Music of Final Fantasy XII
Mixed reception for Sakimoto's first Final Fantasy score.
The music of Final Fantasy XII was composed primarily by Hitoshi Sakimoto, with additional contributions from Masaharu Iwata and Hayato Matsuo. Former series composer Nobuo Uematsu contributed only the theme song "Kiss Me Good-Bye", sung by Angela Aki. The soundtrack received mixed reviews from critics, with some praising it as excellent while others found it lacking in substance.
Quick Facts
- Artist
- Hitoshi Sakimoto
- Released
- May 31, 2006
- Genre
- Orchestra
- classical
- electronic
- video game soundtrack
- Length
- Disk 1: 73:15
- Disk 2: 73:18
- Disk 3: 73:19
- Disk 4: 73:25
- Label
- Aniplex
Facts from the source article.
Track listing
Disc 1
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Loop Demo | 1:36 |
| 2 | FINAL FANTASY ~FFXII Version~ | 1:17 |
| 3 | Opening Movie (Theme of FINAL FANTASY XII) | 6:57 |
| 4 | Infiltration | 3:09 |
| 5 | Boss Battle | 3:24 |
| 6 | Auditory Hallucination | 3:13 |
| 7 | Secret Practice | 2:09 |
| 8 | A Small Happiness | 0:08 |
| 9 | The Royal City of Rabanastre / Town Ward Upper Stratum | 5:28 |
| 10 | Penelo's Theme | 2:57 |
| 11 | The Dream to be a Sky Pirate | 0:35 |
| 12 | Little Rascal | 3:03 |
| 13 | The Dalmasca Estersand | 4:03 |
| 14 | Level Up! | 0:07 |
| 15 | Naivety | 3:01 |
| 16 | Coexistence (Imperial Version) | 2:48 |
| 17 | Signs of Change | 2:21 |
| 18 | Mission Start | 0:08 |
| 19 | Rabanastre Downtown | 2:40 |
| 20 | Mission Failed | 0:13 |
| 21 | Quiet Determination | 3:33 |
| 22 | The Dalmasca Westersand | 1:34 |
| 23 | Clan Headquarters | 2:47 |
| 24 | A Small Bargain | 0:09 |
| 25 | Giza Plains | 4:43 |
| 26 | Separation with Penelo | 0:31 |
| 27 | The Garamsythe Waterway | 2:55 |
| 28 | An Omen | 2:48 |
| 29 | Rebellion | 2:57 |
| 30 | Nalbina Fortress Town Ward | 2:22 |
Disc 2
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Princess' Vision | 3:19 |
| 2 | Clash of Swords | 2:35 |
| 3 | Victory Fanfare ~FFXII Version~ | 0:29 |
| 4 | Abyss | 3:25 |
| 5 | Dark Clouds (Imperial Version) | 2:00 |
| 6 | A Promise with Balthier | 0:37 |
| 7 | Game Over | 0:22 |
| 8 | Nalbina Fortress Underground Prison | 4:35 |
| 9 | The Barbarians | 2:29 |
| 10 | Battle Drum | 2:46 |
| 11 | Theme of the Empire | 7:50 |
| 12 | Chocobo FFXII Arrange Ver. 1 | 2:49 |
| 13 | The Barheim Passage | 3:51 |
| 14 | Sorrow (Liberation Army Version) | 3:36 |
| 15 | Basch's Reminiscence | 0:57 |
| 16 | Coexistence (Liberation Army Version) | 2:50 |
| 17 | The Skycity of Bhujerba | 3:48 |
| 18 | The Secret of Nethicite | 3:24 |
| 19 | Dark Night (Imperial Version) | 2:00 |
| 20 | Speechless Fight | 2:33 |
| 21 | The Dreadnought Leviathan Bridge | 3:54 |
| 22 | Challenging the Empire | 3:19 |
| 23 | State of Emergency | 3:16 |
| 24 | Upheaval (Imperial Version) | 3:13 |
| 25 | The Tomb of Raithwall | 3:36 |
Disc 3
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Sandsea | 2:21 |
| 2 | Esper Battle | 3:23 |
| 3 | Sorrow (Imperial Version) | 2:49 |
| 4 | Seeking Power | 3:13 |
| 5 | Desperate Fight | 2:44 |
| 6 | Jahara, Land of the Garif | 4:59 |
| 7 | Ozmone Plains | 2:30 |
| 8 | The Golmore Jungle | 3:50 |
| 9 | Eruyt Village | 4:13 |
| 10 | You're Really a Child... | 0:13 |
| 11 | Chocobo ~FFXII Version~ | 2:04 |
| 12 | An Imminent Threat | 2:45 |
| 13 | Clash on the Big Bridge ~FFXII Version~ | 2:46 |
| 14 | Abandoning Power | 2:36 |
| 15 | The Stilshrine of Miriam | 3:24 |
| 16 | Time for a Rest | 2:10 |
| 17 | White Room | 3:45 |
| 18 | The Salikawood | 2:37 |
| 19 | The Phon Coast | 3:59 |
| 20 | Destiny | 2:58 |
| 21 | The Sochen Cave Palace | 3:39 |
| 22 | A Moment's Rest | 4:32 |
| 23 | Near the Water | 3:12 |
| 24 | The Mosphoran Highwaste | 2:50 |
Track listing from the source article.
Creation and influence
The soundtrack for Final Fantasy XII was primarily composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto. Nobuo Uematsu, who left Square Enix in 2004, contributed only the theme song, "Kiss Me Good-Bye," performed by Angela Aki. Uematsu chose Aki because her style of singing while playing the keyboard reminded him of his childhood idol, Elton John. Aki was approached for this role three years before the game's release. She wrote the lyrics based on "a scene of a new journey after good-bye," the feeling she got from Uematsu's melody, and he encouraged her not to restrict her words to what she thought the producers wanted. Producer Yasumi Matsuno brought Sakimoto in to compose the game's soundtrack five months before the game was officially announced. Sakimoto found it difficult to follow in Uematsu's footsteps but decided to create a unique soundtrack in his own way, even though he names Uematsu as his biggest musical influence. He never met with Uematsu for direction and tried to avoid copying Uematsu's style from earlier Final Fantasy soundtracks, though he did work to ensure his own style would blend well with "Kiss Me Good-Bye" and the series' overall vision. The soundtrack also includes new arrangements by Sakimoto of pieces Uematsu wrote for previous Final Fantasy games: "Final Fantasy ~FFXII Version~," "Victory Fanfare ~FFXII Version~," "Chocobo FFXII Arrange Ver. 1," "Chocobo ~FFXII Version~," and "Clash on the Big Bridge ~FFXII Version~." All except "Clash on the Big Bridge" are recurring pieces used in nearly every Final Fantasy game. "Clash on the Big Bridge" plays during the battle with Gilgamesh, just as it did in Final Fantasy V. Sakimoto created the music based on the game's atmosphere and the emotional changes of the characters rather than the story, so that the music would not be affected by changes during the game's development. In an interview on a bonus disc in the collector's edition, Sakimoto said his favorite pieces are the "world" themes for outdoor areas, with his overall favorite being "The Cerobi Steppe."
Soundtrack
The music for Final Fantasy XII was handled primarily by Hitoshi Sakimoto, who both composed and produced the game's soundtrack. Masaharu Iwata and Hayato Matsuo contributed additional pieces, with Matsuo also handling the orchestration for the opening and ending themes. The full soundtrack album, released in Japan on May 31, 2006 by Aniplex, contains 100 tracks spread across four discs, totaling four hours, 54 minutes, and 34 seconds. Its catalog numbers are SVWC-7351 through SVWC-7354. A limited edition of this release came with a 28-page booklet filled with game artwork and soundtrack details. A separate album, Selections from Final Fantasy XII Original Soundtrack, came out on October 31, 2006 via Tofu Records. It features 31 tracks taken directly from the full soundtrack, though some repeated sections were trimmed. This selection runs for 73 minutes and 23 seconds and carries the catalog number TOF-033. Also released that same year, on March 15, was a promotional digital-only album called The Best of Final Fantasy XII, available exclusively through the Japanese iTunes store. It includes 11 tracks personally chosen by Sakimoto, among them unused versions of "Theme of Final Fantasy XII" and "Chocobo FFXII Arrange Ver. 1" that never appeared in the game itself.
Singles
Kiss Me Good-Bye serves as the theme song for Final Fantasy XII and marks the third Japanese single from singer Angela Aki. It stands as the only vocal track in the game, with music composed by Nobuo Uematsu, arrangements by Kenichiro Fukui, and production by Motoki Matsuoka. Epic Records issued the single in Japan on March 15, 2006, with a total runtime of 19 minutes and 59 seconds and catalog number ESCL-2810. A limited edition, catalog number ESCL-2808, included a DVD featuring a music video for Kiss Me Good-Bye that combined footage of Aki performing with clips from the video game. In a departure from earlier Final Fantasy titles, the theme song appears in English for both the Japanese and North American releases of the game. The version on the CD single uses a slightly different arrangement and Japanese lyrics, though the English version heard in the game appears as a bonus track. An English digital single, titled Kiss Me Good-Bye [EP], came out in North America on May 16, 2006, through Tofu Records. The single climbed to number six on the Oricon charts and stayed there for 18 weeks. Critics praised the release as an excellent single; reviewer Gann noted that both the Final Fantasy XII-related tracks and the non-game songs held their own equally.
Legacy
The song "Kiss Me Good-bye" was brought to life by Angela Aki with the Chicagoland Pops Orchestra as part of the Play! A Video Game Symphony concert series. At three "Passion" concerts in Australia and Singapore during December 2006, the Eminence Symphony Orchestra performed "Victory Fanfare," "Clan Headquarters," and "Penelo's Theme." That last piece was featured again at the Fantasy Comes Alive concert in Singapore on April 30, 2010. Tracks from the game also show up on Japanese dojin music remix albums and on English-language remixing websites.
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