Among many fans (Such as myself), music present in Final Fantasy games is regarded as being among the best, if not the best available in the videogames industry. If I were ever to be disapointed by the music to a Final Fantasy then I would see the the whole game to be a disapointment (How many times have I said that statement?). Ever since FFIV (When the series progressed to the better sound chip-equipped SNES), Nobuo Uematsu has been producing the most heart-rendingly beautiful music in any game series you care to mention. To me, this man is God. An undeniable genius and someone I will always respect as the ultimate talent in music composition. The way his music moves you and emotionally attaches you to particular characters (Celes, Aeris and Rinoa being three very good examples) is something that will never be beaten. His most famously 'amazing' soundtrack up to now was dubbed FFVI in many an FF fans eyes. Quite a few were disapointed by his effort in FFVII - FFVII's soundtrack is, I feel, the most underated and cruely criticised game soundtrack of all time. People seem to have neglected three facts regarding this soundtrack:

1) The game was dubbed an 'interactive movie' (very wrongly, I might add - you can blame SCEA/SCEE's marketing for that) many times before it was released. People therefore expected a movie-like soundtrack and were disapointed that Square chose to have chip-generated music as opposed to the seamingly limitless scope afforded by the CD-ROM format. This was very stupid, because despite the disapointing instrument sampling, the melodies he produced were his best yet, in mine and his eyes (At the time, that is. His work on FFVIII has surpassed this...more on that later).

2) He only had EIGHT months to come up with around 70 completely original and innovative pieces of music. For such a short period of time, his work was completely stunning and is just a testament to the absolute genius that he is.

3) You are all finding it hard to accept change!! Don't get me wrong here, I used to be the same. I was horified at first by what they did to Final Fantasy with #VII. It was only when I read an interview with Hironobu Sakaguchi that I understood why Final Fantasy must change. This is something I have said so many times now, but you all have to remember that if it didn't change, it would get very dull - you only have to look at the (Seemingly) innovation-less DQVII to see that (Though I am reserving judgement on it till I play the full version... if it ever comes out that is). This change also applies to music - so stop whining about 'tradition' and enjoy Final Fantasy for the ever-evolving and wonderfully fresh beast that it is (Metaphorically speaking).

(Phew... that was a mini rant there... ^_^ On with the subject...)

I was certainly expecting an awesome soundtrack from FFVII and I most deffinately got one. So yes, I am one of the few that regard FFVII's soundtrack to be better than FFVI's. It is far more varied, far more original and (*Gasp*) certain sections are even more touching than the FFVI soundtrack (In my opinion Aeris' theme is more tear-inducing than Celes' Opera theme(!)). Now onto FFVIII's soundtrack. I already explained in my review of FFVIII how much I love this soundtrack and now I will tell you why.

Firstly, Uematsu-san had much more time than he had for FFVII's soundtrack - around 18 months. This enabled him to experiment yet further. You can almost see (Or should that be 'hear'?) his ever-evolving talent by looking at the difference in music between the demo Dollet music and the verison in the full game. FFVIII without doubt houses the most varied, original, memorable, and captivating soundtrack ever concieved. Not only as a Final Fantasy but as a game overall - nothing comes close. The sad thing is, these days his music is increasingly turning into an 'acquired taste'. Many people are just not culturally rich enough to appreciate the wonderful music present in FFVIII. Another big problem with this soundtrack is that you have to judge certain sections on their own, away from the game to see their true beauty (For example the Overworld theme and the Balamb Garden theme) and also that it must be listened to many times to see why it is so good. I will be the first to admit to being disapointed in the beginning. Though I was stunned by Liberi Fatali (As everyone in their right mind was), I felt Uematsu had really 'lost his touch' with other parts of the music. Listening carefully to certain tracks made me realise how great they were. Another thing is the way that you almost 'forget' how awesome certain pieces of music are. Upon listening to particular parts of the soundtrack separately, I began to realise just how many awesome pieces of music there are.

It starts off with the wonderous Liberi Fatali - this, combined with the powerful cinematic effect of the intro will just completely shatter your senses. The incredible emotions I felt while watching the intro were made much, MUCH more powerful thanks to this masterpiece. The second piece of music you hear is the Balamb Garden theme, which starts off great with the FMV. However because you spend such a large amount of time in Garden, it can become very irritating. Then of course comes that overworld theme - Blue Fields. I thought this was truly beautiful and far exceeding the FFVI and FFVII overworld themes. You need to give it a chance though... it sounds a little too weird at first. Next comes the atmospheric dungeon theme - Find Your Way. All of these compositions are a perfect introduction to the game. I feel the atmosphere would have been very different and far less abosorbing had the music been different - such is the power of this, most incredible of soundtracks. One other slight touch I loved about this soundtrack is how it still kept certain elements of the Final Fantasy 'tradition'. Many complained that FFVII's soundtrack was too far removed from the SNES FF's (See the point about "You are all finding it hard to accept change!!") and that it contained none of the musical elements of the previous games. This was of course wrong, but you needed to listen carefully to particular to tracks to see. This also holds true for #VIII. Certain tracks such as the Eyes On Me variations sound very SNES-esque but at the same time refreshing in the instruments used - I'm sure this will please FF 'purists'.

Also some of the 'experiments' Uematsu-san made with #VII have been built upon and refined in his latest masterwork. Tracks such as "Find Your Way" sound very remeniscent of the gorgeous music played in the final dungeon with Aeris in FFVII (Thanks Omega for pointing that out to me!). The real experiments and flairs originality in FFVIII are very prominent in the 'Witch' themes and also the more emotional tracks in the game. For example, what makes "Sacrifice" so utterly absorbing is how it mixes a number of musical themes together. It's very hard to explain in text but you will understand what I mean if you listen to it. This, perhaps proves more than anything what a musical genius Nobuo Uematsu is. He being one of the few composers in the world that can mix such different themes so perfectly. Another 'experimental' track was "Fragments of Memories". You'll be hard-pressed to find a track sounding even remotely similar to this in a game. It sounds very 'childlike' and 'innocent'. It very much reminded me of Elone - perhaps for the reason it is played when you first see her (Fittingly, as a child). To be perfectly honest, almost ALL of the tracks are innovative or original in some way or another. If there were any 'failed' experiments then I would class Laguna's battle theme - "The Man With The Machine Gun" as one. Though having said that, there is a surprisingly large number of people that like this track so really it's a matter of taste.

So yes, this soundtrack is not perfect, but then neither is any other. I wouldn't class the FFVI soundtrack as perfect - there wasn't enough variation, certain themes (Such as Gau's) were highly irritating and some emotional sections were cheesy. I wouldn't class the FFVII soundtrack as perfect - it doesn't appeal to everyone, certain tracks were under-developed and the ending theme was a disapointment. And lastly the FFVIII soundtrack is not perfect - certain tracks were disapointing and like the FFVII soundtrack - it won't appeal to everyone. But you shouldn't dismiss it as 'bad' because it lacks some of your favourite elements of previous games; rather you should embrace this change as taking Final Fantasy and its music in a new, fresh direction. And what really has to be understood here is that it is as close to perfection that a soundtrack has achieved thus far. It is a testament to the power of Final Fantasy that no matter what guise it is in, it is forever awe-inspiring. That is something 'newbies' and 'purists' can all safely agree on I am sure. Lastly, enjoy FFVIII and its incredible soundtrack - it is truly a rare treat that you only get once every two years or so and should be taken advantage of. Don't bitch about 'tradition'. Not only is it very anal but also very arogant and single-minded. Adore this game for how perfect it is and more specifically, for how delightful the music that accompanies it is.

In conclusion to the review, I am of the opinion that this is the greatest game soundtrack of all time (As I said at the start of the review). This is no throw away statement - I sincerely mean it. I imagine many will scoff at what I have said but they are the ones stupid enough not to give it a chance. It took me a long time to come to this conclusion and only by the end of the game did I fully realise how much it had affected me emotionally. It is a soundtrack that will grow and grow on you. Nobuo Uematsu said himself in an interview that he felt this was his greatest work to date and I completely agree with him.

The following snippets of info and scores are based on my own opinions. If anyone wishes to submit their own review (Conflicting or agreeing) then we would gratefully accept. The scores are out of five and here is what each score represents:

1 = A very poor composition and a deep dissapointment.
2 = Has a few problems but not bad OR it is just not suited to everyones tastes.
3 = A good piece of music that only has very minor problems or just doesn't amaze you in any way.
4 = A superb piece of music - very close to perfection.
5 = Absolutely perfect. This is what Final Fantasy is about. Pure bliss.

NB: Again, I must stress these are all my opinions and that there are possible slight spoilers in the descriptions. If you really don't want to spoil anything at all then I suggest you both refrain from downloading and from reading the descriptions. Also of note is that I sometimes say things like "This appeared to be Rinoa's theme". In FFVIII there are no 'named' character themes but you can pin-point them fairly easily when playing the game. Lastly, if you have any comments/queries/suggestions or if you would like to submit your own review, please don't hesitate to email me.

- Bill Divinley.