FFXII OST - A let down?

Kjata

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Did anyone else find the FFXII OST was a real let down compared to some of the past OSTs? The music went well with the settings, but I didn't really like any of it apart from the first song on the titles. FFVII had a cool battle and boss theme, the awesome One Winged Angel theme and some other good tracks, FFIX had The Escape From Evil Forest, Trance Kuja, Kuja's Theme, cool battle and boss music, FFX had cool battle and boss music, and Otherworld, by Rammstein, which was an awesome track and just made the fight with Jecht so much more epic. Whereas with FFXII... none of the music appeals to me. All of the previous boss and normal battle tracks have been good, but on FFXII they have just been dissapointing, along with the rest of the OST. Thoughts?
 
Comparatively, yes. In general, not really. Although there were no real scores that struck me as amazing or memorable, it certainly wasn't bad. It was a different style. Who knows, that may actually attract new people to the franchise. But in general it wasn't bad. Trust me, there are a lot of RPGs where the music is just flat out horrible... this wasn't one of them.
 
Yiazmat

Comparatively, yes. In general, not really. Although there were no real scores that struck me as amazing or memorable, it certainly wasn't bad. It was a different style. Who knows, that may actually attract new people to the franchise. But in general it wasn't bad. Trust me, there are a lot of RPGs where the music is just flat out horrible... this wasn't one of them.

I agree with this, probably the reason that none of the music stuck with people was that it was relatively without a tune. There were exceptions, and those were the most memorable. The new style was nice, and the score was anything but bad, it just wasn't as good as those from other FF's.
 
Agreed. To add to that, I thought that most of the musical pieces were actually quite appropriate for the particular section of the map that they were implemented. Take for example, the marching themes of the Giza Plains and elsewhere; they worked perfectly fine and it felt as it was pushing you on.
In other words, not the best, but it was good and appropriate.
Although I would've loved it if they incorporated character themes again.
 
Music in FF games are generally accompanied with original main themes, character themes, or fmv music and each had their own purpose, doing more than just serve as background music.

The opening theme of Zanarkand in X conveyed a sense of impending doom which I thought was so fitting to the whole concept of Yuna's summoner pilgrimage. For character themes, Tidus as a person seems to epitomise hope or victory whether it be blitzball or saving Spira, and that theme of his just encompasses all that. Of course, who could forget those several notes of Aerith's theme playing in concurrence with each bounce of the Holy materia during that iconic scene. Don't you just wish that the person you battle right after that tragic moment was Sephiroth? Marvellous stuff indeed.

This kind of quality appears to be non-existent when speaking of XII, that's likely to be where the bulk of the criticism stems from I'd imagine.

But gotta admit, the boss battle themes did well to pump up the adrenaline during fights, enabling them to feel more epic. Other memorable ones that stand out I guess include Phon Coast, Old Archades, Giruvegan, Great Crystal. But other than these select few, they're nothing much to write home about. One that sticks to mind that I really felt was closest to bad was Gilgamesh's battle theme, it kind of ruined his dramatic cameo appearance for me personally.
 
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I agree the musics nice, but not memorable - unlike previous classics like To Zanarkand and Aeriths theme - but this albulms saving grace (if the song is on it - which it should be) is Kiss Me Goodbye - its just...amazing. Its far better than Melodys of life. Suteki Da Ne and Eyes on me.
 
and Otherworld, by Rammstein,
......?
Uematsu may well have been going for the Rammstein/Rob Zombie sound when he wrote the track, but it certainly wasn't Rammstein who performed it.

Although I would've loved it if they incorporated character themes again.
I could be mistaken but I'm pretty sure that a few of the characters did have theme tunes. wouldn't be the first time they don't stand out though, took me till earlier this year to realise Lulu had a theme tune.:O

As for XII's score; this is my favourite F.F. soundtrack, without exception. The only two to perhaps come reasonably close are VIII and X. The music itself is far more grand than any of the pieces to be penned for the previous games.

Boss themes? XII's boss theme was excellent, but I'll concede that this is perhaps were it doesn't exactly stand out on top, VII and VIII arguably had better boss tunes than XII did.
But final bosses? Battle For Freedom is the best finale track for any Final Fantasy, period.

People keep saying that the music wasn't memorable. All I'll say is this, I still have nightmares about the Gold Saucer theme because it's memorable, and hellishly annoying whilst it's at it. There's something to be said for good music which can do it's job = Background Music. Something whihc can do it's job perfectly well whilst playing through the game, but actually rewarded anyone who went to the trouble of listening to it again outside of the game enviroment.

That's me for just now. [/XII fanboy rant:P]
 
Music not memorable enough? Funny...funny that. Because WHY on earth have I remembered the vast majority of track titles from this game hm? Ah, I must be a black sheep or something. VII's music had a few "memorable" tracks, nothing more. I wasn't bored with XII's music, it wasn't a let down. Maybe people are used to a certain type of music, maybe for too long?

End line is - music isn't poor, it's not poorly composed, not rubbish etc. I've come across a few people who think like that, and it bugs me. Just because a person didn't like it, doesn't mean it's..well, you get the picture.

You either like something or you don't. *shrugs*

This is my favourite soundtrack along with VIII's.

Favourite tracks? Clash on the Bridge, Sorrow (Imperial and Resistance versions), White Room, Journey to the Gods (think thats the title), all battle themes, Speechless Battle, plus, a whole lot more. Some titles I forget x3

EDIT: Not saying VII's music is poor, I just..didn't like it.
 
Music not memorable enough? Funny...funny that. Because WHY on earth have I remembered the vast majority of track titles from this game hm? Ah, I must be a black sheep or something. VII's music had a few "memorable" tracks, nothing more. I wasn't bored with XII's music, it wasn't a let down. Maybe people are used to a certain type of music, maybe for too long?

End line is - music isn't poor, it's not poorly composed, not rubbish etc. I've come across a few people who think like that, and it bugs me. Just because a person didn't like it, doesn't mean it's..well, you get the picture.

You either like something or you don't. *shrugs*

This is my favourite soundtrack along with VIII's.

Favourite tracks? Clash on the Bridge, Sorrow (Imperial and Resistance versions), White Room, Journey to the Gods (think thats the title), all battle themes, Speechless Battle, plus, a whole lot more. Some titles I forget x3

EDIT: Not saying VII's music is poor, I just..didn't like it.
Agreed 100%. You're not the only black sheep, then.

To add to the favourite tracks ...Desperate Fight, Esper Battle, the two introductory pieces [even though they were revamped originals] and Kiss Me Goodbye.
 
I didn't say they're poor, they fit into the background nicely but there isn't any I particularly liked.. and you're right about the Golden Saucer music, I can still remember that too. :dry:
 
People expected to much from this game. Thus expecting too much from the music. I love the battle themes especially the final boss one :monster: and the archadian themes with it perfectly.

The reason why people may not remember the songs in this game compared to previous installments is because the music feels like ambience rather than actual songs.

This and other BIG changes is probably the reason why people didn't like this game. Not because it wasn't bad or anything but because of the changes.
 
If you'd have read my post Kjata, I was mentioning what I had seen when talking to other people about the music..
 
I wonder what the music would have been like if Nobou composed it like the rest of the OST's.

The clash on the bridge remake is pretty nice, but the orginal from FFV is better.
 
FF XII's music sounded more like background music, I dunno. The music was less melodic than in the previous games. I didn't really like the change that much.
 
Well… Hitoshi Sakimoto had some big shoes to fill on this one and thought he did a good job, in my opinion. He did a great job setting the theme to many of the many locations in the world, especially the dungeons which are some of my favorite scores as well as the scores for the Mines.

In short, I can’t really say that I was disappointed with the music…
 
I just don't care for the music at all.

I loved FFXII, don't get me wrong, but I just wasn't impressed at all with the music. I didn't hate any of it, and like others have said, I found it appropriate, but it's just not my thing.

I'm sorry that I don't agree with those of you who love it, but it's just not my style at all. The only two pieces of music I found memorable, and that I actually liked, was the Eruyt Village background and 'Kiss Me Goodbye'. Like I've told everyone else, I honestly prefer DoC's music over XII's any day.
 
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