according to http://na.square-enix.com/e306/titles/fabula/ff13/

I hope we get a nice meaty 4-disc OST.

Excellent news.  I was hoping he would be the composer.  And it seems Nobuo Uematsu is doing the main theme (not surprisingly).

And Shimomura is doing Versus XIII.....which make sense, because it's apparently the next game by the Kingdom Hearts team?

Takeharu Ishimoto is doing Crisis Core, but maybe that's old news ^^;;
Later,

Alcahest

THen a cell phone FF13 game... they are milking out the FF series beyond comprehension...

~Sky

It sells. SE isn't stupid.

SE does cell phone spinoffs for everything these days (Front Mission, Musashiden, KH, Seiken...), it's not really an FF-specific thing.

As for FF13, apparently the various FF13s (the 3 announced so far are just the beginning according to their press release) are each set in a different world, with different characters and separate stories and game systems, with only the underlying "mythology" in common, so they're basically making a bunch of barely-related games and giving them all the same name.  I guess they've found a solution for the problem of reconciling the market's demand for sequels and spinoffs with developers' desire to make new stuff: shamelessly cheating.  It's a neat trick if they can get away with it.

Nothing to do with music,but does anyone have any piece of information concerning FF XIII plot or characters yet?

Hamauzu = FFXIII,
Shimomura = FF VS. XIII <3

Well based on the trailer, the main character is an anorexic young woman with psychic kung-fu powers who loves forests and looks upon everything and everyone else with ice-cold murderous hatred.  Another ecoterrorism-themed game like FFVII?

I am CERTAINLY loving this news. It's about TIME Square-Enix realizes what they have in Hamauzu!

And, of course, more Shimomura is splendid as well.

I can think of at least two future soundtracks I'll be watching for...

Me, too

My heart just about LEPT from chest when I read the title!!  Bless SquareEnix and whoever was behind that decision.  So, no doubtedly, I will be anxiously waiting for any new news.  Thanks for making my year tennin!!

They would have been insane to choose anyone else after his work on Dirge of Cerberus.  It's exactly the slick yet sophisticated feel they're going for in FFXIII.

Plus, the only other option, really, is Sakimoto, who probably wants a break, and who The (Japanese) Fans didn't like in FFXII.

Oh? That's interesting...Was it really received that badly?

Hamauzu is hit or miss with me (though his last real favorite of mine was FFX and then some of US's disc 2), but here's hoping for Shimomura to return to her Legend of Mana-esque greatness...

Apparently the Japanese gamers didn't find the music "memorable" enough, as if that's all music is about. I've tried the Japanese version of the game and the music seems to work fine to me. It's not Uematsu... but considering the quality of his recent output, that's probably for the best.

I'm VERY much looking forward to Hamauzu's FFXIII. I'm hoping that he goes in a more orchestral direction (with an orchestra, natch)... although considering what we know of FFXIII so far, it looks like he'll be polishing his electronica chops instead.

Oh, oh. Oh, oh man. I would love something akin to U:S disc 2's wacky electronica... but 4 discs worth instead.

Are you serious? Is that really the general opinion of Japanese fans?

While I agree that the music is not memorable (I've put 30 hours into it, and I can't hum any of them by memory).. it fits wonderfully well with the game. It's subtle and richly textured, like the game itself... there's no obvious striking lead melodies and such, as offered by other composers like Uematsu, Mitsuda and Kajiura. It's much more subtle and atmospheric, rather than in-your-face.

Oh well.

I hope the exact opposite.  Like in Zane's reply, I want to see the Good Hamauzu of U:S disc 2, FFX, and Musashi SL.  I surely do not want to see the Evil Hamauzu of U:S disc 1 and FF7 DoC.

I guess I'm the outcast... I honestly think Hamauzu's music is horrid (except for Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon). I honestly was horrified to find out Ito was not in SaGa Frontier 2. And after listening to the music I wished desperately Ito had done it.

I wish I felt the same way about him as you all do, but I can not do anything about personal taste. I am glad that everyone that likes Hamauzu is happy though!

Blessings,
~Andy

*shudder*

I mostly find U:S disc 2 unlistenable. Not my type of music. I like his stuff in Musashi, although it seems like Nakano got all the interesting parts of the game to score.

Yup. It fits the game like a glove. I honestly don't think the game would have worked as well with Uematsu. Opinions may vary.

Bah. Color me disappointed. I'd say about 90% of Hamauzu's stuff leaves me cold, including the entirety of his Musashi contributions.

Yoko should've been given the main game's duties instead of the side story's...why does S-E insist on keeping her on the periphery?

I dunno, I think composing the Kingdom Hearts score was rather more than "peripheral" duty fo her. I think the fact that she's the composer for an FF game at all, even if it's considered a "side story" to FF13 -- although Square's press release describes FF Versus 13 as "Not merely a sequel, but a wholly independent story unfolding in a different world with different characters" -- is pretty big.

I for one am pretty excited about this news as well.
Hamauzu has definitely been getting consistently better over the years, so I look forward to what he'll do for FFXIII.

And no, I don't like Sakimoto's work on FFXII either.
But as I've said before, the only Sakimoto soundtrack I REALLY enjoy is Breath of Fire V.

And does anyone else think FFXIII looks like it's shaping up to be too much like FFX-2?

I want the soundtrack to combine the orchestral power and magnificent composition of Dirge of Cerberus, the variety of styles and rich melodies of U:S, and the feel of Final Fantasy X. There is no doubt that Hamauzu will produce a great score, as always.

Maybe if she ate something ev'ry once in awhile she wouldn't be so angry
?

How so? Gotta change your characters' hairstyles this time around to get new powers?

Speaking of X-2, I hadn't realized the extent of that silly premise behind it. Now I'm wondering if I should attempt to play it at all. Seeing as I'm still slowly making my way through FF10, I still have a few years to decide.

Unless you want to feel the utmost of suffering and agony, I suggest you stay far, far away from FFX-2.

This, of course, being a considerably disputable opinion.

Besides tennin, how many of you have seen the trailer and heard the music from it?

If you haven't, I made an MP3 recording of it. It's a crummy low-quality file, but it'll be enough to make fellow Hamauzites smile.

I must say I'm more excited by this than I was for Dirge of Cerberus. It's kinda like how I felt when I heard "A New Hope" on the Musashiden 2 website last year.