Where X is a refreshingly chill, often sedate, melange of jazz and ambient styles commingling with solid (if oversold) Uematsu theme work, itвЂ™s the companion soundtrack of X-2 that picks up the cool synths and runs away into a dense pop-tinged wilderness of Ryuichi Sakamoto-esque melodies and Herbie Hancock-suffused J-Pop riffs. Each evocative in ways that Uematsu is often much too forceful a composer to navigate as adeptly.Д¬hosen because they would work well within the sonic landscapes Uematsu creates, X in practice is much more an example of how well he fits in and around their compositions. Macalania Woods filters distant light through leaves in bells and strings, as a constant droning heartbeat keeps time.

The themes from Besaid, Luca, and Guadosalam pulse with their own delicate energy. ThereвЂ™s a vibrance to Hamauzu and NakanoвЂ™s BlitzBall related themes that almost (ALMOST) make the minigame worth it. That being said, X comes alive in the breathy ambient moments like NakanoвЂ™s вЂњPhantomsвЂќ or the shimmering swirls of вЂњ The Summoning.вЂќ With one exception: the stripped-down acoustic guitar of вЂњSight of SpiralвЂќ is incomparable. ItвЂ™s actually when he gets out of the way and lets Junya Nakano and Masashi Hamauzu take over that the world of Spira opens up and shows how vibrant and delicate it can be. Though not without UematsuвЂ™s signature playfulness, or capacity for bombast.Дespite composing 51 of the 91 tracks in Final Fantasy X, I donвЂ™t think of this as an Uematsu score. Nowhere is it more successful at this than in those moments where it is at its most gentle, like the simple piano ballad of JuliaвЂ™s theme or the jazzy (but still sinister) вЂњSalt FlatsвЂќ.ДЇinal Fantasy VIII is a triumph of mood in tonal restraint, focused less on dazzling with slick arrangements and a wild arrangement of styles. ItвЂ™s no less a Romance than any Final Fantasy before it, and as such, it requires a majestic bold score to contain the bursting emotionality of the narrative.

This is a sweeping game of child soldiers, sorceresses, the bonds of friendship and love. And of course, вЂњLiberati FataliвЂќ is a bold attempt at out Orff-ing Carl Orff, because Uematsu still hadnвЂ™t gotten over вЂњOne-Winged Angel.вЂќ Though, breaking with JRPG tradition, there is far less Maurice Ravel throughout.ДЇinal Fantasy VIII is a more focused and practiced soundtrack than either VII or VI, but no less expansive. While Uematsu has mentioned artists like Emerson, Lake, & Palmer and Elton John serving as (palpable) influence, what is equally undergirding this soundtrack is a keen ear for the compositional traditions of Classical composers like DomГ©nico Scarlatti or a continued fixation on Stravinsky. ItвЂ™s definitely a Final Fantasy song, but you almost wouldnвЂ™t know it, if you heard it out of context. And always the plaintively hopeful melody and countermelody of reeds. ThereвЂ™s a melody with a warbling, percussive, and glassy vibrato of steel drums with enough reverb to transform the sound entirely. When I think of Final Fantasy VIII, the song that comes to mind is actually вЂњBlue Fields.вЂќ The staccato plinking of strings against sporadic and deep cumulonimbus rumbles like elephant steps. Taking a construct to artificially pressure my thinking. How each soundtrack attempts different things and either succeeds or fails. Here IвЂ™ve chosen it as a means of thinking about what Final Fantasy is, how it has evolved, and taken root in various areas. Even as a communal exercise, these are things that have most often served the purpose of gatekeeping and establishing fake objectivity, to create an opposition of real value (most frequently born from racism, sexism, etc). One must be cautious with them, immensely skeptical. They can be useful tools, but they have massive limitations. Ranking and canon are conceptually difficult. In some ways, these are the scores that can only be here without indulging in self-deception or the deliberate goal of putting them lower. This is where historical context and cultural relevance bang heads against compositional craft and emotional resonance. But the top five perhaps will always feel a bit safe, inflexible.

This doesnвЂ™t change that this is where IвЂ™m at with this franchise now, or, as I said last time, that this couldnвЂ™t change in an instant. In looking back over this final ranking, I canвЂ™t help but feel that it is too safe, too obvious.

And we finally arrive at the end of our ranking: the best of the best. WeвЂ™ve looked at the вЂњworstвЂќ five Final Fantasy soundtracks, and then explored the strange and inconsistently wonderful middle ground.

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