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

It sounds a bit too much like kingdom hearts though

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I agree with CelticWhisper...Shiomura sounded extremely different in her PE compositions. I love the intro song.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Love the new extended trailer track from FF13. While like many I am bit skeptical about the game, I want to hear more music tracks ASAP.

Also loving the song from Versus. Very KH-esque.

Thing I love about Shimomura that each game she is different and is shows she's versatile. Compare Parasite Eve with Legend of Mana, then the KH series, then the various Mario RPGs she did...

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Someone should rip the music from the Versus trailer. That is an incredible piece of music.

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Originally Posted by lord-of-shadow

Someone should rip the music from the Versus trailer. That is an incredible piece of music.

Send big files the easy way. Files too large for email attachments? No problem!

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

After I saw the newly released FFXIII and FFVersusXIII trailers, I was at once excited and disappointed. It's a progression of FF into the next gen but in a greater sense it remains a regression when compared to FFXII.

Matsuno Yasuno's FFXII is when Final Fantasy grew up--boldly evident in it's art direction, but most conspicuously in it's narrative. It was a narrative flushed with florid, even occasionally literate, dialogue, a story arc concerned with political intrigue and worldly repercussions rather than the vanity of a girl-boy-girl love triangle, and a manner of characterization and direction that placed greater value in nuances of expressiveness rather than the gauche, teenage bravado and superficiality of Tidus, Cloud, Squall, or any of their similar spawn. A Final Fantasy without Matsuno (FF Tactics, Vagrant Story, or FFXII) is akin to a Jerry Bruckheimer production but with a Dawson's Creek ethos slathered in, very thickly.

While FFXII eschewed the teenage melodrama and ungainly storytelling of recent and past Final Fantasies, it also melded the best in western and Japanese RPGs and did away with long outmoded mainstays and annoyances in both: no more random battles or time wasting end-battle EXP/gil summary screens; seamless integration of exploration and battle modes creating an amplified sense of immersion; a choice to micro- or macro-manage battles allowing for leisurely or frantic fighting via the Gambit system; the creative synthesis of single player RPG and MMORPG mechanics; a 3D camera control allowing for full view of Ivalice's grandeur, again adding to the immense sense of immersion; a strong female lead (Ashe is inarguably the lead) who is neither feeble nor whiny nor a submissive stereotype; locales (especially the metropolises) that felt alive with the denizens and not a static contrivance of NPCs. The innovations, evolution, and discarded conventions are considerable. FFXII is not without its faults, even though it's one of only six games to get a perfect rating in Famitsu (not that Famitsu still holds value for everyone), but it does represent the first time Final Fantasy can be considered entertainment for more than mostly kids and teenagers. Along with games like FF Tactics, Ico, Bioshock, and Half Life 2, FFXII is one of those rare times where a video game has a story to tell that won't make you blush too much. It's not on par with finer cinema or literature, very far from it, but at least it displays an ambition to get there someday.

Those who dislike FFXII are likely to enjoy FFXIII. It's a return to the maturity level before Matsuo came in; a return to the cliches of a vapid but sullen hero with an elemental name (Lightning meet Cloud) and a farcically huge sword, zippered sportswear and asexual garments, and--because of the staff involved--a story that might rival FF7-10 in it's attempt to perfectly mirror a Ben Affleck summer blockbuster with inconsequential love interest and inconsequential ass kicking of inconsequential baddies who are equally as vapid as the hero and his love interest.

And yet inspite all that, I am completely hyped for FFXIII. FFXII's art director, Kamikokuyrou Isamu, is XIII's art director and as the trailer's have revealed, Isamu's breathtaking baroque aesthetic seems to have tempered the plastic, futuristic-sacharinity and over-simplicity of everything that Nomura Tetsuya touches--ostensibly the character designs are still very Nomura. The worlds the trailer briefly unveils looks like something I wish to immerse myself in. The music sounds as captivating, though not as ornate, as Sakimoto's FFXII score. So while my expectations for the direction, story, dialogue, and voice acting remain low, the art direction, music, and gameplay adequately retains my considerable interest and excitement.

As for FFVersusXIII, the music in the trailer while competent does sound a bit like a poor man's opera--watered down for an audience that doesn't know of Bellini or Puccini. The game itself looks dreadfully Nomura. If FFXII is an indictment of the maturity level of previous Final Fantasies and FFXIII a tearing down of the maturity level FFXII had achieved, FFVersusXIII looks to abolish all adult ambitions by winning the hearts of the demographic not quite old enough to get a driver's license--or those who enjoyed Kingdom Hearts. I don't know if I have the patience for a main character more sullen than a Prozac-popper on Medicare and so exceedingly self-absorbed he wears all black cause he thinks it's slimming.

FELIPE NO

Yes, for some reason I feel I've seen this argument before. :roll:

Anyways, I agree for the most part that the Final Fantasy XIII thematic seems to wipe out any of the displays of maturity on behalf of FFXII. I am not surprised that the Final Fantasy series is taking this direction but I am very disappointed. I just want something new and it seems that SQUARE-ENIX must appease the FFVII fanboi's above all else.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Are you totally sure that the composer of the Versus track is Y. Shimomura? The voice and the overall style reminds me to Yuki Kajiura.

(EDIT: And I'm sorry if the sentences aren't correct, I'm losing the little touch with the english that I had)

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Originally Posted by ikkei

Are you totally sure that the composer of the Versus track is Y. Shimomura? The voice and the overall style reminds me to Yuki Kajiura.

Yoko Shimomura has already been confirmed as the composer. Perhaps there's a slim chance that Yuki was involved with the trailer music, but I'm not betting on it.

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OK, after actually listening to it, it's totally Shimomura and sounds very little like Kajiura. Shimomura is no stranger to new types of vocals. Maybe you've never heard "Song of Mana" or "Somnia Memorias"?

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I agree with the maturity level thing, but how can you determine how the characters personalities will be.

Either way FFXII was a very unique game. I doubt we will ever see anything like that in a Final Fantasy again, or at least a while.

The thing is, is while we grow up, we forget that we were once the younger generation buying and loving the style of these games.

The games shouldn't have to adjust to us, or our lives... I started playing Final Fantasy around 7 years old or so. I think of Final Fantasy being aimed ages 12-18.

I could be totally wrong. I just grew up playing these games at such a young age. I don't imagine them changing now and being mature or grown up as much as FFXII was.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.