The Music Of Ultimate Fantasy 16: Half 4 – The Sound

For my cash, one of the attention-grabbing points of a sport’s creation is the composition and orchestration of its music. With Ultimate Fantasy, that’s doubly the case as a result of for me, and I think about for therefore many others, its soundtrack is considered one of its greatest elements. Be it lo-fi channels, new preparations, compilations, piano variations, or one thing else, Ultimate Fantasy music makes its means into a lot of my playlists. 

That’s why I used to be so excited to speak with composer Masayoshi Soken about his rating for Ultimate Fantasy XVI. You may acknowledge his identify as he’s additionally the composer of Ultimate Fantasy XIV. Nonetheless, when you don’t, there’s an opportunity it’s a reputation you come to recollect following the discharge of FFXVI as a result of after spending greater than three hours of hands-on time with the sport in Sq. Enix’s Tokyo, Japan, workplace, I’m assured we’re about to get a banger of a rating. 

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Ultimate Fantasy XVI Composer Masayoshi Soken

In speaking with Soken, I wished to talk to him about a number of the main themes and melodies of any Ultimate Fantasy sport – issues just like the Prelude, the primary theme, the Victory Fanfare, and extra – and he had loads to say. On this four-part sequence, I’ll be breaking down totally different points of the music that excite me and hopefully you too. 

Remember to compensate for the primary three elements right here: 

The Music of Ultimate Fantasy XVI Half 4 – The Sound

Loads of thought goes into creating key elements of a Ultimate Fantasy rating, just like the Prelude and Victory Fanfare (you possibly can examine that right here), however simply as a lot thought goes into the instrumentation of every of the 200-plus tracks within the soundtrack. I used to be interested by what musicians have been taking part in to create the sound of FFXVI, how Soken went about this curation, and the way the sport’s themes play into these selections. 

“I feel for lots of the themes for the Eikons, you’re going to get a variety of male refrain […] as a result of we talked about the way it brings that darkish really feel to it,” Soken tells me. “However I feel there’s additionally a variety of brass devices […] and strings […] as properly, since you’re attempting to get that darkish, classical really feel.”

From the leap, FFXVI producer Naoki Yoshida tasked Soken with making a rating that felt very classical and he remained true to that steering all through the composition…aside from one tune. 

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Ultimate Fantasy XVI Producer Naoki Yoshida

“He didn’t need us to go off into too many tangents and go too loopy with it,” Soken says. “There was one battle with a sure Eikon and after taking part in it, I assumed, ‘There’s no means I can do that in classical. I need to do one thing totally different. I need to step away from classical and do one thing totally totally different.’ So I composed a chunk that was completely not classical. And with out telling anybody, I put it within the sport and let the event crew play it, and the suggestions that I obtained was that they actually, actually appreciated it although it wasn’t classical. They felt that it actually, actually match the battle.”

Soken remained tightlipped on which Eikon struggle he was referencing, however he did tease one thing I feel can be of curiosity to these tuned into the FFXIV group: Not solely did localization director Michael-Christopher Koji Fox write the lyrics featured on this monitor, however he additionally sang for it. 

“That’s sort of embarrassing,” Koji says with a smile as Soken laughs alongside. “Nobody’s purported to know that however yeah, there’s a pair which will have my vocal stylings.” 

Whereas I couldn’t pry a lot deeper, Koji says Soken offered his voice to that tune as a backing monitor to Koji and within the last sport, they’re combined collectively. 

You’ll additionally hear different acquainted melodies inside FFXVI, as a result of Soken says, “There are a variety of tracks within the sport that we drew inspiration from music from previous Ultimate Fantasies, together with Ultimate Fantasy XIV.” He wouldn’t share extra with me, although, as a result of if he did, he says it’d be a spoiler. 

That speaks to the bigger tone of music in FFXVI. Soken and his crew didn’t exit of their means to decide on a single instrument or type of music to outline the rating. As a substitute, it appeared on the geography of Valisthea and the nations that decision it house. 

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“We don’t need to say that this place equals this place in the actual world,” he says. “For sure conditions, we might have cases of Arabic origin or possibly devices of Asian origin as a result of they occur to suit that space or they occur to suit the scenario and what’s occurring within the cutscenes.” 

He continues, stating that as a result of FFXIV has such a big world, you possibly can leap from many various kinds of themes and music relying on the place you’re going. Whereas in FFXVI, he says the sport incorporates a targeted story and that the crew wished to maintain the core themes of the music to suit the story throughout.

“We didn’t need to have these huge jumps, so we have now this important pillar […] of music, that classical pillar, after which from there, we’re going to be adjusting slightly bit, we’re going to be having slightly little bit of enjoyable with it in sure areas. However that important sound goes to suit and [it’s] going to undergo the entire sport; you’re not going to get these huge jumps in kinds of music.” 

For extra concerning the sport, head to Recreation Informer’s unique Ultimate Fantasy XVI protection hub by clicking the banner beneath.

Supply: Recreation Informer

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