SE: The Soundtrack in 2.0 and Beyond

With zones making a big comeback in 2.0, I have high hopes that we'll be hearing many new themes. We often forget our other sense and think only of what we're going to see, but I think that music is just as important as the visuals for making something really memorable, and when the two come together really well, magic can happen. Just a few notes can evoke an image or take you right there to that time and place.

You guys and girls at SE have been doing a great job so far with the music you're releasing with the new content. But 2.0 is going to be so much bigger and with a total zone revamp, much more complex! So I would like to humbly make a request of SE representatives for any scraps of information on the music in 2.0 and beyond.

Will each zone have its own track or will some be re-used? How much new material is being written, and have you taken more composers on board? With the whole world being visually re-imagined, I'm very curious to know if the soundtrack effort will be comparable to the development effort.

And to anyone else, links to information would be much appreciated :D I dug around some but didn't find too much.

Why would they change the music? It's perfect to me. Not like they can't use the same music for multiple zones. Gustaberg, Ronafure, and Sarutabaruta had 2-3 zones with the same music.

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Originally Posted by TokyieRage

Why would they change the music? It's perfect to me. Not like they can't use the same music for multiple zones. Gustaberg, Ronafure, and Sarutabaruta had 2-3 zones with the same music.

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They already confirmed they're remastering the soundtrack for 2.0. Also since Mizuta is on board I'm expecting some good FFXI style zone music that's more fitting than what we have now.

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Originally Posted by TokyieRage

Why would they change the music? It's perfect to me. Not like they can't use the same music for multiple zones. Gustaberg, Ronafure, and Sarutabaruta had 2-3 zones with the same music.

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Well, with zones going to supposedly be much more varied than the large, homogenous areas we have right now, it's not really too big a leap to wonder if the music will be appropriately redone. It doesn't make much sense to me to have two very different zones have the same theme. In XI any areas that shared the same themes were part of a bigger zone, usually directly connected. They were in truth one place broken up into several zones. But each area had a theme. If 2.0 is as big as SE implies, or is comparable to early XI in zone variation, I don't think we have enough tracks to go around.

I'm also kind of curious why you seem to dislike the idea of having new music in the game =/

all this XI talk.... let me get straight to the point, I want music that is better.


I don't want no nostalgic reminiscent stuff from last years top model..

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Originally Posted by Andrien

all this XI talk.... let me get straight to the point, I want music that is better.

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You do realize good/bad is subjective right? People need to get off the term nostalgia when they have no idea how to use it.

Well let's use your logic:

Nobuo created the soundtrack for a majority of FF games, some of which were very similar in style to each other, was it due to nostalgia?

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Originally Posted by Elexia

You do realize good/bad is subjective right? People need to get off the term nostalgia when they have no idea how to use it.

Well let's use your logic:

Nobuo created the soundtrack for a majority of FF games, some of which were very similar in style to each other, was it due to nostalgia?

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before you start talking about how to use nostalgia, you should read your own post when you said you're expecting some good FFXI style music.

You miss my point too.. I want better music. Deal with it.

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Originally Posted by Andrien

before you start talking about how to use nostalgia, you should read your own post when you said you're expecting some good FFXI style music.

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Style. Style. Do you know what Style means? There's a distinct difference between the composition in XI and XIV, the composition in XI fit adventuring a lot more than the composition in XIV does. Nobuo said he only had concept art to work with when he composed XIV's soundtrack, which is why a lot of it doesn't fit pretty much any location.

Only the dungeon theme is really fitting if you listen to the melody of it.

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Originally Posted by Elexia

Style. Style. Do you know what Style means? There's a distinct difference between the composition in XI and XIV, the composition in XI fit adventuring a lot more than the composition in XIV does. Nobuo said he only had concept art to work with when he composed XIV's soundtrack, which is why a lot of it doesn't fit pretty much any location.

Only the dungeon theme is really fitting if you listen to the melody of it.

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If Nobuo is allowed another chance to compose a set of new tracks I'll be pleased. In fact its what I wanted for a long time. I just want the themes to be better overall.

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Originally Posted by Elexia

Style. Style. Do you know what Style means? There's a distinct difference between the composition in XI and XIV, the composition in XI fit adventuring a lot more than the composition in XIV does. Nobuo said he only had concept art to work with when he composed XIV's soundtrack, which is why a lot of it doesn't fit pretty much any location.

Only the dungeon theme is really fitting if you listen to the melody of it.

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This is your opinion, I personally along with alot of other people like this soundtrack alot more than XI's and wouldn't change a thing about it.

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Originally Posted by Andrien

If Nobuo is allowed another chance to compose a set of new tracks I'll be pleased. In fact its what I wanted for a long time. I just want the themes to be better overall.

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Well I agree with you there but I also agree with Elexia. XI is relevant to the topic if only because we're returning to smaller but more varied zones, and previously they paired music with zones very effectively. They don't need to have overly similar music in XIV, but I would like for them to achieve the same kind of success with tying their music in with the new areas they create. The place and the theme should be made for each other. That's what I'd really like to see above and beyond any particular style.

That doesn't mean throw out the old tracks, either, which I'm sure they won't. They just need to be given to the right places.

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Originally Posted by Elexia

Style. Style. Do you know what Style means? There's a distinct difference between the composition in XI and XIV, the composition in XI fit adventuring a lot more than the composition in XIV does. Nobuo said he only had concept art to work with when he composed XIV's soundtrack, which is why a lot of it doesn't fit pretty much any location.

Only the dungeon theme is really fitting if you listen to the melody of it.

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I like a lot of the battle music we have now over most of XI's. It's done a lot better.

Also, Gridania's theme reminds me a lot of Arrapago Reef.. both of them are pretty hellish.
Thanalan's sad theme is also quite moving to me.

I think a lot of XIV's music is superior to XI.

I personally think the current soundtrack for this game sucks. Doesn't fit in with the atmosphere. The songs for the newer content have been great though.

I'd like them to at least double the amount of field tracks and make sure that they fit the locations better. Especially town tracks seem really off in mood everywhere except Grid and even there adding a night variation to it would be nice. It's much nicer to hang out and do questing in towns when the music isn't trying to be that impressive and loud as LL is 100% of the time.

Would be really nice to finally hear some new themes for 2.0 and beyond. I have come to love all music from the FF franchise, hugely from FFXI and FFXIV. Amazing pieces, can only hope for more on the way. With new zones, I'm sure we will hear a lot more to come. Maybe even some additions to existing zones, mixing the themes up a little!

I would agree however, I did enjoy FFXIs soundtrack a lot more. The themes "fit" the game, here they are still pretty on FFXIV however seem out of place. I hope they bring new themes, and pieces into the work.

Let me copy-paste my reply to a similar thread:

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Originally Posted by SuzakuCMX

Keep in mind that Uematsu had VERY little to go off of for composing his tracks. They probably hardly even gave him the concept art and then told him he needed to make tracks for a port city, a desert city, and somewhere in the forest....

Regardless, there are some damn good tracks off the original soundtrack he made. For example:

1. This song that doesn't play anywhere but character creation, very inspiring song.
2. Another song that doesn't play anywhere except for a small snippet in the beginning cutscene
3. This song doesn't really fit the daytime, but if you're running around Thanalan at dusk/dawn/nighttime and see the camp on the horizon, it's amazingly fitting.
4. My favorite battle track in the entire game.
5. Another good battle track
6. This one is VERY Final Fantasy-esque. Reminds me of boss fights from IX and VII.
7. I love this song. It's very peaceful and quiet. Should be the Inn-room music IMO. Too bad it only plays during a few cutscenes :(
8. Reminds me of Faris.
9. Another good piratey-sea track. Apparently it plays in Mistbeard Cove.
10. This one is nice and calm. Reminds me a bit of Jenova. Would be nice background music to a long explanation of Dalamud IMO. Also reminds me of the anime Kaiba for some reason.
11. Of course the Christmas music is nice, too. Reminds me of FFTactics Advanced.
12. Original Chocobo Theme, now for Rental Chocobos. It honestly is much better than the Personal Chocobo theme we have now >.>
13. Reminds me of DTB/Cowboy Bebop. No idea what happened to this track. Seems like something that would fit Hildibrand.
14. I don't think this song plays in the game either, but I also haven't gotten very far. Seems like really good music to fight the Garleans.
15. Toto-rak's music I believe. Was from the original soundtrack but wasn't used anywhere in the game before then?
16. Again a good song. Reminds me of fighting Gabranth in FFXII. Would be good for fighting Legatus or another high-ranking Garlean on one of their weird flying machines IMO.
17. I love this song. It's really epic and uplifting. I think it's in the game right now but I can't remember where for the life of me.
18. I don't think this is played anywhere in-game either. But it's a really epic track.
19. This one REALLY reminds me of FFIX for some reason. Another good song. I seem to remember it being in the main story cutscenes at one point, but not at a particularly dramatic moment xD
20. This is a nice sea song, too, but unfortunately I only remember it playing with that horrible loser Sisipu....I hate Sisipu. Reminds me of the beach from Chrono Cross.
21. This is a nice song. Don't know where it plays, though.
22. Don't know where this plays either. I remember it being in one of the Grid cut scenes a while ago.
23. Also no idea where this plays. Seems like it would fit somewhere in Gridania though.
24. Coerthas. All that needs to be said.
25. Another good song for a boss battle. Don't know where/if this is in the game though.
26. Don't know where this is in the game, either. But it seems like it would fit a Grand Company.
27. Another song that apparently only gets put into some cutscenes. Reminds me of Wonderland from original KH
28. Don't know where this plays. But I would love to hear it somewhere in Gridania.
29. Another really good song. Apparently plays during the WHM AF gear quests.

So yeah there are a lot of really good tracks that Uematsu made. Just not a lot of them are used outside of the terrible mainstory cutscenes or very specific fights.

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tl;dr: There's a lot of good music from the original soundtrack Nobuo made that is implemented sparsely or improperly (such as the secondary Thanalan theme being much more fitting for La Noscea).

Well, that's just, like, your opinion, guys!

I'll agree to the point that some music doesn't fit. Nobuo didn't have a lot to go with when he tuned our tunes, and that isn't really fair to judge them based on that. If you're going to judge anything, go back to the beginning with the original team, putting together the original game. They're the ones that wanted completely simultaneous, linear development and never bothered to give the guy much direction.

Mizuta is a great composer, but also remember that he has an entire game with established lore, great looking zones, and an overall theme to work with. He also has past MMO experience. Nobuo had pictures. Many of which didn't make it into the game or didn't wind up looking as intended.

We come across an interesting crossroad:
On one hand, the world is changing. Dynamically. The game is changing as a whole, and the music should change with it.
On the other hand, we have established areas and lore and backstory that will not change (save for aesthetics and general meshing), thus, the overall feel of them should not change. They are the same.

What I suggest? And probably won't happen?

Arrangements. Let's have the best of both worlds. Let Mizuto take Nobuo's original works and turn them into what they should have been. Think about it. This can only be a good thing. Mizuto grows as a composer (not saying he needs to), gets to work alongside Nobuo (part of me raging with envy here...), the game keeps the feel of it's early days and pays homage to where it came from, and the game grows and changes with the crashing of Dalamud.

It gives Mizuto the opportunity to keep some of the melodies and ideas Nobuo had, but change them to fit the world of our game. Best of both worlds, my friends. We get the sense of adventure that Nobuo envisioned but never got across to us because of the early Dev. team, we get Mizuto's expertise and unique style, and nothing changes while, oddly enough, everything changes.

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Except the dungeon music. Don't change that. It's awesome. It's actually, like, my favorite track in the game. If more songs were based on it (it's structure mostly, such as layering with action or it's melodic structure), I'd be one happy adventurer.

Actually, if I could suggest one thing to Mizuto, it would be to layer the music of every interactive zone in the game exactly like the dungeon theme we currently have. Walking, running, talking, fighting, riding, harvesting, crafting....it's a big undertaking, but if the music, at all times, reflected what we were doing, one could completely snare their audience. It'd make us want to explore.

To do everything, everywhere. We spend a lot of time caring about our characters anyway. Doesn't that suggest a deeper connection with them? We want to be like our characters. Some of us want to BE our characters, if only for a while. The moment you completely immerse us, by portraying each feeling and task, emotion by emotion, that is the moment you have completely captivatde a player base.

Dynamic soundtracks, my friends. Just one piece of a big puzzle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SPtbsKd4bE

Suzaku forgot one of XIV's most important melodies.

Mizuta is on board? News to me!

It's just kinda exciting not really knowing what they plan. Can't wait to see what they add/change theme wise with all their music. FF music has always been amazing to me.

Can someone point me to a news article or reputable source that says Mizuta is "on board" with FFXIV? I'm not finding it.

It's been said already but the 72 tracks Uematsu did for FFXIV are great, just misplaced. I personally thought some tracks were used in the wrong areas, which would make sense if he wasn't able to see a lot of concept art in the beginning. I love all the new stuff and would like to see more but don't throw out the masterpiece that's already been created, just implement the songs to more fitting zones.

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Originally Posted by Rubicon

Can someone point me to a news article or reputable source that says Mizuta is "on board" with FFXIV? I'm not finding it.

It's been said already but the 72 tracks Uematsu did for FFXIV are great, just misplaced. I personally thought some tracks were used in the wrong areas, which would make sense if he wasn't able to see a lot of concept art in the beginning. I love all the new stuff and would like to see more but don't throw out the masterpiece that's already been created, just implement the songs to more fitting zones.

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There's a credit button when you start up the game, you know :P He's in there.

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Originally Posted by Rubicon

Can someone point me to a news article or reputable source that says Mizuta is "on board" with FFXIV? I'm not finding it.

It's been said already but the 72 tracks Uematsu did for FFXIV are great, just misplaced. I personally thought some tracks were used in the wrong areas, which would make sense if he wasn't able to see a lot of concept art in the beginning. I love all the new stuff and would like to see more but don't throw out the masterpiece that's already been created, just implement the songs to more fitting zones.

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Yeah. He's been composing for the game for close to a year, now. Him and two other composers.

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Originally Posted by SuzakuCMX

There's a credit button when you start up the game, you know :P He's in there.

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I think that's great news. I hope they let him make a ton of field tracks. Final Fantasy four warriors of light ost is amazing and all his XI tracks are great. (except the looping whitegate that song can die in a fire) Anyway good town music is hard to pull off since it's the most looping track and I hope they work on those and add some variety to them.

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Originally Posted by alexhatesmil

Yeah. He's been composing for the game for close to a year, now. Him and two other composers.

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He also has that blog where he previews soundbytes before new big patches come out.