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The Battle of the OST's (FFXV vs ARR:XIV vs FFXIII vs FFXII)

J

jb1234

Member
Mailbox said:
Despite also being fully orcastrated there is little to no range in intensity in the music in 12. It's a really flat ost and for the most part is used in a way that any decent songs get annoying. It lacks a lot of what made older tracks memorable. It might be good to some, but it's flat and samey as fuck. It shouldn't even be in the list of contenders.
Click to expand...

XII's OST is entirely sampled. There are no live instruments in it. This will change with the remaster.
 
F

FlashbladeGAF

Member
Quonny said:
The Emperor said:
Quonny said:
I've preferred Stand Your Ground to Veiled in Black, but FFXV has two incredible battle themes, reminded me back in the day when the Grandia games would change battle themes whenever you'd visit a new continent or after a big event.
Click to expand...


Imma let you finish but cleigne battle theme is the best

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh4_jFbT_XQ
Click to expand...

I'm not gonna let you finish.

YOU WRONG
Click to expand...

You are both right.

Stand your ground, mixed in the FF theme with some epic tension, while the Cleigne battle theme brought the epic hype.

Yoko did them both so we all win.
 
B

Bousf

Member
FFXV was quite something OST-wise, that one takes the upper hand for me, as I haven't enjoyed a FF OST like this since FFX

FFXIV is pretty memorable, lots of epicness in there, but XV is more solid overall imo.

FFXIII was great and FFXII was also great. These 4 are like a competition at the top of OST Mount Olympus.
 
J

jb1234

Member
Mailbox said:
That makes its flatness and extremely obvious compression all the more confusing.
Click to expand...

Actually, as a correction, the opening and ending movie use an orchestra. But as for the sound quality issues, I couldn't tell you. The game uses psf2 files, which are basically MIDI.
 
G

Geg

Member
Y2Kev said:
Shimomura is great but the non her stuff is awful. All that gas station roody poo guitar and twanging crap is bizarre and bad.

I give it to XIII. There's not really a bad track on the OST. Except maybe the shuck and jive for Sazh. That was weird.
Click to expand...

Also I guess it's a matter of taste but I loved how the XIII and XV soundtracks experimented with different styles like that and a lot of them ended up being my favorite parts of their soundtracks.

Like if I had to choose between this and this I'd go with the former easily.
 
T

Tyaren

Member
FFXV has imo the most amazing and memorable songs...though in the game you don't really notice them as much or they are not even in the game. (Sadly a recurring theme with this game.) What's mostly playing is very generic and repetitive town and outpost music and the pretty field themes are mostly notable through their absence or by being prematurely interrupted.
So I would say XIII takes the cake for the overall best OST. It's memorable, cohesive and just a joy to listen too.
 
S

Sumio Mondo

Member
Not played them all yet but from I've heard XV doesn't sound like the style of Shimomura that i like. I miss her SNES/PSX era and the Parasite Eve & Front Mission sound. Nothing since then has really competed with that for me. Her Kingdom Hearts work just sounds like a wave of noise to me. As far as XIII goes, it's...okay, I guess. Again, nowhere near Hamauza's work back in the day. I really enjoyed his work on Musashi 2 & what I've heard from SaGa and as for XII and XIV: A Realm Reborn, they're brilliant and way more my style.

XII is a masterwork that fits the world of Ivalice like a glove and I love the atmosphere it soaks me into when i listen to it whilst playing the game. Plus, it's Hitoshi Sakimoto, so it's automatically awesome, probably my favourite game composer outside of Shoji Meguro and Masafumi Takada. I love his echoing drums and those bells!
XIV: Realm Reborn just has a really warm, cozy sound to it and sweeping during the battles. What I've heard so far is way more my stuff than XIII and XV are.

Transistor said:
XII was Hitoshi Sakimoto so it wins by default.

If I had to rank them it would go:

XII > XIVARR > XV = XIII
Click to expand...

Pretty much my ranking and opinion.
 
O

Ogawa-san

Member
Here to shill for Soken as usual.

There are two kinds of people: those that find XIV's OST the GOAT, and those that haven't played XIV.
 
H

hosannainexcelsis

Member
Mailbox said:
That makes its flatness and extremely obvious compression all the more confusing.
Click to expand...

The XII OST has low quality "orchestral" synth in addition to Sakimoto's bland and disorganized compositions. It is perhaps the worst a mainline Final Fantasy soundtrack has ever sounded. (The VII OST also has really bad synth sounds, but Uematsu's compositions there are a bit better.)
 
G

Gamer @ Heart

Member
Maaaan, this thread is so unfair.

14 is AMAZING and yet it would unlikely win because it's an mmo and more people have just played and beat 15

So let this thread become a glory to Soken pls. All of the youtube links. Nidhoggs theme was already posted and that's the song that gets me feeling.
 
B

barit

Member
Hands down for me it's definitely FFXIV especially Heavensward has some of the most emotional and heartbreaking OSTs of all time. Just listen to this masterpiece on full volume to the end gives me always chills. That end of this song man, it's so freaking awesome. I always fly around in Dravanian Forelands just to hear it lol it's that good.

https://youtu.be/OBLN4O6rZs4

Didn't played FFXV yet tho so maybe it can be topped
 
H

HeelPower

Member
Famassu said:
I don't understand people saying they don't remember FFXII's OST. It's absolutely magnificent filled with incredible tracks. It's easily in the top 5 of FF OSTs and my personal favorite Sakimoto OST.
Click to expand...

FFXII's OST is truly magnificent.Its thick and so ever present in the game.Perfectly in synch with the art direction as well.

Its immediately recognizable to my ears.
 
Riposte

Riposte

Member
It's odd you specify A Realm Reborn, when no one isn't/hasn't differentiated it from Heavensward. Moreover, a huge portion (I'd say over a third) of ARR's original soundtrack comes from the earlier version of the game (from 1.0's Uematsu, then later content updates, like the Good King Moggle Mog and Garuda themes), which it was more or less a sequel to; in other words, the music was already in a commercial game over a year before A Realm Reborn was released.

FFXIV is effectively three soundtracks in one. As such, it's only fair to then include XIII-2 and Lightning Returns with XIII. In that case, I would say it wins it handedly. I think the XIII sub-series has the best music in the whole series if you count them together. Really diverse, and really great (Mizuta manages to surpass Hamauzu, in addition to enhancing it).

FFXV and FFXII are just one release, even if you count stuff like movie spin-offs or a DS pseudo-sequel (in the case of FFXII's Revenant Wings, the music is a complete rehash). It would only be fair to compare them to 1.0-1.23, ARR, and HW (and likewise, XIII, XIII-2, and LR).
 
C

careksims

Member
Hero_of_the_Day said:
FFXV is completely forgettable. There is a cover song of a popular song in it (
Stand By Me)
that is the only piece of music I remember at all.

The title screen to Heavensward is better than anything in FFXV. Shit is hype as fuck.
Click to expand...

I have to agree that XV is forgettable. I can't even remember or hum any of tunes except Somus, but that's because I heard that tune a lot in trailers.

I haven't played too much of 14 to know so it's 13 > 12 > 15 for me.
 
Y

Yabberwocky

Member
They're all incredible. For me, XII's is really uniquely special to the mainline franchise, because the soundtrack works in complete synergy with all the locations/story beats where the soundtrack is used. The visuals and the soundtrack work together to create a constant, tangible atmosphere in a way that few other entries succeed in quite as well for me. The soundtrack is apart of the world, and not demanding your constantly shift your attention to it. You can listen to XII's soundtrack and feel the sprawling heat of the Dalmasca Eastersand, the rustic dampness of Rabanastre Downtown. Giza Plains has the beauty of rain starting to fall before the rolling threat of thunder, which was even more appropriate when you had an in-game weather change. The ominous, slightly magical Golmore Jungle. The euphoric beauty of the Phon Coast. The powerful grandiosity of The Empire's Theme, the ancient horror of the Esper Battle. Plus, that Ending Movie theme!

That being said, I probably end up listening to FFXIII's soundtracks (and its sequels) the most casually out of the lot. Props to the beautiful work Hamauzu did for WoFF, too, his version of Terra's Theme is my new favorite. XIV is mind-blowing, and the range of music (and the constant high quality!) that Soken has done for XIV is just incredible, and never ceases to amaze. XV's soundtrack is just beautiful and awe-inspiring.

ETA: Shit, ranking is hard. XII > XIV = XIII > XV for me. Day 1 for buying XV's soundtrack, though.
 
R

Rabbit Clock

Banned
XII > XIII > XIV > XV

XV was boring. It's telling that it's more enjoyable loading up old FF songs on your mp3 player than it is to actually listen to the original score.
 
ULTROS!

ULTROS!

People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
I'd put XV on top just because of the battle themes which are some of the best since X. XIII is close because the environmental music sound very good.

While XII's music is good, it's not up to par with FF's memorability.

Haven't heard from XIV's.

XV >= XIII >>>> XII
 
M

Moaradin

Member
FFXIV wins pretty easily. The others simply can't compete in terms of sheer quality tracks that game has. it's almost unfair.
 
V

vainglorious

Member
Shimomura is one of my favorite composers but... Hamauzu's got her beat.

Even stand out tracks like Ifrit's battle theme (not even composed by Shimonura) aren't really interesting outside its droning use of choruses. Staccato choral chants (that don't do much else) with heavy percussion doesn't really compare to Hamauzu'a use of leitmotif with counter melodies and harmonies.

I didn't even really like the way Somnus was incorporated into the final battle theme. When I first listened to it the organ and opera voice was really giving me Parasite Eve vibes and I was really into it but then it just didn't go anywhere. There wasn't any movement in the music or the notes being sung. It sucked.

There's nothing interesting or memorable about most of the arrangements in FFXV's soundtrack. I can barely hum any tunes when reflecting on it.
 
S

Sumio Mondo

Member
^Just sounds like a wave of noise to me. No melody, no consistency, just *too much going on at once*. A mess to my ears.

Famassu said:
I don't understand people saying they don't remember FFXII's OST. It's absolutely magnificent filled with incredible tracks. It's easily in the top 5 of FF OSTs and my personal favorite Sakimoto OST.
Click to expand...

It is a great OST, but damn man, it's no Vagrant Story or Final Fantasy Tactics. I also think his work on Breath of Fire V is also up there too (so, so underrated).
 
Z

Zafir

Member
Sadly I've never been sold on XII's soundtrack. Not for me.

I think I might actually put XIV at the top because there's just so many amazing exploration tracks which made exploring such a delight. I'm not sure about the expansion soundtrack because I only played ARR for about a month on its original release, but I'm sure that's great too.

It's a tough call between XIII and XV, I think XV probably edges it.
 
P

PshycoNinja

Member
Zafir said:
Sadly I've never been sold on XII's soundtrack. Not for me.

I think I might actually put XIV at the top because there's just so many amazing exploration tracks which made exploring such a delight. I'm not sure about the expansion soundtrack because I only played ARR for about a month on its original release, but I'm sure that's great too.

It's a tough call between XIII and XV, I think XV probably edges it.
Click to expand...

XII has the best rendition of Main Theme. Otherwise XII's soundtrack was never all that memorable for me.

ARR has an okay soundtrack, but Heavensward has some really fantastic tracks. I wouldn't put XIV as one of my favorite FF OSTs. But it does a good job with what it has.

As much as I don't like XIII and how much the music reminds me of the game, I cannot deny that XIII has a great soundtrack going for it. I've always had a soft spot for Shimomura and all the music produced for FFXV, so naturally I love that music.
 
Y

YankeeDonB

Member
This is a tough one. Except for XII, I never cared for Sakimoto much at all, and while XII's OST is serviceable, I find many of the tunes forgettable or, in some cases, even vaguely grating and irritating.

XV has some great tracks - Gratia Mundi, Apocalypsis Noctis, Noctis' theme, Wanderlust, Cleigne battle theme, Somnus. Memorable tunes! But, while actually playing the game, much of my time was spent with silence or the not-so-great town and outpost themes. The situational stuff is cool, but you just don't hear it enough for it to sink-in in-game. My favorites in these games are usually tunes you hear over and over and that become ingrained in your memory of the experience. WoB theme from VI, VII, and X, for example. The way XV is structured, the best songs don't get revisited that much.

XIII has an awesome OST, extremely coherent across the whole game, dense while still catchy. Fang's theme and main battle theme are two of my favorites from the entire series. Stuff like the Oerba theme is haunting and super effective too. Still, the scope of the soundtrack is perhaps a bit limited. It's fairly monotone, which over 60+ hours leads to a sort of blending together.

Guess I'd give the nod to XIV. The Limsa theme is still burned into my mind, the traveling music in each area is fantastic and plays just enough to be memorable, but not enough to get annoying, the battle music is awesome too. This was my favorite FF OST since X. It doesn't quite match VI, VII, or X for me, but I'd probably rank it with IX.

XIV > XIII >> XV >>>>>>>>>>>> XII
 
SkylineRKR

SkylineRKR

Member
XV's OST is excellent but its not used well in the game itself. Its hard to hear on the default settings (5.1 set), and in the overworld they might not play for a long time. If you go into the menu and back it stops for quite a long time as well. The way they get interrupted is jarring.

XIV might be my top pick. La Noscea field theme 4 is just great.

https://youtu.be/U2MZ-67Zwd0?t=2m30s
 
P

PshycoNinja

Member
Newtype-001 said:
Just speaking personally i do not think there is a better track that embodies
"Fantasy" in Final Fantasy than Gridanias theme.

Wailers and Waterwheels
I still get butterflies listening to it.
Exactly at 28seconds
Click to expand...

This is totally me (playing a lot of ARR and...other...stuff...), but I absolutely abhor this track. Ugh...

YankeeDonB said:
This is a tough one. Except for XII, I never cared for Sakimoto much at all, and while XII's OST is serviceable, I find many of the tunes forgettable or, in some cases, even vaguely grating and irritating.

XV has some great tracks - Gratia Mundi, Apocalypsis Noctis, Noctis' theme, Wanderlust, Cleigne battle theme, Somnus. Memorable tunes! But, while actually playing the game, much of my time was spent with silence or the not-so-great town and outpost themes. The situational stuff is cool, but you just don't hear it enough for it to sink-in in-game. My favorites in these games are usually tunes you hear over and over and that become ingrained in your memory of the experience. WoB theme from VI, VII, and X, for example. The way XV is structured, the best songs don't get revisited that much.

XIII has an awesome OST, extremely coherent across the whole game, dense while still catchy. Fang's theme and main battle theme are two of my favorites from the entire series. Stuff like the Oerba theme is haunting and super effective too. Still, the scope of the soundtrack is perhaps a bit limited. It's fairly monotone, which over 60+ hours leads to a sort of blending together.

Guess I'd give the nod to XIV. The Limsa theme is still burned into my mind, the traveling music in each area is fantastic and plays just enough to be memorable, but not enough to get annoying, the battle music is awesome too. This was my favorite FF OST since X. It doesn't quite match VI, VII, or X for me, but I'd probably rank it with IX.

XIV > XIII >> XV >>>>>>>>>>>> XII
Click to expand...

I think, if I read the OP correctly, they're talking about what the best OSTs are and not so much how it is "integrated" in the game...
 
K

Kintaro

Worships the porcelain goddess
XIV eats XV up pretty easily. The game barely even wants you to listen to much of the music.
 
P

Pancake Mix

Copied someone else's pancake recipe
Final Fantasy XV of the four, though I can see why someone would say XIV:ARR or FFXII.

I actually didn't like FFXIII's soundtrack that much...hard to explain.
 
Y

YankeeDonB

Member
PshycoNinja said:
This is totally me (playing a lot of ARR and...other...stuff...), but I absolutely abhor this track. Ugh...



I think, if I read the OP correctly, they're talking about what the best OSTs are and not so much how it is "integrated" in the game...
Click to expand...

Hard for me to tell. Also hard for me to really separate them out from in game. However, if I were just to rate them as music to listen to and try to ignore their respective links w/ their respective games and my experience playing them, I guess I'd say this:

XIV > XIII = XV >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> XII
 
Synless

Synless

Member
Now here's a question. Does XIII not encompass all three games in the series as it is a trilogy? Because let's be honest, XIII-2's OST is god tier.
 
R

Rue

Member
4. FFXII has by far the weakest OST of the four listed. It's got some decent tracks but they're ... mostly so flat and dull.

3. FFXIV:ARR has great music but none of it really "stuck" with me at all, not enough for me to really put it above the other two.

2. FFXV has an amazing OST. Some really, really strong identifying songs and a fairly decent range as well.

1. FFXIII is just.. too good. It's got such a fantastic leitmotif ("The Promise") that gives way for some incredible tracks and is used to great effect throughout the OST.

Synless said:
Now here's a question. Does XIII not encompass all three games in the series as it is a trilogy? Because let's be honest, XIII-2's OST is god tier.
Click to expand...

XIII wins either way for me but including XIII-2 separately would make it #1 above even the original game.
 
LordKasual

LordKasual

Banned
XIV > XII > XV > XIII

XV definitely has the highest quality of music for me. I can't think of a single bad battle theme. But it just isn't enough of it. It isn't half as music dense as most FF games typically are.

XII's OST has heavily grown on me since it released on PS2. It was always unmemorable to me, but lately i've come to appreciate its style. It would have worked wonders for FFXV.

XIII's soundtrack was....good. Great, even. Just not very memorable outside its 2 battle tracks. This is mostly the game's fault, im sure.

XIV is cheating because it's OST is massive and grows every few months with a new amazing track.
 
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