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The Battle of the OST's (FFXV vs ARR:XIV vs FFXIII vs FFXII)
- Thread starter The Emperor
- Start date
Crazy Chocobo and Limit Break knock that OST down hard.
Wow, no fun allowed.
Wow, no suffering allowed.
Alex
Member
I agree with him, I think it's the weakest track in the entire game. It sounds like LOTR, not Final Fantasy.
Don't feel bad though, people say the same shit about Where a Tree Falls (Field Leve< Uematsu) and I want to cut them, too! https://youtu.be/_wZ_VT1SiHg?t=69 Vibes of FFIX in paticular, which I enjoy. It's a fun contrast to the battle leve, also still Uematsu, which sounds like it was pulled from FFVIII https://youtu.be/lYqOKw5NzY0?t=57
The Uematsu song for Gridania in 1.0 was weak too, though. Gridania is just fucked.
One big area where I wish 2.0 and 3.0 made progress was the overworld combat music. It used to be regional, now it's just mild variations of the same song and both the ones for ARR and HW are mediocre compared to the 1.0 spread.
wsoxfan1214
Banned
Synless
Member
No, crazy chocobo is the best rendition of the chocobo theme.
In all my time playing FFXV(~25hrs), these feel like the only tracks that I ever hear in the game...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qlxey78q0EY&index=1&list=RDQlxey78q0EY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmdJTptF2go
I'm not actually convinced yet there is any other music.
Well, you are wrong. By 25 hours you should've heard plenty of different tracks.
Shifty1897
Member
15>13>14>12
100%TrophyMaster
Member
The vocal tracks take the OST to the next level. It is indeed god-tier.
New bodhum, plains of eternity and the menu music where you go through time....it's so damn good.
XIV is the only real option here. Anyone who says otherwise clearly has not played it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kcw8xNxkZtM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z_3hRm7K8g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLRcuojE7Pc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_xL0EIA6mg
I picked a few of my favorites, but I can honestly say the game does not have one single bad track.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kcw8xNxkZtM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z_3hRm7K8g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLRcuojE7Pc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_xL0EIA6mg
I picked a few of my favorites, but I can honestly say the game does not have one single bad track.
I'm obviously being facetious, but those two tracks I posted get WAYYYYYYY too much goddamned playtime compared to anything else other than the battle theme. Granted much of my time has spent doing sidequests over progression, but I'm pretty let down by the lack of variety in traipsing about the overworld. I suppose the linear back half carries the good stuff...
Yep. It's either pure silence or the looping(albeit pretty) exploration theme that cuts in and out. Then you visit a town or a camp and I reach for the mute button. No doubt FFXV has some lovely tracks, but I really feel like I never hear them playing the game.
A good third of the score is dedicated to everything past the open world, although I'm not sure I'd call it significantly better than what you've already heard (aside from some of the climatic pieces).
PshycoNinja
Member
I said that it's just me...
I think it was the...other reasons...that I dislike the track. I have no problems with other people loving the track.
Dangansona
Member
This is honestly a problem for me too. I'm 20 hours in and there are about 6 tracks that stand out to me. I got excited the two/three times I heard a minute of what I presumed was the main theme (as opposed to the slower version of it which I have heard more often). The boss song is crazy good though, and I'm sure much of the OST is.
KeyBladerXIII
Member
For me, it's XIV>XIII Trilogy>XII. Haven't played XV yet and it's been a while since I've played XII that the only music I remember is the theme of Rabanastre and the Rabanastre sewers.
Hell, XIV wins in my view even if you limit it to situational moments. Boss themes? XIV (not even close). City/Town themes? XIV. Overworld? XIV. Dungeons? Yep, XIV.
It's really not even fair to include XIV as far as I'm concerned. I mean, we can go forward and back and then forward and back and forward and back but XIV will always be one foot forward.
It's really not even fair to include XIV as far as I'm concerned. I mean, we can go forward and back and then forward and back and forward and back but XIV will always be one foot forward.
The Emperor
Member
In FFXV, whilst driving the car at night Dust to Dust (FFXIII) is such a supremely atmospheric song to play.
Meh no excuse. Oblivion and Skyrim destroy XV in music implementation
Meh no excuse. Oblivion and Skyrim destroy XV in music implementation
RyougaSaotome
Member
I like XV's soundtrack a bunch, but the lack of any good town or outpost themes really drops it down a lot. Outside of Hellfire, much of the non-Shimomura tracks are pretty terrible.
XIII has a really strong OST that I enjoy playing while riding around in XV, ironically.
XII I can't comment on much because when I played the game at launch I hated it and dropped it a few hours in. Looking forward to correcting that mistake soon, especially because I love everything else Sakimoto has done.
XIV/HW takes the cake for me. Soken is a god that was hiding in a basement somewhere.
XIII has a really strong OST that I enjoy playing while riding around in XV, ironically.
XII I can't comment on much because when I played the game at launch I hated it and dropped it a few hours in. Looking forward to correcting that mistake soon, especially because I love everything else Sakimoto has done.
XIV/HW takes the cake for me. Soken is a god that was hiding in a basement somewhere.
I personally do like Cape Caem theme and its variations. But otherwise yeah, pretty boring town themes.
This is such an astounding masterpiece.
Playing that in the car radio in FFXV made me realize how much weaker FFXV's OST is.
Yeah FF14-ARR OST is really masterful.It stayed with me eventhough I played it only for about 10-15 hours.
This is by no means the only great piece in it,either.
RyougaSaotome
Member
I honestly forgot that the cape had its own theme because you don't spend much time there compared to the other locations (or at least I didn't). It's definitely the best of the bunch.
I can't stand Under The Sea a.k.a. Lestallum.
It's awful. It sounds like someone tried to create a bahamanian theme park within Epcot or something. It's a total stereotype.
The best town theme is rabanastre. Ffxiii doesn't have one so ^___^
If you're counting xiii-2 then Origa ownz
The Emperor
Member
Oye Nautilus theme (XIII) is a masterpiece...it's a town
And Dust to Dust could almost count too haha
God this OST...
I found most XV town songs were horrific. I even found Altissa awful (only the leville bit was good). Hammerhead is good too. And Tenebrae. The rest is not only bottom FF tier, but bottom videogame OST tier tbh.
ConfirmationBiased
Banned
Is it safe to say the people who are really fond of Sakimoto and FFXII's soundtrack don't really like FF music in general?
I mean, what do most FF fans expect from a soundtrack? Catchy, memorable, varied tunes that can carry scenes and help with worldbuilding, right? Battle themes are a must, too.
So here comes Sakimoto, a composer who has a very distinct sound to him and likes to play more of a supporting role, providing games with consistent musical themes that usually use the same instruments. Though his battle themes use a more fired up orchestra than usual, it's still the same orchestra.
The result is that, despite having played through the entire game, I'm having trouble remembering any one song from FFXII (and once I do remember one it usually turns out it's actually from some other Sakimoto game like Valkyria Chronicles). I think this is one of the reasons FFXII felt very drab to me. If you're going to play a game for 80 hours or so, you'd better hope the soundtrack keeps things fresh!
So, if you prefer Sakimoto's sound and style, that's a valid opinion. But something tells me you'd get more excited over Hollywood movie soundtracks than FF stuff.
As for the other soundtracks:
FFXIII is a game I absolutely despise (much more than FFXII), but boy does Hamauzu know what I want in a FF soundtrack! Some iconic and varied themes, yet it all still feels like part of the same story.
FFXIV:ARR sounds great but I haven't been playing. Soundtrack kind of makes me want to!
FFXV I've hardly started, but so far it sounds like Kingdom Hearts. That is, when original music plays at all, which is in battle. I really need some more environmental themes to liven up the world!
Lumpy Onion
Member
lol what's with so many XIV fans stating that anyone not listing it's ost as best hasn't played it? Seems a bit insecure. I love it's score but would put xiii and XV above it.
Soken, Uematsu and Powerman 5000 do an incredible job with the soundtrack. It's like when the song needs to be epic in scale it is, every fight you feel like a badass.The Nidhogg theme is incredible. Yet when it needs to be subtle it just hits all the right notes. FFXII has a great soundtrack as well and very under rated imo.
Riposte
Member
I think Heavensward and FFXII both rely on the main theme just a bit too much.
She was great. RIP.
She was great. RIP.
Yabberwocky
Member
Not at all, I'm a huuuuuge fan of the works of Uematsu, Hamauzu, and Shimomura! Just using Uematsu as an example in particular, I love that his soundtracks are almost another character in the world, that come along on the journey with you. I'm fond of VII's soundtrack the most out of nostalgia, but man, picking between VI-X on the favorite FF soundtrack scale is brutal. Hamauzu's work for X was great, too.
I think XII's score is a refreshing change of pace for the series, and a sensible one in a lot of ways - because a lot of the locations are so big and the amount of time you'll spend in some of them, XII's score never feels too intrusive or repetitive to me, it just becomes a part of the landscape. One of my other favorite RPGs with larger locales is Xenoblade Chronicles, and its soundtrack generally did a great job of having a distinct synergy with the varied locales, without being too intrusive. A lot of catchy tracks, too! On the other hand, catchy tracks can sometimes end up going the other way, too - as much as I loved it originally, hearing Gaur Plains now automatically puts my teeth on edge. (I loved Shimomura's XC work, hearing Hometown/Colony 9 made me fall in love with the world of XC very quickly. Just beautiful.)
For me, XII also has the GOAT victory fanfare. Every time I defeat a boss, I do indeed deserve a euphoric choir and trumpets, thanks very much! It should be a requirement in all aspects of life, now that I think about it. Hmm.
One of the most memorable aspects of XII to me was the huge amount of incredible locations, and XII's soundtrack was a part of making them feel more tangible. It's not necessarily something I want from every FF game (I can't hum along to 95% of XII's tracks, for example!), but I really enjoyed the unique synergy that XII had between visuals and score, especially for a game of its scale. XV's soundtrack is fantastic (like, holy shit), but often didn't have that overall constant synergy for me like other entries in the franchise. I wish we heard a lot more of it, too, a bit more like XII, XIV, or XC.
I'm looking forward to playing XIV properly myself, but everything I've heard from the soundtrack is incredible, as is the variety. We are not worthy of Soken, I'm just in awe of the amount of constant quality he puts out. The man is a machine.
Oh, man, I'm still heartbroken that she's passed away. I'll always associate her with Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, too.
Hero_of_the_Day
Member
I forgot about crazy chocobo. I mean, it's nice that Powerman 5000 can find work, but that song is so bad.
HelloNewman
Member
Soken is a god FFXIV is miles above any recent Final Fantasy when it comes to soundtrack.
I absolutely hate the current droning of Hollywood soundtracks with hack Zimmer and his hack team of clones and imitators. My favorite Hollywood composers are Elliot Goldenthal and Don Davis who doesn't work much in movies anymore. And RIP James Horner
So you already know why I love Sakimoto. I never value melody that much in music.
But Hamauzu san is still better yeah with his impressionistic soundscape.
edit: maybe people will accuse me of elitism but I can assure you thats how my brain works.
His music in recent years backtracked a bit from that and I dislike that change.
I just like his rhythmic counterpoint. Everything he does is always layered in a way that juxtaposes really cool.
Haha, nah. I get that a lot too. The downside of having a degree in music and knowing exactly what I want to hear.
Yeah, I'm rarely bored by Sakimoto. And in his strongest works (like XII and Vagrant Story), the music has a thematic depth that I find quite appealing. Good use of harmony too.