Final Fantasy VII Original Soundtrack
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Final Fantasy VII is a 1997 role-playing video game developed by Square for the PlayStation. The seventh main installment in the ''Final Fantasy'' series, it was released in Japan by Square and internationally by Sony Computer Entertainment, becoming the first ...
'' is a
role-playing video game Role-playing video games, also known as CRPG (computer/console role-playing games), comprise a broad video game genre generally defined by a detailed story and character advancement (often through increasing characters' levels or other skills) ...
by
Square In geometry, a square is a regular polygon, regular quadrilateral. It has four straight sides of equal length and four equal angles. Squares are special cases of rectangles, which have four equal angles, and of rhombuses, which have four equal si ...
(now
Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, video game publisher and entertainment conglomerate. It releases role-playing video game, role-playing game franchises, such as ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', and '' ...
) as the seventh installment in the ''
Final Fantasy is a Japanese fantasy Anthology series, anthology media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi which is owned, developed, and published by Square Enix (formerly Square (video game company), Square). The franchise centers on a series of fanta ...
'' series. Released in 1997, the game sparked the release of a collection of media centered on the game entitled the ''
Compilation of Final Fantasy VII The ''Compilation of Final Fantasy VII'' is a metaseries produced by Square Enix. A subseries stemming from the main ''Final Fantasy'' franchise, it is a collection of video games, animated features, and short stories set in the world and cont ...
''. The music of the ''Final Fantasy VII'' series includes not only the soundtrack to the original game and its associated albums, but also the soundtracks and music albums released for the other titles in the collection. The first album produced was ''Final Fantasy VII Original Soundtrack'', a compilation of all the music in the game. It was released as a soundtrack album on four CDs by
DigiCube DigiCube Co., Ltd. (株式会社デジキューブ; ''Kabushiki-gaisha Dejikyūbu'') was a Japanese company established as a subsidiary of software developer Square on February 6, 1996 and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The primary purpose of Di ...
in 1997. A selection of tracks from the album was released in the single-disc ''Reunion Tracks'' by DigiCube the same year. ''Piano Collections Final Fantasy VII'', an album featuring piano arrangements of pieces from the soundtrack, was released in 2003 by DigiCube, and Square Enix began reprinting all three albums in 2004. To date, these are the only released albums based on the original game's soundtrack, and were solely composed by regular series composer
Nobuo Uematsu is a Japanese composer and keyboardist best known for his contributions to the ''Final Fantasy'' video game series by Square Enix. A self-taught musician, he began playing the piano at the age of twelve, with English singer-songwriter Elton Joh ...
; his role for the majority of subsequent albums has been filled by
Masashi Hamauzu is a Japanese composer, pianist, and lyricist. Hamauzu, who was employed at Square Enix from 1996 to 2010, was best known during that time for his work on the ''Final Fantasy'' and ''SaGa'' video game series. Born into a musical family in German ...
and
Takeharu Ishimoto is a Japanese video game composer and musician. Formerly employed by Square Enix, he joined them in 1999 as a synthesizer programmer on '' Legend of Mana'', working for them on several games. In 2002, he was promoted to the role of composer, begi ...
. The ''Compilation of Final Fantasy VII'' began eight years after the release of ''Final Fantasy VII'' with the release of the animated film sequel ''
Advent Children is a 2005 Japanese Adult animation, adult animated science fantasy Action adventure film, action-adventure film directed by Tetsuya Nomura, written by Kazushige Nojima, and produced by Yoshinori Kitase and Shinji Hashimoto. Developed by Visual ...
'' in 2005. The soundtracks for each of the titles in the collection are included in an album, starting with the album release of the soundtrack to ''Advent Children'' that year. The following year,
Nippon Crown is a Japanese record label established as Crown Records on 6 September 1963. It is a spin-off of Nippon Columbia and is owned by karaoke maker Daiichikosho. The record label singles which topped the Oricon Singles Chart are Kaze's "22-Sai no ...
released a soundtrack album to correspond with the video game '' Dirge of Cerberus'', while Square Enix launched a download-only collection of music from the
multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...
mode of the game, which was only released in Japan. After the launch of the game '' Crisis Core'' in 2007,
Warner Music Japan Warner Music Group (WMG) owns, has a joint share, or is associated with the record labels listed here. Flagship labels *Atlantic Records *Elektra Records *Parlophone Records *Warner Records Atlantic Music Group * 1st & 15th Entertainment * A ...
produced the title's soundtrack. The latest album in the collection, ''Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII & Last Order: Final Fantasy VII Original Soundtrack'', was released by Square Enix the same year as a combined soundtrack album for the game '' Before Crisis'' and the animated movie '' Last Order''. The original music received highly positive reviews from critics, who found many of the tunes to be memorable and noted the emotional intensity of several of the tracks. The reception for the other albums has been mixed, with reactions ranging from enthusiastic praise to disappointment. Several pieces from the soundtrack, particularly "One-Winged Angel" and "Aeris' Theme", remain popular and have been performed numerous times in
orchestral An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, a ...
concert series such as ''Dear Friends: Music from Final Fantasy'' and ''Tour de Japon: Music from Final Fantasy''. Music from the Original Soundtrack has been included in arranged albums and compilations by Square as well as outside groups.


Creation and development

Nobuo Uematsu is a Japanese composer and keyboardist best known for his contributions to the ''Final Fantasy'' video game series by Square Enix. A self-taught musician, he began playing the piano at the age of twelve, with English singer-songwriter Elton Joh ...
composed the music of ''Final Fantasy VII'' in less than one year, matching the game's development time, although he had taken two years to create the soundtrack for the previous title, ''Final Fantasy VI''. ''Final Fantasy VII'' was the first game in the series to be developed for the
PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...
, and while the media capabilities of the console allowed for pre-recorded Linear PCM (often as Red Book audio tracks on the CD), it was decided to generate the music in real time on the console instead, using samples and note data. This decision has been credited as giving the soundtrack "a very distinctive mood and feel", forming a strong association for listeners between the game and its soundtrack. Uematsu had initially planned to use vocal performances for the game to take advantage of the console's capabilities, but found that the advanced audio quality required in turn made the game have much longer loading times in each area. Uematsu decided that the quality was not worth the effects on gameplay, though after the release and seeing ''
Suikoden II is a role-playing video game developed and published by Konami for the PlayStation video game console and the second installment of the '' Suikoden'' video game series. It was released on December 17, 1998, in Japan; on September 29, 1999, in No ...
'' (1998, PlayStation), which had used higher-quality music instead, he reversed his stance for ''
Final Fantasy VIII is a 1999 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation console. It is the eighth main installment in the ''Final Fantasy'' series. Set on an unnamed fantasy world with science fiction elements, the game follo ...
''. There was a plan to use a "famous vocalist" for the ending theme to the game as a "theme song" for the game, but time constraints and thematic concerns, caused the idea to be dropped. Uematsu has claimed, however, that the move into the "PlayStation era", which allowed video game composers to use sounds recorded in the studio rather than from
synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...
s, had "definitely been the biggest change" to
video game music Video game music (VGM) is the soundtrack that accompanies video games. Early video game music was once limited to sounds of early sound chips, such as programmable sound generators (PSG) or FM synthesis chips. These limitations have led to t ...
. Uematsu's approach to composing the game's music was to treat it like a film soundtrack and compose songs that reflected the mood of the scenes rather than trying to make strong melodies to "define the game", as he felt that approach would come across too strong when placed alongside the game's new 3D visuals. As an example, he composed the track intended for the scene in the game where
Aerith Gainsborough , transliterated as Aeris Gainsborough in the English releases of ''Final Fantasy VII'' and ''Final Fantasy Tactics'', is a character in Square's (now Square Enix) role-playing video game ''Final Fantasy VII''. She was designed by Tetsuya Nomura ...
is killed to be "sad but beautiful", rather than more overtly emotional, creating what he feels is a more understated feeling. Uematsu has additionally said that the soundtrack has a feel of "realism", which also prevented him from using "exorbitant, crazy music". The first piece that Uematsu composed for the game was the opening theme; game director
Yoshinori Kitase is a Japanese game director and producer working for Square Enix. He is known as the director of ''Final Fantasy VI'', ''Chrono Trigger'', ''Final Fantasy VII'', ''Final Fantasy VIII'' and '' Final Fantasy X'', and the producer of the ''Final ...
showed him the opening cinematic to the game and asked him to begin the project there. The track was well received in the company, which gave Uematsu "a sense that it was going to be a really good project". He later stated in the
liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...
for the soundtrack album that the music for ''Final Fantasy VII'' was his "greatest harvest" to date. ''Final Fantasy VII'' was the first game in the series to include a track with digitized vocals, "One-Winged Angel". The track has been called Uematsu's "most recognizable contribution" to the music of the ''Final Fantasy'' series, though the composer did not expect it to gain such popularity. The piece, described as "a fanfare to impending doom", is said to not "follow any normal genre rules" and has been termed "possibly the most innovative idea in the series' musical history". Uematsu approached the piece, which accompanies the final battle of the game, in a different manner than previous "boss tracks": as he felt that using his normal approach would cause unfavorable comparisons to his well-received ''
Final Fantasy VI also known as ''Final Fantasy III'' in its initial North American release, is a 1994 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the sixth main entry in the ''Final Fantasy'' ser ...
'' boss tracks, he instead tried to take a different approach. Inspired by ''
The Rite of Spring ''The Rite of Spring'' () is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1913 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company; the original choreography was by Vaslav Nijinsky ...
'' by
Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...
to make a more "classical" track, and by rock and roll music from the late 1960s and early 1970s to make an orchestral track with a "destructive impact", he spent two weeks composing short unconnected musical phrases, and then arranged them together into a song, an approach he has never used before or since. The lyrics of "One-Winged Angel", a Latin
choral A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...
track that plays at the climax of the game, were taken from the medieval poetry that forms the basis of
Carl Orff Carl Heinrich Maria Orff (; 10 July 1895 – 29 March 1982) was a German composer and music educator, who composed the cantata ''Carmina Burana (Orff), Carmina Burana'' (1937). The concepts of his Orff Schulwerk, Schulwerk were influential for ...
's ''
Carmina Burana ''Carmina Burana'' (, Latin for "Songs from Benediktbeuern" 'Buria'' in Latin is a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts mostly from the 11th or 12th century, although some are from the 13th century. The pieces are mostly bawdy, irreveren ...
'', specifically "Estuans Interius", "
O Fortuna "O Fortuna" is a medieval Latin Goliardic poem which is part of the collection known as the '' Carmina Burana'', written in the early 13th century. It is a complaint about Fortuna, the inexorable fate that rules both gods and mortals in Roman m ...
", "Veni, Veni, Venias" and "Ave Formosissima". Uematsu has stated that the intro of "One-Winged Angel" is based on
Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...
's "
Purple Haze "Purple Haze" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix and released as the second single by the Jimi Hendrix Experience on March 17, 1967, in the United Kingdom. The song features his inventive guitar playing, which uses the signature Hendrix chord a ...
", that the piece revolves around the image of Sephiroth, and that despite the chorus and orchestra, he still thinks of it as a "rock piece". He said in a 2005 interview that "One-Winged Angel" is his favorite tune from the soundtrack, and in 2004 that it was his favorite battle theme from any ''Final Fantasy'' game.


''Final Fantasy VII'' albums


''Original Soundtrack''

''Final Fantasy VII Original Soundtrack'' is a soundtrack album containing musical tracks from the game, composed by Nobuo Uematsu and produced by Uematsu and Minoru Akao. It was originally released on February 10, 1997 through
DigiCube DigiCube Co., Ltd. (株式会社デジキューブ; ''Kabushiki-gaisha Dejikyūbu'') was a Japanese company established as a subsidiary of software developer Square on February 6, 1996 and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The primary purpose of Di ...
and later
reissue In the music industry, a reissue (also re-release, repackage or re-edition) is the release of an album or single which has been released at least once before, sometimes with alterations or additions. Reasons for reissue New audio formats Reco ...
d directly by Square Enix on May 10, 2004. The soundtrack spans 85 tracks over four discs and has a combined duration of 4:39:53. A
limited edition The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, collector's edition or expanded edition are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as b ...
was produced along with the original album, containing illustrated liner notes with several pictures of Uematsu's workspace and personal effects, various
cutscene A cutscene or event scene (sometimes in-game cinematic or in-game movie) is a sequence in a video game that is not interactive, interrupting the gameplay. Such scenes are used to show conversations between characters, set the mood, reward the ...
s and in-game screen shots from the game, and a discography. The soundtrack covers a wide variety of musical genres, including
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
,
techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...
,
orchestral An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, a ...
, and
choral A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...
, although the soundtrack as a whole is primarily orchestral. While many of the tracks were intended as background music, reviewers noted the emotional intensity of several tracks, especially "Aerith's Theme", which plays during a moment described as "the most shocking moment in video games", and has been described as the most memorable track from the album. The theme has become popular among fans, and has inspired various arrangements. Other notable tracks include "Main Theme of Final Fantasy VII". Themes from this track play during several other tunes from the soundtrack, such as "Words Drowned by Fireworks", to tie the soundtrack together. The regular edition of the album reached No. 3 on the Japan
Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that ...
charts, while the limited edition reached No. 19. Overall, the album sold 148,000 copies as of January 2010, with the limited edition selling a further 21,000. The album was well received by critics. Allmusic awarded Uematsu's original soundtrack a five-star rating. Ben Schweitzer of RPGFan claimed that "for the most part, it's a diamond", with his primary complaint being the quality of the MIDI sound. He found the tracks to be "beautiful" and said that "One-Winged Angel" was "possibly the most innovative idea in the series' musical history". Patrick Gann of RPGFan concurred and found all of the soundtrack's tunes to be "memorable" and the Original Soundtrack to be "very worth the purchase". Philip of Square Enix Music Online, however, disliked the sound quality of the soundtrack and saw several tracks as "trivial", though he did note that Uematsu "has a flair for strong, memorable" pieces. In 2006,
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
ranked the album as the best ''Final Fantasy'' soundtrack to date and cited the "gripping" character themes and "One-Winged Angel" in particular as contributing factors. They also named "One-Winged Angel" as the best piece of music from the entire ''Final Fantasy'' series. The original CDs for both releases were only published in Japan and include only Japanese track names. The official English track names were later added to digital releases of the soundtrack. Track listing


''Reunion Tracks''

''Final Fantasy VII Reunion Tracks'' is a single-disc album that comprises a selection of tracks from ''Final Fantasy VII Original Soundtrack''. It was initially released through DigiCube on October 22, 1997 and later reissued by Square Enix on February 23, 2005. While the record was never published outside Japan, the music is available in the North American iTunes Store. All of the pieces are the same as on the Original Soundtrack except for "Main Theme of Final Fantasy VII", "One-Winged Angel", and "Aerith's Theme", which were re-recorded with an orchestra and choir. Some versions of the album also contain a hidden pregap track, which can be accessed by rewinding from the start of the album. This track is an instrumental version of "One-Winged Angel" without the choir. The new arrangements were created by
Shirō Hamaguchi is a Japanese anime composer, arranger and orchestrator. He is best known for composing music to the anime franchises ''Girls und Panzer'', ''One Piece'', and ''Oh My Goddess!'' and arranging/orchestrating music in the ''Final Fantasy'' series. ...
. The album spans 1:12:24 over 19 tracks. ''Final Fantasy VII Reunion Tracks'' reached No. 20 on the Japan Oricon charts, and sold over 25,600 copies. It received mixed reviews. Gann liked the newly orchestrated tracks, calling them "incredibly well-done orchestrations", and said that "depending on how willing you are to spend money" they made the album worth purchasing on their own, although he felt the other tracks offered nothing new to owners of the original soundtrack. Chris of Square Enix Music Online, however, felt that while the orchestrated tracks were well-done, the selection of the other tracks was poor and that the album as a whole was "a lousy purchase for most who enjoyed ''Final Fantasy VII''s score".


''Piano Collections''

''Piano Collections Final Fantasy VII'' is an album featuring piano arrangements of selected ''Final Fantasy VII'' pieces composed by
Nobuo Uematsu is a Japanese composer and keyboardist best known for his contributions to the ''Final Fantasy'' video game series by Square Enix. A self-taught musician, he began playing the piano at the age of twelve, with English singer-songwriter Elton Joh ...
, arranged by Shirō Hamaguchi, and performed by Seiji Honda. The album was released through DigiCube on December 3, 2003 and later reissued by Square Enix on May 10, 2004. It covers a duration of 47:37 over 13 tracks. The album includes light-hearted tracks as well as slower, more emotional pieces, covering a variety of genres such as
marches In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a state's "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diffe ...
,
new-age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consid ...
themes, and
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
. Unlike previous and subsequent ''Final Fantasy'' piano albums, ''Piano Collections Final Fantasy VII'' was produced many years after the release of the original game. As three of the tracks from this album were reused in the soundtrack to '' Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children'', it has been speculated that the album was produced with the intention to provide tunes for ''Advent Children''. ''Piano Collections Final Fantasy VII'' reached No. 228 on the Japan Oricon charts, selling 1,200 copies, and was well received by reviewers, with Gann raving that the pieces were fun to listen to, the performer was "amazing", the choice of tracks was "excellent", and the album as a whole was a "spectacular CD". Sophia of Soundtrack Central concurred and stated that the album was "quite fulfilling to listen to" and that it surpassed her expectations.


''Final Fantasy VII Remake''

In 2020 Square Enix released ''
Final Fantasy VII Remake is a 2020 action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 4. It is the first in a planned trilogy of games remaking Square's '' Final Fantasy VII'' (1997), originally released for the PlayStation. An enhan ...
'', the first section of a multi-episode remake of ''Final Fantasy VII''. A seven-disc, 156-track, 8:34:28 soundtrack album, ''Final Fantasy VII Remake Original Soundtrack'', was released on May 27, with a special edition adding an eighth 1:07:16 disc with an additional 24 tracks from the jukebox feature in the game. The soundtrack contains arrangements of Uematsu's music from the original game, along with new compositions by
Masashi Hamauzu is a Japanese composer, pianist, and lyricist. Hamauzu, who was employed at Square Enix from 1996 to 2010, was best known during that time for his work on the ''Final Fantasy'' and ''SaGa'' video game series. Born into a musical family in German ...
and others. Additionally, the theme song "Hollow", composed by Uematsu and performed by Yosh was released as a single on May 27, 2020.


''Final Fantasy VII Rebirth''

The second installment of the Remake trilogy, ''
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is a 2024 action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix. The game is a sequel to ''Final Fantasy VII Remake'' (2020) and the second in a planned trilogy of games remaking the 1997 PlayStation game ''Final Fantasy VII''. Like ...
'' was released in February 2024. The seven-disc, 175-track, 9:09:25 soundtrack album, ''Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Original Soundtrack'', was released on April 10. The special edition includes a 34-track bonus disc containing music from ''Rebirth'''s
mini-games A minigame (also spelled mini game and mini-game, sometimes called a subgame or microgame) is a short game often contained within another video game. A minigame contains different gameplay elements and is often smaller or more simplistic than th ...
. As with ''Remake'', the soundtrack contains arrangements of Uematsu's music from the original game along with new compositions and arrangements. Additionally, the theme song "No Promises to Keep", composed by Uematsu and performed by
Loren Allred Loren Allred (born September 7, 1989) is an American singer. She made her ''Billboard'' Hot 100 debut with the RIAA-certified platinum-selling " Never Enough" from ''The Greatest Showman'' musical. She is featured on Michael Bublé's ''Love'' al ...
was released as a single on April 3.


''Compilation'' albums


''Advent Children''

'' Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children'' is the 2005 CGI film sequel to the original game, and the beginning of the ''
Compilation of Final Fantasy VII The ''Compilation of Final Fantasy VII'' is a metaseries produced by Square Enix. A subseries stemming from the main ''Final Fantasy'' franchise, it is a collection of video games, animated features, and short stories set in the world and cont ...
''. Its soundtrack album, ''Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Original Soundtrack'', was released on September 28, 2005, containing new material created specifically for the film, as well as arrangements of tunes from the ''Final Fantasy VII'' soundtrack. Both the original tracks and the arrangements cover a variety of musical styles, including orchestral, choral, classical piano, and rock music; ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' noted that the styles vary between "sparse piano noodlings, pop metal thrashings and cloying power ballads". The tracks were composed by
Nobuo Uematsu is a Japanese composer and keyboardist best known for his contributions to the ''Final Fantasy'' video game series by Square Enix. A self-taught musician, he began playing the piano at the age of twelve, with English singer-songwriter Elton Joh ...
, Keiji Kawamori,
Kenichiro Fukui is a Japanese video game music, video game composer and electronic rock musician. Before working at Square Enix, he was employed at Konami. He was also an arranger and a keyboardist in the band The Black Mages. Additionally, Fukui arranged Angela ...
, and
Tsuyoshi Sekito is a Japanese video game composer, arranger, and musician who has been employed at Square Enix since 1995. As a composer, he is best known for scoring '' Brave Fencer Musashi'' (1998), '' Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children'' (2005) and '' The ...
, and arranged by Fukui, Sekito, Kawamori,
Shirō Hamaguchi is a Japanese anime composer, arranger and orchestrator. He is best known for composing music to the anime franchises ''Girls und Panzer'', ''One Piece'', and ''Oh My Goddess!'' and arranging/orchestrating music in the ''Final Fantasy'' series. ...
,
Kazuhiko Toyama is a Japanese composer. Toyama is notable for creating music for '' Bikkuriman'', '' Cyber City Oedo 808'' and '' New Cutie Honey''. He is sometimes credited as Kazz Toyama. Music works *''Aconcagua'' *''Ai to ken Camelot: Mangaka Marina Time Sl ...
and
The Black Mages The Black Mages were a Japanese instrumental rock band formed in 2002 by Nobuo Uematsu, Kenichiro Fukui and Tsuyoshi Sekito, who were three video game composers for Square and Square Enix. The band arranged Uematsu's ''Final Fantasy'' video game ...
. Upon hearing each track, Nomura would make some changes, and have the composers re-record the piece. The song "Calling" from 1989 by former
Boøwy Boøwy ( ; stylized as BOØWY) was a Japanese rock band formed in Takasaki, Gunma in 1981. The classic lineup of vocalist Kyosuke Himuro, guitarist Tomoyasu Hotei, bassist Tsunematsu Matsui, and drummer Makoto Takahashi reached legendary stat ...
vocalist
Kyosuke Himuro is a former Japanese musician and singer-songwriter. He was the lead vocalist of the rock band Boøwy from 1981 to 1988. After the band disbanded, he went on to have a successful solo career, becoming one of Japan's best-selling artists, with 1 ...
was used in the film's credits. Some of the piano tracks are longer than what was included in the film. The album spans 26 tracks on two discs, covering a duration of 1:21:41. In addition to the regular release, a limited edition was produced with a foil slipcover and a booklet of credits and lyrics. The soundtrack album reached position #15 on the Japanese
Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that ...
music charts, and stayed on the charts for 10 weeks. A mini-album titled ''Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete Mini Album'' was released on April 10, 2009 to coincide with the release of the ''Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete'' version of the film. The new release of the film included a new ending theme, "Safe and Sound", by Kyosuke Himuro and
My Chemical Romance My Chemical Romance is an American Rock music, rock band from New Jersey. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, lead guitarist Ray Toro, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero, and bassist Mikey Way. They are considered one of ...
singer
Gerard Way Gerard Arthur Way (born April 9, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and comic book writer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and co-founder of the Rock music, rock band My Chemical Romance. He released his debut solo album, ''Hesitan ...
, and replaced "Water" with a new song, "Anxious Heart". The mini-album was five tracks and 29:17 long. The other included tracks on the album were new versions of "The Chase of Highway", "Those Who Fight Further", "Sign", "Advent: One-Winged Angel", and "On the Way to a Smile", a piece from the ''Final Fantasy VII''-based
original video animation , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and special episodes of a series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the ...
''On the Way to a Smile''. A larger album, ''Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete: Reunion Tracks'', was released with 21 tracks on September 16 the same year. This album contains the tracks from the mini-album, as well as several pieces that were lengthened for the ''Complete'' film version but not rearranged. ''Reunion Tracks'' appeared on the Oricon charts for a single week at position #108. ''Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Original Soundtrack'' sold over 38,900 copies, and was well received by critics. Gann said that ''Final Fantasy'' fans have "no excuse" not to buy the album and noted that his only disappointments were that three of the tracks were the same as on the Piano Collections album, and that as a film score, some of the shifts in the pieces make less sense outside of the context of the visuals. Chris Carle of
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
called it a "jagged but beautiful blend of
opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
,
metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...
and
electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...
", and a "richly-layered, complex and utterly listenable soundtrack" while praising the variety of musical styles used and the quality of the pieces. In contrast to Gann, he felt that "divorced from the film, the score is still amazingly listenable". Track listing


''Dirge of Cerberus''

'' Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII'' was released for the
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
in January 2006, and its soundtrack, ''Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII Original Soundtrack'', was released a month later. The tracks were composed by
Masashi Hamauzu is a Japanese composer, pianist, and lyricist. Hamauzu, who was employed at Square Enix from 1996 to 2010, was best known during that time for his work on the ''Final Fantasy'' and ''SaGa'' video game series. Born into a musical family in German ...
and orchestrations were provided by
Yoshihisa Hirano is a Japanese composer and arranger. He is best known for composing the scores for anime series, such as ''Death Note'', '' Hunter × Hunter (2011)'', and '' Edens Zero''. He has also made the orchestration for video games, mostly in the Final ...
, making it the first ''Final Fantasy VII''-related soundtrack to not include new material from Nobuo Uematsu. Koji Haishima conducted the
Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra The is recognized as the oldest symphony orchestra in Japan. It was founded in 1911 and debuted at the original Matsuzakaya store in Nagoya as the . It relocated to Tokyo in 1938. As of 2024, it has 166 members. The orchestra plays frequently a ...
, which performed the music for around half of the album. The soundtrack also contains the game's theme song " Redemption" and insert song "Longing", both of which were recorded by Japanese musician and actor
Gackt , better known as Gackt (stylized in all caps), is a Japanese singer-songwriter, musician, record producer and actor. Born in Okinawa Prefecture, Okinawa to a Ryukyuan people, Ryukyuan family, Gackt learned the piano at a young age and was rai ...
, and additionally released separately through the artist's ex label,
Nippon Crown is a Japanese record label established as Crown Records on 6 September 1963. It is a spin-off of Nippon Columbia and is owned by karaoke maker Daiichikosho. The record label singles which topped the Oricon Singles Chart are Kaze's "22-Sai no ...
, as a single. The album contains a mix of orchestral and rock tracks, with some orchestral performances of slow compositions and marches and both styles of music used for faster-paced "threatening" and "dynamic" tunes.
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
describes the music as ranging from "quiet, almost nonexistent ambient tunes to dramatic, orchestrated tracks". The album was launched on February 15, 2006, and spans 53 tracks over two discs, covering a duration of 2:14:22. The limited edition of the soundtrack includes a case which is designed to hold the soundtrack, along with the game disc and the limited edition of the "Redemption" single and associated DVD, although these other albums still must be purchased separately. ''Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII Original Soundtrack'' received mixed reviews from critics. Gann called it "solid, .. but not awe-inspiring" and dismissed the limited edition extras as not worth the purchase. Eduardo of Square Enix Music Online, however, described it as "nearly perfect" and said that he "can, and will, run out of positive adjectives to describe the ''Dirge of Cerberus Final Fantasy VII Original Soundtrack''. It's a work of genius". The album reached position #19 on the Oricon charts, and sold over 14,300 copies; the "Redemption" single sold over 125,000 copies. Track listing


''Dirge of Cerberus'' Multiplayer Mode

The Japanese version of ''Dirge of Cerberus'' included a
multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...
mode absent from other releases, which contained music tracks not used in the
single-player A single-player video game is a video game where input from only one player is expected throughout the gameplay. Video games in general can feature several game modes, including single-player modes designed to be played by a single player in add ...
game. ''Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII Multiplayer Mode Original Sound Collections'' is a download-only soundtrack album for the multiplayer tracks released through the Japanese iTunes Store and the Square Enix Music Download website on August 22, 2006. It spans 1:07:07 over 27 tracks. The soundtrack includes all the music from the multiplayer mode and some music from the single-player game which did not appear on the previous soundtrack album, including two tracks composed by Ryo Yamazaki for the North American release of the game. Eduardo of Square Enix Music Online also appreciated ''Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII Multiplayer Mode Original Sound Collections'', saying that it accented the Original Soundtrack well and that "Hamauzu and Yamazaki have delivered strongly and, with a decent mix of electronica, orchestral music, and rock, the entirety of the ''Dirge of Cerberus'' musical experience cannot be missed".


''Crisis Core''

''Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Original Soundtrack'' is the soundtrack of the game '' Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII''. It was released on October 10, 2007 by
Warner Music Japan Warner Music Group (WMG) owns, has a joint share, or is associated with the record labels listed here. Flagship labels *Atlantic Records *Elektra Records *Parlophone Records *Warner Records Atlantic Music Group * 1st & 15th Entertainment * A ...
and covers 55 tracks over two discs with a total duration of 2:20:59. The music was primarily composed by
Takeharu Ishimoto is a Japanese video game composer and musician. Formerly employed by Square Enix, he joined them in 1999 as a synthesizer programmer on '' Legend of Mana'', working for them on several games. In 2002, he was promoted to the role of composer, begi ...
, with a few tracks provided by
Kazuhiko Toyama is a Japanese composer. Toyama is notable for creating music for '' Bikkuriman'', '' Cyber City Oedo 808'' and '' New Cutie Honey''. He is sometimes credited as Kazz Toyama. Music works *''Aconcagua'' *''Ai to ken Camelot: Mangaka Marina Time Sl ...
. It was Ishimoto's second major work, after the soundtrack to ''
The World Ends with You ''The World Ends with You'' is an action role-playing game co-developed by Square Enix and Jupiter for the Nintendo DS. Set in the modern-day Shibuya shopping district of Tokyo, ''The World Ends with You'' features a distinctive art style and ur ...
''; the only titles he had composed for previously were ''World Fantasista'', a niche soccer video game for which he was a co-composer, and the cell phone game '' Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII''. The tracks composed by Ishimoto cover a range of moods, from "harsh and in-your-face" to "stunning and lovely", but were primarily used as
ambient Ambient or ambiance or ambience may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Ambiancé'', an unreleased experimental film * ''Ambient'' (novel), a novel by Jack Womack Music and sound * Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgr ...
background music. The soundtrack also includes a large number of arrangements of tunes from the original ''Final Fantasy VII'' score, as well as a theme song entitled "
Why Why may refer to: * Causality, a consequential relationship between two events * Reason (argument), a premise in support of an argument, for what reason or purpose * Grounding (metaphysics), a topic in metaphysics regarding how things exist in v ...
", performed by
Ayaka , known simply by the mononym Ayaka, is a female Japanese singer, songwriter and record producer formerly signed to Warner Music Japan. Born in Osaka, she moved to Tokyo to pursue a singing career. She married actor Hiro Mizushima on February ...
. A variety of musical instruments were used for the soundtrack, including piano and synthesizers, but critics noted that Ishimoto used guitars, both electronic and acoustic, more and better than any previous ''Final Fantasy'' soundtrack. ''Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Original Soundtrack'' sold over 13,300 copies, while "Why" sold 60,000 copies. It received mixed reviews by critics, with Don of Square Enix Music Online stating that while some of Ishimoto's and all of Toyama's arrangements were excellent, the original pieces that made up the bulk of the album offered "very little that is actually worth a listen". Gann was more lenient, praising Ishimoto for writing "an excellent soundtrack" and being especially happy with the quality of the arrangements of Uematsu's pieces. Gann did, however, note that because Ishimoto's original works were more ambient, his arrangements, and by extension Uematsu's work, far outshone his own new contributions. He also felt that the theme song "Why" was "generic" and "bland". Sophia Tong of IGN described the album as a "mixed bag", stating that some of the arrangements and new tracks were "fantastic" while others were "not all that compelling", and lamented the overuse of a few themes throughout the soundtrack. Track listing


''Before Crisis'' and ''Last Order''

''Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII & Last Order: Final Fantasy VII Original Soundtrack'' is the combined soundtrack album of the game ''Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII'' and the
original video animation , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and special episodes of a series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the ...
'' Last Order: Final Fantasy VII''. ''Before Crisis'' serves as a
prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term ...
to ''Final Fantasy VII'' while ''Last Order'' is a
side story In fiction, a subplot or side story is a strand of the plot that is a supporting side story for any story or for the main plot. Subplots may connect to main plots, in either time and place or thematic significance. Subplots often involve supportin ...
to ''Final Fantasy VII'', showing some of the same story elements from ''Crisis Core'' and ''Final Fantasy VII'' from an alternate viewpoint. The album spans 27 tracks, of which the first 12 are from the game and the remainder are from the animation. The album was released on December 19, 2007 by Square Enix, and was mainly composed by Ishimoto, with some tunes based on works from ''Final Fantasy VII'' by Uematsu. Many of the pieces composed for the two works were used either directly or in an arranged form in ''Crisis Core''. As this soundtrack album was released after the soundtrack to ''Crisis Core'', these pieces were generally not included in the ''Before Crisis'' album. The album covers a duration of 63:48. ''Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII & Last Order: Final Fantasy VII Original Soundtrack'' was poorly received by critics. Gann said that "the whole album is a flop compared to the quality composition of ''Crisis Core''" and that the contents of the album were "the leftovers,
B-Sides The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...
, and less-impressive tracks from Ishimoto's arsenal of ''FFVII'' music", especially as many tracks were used in the ''Crisis Core'' soundtrack and not repeated in this album. Chris (also known as "Dark Cloud") of Square Enix Music Online agreed and recommended it only for listeners who like "loud music without much creativity".


Legacy

The Black Mages The Black Mages were a Japanese instrumental rock band formed in 2002 by Nobuo Uematsu, Kenichiro Fukui and Tsuyoshi Sekito, who were three video game composers for Square and Square Enix. The band arranged Uematsu's ''Final Fantasy'' video game ...
, a now defunct band led by Nobuo Uematsu that arranged music from the ''Final Fantasy'' series into a
rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...
style, has arranged four pieces from ''Final Fantasy VII''. These are "J-E-N-O-V-A" and "Those Who Fight Further" from ''
The Black Mages The Black Mages were a Japanese instrumental rock band formed in 2002 by Nobuo Uematsu, Kenichiro Fukui and Tsuyoshi Sekito, who were three video game composers for Square and Square Enix. The band arranged Uematsu's ''Final Fantasy'' video game ...
'', published in 2003, "Advent One-Winged Angel" from ''Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Original Soundtrack'' and "Opening ~ Bombing Mission" from '' Darkness and Starlight'', published in 2008. Music from ''Final Fantasy VII'' has also been used in other games, such as the fighting game ''
Ehrgeiz , fully titled ''Ehrgeiz: God Bless the Ring'', is a fighting game developed by DreamFactory and published by Namco in 1998 for arcades. It was developed as a partnership between Square and DreamFactory. It was ported to the PlayStation, where ...
'', ''
Kingdom Hearts is a series of action role-playing games developed and published by Square Enix (originally by Square) and owned by The Walt Disney Company. A collaboration between the two companies, it was conceptualized by Square employees, Japanese gam ...
'' series, and the ''
Super Smash Bros. is a series of platform fighting video games published by Nintendo. Created by Masahiro Sakurai, the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series is a crossover featuring many characters from other video game series created by Nintendo and other develope ...
'' series. Uematsu continues to perform certain pieces in the Dear Friends -Music from Final Fantasy- concert series. The music of ''Final Fantasy VII'' has also appeared in various official concerts and live albums, such as ''
20020220 Music from Final Fantasy ''Final Fantasy'' is a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi and owned by Square Enix that includes video games, motion pictures, and other merchandise. There have been a number of compilation albums of ''Final Fantasy'' music produced b ...
'', a live recording of an orchestra performing music from the series including "Aerith's Theme" and "One-Winged Angel". Additionally, several pieces from the game were performed by the
New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra The is a symphony orchestra based in Tokyo, Japan. History It was founded in 1972 with Seiji Ozawa as honorary conductor laureate. The Philharmonic's primary concert venue is the Sumida Triphony Hall. From 2003 to 2013 its music director w ...
in the Tour de Japon: Music from Final Fantasy concert series, and in the
Video Games Live Video Games Live (VGL) is a concert series created by Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall. The concerts consist of segments of video game music performed by a live orchestra with video footage and synchronized lighting and effects, as well as several ...
international concert series. The ''Advent Children'' version of "One-Winged Angel" was performed at the Press Start -Symphony of Games- 2007 concerts in
Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...
and
Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...
, Japan, while The Black Mages performed "Those Who Fight Further" at the ''Extra: Hyper Game Music Event 2007'' concert in Tokyo on July 7, 2007. A 40-minute symphony in three movements consisting of music from ''Final Fantasy VII'' premiered in 2013 as part of the '' Final Symphony'' concert series and was recorded a year later by the
London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...
at
Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...
. Independent but officially licensed releases of ''Final Fantasy VII'' music have been composed by such groups as Project Majestic Mix, which focuses on arranging video game music. Selections also appear on Japanese remix albums, called
dōjin music , also called in Japan, is a sub-category of ''doujin'' activity. ''Doujin'' are non-official self-published Japanese works which can be based on official products or completely original creations. Such products are sold online on specialized ...
, and on English remixing websites, such as
OverClocked ReMix OverClocked ReMix, also known as OC ReMix and OCR, is a non-commercial organization dedicated to preserving and paying tribute to video game music through arranging and re-interpreting the songs, both with new technology and software and by vari ...
. On September 14, 2007, the OverClocked ReMix community released an unofficial
tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century a ...
titled ''
Voices of the Lifestream ''Voices of the Lifestream'' is an unofficial tribute album released by OverClocked ReMix in honor of Nobuo Uematsu's score for the video game ''Final Fantasy VII''. The album was released on September 14, 2007, to coincide with the 10th annive ...
'', a compilation containing 45 arrangements of ''Final Fantasy VII'' music. "Aerith's Theme" was voted into Classic FM's 2012 Hall of Fame in 16th place out of 300 compositions. Elizabeth Davis of
Classic FM (UK) Classic FM (styled as CLASSIC M) is one of the United Kingdom's three Independent National Radio stations and is owned and operated by Global Media & Entertainment (Global). The station broadcasts classical music and was launched in 1992. Cla ...
notes that "Aerith's Theme" is "one of the most famous pieces of video game music ever written" and is rooted in
romantic music Romantic music is a stylistic movement in Western Classical music associated with the period of the 19th century commonly referred to as the Romantic era (or Romantic period). It is closely related to the broader concept of Romanticism—the ...
, and that ''Final Fantasy VII'' helped introduce "a whole generation to the magic of orchestral music". The remake won the category for best score at
The Game Awards 2020 The Game Awards 2020 was an award show that honored the best video games of 2020. It was produced and hosted by Geoff Keighley, and took place on December 10, 2020. The preshow ceremony was hosted by Sydnee Goodman. Unlike previous Game Awards, ...
.


References


External links


Square Enix's official music store
{{DEFAULTSORT:Music of Final Fantasy 07 Final Fantasy 07 Final Fantasy VII Final Fantasy 07