The music of  Final Fantasy XII was composed primarily b yHitoshi Sakimoto. Additional music was provided by Masaharu Iwata and Hayato Matsuo, who also orchestrated the opening and ending themes. Former regular series composer Nobuo Uematsu’s only work for this game was “Kiss Me Good-Bye”, the theme song sung by Angela Aki.

The Final Fantasy XII Original Soundtrack was released on four Compact Discs in 2006 by Aniplex.  A sampling of tracks from the soundtrack was released as an album entitled Selections from Final Fantasy XII Original Soundtrack, and was released in 2006 by Tofu Records.

“When writing music for a movie, the timings are fixed and you can write things very precisely to match each and every cue. Writing for games is very different. Although the music can’t always be written to match the scene you have much more time to develop themes and impressions over the course of the game. Using sounds, melodies and chords you can control the impact this has on the player.“

—Hitoshi Sakimoto

Hitoshi Sakimoto poured his heart and soul into all one hundred songs included in this soundtrack. Featuring over four hours of music and utilizing every conceivable instrument known to man (strings, flutes, percussion, brass, bells, whistles), Sakimoto does everything he can to bring his vision to life. Unfortunately, the work he envisioned isn’t what we had in mind, and although it’s probably not fair to compare him to Nobuo Uematsu (composer of the first eleven Final Fantasy titles), it’s also inevitable, since the two FF music prodigies could not be more contrasting.

While Uematsu’s work is infectious and subliminal, blending into the gameplay experience seamlessly, Sakimoto’s is over-the-top and bombastic. Many of the songs in this 4 disc collection could have been written by James Horner or John Williams, and are more appropriate for anything that begins with the word “star.” Sound like a good thing? It’s not. The music is too invasive for a videogame, Sakimoto trying too hard to evoke emotion and driving a player to distraction. The traditionally simplistic character themes tend to go on way too long, wandering off the main road and nearly getting us lost, while the town tunes merely serve as pleasant background noise (think elevator music for Final Fantasy). That’s a shame, because some of FF’s most memorable tracks have been about towns and cities. Even the battle songs tend to be either too bland or too spicy.

Luckily, all is not lost. There are a couple of hidden gems thrown into the mix, especially on disc 3. “The Garifu Theme” evokes images of long-dead Spartan warriors, while the exotic “Ozame Plains” conjures up the African Safari. “Eruyt Village” is soft and melancholy, but the vivacious “Chocobo Theme” is a good counter-balance to it. Disc 4 is also an improvement, though it tends to be more “digitalized,” as if Sakimoto went through his orchestra budget before he could complete the project. In any case, it still manages to be stirring: songs rise to a riveting crescendo, leading up to the “Final Boss Theme,” which incorporates previous melodies into one riveting compilation.

The album ends with the game’s vocal track “Kiss Me Goodbye” by Angela Aki, which is a warm, refreshing antidote to the album’s rather glum overtones. Lyrics like “don’t shed a tear for love’s mortality/you put the dream in my reality” can’t fail to give the heart a small tug. It’s a strong end to a surprisingly trite collection, but maybe the fact that Nobuo Uematsu composed the song has something to do with it.

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1. 

   Yuzoboy

   March 5, 2012 at 9:56 AM

   At least he took into account the popular themes such as the fanfare, FF theme and Gilgamesh battle. I admit I did not like the OST at first but it grew on me.

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