Hitoshi Sakimoto

I seem to be the exception even in Sakimoto supporters. When first hearing Vagrant Story's score I'm thrilled at its beauty. And when I listen to FFTactics, I can immediately distinguish his work from Iwata's. It's not that I don't like Iwata's work, I just found Iwata's work less... personal than Sakimoto's.

Sakimoto's music made me goosebumps. Just a seemingly random chord progression penned by him can do that for me. I can listen to a piece continuously for a hundred times and I don't feel bored in any way. I already knew I love dissonance and weird stuff etc because he's not the first controversial 'noisemakers' that I hear and love immediately (The first one is Elliot Goldenthal for his frenetic Final Fantasy TSW score which I still adore so much today, especially the most noisy Toccata and Dreamscape cue). Also, his music fits the game perfectly. To say I love it because it's complex is by no means correct; I did't have a clue why I love this music so much until much later.

To exaggerate a little bit, I think the experience when listening to Sakimoto's music is somewhat like staying with a girlfriend - I don't have one (and I'm male, despite the username ) - you know what I mean.

Admittedly, I myself also found FFXII OST a little bland, and out of place, in some places. Overuse of bitonality in a not so cool way is one of the reasons, IMO. And some repetitive orchestration techniques. Suspended cymbals come to mind, which is something he's been using for 4-5 years. I didn't hear that in Vagrant Story that often. I can still hear them in Romeo x Juliet, but I found it harder to notice. Maybe it has something to do with the synthesizer?

But somehow Sakimoto can always give me surprises. When I found the main theme of Grim Grimoire quite lacking, there's Opoona that sounds so promising; let alone Romeo x Juliet, whose orchestral pieces sounds so much like a Hollywood score, but with enough Sakimoto trademarks, and the chamber pieces are so lovely and emotional, even out of context.

But if you have the chance, you must listen to Vagrant Story's score thoroughly. And try NOT to think of a scene. I hope that would change you opinion just a little bit. :P

Jam it back in, in the dark.