Music suggestion!

[Dreamer]

As long as it's composed by Nobuo Uematsu, I'll be happy.

[Ruisu]

While I want to see a majority of the album done by Uematsu, I would not mind seeing other faces working on this game. Considering Hitoshi Sakimoto has worked on other games that Yoshida (art) has worked on as well, I'd like to hear some of his work, because he's a fantastic composer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuJKEswj82w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjP6z0YOlSA

Masashi Hamauzu, who is basically Uematsu's protege would be nice as well, he's really good at battle music, and field music, not really fond of anything else of his though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH5QcBC0G28
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrMbViOhvV8

And of course, Naoshi Mizuta, who has previously worked on FFXI.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3c4tV7LWN8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tARfKHBSAfA

There are other composers that I enjoy a lot, don't get me wrong (Shoji Meguro, Yoko Shimomura, Miki Higashino, etc.), But I'm simply going with people who have experience with FF. I'd say Noriko Matsueda, because I thought a lot of the field music for FFX-2 was fantastic, but she tends to be really hit or miss for me. Especially with those X-2 battle themes. :x

While I love the Progressive rock route Uematsu has been going, I'd like to see more variety in the music than just progressive rock/metal. The Toto'rak music, along with the Stronghold battle music is a good example of what else I want from him.

[Jennestia]

When the dreaded "FFXI example" comes up, this what Is generally meant by making story progression based content:



This not only felt otherwordly, it also has the sense of "all that hardwork paid off to see this beautiful (yet very white xD) dungeon."



^ The under appreciated battle song.

I personally love Kenji Ito and Tanioka/Mizuta's works more than Uematsu's in some instances.

[Denmo]

Don't get me wrong, I love Uematsu. But I don't think he put his heart into this soundtrack, save for a handful of songs. It feels to me like he was given a short amount of time to make a lot of music, with only a few small guidelines to work with. Most songs are repetitive, and really lack that special unique memorable melody that Uematsu's famous for.

To sum up my opinion: Despite the repetitiveness of songs in previous Final Fantasies, I could listen to them forever without growing tired of it, even in FFXI. However, I can not say the same for FFXIV's OST.

And it bugs me that some people here are so blindingly faithful to Uematsu's work.

I really hope that a revamped OST is being considered for 2.0.

In the meantime though, allowing us to access the music files and play switch-a-roo would be awesome.

[Jennestia]

In the meantime though, allowing us to access the music files and play switch-a-roo would be awesome.

Already can, it just takes much more work to do than with FFXI.

[Scherwiz]

Don't get me wrong, I love Uematsu. But I don't think he put his heart into this soundtrack, save for a handful of songs. It feels to me like he was given a short amount of time to make a lot of music, with only a few small guidelines to work with. Most songs are repetitive, and really lack that special unique memorable melody that Uematsu's famous for.

To sum up my opinion: Despite the repetitiveness of songs in previous Final Fantasies, I could listen to them forever without growing tired of it, even in FFXI. However, I can not say the same for FFXIV's OST.

And it bugs me that some people here are so blindingly faithful to Uematsu's work.

I really hope that a revamped OST is being considered for 2.0.

In the meantime though, allowing us to access the music files and play switch-a-roo would be awesome.

I think he did pretty well considering what he had to work with... Not to mention there are many tracks that are unused still. -_-

[Ruisu]

The behest theme, the halloween theme, the summer fest theme, and the chocobo (GC) theme all get on my nerves now. Simply because I hear them nonstop. Not that the songs are bad by any means. But if I'm grinding in a dungeon or something, I just mute the in game music and open Foobar, because it's going to be the same 10 second loop over and over again.

The songs themselves aren't all that repetitive, it's where they are placed that bothers me. The Summer fest theme literally played on 60% of the world map. The Halloween theme just does not fit with any of the three cities, and the chocobo theme just continues after the first five loops. Imagine riding from Limsa to Coerthas listening to that theme. I still love the music from the game, it's just...I don't know.

Maybe I just miss the default Ul'dah music or something.

[whoopeeragon]

@Denmo: we must agree to disagree then. Personally, I believe the FFXIV album to be one of the best albums Uematsu has scored, just behind FFVI and FFVIII's, perhaps even better. I have yet to encounter one track that sets me in edge, and believe me, Uematsu has made quite a few of them previously. (Ride Ze Shoopuf? and Djose Temple come to mind)

Considering that he DID compose off a few pictures and little guidelines, it's impressive tha all his tracks are deserving of an above average score, some even attaining 10/10. He finally went to his roots and interests, and brought offerings to the table that do not disappoint. Uematsu stands between Hamauzu and Sakimoto for gorgeous melodies and powerful backing which each respectively excel in, but NU still retains his own special quality and flair.

Some people have complained about the use of rock in his pieces being 'out of place', but I find it to be contextually fitting in the more mecha- based environment of FFXIV compared with, for example, FFXI. That's one fault I find in FFXIII's soundtrack, being too ambient, modest and mellow for such a technologically advanced society. Uematsu finds a balance, having the rock pieces as well as acoustic tracks which mellow out the more power-driven and bombastic nature of the pieces.

The music was one of the reasons i went to this game. I fell in love with La Noscea and Limsa Lominsa because of their themes; they remain forever one of my initial spurts for FFXIV. Field tracks album still makes me giddy every time I listen to it, and although short, it's one of my favorites. Judging from ingame music and the YouTube links, I definitely won't be disappointed, and will be eager to be the first to get my hand on the full OST. The overall bombastic nature gets some getting used to, but it grows and becomes an excellent listen.

But there are faults. I really expected better synthing in this period of the 21st century; some tracks blatantly show thief midi back bones. I would have thought Uematsu would have learnt from FFX, but since he has a new arranger, I can pass on that a little more leniently. The soundtrack on a whole is somewhat inconsistent, and certain tracks aren't set up in the best way, such as Coerthas' battle theme, where the percussion overrides the battle-frenzied melody. The soundtrack is more bombastic than other albums, but some tracks go slightly overboard to the point of cheesiness, such as La Noscea's battle theme, Nail of the Heavens. I don't worry about the length of the tracks; battle theme are appropriately 1-2 mins long, though implementation means we barely get to hear past the ten seconds. Field themes are an acceptable 2-3 mins ling before looping. Both battle and field tracks are developed enough to allowed sustained listening. The only exception to the length problem is Coerthas' 1 min 25 sec looping theme, but it's hauntingly beautiful simplicity and rich development more than makes up for it.

So I hugely disagree with the notion of repetitiveness you have made, Denmo, in regards to the tracks. Each track has been developed enough to warrant enough replays. In this case, it's mainly the developments team fault for poor implementation. Behest them in underground dungeons as normal battle theme (???), Mistbeard Cove's theme (!!!), event music (Summer event music everywhere? Halloween event; why not just when the imps appear?) No track gas had the same repetitive nature I found in Sauromogue Champaign, Heaven's Tower, Buccaneers, Castle Zvahl (Yes, even though it's a work of art, the four note descending chord is VERY repetitive) from FFXI. I have other examplea across the FF series, but the biggest offender is FFX-2 (Thunder Plains, Chocobo, Bikanel Island, Bevelle's Secret, Tension variation #87255 etc). So in terms of composition, I'm very against you, Denmo. Implementation wise, yes, but that's a different matter altogether. And overlong exposure to anything will make it repetitive, no matter how good the original track was.

TL;DR - I disagree with Denmo. I find the tracks to be vibrant, lively and fitting to draw out the nature of the game. Each piece is developed enough to not be repetitive in nature or in a reasonable number of sittings. While there are faults, FFXIV's current soundtrack has the potential to be one of the best.

@Ruisi; how very true and understandable. The implementation of the tracks is what causes the downer, not the composition, and by then, it's far out ofthe composer's hands. One major improvement could just be the continued playing of the tracks instead of looping to the beginning every time they are played again. Having 10 second of battle theme constantly playing is hardly inspiring and WILL get on people's nerves. I rarely ever manage to hear the whole theme except for in NM battles because they always loop back go the beginning, and even some NMs go down fast (Downy Dunstan). It's a shame because some themes are very good, such as Coerthas'. Field themes suffer less, but could still be improved upon. FFXIII managed to do it, so I'm sure it can be done here.

I miss Ul'dah's theme as well. While it's the least favorite of mine in all the city-states, it's complexity, unique instrumentation and multi-layered melodies still attract me to it. :P

[my god, typing this essay out on a phone took forever. ;_;]

[Denmo]

I... couldn't disagree with your wall'o'text more! But I guess it's a personal opinion?

Considering that he DID compose off a few pictures and little guidelines, it's impressive tha all his tracks are deserving of an above average score, some even attaining 10/10.

Huh wha? Who rated each individual track in XIV? Was it an official published media, or just a group of player's opinions?

The overall bombastic nature gets some getting used to, but it grows and becomes an excellent listen.

I get the feeling that you haven't listened to much else since you started playing XIV.

So I hugely disagree with the notion of repetitiveness you have made, Denmo, in regards to the tracks.

But wait, didn't your previous paragraph just provide examples of tracks that are repetetive?

No track gas had the same repetitive nature I found in Sauromogue Champaign, Heaven's Tower, Buccaneers, Castle Zvahl (Yes, even though it's a work of art, the four note descending chord is VERY repetitive) from FFXI. I have other examplea across the FF series, but the biggest offender is FFX-2 (Thunder Plains, Chocobo, Bikanel Island, Bevelle's Secret, Tension variation #87255 etc)

Those tracks are all catchy and come to mind just by mentioning the name. And many of them were composed by Uematsu. And you hate them all? I don't get it. You and I seem to have completely opposing tastes.

And just how do you define "repetitive nature"? I define it as a song that repeats constantly, to the point of annoyance. If a song doesn't break up the tedium of its repetition with a little variation, then your brain says, "Wait, this is just the same thing over and over. Where's the 3rd act?" Many of your examples, Sauromuge Champaign, Heaven's Tower, Castle Zvahl at least had a 3rd or 4th verse to them. You know, that part of the song where the mood kicks in and the composer delves deeper into the emotion of what the intro started? I don't see much of any of that in XIV's tracks, save for a few battle songs here and there.

And in a game as involving as an MMO, having a well-developed score, (especially if it plays constantly), is super important. I just don't feel that XIV's score is well developed. It goes somewhere, yeah, and I do like where it starts going, but then it just.... repeats.

[whoopeeragon]

Well, as you said, personal opinion. I'm not going to argue, because it really is a matter of preference. Music is a very subjective topic to discuss, so I'm not about to call you out. Let's just leave it at that we cant agree on this subject.

But one thing...

But wait, didn't your previous paragraph just provide examples of tracks that are repetetive?

No, I don't think I did of examples of FFXIV, but of the other soundtracks, yes, I did. Perhaps I should have made it clearer? :/ I blame my phone's auto-correct function for any discrepancies that arise.

I get the feeling that you haven't listened to much else since you started playing XIV.

No actually. My ipod plays between all soundtracks between FFVII and FFXIV including all the piano collections, spin offs and Original Soundtrack Plus, as well as other games, like Fire Emblem, Legend of Zelda, or musical scores which are instrumental, as well as the very old classics like Mozart, Beethoven etc, and other classical pieces, such as Steven Cravis' piano pieces, various violin solos, . 99.95% of my music is instrumental or otherwise soundtracks; I have very little modern-day pop music etc. Sad life I lead, I know, but I find no displeasure in doing so. I believe that doesn't count as 'haven't listened to much else' since I started playing.