[News] FINAL FANTASY XIII Composers Announced (Hamauzu / Shimomura)

I guess Sakimoto's XII music wasn't a big hit with the powers that be, eh?

I really wish that Uematsu would come back and do a whole FF. Squeenix should be able to offer him enough cash money to make it happen. At least they're sticking with relatively big names, rather than more obscure people.

Shimomura has my blessing, since she;s easily one of my favorite composers and I've enjoyed virtually all of her material. On the basis of the disappointing Dirge of Cerberus, though, I can't say I'm very enthusiastic about Hamauzu. Then again, I was never a huge fan of his pre-Dirge, but that meandering and themeless void doesn;t instill me with confidence.

Call me old-fashioned, but a Final Fantasy score needs to be big and bold, with coloful themes and sweeping orcestrations. Uematsu had the sound down to a science, but none of Hamauzu's work has convinced me that he is even capable of something like that.

Then again, I would have doubted Shimomura before she coughed up "Lengen of Mana" and "Kingdom Hearts." So who knows? It could turn out all right. But if I switch on my PS3 and hear droning industrial sound design or seven hours of piano solos, I won't be surprised.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Teioh

And if it's anything like Unlimited Saga, I will be very, very disappointed...Hamauzu already had chance to proof himself with Dirge of Cerberus, and while this might have convinced Square Enix managment, it didn't convince me.

My thoughts exactly.

Unlimited SaGa had some great moments (the last battle), but its sound is simply not right for Final Fantasy, and neither is the other sort of aural experimentation evident in DoC.

Final Fantasy is like James Bond--there are certain traditions that should be adhered to. Innovation is possible, but go too far, and trouble ensues.

There's nowhere I can't reach.