Nick: Final Fantasy X - Nobuo Uematsu, along with Masashi Hamauzu and Junya Nakano
Let’s be real – Nobuo Uematsu is best known for his contributions to the legendary Final Fantasy series after joining Square back in 1986. That being said, Nobuo has dozens of credits to his name. It is, however, his collaboration with Junya Nakano and Masashi Hamauzu that created arguably my favorite video game soundtrack of all time, Final Fantasy X.
For me, Final Fantasy X is special. It is my favorite game in the long-running series, and I’ve been playing Final Fantasy titles since the first one released on the NES a million years ago. The music in this series has always been spectacular, but the visuals, story, characters and combat that the series has always been known for were introduced to voice acting for the first time and it all came together beautifully. I borrowed a buddy’s PS2 and this game when he went on vacation for a week. I was working a lot of hours back then, I didn’t have time to complete the game, but I enjoyed it so much that a couple of months later my dad, my wife and her aunt got together and gifted me a PlayStation 2 for Christmas – along with my own copy of Final Fantasy X.
The soundtrack ranges from the blistering heavy metal sounds of Otherworld heard in the game’s opening cinematics to the soulful piano playing of Zanarkand we get at the beginning. Some of the music is simply ambient and beautiful such as the subtle softness of Hum of the Fayth as your characters walk around different temples.
I loved the music from this game so much that I went out and bought the vinyl record albums for it. Each side of the two-record set has different beautiful artwork on it. It’s one of the favorites in my record collection. It was also the basis for our site’s second Memorable Music in Gaming article back when I wrote about it in 2014.
With over a dozen songs in the soundtrack, there is a great deal of music to be had in Final Fantasy X. As someone who was very invested in the characters and stories, I still recall many of the game’s more poignant scenes. It was a story of adventure, companionship, happiness and heartbreak and it was beautifully encapsulated in Final Fantasy X.
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Richard - The Atelier collective (Iris, Sophie, Mana Khemia, etc.)
You know, this was a really tough decision for me. I have tons of games where the music has really impacted me from a very large slew of different titles. While I was waffling about what game, or series, to choose, I decided to land on the series I’ve been playing for quite a while and probably has the largest number of tracks stuck in my head: the Atelier series.
Now while the more recent titles such as Atelier Sophie 2 and Atelier Yumia might have more recognition, I started back with Atelier Iris, which I believe was the 6th title in the Atelier series, and we’re up to 24 or so now, not including side series. Straight from the get go the Atelier and Gust games have done a wonderful job in the music department. There have been many amazing tracks over the years, and it all started for me from the opening sequence of Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana. From tracks such as the first town theme in Atelier Iris, Danger Zone from Atelier Iris 2, Tunes of Distant Time from Atelier Iris 3, A Rusted Neigh, Nefertiti, Crystallized all from Mana Khemia, and Beyond Wisdom from Atelier Firis are all some of my more memorable tracks. Of course we can’t forget Sad Vampire either, a track that’s gotten a number of remixes or remasters over the years, and for good reason.
The Atelier series always holds a special place in my heart, whether it be the nice combination of synthesizing paired with the combat segments, creating and outfitting your characters with what you actually make, or the engaging storytelling. That’s all well and good, but a game can really pop when paired with the right music, and considering I’m still occasionally humming some of these tracks 20 years later, I’d say they were pretty dang memorable.
The Atelier series has seen a few composers over the years, including: Daisuke Achiwa, Kazuki Yanagawa, Ken Nakagawa, Tatsuya Yano, Toshiharu Yamanishi, and Hayato Asano. Some of these composers have worked on other titles, such as Ar Nosurge or Knights of Azure as well, and they certainly aren’t slacking there either.
Ultimately we aren’t here for best game or even technically best music, although I would rate the Atelier series in general quite highly in both categories. What we are here for is “Memorable Music”, and there are a lot of Atelier tracks that absolutely refuse to remove themselves from the cavity that is my brain. If the gameplay doesn’t do it for you, at least the music should be good to listen to!
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PY: The Falcom Sound Team JDK - The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel (sub-series)
Here I find myself once again gushing praise for perhaps one of my favorite music groups in Japanese RPGs, The Falcom Sound Team JDK.
Responsible for a variety of epic tracks over the last few decades, there's one series that I've continued to have on repeat. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel. The versatility in their approach is one not often seen, and there's a range here that simply continues to surpass my expectations and Atrocious Raid is a prime example.
Original from Trails of Cold Steel
https://youtu.be/YbXAqwxwamE?si=_qBbXNBurP4RCWBg
Super arranged version
https://youtu.be/9JA_4eC4hQ0?si=BvW7N1S64kMFVllO
Remastered for Trails of Cold Steel IV
https://youtu.be/Xo1yMHutXQM?si=FYZ8Hib8QjVVAWyd
Each version builds on one another and while the sound team are epic, the design team knew what they were doing when they expertly placed them within each title. It's the combination of the visuals, the story, and then the range of music.
But they don't just stop there! The sound team is also not afraid to blend genres like synth and orchestra for epic tracks like the other Trails of Cold Steel IV banger To the Future,
https://youtu.be/Hxn65baVPTc?si=oSgd8rNoDZ7mQHeQ
Which plays long after the first upbeat synth track of Synchronicity #23
https://youtu.be/YDHsx5nXE9M?si=Wmz8zrD8G-scrLvv
And that doesn't even begin to cover what they've done with the rest of the Legend of Heroes series or the Ys Series. The best part of it all? They freely drop their tracks on both YouTube and Spotify for everyone to enjoy.
