Final Fantasy Mix

I was a little disappointed at my first listen to this disc, because the packaging is misleading. It isn't a collection of dance remixes of Final Fantasy themes, as I thought it would be - only the first three and the last three are. In between are nine unreleased tracks (outtakes) from the 16-bit games.

That said, I still think it's a great CD. Track 1, "Tina", is a standard house music version of Terra's theme from FF6. It would blend in perfectly with any house DJ's collection - repetitive and too long, with a xylophone, piano, soulful vocals, bass riff, and numerous trippy ambient effects thrown in. Track 2 is my favorite - the wistful "Dear Friends" theme that Uematsu dedicated to his friend Richard Remington (does anyone know the full story on this?). It's backed by a truly poignant and melancholic assemblage of echoing xylophone, rap samples, a midtempo hip hop beat, flute and acoustic guitar. Real nice one. Track 3 is a reggae-inspired mix of the overworld theme from FFIV, with sampled drums, synths, trumpet and a rolling bass line. It's good, especially if you're into reggae, but not as awesome as the other two versions of this theme found on Celtic Moon and Love Will Grow.

Tracks 4 through 12 are a nice collection of short 16-bit stuff. If you like the Final Fantasy OSVs, then this will suit you just fine. Nothing special, but some solid material. My faves from this bunch are "The Sea of Silence", a tranquil meditative piece; "Theme of Love", a pretty version of Rosa's theme from FF4 with a piano interlude and a proper ending (instead of the repeating fadeout); and "Matoya", a rousing new version of the overworld music from FF1 that starts out sounding 8-bit but then bursts into some great 16-bit effects.

Track 13 is a Latin-flavored, salsa-like version of the Chocobo theme. It's different from the similar-sounding ones from FF87-94 and Seiken Densetsu Sound Collections, but equally good, so if you're into Latin dance music you'll want this one to finish your Salsa Chocobo Trilogy. Track 14 is a forgettable house-inspired mix of "The Prelude". It doesn't have any version of the main melody, just that harp going up and down the scales. It's standard dance music, a little too sparkling for my taste and not as good as "Tina". Finally, track 15, "Final Fantasy Megamix", is just what you'd expect - a midtempo hip-hop beat, with samples galore (arranged really well) of rap, DJ calls, old disco records, and a few (not enough) themes from the various Final Fantasy games. The mixture builds to a polyphony and then almost gets atonal right before the ethereal finish. It's produced and mixed rather competently, but it isn't wide-ranging enough to live up to its name of "Megamix".

All in all, Final Fantasy Mix is a nice CD that you should buy if you're into dance music, and/or if you want to hear some of the 16-bit music that never made the final cut.

Final Fantasy Mix is one of the best Final Fantasy CDs I have ever listened to. The hip-hop and the rap music are very cool. I like that style. The prologue theme is just beautiful and is arranged very well. Rosa's song is very serene and peaceful. But, the main reason why I ordered this disc was for the "Matoya's Cave" theme. I've been dying to hear how a 16-bit version would sound. It lived up to my expectations as a great upgrade from 8-bit. The only thing I didn't like was the "Mambo de Chocobo", which just doesn't sound very pleasing. This is a great disc to get, and at 2000 yen, who could go wrong?

I have "mixed" feelings about this CD. It's got Nobuo written all over it, but there's something not quite right. It must be the "Mix" part? Mix?! Oh man, no wonder! I hate rap and hip hop, and this is no exception. The Dear Friends mix isn't that great, and "Tina" is a piece of garbage. "Main Theme of FFIV" though, actually sounded pretty good. The Prelude is below average and "FF Megamix" was okay, but its main target was IV's and V's songs. They should've put in some from the others.

The only good reason to buy this CD is for Nobuo's performances. There are a number of unreleased tracks that come from various FF games put together on this one CD. "Restless Moments" sounds cool, and the Super Famicom version of Matoya is awesome. There are also two arranged versions of "Theme Of Love", and the Prologue theme, both in the same vein of FFIV. All in all, I'd say this CD is worth buying, only for the unreleased tracks and the arranged versions though. It's a lot better buying this one CD than buying all the other short CDs that have these songs. Still, I hope they never do this again.

I'm not sure why Square, NTT and Nobuo Uematsu released this CD. I hope they didn't like it in Japan, because I certainly don't. This CD is about 50 percent "mix". It's a style of music I was, and still am, quite unfamiliar with. I don't think there's anything wrong with the style, really. I've heard a very good phat style remix of the "Doom Castle Theme" from Final Fantasy Mystic Quest. The mixed stuff on this CD, however, is, er, well, sucky. It just sounds so unmusical... I've listened to them all a few times, thinking something might click and I'd like them. I thought I didn't understand them. Well, turns out that I do understand them. They just suck.

Though all the mixes suck, there is a song called "Mambo de Chocobo", written by "Senior Uematsu". This one is very good, obviously done by my hero. There are also some unreleased Uematsu tracks on here that are pretty good. Then there is an excellent arranged version of the prologue theme, the bridge theme, whatever it's called. That, and "Theme of Rosa", are superb. Basically, this CD is about half an hour of good Uematsu while the other half hour is total crap. Big Uematsu fans should get it, although it should hardly be a priority.

When I ordered this, I wasn't sure what to expect and after listening through it once, I came up with one word to describe it: interesting. A lot of it wasn't quite the symphony type of remixes I expected. About six have more of a party style sort of music, some including rap which turned me off. (Don't worry, rap was only track 2 mostly which I think was a waste of space on the CD. The Megamix, track 16, had a bit in as well but wasn't enough to get annoying.)

"Tina" I had to laugh at at first. I was expecting a calm piece but I got a very upbeat tune that didn't have much of the orignal tune in it. But this is probably my favorite. Tracks 4 and 5 are arranged versions of two songs in FFIV. Both of them were done excellently. They made it so I actually liked the Prologue. I had never cared for it before... Theme of Love was a very serene song that kept the original tune of the song but enhanced it.

Tracks 6-12 are previously unreleased songs that were to be put in FFIV or FFV, except for a SFC version of Matoya's cave the starts out like the old Famicom version and then folds into its 16-bit spectacular hit. It and track 10 were the only to impress me that much out of this bunch.

"Final Fantasy Megamix" was one of the best on here. It started with the FFV theme and then into FFIV's theme, then on to various songs from these games. Every here and there would be voices saying "Final Fantasy" which got a little annoying. It ended with what I think is part of the ending song of Final Fantasy I straight from the game. A good way to end in my opinion.