Haha usually I put a smiling face when I enjoy the tracks, and sometimes (but rarely) because the track might be "interesting" to listen to. 😂 Mhaura is a small arid port town, it is on the Windurstian Continent (one of the 3 starter Nations), at the other end of Selbina. Those who start at Windurst have to travel a long and risky road through Tahrongi Canyon then Buburimu Peninsula in order to get to the first exp "group" area: Valkurm Dunes, which you can reach by taking the boat from Mhaura to Selbina. Either by feet or boat, reaching Mhaura then hearing this song gives such a rewarding and safe feeling, since both roads are quite risky as a low level player, especially if you're new and have no clue about what to do. That's why I love this song so much. 💕 Ronfaure... the first exp area for San d'Orians.. my home😢. The very first character I created in FFXI, taking their debut in this beautiful woodland, surrounded by mountains, crossed by lovely rivers, right outside of San d'Oria. I still remember killing mobs until I reach level 14 because I had no clue that you had to go to Valkurm Dunes around level 10... This is also where I met my first Linkshell (guild) Leader, back then when I barely knew any english words, he was very patient and took his time to explain how Linkshells worked and how to "equip" one. I'll always remember how nice you always were and our banters, Askura. ❤ Even if Gustaberg is my fav starter track, Ronfaure will always have the most precious memories which I hold dear in my heart. 😌 As for the Distant Worlds ver., I just love how it shift from Majestic and Grandiose, into a very soft and heartwarming feeling. But you're right, Distant Worlds can be very hit or miss, this one certainly doesn't miss! I love you, Final Fantasy XI. And I wish you all, a Happy Holidays and Starlight Celebration! 🎄😊
Thank you for your comment. For some reason SEs infinite wisdom, they have decided to copyright strike all old FF11 videos and upload the nextone videos withou comments, so all old videos and their comments are lost for good, some even spanning 14 years. I really dislike that decision and it kind of makes me think twice about buying their software going forwards. They always have been kind of anti-consumer, except with keeping FF11 still alive, but community side-wise, they are totally deaf. Edit: why can't they just be like Capco or Sega?
Uematsu on Ronfaure: "I imagine every creative person feels the same way, but whenever you strive to 'make something better than what came before it,' the end results usually don't turn out as good as you were hoping for. That leads to added tension, and the songs do not work out, no matter how many you write. We are not given unlimited time to work on these things, so we often end up taking the same approach. So that is how 'Ronfaure' was born, and while I figured it was the only path forward for me, I also felt like I was satisfied with the process. In that sense, I suppose the song allowed me to realize that I did not need to force myself to change if I didn't want to." (From an interview earlier this year, can be found on the We Are Vanadiel commemorative site. If you want to read the full interview with all three composers, it's under We Discuss Vana'diel and then at the very bottom of the page).
Ronfaure is one of my favourite songs in all of FF it holds a special place in my heart. My first starting city I chose in 11 was San d'oria to which Ronfaure is the first outside zone, little 12 year old me spent hours killing Wild Rabbits, Ding Bats, and Funguars
I love whenever you do 11 music, all of this is a blast of nostalgia. The port town Mhaura was where players who started in the city-state Windurst ran on foot to to get to a boat that would take you to the level 10-20 leveling zone, and the boats/airships had to travel in real time. So a lot of windurstian players like myself listened to mhaura's theme all the time while waiting up to 30 minutes for the boat to come back to the docks. This music is permanently etched into my soul.
Nobuo's FFXI tracks Ronfaure Prelude Airship Recollection Anxiety Hopelessness Sorrow Sometime, Somewhere Despair (Memoro de la Ŝtono) Repression (Memoro de la Ŝtono) Dash de Chocobo - with Naoshi Mizuta First Ode: Nocturne of the Gods - with Naoshi Mizuta Second Ode: Distant Promises - with Naoshi Mizuta Third Ode: Memoro de la Ŝtono - with Naoshi Mizuta Distant Worlds - with Naoshi Mizuta and Izumi Masuda (also covered by The Black Mages on their third album)
Ronfaure is a wooded/forest outside the main castle. Everytime i hear it reminds me of robinhood for some reason lol there is a version someome sang with lyrics on it and its nice.
Awakening is a boss theme from FFXI that you've listened to previously. Not sure beyond that. I'm actually surprised that you're just now getting to Ronfaure though! It's so nice. :) A joy as always!
Now, I'm just guessing, but I have an idea on why Ronfaure reminded you of FFIX. Uematsu was probably working on the OST for both as well as FFX at the same time. It's crazy to think now, but at the start of 2000 Square first announced FFIX, FFX and FFXI all at once at the same event. Chances are that's why they didn't just have Uematsu fully compose the OST for all 3 and just had him contribute to FFX and FFXI. Ronfaure plays in the forest outside the city that is most like a traditional RPG town so it makes sense it's got a bit of a FF9 vibe. There is a version of the Ronfaure area that takes place in the past and it has a song written by Mizuta instead titled Autumn Footfalls that is also very good.
YES! MORE XI! Ronfaure is absolutely quintessential FFXI, too! Now you need Ronfaure S, Griffons Never Die, The Cosmic Wheel, Tu'lia... The list of amazing music never ends with this game. So many memories waiting in Mhaura for the ship... And walking outside beloved San d'Oria to the tune of Ronfaure... Man.
I love that you mentioned the interesting chord progression. Sounding pretty, then going ugly for a bit, then back to pretty. That's a theme in a lot of FFXI's music, especially the later expansions.
Every time when I hear "Ronafure" my first thought is " FF IX " as it feel so strong as 9, and then I am like, "no, it's that one from XI that sound like IX" xD and right after I wrote that I heard Jesse on the video talking that the song reminds him of IX due to the aestethic of IX ;) Same!
I haven't heard Ronfaure in its entirety before, but the part starting around 12:00ish reminds me heavily of something in FFVI. In particular, the chord progression starting from 12:25 is straight out of... I want to say the opening track? It's been awhile. Very recognizably Uematsu at any rate.
XI's OST is so underrated, I never played the game myself but love the music. I'm glad you like it too, and Ronfaure is a classic now. Always loved the Distant Worlds arrangement Edit : It also reminds me of 9 haha
Same! Never got to play XI but I love all the music I've heard from the game. The first time I hard music from XI was playing Dissidia (and 012) and I immediately fell in love with the music. Felt very much like IX's music and I also very much enjoy music from that game as well.
Mhaura is the pairing town with Selbina, so I always associate them together. They're port towns on opposite sides of the original playable area of FFXI connected by a ferry. Many people have fond (infamous, for some) memories of Mhaura and Selbina because they're the closest towns to the first major experience party ares, Buburimu Peninsula and Valkurm Dunes. As someone that started their journey in San d'Oria, I will always have treasured memories of Ronfaure. It will always be home for me.
Uematsu composed quite a few tracks for XI, but not as many as Naoshi Mizuta. Uematsu was still the producer of the soundtrack though. However I think Mizuta is the sole composer for XI's expansions so across all of XI, Mizuta dwarfs Uematsu. Actually, I don't think you've heard any of Uematsu's work on Final Fantasy XIV outside of some of the main themes like Answers, Dragonsong and Revolutions. Uematsu actually composed a _lot_ more songs for XIV than for XI, however he composed for the original version of XIV which no longer exists. Quite a few of Uematsu's tracks have been reused in A Realm Reborn and XIV's expansions here and there but some of them are quite obscure now (a lot is used in optional content or niche content). Some got heavily truncated when reused in the current game which is annoying because they removed some of the best parts. xD There's also a lot of Uematsu's XIV tracks which still haven't been reused in XIV so a lot of them are just unknown to most current players. Luckily the Before Meteor soundtrack exists and Uematsu's XIV songs are on TH-cam now finally but it's kinda sad because I doubt anyone's going to request any of them. -.-
Oh boy a lot to say here. Firstly, Nobuo worked on the entirety of the original track, as well as the majority of Rise of the Zilart, the game's 1st expansion - after that it's 💯 Mizuta. And I totally know what you mean about Distant Worlds, however this is one of the tracks that they truly did justice and it's all the more fitting as the concert's namesake comes from FFXI - Distant Worlds is the ending theme to the 2nd expansion, Chains of Promathia (widely regarded as the best story in the game) Mhaura is actually the counterpart to Selbina, which you featured previously - both are little fishing ports and players can ride a boat to sail between them, though Selbina was much more important for gameplay reasons (subjob quest etc.) I've always personally felt like Ronfaure (it's French I think, like with all the naming conventions related to San d'Oria and the Elvaan) had kind of a Celtic Dance theme to it, or some kind of medieval festival anyway so that was an incredibly good guess on your part. Last point I'll make is XI was designed to evoke the feelings of FF 1-3 and draws heavily off them for inspiration, and IX was a tribute to the whole franchise up to that point so some overlap was inevitable.
distant worlds... if there's one blanket criticism i have across most of their arrangements, it's that there's such a uniform textural density across so many pieces from every game. like yeah, you have a whole orchestra, but let some parts of it fall out every now and then. happens to work well for some parts more than others, but like... not every string instrument solo in the original soundtracks have to be converted into 4-8 string parts with woodwinds on top! sinks into that "orchestra for orchestra's sake" territory a bit too often.
I have to agree about Distant Worlds music. A lot of it is beautiful and some renditions sound amazing. But the thing I noticed is that they are pretty much strictly classical style symphony, whereas FF music(and Uematsu especially) can mix so many styles and genres for their music. You lose out on the Prog-rock and acoustic and folk flavors they mix everywhere, so it doesnt always sound faithful. By the way, the section in 10:29 just screams classic Uematsu with the backing guitar melody, it makes me teary-eyed every time. Well done.
I heard the Distant Worlds Ronfaure before I heard the original. So I was picturing this grand city made of stones and castles. Then I realised the original theme is for a modest wooden house town. I was disappointed at first but it's grown on me since.
Ronfaure is actually from the forest surrounding a large castle city of San d'Oria with huge stone walls reinforcing its border. So, you aren't wrong about your original interpretation.
My 2nd favorite song! Ronfaure, just slap you in the face if you started on Sandoria city, and you finally get out of the gates and see the forest and boom, you fall in love with it. P.s the vocal version is also beautiful, well for me it is!
Dude, when listening to the Distant Worlds version, I was seeing FFIX in my mind....and then you said it. :)) I guess that the atmosphere the song creates goes very well with the world of FFIX.
I really hope someone requests the moblin theme that plays in movalpolis, such a great composition that fits their personality and quirkiness so well. Shame the zone was underused in the game
@JessesAuditorium the best. i spent countless hours as a young teenager leveling each of my classes in this zone. Its the perfect background music for me, i play the 2 hour ambient version whenever I do doordash. If I was forced to pick a single song to listen to for the rest of my life, this would be the #1 contender.
@@TajinQ Final Fantasy XI is the same way as well now, with the exception of Voracious Resurgence due to certain content that needs to be done to move the story forward.
Haha usually I put a smiling face when I enjoy the tracks, and sometimes (but rarely) because the track might be "interesting" to listen to. 😂
Mhaura is a small arid port town, it is on the Windurstian Continent (one of the 3 starter Nations), at the other end of Selbina. Those who start at Windurst have to travel a long and risky road through Tahrongi Canyon then Buburimu Peninsula in order to get to the first exp "group" area: Valkurm Dunes, which you can reach by taking the boat from Mhaura to Selbina.
Either by feet or boat, reaching Mhaura then hearing this song gives such a rewarding and safe feeling, since both roads are quite risky as a low level player, especially if you're new and have no clue about what to do. That's why I love this song so much. 💕
Ronfaure... the first exp area for San d'Orians.. my home😢. The very first character I created in FFXI, taking their debut in this beautiful woodland, surrounded by mountains, crossed by lovely rivers, right outside of San d'Oria. I still remember killing mobs until I reach level 14 because I had no clue that you had to go to Valkurm Dunes around level 10...
This is also where I met my first Linkshell (guild) Leader, back then when I barely knew any english words, he was very patient and took his time to explain how Linkshells worked and how to "equip" one. I'll always remember how nice you always were and our banters, Askura. ❤
Even if Gustaberg is my fav starter track, Ronfaure will always have the most precious memories which I hold dear in my heart. 😌
As for the Distant Worlds ver., I just love how it shift from Majestic and Grandiose, into a very soft and heartwarming feeling. But you're right, Distant Worlds can be very hit or miss, this one certainly doesn't miss!
I love you, Final Fantasy XI.
And I wish you all, a Happy Holidays and Starlight Celebration! 🎄😊
Thank you for your comment. For some reason SEs infinite wisdom, they have decided to copyright strike all old FF11 videos and upload the nextone videos withou comments, so all old videos and their comments are lost for good, some even spanning 14 years.
I really dislike that decision and it kind of makes me think twice about buying their software going forwards. They always have been kind of anti-consumer, except with keeping FF11 still alive, but community side-wise, they are totally deaf.
Edit: why can't they just be like Capco or Sega?
Uematsu on Ronfaure:
"I imagine every creative person feels the same way, but whenever you strive to 'make something better than what came before it,' the end results usually don't turn out as good as you were hoping for. That leads to added tension, and the songs do not work out, no matter how many you write. We are not given unlimited time to work on these things, so we often end up taking the same approach. So that is how 'Ronfaure' was born, and while I figured it was the only path forward for me, I also felt like I was satisfied with the process. In that sense, I suppose the song allowed me to realize that I did not need to force myself to change if I didn't want to."
(From an interview earlier this year, can be found on the We Are Vanadiel commemorative site. If you want to read the full interview with all three composers, it's under We Discuss Vana'diel and then at the very bottom of the page).
i followed the steps and found the gold treasure, thanks!
Ronfaure is one of my favourite songs in all of FF it holds a special place in my heart. My first starting city I chose in 11 was San d'oria to which Ronfaure is the first outside zone, little 12 year old me spent hours killing Wild Rabbits, Ding Bats, and Funguars
lil bell :')
Ronfaure and San'doria, the city bordering it, are very knight and medieval themed so you hit on it right away.
I love whenever you do 11 music, all of this is a blast of nostalgia. The port town Mhaura was where players who started in the city-state Windurst ran on foot to to get to a boat that would take you to the level 10-20 leveling zone, and the boats/airships had to travel in real time. So a lot of windurstian players like myself listened to mhaura's theme all the time while waiting up to 30 minutes for the boat to come back to the docks. This music is permanently etched into my soul.
Nobuo's FFXI tracks
Ronfaure
Prelude
Airship
Recollection
Anxiety
Hopelessness
Sorrow
Sometime, Somewhere
Despair (Memoro de la Ŝtono)
Repression (Memoro de la Ŝtono)
Dash de Chocobo - with Naoshi Mizuta
First Ode: Nocturne of the Gods - with Naoshi Mizuta
Second Ode: Distant Promises - with Naoshi Mizuta
Third Ode: Memoro de la Ŝtono - with Naoshi Mizuta
Distant Worlds - with Naoshi Mizuta and Izumi Masuda (also covered by The Black Mages on their third album)
"Something you can hum back to yourself and whistle back to yourself years later." Hell ya, Brother.
Ronfaure is a wooded/forest outside the main castle. Everytime i hear it reminds me of robinhood for some reason lol there is a version someome sang with lyrics on it and its nice.
Awakening is a boss theme from FFXI that you've listened to previously. Not sure beyond that. I'm actually surprised that you're just now getting to Ronfaure though! It's so nice. :)
A joy as always!
Now, I'm just guessing, but I have an idea on why Ronfaure reminded you of FFIX. Uematsu was probably working on the OST for both as well as FFX at the same time. It's crazy to think now, but at the start of 2000 Square first announced FFIX, FFX and FFXI all at once at the same event. Chances are that's why they didn't just have Uematsu fully compose the OST for all 3 and just had him contribute to FFX and FFXI.
Ronfaure plays in the forest outside the city that is most like a traditional RPG town so it makes sense it's got a bit of a FF9 vibe. There is a version of the Ronfaure area that takes place in the past and it has a song written by Mizuta instead titled Autumn Footfalls that is also very good.
YES! MORE XI! Ronfaure is absolutely quintessential FFXI, too! Now you need Ronfaure S, Griffons Never Die, The Cosmic Wheel, Tu'lia... The list of amazing music never ends with this game.
So many memories waiting in Mhaura for the ship... And walking outside beloved San d'Oria to the tune of Ronfaure... Man.
I love that you mentioned the interesting chord progression. Sounding pretty, then going ugly for a bit, then back to pretty. That's a theme in a lot of FFXI's music, especially the later expansions.
Early in the song you mentioned Ronfaure giving you renaissance fair vibes, and I think that's also where the FF9 vibes come from.
Every time when I hear "Ronafure" my first thought is " FF IX " as it feel so strong as 9, and then I am like, "no, it's that one from XI that sound like IX" xD
and right after I wrote that I heard Jesse on the video talking that the song reminds him of IX due to the aestethic of IX ;)
Same!
I haven't heard Ronfaure in its entirety before, but the part starting around 12:00ish reminds me heavily of something in FFVI. In particular, the chord progression starting from 12:25 is straight out of... I want to say the opening track? It's been awhile.
Very recognizably Uematsu at any rate.
XI's OST is so underrated, I never played the game myself but love the music. I'm glad you like it too, and Ronfaure is a classic now. Always loved the Distant Worlds arrangement
Edit : It also reminds me of 9 haha
Same! Never got to play XI but I love all the music I've heard from the game. The first time I hard music from XI was playing Dissidia (and 012) and I immediately fell in love with the music. Felt very much like IX's music and I also very much enjoy music from that game as well.
Mhaura is the pairing town with Selbina, so I always associate them together. They're port towns on opposite sides of the original playable area of FFXI connected by a ferry. Many people have fond (infamous, for some) memories of Mhaura and Selbina because they're the closest towns to the first major experience party ares, Buburimu Peninsula and Valkurm Dunes.
As someone that started their journey in San d'Oria, I will always have treasured memories of Ronfaure. It will always be home for me.
To be fair Ronfaure (the original version) could be a Wild Arms music. Very fitting this universe.
I love the Ronfaure theme. It's so peaceful.
Uematsu composed quite a few tracks for XI, but not as many as Naoshi Mizuta. Uematsu was still the producer of the soundtrack though. However I think Mizuta is the sole composer for XI's expansions so across all of XI, Mizuta dwarfs Uematsu.
Actually, I don't think you've heard any of Uematsu's work on Final Fantasy XIV outside of some of the main themes like Answers, Dragonsong and Revolutions. Uematsu actually composed a _lot_ more songs for XIV than for XI, however he composed for the original version of XIV which no longer exists. Quite a few of Uematsu's tracks have been reused in A Realm Reborn and XIV's expansions here and there but some of them are quite obscure now (a lot is used in optional content or niche content). Some got heavily truncated when reused in the current game which is annoying because they removed some of the best parts. xD There's also a lot of Uematsu's XIV tracks which still haven't been reused in XIV so a lot of them are just unknown to most current players. Luckily the Before Meteor soundtrack exists and Uematsu's XIV songs are on TH-cam now finally but it's kinda sad because I doubt anyone's going to request any of them. -.-
Oh boy a lot to say here. Firstly, Nobuo worked on the entirety of the original track, as well as the majority of Rise of the Zilart, the game's 1st expansion - after that it's 💯 Mizuta.
And I totally know what you mean about Distant Worlds, however this is one of the tracks that they truly did justice and it's all the more fitting as the concert's namesake comes from FFXI - Distant Worlds is the ending theme to the 2nd expansion, Chains of Promathia (widely regarded as the best story in the game)
Mhaura is actually the counterpart to Selbina, which you featured previously - both are little fishing ports and players can ride a boat to sail between them, though Selbina was much more important for gameplay reasons (subjob quest etc.)
I've always personally felt like Ronfaure (it's French I think, like with all the naming conventions related to San d'Oria and the Elvaan) had kind of a Celtic Dance theme to it, or some kind of medieval festival anyway so that was an incredibly good guess on your part.
Last point I'll make is XI was designed to evoke the feelings of FF 1-3 and draws heavily off them for inspiration, and IX was a tribute to the whole franchise up to that point so some overlap was inevitable.
Mhaura is a town theme. A port town on the edge of a dune. Ronfaure is the forest area around one of the 3 starting towns, the Elf town of San D'Oria
Mhaura reminds me of a 2D Final Fantasy Town theme.
This brought a smile to my face, it brought back alot of memories
distant worlds... if there's one blanket criticism i have across most of their arrangements, it's that there's such a uniform textural density across so many pieces from every game. like yeah, you have a whole orchestra, but let some parts of it fall out every now and then. happens to work well for some parts more than others, but like... not every string instrument solo in the original soundtracks have to be converted into 4-8 string parts with woodwinds on top! sinks into that "orchestra for orchestra's sake" territory a bit too often.
I have to agree about Distant Worlds music. A lot of it is beautiful and some renditions sound amazing. But the thing I noticed is that they are pretty much strictly classical style symphony, whereas FF music(and Uematsu especially) can mix so many styles and genres for their music. You lose out on the Prog-rock and acoustic and folk flavors they mix everywhere, so it doesnt always sound faithful.
By the way, the section in 10:29 just screams classic Uematsu with the backing guitar melody, it makes me teary-eyed every time.
Well done.
I always leveled new jobs in Ronfaure just so I could listen to the music while doing it.
I heard the Distant Worlds Ronfaure before I heard the original. So I was picturing this grand city made of stones and castles. Then I realised the original theme is for a modest wooden house town. I was disappointed at first but it's grown on me since.
Ronfaure is actually from the forest surrounding a large castle city of San d'Oria with huge stone walls reinforcing its border. So, you aren't wrong about your original interpretation.
My 2nd favorite song! Ronfaure, just slap you in the face if you started on Sandoria city, and you finally get out of the gates and see the forest and boom, you fall in love with it.
P.s the vocal version is also beautiful, well for me it is!
Mhaura is like the embodiment of FF town themes. Compare it to "Town" from FF1 and "Frontier Village Dali" from FF9.
Dude, when listening to the Distant Worlds version, I was seeing FFIX in my mind....and then you said it. :))
I guess that the atmosphere the song creates goes very well with the world of FFIX.
You gotta hear the vocal version of Ronfaure! The best version, but very short.
Ronfaure! It is here!
Mhaura is a small city decently far from the starter towns.
Ronfaure is a field outside of one of the starter cities.
I really hope someone requests the moblin theme that plays in movalpolis, such a great composition that fits their personality and quirkiness so well. Shame the zone was underused in the game
I love Ronfaure so much
Just to say, I need to play mhaura followed by selbina since that was the progression through the game far as leveling zones
Is the track playing during the comments after Mhaura a tune from Legend of Dragoon?
My favourite version of the Ronfaure song is this one. th-cam.com/video/HtI4XE7Pwr0/w-d-xo.html
I listen to ronfaure for about 3 hours a day, every day. Not exaggerating
Good memories?
@JessesAuditorium the best. i spent countless hours as a young teenager leveling each of my classes in this zone. Its the perfect background music for me, i play the 2 hour ambient version whenever I do doordash. If I was forced to pick a single song to listen to for the rest of my life, this would be the #1 contender.
There is absolutely no way to play this game offline? The constant playing online turned me away from playing this one and FFXIV.
XIV is designed in a way that you can do like 90% of the content on your own if you're only interested in the story
@@TajinQ Final Fantasy XI is the same way as well now, with the exception of Voracious Resurgence due to certain content that needs to be done to move the story forward.