With Final Fantasy VII Rebirth releasing in a matter of days and the excitement reaching a fever pitch, we decided to look back at an element of the series that somehow goes under the radar: the music. More specifically Nobuo Uematsu’s masterful composing, which again returns for the second part of the remake.
It has garnered him much acclaim away from video game circles and even landed him in the Classic FM Hall of Fame.
So here are our top 10, with some admittedly niche, picks for Nobuo Uematsu’s greatest Final Fantasy compositions.
10. Theme Of Love – Final Fantasy IV
So we start with easily the most recognisable song from the fourth entry. The early series had memorable songs but they were very short. Make no mistake, the melodies are still beautiful. The niche picks are harder to find here, but there’s a reason this has been played years down the line. Melancholy but thought-provoking and often kicks in as Cecil’s relationship with Rosa plays out as the game goes on.
It laid down a lot of the foundation for the longer pieces later down the line which tugged at the heartstrings at just the right time.
9. You Are Not Alone – Final Fantasy IX
This writer’s personal favourite single game soundtrack so out of self-consciousness this writer is holding back on flooding the top five with songs from the game. This song stands out for how brilliantly it is used, in that it provokes goosebumps when it finally appears in the game. It is so perfectly utilised. Coming in at a pivotal moment in the story, where the party rallies around the lead character during a moment of huge self-doubt, it’s perfect.
A slow ponderous build-up of self-reflection feels like being guided through the thought process of someone struggling. When this process begins to feel detrimental, the firm guitars kick in and arc across, providing a soaring feeling of ‘I have this. I know what I’m doing. Let’s go.’
It’s a beautiful companion to a lost soul finding their will to fight again.
8. The Day Will Come – Final Fantasy V
Musically, I’d argue the early years of Final Fantasy were impressive when the music managed to convey more subtle emotions, other than just ‘sad’ or ‘happy’. The Day Will Come is no exception. Perhaps it is more impressive in the context – the fifth entry is easily one of the more light-hearted games. Yet each character has their moment of questioning their will to go on which the game always deals with succinctly.
It is a theme Uematsu revisits a lot, the idea of hopelessness and the moment of pondering where you try to see a way out of a situation but don’t truly believe there is a route. This is an early example of that and yes, I’m not using the Battle at the Big Bridge out of spite for how much you expect it. There, I said it.
7. Battle Theme – Final Fantasy X
Sorry Suteki Da Ne, a famous track from the same game, this writer generally avoids compositions with actual lyrics. Similar apologies can be given to VIII’s Eyes On Me and IX’s Melodies Of Life, as much as the piano-only versions are brilliant.
So no, if we’re talking about X we go with another big and bold improvement that showed what more the PlayStation 2 could do. The battle theme, kicking in with a bold brass beginning, happily plods along with the same level of excitement. This is exactly what you want from a battle theme: excitement and a feeling of it being fresh and a new challenge.
For a new entry for a new console, this nails the brief.
6. Vamo’alla Flamenco – Final Fantasy IX/Hymn Of The Faith – Final Fantasy X
A double entry because this writer breaks the rules but in a way that is still cool, these two songs do exactly what is required and show off a more practical side to the compositions.
For both songs, you can picture the exact scene the music plays in, and perfectly run through it in your mind. Final Fantasy IX did remember to have fun, with this proving a lovely little, but playful track dominated by a guitar that playfully wanders before the orchestral side joyfully joins in. Such a simple composition that just does what needs to be done.
Hymn Of The Faith is so haunting, yet rightly off-putting. X was a very different environment compared to past games in the series. This was new, and this was a bold thing to put in yet really helped make the player – through Tidus – feel disjointed in the new world. Like the best songs, it adds to the plot. The game isn’t the same without it, which speaks to the quality.
5. Aerith’s Theme – Final Fantasy VII
Aerith’s Theme, if there’s one song I feel obliged to put into this list, it’s this. Musically, this song came to encapsulate why these compositions are so great: it is just so full of emotion and the real trials and tribulations of life.
It is so life-affirming without ever ignoring the hardest moments in life. This was also the song that showed me just how well-regarded it is and had been featured on Classic FM. It’s so sombre but beautiful. This song, like its namesake character, was so wonderful and poignant and yet another reason this game is still in the highest echelon of gaming.
As we head into Rebirth, which will cover the namesake’s biggest moment, this will inevitably play a starring role at some stage.
4. Zanarkand – Final Fantasy X
While I apologised in the other X entry, this one requires no such clearly-faked humility. This shows the power of minimalism. Playing over the brief introduction of the group standing around together, this is haunting. A single piano meandering and you know this will not be easy. It will be grandiose and there’ll be some difficult decisions along the way. It encapsulates X and sets a haunting tone for a journey that might not end the way you want.
X is held in extremely high regard and deservedly so and its music hits every note perfectly.
3. Terra’s Theme – Final Fantasy VI
The big difference that Final Fantasy VI brought to the table is finally cemented by one simple act: reaching the world map. As Terra’s Theme kicks in you realise the series is in a far more serious place. This isn’t a happy song, this journey is going to be long and lonely.
A cold flute blows across a light backing. It meanders and not optimistically. It tells you this world will feel lonely and under siege but you’ll keep going. This track has had so many renditions now that each offers something different. It’s a soul-crushingly empty but versatile track and easily makes the top three.
2. Let The Battles Begin! A Merc’s Job – Final Fantasy VII Remake
There are a lot of slightly different versions of this track, but any that have the glorious and quite sincerely epic crescendo deserve this spot easily. Heck, this proved how brilliant Uematsu has been for the Remake.
What was once the theme for every random encounter in the original, was turned into this pulsating, emotional and triumphant song to fight to. Any time this kicked in during a boss encounter it felt like the game syncing up to provide the most cinematic experience possible. The light singular rendition of melody after the build-up, before the full orchestra kicks in for a second run of the crescendo is just jaw-dropping brilliance and massively adds to the action.
1. Eiko’s Theme – Final Fantasy IX
An obscure pick? Almost definitely. Yet this track perfectly sums up the genius of Nobuo Uematsu, in that just by listening to it without any prior knowledge you understand its namesake character.
It has an upbeat and nearly saccharine ukelele chord backing, while singular notes meander on a lonely journey. Eiko is a very upbeat person, with a horrendously sad background, which does lay her low with moments of indecision. Yet she’d always rather the positive despite being unable to hide the melancholy. It all adds up to a lovely song, it says a lot that nearly 11 years on from first playing IX, this was the first song this writer returned to when fully embracing the music away from the games.