Final Fantasy Music Guide: FFI

(This is part of a series. Here are links to part two, three, and four.)

If there’s one thing the Final Fantasy series is known for, it’s probably – well, story. But another thing it’s particularly well known for, especially by those familiar with it, is fantastic music.

The thing is, there’s just so much. If one were to, say, make a concerted effort to listen to every single Final Fantasy game soundtrack, that would be a herculean task that would probably take more than a literal week of literally nothing but listening. Even if you cut it down to only the soundtracks to the main, numbered games, that’s still A LOT of music.

So what if you just want to listen to the best of each soundtrack? Where do you turn to find out which tracks are worth your precious time? The answer, my friend, is this very series.

In this, the first of my ongoing Final Fantasy Music Guide series, I’ll be covering the very first Final Fantasy game, both its NES and Playstation versions, and even a few fun remixes on the side! Search no longer, because your ultimate guide to the soundtracks of Final Fantasy begins now!

Final Fantasy I – NES

The NES version of the Final Fantasy soundtrack was released, along with the FFII soundtrack, on the album “All Sounds of Final Fantasy I & II“. Aside from a mediocre orchestral opening and ending, the soundtrack is purely those good-old NES bleeps and bloops, but done as only the brilliant Nobuo Uematsu can.

What you should definitely listen to:

• Temple of Chaos – this is bar none the best song on the album. I’m not a fan of those ‘extended’ versions of tracks on youtube that loop the songs for a half hour, but I think I’d be alright with one of this track.
• Gurgu Volcano – trekking through a volcano has never been so fun for the ears.
• Battle Scene – the original Final Fantasy battle theme, and it’s a great one.
• Matoya’s Cave – a catchy, fun little song that’s worth a few listens.

Other fun tracks:

• Underwater Temple – another great dungeon romp, this time undersea.
• Airship – the airship music in FF games is virtually always quick and upbeat, and this original theme is no exception.
• Floating Castle – this one’s got a bit of a slower, perhaps more ominous vibe than some of the other dungeon music.

It’s worth noting that series staples ‘Prelude‘ and ‘Opening Theme‘ also originated in this original Final Fantasy, but, especially in their early form, they’re far from the best tracks on the album.

Final Fantasy I – Playstation

The Playstation version of the Final Fantasy soundtrack was released along with the FFII soundtrack again, this time on an album titled “Final Fantasy & Final Fantasy II Original Soundtrack“. These rearranged versions of the original soundtrack take advantage of the Playstation hardware to create much more high-quality, atmospheric tracks, and generally I like these versions better, with one notable exception I will mention later.

What you should definitely listen to:

• Temple of Chaos – somehow they made the near-perfect original even better, adding depth and an eerie, almost melancholy sensibility to the track, once again putting it at the top of the list.
• Undersea Shrine – this track just became significantly more atmospheric, urgent, and enjoyable.
• Gurgu Volcano – this version of an already great track was so good that Theatrhythm (a FF music rhythm game) used it instead of the original version.
• Matoya’s Cave – the addition of some great percussion elevates this track above its predecessor.
• Town – this slow, acoustic version of the town theme is easy, relaxing listening at its finest.
• Ship – the more orchestral feel of this track makes you feel like you, too, are about to set sail on a grand adventure.

Other fun tracks:

• Main Theme – bombastic and fast-paced, this is a perfectly serviceable theme to explore a world to.
• Airship – percussion is added once again to good effect.
• Floating Castle – I’m on the fence as to whether or not this version is better or merely on par with the original, but it’s a fun listen regardless.
• Corneria Castle – with that old-school castle sound and some good percussion, this version of Corneria Castle is worth a listen.
• Opening Theme – if you want to hear that iconic Final Fantasy opening theme, this is a better version to give a listen.
• Battle Scene – the amazing battle scene music is, somehow, made less fun with more complicated instrumentation. Something about those original bleeps and bloops just really worked for this still catchy tune.
• Into a Boss Battle/Boss Battle B/Last Battle – I don’t think any of these three tracks are outstanding, but they’re fun enough, especially if you enjoy battle music. Last Battle starts off really fun, too.

Final Fantasy I – Remixes

Given its music is so iconic, FFI has had its fair share of remixes, most of which can be found on Youtube and/or ocremix.org, a wonderful site filled with videogame remixes. I’m not going to go into as much detail with these unofficial versions, but I’ll throw up a quick list of some of my favorites.

Requiem for a Dying World, Earthrise, The Crumbling Facade, Gurgling Desert Pond, Omerta, The Caerulean Ruins, Prelude (Refractive), and Matoya’s Grave

That’ll do it for this Final Fantasy Music Guide – next time I’ll be covering, you guessed it, Final Fantasy II!