![]() ![]() The said instrument presents itself as blaringly off-key, and even features a segment wherein it appears to attempt to correct itself using glissandos, but ultimately fails. Disappointment, however, rears its ugly head when the violin enters. "The Hanging Edge" features an eerie, dissonant, staccato electric piano base that conjures in the player a sense of tension. While not exactly terrible, some of the tracks just seem to appear scarce when placed next to the other tracks I've mentioned thus far. Aside from the overmixing of "FINAL FANTASY XIII - The Promise," there are several tracks that start out great, but wane as they progress. Now, as much as I adore the soundtrack, it is not without its flaws. It is exceedingly emotional, with the rubato execution of the transition form the "FINAL FANTASY XIII - Miracles" fragment to the one from "FINAL FANTASY XIII - The Promise" bringing me close to tears. The fragments flow into each other seamlessly, as if they were created that way from the beginning. In this track, all three motifs I had just discussed are combined into a single, 33-second segment. Perhaps the greatest show of unity occurs in "Determination," a track that is played near the end of the game. The brevity of the segment, as well as the sheer sense of austere majesty that it evokes, ensures that it does not elicit the same response as the theme from "FINAL FANTASY XIII - The Promise," despite being incorporated just as many, if not more tracks that the said theme. "Blinded by Light" and "Lightning's Theme" both feature this fragment prominently, but it appears in many more tracks. When I heard this segment way back in the E3 2006 trailer, I literally had to catch my breath. ![]() Perhaps my favorite motif in the soundtrack is the crotchet-minim tied to quaver-quaver-crotchet-minim tied to quaver-quaver-crotchet-crotchet-dotted crotchet-semiquaver-semiquaver-minim fragment which features a dramatic Em7-Dadd9-Bbmaj7 progression in the latter part. While the melody is remarkably good, having six mixes of almost exactly the same music can be aurally saturating. The theme from "FINAL FANTASY XIII - The Promise" is one of the most frequently appearing theme in the soundtrack almost too frequent, in my opinion. The crotchet-dotted crotchet-quaver-quaver-quaver motif appears most prominently in "FINAL FANTASY XIII - Miracles," but also finds itself in "Vanille's Theme," "Defiers of Fate," "Blinded by Light," and other tracks as well-made variations. Where others scream "lack of creativity," I scream "unity." Now, there are a few motifs and themes that appear in quite a number of tracks. The underlying rapid, semiquaver strings in "Lake Bresha" is also worthy of mention. "Can't Catch a Break," "The Gapra Whitewood," and "The Vile Peaks," on the other hand, are noteworthy mood setters. Most of the character themes, "FINAL FANTASY XIII - The Promise," and, of course, the chocobo themes, offer simple yet hauntingly beautiful melodies. This is somewhat a saddening yet inescapable fate for the ambient tracks, as a good number of them are musically exceptional and are very effective in setting the tone of the game. The former, with their distinct and hummable tunes, are usually the ones that are remembered, whereas the latter, with their complex harmonies, rhythms, and textures, tend to be set aside. The soundtrack features a good mix of both memorable melodic pieces and excellent ambient tracks. The pinnacle, perhaps, is "Lightning's Theme," a more lyric and feminine mix of the marvelous "Blinded by Light." The utilization of the said battle theme as a template stresses Lightning's military background, but the presentation and arrangement seem to elbow in the fact that she is not without emotions. From the rock-oriented "Snow's Theme" to the melancholic guitar solo "Hope's Theme" to the funky, 11/4 time signature track "Sazh's Theme," Hamauzu utilizes different instrument combinations and composition styles that seem to match the characters perfectly. ![]() The tracks don't feature exotic instruments like African drums or sitars, but Hamauzu was able to keep things very diverse and interesting, nonetheless, as exemplified by the character themes. The soundtrack is massive, as expected, spanning four discs and containing over four hours of music. Uematsu was initially slated to compose the game's theme song, as he did for Final Fantasy XII, but the job ultimately went to Masashi Hamauzu after the former was given the task of composing music for Final Fantasy XIV instead. #Final fantasy ost 13 seriesAs many of you probably know, Final Fantasy XIII is the first numbered entry in the well-known franchise to have absolutely no contribution from series composer Nobuo Uematsu. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |