With the resurgence of vinyl, and many classic game soundtracks seeing a re-release on the format, the Flickering Myth writers look back at some of their favourites; next up is Eric Bay-Andersen with Final Fantasy VII…
Before Final Fantasy VII came along, I thought of video games as an amusing way to spend time after school, nothing more. But the first time I inserted disc 1 of 3 into my bulky old PS1 (or ‘PlayStation’, as it was simply known back then), selected ‘New Game’ and saw the opening cut scene of a wide-eyed flower girl stepping out into the slums of a steampunk city, I knew this was the beginning of a life-changing journey. It remains, to this day, my favourite video game of all time, and judging from the fact that it nearly always appears on (and frequently tops) ‘Top 10 Games Ever’ lists, I think it’s safe to say I’m not alone in that opinion. Obviously the story and the characters are what kept me hooked throughout the 50+ hours of game-play, but a massive part of what made it so engaging was Nobou Uematsu’s incredible soundtrack. His name has become synonymous with the franchise since then, and although his work on other installments is also well-loved (FFX especially) FFVII is surely his masterpiece.
Not counting the beautiful yet melancholy ‘Prelude’, the game starts with ‘Opening Theme / Bombing Mission’, which manages to skilfully shift from mysterious (as Aerith steps out onto the street) to triumphant (the fanfare when the title of the game appears) to dramatic (as the train pulls into the station and the guards get taken down). Within eighty seconds you’re introduced to a character, a city, events are foreshadowed, and you’re thrown into the action – an incredible introduction to a game! Not long after that, you begin your first battle, and a piece of music begins that you will hear literally hundreds of times before you face Sephiroth at the Northern Crater on disc 3 – the appropriately named ‘Fighting’. Normally, hearing a track so many times would get annoying, but the chugging strings, soaring trumpets and dynamic percussion of ‘Fighting’ never failed to get me feeling psyched about even the briefest battle.
These are just three of the eighty-five(!) staggering pieces that Uematsu composed for the game, including distinctive themes for all the main characters – ‘Red XIII’s Theme’ was brooding and tribal, and ‘Aerith’s Theme’ was the perfect balance of tragic and hopeful (hinting there was a divine reason behind one of the saddest deaths in video game history). There were also recurring motifs throughout the game, as sophisticatedly woven as on any film soundtrack – for example, the bell chime melody from the opening theme is expanded upon in the gorgeous ‘Flow Of Life’, and the game’s glorious ‘Main Theme’ gets an up-tempo make-over on ‘Highwind Takes To The Skies’ (a track that always reminded me of those moments in the Back to the Future trilogy when the rousing main theme played during moments of triumph). Far from being samey, there was incredible variety on the soundtrack, ranging from moments of playful silliness (the Chocobo themes), to pure dread (‘Trail Of Blood’ and ‘Those Chosen By The Planet’ – cues like these usually played after a rare moment of silence in the game, which let you know that serious stuff was about to go down!)
Nobou Uematsu is often referred to as the ‘Japanese John Williams’, and while that may be a bit of an oversimplification, it’s an apt comparison when you consider how skilled both of them are at composing beautiful and evocative music. It’s also a testament to the quality of the melodies that they’ve been turned into incredibly successful orchestral works – the Reunion Tracks version of ‘One Winged Angel’ is one of the most dramatic pieces of music ever recorded, and I doubt you’ve ever heard anything as heart-breakingly beautiful as the piano version of ‘Tifa’s Theme’ (look them both up on YouTube). That’s not to downplay the effectiveness of the original soundtrack versions – in fact, when you consider the sheer range of sounds Uematsu was able to create with the restrictions of MIDI, the different styles he utilised and the range of emotions he was able to evoke with them, it’s a similar achievement to when Queen created ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ back in 1975 by pushing the recording capabilities of 24-track analogue tape to the limit.
In the 19 years since Final Fantasy VII was released (my God, has it been that long?) the graphics that once wowed me now look charmingly blocky, but the characters are still fascinating and iconic, and the story is still gripping. Likewise, Uematsu’s MIDI soundtrack may feel dated, but the melodies he created are timeless. And even though I adore the orchestral and piano arrangements I mentioned above (and I look forward to hopefully hearing the full soundtrack in orchestral form when the PS4 remake arrives), nothing will ever inspire that same sense of nostalgia for me as hearing the original music that Nobou Uematsu composed for the greatest video game of all time.
Eric Bay-Andersen
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Originally published March 23, 2016. Updated April 15, 2018.
