I’ve been familiar with the music of Nobuo Uematsu for many years, mostly his work on the Final Fantasy series, without ever touching any of the games. I’ve always been a little intimidated by the games and their EPIC-ness! Still, the music has been the background to my creative process for years — writing, drawing, gaming, napping. I continuously update my Distant Worlds* playlist with every new album release.
The music of Final Fantasy is special to me, because it’s the first collection of video game music that I have listened to heavily without ever playing any of the games. I listen to plenty of scores (from films, shows, and games) while working. Mostly content I’m already familiar with (The Last of Us, Game of Thrones, Star Wars, Uncharted).
Last March, I even attended a Piano Concert celebrating the music of Final Fantasy. The whole thing was accompanied by gameplay videos on a large screen as the pianist played through different songs from the catalog of games. Before attending this concert I decided it was finally time to get familiar with some Final Fantasy games — I started with Final Fantasy VII Remake.
This week, I finally completed my first Final Fantasy game when I rolled credits on Final Fantasy VII Remake — although it’s part one of a three-part remake. I gave the original Final Fantasy VII (port on Nintendo Switch) a a try some time ago, and made it pretty far before I got stuck on the Chocobo farm.
My reasoning for holding out on the series for so long was the way my obsessed friends talk about these games. I pictured each and every Final Fantasy game as more than a game. Each one was an epic adventure that I just didn’t have the time or brain power for. When I tried playing a bit of Final Fantasy XV, that eased my fear a bit — in a good way.
I got the EPIC-ness of Final Fantasy XV‘s great big story, but at its core it was still very much a video game — a main quest to fulfill with many side quests to take up your time along your journey. Maybe it was the modern day setting that made this entry into the series not as intimidating. They’re just a couple of dudes looking to have a good time, with a sweet convertible.
In Final Fantasy VII Remake, I was able to notice how the team had re-imagined the simple visuals and concepts of a game that was almost twenty-five years old. After playing through this current version, the original feels like concept art or a pre-visualization of the remake. Remake felt like a whole new creature, with the bones of the original to help guide the team.
I was really enjoying the evolution of the remake until I reached the middle. I found myself not really paying much attention to the story as much, but I still needed to make it to the end. The middle of the game is full of too many side quests, and I wasn’t doing a great job at tracking my main goal. I knew that I needed to beat at least one Final Fantasy in my lifetime — so I kept playing.
Once I reached the Shinra Building things started to get familiar once again. I was starting to enjoy the story and seeing the transformation from what I remembered of the previous version. I ended up knocking the difficulty down to easy just to pay more attention to the overall story — the boss battles were still time consuming and a bit tough on easy mode. I really need to learn the proper combat techniques, but I do enjoy the massive overhaul of the battle system.
I have friends that still obsess over the original Final Fantasy VII today. Although their top three Final Fantasy list may differ, they would all have VII as number one. They also seem to always mention Cloud as their top dude. Cloud is a badass, and his buster sword may be one of the coolest swords in video game history, but after reaching the end I’m more of a Sephiroth fan.
I now understand why AEW (All Elite Wrestling) wrestler Kenny Omega’s finishing move is called the One Winged Angel. Also, Sephiroth has the greatest theme music in all of gaming. That final battle between Cloud and Sephiroth, where Cloud’s friends would slowly join the battle, was perfectly executed.
Completing Final Fantasy VII Remake gave me that same feeling of accomplishment after earning a platinum trophy, even though I mostly just conquered the main story (with a couple of side quests). I am proud that I have finally conquered one Final Fantasy — even if it is just one part of three.
I’m not quite ready to jump into my next Final Fantasy adventure, but I’m thinking of Final Fantasy XVI before I get into part two of this trilogy, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. I’m excited to learn how making a completely different Final Fantasy game in between (or at the same time) as the sequel to Remake has changed some of the features in Rebirth.
*Distant Worlds is a series of compilations and collections of the music from the different Final Fantasy games.
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