Naoshi Mizuta for 5.0

Can Naoshi Mizuta be the main music composer for 5.0 he did a great job in FF11 and I feel that his music really brings the world to life. FFXI Treasures of Aht Urhgan soundtrack was just beautiful it truly made you feel like you were in a new mysterious continent.

FFXI Soundtrack is something I've found to be pretty consistently overrated. Every time somebody tries to post "evidence" of how much better the OST in that game is than this one it usually just ends up ranging anywhere from "okay" to "mediocre", because in the end musical tastes are subjective. I don't see any reason to demote Soken just because "you liked FFXI a lot."

There are some 1.0 Uematsu songs I still really miss (especially all three city themes), but to pretend like Soken is bad or needs replacing is pretty silly.

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Originally Posted by GMERC

FFXI Soundtrack is something I've found to be pretty consistently overrated. Every time somebody tries to post "evidence" of how much better the OST in that game is than this one it usually just ends up ranging anywhere from "okay" to "mediocre", because in the end musical tastes are subjective. I don't see any reason to demote Soken just because "you liked FFXI a lot."

There are some 1.0 Uematsu songs I still really miss (especially all three city themes), but to pretend like Soken is bad or needs replacing is pretty silly.

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Different composers have different ways of bringing the world to life I enjoy the other composers but I feel that the music in this game is too edgy and forgetful at times compared to FF11 and other works done by Mizuta, and his battle themes are just awesome. I remember most of his battle themes I don't remember most of the FF14 original battle themes.

I bet if you heard battle themes like this in XIV you would remember them even more lol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FlQ...53DEA255C991A7
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGnPdF02g0w

And the world has some of the best OST.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TnSMXcp2Hg (Forest)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AHrZVKt-tM (Open World)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uc1bc1f_t-U (Undead Shipyard)

I must admit one thing, while Soken isnt bad at all, i do find that he is better at making remixes and updating older themes, than composing original songs. This might be a consequense of his very tight schedules and timeframes in wich he gets to be creative.

I have never touched FFXI, yet for some reason i feel that every theme ive heard from it has a soul. Like im in the game and feel nostaglic to a game i have never played. Its hard to describe.

Soken needs a break. Many of the newer themes have been lackluster and unimaginative. Baelsars wall and Zurvan springs to mind instantly. In 3.5 theres only one added theme i liked, and that was a leftover from 1.0- Quicksand. The current theme of Sohm Al hard mode.

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Originally Posted by Enur

I must admit one thing, while Soken isnt bad at all, i do find that he is better at making remixes and updating older themes, than composing original songs. This might be a consequense of his very tight schedules and timeframes in wich he gets to be creative.

I have never touched FFXI, yet for some reason i feel that every theme ive heard from it has a soul. Like im in the game and feel nostaglic to a game i have never played. Its hard to describe.

Soken needs a break. Many of the newer themes have been lackluster and unimaginative. Baelsars wall and Zurvan springs to mind instantly. In 3.5 theres only one added theme i liked, and that was a leftover from 1.0- Quicksand. The current theme of Sohm Al hard mode.

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Exactly Heavenward is basically just a huge remix everything sounds the same lol. Its not bad just want something different

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Originally Posted by Brightshadow

edgy

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Hey look ma, it's that word again! Please stop using the word edgy to just mean anything you personally don't like.

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Originally Posted by Brightshadow

Exactly Heavenward is basically just a huge remix everything sounds the same lol. Its not bad just want something different

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I know you're just exaggerating for effect, but you do know what a leitmotif is, right?

No, thank you. Soken is FFXIV's composer and he does a pretty damn good job. Please keep your FFXI nostalgia away from FFXIV's dev team.

While I agree that 3.5 wasn't the best patch musically, Soken proved he's one hell of a composer with songs like Equilibrium and Unbending Steel. Not only that, but the whole Alexander raid series music is so well done that I can't imagine Alexander with a different music now.

I really like Soken's style for battle music, they're all kind of different- even if it isn't my kind of different I still like that they all try different things. Like seriously Titan was so awesome, then I heard Ramuh's and was just confused if I had a really awesome track playing in the background first because it took me off guard (in a good way). Singing Ravana's is really fun :P.

Although I would have to say something in FFXI's music made hearing them on repeat so acceptable- imo. Hearing our new city theme on repeat it doesnt really do much for me, like I miss the old ones. Soken is great but I do think for making music you're going to hear a ridiculous number of times in atmosphere that doesn't promote friction (combat) especially on half afk or half sleep lol, that the FFXI crew had something going. I think it has something to do with the simple and usually natural selection of instruments and their lack of massively layered sounds. Like I can almost hum the main part of any song from FFXI, but for a lot of stuff Soken made I cannot he's more layered and complex.

Example Ul'dah 2.0 vs XI Bastok. Imo both are good, but the later has this silly "I'm easy to sing to" feeling- makes it easier for the brain maybe? I recall reading why pop music is popular not because it's "trash" but just how it's easy for the brain to evaluate, recall, and become addicted to (some people want to be cool and hate on music because it's popular, that's silly imo). Soken is a great composer though.

I mean no insult to him and WANT to continue to see his work, just that I do also like what the other guys have brought to the table too- what they bring is a bit different.

I would love to hear more Naoshi Mizuta music in FFXIV. I have the whole FFXI soundtrack and still listen to it regularly. (It's great music when your drawing or doing arts and crafts) ^^

I love Soken! Since we already know he's working like crazy, and collaborations aren't unheard of, I certainly wouldn't mind them filling in a few gaps with other composers too; XI had a beautiful soundtrack. But I certainly don't want Soken replaced as lead composer (unless he decides to leave for his own reasons) - his work is great.

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Originally Posted by GMERC

Hey look ma, it's that word again! Please stop using the word edgy to just mean anything you personally don't like.



I know you're just exaggerating for effect, but you do know what a leitmotif is, right?

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I understand that it's the main theme of heavenward and I love it, but I feel that artistically he should collab more often with other composers it would make each expansion sound a bit more different. If stormblood main theme is remixed once or twice its ok but we don't need 7 different remixes of the same theme. I respect his music and I love many of his themes but to me it just feels like forced remixes even the duelling music is a heavenward remix I mean seriously why? what does duelling have to do with heavenward.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTGhDklTOL0

Lol, "edgy" is about the last word I'd think of when I listen to FFXIV's soundtrack, but hey, you are free to think what you want..:rolleyes:

Personally I like pretty much any music, including the one in FFXIV now, the one in 1.0, the one in XI and any other FF game that has ever existed.
Since I have no problem with Soken's music, I see no need to replace him.

Unless it's something actually unpleasant, it's all just emotional background noise to me anyway. I hear no difference between XI and XIV in terms of "quality".
I think you are just being nostalgic because you have specific memories triggered with the XI songs, not because the songs are better.

If we can have guest producers making entire raids i dont see why we cant have guest composers making music for the game.

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Originally Posted by Brightshadow

I understand that it's the main theme of heavenward and I love it, but I feel that artistically he should collab more often with other composers it would make each expansion sound a bit more different. If stormblood main theme is remixed once or twice its ok but we don't need 7 different remixes of the same theme. I respect his music and I love many of his themes but to me it just feels like forced remixes even the PVP music is a heavenward remix I mean seriously.

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Maybe I should have asked if you knew what a "remix" was, instead?

Well just in case you need a reference here you go:

re·mix
verb
verb: remix; 3rd person present: remixes; past tense: remixed; past participle: remixed; gerund or present participle: remixing
rēˈmiks/
1.
mix (something) again.
produce a different version of (a musical recording) by altering the balance of the separate tracks.
noun
noun: remix; plural noun: remixes
ˈrēmiks/
1.
a different version of a musical recording produced by remixing.

Let's get Yoko to do it, I loved XVs soundtrack

If you examine the soundtrack, you'll find that Mizuta has already contributed a few tracks to FFXIV. More would be nice, certainly. Soken and Mizuta together is a good deal for everybody.

And let's not think of Naoshi Mizuta only for his FFXI work. His contributions to the FFXIII trilogy were excellent and varied. Check out the character themes for Noel, Yeul, and Caius. Try Paradigm Shift and Plains of Eternity while you're at it. The dude has made some really neat additions to this franchise.

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Originally Posted by Enur

If we can have guest producers making entire raids i dont see why we cant have guest composers making music for the game.

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Hitoshi Sakimoto would be my pick for the composer of the "Return to Ivalice" raids. The way that he creates sweeping brass and string melodies and marching precussions works really well. I still find myself humming some of the FFT and FFXII songs in my head. FFXII's boss battle theme is a good one for sure.

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Originally Posted by Powe

Let's get Yoko to do it, I loved XVs soundtrack

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Oh, true :O
Apocalypsis Noctis is the first song in like 20 years that actually was incredibly memorable to me.
No game achieved that since the times of 8-bit/16-bit era when melodies were super memorable thanks to the technical limitations of the hardware..

ARR Soken wasn't that great
HW Soken is FF quality, he learned a lot.

I've really enjoyed a lot of the music in FFXIV to be honest. I think our current composer does a fantastic job. That said, I'm not against a piece or two being added by another for the sake of diversity, but I wouldn't want the current guy to be replaced.

Soken style is very good though. The battle music variants are truly one of a kind, and its fun seeing how he changed the song while keeping the same main rythm

FFXIV hasn't left an impression on me music-wise. I find it somewhat odd that considering I've been playing since the original release, I can't imagine any of the melodies when thinking of the different zones or instances. The handful that come to mind are some of Nobuo Uematsu's original scores and those featured during primal battles. Ramuh's will probably always be my favorite. As the expression suggests, the rest seem to go in one ear and out the other. It's funny, when searching for "FFXIV OST" through Youtube, all the results are heavily primal and raid related, so it seems people share the same mindset.

Going back to Mizuta, based on my experience through FFXI, the songs were so simple and melodic. I feel like many of the compositions were focused around one instrument or sound, with minimal background accompaniment. People suggest it's just nostalgia, but I still remember hearing the songs for the first time and being impressed. It wasn't the game that helped me appreciate the music. It was the music that helped me appreciate the game.

My dream team would be Yasunori Mitsuda, Soken, and Uematsu composing together

What made FFXI's music great was the world it existed in. The setting, atmosphere, and understanding of the world was just as important to the music as the music was to all those things as well. Sanctuary of Zi'Tah had one of the best themes for me, but unless you actually wandered around Zi'Tah in-game for so long, the music will sound okay, but without something to tie it to it won't feel as strong.

XI's style of music would never work in this game. it's brighter, more full of life, dynamic, and with that needs music that can keep up with that. XI was a quiet world, very minimal and down to earth in a sense and the music shared that feeling, it created a strong bond. You try and shove Xarcabard's music into Coerthas and it would be so jarring.

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Originally Posted by Brightshadow

Exactly Heavenward is basically just a huge remix everything sounds the same lol. Its not bad just want something different

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWGTgkq5gEw

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Originally Posted by XanderKing

It's funny, when searching for "FFXIV OST" through Youtube, all the results are heavily primal and raid related, so it seems people share the same mindset.

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Because those are in the majority. Every dungeon, raid and primal have their own songs, while most quests have to share their songs with other quests.

I've said it on Reddit and I'll say it here: I'd love it if Naoshi Mizuta did more music for this game. He composed the Maelstrom Command and Kobold mine theme and has composed music for other Final Fantasy games (though from the top of my head, only Lightning Returns comes to mind. Specifically this one). More composers can mean more music for FFXIV. Probably. Would be neat to see what Mizuta and Soken can come up with together.

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Originally Posted by Fevelle

No, thank you. Soken is FFXIV's composer and he does a pretty damn good job. Please keep your FFXI nostalgia away from FFXIV's dev team.

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You're a bit too late saying that considering they've been recycling XI's enemy models since 1.0, Goobue, Crawlers and especially the Goblins anyone?
Oh and the races we play being directly based on XI's. XI Nostalgia has been here from the start.

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Originally Posted by Yasuhiro

You're a bit too late saying that considering they've been recycling XI's enemy models since 1.0, Goobue, Crawlers and especially the Goblins anyone?
Oh and the races we play being directly based on XI's. XI Nostalgia has been here from the start.

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That has more to do with the previous developer team than ARR developer team and besides that they reutilized a lot of FFXII and FFXIII models too. That's completely different from asking the current composer to leave because you want FFXI's composer.

His FFXIII-2 and XIII:LR soundtrack entries are phenomenal. Though personally, I would love to see a collaboration with Yoko Shimomura.

I'd be okay with a guest track here and there but Soken does a great job. Naoshi Mizuta is also great, and I like the idea of cameo tracks here and there, but Soken continually proves himself as a great composer. If anything, I'd like to hear Soken's work in more games.

I don't mind bring Naoshi to compose some music for the gaame, but don't replace Soken. Keep him as main composer.

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Originally Posted by Fevelle

No, thank you. Soken is FFXIV's composer and he does a pretty damn good job. Please keep your FFXI nostalgia away from FFXIV's dev team.

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Too late, Mizuta's presence in the game has been here ever since 1.X and ARR, even if it's just two themes.

As said earlier, rather than replace, have them team up as well as work individually for FFXIV. More music is always good.

I'd like to see some new composers, not (just) because I think Soken's less directed themes (e.g. those that aren't a play on a single leitmotif, or essentially character songs), but because I'd love to see ways in which the music, through different composers, can direct different perspectives onto the plots, characters, and themes of a given series or expansion thereof.

Take our upcoming Stormblood expansion for example. One of the ideas that's been popping around the forums is that perhaps—in fact quite likely—the Garlean occupation of Ala Mhigo wasn't *all* bad, and between what few good things the populace caught onto it or the new generation was born into, the insurgents we're likely to meet there are going to come from mixed loyalties, mixed traditions, and mixed ideas as to how Ala Mhigo should be reshaped. One leader might want a return to the honor and culture of the civilization mostly as it was, while another is essentially just another Garlean (in his education, philosophy of ethics, etc.), but one who aims to create a Ala Mhigo, be that for men and women of Garlean, Gyn Abanian, or whatever other decent, that can stand on its own and with the fullest (fearful) respect of its neighbors, rather than being exploited as a colony. Lengthy backstory done, it would be likely that any plot-lines made via these two characters would likely feel very different, almost putting an entirely different spin on what the central theme of it all might be. Having a distinct composer for each, if the two cooperate to build these themes backwards from the points where they intercept or twist over each other, could be spectacular.

The second is just that I feel like the music here is still painfully limited, as with most expansions. Between two expansions, it still feels like we still have only half the tracks of a given single player FF game, and (imo) fewer memorable generic battle or zone themes than most competing MMOs. And it's unfair to ask Soken to make up that difference by himself when those competing OSTs are usually the work of multiple composers.

(While Nobuo may have impacted Heavensward's (non-boss-related) OSTs perhaps even more than Soken as far as the overall impression, a single theme—however pervasive—does not double the staff. Soken could use a second guy up there. And for a series that has prided itself on its music, that should be more than worth the one additional salary.)

Edit: ...That said, Naoshi Mizuta is leagues away from who all I'd have in mind. Good Kobold theme from 1.x (still in Pharos hard now), but I'm looking for something a bit grander and more nuanced, if anything. Something to do what Soken doesn't really seem aimed towards himself.