaper by then too.

I aslo happen to prefer Uematsu’s work from the pre-FFX era. But the more I played FF XII the more I enjoyed the music.

But I still think it’s sub Uematsu’s caliber.

I prefer catchy melodies to epic star wars-ish themes.

I really dont see the SW comparison. FF12 isnt really like Star Wars musically.

Personally I thought FF12 was good, but its no Uematsu. Then again, Uematsu isn’t Uematsu anymore. The guy is slipping.

I wouldn???t say XII has the worst music, I would say XI has it.

XII???s music is diferent, but it still is good (although my favorite is V???s music).

Oh wow. Always nice to find another V fan.

i loved the music from ff12
i never played an other ff game tho
but just listen to the boss music from ff12, especially the esper battle theme, so epic!

and other tracks like the lowtown and feywood themes are pretty cool as well

IV had really really good music .

FFXII’s music was amazing. It’s one of my favorites. I love Uematsu and Sakamoto’s music for different reasons but it’s always top notch. The soundtrack to Final Fantasy Tactics is one of my favorite FF soundtracks(my fave ff game). To be honest FFVII’s soundtrack wasn’t really all the amazing, though it was good. I think it was just memorable because it was FFVII.

VI’s is memorable as well, but it was also just amazing. Terra’s theme is incomparable.

Final Fantasy IV’s battle music is amazing.

I think the difference is…Uematsu creates tracks that are like…all …..oookay…and then he has like 3 or 4 in each soundtrack that are just stellar.

Sakamoto brings a higher quality throughout the ENTIRE soundtrack even though his best songs aren’t better than uematsu’s best songs.

That’s how I feel.

That being said.

Lost Odyssey is Uematsu’s best work ever in my opinion. But I’ll leave that for another topic.

Final Fantasy XII’s music is great. It feels … epic… regal…classy. I don’t know. I makes me feel like I’m in the time of Ivalice. It feels like real music you would hear in Ivalice to me.

If I had to identify an overarching "theme" piece for the game, I might go with "The Mosphoran Highwaste." Elements of this piece are used in "The End of Battle" and also in several of the other tracks.

Just wanted to represent for FFXII too. It’s my favourite Final Fantasy soundtrack. I can listen to it all the way through without ever being jarred out of the experience by a discordant tune whereas the other FF soundtracks – which contain awesome songs, no mistake – don’t have the same cohesion to me. They don’t flow and I end up chopping half the playlist down so I have something I can enjoy without screeching interruptions. Sakimoto writes symphonies more than he writes soundtracks, I think. You don’t listen to snippets of symphonies, you sit back and enjoy the whole shebang.

Anyway, FFXII is great but it has nothing on Sakimoto’s Vagrant Story. Mmm, I love me some Ivalice.

Alright, I listened to the whole soundtrack now, and I have to say: It’s good! It’s very epic and fits very good to an RPG. The tunes may not be that catchy, but they are dreamy, and I love this. So: No, FFXII definitely has not the worst, but more the best soundtrack. You can listen to FFXII while you’re doing something else, whereas the music of Uematsu can interrupt you in your concentration.

Hitoshi Sakimoto style was orchestral ..

I like Nobou Uematsu style more,so emotional and maybe because I’m a Pianist :P, but still FFXII OST was good,maybe even more than good sometimes

for instance,Penelo theme,Chocobo FFXII Arrange Ver. 1 and To the place of gods.

three Great and not boring musics .. and there is a lot others.

I personally liked FFXII music, because it reminds me of Vagrant Story from PSone, IMO one of the best games in history. To bad there never was a successor. But I suggest to check out the romeoxjuliet anime OST, which is also from Sakimoto. I really love it, it reminds me both of FFXII and Vagrant story:-)

Hitoshi Sakimoto hrm.

Iunno, I can’t say I don’t like his music style, Final Fantasy Tactics is probably my favorite and most remembered soundtrack of all time.

However I do agree that FFXII is a bit dull, it’s artistic…but maybe too artistic. xD

I just listened to "A Speechless Battle", which is imo the best song from the fame after the esper battle music. But I just can’t remember what part of the game that song is from (a speechless battle, that is), does anyone know when it is played during the game?

btw, if i had to pick a theme for the game i’d say the empire theme.

I do agree somewhat with the OP – but I wouldn’t say it’s the worst.
It just doesn’t have as many stand out tunes.

FFXII’s music is really different.
I said the same thing with FFX, Uematsu didn’t do most of that score either.
But I do recall most of them unlike FFXII.

IMO FFVI has the best, most varied music of the FF series.
From Celes’ theme to Ragtime through to Grand Finale to Dancing Mad.

FFXII’s music was alright. I do prefer Uematsu, but unlike most obsessive fanboys VIII is my favorite score of his.

As for XII, "Theme of the Empire" actually happens to be one of my favorite tracks in the history of the last seven FF’s (haven’t played anything before VI yet), but this is definitely in my top 10. Not the one played in Archades, though. The annoying thing is, half of it is played in Archades and half in Draklor Laboratory, which you only visit once. It’s played breifly in some small scenes but mainly here. I prefer the Draklor part. I dunno who else noticed but the part played in Archades actually has some parts out of order, I noticed this because I’ve listened to the OST track so many times cause I was trying to figure out how to play it since it wasn’t in the Sheet music collection, surprisingly.

"Seeking Power", "Naivety", "Forgotten Capital", and "Rabanastre" is pretty much it for me. Might be a few I’m forgetting about.

Well, except the remixes of Uematsu themes. I strongly disagree with whoever said Sakimoto "ruined" the Chocobo theme, it can easily pass for one of the "de Chocobo" tracks. If it was it would be my third favorite.

Clash on the Big Bridge was okay, but good thing they at least went out of their way to recompose that for the existance of Gilgamesh’s character in the game.

Zak, what was your opinion of "The Phon Coast," as well as the game’s ending themes?

Zak, what was your opinion of "The Phon Coast," as well as the game’s ending themes?

I know Phon Coast is a popular track, but I forget what it sounded like cause I must have been too into the game at the time, but I’m sure I’d like it if I listened again. I hated the place though.

As for the endings, well, believe it or not I have not beaten the game, I have a save file with nothing left to do but Bahamut, I went on there got all the way to the Undying and lost, and haven’t gotten around to try since.

Yeah, The Undying will kill you at lower levels, there’s just no getting around it. But generally, if you manage to make it to at least that point, then an upgrade of no more than five to ten levels should be enough to finish him off.

Sakimoto is one of my favorite composers, so in my opinion FF XII has the best FF score. 😀

Yeah, The Undying will kill you at lower levels, there’s just no getting around it. But generally, if you manage to make it to at least that point, then an upgrade of no more than five to ten levels should be enough to finish him off.

We’re all in the 70s and we were when I challenged it. I just wasnt trying hard enough.

I HATE IT! I absolutley HATE IT! For me it is the most annoying and repulsing thing EVER. I can’t stand to play the game because of it and I STILL didn’t finish it. If I was to ever be tortured, THAT soundtrack would be the perfect tool. And whats worse… It reminds me of two other great soundtracks! Star Wars and Vagrant Story. Oh Vagrant Story! … my poor Vagrant Story…….

You hate it but it reminds you of 2 other GREAT soundtracks….

Talk about a really retarded contradiction.

I absolutley agree, but you must understand that it’s due to my bad english skills… nothing more. I’m sorry to put you into trouble of reading something as stupid.

No, I get what he’s saying. He hates the music and feels it’s a pale imitation of two other soundtracks that are actually great. And he hates being reminded of great tracks by something he considers bad.

lol… you sounded like that one Kefka cosplayer… "HATEHATEHATE!!" XD

However – yeah… Hynad is right.

Back to the subject… I almost fell like I owe an apology to Sakimoto-san for hating his work so much (not that he cares though). But I can’t shake off the feeling that something is missing… As time passed, the music started to get on my nerves instead of making me shed tears for a loved one or tremble at the sole appearance of my nemesis… It’s just completley wrong. The only purpose It serves is to fill for the silence.

…Well, I think maybe it’s not the best, but it’s good though.

It think it sounds like… more traditional-mixed or scandinavian-folk a bit. (Well, that’s the first thing speaking inside my mind, when I play FFXII).

Nrhh…It’s not just used to fill the silence ;P…Cheer up 🙂

I wouldn’t go so far as to call it the worst..sure I’m a huge fan of Uematsu and FFXII didnt really appeal to me at all. But i felt that the music suited the themes and the whole game overall perfectly. Different styles.

BTW Agent, in case you still care just out of curiousity I went and listened to "Phon Coast" just to refresh my memory of what it sounds like and it’s high up there but it sounds oddly to me like it came from Kingdom Hearts.

Yeah, it could easily fit into Kingdom Hearts.

…Well, I think maybe it’s not the best, but it’s good though.

It think it sounds like… more traditional-mixed or scandinavian-folk a bit. (Well, that’s the first thing speaking inside my mind, when I play FFXII).

Nrhh…It’s not just used to fill the silence ;P…Cheer up 🙂

Okay, alright I went too far. But in reality, none of us have any right to say how it really is. Or more like… whatever we say… it’ll still be tha same. What we do here, is give opinions, and I gave mine. I’ also glad to see that not everyone hates it.

FF XII isn’t necessarily a bad soundtrack, it’s just that Hitoshi Sakimoto isn’t the same as Nobuo Uematsu. I’m not trying to be a fanboy, but I do prefer Uematsu to Sakimoto because his melodies seem more memorable. I think Sakimoto is a good composer musically, I just don’t care for his style.

Well, I think there was something that was said was somewhat fair. I actually do agree that there are certain tracks that seemed to be there simply to fill silence. Not in many cases, but there are definitely some like that.

while there was nothing that was outstanding, i really enjoyed the breadth of the soundtrack. i found it quite enjoyable, and particularly liked the third disk (deedle deedle deedle). loved the Sandsea track.

Boooo! Boooo FFXII OST!!! Why did Uematsu leave!? Why is he making music for corny games like Blue Dragon and Last Odyssey!? Why? WHY!?

NO FFIII has the worst soundtrack and it’s the only bad soundtrack in the whole series IMO

Boooo! Boooo FFXII OST!!! Why did Uematsu leave!? Why is he making music for corny games like Blue Dragon and Last Odyssey!? Why? WHY!?

ignorance at it’s best? maybe

Yeah this is the thread… let me hear your argumens…

ignorance at it’s best? maybe

Jk jk, can’t you take a jk? Sheesh!

I agree with you on the FFXIII OST (but not the fact that XIII is the only bad OST). It sounds like a late 90’s anime soundtrack, complete with horrible, 80’s violin playing, lame synth guitar riffs, and goofy brass backing. Woop!

But I will still buy the game without hesitation. It looks freakin amazing.

Huh? When did we start talking about FFXIII?

Well I personally find the FF XII soundtrack one of my all time favourites and am quite surprised at its lack of popularity…however I am not acquainted with the other FF game soundtracks, but I think at the end of the day I would still prefer Hitoshi Sakimoto to the old composer…I’m stubborn…

Am I being too narrow minded? Where can I hear pieces from previous FF games to help me judge?

Well I personally find the FF XII soundtrack one of my all time favourites and am quite surprised at its lack of popularity…however I am not acquainted with the other FF game soundtracks, but I think at the end of the day I would still prefer Hitoshi Sakimoto to the old composer…I’m stubborn…

Am I being too narrow minded? Where can I hear pieces from previous FF games to help me judge?

If you haven’t heard Nobuo and you’re coming to a conclusion like this then yes, you sound narrow-minded. No offense, however.

If you want to hear the soundtracks then you can download most of them here (Thread 30315). But if you’re lookin for some kinda streaming radio of FF music then I don’t know where you can go. I also suggest that you play the older FF’s as well. You are missing out on a lot of classic and, possibly legendary, characters and storylines.

Where did he hear ffXIII…? I didn’t know it’s already out.

Anyway… No, you are not narrow minded because you have your own taste.
You can hear the previous OST-s in the galbadia hotel http://gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/f just scroll to the end of the page and find final fantasy zipped albums. But I don’t think you’ll be able to appreaciate them if you didn’t play the bames. I hope I’m wrong.

we posted such a simillar post at the almost same time…lol

we posted such a simillar post at the almost same time…lol

Heh, silly. To answer your question, I’m pretty sure, almost positive, the FFXIII OST hasn’t been released yet. When we say the FFXIII music is bad we are referring to the demo trailers of FFXIII. They music playing in those are bad. Hopefully that’s just some song they took from APM or other associated music sites…

Thanks for straghtening that out. Anyway… can you tell me where to find other black mages music that wasn’t in the albums. I first ran into such a case today when I found ”Terra” track. (here we go again using a forum for a non related topic…)

Thanks for straghtening that out. Anyway… can you tell me where to find other black mages music that wasn’t in the albums. I first ran into such a case today when I found ”Terra” track. (here we go again using a forum for a non related topic…)

Start a new topic with the question in it and we can post there.

P.S. Make sure you give me the link to the topic cause I’m gonna have no idea where to find it.

Jk jk, can’t you take a jk? Sheesh!

I agree with you on the FFXIII OST (but not the fact that XIII is the only bad OST). It sounds like a late 90’s anime soundtrack, complete with horrible, 80’s violin playing, lame synth guitar riffs, and goofy brass backing. Woop!

But I will still buy the game without hesitation. It looks freakin amazing.

It is rather stupid to say FF XIII’s ost is bad.

The OST isn’t even out yet (no wonder since the game is still far from its release date… which is still TBA), and all we can hear from it is in the game’s trailers. And from what I heard, it is shaping quite well. Especially with that nice violin melody, great synth riffs and punchy brass backing.

http://forums.ffshrine.org/showthread.php?p=1033557#post1033557
You can find it here.

I’m not sure, but I think that the poster may have meant to say III, because somebody did mention III. Could be wrong.

It is rather stupid to say FF XIII’s ost is bad.

The OST isn’t even out yet (no wonder since the game is still far from its release date… which is still TBA), and all we can hear from it is in the game’s trailers. And from what I heard, it is shaping quite well. Especially with that nice violin melody, great synth riffs and punchy brass backing.

You’re right. It’s not out yet. I was kinda just quoting what that Trigun guy said. But from what I can hear, I don’t like it.

I respect you’re music taste though. "…punchy brass backing" you’re funny.

I just noticed… how do you get to have 11,553 posts? And this just adds to the cake, since I’ve been your admirerer from the moment I got here. Wow!
Damn, I start to sound like a little fan girl…
Must make it go away! *chanting noise*

It’s bad for your health to admire forum users.

lol, now go and answear my question in my thread! It’s meant for you! Go! It’s your destiny…

Thank you both for the links and advice. Will certainly have a listen and see what I think. As for playing the previous games…which one would you recommend first? There’s so many to choose from…

lol, now go and answear my question in my thread! It’s meant for you! Go! It’s your destiny…

I did answer it. I answered it yesterday, you guy!

Thank you both for the links and advice. Will certainly have a listen and see what I think. As for playing the previous games…which one would you recommend first? There’s so many to choose from…

I say Final Fantasy VII. It’s a classic, it’s fun, it’s very popular, it’s got a great soundtrack, etc. etc. There’s just so many good things about it (despite it’s graphics).

I say ff VIII because you wanna save the better one for later, plus it’s very easy and it was MY first one so I think it’s the best one to start with. If we weren’t convincing enough, there’s a disscusion about that question at the forum so…

Turns out my playstation 2 will no longer play playstation 1 games unfortunatley…it’s quite old and the chunky model. I instead settled for FF X as its the first PS2 game in the collection I think…just have to wait for it to arrive in the post.

Is it FF X up to the series standards and what’s the music like?

hmm… look, each one of the ff depend prety much on the player’s taste.
All I can tell you is that there are more than 80% chanses that you are going to like it if you like RPG-s. There’s preety much no reason to not like any ff game but X-2. You musn’t play that, it could ruin the X for you…

The music is not as good as those found in precedent games. The story and the progression through the game is awefully linear and predictable once you get pass the first major plot-twist.

IMO, FFX is one of the worst in the series. But don’t worry about what I think about the game. Most people will give you more positive feedbacks.

Also, yanneilucia is completely wrong with FFX-2. The gameplay in that game is probably the best one in the whole series, while its story is on the weak side, it’s still entertaining enough if you cared some for the characters from the first X.

There’s preety much no reason to not like any ff game but X-2. You musn’t play that, it could ruin the X for you…

Way to flush your credibility straight down the toilet.

I say Final Fantasy VII. It’s a classic, it’s fun, it’s very popular, it’s got a great soundtrack, etc. etc. There’s just so many good things about it (despite it’s graphics).

Yep, and all the errors in it are fun to laugh at… fanboy.

I say start with X and THEN go to the PS1 games since it’s among the simplest/shortest and it’ll make the PS1 generation and it’s music seem better and amazing once you get to them.

EDIT: Agreed with Prak.

No it’s not fun it’ irritating as is anyone defending it. Just dare to compare it to ffVI for example… I need to say no more. Go and play your ”Barbie Fantasy X-2” then.
”it’s still entertaining enough if you cared some for the characters from the first X” … Way to go Hynad. I told him to stay away from it because I care for ffX characters…

No it’s not fun it’ irritating as is anyone defending it. Just dare to compare it to ffVI for example… I need to say no more. Go and play your ”Barbie Fantasy X-2” then.
”it’s still entertaining enough if you cared some for the characters from the first X” … Way to go Hynad. I told him to stay away from it because I care for ffX characters…

What a typical moronic reply.

i didnt finish XII….i hated it…
but i did like the music in Rabnastre
it was catchy

What a typical moronic reply.

How tipical ofyou to insult people for their oppinion.
I don’t even need to say anything in reply, you already said everything needed to show what you guys are.

Anyway, play at your own risk, you may turn into a shallow-make more expensive fan service games oh holy square enix devine-kind of player…

No it’s not fun it’ irritating as is anyone defending it. Just dare to compare it to ffVI for example… I need to say no more. Go and play your ”Barbie Fantasy X-2” then.
”it’s still entertaining enough if you cared some for the characters from the first X” … Way to go Hynad. I told him to stay away from it because I care for ffX characters…

And you just proved what a hypocrite you are.

Turns out my playstation 2 will no longer play playstation 1 games unfortunatley…it’s quite old and the chunky model. I instead settled for FF X as its the first PS2 game in the collection I think…just have to wait for it to arrive in the post.

Is it FF X up to the series standards and what’s the music like?

Oh definitely! I say go for it dude. It was actually my first FF and it blew me away! The music is awesome. It totally suits the mood throughout the game, it fits in the game perfectly, and you can listen to it (on your computer or something) without thinking: "This only sounds good with the game" or something along those lines. It is also, in my own opinion, one of the better FF OSTs. The music is beautiful and I honestly couldn’t tell the difference between Uematsu and his apprentices. Although some songs you can tell after you’ve heard the soundtrack so many times. But anyway, the music is great on it and the plot is fantastic. I think of it as a classic and I guess Sony does too, or whoever releases those Greatest Hits games, cause it’s a Greatest Hits. So you can buy one of the best FF’s ever for only 20 bucks (unlike FFVII, which is a Greatest Hits, but goes for like $70 nowadays).

What’s with the arguments? We all have our own opinions. No need to point out flaws in our evaluations of past FF games.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00000JRSB/ref=dp_olp_2

Yep, you can find a used copy for that price range.

And you just proved what a hypocrite you are.

Darn… you’re right. Just because I’m right about the game doesn’t give me the right to act like an almighty god. Yeah… that was definitly hypocrism.
I’m gonna have to learn how to proove my point without making myself look like an ass… It just considerebly lowers the chanses of people beliving me.
Okay I’m gonna try to improve. I also suggest you to do the same. Insults are a characteristic of weak people, and I can see you are not one of them…

What’s with the arguments? We all have our own opinions. No need to point out flaws in our evaluations of past FF games.

You see that’s not the issue here. The problem was that I automatically attacked them for their oppinion, triggered by them attacking me for mine.
In the end, this argument has perfect sense…

Oh my, seems like we’re having a lucky day. 2 morons in the same day.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00000JRSB/ref=dp_olp_2

Yep, you can find a used copy for that price range.

Isn’t that ridiculous? Did the prices for the game spike up when Advent Children came out? I remember buying the game for about $15 at blockbuster 5 or so years ago. Lucky me…

You see that’s not the issue here. The problem was that I automatically attacked them for their oppinion, triggered by them attacking me for mine.
In the end, this argument has perfect sense…

Oh. I was just skimming through the argument so I wasn’t paying much attention to what you were arguing about.

I didn’t insult yanneilucia. I only said he was wrong.

His judgement of FFX-2 is a typical one that you’ll hear from anyone who would judge stuff from their covers.

Now, he’s made it impossible for me to have any sort of respect for him with that single line:
Just because I’m right about the game doesn’t give me the right to act like an almighty god. Yeah… that was definitly hypocrism.

Now, he’s sure to make a lot of good "friends" around here.

I played the game too many times, just looking for anything good to say about it. I gave up after realizing that it wasn’t meant to be good…it was meant to be sold. And it was ME who bought it! So yes you’re right, that definitly makes me a moron.

Yep, playing through a game "too many times" when you hate it is quite moronic.

Now just because you didn’t happen to like it doesn’t mean you can shove your retarded opinion down everyone’s throat.

I liked FFX-2.

It was a fun game but not something I would rank up there with the likes of other Final Fantasies or say Chrono Trigger and such. Then again that’s just my opinion. I won’t try to shove it down anyones’s throat cause that’s pretty gay. Like Richard Simmons trying to feed me his workout routine.

…Like Richard Simmons trying to feed me his workout routine.

I feel your pain.

No it’s not fun it’ irritating as is anyone defending it. Just dare to compare it to ffVI for example… I need to say no more. Go and play your ”Barbie Fantasy X-2” then.
”it’s still entertaining enough if you cared some for the characters from the first X” … Way to go Hynad. I told him to stay away from it because I care for ffX characters…

LOL. Just… lol.

Oh my, seems like we’re having a lucky day. 2 morons in the same day.

Lol, who’s the other?

Oh definitely! I say go for it dude. It was actually my first FF and it blew me away! The music is awesome. It totally suits the mood throughout the game, it fits in the game perfectly, and you can listen to it (on your computer or something) without thinking: "This only sounds good with the game" or something along those lines. It is also, in my own opinion, one of the better FF OSTs. The music is beautiful and I honestly couldn’t tell the difference between Uematsu and his apprentices. Although some songs you can tell after you’ve heard the soundtrack so many times. But anyway, the music is great on it and the plot is fantastic. I think of it as a classic and I guess Sony does too, or whoever releases those Greatest Hits games, cause it’s a Greatest Hits. So you can buy one of the best FF’s ever for only 20 bucks (unlike FFVII, which is a Greatest Hits, but goes for like $70 nowadays).

Word. X was my first as well, but what I noticed from observing is it seems one would only like X if they played it first and that’s understandable. Anyway, what you said about the music being great and on par with Uematsu, I can say the same about most of the XII soundtrack. The only problem is almost EVERY track uses strings but that doesn’t mean it can’t be on par or pass for Uematsu. I could imagine him popping out "Seeking Power" or the Rabanastre theme.

If you haven’t heard Nobuo and you’re coming to a conclusion like this then yes, you sound narrow-minded. No offense, however.

If you want to hear the soundtracks then you can download most of them here (Thread 30315). But if you’re lookin for some kinda streaming radio of FF music then I don’t know where you can go. I also suggest that you play the older FF’s as well. You are missing out on a lot of classic and, possibly legendary, characters and storylines.

do you know how much i hate Nobuo-Elitists like you? on a scale of 1-10?
"IT"S OVER 9000!!!!!!" you are so narrow minded that you only except nobuo as the only good composer and that the games he composes are the ONLY good ones.

Yep, playing through a game "too many times" when you hate it is quite moronic.

Now just because you didn’t happen to like it doesn’t mean you can shove your retarded opinion down everyone’s throat.

exactly, talk about immaturity and stupidity as well.

do you know how much i hate Nobuo-Elitists like you? on a scale of 1-10?
"IT"S OVER 9000!!!!!!" you are so narrow minded that you only except nobuo as the only good composer and that the games he composes are the ONLY good ones.

I agree that Uematsu fanboy-elitists can also be annoying to a degree as much as I like Uematsu, but I wouldn’t be so quick as to call Dant_e an "elitist", because maybe if you take a look at the post he’s replying to, the guy kinda is narrow-minded.

do you know how much i hate Nobuo-Elitists like you? on a scale of 1-10?
"IT"S OVER 9000!!!!!!" you are so narrow minded that you only except nobuo as the only good composer and that the games he composes are the ONLY good ones.

Hey, take it easy man, you’re jumping to conclusions. By no way am I an Nobuo elitist. I was being brutally honest when I told him he was being narrow-minded. He has never heard Nobuo and was jumping to conclusions so I gave him a few references to help make up his mind..

In my opinion, yes, I think Nobuo is one of the greatest composers of all time but there are so many others like…uhhh…Danny Elfman, John Williams, John Murphy, the Namco music team (they create the Katamari and Ace Combat soundtracks among other great ones), Dan Wentz, Tsukasa Saitoh, Toshihiko Sahashi, Susumu Hirasawa, etc., etc., etc. Too many to name but I don’t prefer Nobuo over all the them. I just prefer him to make FF OSTs. His music adds so much more to the game. If he would’ve stuck around for the FFX-2 OST the game would’ve been much more in depth, at least for me that is. He didn’t but oddly enough, however, I kind of enjoyed the FFX-2 OST anyway (and the game too. I played it three times to get 100% but still only got 99.9% so I gave up on it. I never did see that final-final ending). It’s got some catchy, memorable tunes and can also be listened to without thinking it sounds good only in the game.

I understand Hitoshi Sakimoto has his own style and that’s totally understandable, I just plain don’t like it. Remember the name of this thread’s topic: "Does FF XII have the worst music of the series?" My answer: Yes. Nowhere did I say "FF1 through XI are the best FF games and had the best soundtracks". So what’s with the criticism? Seriously? I haven’t criticized you, nor will I try to. I guess if you take offense to me saying that I don’t like Hitoshi then I’m sorry, that’s just the way it is. I hope you understand what I’m trying to say.

If you’re going to keep attacking my ideas and criticizing my opinions then by all means, have at it. I’m not going to argue with you, or anyone for that matter. Arguing is for proving a point with logical reasoning and with substantial statistics. You don’t know me and I don’t know you, hence you have no facts or information about my background and personal life so it’s pointless to shoot ridiculous opinions and clich???s at me. I suggest taking a group communications class (COM230) to further improve your knowledge on making accurate opinions. It’s actually a fun class and totally worth the money. Anyway, anymore wise cracks towards me will be ignored unless they have sufficient reasoning otherwise.

By the way, you have my lolz on the over 9000! joke. I remember seeing a Ventrillo Harassment video and the guy kept annoying people with it. I thought it was goofy.

I agree that Uematsu fanboy-elitists can also be annoying to a degree as much as I like Uematsu, but I wouldn’t be so quick as to call Dant_e an "elitist", because maybe if you take a look at the post he’s replying to, the guy kinda is narrow-minded.

Thank you for actually reading back to see why i said that. It’s a relief to see that other people, like yourself, aren’t jumping to conclusions for some misinterpretation.

You said you’re gonna be the next Piano Squall; do you have any recorded samples of yourself playing that I could hear? I enjoy piano-FF music.

Originally Posted by Hynad
Oh my, seems like we’re having a lucky day. 2 morons in the same day.

Zak6009
Lol, who’s the other?

Me. I stated the same crap I said to Trigunzero and I guess I’m a moron for it. Whatev…

Nope the other one was Harkus.

Even though you do post some rather questionable comments more often than not.

Nope the other one was Harkus.

Even though you do post some rather questionable comments more often than not.

My first post here was probably the dumbest one. It was meant as a joke, not really an opinion. I thought the retarded punctuation would’ve gave it away.

Me and yanneilucia were talking at a different topic and FFXII music came up. We were agreeing on how bad the OST was so he said to come support him here. I didn’t take him seriously though so I posted a dumb reply.

I hope that clears some things up…maybe not…

Alright, I re-read this whole ffX2 conversation and realiezed that I am actualy doing exactly as beat said. I was attacking people who like ffX2, instead of attacking just the game itself. Not only that…I never gave any good explanation why I don’t like it.(+hypocrism+self-rightousness). I actually gave you all perfect reasons to hate me.

…

Conclusion: I invite you all to state positive and negative aspects of ffX2, after wich I’ll state mine. If you sucsead in proving that the game is worth playing, I will officially apologiese to everyone who was offended by my earlier statements. It is prefered that you state more facts then oppinions if it’s possible.I obviously missed something about this game and I want to find out what it was. Thank you.

Massive +rep for that post.

I really have nothing else to say right now, but if no one else can do a respectable job of defending X-2, I’ll reappear to pick up the slack.

Massive +rep for that post.

I really have nothing else to say right now, but if no one else can do a respectable job of defending X-2, I’ll reappear to pick up the slack.

Whoa, I think I misunderstood that. Did you say you wanted us to defend FFX-2? Can’t we drop it, I thought this thread was about FFXII music.

do it at another thread then… just say where it is,please.

Whoa, I think I misunderstood that. Did you say you wanted us to defend FFX-2? Can’t we drop it, I thought this thread was about FFXII music.

I doubt it’s a big deal, we’re already on the 10th page and anyone can drag the subject back to XII music if they want to, plus Prak’s a moderator (not nescessarily of this section but what the hey) and seems to be condoning it, so here we go:

Oh, and if a mod does oppose this, I’d request this post along with Prak, yanneilucia, etc.’s posts on the subject split off so we can continue this.

I’m not exactly sure what most people’s reasons for hating X-2 is, but the reason seems to be the same as when people bitch about movie sequels as a "scam to make money". But, granted if X and X-2 were solely movies then I’d probably hate it. But Let me tell you something, they’re not. In terms of storyline I can understand, but as far as gameplay goes, I would even go as far as saying X-2 trumps X’s ass. I found the battle system to be a lot more comfortable then going around on a crazy chessboard where you sometimes have to backtrack.

A lot of the time people bitch about their being only three people and not meeting more. Well, maybe for once the point is not to meet new people, but to get new dresspheres. Getting them is equivilent to meeting new people in the other games. Think about it, if you had more than 3 people, it’d be a nightmare passing the dresspheres through them all. Not to mention they had a much better variety of skills to choose from than in X. I don’t recall in X anywhere on the sphere grid there being an actual skill to inflict Stone, Berserk, OR EVEN Confuse… a bunch of the status effects you had to rely on the weapon skill. Gun Mage > Kimahri any day.

It’s not just the battle system, it’s the sidequests as well that pay off. I didn’t see any Chocobo sidequest in X except for that one balloon race if that even counts, and look what X-2 has. I’ll name a few others:
-Cactuar sidequest. Probably the best Cactuar sidequest in any of the FF games I played. X had a lame red-light/green-light minigame situated in one place, and here we have a more original reflex minigame situated throughout the whole world.
-The Den of Woe. For once there’s a reason not to bitch about the story, sorry if I go a little off here, but back on the subject of the story I would put the whole Nooj/Baralai/Gippal part probably better then anything any of the FF7 sequels brought us. Maybe the whole Yuna wielding a gun and becoming a pop-princess turns people away, but this is something that actually makes sense. Also to add to the subject of the story I’d say X-2 gave a whole lot more insight on spheres and how they work, I thought they were pretty cool when I played X first.
-The CommSphere sidequest. Was original and entertaining, some may find it tedious and just sitting through cutscene, but the point of it and what it actually consists of pays off, as well as the fact that sometimes you’re meant to pay attention closely.
-The tourist trap. Meh, maybe not worth mentioning when I’m defending the game, but I enjoyed this one a lot for some reason.
-The monkeys. ‘Nuff said.
-One that a lot of people probably hated was the number cave in Thunder Plains where you first meet Cid. Meh, again, I loved that cause it was, again, an original idea, but then again I like math so maybe it’s not for everyone. Same with sphere break.

The story did have some redeeming comedic qualities as well, but the sidequests and missions and gameplay itself made up for the mediocre storyline.

I just simply can’t understand why someone would rave over a game like Dirge of Cerberus and slag off X-2, unless they’re jumping on a bandwagon in which case I can’t help them.

There’s more, but I think that’s enough out of me.

I do oppose it, but I love the idea of anyone defending FFX-2. I’ve just given up on doing it myself, for the most part, because it rarely seems to work.

I have no mod power in this section — I can’t do anything with your posts, but I would really recommend starting another thread / getting this dealt with.

I actually didn’t realize until after I finished with that post that this forum isn’t moderated by anyone. Oh well.

Thank you, I apriciatte this. Again, if you move this discussion to another thread, please let me know.

Great defense for X-2, Zak6009. I also really enjoyed the game and thought the dresspheres were a great way for the three characters to change jobs and allow for quicker and better mobility in gameplay.

Anyways, back to the topic in question, I personally think FFXII has one of the best music in the series. Maybe it’s cause I like the heavily orchestrated stuff cause I’ve been to a few Eminence shows (they’re an orchestra based in Australia and play music from stuff in pop culture, mostly anime and game based) and my appreciation for it is quite high. Also, the fact that FFXII pretty much regurgitates the same songs from FF Tactics Advance but turns it into something pleasant and nice to listen to was good for me. I seriously just love walking around Rabanastre and taking my time because the song for it just makes me feel happy. I also like the song when fighting the Espers cause it sorta fits the mood of the whole situation.

FFX-2’s sound track was pretty bad…

I agree, I think FFX-2 is the worst. FFXII just wasn’t memorable, I don’t remember it being bad or good.

My favorites are FFVIII, FFX, bits of Kingdom Hearts 1 and most of Kingdom Hearts 2 (which are both mainly by Yoko Shimomura) .

I really like the eastersand music. And I do like the FFT-type music. Fits the mood.

I’m still waiting for Prak , Hynad and Trigunzero’s reply on my invitation, because they were the most fierce to argue about it. You don’t have to rush, but please do it, eventually.

I agree, I think FFX-2 is the worst. FFXII just wasn’t memorable, I don’t remember it being bad or good.

My favorites are FFVIII, FFX, bits of Kingdom Hearts 1 and most of Kingdom Hearts 2 (which are both mainly by Yoko Shimomura) .

The KH OST’s are, not mainly but, entirely done by Yoko Shimomura. The only Uematsu songs on the KH OSTs were the One-Winged Angel variations but those were Yoko’s arrangements and not Nobuo’s. Nobuo took no part in the KH soundtracks. I think Yoko did a good job with the KH OSTs though. In my opinion, he ranks up there with Nobuo.

Sorry to get off topic…

Yoko if anything ruined OWA.

Yoko if anything ruined OWA.

He made it all catoony sounding. But I like hearing other people’s versions of the song. The beginning of the One-Winged Angel remix by Randy Brown on the Project Majestic Mix: A Tribute to Nobuo Uematsu [Gold Edition] was pretty interesting. It sounded like it had some Psycho (the movie) influences.

I echo what’s been said about Kingdom Hearts. I like the original Kingdom Hearts soundtrack reasonably well, but I agree that Shimamura excelled on Kingdom Hearts II.

He made it all catoony sounding. But I like hearing other people’s versions of the song. The beginning of the One-Winged Angel remix by Randy Brown on the Project Majestic Mix: A Tribute to Nobuo Uematsu [Gold Edition] was pretty interesting. It sounded like it had some Psycho (the movie) influences.

Agreed there.

But as for Yoko all she really did was take out some parts of the original.

Agreed there.

But as for Yoko all she really did was take out some parts of the original.

Yeea, pretty much all the instrumental parts that lack vocals.

Agreed. In other words, it sounds pretty much like it would anyway if you were playing the PC version of FFVII.

Agreed. In other words, it sounds pretty much like it would anyway if you were playing the PC version of FFVII.

Well I don’t know about that. I think Nobuo did a good job putting those synth vocals in there and they are very noticeable too.

What synth vocals? AFAIK, there are no vocals playing in the PC version of the game.

Wait, I’m confused here. I’ve never played the PC version, but just want to clear something up:

Agent, in your first post you said this:

Agreed. In other words, it sounds pretty much like it would anyway if you were playing the PC version of FFVII.

You said you’ve played KH (as well as based on what Dant_e said) so I assume you know that Yoko’s version of OWA is Uematsu’s with the long instrumental parts taken out leaving ONLY the vocal parts and the intro of course. So from that I’d understand the PC version is vocal only as well since you said it sounds like the PC version, but then you said this:

AFAIK, there are no vocals playing in the PC version of the game.

So I don’t get it, how did FFVII’s PC version play OWA?

Huh. For the record Shimamura has yet to beat PE1, Kingdom Hearts was passable though. I haven’t listened to a complete FF CD in forever, they’re too damn long. Anyway, I haven’t played an FF since 8 and RPG game music requires come context to truly be enjoyed….BUT, X has the best battle themes…XII does the sort of ambient awesome I like. Honestly, of the games I’ve bothered listening to, IX had the most annoying soundtrack.

Zak, you seem to have figured out that I was the one who was confused. I misread the previous post.

There’s no vocals in the PC version? That’s weird. How come that version isn’t on the OST then?

I dunno. I think the only reason there’s no vocals on the PC version is a technology issue. It was the first of only two PC ports they ever did, and they didn’t do a thrilling job with either. I think all of the PC version FFVII tunes were done in MIDI.

I dunno. I think the only reason there’s no vocals on the PC version is a technology issue. It was the first of only two PC ports they ever did, and they didn’t do a thrilling job with either. I think all of the PC version FFVII tunes were done in MIDI.

That’s kinda neat! I didn’t know they changed the PC port of the game. So do all the songs have a different sound, meaning do the instruments being played sound different? I don’t mean to ask if there were different songs in the PC version. I think I might’ve worded this question funny, sorry :erm:

No, I know what you mean. The answer is no, not really. It’s just that some of them are better copies of the Playstation / original soundtrack versions than others. I still have copies of all of the FFVII PC version MIDIs on my hard drive if you / anyone else is interested.

And the music isn’t the only thing they changed in the PC version port — a good portion of the script is altered as well.

I definitely don’t think XII has the worst music of the FF series. If one prefers more electronic-sounding music as to more orchestrated ones then that’s a matter of taste and opinion. I played Final Fantasy Tactics and loved the soundtrack, XII I think is just as good. However the soundtrack for XII is far too repetitive on the recent Ivalice Alliance (i.e. Revenant Wings & FFTA 2).

No, I know what you mean. The answer is no, not really. It’s just that some of them are better copies of the Playstation / original soundtrack versions than others. I still have copies of all of the FFVII PC version MIDIs on my hard drive if you / anyone else is interested.

And the music isn’t the only thing they changed in the PC version port — a good portion of the script is altered as well.

I most definitely am interested!:-P You wouldn’t mind uploading it would you? Please?

I can’t believe I missed out on the PC version, especially the script difference. I just thought it was the same game but on comp. I was a kid when they came out so of course I wouldn’t have known nor did I look into it. Well now I’m interested in seeing what it’s like.

I took a look on eBay and I say this one listing (http://cgi.ebay.com/Final-Fantasy-VII-7-PC-Games-Triangle-Box-Guide-L-K_W0QQitemZ110239498642QQihZ001QQcategoryZ62053QQs sPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem) of the PC version. I didn’t know it came with a triangle-like box. And -whoa!- it comes with a sweeto fold out thing where you store the 4 cds. Dang…I missed out…

Dant_e, we are getting so far afield that I think it is best that I PM you. Watch for that shortly — I’ll have some good info for you. And if anyone else is interested in this topic, I’m more than happy to talk with them by PM also…

Dant_e, we are getting so far afield that I think it is best that I PM you. Watch for that shortly — I’ll have some good info for you. And if anyone else is interested in this topic, I’m more than happy to talk with them by PM also…

I know, everytime I posted a reply I was scared a moderator would come and yell at us. But anyway, I look forward to your PM. Sounds good!

So let’s discuss the thread question again: "Does FF XII have the worst music of the series?"

In my opinion, yes. I’m just not a fan of Hitoshi’s style. Oh well. Please don’t take offense to that whoever might be reading this. I also wanted to know, the people that liked the OST, what tracks seem to stand out to you the most?

I kinda wanna give the OST another chance since I only hear it in the game and not on my comp unlike the other OSTs. So I wanna hear some recommendations. Anyone?

I both like and dislike various tracks on FFXII’s soundtrack. To answer the question, the tracks that stand out are "The Mosphoran Highwaste," "The Phon Coast," "Clash on the Big Bridge," "Kiss Me Goodbye" "Symphonic Poem, Hope," both the opening and ending movies, "Penelo’s Theme," "Ozmone Plain," "Eruyt Village" and, forever and always, "Final Fantasy."

Just a side note. In order to correctly enjoy the MIDI tracks of FF VII PC the way they were meant to be enjoyed, you should have the Yamaha XG Soft-synthesiser installed on your PC.

Good point, Hynad. I forgot about that. I believe it comes bundled with the PC version of the game, but yeah, if not, you’ll have to find and download it.

Good point, Hynad. I forgot about that. I believe it comes bundled with the PC version of the game, but yeah, if not, you’ll have to find and download it.

I think I’m missing that. What is it, a .dll or somethin of that sort?

And the songs you mentioned, Agent0042, isn’t "Clash on the Big Bridge" from Final Fantasy V?

I find FFXII’s OST to be epic material with enough quiet and soothing tracks in between to get a nice mixture of moods. Of course, Disc 2 is the worst out of the four but still, I would need more than my two hands and feet to count all of my favorite tracks. ‘Boss Battle’, ‘Battle for Freedom’, ‘Phon Coast’, ‘Eruyt Village’, ‘Esper Battle’, ‘Place of the Gods’, and ‘Agitation ~ Empire’ are only a small selection of the tracks that I can put on repeat for a long time.

But yes, compared to Sakimoto’s darker epic, Vagrant Story, it is a small candle before a big bonfire.

That being said, I need to be in an appropriate mood to listen to Sakimoto’s music. It tends to be when I’m a bit grimmer or my mind is on medieval stuff – obvious, isn’t it? – when it really sinks deep into my bones. As for my daily listening when I just want to kick back and relax?

Mitsuda. He’s my answer for all of that. =)

I think I’m missing that. What is it, a .dll or somethin of that sort?
Not sure. If you want, I can try digging around my copy of the game and see if it’s possible to make a copy of it to post.

And the songs you mentioned, Agent0042, isn’t "Clash on the Big Bridge" from Final Fantasy V?
"Battle with Gilgamesh" was the music used in the Gilgamesh battles in Final Fantasy V. In a nice nod to that game, it was remixed / rearranged for the FFXII Gilgamesh battles and released under the title "Clash on the Big Bridge."

I kinda wanna give the OST another chance since I only hear it in the game and not on my comp unlike the other OSTs. So I wanna hear some recommendations. Anyone?

Listen to "Seeking Power" again. It’s the music in the Paramina Rift (if you even got that far, I remember you telling me you took a break and never went back). Considering the Uematsu tracks you told me you liked, this one should maybe change your opinion of the OST. Also "The Forgotten Capital" which is played in the Necrohol which you probably didn’t get to is a great track.

My favorite is "Theme of the Empire" but I’d only reccomend a certain half of it which is played at a certain point in the game and THEN listening to the whole thing together.

I was also gonna suggest Rabanastre but you already told me you liked that one.

Also, good to see you’re not being a hypocrite after calling that other guy narrow-minded, most of the posters here probably would have been, lol.

I also have a question. While some of the FFXII tracks I have on my iPod are labeled with Sakimoto as the artist, I have a few that are "Hayato Matsuo", whos name I haven’t heard mentioned once here. Seeking Power may have been one of them. What’s up with that? Did he do half the OST along with Sakimoto?

I also have a question. While some of the FFXII tracks I have on my iPod are labeled with Sakimoto as the artist, I have a few that are "Hayato Matsuo", whos name I haven’t heard mentioned once here. Seeking Power may have been one of them. What’s up with that? Did he do half the OST along with Sakimoto?

Matsuo did maybe seven or so tracks on the album? Something along the lines. "Seeking Power and "The Forgotten Capital" are two of his. "A Land of Memories" as well; three enormously good tracks if you ask me.

For the record, Masaharu Iwata did two tracks on the album as well: "The Sochen Cave Palace" and "The Feywood". Also excellent stuff.

Not sure. If you want, I can try digging around my copy of the game and see if it’s possible to make a copy of it to post.
That would be awesome! Keep me posted, please.

"Battle with Gilgamesh" was the music used in the Gilgamesh battles in Final Fantasy V. In a nice nod to that game, it was remixed / rearranged for the FFXII Gilgamesh battles and released under the title "Clash on the Big Bridge."
Oh, I just looked at the song on the FFV OST and it is named "Battle with Gilgamesh". What got me mixed up was that "The Black Mages" re-did that song on their first album and named it "Clash on the Big Bridge".

I do remember fighting Gilgamesh in FFV, for the first time (at least I think it’s the first time), on a giant bridge. He would send waves of soldiers at you, so you would fight them and eventually you would make your way to the end where he was waiting.

Listen to "Seeking Power" again. It’s the music in the Paramina Rift (if you even got that far, I remember you telling me you took a break and never went back). Considering the Uematsu tracks you told me you liked, this one should maybe change your opinion of the OST. Also "The Forgotten Capital" which is played in the Necrohol which you probably didn’t get to is a great track.

My favorite is "Theme of the Empire" but I’d only reccomend a certain half of it which is played at a certain point in the game and THEN listening to the whole thing together.

I was also gonna suggest Rabanastre but you already told me you liked that one.
I will look into those when I get some free time. I’ve been slammed with ten page essays and 300 page books to read so I’ll be busy for quite some time in the next three weeks.

I think I’ll download "Theme of the Empire" right now and I’ll give you my opinions on it later.

Also, good to see you’re not being a hypocrite after calling that other guy narrow-minded, most of the posters here probably would have been, lol.
Like I said, I wanna give the FFXII OST another chance. I have to play the game all the way through anyway so why not try to enjoy it more by sprucening up my musical taste (for the FFXII OST that is)? Haha!

I also have a question. While some of the FFXII tracks I have on my iPod are labeled with Sakimoto as the artist, I have a few that are "Hayato Matsuo", whos name I haven’t heard mentioned once here. Seeking Power may have been one of them. What’s up with that? Did he do half the OST along with Sakimoto?
Not half, more like seven or so songs. Also, on the FFXII OST, Masaharu Iwata composed two songs, Taro Hakase & Yuji Toriyama, together, composed one song, and -hey, what a surprise!- Nobuo Uematsu composed seven songs. The majority of the OST was done by Hitoshi. I can give you a list of who composed what song if you’re interested.

Originally Posted by Agent0042 View Post
Not sure. If you want, I can try digging around my copy of the game and see if it’s possible to make a copy of it to post.
That would be awesome! Keep me posted, please.
All right, I copied the yahama folder from the install disc to my hard drive, so hopefully that should do the trick. I did see a file within it called setup.exe I’ll get it all uploaded soon.

Oh, I just looked at the song on the FFV OST and it is named "Battle with Gilgamesh". What got me mixed up was that "The Black Mages" re-did that song on their first album and named it "Clash on the Big Bridge".
Hrm, so it would seem the official Square Enix folks are taking cues from The Black Mages then.

All right, I copied the yahama folder from the install disc to my hard drive, so hopefully that should do the trick. I did see a file within it called setup.exe I’ll get it all uploaded soon.
Righteous!

Hrm, so it would seem the official Square Enix folks are taking cues from The Black Mages then.
Haha, you really think so? Well they are Nobuo’s songs but then that makes me wonder: who has the official licenses over the FF music, Nobuo or Square?

Right, I’ll get that posted soon. As for the question — which do you think? Almost certainly Square.

I think Square does too. But if I put myself in Nobuo’s shoes I would at least want to have some sort of privileges towards them since I composed them (I being Nobuo) in the first place. Hmmm, maybe Wikipedia knows somethin…

The Yamaha thing is up. http://agent0042.fileburst.com/yamaha.zip

Good luck! Hope it works okay. Lemme know if for some reason it doesn’t work or anything. And if it does, I look forward to hearing your thoughts on how the sound of the MIDIs changes once it’s installed.

Nobuo was credited in XII, but that was for the tracks such as "Clash on the Big Bridge", "Final Fantasy", the Chocobo theme, the Fanfare after bosses, etc.

I’m a bit disappointed by so many people posting about how they didn’t like the FF12’s OST.

I am absolutely enamored with Sakimoto’s orchestral, heavy baseline pieces. They’re so well written and extremely entertaining to listen to.

The Yamaha thing is up. http://agent0042.fileburst.com/yamaha.zip

Good luck! Hope it works okay. Lemme know if for some reason it doesn’t work or anything. And if it does, I look forward to hearing your thoughts on how the sound of the MIDIs changes once it’s installed.

…Lame. It says i need Windows95 or later and I’m using Vista, shoot! Any suggestions?

You should make a partition with Windows XP on it.

I think it’s a pre-requisite to do so if you want to have Vista at all cost, since there are still a lot of backward compatibility problems with it.

Uuugghhh…I think I’ll pass. Although, I do have an older computer downstairs with XP on it. I’ll try and use that after I get around to wiping the drive. It’s swarming with viruses, malware, and, most of all, rootkits.

…Lame. It says i need Windows95 or later and I’m using Vista, shoot! Any suggestions?
None. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it’s incompatible with Vista. For that matter, I’ve yet to hear of anybody who’s managed to successfully play Final Fantasy VII for PC in Vista. I have Windows XP and managed to get VII to run. The game was designed for Windows 95, though, and requires one or more patches to be compatible with XP.

I have no plans to try installing Vista on my current system, which is already showing its age with XP. As for whether I’ll ever try Vista, I don’t know. It seems to be one giant disaster.

Oh, BTW, add "The Cerobi Stoppe" to the list. It has a very fascinating sound to it, and doesn’t get old easily. And I forgot before, but the battle music for The Undying, "The End of Battle."

I have no plans to try installing Vista on my current system, which is already showing its age with XP. As for whether I’ll ever try Vista, I don’t know. It seems to be one giant disaster.
I don’t recommend it. It IS a giant disaster. I only use it cause it came with my laptop and it only gives me problems with my media players. The applications I use most, Vista always gives me a hard time with.

I also don’t have my XP discs anymore and I don’t feel like being a giant internet pirate by downloading it. As much as I hate Vista, I support Microsoft so I would rather buy XP so they can use the money to fix Vista.

Oh, BTW, add "The Cerobi Stoppe" to the list. It has a very fascinating sound to it, and doesn’t get old easily. And I forgot before, but the battle music for The Undying, "The End of Battle."
Thanks for the recommendations. I still haven’t gotten around to downloading the FFXII OST though. Sorry :laugh:

I would forget Vista all-together imo. Vista is hell, and Microsoft is the devil after all.

I would forget Vista all-together imo. Vista is hell, and Microsoft is the devil after all.

Hmmm…

There is a huge difference between supporting Microsoft itself, and preferring using their systems over all other systems like Macs and such.

Hi, does anyone has the Saiyuki journey west(game) ost?

Please don’t ask unrelated questions in random threads.

Probably everybody already forgot about this, but I owe an apology to people who I insulted on the Final Fantasy X-2 matter…. It may mean nothing to anyone but a word is a word….

To all ffx-2 fans:
I apologize for insulting your private opinions. I realized later that it’s not the game that’s at fault. It’s just me. There are the good and the bad sides of the game, just like any other…. and I guess that I simply couldn’t enjoy the good ones. And there are good sides… MANY of them actually. Now that I think back, I felt something nice when I saw Shuyin’s fighting style and how similar it is to that of another guy who I didn’t like once… Maybe just for a a moment there I enjoyed the game.
…
I’ll try to keep a memory of it in that manner. And I’ll remember how eager you guys were to defend it. Once more… I apologize.

I liked Final Fantasy XII’s music. But I guess it all depends on people’s preferences. Well I enjoyed the soundtrack I still like Final Fantasy IV, VI, VII, and X more.

I’d rank FFXII’s soundtrack below FFVI, FFVII, FFVIII, FFIX, FFX.

AKA just about every FF game in the last 15 years. That qualifies as bad music overall in my book. FFX-2’s soundtrack might, perhaps beat it or tie it as well. Maybe not bad music but I would say it’s about the worst in the series.

One particular thing that griped me about FFXII’s soundtrack is that there seemed to be very few catchy tunes or songs with rhythm on it. It reminded me of a jumbled up orchestra going from one theme to another without any pattern or rhythm. Maybe it made leveling up in areas (and there was more than enough of that) feel a little less monotonous since you couldn’t tell when that area’s song began or ended… that’s the only plus I can think of for it. Mostly it just made me want to fall asleep in boredom.

when i first heard ff12’s soundtrack, i immediately /facepalm. I wouldn’t say its bad, but I just don’t like the style. It sounds like an MMORPG, archiac, medieval europe music genre to me and i absolutely hate it, especially since every track is like that. The only track that i really like is Esper Battle, but it really gets old after listening to it for a few times. I really prefer the music genre from previous final fantasy, chrono cross, star ocean, kingdom hearts etc

Pretty sure not. It really does sound a lot different than Uematsu’s, but that doesn’t mean it’s worse. It’s simply, as said, different.

Then again, FFXII’s OST was the main reason I bought a PS2 in first place. I got so hooked with Revenant Wings’ OST that I just felt I NEEDED to play the original game. It was pretty worth it, IMO.

I think VII had the worst and then again VII’s the worst of the series.

No. I think the music was fitting for the games setting. The music had a touch of Star Wars in it, but the games story and character concept was based a lot on Star Wars. Overall, I think it was pretty good.

hell no. I think FFXII just has more of a different feel to it than all the other Final Fantasies. and I love it 🙂 I happen to like the soundtrack

My favorite Final Fantasy soundtrack, followed by IX.

No. No it doesn’t. It doesn’t have any battle music, true enough.

But it is still better than X-2. Besides Sakimoto does things with midi that shouldn’t be possible. Play odin sphere if you can still find it, He’s in his element there.

Definitely not a fan of FFXII’s music although I really enjoyed the music in Vagrant Story.

Overall, I don’t like the music as much as like, 6, but I do like alot of the boss battle music like Esper battle, which is may favorite song from next to Dancing Mad and J-E-N-O-V-A.

Vagrant Story music is one of the best especially the staff roll music which is pretty impresive.

Does FF XII have the worst music of the series?

YES

I think FF X-2 and V have far worse soundtracks than FF XII.

FF XII is mainly regarded as being worse just due to the fact that Uematsu didn’t take much part in it (except for the few remixes and the Kiss Me Goodbye song).

The soundtrack, while not the greatest the series offered (like VI, VIII and IX), is still richer than some (V, VII, X, X-2 XI) and fits the mood of the game’s events and environments almost flawlessly.

I didn’t like the music in FF12… Which I don’t really get. I loved Hitoshi Sakimoto’s work on Final Fantasy Tactics, but his work in FF12 just doesn’t even come close. The two tracks I really like are Rabanastre’s Lowtown and Eruyt Village, and even those don’t compare to the music of the rest of the series, for me…

I didn’t like the music in FF12… Which I don’t really get. I loved Hitoshi Sakimoto’s work on Final Fantasy Tactics, but his work in FF12 just doesn’t even come close. The two tracks I really like are Rabanastre’s Lowtown and Eruyt Village, and even those don’t compare to the music of the rest of the series, for me…

Yes that’s weird, because I don’t really think FFT has anything that FF12 doesn’t.
Out of FFT and FF12 OST, I’d easily pick FF12 as the better, but both are in the top 5 of FF OSTs.

(First post here) I wouldn’t say it has the worst music, it’s just not noticeable because you’re busy fighting the guys. In earlier series you can listen to the music because it is a much slower game

Personally, I loved the soundtrack. It is my favorite Final Fantasy soundtrack so far. But this style of music imo wouldn’t work in a more traditional final fantasy. It just depends

Personally, I loved the soundtrack. It is my favorite Final Fantasy soundtrack so far. But this style of music imo wouldn’t work in a more traditional final fantasy. It just depends

Yeah, and that’s the thing, FFXII is not your average FF, it has more in common with FF Tactics and Vagrant Story, so it’s only very fitting that they got the composer of those two games (Hitoshi Sakimoto) to do FFXII.

As a matter of fact, very early into the development Uematsu was supposed to do the music, but the director (Yasumi Matsuno, who also directed FF Tactics and Vagrant Story) insisted that Hitoshi Sakimoto do the music, with who he worked together on FFT and VS.

And I’m very happy they did that, I can’t imagine an Ivalice game without the music of Sakimoto. (so far he’s done FFXII, FFT, FFTA, FFTA2, Vagrant Story)

I definitely agree with Tailgunner. FFXII IS one of the best soundtracks I’ve heard. Of course, whether we all love video game soundtracks or not, we still have slightly different preferences. I do love Uematsu’s work, but this OST isn’t capable of being compared to. By the way, a few of my favorite songs include "The Feywood", "Seeking Power", "To The Place of the Gods", "Giruvegan’s Mystery", "Ashe’s Theme", "Theme of the Empire", and I think its called "Battle for Freedom". I’m just putting in my two cents. ^_^

I got no problem with the music in general but
The problem with FFXII’s music was the battle. In all the FF series the battles would break out with some awesome music that was suited for battles. in this one the music doesnt change from when your normally running around and when you start fighting.
where’s the inspiration to fight good?

True but you battle so frequently that the music changing constantly would really annoy me. That being said the Boss Battle song is probably one of my favorite FF songs ever. I also like how they only play Victory Fanfare after a really huge battle. It keeps it special.

True but you battle so frequently that the music changing constantly would really annoy me. That being said the Boss Battle song is probably one of my favorite FF songs ever. I also like how they only play Victory Fanfare after a really huge battle. It keeps it special.

That is a really good point, Moogletim. I never thought of it that way before. ^.^

I really do like the Esper battle music in FFXII…
But I also like the battle/boss music from X-2 ^_^

I think the worst FF OST is X-2’s.

I wouldn’t say its the worst but the style of the music has dramatically changed from its predecessors. Thats not surprising considering its not composed by Nobuo Uematsu. Personally i don’t really like the soundtrack because of its style, but i can see why others like it.

Actually I think it has fantastic music, but in a different way from other FF music. After all Sakimoto scored it. But it’s far away bad, it’s just not in the same style.

Fantastic soundtrack. One of the best in FF series. Though I like Noubuo’s music more but like many other I think Sakimoto’s music fits FFXII better.

Well the composer was no Nobuo Uematsu, however, I thought the music was creative and suited the environments to which they were put in. To each his own though.

I loved ffxii’s tracks.. omg.
the old archades theme, the second level of the tower… man just a few i loved.

They should start a consert tour with his music.

I’m so fed up with this soundtrack, my brother keeps listening to it even when he’s working out or studying and won’t even care about using headphones. I recommend him the Crisis Core OST, which is much better but he didn’t even try it a second time, it’s all about FFXII.

Glitch’s brother, if you’re reading– I like your taste over Glitch’s.

Glitch’s brother, if you’re reading– I like your taste over Glitch’s.

Seconded

He doesn’t even know this site exists, glad to disappoint you both.

That’s okay, I’m sure he feels us in spirit. 😀

Lol.

Yeah… I prefer Sakimoto’s style over Uematsu’s. Ogre Battle, Tactics Ogre, FFT, FFXII, Vagrant Story, Valkyria Chronicles… I love the chamber music effort he puts into each game.

Don’t forget about Odin Sphere, although he didn’t make the whole music.

Huh, I reactivated my account after years of non-use just to reply to this thread.

I love FFXII’s soundtrack.

I really enjoy games with understated but powerful music, which is why I find XII’s such a joy to listen to. I find myself humming the melodies and listening to the soundtrack on the bus quite often. It is a soundtrack that happily fades into the background, and I guess this is why it’s not as memorable as tracks by Uematsu, but I also believe this to be its greatest strength. It commands attention when necessary with tracks such as "Theme of the Empire" and "Strike of a Blade" and on a more tragic note, "White Room". Most of the time, however, the music sort of drifts in the background, setting a mood or feeling but not taking over the scene. FFXII is full of this kind of subtlety, not just with the music but with the characters, too. It fits.

Not all the tracks stand out, but in the same vein none of them are annoying. This is a feat that no previous FF soundtrack has accomplished, for me. There’s always some weird, hyper, synthy track that pops on out of nowhere and sends me diving for the Next button. FFXII’s orchestral style is consistent, and I can understand why for some people this is a detractor. I can listen to the soundtrack in one go, and I find myself transported back to Ivalice, reimagining the story – like a daydream.

So as to refresh my feelings for previous soundtracks, just now I popped on FFX’s and VII’s. There are some really great tracks on both of them, but they don’t seem to tie together the same way FFXII does. To me, they sound kind of gimmicky and just like "video game music" – whereas XII’s music is almost branches outside that genre. It’s like, the music in previous soundtracks is an entity on its own, whereas in FFXII it is seamlessly woven into the world’s environment. I guess what I like about FFXII’s OST is exactly what other people hate about it!

tl;dr – exactly what everyone else has said, that FFXII’s music has entirely different intentions than previous FF’s, and it fits its setting completely.

And unlike X’s soundtrack and the song "A Dream That Will End Sometime", it does not have what sounds like someone drinking through a straw every 5 seconds.

First time ever writing here and German descent… so please don’t mind the "not so good" english 😉

As a real, real, REAL soundtrack maniac, who collects game music from Commodore 64 to PlayStation 3, from Chris H???lsbeck to Jeremy Soule, from Koji Kondo to Motoi Sakuraba, I have to say that Hitoshi Sakimotos efforts for Final Fantasy 12 were/are simply stunning.

Alone the powerful main theme gets me every time, I hear it. The intro is perfect and one of the best music pieces ever composed for a computer or video game. I will never forget the theme from the Giza plains. The Phon Coat gets never old. And the Battle for Freedom is one hell of a ride while fighting the last endboss of the game.

In my opinion it is the second best soundtrack of the series, after Uematsus groundbreaking Final Fantasy 6 (in my opinion the second best OST of all time!). If you count spin-offs, it’s still on place three after the first Final Fantasy Tactics. In terms of Hitoshi Sakimotos work (which is my second favorite composer after Chris "Turrican" H???lsbeck), I would rank it also on third place, after FF Tactics and Vagrant Story.

It’s not that I dislike Uematsu beside FF6… the guy created some extremely memorable tunes for FF5, FF7 and FF9. But Sakimotos style is in my opinion more "one-of-a-kind"… his music "grows" from listening to listening, from layer to layer, from tune to tune. Even if Iwatas scores sound similar at first, they don’t have that kind of "growing effect" for me.

Also: Sakimotos style was perfect for a game like Final Fantasy 12. I agree with some other comments, that the music wouldn’t work that perfect with the other FF games. Vice versa Uematsus style wouldn’t work that good with FF12.

Conclusion: I’ve heard the music of Final Fantasy 12 quite a lot… played three times through the games, one time alone for writing a walkthrough. I also listen to the soundtrack cd very often… even if my collection spans more than 700 original bought albums and tons of recorded mp3s straight from games. So this is not a case of "this guy doesn’t know any other kind of game music" 😉

Andy

Final Fantasy XII has one of my favorite sound tracks of all time. So many great themes, I think the reason it is under appreciated is because people don’t take time to analyze what they’re listening to, they only listen to the music at face value.

Take one of my favorite songs, Land of Memories:
YouTube – FFXII Soundtrack: 4.06 – "A Land of Memories" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFO_do9j4Yo)

It initially starts of as this eerie piece fitting of a country that is filled with ghosts. However, as it keeps playing, it moves into this really melancholy song that hints that the former nobility that Nabradia would have in its former glory. Specifically, listen around 1:30 – 1:55 to see what I mean.

Time for the Rest:
YouTube – FFXII Soundtrack: 3.16 – "Time for a Rest" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDphAlEQP0s)

This song has a special meaning for me. Sochen Cave palace was HELL for me. I barely made it out of there alive. WHen I reached the chamber where this song starts playing, I knew I was safe.

Nalbina Fortress Town Ward:
YouTube – Final Fantasy XII OST- Nalbina Fortress Town Ward (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_g_XAtbQr8I)

Another one of my favorite songs in the game. Perfectly captures the spirit of a town that had been nearly destroyed during war but was in the process of rebuilding. There is this spirt of determination that is discernible throughout the track.

Barheim Passage:
YouTube – Final Fantasy XII OST- The Barheim Passage (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vKDM1sTEXc)

Just loved the atmosphere of this piece.

I listen to this soundtrack DAILY. Yes there are a few songs I don’t care much for, but most of the soundtrack is golden. People just don’t want to appreciate it because its "Not Nobuo". Don’t get me wrong, Nobuo Uematsu is a fantastic composer and his place in established in gaming history, but he is a shallow composer for the most part, only trying to capture emotions at face value. There are plenty of composers who are more competent including Koichi Sugiyama, Hitoshi Sakimoto, Kenji Ito, Masashi Hamauzu (His work in Unlimited SaGa and SaGa Frontier is AMAZING), Shogo Sakai, Keiichi Suzuki.[COLOR="Silver"]

FFXII’s OST was pretty good – not the greatest in the series in my opinion, but still very good. Unfortunately, a number of tracks just sounded like Sakimoto was trying too hard to reference his earlier FF Tactics work (most notably Giza Plains and Infiltration), but I guess that is appropriate given FFXII’s connection to FFT. It still came across to me as just laziness however. His arrangement of Uematsu’s Battle With Gilgamesh from FFV though was very well done, and demands the orchestral treatment.

As for Masashi Hamazu, he’s little more than a hack in my opinion, as much of his music just sounds the same regardless of title – stirring military marches with little variety (compare his FFXIII work like The Warpath Home with FFX’s Time of Judgement and FFVII: Dirge of Cerberus’s WRO March – they’re almost the same piece). Granted FFXIII did give him a chance to diversify into epic orchestral scores, but tracks like Fighting Fate just came across as loud, noisy and devoid of melody.

Also, I didn’t realize just how old this thread really is. I don’t like to pretend to be a moderator usually, but a rule of thumb is a thread hasn’t had any new replies in over a month, don’t bother posting in it and just make a new topic instead. *Casts Holy on the dead thread*

I wonder why the game didn’t get an official piano collection.

11 and 13 did and 14 is planned.

They have two different styles, but to me it doesn’t feel like Final Fantasy without nobou composing the music. He is one of my favorite musicians, and I was sad to see him leave after so many years behind all the great music in FF. I like XII’s soundtrack, but I don’t love it like I do VIII’s or IX, or many of his other works

XII doesn’t have a Piano Arrangements mainly because the tracks are orchestral & without "stricking melodies", every instrument is as important as the others. It’s hard to come up with a good arrangements with that kind of songs.

And no XII doesn’t have the worst music in the series at all… It’s just different.

I’m starting to get tired to hear people bitching about this soundtrack.

i think it has a great soundtrack. it works well with the story, is intense and dynamic.

the character themes are good. and it looks like the location and cutscenes work well.

i like the game over music.

i think the worst is probably 11. in a game where the focus is hack n slash and less story orientated they should focus on the atmosphere of the locations than the music.

atmospheric music doesn’t become old but bland music does. so there is a danger (unless it’s uematsu composing) that people will get tired of the music after the 200th hour.

i think they should use ambient sounds in mmorpgs for levels. than segue way into a battle theme using organic sounds to match the surroundings.

so if anything ff11 is the worst. but uematsus compositions are excellent. memora de la stona is one of my favourite vgms.