For my money, one of the most enjoyable aspects of the game creation process is the composition and arrangement of the music. With Final Fantasy, that’s absolutely true because for me, and I imagine for a lot of others, the music of this series is one of the best parts of it. Be it lo-fi channels, new arrangements, compilations, piano versions or something else, Final Fantasy music hits many of my playlists.
That’s why I was so excited to chat with composer Masayoshi Soken about his score for Final Fantasy XVI. You might recognize his name because he was also the composer of Final Fantasy XIV. However, if you don’t know, it’s likely a name you’ll remember after the release of FFXVI because after more than three hours of playing the game at the Square Enix office in Tokyo, Japan, I’m confident them I’m about to get a score.
Final Fantasy XVI Composer Masayoshi Soken
When I spoke to Soken, I wanted to talk to him about some of the key themes and themes of any Final Fantasy game – things like the Prelude, the main theme, the Show of Victory, etc. – And he has a lot to say. In this four-part series, I’ll break down the different aspects of music that excite me, and I hope you do too.
Be sure to check out the first two parts:
Music of Final Fantasy XVI Part 3 – Finding the Main Theme
Nearly every game has a main theme – that’s standard procedure at this point. But not every musical motif stands the test of time; in other words, they can’t all be Halo. However, Final Fantasy has an excellent track record in creating memorable main themes. I’ve been listening to “The Promise,” the recurring tune of Final Fantasy XIII, for over a decade and it still doesn’t get old. Between the original mixes, remixes and more, I can’t get enough of it. And if you talk to any Final Fantasy fans, I bet they have their own song “The Promise” for them.
Having only heard briefly about FFXVI’s scores in many of the trailers and gameplay videos leading up to this cover story ride, I have yet to identify the main theme of Final Fantasy XVI. There is “Tsuki Wo Miteita – Watching the Moon,” (listen below) is a special song written and performed by Kenshi Yonezu, whose name you can recognize the artist behind. “Kick Back,” OP for Chainsaw ManAnd “Sign of Peace”, first OP for Season 2 of My Hero Academia (easily one of the best, mind you). But Moongazing isn’t necessarily the main theme of FFXVI.
“The main theme of Final Fantasy XVI is actually a bit difficult to say because it is difficult to define,” he said. “There really isn’t a single song you can call the main theme because Final Fantasy XVI is a game about all of these very important and very prominent characters, as well as their Eikon, their relationship. the relationship between the Eikon and the characters and their relationships. dominate. We consider all of these very, very important and we don’t want to pick just one; we want to make it all […] Equally important.”
Soken says each character has motivations, values, and a history in FFXVI. He wanted to create something for each of them that matched their personality and that players could recognize when that character came out.
“So you could say we have different major themes in the game.”
For more information about the game, visit Game Informer’s exclusive Final Fantasy XVI news center by clicking the banner below.
