I love how composers are doing "adaptive" scoring by layering parts that can be transitioned through as the gameplay progresses. I've often wished that were possible in traditional listening experiences (without releasing an album as an app/program). Regardless of how I feel about remakes, I personally find I have an easier time accepting new interpretations of the score than tussling with adaptations to a plot; I don't see music as being objectively better or worse like I sometimes do when it comes to narrative differences.
You'll never capture all of the nuance of adaptive music in a soundtrack recording, but the rights holders could produce better soundtracks for those games if they prioritized it. It just takes someone who has the appropriate level of appreciation for the music to map out when to transition to make a good experience for a listener. I've always wished that some of those games with adaptive music (XIII, NieR:Automata, etc.) had a full soundtracks that show off everything. My favorite tune from NieR: Automata is what TH-cam calls the Non-Vocal Medium version of City Ruins which isn't on the soundtrack recording. I've literally left the game open for entire work shifts to have that as background music. I love it.
The most perfect examples are the Lucasarts scores by Land and McConnell using iMuse. Unfortunately, that only would work with MIDI and we have, thankfully, moved to an orchestrated world which would make it way more difficult to work in that way.
Honestly would love more of these on the music for this game. I loved all of the music in this game it was all fantastic and every time I heard something new or different from the original it gave me goosebumps from how it sounded.
The music in this game deserves hundreds of videos to be honest. There's plenty of cool music ideas and techniques implied in every piece given the diversity of genres in the soundtrack. I think music TH-camrs in general could talk about it until Part 2 comes out and beyond!
@@AlexMoukalaMusic I agree with you; the music of Final Fantasy in general has transcended the boundaries of film music and made Nobuo Uematsu one of the first "video game" composers to be placed on the same level as orchestral composers (which for the time period was quite a feat!). If you have time, please check out my analysis on my channel. I'd love to hear your input!
A theme that starts out feeling like a mere updated version of the original, then slowly adds in new elements as it progresses to the point where it becomes more of an alternate take on the concept that was nonetheless designed with a level of respect and reverence for where it came from? Talk about thematic foreshadowing.
I think one more-significant-than-intended change with the remake theme was to drop the strong echo. As first introduced at 2:30, the echo in the melody is so strong that to my ear those echoes feel like first-rate notes, not just an effect. By sticking to what's on the page, (again to my ear) the melodic line of the remade theme has a different contour.
It's funny - The "echo" of the melody (2:24) I always considered to be a literal part of the music. Hearing the real melody played without that echo written in sounds stilted, and less haunting to me.
I always thought it was designed that way. The melody is deliberately sparse to give the echo room to express itself. When you take it out the song just feels empty and boring to me. I wouldn't be surprised at all to learn that it was a little denser before Uematsu started playing with an echo, then pruned it down to fit that effect.
It needs the echo, It's fine if it's played on strings and I wish they kept the tubular bells. But the brass at the end and the snare drum is really cool.
Also depending on the audio device that you have, the echo will sound different. On my Phone and Headphones it sounds different. On my TV it sounds different.
I was literally trying to explain this to some of my non-ff fan musician friends this week. You just made my life so much easier. I absolutely LOVE what they did with the music in the remake, and I'm a huge fan of the original score. I actually feel like the music plays a bigger role in the remake than it did in the original, from a narrative perspective. Because of the dynamic nature of the arrangements it serves to better tell the moment-to-moment story of whats happening on the screen and I cannot get enough of it.
You know, it never clicked with me before what you played at 2:15, but the melody here is the same as the world map theme. That's such a nice touch of leitmotif that evaded me for 23 years of playing this game
I'd love to see you making a video on the uses of leitmotivs that the Remake employed, much like the original FFVII, but in a far greater scale. It simply jawdropping how many times the Remake melds two themes together to give emphasis to a specific feeling or moment. This is further reinforced by how many "remixes" of the same songs there are. It is insane how much care was put into every single part of this game. Really shows the love, passion and dedication of the team and respect for the source material, specially given that the core devs all returned. The OG FFVII was known for its themes having a lot of texture and being powerful tools to set tones, and they pumped that to eleven in the Remake, thanks to Hamauzu and Suzuki fantastic job on the arrangement, breathing new life to Uematsu original pieces. 10:32 Also, I had an eargasm the first time I heard that transition prior the engage with the Sweeper. That one took me by surprise and made me realize how fucking good music was going to be in this Remake.
Also... Never forget the role of sub-bass in the new version. It does most of the heavy-lifting in the first texture. Nowadays it's almost mandatory to have top notch sub-bass in your system to fully enjoy anything but full acoustic music.
@@AlexMoukalaMusic "Barret, you aren't very fond of this theme, huh?" "Now, I don't _hate_ this theme, but what I do hate is the fact that Shinra turned a gorgeous and deeply layered soundtrack as this into propaganda for their self-serving deeds!" "It doesn't sound very friendly to me. Haunting, really." "But it's the COOL kind of haunting! And that's what makes it unforgivable!"
@@TheKiteLegacy Pretty much Shinra already exists, only the ones who orchestrate and control the trajectory of the future through technology, know better than to operate overtly until they cannot be defied.
That battle theme version is absolutely sick. Having never played either game myself purely from a music standpoint I agree that the added components of the remake bring that whole new ominous vibe. But both pieces are great so to each their own at the end of the day.
ROBIN yes, that’s it. It is what made the music sound industrial. The remake feels like it would fit better in a Metroid game than in Final Fantasy VII
I am really enjoying the FFVII Remake and I wanted to offer my thoughts as someone who doesn't like how they remade this theme but hopefully I'm reasonable about it :) Firstly, I think that everything 8BMT said in the video is well-reasoned and I enjoyed hearing a fresh perspective. I left the video feeling that the point of the slower, darker tone is to contrast it with the new battle version of the theme. I didn't have this experience when actually playing the game, but upon rehearing the mini boss battle theme at 12:19 I thought, wow! This is the remake of this song I needed to hear! I don't think I heard it when I played through because it only happens once (is this correct?) and I was super focused on frantically trying to figure out the battle system while being bombarded by dialogue and explosions. Aside from that, I don't think my criticism is of the remade song itself, but of the change in tone. The bombing mission is just that: a mission. In the original, the energy wasn't just when you were in battle.There was an energy when running though a the halls of a creepy mechanical facility on a mission. A sense of purpose and direction and movement. I feel this new theme would be more suited to a situation where the characters didn't want or choose to be there. I also feel that the music in the original game highlighted the characters being introduced. Cloud and Barret are absolutely fearless badasses. Their human sides are introduced later in the story, and the revelation of those traits is stronger because of the contrast and passage of time, especially in the original. The new theme is full of fear, so it contrasts with their initial characterization. Lastly, I think the electronic, mechanical, and unnatural sound of the original does something critically important for the story: it introduces the theme of evil technology. That's what Shinra Inc. is all about. Without the technological aspect, the threat becomes more vague and generic. Thanks for reading my long comment. I'm curious what other people think!
Haven't played either, and based on this video alone, I completely agree with you. The composers of the new one took a risk: there's alot of power in 8-bit sounds, so there's something lost when you take that away. The contrast between full on orchestral sound is very different. Though, I'm not a fan of either versions. Both are borderline boring to me, with nothing happening. To each their own, I guess. It just sounds... Bland.
I think that battle theme would happen for any combat in the reactor with this as the BGM (but I'd need to verify this myself), but specifically the miniboss sweeper had a lead-in section that guaranteed the dynamic track could and would start at the beginning without any tonal mishaps. As for the tone of the track(s), I think the new tone being fearful and dark versus bombastic is that, realistically speaking, your bombing raid consisted of a handful of people fighting a large-scale militarized organization. In the original it was hard to portray those stacked odds outside of cutscenes and boss battles - random encounters functioning as interruptions, not roadblocks, prevent them from adding to any real urgency (only an overall sense of danger). In terms of focusing on characters versus their environment, I think something actually got flipped around - in the original, enemies and the environment were nothing compared to the party and the player's unimpeded progression, until you reached a boss which suddenly broke the mold and grabbed your full attention. In the remake, the environment is oppressive throughout, but the characters were able to shine brighter when overcoming significant hardship: during the scorpion tank fight, you actually see the first time Cloud and Barret have to properly cooperate and showcase their full strengths. I noticed this was a theme for the whole remake, embellishing things that used to have a smaller impact to make fuller use of the level of detail they have access to now. I agree with the loss of the unnatural technological feel of the track itself, though. I think those previously evoked what early PSX aesthetics lacked - hollow, clanging, whirring machinery all around - while the remake doesn't "need" it to be hinted at, since it's now much more grand scale in HD. But I don't think it would have been redundant to keep it, either.
Well said, @gregorymsmith. In my own words, I would say the original fit the theme of “menacing technological threat, but we are going to stop it” while the new version of the song is more fitting for something like... “Haunted mansion-y mixed with a scientific abomination.”
This is exactly what I was thinking as I watched this. I totally agree with 8bmt's points, but I also think the original had this feel of "we're on what might very well be a suicide mission" the whole time, which gives everything you do a tension and anxiety that the new one doesn't really capture (outside of the battle theme). I only played about an hour of the original when it came out when I was a kid, and I never finished it as an adult, so I feel pretty confident this isn't just nostalgia.
I don't know if you actually did anything different here or if I'm just inventing it in my head, but I love the (seemingly) extra annotations while discussing and even while the sample is playing. Made your discussion much easier to follow than on other videos.
The way the battle mix ends and gives way to that sparse, haunting melody on the strings is one of the best adaptive moments in the game. It tells you that the battle is over, but the threat remains.
Man, I definitely got into it with my friends over this when we played the original back in the day, haha. As a Slavic language speaker I always assumed it was "mah-ko", like the shark.
I always associated it with the maynga/mahnga debate. It's a Japanese game, so I use Japanese vowel pronunciation rules. Quite a bit more straightforward than English vowel rules. If it were an "ay" sound it would have been spelled "meiko".
I do the same. The closest English word I can think of that fits Mako in general is "macro", with the closest name being Maria. Both of them have the same "ma" sounds in them. I believe a lot of people who were kids at the time, might have associated the word as close to "make" and though "make-o" when they initially said it, as "make" follows that "may" sound. Here 8BMT is emphasizing the "ma" in Mako instead of the "Ko" like in the remake, so it sounds different to our ears. At least thats how im hearing it right now
It is definitely an amazing arrangement, but it does miss the synths to give a more sci-fi vibe. The new arrangement could work in any ominous setting, it could be a tense moment before a showdown with the villain in a more medieval setting RPG, it could work in a scene from a super hero move. When you add those eerie synths it gives you the cyberpunk feeling. You could replace the piano with the synth in the new version and I think it would then reach perfection.
Please do more videos like this on FFVII remake. This is amazing! Like "The Oppressed - Beck's Badasses" & "Lurking in the Darkness" Jenova & Airbuster boss themes too. This video is just way too good. I want more. :D
These videos have just gotten more and more polished and the extra effort really does make a big difference in how easy it is to grasp the musical concepts you explain. Stuff like the explanation at 2:15
I still think the voicing choices could have been a little more faithful. That techno dystopian vibe was pretty core. I agree with pretty much everything you pointed out structurally and compositionally, though. I kinda want to hear a re-voicing on pads just to see if my nostalgia tinted ears would approve
Great video! I love seeing the written parts for both the OG score and the new version not only because it's edifying from a musical theory standpoint, but because it just gives you a whole new appreciation for the complexity of both. Thanks!
It was super cool watching this back to back comparison between the two arrangements. I loved the reinterpretation on the original, and the details you brought up do contribute a lot for a new feel and atmosphere while staying true to the original composition. I'm waiting on my copy to arrive home so I can get to the actual game. This was a small treat before that.
Is it my imagination or is there synth and echo distortion textures going on throughout the whole piece deep in the mix? It made me think of how you would likely score the mako sequence in a big budget sci-fi movie... I have loved the music of the remake as a upstart composer and audio engineer as well as a longtime fan of the series and Nobuo Uematsu.
Definitely. By listening critically, I think you can tell how many subtle details were added in these new arrangements as a way to still somewhat preserve the identity of the originals despite being very modern. The various recurring FF7 leitmotifs and nods to melodies from the OG come to mind.
I know that the subtle and quiet stuff like the glockenspiel during the octaves piano and the quiet harmonies during the section before that aren’t super important to the analysis, but I wish they were mentioned
If you ever feel like doing more analysis between old FF7 and the remake, I'd love to watch it. I always enjoy these kinds of videos, and you're one of the only ones on here who makes this kind of content.
Dynamic music is like the best thing games can do with sound design in my opinion. I really really wish it was utilized more in so many different ways. It makes experiences feel much more deep and natural. I also love when games use interesting sound design aspects like how the wind waker did with hits being punctuated by notes.
I'd love to hear you talk about Katana Zero's soundtrack. Delusive Bunker especially impressed me by how it simultaneously sounds both tragically somber and intensely action-packed.
Here's something else fascinating. On the soundtrack to World of Final Fantasy, they also made a version of the Mako Reactor theme and it sounds way different from the original and the remake versions!
I remember hearing the Mako Reactor battle arrangement for the first time and thinking "Man, I can't wait to see what they do with Those Who Fight". It's absolutely incredible. I need to go to a live concert playing this once life returns to normal.
Is the Remake theme epic? Absolutely! Is it missing something? Yes, it needs more of that "industrial-ness". Does that hinder the experience? If I stop nitpicking about changes compared to the original and just play the game, not at all.
For a synth to be converted to orchestral is near perfection. As someone who played every ff game the new arrangements are just beautiful and details to the environment and it’s also nostalgic. I cant wait for the next part!
As someone who has made plenty of orchestral arrangements of older games, the updated scores in the FFVII remake just brought a huge smile to my face. For as much as the PS1 pushed the envelope in terms of VGM sound production, using up-to-date instruments breathes a whole new life into the piece.
As I was playing the game, I often found myself thinking that this channel just got a vast amount of potential new material. What they did with the music in this game was beyond my highest hopes. And my hopes were high.
my dude, my brother sent this to me (we're both music geeks), and i am so happy. this is all i've ever wanted in a youtube channel. holy shit. where was i before i saw your channel. i learned things about the score that i totally did not notice before, and i shit my fucking pants. the chord changes like hooooly fuck, you're 100% right about, i mean, like, everything will definitely subscribe and follow on twitter, and can't wait to see what other videos you put out
When I watched the demo leak and heard this version, it brought chills to my spine… and thus my confidence in the final product went through the ceiling. My roommate, who played FF7 longer than I have, didn’t want me to spoil it.. but my god I knew he would love it.
This may be your best analysis, I love it. Please, continue covering this game, there's to much to analyse, specially in its soundtrack and its arrangements.
Love the sheet music with the little comments on it. I would totally listen to complete songs like that. "Check out this little fill-in!" "Awesome bass transition".
The original was one of my favourite games as a kid and I love both versions. I think the reason it's slower and darker is because it's not the same pace. In the original you were thrown in the reactor, go straight to put the bomb and go out. It was a rather quick mission and you had to move fast through the futuristic radioactive plant-like facility. In the remake, you're bound to go slower, to explore more, and also the gameplay is different, Cloud walks more naturally through a 1:1 environment instead of what looked like a model with a little clay soldier moving. You're living the experience more than the original because the camera follows Cloud. Besides, we haven't seen everything yet, there's another reactor near Nibelheim, maybe this one will be more intense
You’ve been feeding us so well as usual! The way you outlined the newer developments of the Remake’s rendition was great. I’d love to see you bite into compositions by Yoko Shimomura, maybe FFXV or the Kingdom Hearts series. Have a good day!
I think it's both, but let's not forget the strings doubling that on a higher octave too. Strings + Piano is a very common layer in jRPG music for some reason
That's not a vibraphone, it sounds more like a kalimba. That classic almost tropical instrument made from pieces of metal to flick over a resonant chamber beneath. It sounds really nice and adds to the uneasy feeling the song is meant to give.
THANK YOU! for putting this into words for me. I've been having this debate with a friend, and I just couldn't properly articulate why the remake sounds so much better and right for the Mako reactor theme. It really does have such a somber and funeral-esque sound to it. And I completely agree about the loss of the "industrial" sound, while I think it actually is a good thing which allowed for all of the other changes to the song. Beautiful song and excellent analysis.
You can really hear Hamauzu’s style in these rearrangements. I would argue he is the best orchestrator Square has ever hired. Uematsu wrote great themes and melodies, but Hamauzu really understands how to write pieces where the emotive elements are characterized by the choice of instrument as much as the choice of notes. This is likely due to him rising in prominence during the PS2 era after CD audio was already a standard and Japan had already begun moving to orchestras in games, whereas Uematsu had started off with 8bit sound chips, the expectations were different, and you had to be a different kind of creative to get the tone you wanted.
Professor Lesser the entire score is closer to FFXII-2 to me, since both collaborators worked on that as well. Just less metal (ironic since advent children was half black mages arrangements)
I've always been a huge fan of this tune, it does such a great adding to the mood of this part of the game. I definitely love the arrangements from the remake, really incredible to hear the new life that was brought to this music!
I think you and Gamescore Fanfare should do a series together going over the entire soundtrack. The way it’s evolved from the original OST and the way the songs evolve within the Remake are next level. Covering the Remake OST is the kind of thing that would truly entice me to sign up for your Patreon
As someone who, as a nerdy music student, used to listen to the original soundtrack a lot in college, I have been blown away by the quality and adaptation of the music in the Remake. Are there things that I really wished could have been kept? Of course, like the percussion part in the boss music (Still More Fighting). What I was saddest to see change was the motorcycle chase music (Crazy Motorcycle) primarily because I really wanted to hear what would have been a percussion ensemble with orchestral backing. Perfectly tuned temple blocks playing the rhythmic melody... would have been so very epic! Still loved every bit of music in the remake. Some of the best I've heard in a while.
I love a lot of the tracks of the remake's ost but there is also a few tracks that lack definitely a lot of substance and its not just "hurry". What about the significance of rhythm and percussion in the "Turks theme". What about the wall market track? Why is Barrett's theme missing (okay there is a reminiscence in the mark of a traitor)?
Excellent insight and breakdown as always, 8-Bit! I hope you go Breath of the Wild multi-part on FF7R, cause I'd love to hear your thoughts on various songs throughout...especially the Remake's new take on the Victory Fanfare. It's almost great for me, but the drum beat sounds a little more like a march now, as opposed to that funk-swing of the original.
I love these compositional choices and how it grows and progresses. The timbre is pretty key in how the original felt, and I feel that has much to do with why so many don't like the feel of this one as much. I like both for different reasons.
I always felt that the melody sounded a bit like the lamenting of the Mako Reactor (or maybe the Planet itself (spoiler alert?)), and as such (maybe subconsciously) felt it made sense that even as the team was fighting for their survival, the reactor in the background was still crying at the same pace, unaffected by the puny human's meaningless squabblings at it's foot... ... damn that got way more poetic that I originally expected.
I shouldn't be watching this kind of videos bc most probably I could not lay my hands on the remake until years later but maaaaaaaaan how cool it is. And good video as always.
I first played FF7 when I was about 13. It was my first RPG aside from pokemon (which everyone had and it was a game of game anyway), and I still remember when I had played it up to the first boss in that make reactor - the scorpion thing - I had fought it and been crushed, then I had to go away for the weekend. I still remember the whole weekend, how excited I was to get back and try again to beat it. I spent hours thinking about what strategies I'd try, what materia I would give to who... it was a weird feeling but it was unique in that ive almost never had it with any other games. Suffice it to say that I'm being candid when I say this was my favourite childhood game by a massive margin. Ive also had extensive music theory training, being a 7th grade pianist, a singer, drummer and guitar and bass player. What im saying is: if anyone has a right to get snobby about how the soundtrack sounds in the remake, it's me. And I love it. That is all. Bonus trivia: I even kind of look a bit like a RL Sephiroth, because my hair started going white when I was 18 (due to an immune disorder + genes). So now im 6'1", mostly white hair that im growing out past my shoulders already... As far as I'm concerned, this is _my_ remake so if anyone is having a cry about it.. well... 🤷♂️
As someone who ALSO has never played the original, I absolutely love the strings over the synth. It just sounds richer, and darker. And it sounds like a very faithful remake of the original version of the song as well. The melody is intact, and the mood is at the very least, unchanged.
I think one of the reasons the music in older games sticks with us so much is because it was such a dominating factor. Think about it -- when you play Mario there are only a few sound effects here and there, and the graphics are very simple. This allowed the music to occupy a much larger portion of your brain space. Now, games are such a cacophony of sensory stimulation the music just becomes one more element -- battling it out with detailed sound design, near photo-realistic graphics, voice acting, and complicated gameplay that demands more of your attention rather than letting you kind of Zen out while you play. Not saying one is better than the other, just making an observation.
Hells yes. Final Fantasy 8 is still my all time favourite game and the whole series' music are amazing. Love these videos explaining the music theory explaining why they work so well. I particularly found the melodic development video very helpful :) edit grammar
This soundtrack is a masterpiece, full-stop. Especially the Airbuster's theme makes my jaw drop in something approaching _disbelief_ every time I hear it.
Love the analysis and you've dissected it perfectly. I do believe the older version works better for the context of the game and I do hope you eventually play the original game so you can judge how it fits into the scene, too! While it is true that the new arrangement is juicier, the metallic and inhuman sound of the original just screams "steampunk aesthetic" for me.
Request for future videos: Hourly Music from Animal Crossing (Wild World, New Leaf, New Horizons...) and how it creates different atmospheres depending on the time of the day. Love your work!!
Nice video that does a great job of pointing out that context is really important when considering how Video Game music fits in with a world. Nice to see love for FFVII Remake's music and I am certainly hoping we get some Xenoblade music analysis (hopefully both 1 and 2) once the remake for XC1 Comes out at the end of May.
Not gonna lie as soon as you said you hadn't played the first one my jaw dropped haha, Loved this video! The original sound track is so hard wired into my brain that hearing the remake is hitting me in a totally different place. I've yet to play the remake though :(
The remake's music is definitely different, but I think its for the best. FFVII changes this classic RPG from a text based book that was akin to reading a book with a rough visual outline of what was going on into a cinematic experience much more akin to a film, and the music reflects that change.
When you get to Aerith's house later in the game they use inversions of the melody from her theme in the original. It basically the same melody with the downward and upward motions switched. It gives the theme a much more positive feel than the tragic ballad that is the original.
as a person who's never played ff6 and the original ff7, seeing the dancing mad vs one winged angel debates, I just wanna know what makes one winged angel just so much more addicting, because as someone who's not clouded with nostalgia, one winged angel draws me in so much more than dancing mad despite my love for organ
I really didn't liked the new orchestration much.. But you summarized my impression well at the end ! At the time (and even today, those games aren't dead !), you only had one thing to listen to : The music. Now there is a lot more stuff happening so the music is a lot more in the background which made me feel like we really lost something in the process. Even if i liked the new orchestration (i feel like the original midi instrument are so much more powerful in general... ), and sometime i like it like Don Corneo Theme or some Boss Fight, i feel like i would have liked it better with the old way of doing J-RPG. Another problem is that the Mako Reactor really didn't took that long to complete in the original game, now they easily added 3 additional hours between REactor 1 and 5... So you will hear the same loop a LOT more than before.. I think it's why they wanted the first loop to be a little less powerful letting the song grow little by little. That being said, it DOES have downside. JENOVA in particular was incredibly strong in the original, immediately taking the player into what seemed like a totally new and strange atmosphere which really emphasis how "alien-like" JENOVA is to begin with... In the remake, you have to wait the Third Phase to hear an equivalent level of strangeness, it does smooth the experience and it doesn't feel nearly as powerful in the context of the game... Too Bad... ( I could have gone without putting the "One Winged Angel" leitmotiv everywhere too but that's another subject... )
Another recent square remake that I've been playing through is Trial of Mana. The original was never brought over to English so I never got to play it, as I had other titles in the series. One bit I like is that they actually have an option to play with the remade score or play with the original Nintendo score. I thought that was a very nice touch.
I'm really wanting you to cover the weird rock music that Tim Follin made back in the day. The man was an overachiever in video game music and deserves some recognition.
My hype levels for this game went up to the max when I first heard the adaptation for "Those Who Fight Further". I really love the instrumentation in the new version of that theme.
![ILLSLICK - KILLSHOT REMIX [FULL VERSION]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/RIK8RrqIAzE/mqdefault.jpg)
I love how composers are doing "adaptive" scoring by layering parts that can be transitioned through as the gameplay progresses. I've often wished that were possible in traditional listening experiences (without releasing an album as an app/program). Regardless of how I feel about remakes, I personally find I have an easier time accepting new interpretations of the score than tussling with adaptations to a plot; I don't see music as being objectively better or worse like I sometimes do when it comes to narrative differences.
There's a game called Phantasy Star Online 2 that does a lot of this stuff, unfortunately it is such an underrated game (for a reason though).
The most effective use of an adaptive soundtrack in recent times has to be NieR: Automata.
@@delightXD that games score is incredible
You'll never capture all of the nuance of adaptive music in a soundtrack recording, but the rights holders could produce better soundtracks for those games if they prioritized it. It just takes someone who has the appropriate level of appreciation for the music to map out when to transition to make a good experience for a listener. I've always wished that some of those games with adaptive music (XIII, NieR:Automata, etc.) had a full soundtracks that show off everything. My favorite tune from NieR: Automata is what TH-cam calls the Non-Vocal Medium version of City Ruins which isn't on the soundtrack recording. I've literally left the game open for entire work shifts to have that as background music. I love it.
The most perfect examples are the Lucasarts scores by Land and McConnell using iMuse. Unfortunately, that only would work with MIDI and we have, thankfully, moved to an orchestrated world which would make it way more difficult to work in that way.
Honestly would love more of these on the music for this game. I loved all of the music in this game it was all fantastic and every time I heard something new or different from the original it gave me goosebumps from how it sounded.
I remember him doing multi part videos in the past
@@lucianodebenedictis6014 Hell yeah!
Yes please.
The music in this game deserves hundreds of videos to be honest.
There's plenty of cool music ideas and techniques implied in every piece given the diversity of genres in the soundtrack.
I think music TH-camrs in general could talk about it until Part 2 comes out and beyond!
@@AlexMoukalaMusic I agree with you; the music of Final Fantasy in general has transcended the boundaries of film music and made Nobuo Uematsu one of the first "video game" composers to be placed on the same level as orchestral composers (which for the time period was quite a feat!). If you have time, please check out my analysis on my channel. I'd love to hear your input!
The little writing-on-the-screen graphics with the pencil noise adds a TON of polish to the video! Well done!
A theme that starts out feeling like a mere updated version of the original, then slowly adds in new elements as it progresses to the point where it becomes more of an alternate take on the concept that was nonetheless designed with a level of respect and reverence for where it came from?
Talk about thematic foreshadowing.
I think one more-significant-than-intended change with the remake theme was to drop the strong echo. As first introduced at 2:30, the echo in the melody is so strong that to my ear those echoes feel like first-rate notes, not just an effect. By sticking to what's on the page, (again to my ear) the melodic line of the remade theme has a different contour.
I also think that piece lacks identity and feels "incomplete" without the echo.
Oh my lord this is exactly what I needed without realizing it
Same!
Here's to hoping on some more 8-bit videos on other FF7R tracks.
Maybe Some of the more juicy ones, like Ignition Flame / Airbuster
@@AlexMoukalaMusic oh wow! I actually am subbed to your channel! I'm kinda hyped to see you reply on my comment lol
@@samueljohnson6242 Wherever there's Music Theory Talk AND Final Fantasy 7, there's also me
As a Horn player, I’m in love with this piece
Final Fantasy went full on Hans Zimmer and we ain't complaining!
Yeah, as a woodwind player, I was confused when some people didn’t like the remade soundtrack of Link’s Awakening. Maybe you feel the same way.
I also play French horn and enjoy this piece as well
some parts of this ost track makes me happy as a trombone playee
lmao i read this as "As a Horny player"
It's funny - The "echo" of the melody (2:24) I always considered to be a literal part of the music. Hearing the real melody played without that echo written in sounds stilted, and less haunting to me.
I always thought it was designed that way. The melody is deliberately sparse to give the echo room to express itself. When you take it out the song just feels empty and boring to me. I wouldn't be surprised at all to learn that it was a little denser before Uematsu started playing with an echo, then pruned it down to fit that effect.
I also think that piece lacks identity and feels "incomplete" without the echo.
It needs the echo, It's fine if it's played on strings and I wish they kept the tubular bells. But the brass at the end and the snare drum is really cool.
Also depending on the audio device that you have, the echo will sound different. On my Phone and Headphones it sounds different. On my TV it sounds different.
Please make this a whole series cause omg I'm loving all the music from FF7 Remake
I was literally trying to explain this to some of my non-ff fan musician friends this week. You just made my life so much easier. I absolutely LOVE what they did with the music in the remake, and I'm a huge fan of the original score. I actually feel like the music plays a bigger role in the remake than it did in the original, from a narrative perspective. Because of the dynamic nature of the arrangements it serves to better tell the moment-to-moment story of whats happening on the screen and I cannot get enough of it.
You know, it never clicked with me before what you played at 2:15, but the melody here is the same as the world map theme. That's such a nice touch of leitmotif that evaded me for 23 years of playing this game
Hands down one of the best videogame soundtracks of our time.
so glad you covered contextual changes to the music and brought up the modern sound design aspect. Hope you can do more from this OST
I'd love to see you making a video on the uses of leitmotivs that the Remake employed, much like the original FFVII, but in a far greater scale. It simply jawdropping how many times the Remake melds two themes together to give emphasis to a specific feeling or moment. This is further reinforced by how many "remixes" of the same songs there are.
It is insane how much care was put into every single part of this game. Really shows the love, passion and dedication of the team and respect for the source material, specially given that the core devs all returned. The OG FFVII was known for its themes having a lot of texture and being powerful tools to set tones, and they pumped that to eleven in the Remake, thanks to Hamauzu and Suzuki fantastic job on the arrangement, breathing new life to Uematsu original pieces.
10:32 Also, I had an eargasm the first time I heard that transition prior the engage with the Sweeper. That one took me by surprise and made me realize how fucking good music was going to be in this Remake.
Also... Never forget the role of sub-bass in the new version. It does most of the heavy-lifting in the first texture. Nowadays it's almost mandatory to have top notch sub-bass in your system to fully enjoy anything but full acoustic music.
Please do more of this game. This soundtrack is a masterpiece. The sheer level of care placed in!
If you're interested, I did an analysis of the original a while ago if you'd like to check it out!
10:50 barret be like “GAH”
😂
The man can't stand that ShinRa music.
I like your profile pic.
@@AlexMoukalaMusic "Barret, you aren't very fond of this theme, huh?"
"Now, I don't _hate_ this theme, but what I do hate is the fact that Shinra turned a gorgeous and deeply layered soundtrack as this into propaganda for their self-serving deeds!"
"It doesn't sound very friendly to me. Haunting, really."
"But it's the COOL kind of haunting! And that's what makes it unforgivable!"
Perhaps the loss of the "futuristic dystopian" sound is appropriate in an age where the Dystopia is here and the cars aren't flying
God, that hurts.
@@TheKiteLegacy Pretty much Shinra already exists, only the ones who orchestrate and control the trajectory of the future through technology, know better than to operate overtly until they cannot be defied.
If there was a youtube comment award I think you’d be nominated.
Living in the futuristic dystopia just makes me crave the fantasy version even more, I think.
There are flying cars, they're called helicopters.
That battle theme version is absolutely sick. Having never played either game myself purely from a music standpoint I agree that the added components of the remake bring that whole new ominous vibe. But both pieces are great so to each their own at the end of the day.
I played the original, but the strings/orchestra admittedly make it so much better!
i think most people just miss the synth and wish it was included more. the synth had a lot of ff7's unique feeling put into it
ROBIN yes, that’s it. It is what made the music sound industrial. The remake feels like it would fit better in a Metroid game than in Final Fantasy VII
In the final game they have done it perfectly fine
Yep, the synth really made it. I would have liked a remastered music than a whole new soundtrack based off the original.
I am really enjoying the FFVII Remake and I wanted to offer my thoughts as someone who doesn't like how they remade this theme but hopefully I'm reasonable about it :) Firstly, I think that everything 8BMT said in the video is well-reasoned and I enjoyed hearing a fresh perspective. I left the video feeling that the point of the slower, darker tone is to contrast it with the new battle version of the theme. I didn't have this experience when actually playing the game, but upon rehearing the mini boss battle theme at 12:19 I thought, wow! This is the remake of this song I needed to hear! I don't think I heard it when I played through because it only happens once (is this correct?) and I was super focused on frantically trying to figure out the battle system while being bombarded by dialogue and explosions.
Aside from that, I don't think my criticism is of the remade song itself, but of the change in tone. The bombing mission is just that: a mission. In the original, the energy wasn't just when you were in battle.There was an energy when running though a the halls of a creepy mechanical facility on a mission. A sense of purpose and direction and movement. I feel this new theme would be more suited to a situation where the characters didn't want or choose to be there. I also feel that the music in the original game highlighted the characters being introduced. Cloud and Barret are absolutely fearless badasses. Their human sides are introduced later in the story, and the revelation of those traits is stronger because of the contrast and passage of time, especially in the original. The new theme is full of fear, so it contrasts with their initial characterization.
Lastly, I think the electronic, mechanical, and unnatural sound of the original does something critically important for the story: it introduces the theme of evil technology. That's what Shinra Inc. is all about. Without the technological aspect, the threat becomes more vague and generic.
Thanks for reading my long comment. I'm curious what other people think!
Haven't played either, and based on this video alone, I completely agree with you.
The composers of the new one took a risk: there's alot of power in 8-bit sounds, so there's something lost when you take that away. The contrast between full on orchestral sound is very different.
Though, I'm not a fan of either versions. Both are borderline boring to me, with nothing happening. To each their own, I guess.
It just sounds... Bland.
I think that battle theme would happen for any combat in the reactor with this as the BGM (but I'd need to verify this myself), but specifically the miniboss sweeper had a lead-in section that guaranteed the dynamic track could and would start at the beginning without any tonal mishaps.
As for the tone of the track(s), I think the new tone being fearful and dark versus bombastic is that, realistically speaking, your bombing raid consisted of a handful of people fighting a large-scale militarized organization. In the original it was hard to portray those stacked odds outside of cutscenes and boss battles - random encounters functioning as interruptions, not roadblocks, prevent them from adding to any real urgency (only an overall sense of danger).
In terms of focusing on characters versus their environment, I think something actually got flipped around - in the original, enemies and the environment were nothing compared to the party and the player's unimpeded progression, until you reached a boss which suddenly broke the mold and grabbed your full attention. In the remake, the environment is oppressive throughout, but the characters were able to shine brighter when overcoming significant hardship: during the scorpion tank fight, you actually see the first time Cloud and Barret have to properly cooperate and showcase their full strengths. I noticed this was a theme for the whole remake, embellishing things that used to have a smaller impact to make fuller use of the level of detail they have access to now.
I agree with the loss of the unnatural technological feel of the track itself, though. I think those previously evoked what early PSX aesthetics lacked - hollow, clanging, whirring machinery all around - while the remake doesn't "need" it to be hinted at, since it's now much more grand scale in HD. But I don't think it would have been redundant to keep it, either.
@@opposumness3107 background music = background music
Well said, @gregorymsmith. In my own words, I would say the original fit the theme of “menacing technological threat, but we are going to stop it” while the new version of the song is more fitting for something like... “Haunted mansion-y mixed with a scientific abomination.”
This is exactly what I was thinking as I watched this. I totally agree with 8bmt's points, but I also think the original had this feel of "we're on what might very well be a suicide mission" the whole time, which gives everything you do a tension and anxiety that the new one doesn't really capture (outside of the battle theme). I only played about an hour of the original when it came out when I was a kid, and I never finished it as an adult, so I feel pretty confident this isn't just nostalgia.
I don't know if you actually did anything different here or if I'm just inventing it in my head, but I love the (seemingly) extra annotations while discussing and even while the sample is playing. Made your discussion much easier to follow than on other videos.
The way the battle mix ends and gives way to that sparse, haunting melody on the strings is one of the best adaptive moments in the game. It tells you that the battle is over, but the threat remains.
Fans playing the original: "May-ko Reactor"
Characters in Remake: "Mah-ko Reactor"
8BMT: "Maa-ko Reactor"
No kidding! When I played the demo and they said "mahko" I was like "hold the fuck up"
Man, I definitely got into it with my friends over this when we played the original back in the day, haha. As a Slavic language speaker I always assumed it was "mah-ko", like the shark.
I always associated it with the maynga/mahnga debate. It's a Japanese game, so I use Japanese vowel pronunciation rules. Quite a bit more straightforward than English vowel rules. If it were an "ay" sound it would have been spelled "meiko".
I always said Mah-ko.
I do the same. The closest English word I can think of that fits Mako in general is "macro", with the closest name being Maria. Both of them have the same "ma" sounds in them. I believe a lot of people who were kids at the time, might have associated the word as close to "make" and though "make-o" when they initially said it, as "make" follows that "may" sound.
Here 8BMT is emphasizing the "ma" in Mako instead of the "Ko" like in the remake, so it sounds different to our ears. At least thats how im hearing it right now
It is definitely an amazing arrangement, but it does miss the synths to give a more sci-fi vibe. The new arrangement could work in any ominous setting, it could be a tense moment before a showdown with the villain in a more medieval setting RPG, it could work in a scene from a super hero move. When you add those eerie synths it gives you the cyberpunk feeling. You could replace the piano with the synth in the new version and I think it would then reach perfection.
Please do more videos like this on FFVII remake. This is amazing! Like "The Oppressed - Beck's Badasses" & "Lurking in the Darkness" Jenova & Airbuster boss themes too. This video is just way too good. I want more. :D
These videos have just gotten more and more polished and the extra effort really does make a big difference in how easy it is to grasp the musical concepts you explain. Stuff like the explanation at 2:15
I really love chimes so I'm sad to see them not in the remake. But I appreciate the tone the new version takes.
Thanks so much for doing what you do 8-bit! Keep up the great content!
+1
bro you have no ideia how much ur channel helps me with getting into music theory! pls keep up with this awesome work ;)
I still think the voicing choices could have been a little more faithful. That techno dystopian vibe was pretty core. I agree with pretty much everything you pointed out structurally and compositionally, though. I kinda want to hear a re-voicing on pads just to see if my nostalgia tinted ears would approve
The old VA's
Great video! I love seeing the written parts for both the OG score and the new version not only because it's edifying from a musical theory standpoint, but because it just gives you a whole new appreciation for the complexity of both. Thanks!
If I close my eyes, I can hear Ben from Giant Bomb explaining the Mako Reactor composition.
It's amazing how much is lost when there's no delay effect on the melody
It was super cool watching this back to back comparison between the two arrangements. I loved the reinterpretation on the original, and the details you brought up do contribute a lot for a new feel and atmosphere while staying true to the original composition.
I'm waiting on my copy to arrive home so I can get to the actual game. This was a small treat before that.
Is it my imagination or is there synth and echo distortion textures going on throughout the whole piece deep in the mix? It made me think of how you would likely score the mako sequence in a big budget sci-fi movie... I have loved the music of the remake as a upstart composer and audio engineer as well as a longtime fan of the series and Nobuo Uematsu.
Definitely. By listening critically, I think you can tell how many subtle details were added in these new arrangements as a way to still somewhat preserve the identity of the originals despite being very modern. The various recurring FF7 leitmotifs and nods to melodies from the OG come to mind.
the synth 4ths in the piano part is what makes the piece. I'm disappointed it wasn't discussed or showed.
Love your added annotations this time around! Really adds to everything you do
I love both versions. When that haunting tone first came in when I was playing I had to just sit and listen and enjoy.
I know that the subtle and quiet stuff like the glockenspiel during the octaves piano and the quiet harmonies during the section before that aren’t super important to the analysis, but I wish they were mentioned
If you ever feel like doing more analysis between old FF7 and the remake, I'd love to watch it. I always enjoy these kinds of videos, and you're one of the only ones on here who makes this kind of content.
Dynamic music is like the best thing games can do with sound design in my opinion. I really really wish it was utilized more in so many different ways. It makes experiences feel much more deep and natural. I also love when games use interesting sound design aspects like how the wind waker did with hits being punctuated by notes.
I'd love to hear you talk about Katana Zero's soundtrack. Delusive Bunker especially impressed me by how it simultaneously sounds both tragically somber and intensely action-packed.
Here's something else fascinating. On the soundtrack to World of Final Fantasy, they also made a version of the Mako Reactor theme and it sounds way different from the original and the remake versions!
Here it is!
th-cam.com/video/TD4mMRyFIZ4/w-d-xo.html
The instrumentation at 10:41 reminds me of James Dooley. The percussion and extremely creepy mixtures of notes are what make me love him.
Thank you for mentioning me! I know you were already making this anyway, so it's appreciated!
I'm so glad you made this, great work (as always)!
Amazing content. More of these from FF7R please! I'm really curious about the other tracks on the game.
I remember hearing the Mako Reactor battle arrangement for the first time and thinking "Man, I can't wait to see what they do with Those Who Fight". It's absolutely incredible. I need to go to a live concert playing this once life returns to normal.
Appreciate how you really get into it! Very nice analysis of this musical piece.
Is the Remake theme epic?
Absolutely!
Is it missing something?
Yes, it needs more of that "industrial-ness".
Does that hinder the experience?
If I stop nitpicking about changes compared to the original and just play the game, not at all.
Yeah, I pretty much agree. And I only played the original this year, so I can't be nostalgia-blind!
...right?
For a synth to be converted to orchestral is near perfection. As someone who played every ff game the new arrangements are just beautiful and details to the environment and it’s also nostalgic. I cant wait for the next part!
As someone who has made plenty of orchestral arrangements of older games, the updated scores in the FFVII remake just brought a huge smile to my face.
For as much as the PS1 pushed the envelope in terms of VGM sound production, using up-to-date instruments breathes a whole new life into the piece.
As I was playing the game, I often found myself thinking that this channel just got a vast amount of potential new material. What they did with the music in this game was beyond my highest hopes. And my hopes were high.
my dude, my brother sent this to me (we're both music geeks), and i am so happy. this is all i've ever wanted in a youtube channel. holy shit. where was i before i saw your channel.
i learned things about the score that i totally did not notice before, and i shit my fucking pants. the chord changes like hooooly fuck, you're 100% right about, i mean, like, everything
will definitely subscribe and follow on twitter, and can't wait to see what other videos you put out
I loved the sound track... and now thanks to you, I appreciate it even more!! Thank you.
When I watched the demo leak and heard this version, it brought chills to my spine… and thus my confidence in the final product went through the ceiling. My roommate, who played FF7 longer than I have, didn’t want me to spoil it.. but my god I knew he would love it.
Such amazing analysis! That battle version of Mako Reactor blew my socks off when I first heard it.
This may be your best analysis, I love it. Please, continue covering this game, there's to much to analyse, specially in its soundtrack and its arrangements.
Love the sheet music with the little comments on it. I would totally listen to complete songs like that. "Check out this little fill-in!" "Awesome bass transition".
The original was one of my favourite games as a kid and I love both versions. I think the reason it's slower and darker is because it's not the same pace. In the original you were thrown in the reactor, go straight to put the bomb and go out. It was a rather quick mission and you had to move fast through the futuristic radioactive plant-like facility. In the remake, you're bound to go slower, to explore more, and also the gameplay is different, Cloud walks more naturally through a 1:1 environment instead of what looked like a model with a little clay soldier moving. You're living the experience more than the original because the camera follows Cloud.
Besides, we haven't seen everything yet, there's another reactor near Nibelheim, maybe this one will be more intense
I for one can't wait to see what they do with the "City of the Ancients" theme. That music has always been beautifully haunting.
You’ve been feeding us so well as usual! The way you outlined the newer developments of the Remake’s rendition was great. I’d love to see you bite into compositions by Yoko Shimomura, maybe FFXV or the Kingdom Hearts series. Have a good day!
6:19 Is it just me or does that sound like a prepared piano?
Edit: Listening closely, it could also be a vibraphone doubling the piano.
It actually might be both - the piano almost sounds detuned to me. I could be very wrong though
I think it's both, but let's not forget the strings doubling that on a higher octave too.
Strings + Piano is a very common layer in jRPG music for some reason
That's not a vibraphone, it sounds more like a kalimba. That classic almost tropical instrument made from pieces of metal to flick over a resonant chamber beneath. It sounds really nice and adds to the uneasy feeling the song is meant to give.
It also could be a pitched anvil sound, which also fits the industrial theme.
THANK YOU! for putting this into words for me. I've been having this debate with a friend, and I just couldn't properly articulate why the remake sounds so much better and right for the Mako reactor theme. It really does have such a somber and funeral-esque sound to it. And I completely agree about the loss of the "industrial" sound, while I think it actually is a good thing which allowed for all of the other changes to the song. Beautiful song and excellent analysis.
You can really hear Hamauzu’s style in these rearrangements. I would argue he is the best orchestrator Square has ever hired. Uematsu wrote great themes and melodies, but Hamauzu really understands how to write pieces where the emotive elements are characterized by the choice of instrument as much as the choice of notes. This is likely due to him rising in prominence during the PS2 era after CD audio was already a standard and Japan had already begun moving to orchestras in games, whereas Uematsu had started off with 8bit sound chips, the expectations were different, and you had to be a different kind of creative to get the tone you wanted.
Definitely reminds me a bit of FF13 (also Hamauzu's work).
Professor Lesser the entire score is closer to FFXII-2 to me, since both collaborators worked on that as well. Just less metal (ironic since advent children was half black mages arrangements)
@@DJGhostmare Final Fantasy XII is one of my favorite soundtracks; less metal makes sense considering the time frame and setting.
I never was a huge fan of Hamazu but I respect the work he did in this game. Uematsu is just my style.
Technically this is Shotaro Shima vgmdb.net/album/97176
I hope you do a few videos on this soundtrack cuz its soooo good
This is awesome. Please do more of these! I’d love to see what you think of how the other pieces in the remake compares to the original.
I've always been a huge fan of this tune, it does such a great adding to the mood of this part of the game. I definitely love the arrangements from the remake, really incredible to hear the new life that was brought to this music!
I think you and Gamescore Fanfare should do a series together going over the entire soundtrack. The way it’s evolved from the original OST and the way the songs evolve within the Remake are next level. Covering the Remake OST is the kind of thing that would truly entice me to sign up for your Patreon
As someone who, as a nerdy music student, used to listen to the original soundtrack a lot in college, I have been blown away by the quality and adaptation of the music in the Remake. Are there things that I really wished could have been kept? Of course, like the percussion part in the boss music (Still More Fighting). What I was saddest to see change was the motorcycle chase music (Crazy Motorcycle) primarily because I really wanted to hear what would have been a percussion ensemble with orchestral backing. Perfectly tuned temple blocks playing the rhythmic melody... would have been so very epic!
Still loved every bit of music in the remake. Some of the best I've heard in a while.
I love a lot of the tracks of the remake's ost but there is also a few tracks that lack definitely a lot of substance and its not just "hurry". What about the significance of rhythm and percussion in the "Turks theme". What about the wall market track? Why is Barrett's theme missing (okay there is a reminiscence in the mark of a traitor)?
Dude would love to see more analysis of music from this game!
Excellent insight and breakdown as always, 8-Bit! I hope you go Breath of the Wild multi-part on FF7R, cause I'd love to hear your thoughts on various songs throughout...especially the Remake's new take on the Victory Fanfare. It's almost great for me, but the drum beat sounds a little more like a march now, as opposed to that funk-swing of the original.
I love these compositional choices and how it grows and progresses. The timbre is pretty key in how the original felt, and I feel that has much to do with why so many don't like the feel of this one as much.
I like both for different reasons.
I always felt that the melody sounded a bit like the lamenting of the Mako Reactor (or maybe the Planet itself (spoiler alert?)), and as such (maybe subconsciously) felt it made sense that even as the team was fighting for their survival, the reactor in the background was still crying at the same pace, unaffected by the puny human's meaningless squabblings at it's foot...
... damn that got way more poetic that I originally expected.
I shouldn't be watching this kind of videos bc most probably I could not lay my hands on the remake until years later but maaaaaaaaan how cool it is. And good video as always.
I first played FF7 when I was about 13. It was my first RPG aside from pokemon (which everyone had and it was a game of game anyway), and I still remember when I had played it up to the first boss in that make reactor - the scorpion thing - I had fought it and been crushed, then I had to go away for the weekend.
I still remember the whole weekend, how excited I was to get back and try again to beat it. I spent hours thinking about what strategies I'd try, what materia I would give to who... it was a weird feeling but it was unique in that ive almost never had it with any other games.
Suffice it to say that I'm being candid when I say this was my favourite childhood game by a massive margin.
Ive also had extensive music theory training, being a 7th grade pianist, a singer, drummer and guitar and bass player.
What im saying is: if anyone has a right to get snobby about how the soundtrack sounds in the remake, it's me.
And I love it.
That is all.
Bonus trivia: I even kind of look a bit like a RL Sephiroth, because my hair started going white when I was 18 (due to an immune disorder + genes). So now im 6'1", mostly white hair that im growing out past my shoulders already...
As far as I'm concerned, this is _my_ remake so if anyone is having a cry about it.. well... 🤷♂️
Ive seen several of your videos and sad to say i know very very little about what your talking about but i do find it very interesting.
As someone who ALSO has never played the original, I absolutely love the strings over the synth. It just sounds richer, and darker. And it sounds like a very faithful remake of the original version of the song as well. The melody is intact, and the mood is at the very least, unchanged.
I think one of the reasons the music in older games sticks with us so much is because it was such a dominating factor. Think about it -- when you play Mario there are only a few sound effects here and there, and the graphics are very simple. This allowed the music to occupy a much larger portion of your brain space. Now, games are such a cacophony of sensory stimulation the music just becomes one more element -- battling it out with detailed sound design, near photo-realistic graphics, voice acting, and complicated gameplay that demands more of your attention rather than letting you kind of Zen out while you play. Not saying one is better than the other, just making an observation.
Really liked the score annotations you added!
Excellent breakdown as always!! FF7 is easily one of my favorite soundtracks and the remake is just beautiful stuff.
Hells yes. Final Fantasy 8 is still my all time favourite game and the whole series' music are amazing. Love these videos explaining the music theory explaining why they work so well. I particularly found the melodic development video very helpful :) edit grammar
This soundtrack is a masterpiece, full-stop. Especially the Airbuster's theme makes my jaw drop in something approaching _disbelief_ every time I hear it.
The amount of work they put on the musics in this remake is just insane.
And I love it
The modern version has some real strong Shadow of the Colossus vibes in the beginning
In the old one, evil is futuristic and unknown. In the new it is here and chillingly familiar.
Love the analysis and you've dissected it perfectly. I do believe the older version works better for the context of the game and I do hope you eventually play the original game so you can judge how it fits into the scene, too! While it is true that the new arrangement is juicier, the metallic and inhuman sound of the original just screams "steampunk aesthetic" for me.
I like the word dieselpunk even a little better when it comes to the original art concept :)
I appreciate all the changes listed in the video and all the reason and all the nice orchestration choices....I still like the original way better.
After thrusting a dagger in my heart with this track, I both fear and crave the twisting of it as you explore You Can Hear the Cry of the Planet.
Request for future videos: Hourly Music from Animal Crossing (Wild World, New Leaf, New Horizons...) and how it creates different atmospheres depending on the time of the day. Love your work!!
Nice video that does a great job of pointing out that context is really important when considering how Video Game music fits in with a world. Nice to see love for FFVII Remake's music and I am certainly hoping we get some Xenoblade music analysis (hopefully both 1 and 2) once the remake for XC1 Comes out at the end of May.
I really wanna see you analyze the new one winged angel. I don’t really know what the topic of the video would be I just wanna see it lol.
Not gonna lie as soon as you said you hadn't played the first one my jaw dropped haha, Loved this video! The original sound track is so hard wired into my brain that hearing the remake is hitting me in a totally different place. I've yet to play the remake though :(
You can really hear Hamauzu's work in this remake. A lot of the passages you analyzed reminded me a lot of FFXIII! ♥️
The remake's music is definitely different, but I think its for the best. FFVII changes this classic RPG from a text based book that was akin to reading a book with a rough visual outline of what was going on into a cinematic experience much more akin to a film, and the music reflects that change.
When you get to Aerith's house later in the game they use inversions of the melody from her theme in the original. It basically the same melody with the downward and upward motions switched. It gives the theme a much more positive feel than the tragic ballad that is the original.
as a person who's never played ff6 and the original ff7, seeing the dancing mad vs one winged angel debates, I just wanna know what makes one winged angel just so much more addicting, because as someone who's not clouded with nostalgia, one winged angel draws me in so much more than dancing mad despite my love for organ
I really didn't liked the new orchestration much.. But you summarized my impression well at the end ! At the time (and even today, those games aren't dead !), you only had one thing to listen to : The music. Now there is a lot more stuff happening so the music is a lot more in the background which made me feel like we really lost something in the process. Even if i liked the new orchestration (i feel like the original midi instrument are so much more powerful in general... ), and sometime i like it like Don Corneo Theme or some Boss Fight, i feel like i would have liked it better with the old way of doing J-RPG.
Another problem is that the Mako Reactor really didn't took that long to complete in the original game, now they easily added 3 additional hours between REactor 1 and 5... So you will hear the same loop a LOT more than before.. I think it's why they wanted the first loop to be a little less powerful letting the song grow little by little.
That being said, it DOES have downside. JENOVA in particular was incredibly strong in the original, immediately taking the player into what seemed like a totally new and strange atmosphere which really emphasis how "alien-like" JENOVA is to begin with... In the remake, you have to wait the Third Phase to hear an equivalent level of strangeness, it does smooth the experience and it doesn't feel nearly as powerful in the context of the game... Too Bad... ( I could have gone without putting the "One Winged Angel" leitmotiv everywhere too but that's another subject... )
Another recent square remake that I've been playing through is Trial of Mana. The original was never brought over to English so I never got to play it, as I had other titles in the series. One bit I like is that they actually have an option to play with the remade score or play with the original Nintendo score. I thought that was a very nice touch.
I'm really wanting you to cover the weird rock music that Tim Follin made back in the day. The man was an overachiever in video game music and deserves some recognition.
My hype levels for this game went up to the max when I first heard the adaptation for "Those Who Fight Further".
I really love the instrumentation in the new version of that theme.
Not only that, but you've got at least 4 different arrangements of Those Who Fight Further in the game that are there to punctuate different battles.