For my cash, one of the fascinating elements of a sport’s creation is the composition and orchestration of its music. With Closing Fantasy, that’s doubly the case as a result of for me, and I think about for thus many others, its soundtrack is considered one of its greatest components. Be it lo-fi channels, new preparations, compilations, piano variations, or one thing else, Closing Fantasy music makes its method 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 Closing Fantasy XVI. You would possibly acknowledge his identify as he’s additionally the composer of Closing Fantasy XIV. Nonetheless, for those who 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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Closing Fantasy XVI Composer Masayoshi Soken
In speaking with Soken, I wished to talk to him about among the main themes and melodies of any Closing Fantasy sport – issues just like the Prelude, the principle theme, the Victory Fanfare, and extra – and he had loads to say. On this four-part sequence, I’ll be breaking down completely different elements of the music that excite me and hopefully you too.
Remember to compensate for the primary three components right here:
The Music of Closing Fantasy XVI Half 4 – The Sound
Loads of thought goes into creating key components of a Closing Fantasy rating, just like the Prelude and Victory Fanfare (you’ll be able to 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 enjoying to create the sound of FFXVI, how Soken went about this curation, and the way the sport’s themes play into these decisions.
“I feel for lots of the themes for the Eikons, you’re going to get a number 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 number of brass devices […] and strings […] as properly, since you’re attempting to get that darkish, classical really feel.”
From the soar, 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…apart from one track.
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Closing 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 enjoying it, I assumed, ‘There’s no method I can do that in classical. I need to do one thing completely different. I need to step away from classical and do one thing totally completely 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 workforce play it, and the suggestions that I acquired was that they actually, actually favored it despite the fact that 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 might 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 presupposed 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 track as a backing monitor to Koji and within the closing sport, they’re blended collectively.
You’ll additionally hear different acquainted melodies inside FFXVI, as a result of Soken says, “There are a number of tracks within the sport that we drew inspiration from music from previous Closing Fantasies, together with Closing 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 workforce didn’t exit of their method to decide on a single instrument or type of music to outline the rating. As a substitute, it seemed 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 could have cases of Arabic origin or perhaps devices of Asian origin as a result of they occur to suit that space or they occur to suit the scenario and what’s happening within the cutscenes.”
He continues, stating that as a result of FFXIV has such a big world, you’ll be able to soar from many several types of themes and music relying on the place you’re going. Whereas in FFXVI, he says the sport contains a targeted story and that the workforce wished to maintain the core themes of the music to suit the story all through.
“We didn’t need to have these massive jumps, so now we have this primary pillar […] of music, that classical pillar, after which from there, we’re going to be adjusting a bit bit, we’re going to be having a bit little bit of enjoyable with it in sure areas. However that primary sound goes to suit and [it’s] going to undergo the entire sport; you’re not going to get these massive jumps in types of music.”
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