Final Fantasy VI

Game Music

Arrangement of the Week: Prancing Dad

March 11, 2016 | Michael Hoffmann | 1 Comment Share this Arrangement of the Week: Prancing Dad

Like many JRPG fans out there, I have a soft spot for the Final Fantasy series. Even though I haven’t played all of the games in the franchise (it’s on the bucket list), I have enjoyed listening to the soundtracks from composer Nobuo Uematsu. He’s created some amazing battle themes, and one of my favorites has to be the three part final boss theme to Final Fantasy VI “Dancing Mad.”

There have been some great covers of the battle piece and they are probably some of my favorite game music covers. Today we’re looking at a progressive metal cover from artist Prince of Darkness, which combines the final boss themes from Final Fantasy VI and VII in a track called “Prancing Dad.”

There are two things that make this cover stand out from other interpretations. The first is the commitment to creating a full hybrid synth/rock/orchestral sound. The track has plenty of energetic guitar solos and fast paced drumming to be sure, but that makes up only a portion of the mix. The orchestral instruments in particular are really well arranged, to the point that I could easily envision the remixer creating an alternate orchestra only version. The well balanced addition of the rock and synth elements however builds a quite powerful progressive metal sound that’s perfect for the source material.

The second thing that drew me to this cover is the switching between material from “Dancing Mad” and “One Winged-Angel.” A majority of this occurs in the middle of the track, before transitioning to the final movement material of “Dancing Mad.” Besides producing some contrast in the piece, this creates a tense and longer build up to the track’s progressive rock finale. As a result, when the remix finally launches into this final section, it feels like an even bigger pay-off. The result is an brilliant cover of some of Nobuo Uematsu’s most well known boss battle music.

Have any favorite covers, remixes, or arrangements of music from the Final Fantasy series? Let us know in the comments below. You can check out Prince of Darkness’s “Prancing Dad” on OC ReMix.
Game Music

As I Say Goodbye: Final Symphony Report

June 3, 2013 | Audun Sorlie | 3 Comments Share this As I Say Goodbye: Final Symphony Report

Throughout the years that I have written here, the one thing that became synonymous with my entries onto Original Sound Version was my many reports from concerts across Europe, most notably the productions of the German company Merregnon Studios. As we all develop and grow older, our time and place in life changes and as such, my time at Original Sound Version came to a close with new opportunities a few years ago. However, I never said my good bye to this little place which I called home and cherished, never tipped my hat to those who read my reports and reviews with great enthusiasm and support. So today, I say my good bye with a show that fittingly ended a great era, yet sparks new life into the world of orchestrated video game music.

I say good bye with Final Symphony. (more…)
Featured, Game Music, Reviews

Amber Goggles: Beer SQ (Review)

September 21, 2012 | Patrick Gann | 2 Comments Share this Amber Goggles: Beer SQ (Review)

Purchase Beer SQ (LE): CDJapan | Play-Asia
Purchase Beer SQ (Standard): CDJapan | Play-Asia

One of Square Enix’s most creative albums in years, “Beer SQ” takes the kind of music you might expect to hear at a local pub, or “bar,” at different locales around the world, and merge it with classic Square tunes.

Ever wanted to hear the FF series main theme performed by a gypsy-punk klezmer band? How about all of the FFVI character themes, in succession, by a jazz ensemble?

All this and more is found in Beer SQ. And for those who purchased the limited edition set, there’s even more (in the form of a second disc). We’ll talk about both discs in detail after the jump. (more…)
Featured, Game Music

Final Symphony: Music From Final Fantasy VI, VII and X Tickets On Sale August 24th!

August 10, 2012 | Audun Sorlie | 4 Comments Share this

The journey of Merregnon Studios is a tale of incredible fantasies, great odysseys, and shades of perfection. For Thomas Böcker and his productions, the 10 years that passed us by has not only been a story of fulfilling his own dreams, but also fulfilling the dreams of thousands of fans worldwide, all who come in order to experience an excitement that can never truly be felt through a screen or recording, the greatest live video game music productions of all time. And in 2013, comes the concluding act in the adventure that has been the Symphonic series, Final Symphony.

Celebrating Böcker’s 10 years of producing concerts, Final Symphony will feature music from Final Fantasy VI, VII and X, arranged and orchestrated by the team of Jonne Valtonen, Roger Wanamo and special guest Masashi Hamauzu. The concerts take place May 11, 2013 at 2:30 PM and 7:30 PM at the Stadthalle Wuppertal, Germany and will be performed by the 80 piece Sinfonieorchester Wuppertal, conducted by Eckehard Stier from Symphonic Fantasies Tokyo fame, and also feature Benyamin Nuss. The ceremony will be hosted will be Winfried Fechner, former director of the WDR. Hamauzu will also be in attendance along with the rest of the team and take part in the free Meet and Greet session prior to the concert, allowing the fans to meet the industry legend in person.

Tickets will go on sale on August 24th at WestTicket.de, and be priced at €22 ($27). The concert is officially produced in cooperation with Square Enix and Nobuo Uematsu. Check out more info at ffsymphony.com as it becomes available.
Featured, Game Music, Music Production

Original SoundCAST: Episode #014 (feat. Andrew “zircon” Aversa)

July 17, 2012 | Patrick Gann | 8 Comments Share this

To us, Andrew Aversa is one of the few people who really represents what game music is all about. That’s because, even in the past year, Andrew has shown himself as a force to be reckoned with on all fronts: AAA game music, indie game music, and fan-made arrangements.

In this episode, Brenna Wilkes and I talk with Andrew for a solid hour about his work on Globulous (which Brenna recently reviewed), on Soul Calibur V, and the super-funded Kickstarter campaign for the OCRemix album under his direction: Final Fantasy VI: Balance and Ruin. This last topic takes up over half of the episode, and it should! At the time we recorded this (Saturday), the campaign was at $60,000, 400% of the $15,000 goal. As I’m writing this post, they’re now at $75,000. I also got *this* in a Kickstarter Backer’s email:

What does that mean? Well, everyone who’s getting a physical copy of “Balance and Ruin” will also get a newly-printed, *all 4 disc* version of Final Fantasy VII: Voices of the Lifestream as well. That’s good stuff.

Anyway, listen to the episode to learn about everything zircon’s up to. And if you want even more podcast-delivered info on the Balance and Ruin project, please check out this great Nitro Game Injection “after-show” recording with Larry “Liontamer” Oji, which was just recorded on Sunday.

Download: Original SoundCAST Episode #014

If you want to know what BGM we have behind all that talk-talk-talk, click the “more” button. (more…)
Game Music

Go, Go Little Jack Orchestra! Final Fantasy VI Concert Impressions

September 13, 2009 | Masanori Taniguchi | 8 Comments Share this

[Editor’s note: We told you about this amateur orchestra performance taking place in Japan a few weeks ago. I would have love to have gone myself, but fortunately Masanori Taniguchi was there, and he’s been kind enough to write some brief impressions of the event and talk about some of the unique things the orchestra did. Sounds like a great show, and I was shocked to hear Uematsu was in attendence. Enjoy!]

On August 23, 2009 at noon, people started gathering at the Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall in Japan. It was a very normal scene before a concert except that most of the attendees were carrying their Nintendo DS’s. Since Dragon Quest IX was released in Japan, fans including myself have enjoyed exchanging “treasure maps” with one another, and this is what most of us were doing before the show.

This was the Little Jack Orchestra’s 6th regular concert, featuring the music of Final Fantasy VI, and fans from all over Japan got together to enjoy the legendary music by Nobuo Uematsu. Tickets were completely sold out, as the Little Jack Orchestra only performs one regular concert per year, and it was obvious that all the players and staff had put an enormous amount of energy and time into this concert. It was 2 and a half hours long with two intermissions, and they played numerous tracks from the game.

Find out what was played and read some brief impressions of the show after the jump. (more…)
Game Music

Final Fantasy VI Orchestral Concert in Japan: Meet the Littlejack Orchestra!

August 21, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | 6 Comments Share this

An entire concert dedicated to Final Fantasy VI? Yes, it’s true. Apparently the Littlejack Orchestra is will be performing an entire evening of Final Fantasy VI on August 23, 2009 in Yokohama, Japan. If you’re anything like me, you’re pulling your hair out that you can’t be at this show. Most of my favorite tracks from the game are here, including “Kids Run Through the City Corner,” “Save Them,” “Dancing Mad,” and the track we told Uematsu last month that’s missing at every performance of the opera scene: “Grand Finale?”

I didn’t know much about the Littlejack Orchestra, but Shota filled me in that it’s an amateur orchestra founded by Sekiguchi-san, who happens to work at Dog Ear Records. An interesting revelation indeed, considering this is a non-sanctioned event (as far as I’m aware) being hosted by somebody associated with Uematsu’s record label. Maybe there are some secret deals going on behind the scenes, which would be awesome if it produced a recording for those (all?) of us who won’t be able to make it.

Anyway, we’ll have a report for you from Japan, so watch out for it! Find the full set list after the jump. (more…)