[Album] Final Fantasy VIII (SSCX-10028)

Catalog Number SSCX-10028
Release Date March 10, 1999
Release Type Official Release
Release Price 3873 Japanese Yen (JPY)
Media Type CD (4 discs)
Classification Original Soundtrack
Published by DigiCube
Composed by Nobuo Uematsu
Arranged by Nobuo Uematsu, Shirou Hamaguchi
Performed by Faye Wong (song "Eyes on Me")
From the Game Final Fantasy VIII
Platform(s) Sony PlayStation

Tracklist

Spoiler:

Disc One 62:07
1) Liberi Fatali (3:07)
2) Balamb GARDEN (3:29)
3) Blue Fields (2:54)
4) Don't be Afraid (2:52)
5) The Winner (1:07)
6) Find Your Way (3:47)
7) SeeD (4:16)
8) The Landing (4:36)
9) Starting Up (1:19)
10) Force Your Way (3:53)
11) The Loser (1:26)
12) Never Look Back (3:23)
13) Dead End (1:11)
14) Breezy (2:43)
15) Shuffle or Boogie (2:04)
16) Waltz for the Moon (3:00)
17) Tell Me (3:24)
18) Fear (2:24)
19) The Man with the Machine Gun (2:49)
20) Julia (1:23)
21) Roses and Wine (2:18)
22) Junction (1:37)
23) Timber Owls (2:51)

Disc Two (59:48)
1) My Mind (3:12)
2) The Mission (3:36)
3) Martial Law (3:48)
4) Cactus Jack (Galbadian Anthem) (1:30)
5) Only a Plank Between One and Perdition (2:24)
6) SUCCESSION OF WITCHES (3:18)
7) Galbadia GARDEN (3:37)
8) Unrest (2:36)
9) Under Her Control (3:30)
10) The Stage is Set (3:39)
11) A Sacrifice (3:26)
12) FITHOS LUSEC WECOS VINOSEC (4:33)
13) Intruders (2:31)
14) Premonition (4:36)
15) Wounded (0:53)
16) Fragments of Memories (3:13)
17) Jailed (3:50)
18) Rivals (3:30)
19) Ami (4:37)

Disc Three (63:24)
1) The Spy (3:46)
2) Retaliation (0:45)
3) Movin' (5:18)
4) Blue Sky (0:44)
5) Drifting (2:56)
6) Heresy (4:10)
7) Fisherman's Horizon (3:35)
8) ODEKA ke Chocobo (1:16)
9) Where I Belong (3:40)
10) The Oath (3:25)
11) Slide Show Part 1 (1:23)
12) Slide Show Part 2 (1:47)
13) Love Grows (4:28)
14) The Salt Flats (3:36)
15) Trust Me (3:13)
16) Silence and Motion (5:47)
17) Dance with the Balamb-fish (3:39)
18) Tears of the Moon (1:12)
19) Residents (3:06)
20) Eyes on Me [Faye Wong] (5:38)

Disc Four (61:10)
1) Mods de Chocobo (2:24)
2) Ride On (3:03)
3) Truth (3:40)
4) Lunatic Pandora (3:28)
5) Compression of Time (4:34)
6) The Castle (5:19)
7) The Legendary Beast (5:50)
8) Maybe I'm a Lion (5:35)
9) The Extreme (6:44)
10) The Successor (3:37)
11) Ending Theme (13:20)
12) Overture (3:36)
Total Running Time: 246:29

Recommended: For anyone looking for a variety of strong music with greatly improved synth in Nobuo Uematsu’s distinctive style, and doesn’t mind the composer’s total abandonment of the leitmotif structure he used in the two previous Final Fantasy games.

Final Fantasy VIII was Squaresoft’s followup to its breakout Final Fantasy VII, which had been a tremendous success in its native Japan and and even bigger smash abroad, bringing countless new gamers to the RPG format. As a result, no expense was spared on the new game, which featured the most advanced CGI cutscenes of its day, impressive, fully-textured ingame graphics, and a massive marketing push. It’s too bad more effort wasn’t put into streamlining the confusing battle system or fleshing out the paper-thin characters and plot, but the game was successful nonetheless, though it fell short of its predecessor’s widespread appeal.

There was never any real doubt that Nobuo Uematsu would return to the franchise; Final Fantasy VII had made him legions of new fans worldwide, and the new game’s higher budget meant that his efforts would be far more realistic, devoid of the tinny synth that dogged VII. At the same time, Uematsu would abandon the leitmotif-based structure that had been the cornerstone of his two previous Final Fantasy scores, instead opting for a smaller number of overarching themes and strong incidental scoring.

Building on the success of his “One-Winged Angel” from VII, Uematsu gave one of the prominent motifs a choral theme with Latin lyrics, based around the nonsense words “Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec.” It opens the powerful opening theme “Liberi Fatali,” anchors the menacing “Succession of Witches,” and appears in full in the track “Fithos Lusec Vecos Vinosec.” This choral sensibility is one of the album’s great strength, and the live singers’ voices enliven the otherwised synthesized tracks they appear in.

The second prominent theme is based on the pop song “Eyes On Me.” One of the more unfortunate side effects of Final Fantasy’s explosion of popularity was the inclusion of pop songs, which first appeared here and have since been present in every major release. They have never really fit in, despite being penned by Uematsu, and “Eyes On Me” interrupts the otherwise lovely “Ending Theme.” The song is far more effective when interpreted as an instrumental, as in “Blue Fields,” where it serves as a main theme of sorts.

The incidental scoring independent of the album’s main themes is quite strong, and Uematsu’s style is prominent enough to tie the pieces together without explicit thematic references. He goes about his task with aplomb, creating tracks as diverse as the genetle, melodic “Fisherman’s Horizon,” the acuosticc “Breezy,” and the delightful, string-based “The Mission.” Even though the game lacks a proper airship, Uematsu even turns in a rousing airship theme in the form of “Ride On.”

Final Fantasy VIII’s battle and action themes are particularly noteworthy, especially the normal battle theme, “Don’t Be Afraid.” Normal battle themes have long been Uematsu’s weakest tracks, often much more bland and modernistic than the surrounding music, but “Afraid” takes an effective classical approach, underscoring the brass with racing staccato strings and strong percussion. The boss battle theme “Force Your Way” is more modern, using a stadium-style organ and electric guitars with an orchestral backing to great effect. The larger-scale battles are album highlights, particularly “Premonition” and the climactic “The Extreme,” both of which interpolate the “Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec” melody and build from soft beginnings to explosive action statements.

Final Fantasy VIII is Uematsu at his best, refusing to rest on his laurels and crafting engaging new music that, while more fragmented than his earlier efforts, is every bit as enjoyable. The superior synth is a great boon to sensitive listeners as well, making the music much more palletable and accessible. As with every Final Fantasy album, Final Fantasy VIII is a Japanese release, available through importers and specialty retailers.

Rating (out of *****)
*****

Jam it back in, in the dark.