Nobuo Uematsu's music to Final Fantasy V is spectacular. Though some say it lacks the scope of the music of Final Fantasy IV, VI, or VII, it still provides many memorable tracks.

FFV OSV is a complete soundtrack, right down to several short (10-20 second) piano tracks at the end of the second disc. About half of the songs are standard Final Fantasy fare - not bad by any means, but they pale in comparison to the other half of the tracks, which are excellent. "Mambo de Chocobo" is the best rendition of Chocobo music ever. "Fighting Gilgamesh" is some of the best battle music ever put in an RPG. "The New Origin" is exhillarating - you can't tell until 6 or 7 seconds into the piece whether it's in minor or major chords.

The main theme of Final Fantasy V, "Ahead on our Way", has generated some critisism due to being very upbeat, but this is unsubstantiated. It is no less meaningful than the themes from Final Fantasy VI or VII.

All in all, the music of Final Fantasy V is on par with the rest of the series. I recommend playing the game first - indeed many criticisms of the music come from those who have not played the game - but even without playing the game the soundtrack can be enjoyed.

In my personal opinion, this is Nobuo Uematsu's best soundtrack ever. Some may disagree, either for not playing the game, bad sound system or for some other reason, but trust me, this is *awesome* music here. First, you've got the main theme, "Ahead on Our Way", one heck of an upbeat-ish song, and brilliantly composed. After that are many variations of the song scattered throughout the soundtrack: "Lenna's Theme", "The Day Will Come", "Four Valient Hearts", all of which are awesome. As for "The Dragon Spreads Its Wings", now I am truly breathless. The first one sounds really nice, but it's the variation, "The New Origin", that really takes the cake. It's strong, powerful, and it's got Nobuo written all over it. Anyone who says this sound system isn't great should listen to *this* song. There are many other songs that are good too. The Final Fantasy theme is also here, of course, and while it isn't the strong impact version, it's more than beautiful.

So whatever the reason for not liking this soundtrack, listen to it again. Even I didn't like it at first, but after throughly listening to it I have to say this is the most brilliantly composed music I've ever heard. It only could've been done by only one man: Nobuo Uematsu.

This is the most highly underrated CD ever composed by Nobuo Uematsu. I must admit that the songs don't have as much sadness to them, but they still have much determination and soul. The storyline is a much more spooky one than that of the fourth of sixth installments of the Final Fantasy series, and the songs are made to fit that. The second disk has two of my favorite battle themes of all time, "Battle with Gilgamesh" and "The Decisive Battle". "Battle with Gilgamesh" is my favorite, and is an unbelievable hard rock song that is beyond any other in sheer power. "The New Origin" is the best ending theme that I believe Nobuo Uematsu has ever created, featuring a great rendition of the already great "Dragon Spreads Its Wings" song. Almost all of the dungeon themes are great ("Fate in Haze", "Sealed Away", and "Cursed Earth". I think there are more in the set, but I'm not sure).

I'm not going to draw any comparisons between this set of songs or any other Final Fantasy OSVs that everyone else seems prone to. There are some songs in this CD set that are better than those on the Final Fantasy IV and VI CD sets, and vice versa. I think that the people who say that the songs on this set are not as good as those that Nobuo usually creates just don't know the game that they are connected to well enough to be able to link the songs to the events in the storyline. No matter how you look at it, this set shows yet again that Nobuo Uematsu is one of the greatest game music composers ever to grace a the video game market.

While I can't imagine anyone disliking this CD, it is somewhat of a disappointment. As you might know by now, Nobuo Uematsu is my hero. His music is immortal, the most beautiful ever created - but not this one. Nobuo was going through something of a mid-life crisis around the time he wrote this. He was in an emotionless period when he composed most of these songs, so they're pure skill - no emotion. The mix of emotion and skill is what makes Nobuo's music superb.

How is it when there is no emotion present? It's not that bad, really. In fact, it's better than most other composers, even if it isn't truly Final Fantasy. Most of the music is just good, while some of it is superb, Nobuo quality. I think he was able to tap into some of the emotion of FFIV when he wrote the best pieces of this sound track. While I can't give this Mr. Uematsu's standard highly recommended, I can still say that any true fan of game music as well as Nobuo Uematsu should have this. There is, also, that the instrument set used in this game was a bit synthy for my taste. If you don't mind synth, grab this one. There is plenty in here that you can recognize, even if it is just pure skill for the most part. However, like I said, there are some songs that remind me of loneliness, of aging, of being mortal. These songs are very good, very exploratory-sounding. The more I listen, the more I like it.

Let me begin by saying, this work is genius! In my opinion, Final Fantasy V is the best Final Fantasy game and the soundtrack is no exception. The tracks are filled with a sense of childishness, and I guess that's why I like this soundtrack so much. From the upbeat rhythms of "Ahead on our Way," to the cute, yet rocking song of our favorite villain, ExDeath, this disc has a lot to offer. Many think that this is Nobuo Uematsu's low point. But, I don't think so. I like this better than FF VI OSV, and that is saying quite a lot. It is not just the songs, but the instruments that make this CD cool. It is just different. The melodies are not of the usual Final Fantasy flair, but of a new, funnier flair. I wouldn't mind if Nobuo Uematsu did this again. This is truly a work of art!