Ah yes, the
Final Fantasy X Original Soundtrack, where I
used to attribute all the music to Nobuo Uematsu. I was in my
teens when I first played the game, didn’t have access to the internet and
having just discovered Uematsu (and simultaneously my passion for video game
music) I automatically convinced myself that the entire soundtrack was composed
by him, despite noticing other names in the music section of the credits. It
was like I wanted to remain in my little bubble where I worshipped Uematsu…
After experiencing and loving Masashi Hamauzu’s music for Final Fantasy XIII many years later, I did some research on him and
found out that it was actually Hamauzu who had composed many of my favorite
tracks in Final Fantasy X. In fact,
it wouldn’t be a stretch to name him the star of the soundtrack. But anyway,
let’s look at what the trio of Uematsu, Hamauzu and Junya Nakano have achieved.
Like I said, I feel Hamauzu is the one who
brings the most to the table. He succeeds the best in turning the world of
Spira into music (which I think is the best aspect of this entire soundtrack),
while also utilizing Uematsu’s themes in a thematically coherent way. Besaid captures the relaxing atmosphere
of the island, while also incorporating certain electronic sounds to comment on
its complex history. Spiran Scenery represents
the village of Besaid and maintains the organic, acoustic vibe heard throughout
many tracks representing Spira. At the same time the track reprises Suteki da ne to signify Yuna’s
connection to her home on Besaid, which makes sense since Yuna’s Theme also incorporates a part of the same melody. With Travel Agency Hamauzu uses a jazzy piano
accompanied by different kinds of percussion (and clapping!) to create the feel
of utter relaxation which is exactly what the inns represent. Macalania Forest mostly alternates
between two notes to give a slow-paced, hypnotic feel to the mystical forest.
Again Hamauzu creates unity by incorporating fragments from Song of Prayer. People of the Far North is also a great track, not because it uses
Uematsu’s themes, but because of how the mood it creates fits the place it
represents. The tribal feel of the track (fitting for the hardened Ronso)
emanates from the percussion, while the violin gives Mt. Gagazet a sacred aura.
One of the best area themes is Someday
the Dream Will End. Hamauzu again arranges Suteki da ne to create a track encompassing many things: a cautious
optimism matching Yuna’s determination to complete her pilgrimage, a feeling of
sadness as the journey is coming to an end. The track has a ghostly feel (the
‘blowing’ sounds) which matches the ruined city of Zanarkand, filled with
death, hinting at a civilization long gone.
Hamauzu is also responsible for the many
different arrangements of Song of Prayer.
These endless renditions are for many a key low point of the soundtrack,
because most of them aren’t too different from each other. Many simply employ a
different singer. In the game this is tolerable, because of the long time span
between each version. On the soundtrack however, they are in much closer
proximity to each other which doesn’t exactly make the listening experience any
more pleasant. Quite the opposite. It disrupts the overall listening experience
by occasionally plunging you into a religious atmosphere while offering nothing
new.
But amidst these ‘different’ versions, there
are four which are very much worthwhile: Song
of Prayer which is the standard version sung by choir; The Sending in which Hamauzu utilizes a male and female choir,
piano runs and all kinds of percussion and instruments to create a tribal feel,
fitting for the sending seen in the game; Song
of Prayer – Yunalesca in which Hamauzu surprisingly uses a male choir for a
female character. The overall sound is darker than the other versions. When the
end becomes dissonant, the track really symbolizes the rotten core of Spira’s
religion. This is my favorite version. Finally, there’s Song of Prayer – Spira which represents the people of Spira
chanting the hymn. What’s nice about this one, is that it closely resembles the
standard version, but the harmonies are different and it sounds more alive and
vibrant as a result which is of course the point.
Junya Nakano is one of those composers who’s
easy to pigeonhole. The key words when listening to his tracks are ‘rhythm’ and
‘percussion’. Many of his tracks are unfit for casual appreciation and require
a more intellectual form of appreciation where attention is paid to the track’s
elements and timbre. Regardless of listenability, I do feel a lot of his
tracks, like Illusion, emphasize how
desolation and death permeate Spira, this world caught in Sin’s grip. His style
is obviously unsuited for typical Final Fantasy tracks, but it works quite well
here, because of how his organic
style enriches the world of Spira. Also
of note is how Nakano, like Hamauzu, plays around with Uematsu’s themes. He takes
the Zanarkand theme and molds it into
a kind of Overworld theme in Sprouting
and incorporates the Song of Prayer
motif into Reception for Grand Maester
Mika and Summoned Beast Battle.
Nobuo Uematsu was definitely not at his peak
while composing music for Final Fantasy X,
hence the reason he brought in Hamauzu and Nakano. Although he creates some
good themes – Calm Before the Storm, Path of Repentance, Seymour Battle – the overall quality is not as high as his previous
efforts. There are too many uninteresting, throw-away tracks like Ridess the Shoopuf? and
They May Pass. Seymour’s Theme is also uninteresting and a missed opportunity. It appears about
three times with too little variation. The lack of variation only emphasizes
its meager construct, consisting only of the theme, a rising choir and
arpeggios. Too often can the listener familiar with his previous work in
the series see how he reverts to old familiar patterns. At the 1:00 mark, Mi’hen Highroad starts to resemble, strangely
enough, The Nightmare is Beginning
(a.k.a. Vincent’s Theme) from Final Fantasy VII.
In short, it’s Nakano and especially Hamauzu
who bring the world of Spira convincingly to life and succeed in utilizing
Uematsu’s main themes to create a stronger narrative structure. It’s not the
best Final Fantasy score, but also not the worst. The sequel would take care of
that…
