I would like some opinions on the FF12 OST, as I am considering buying the limited edition version but I am not gonna spend almost 50 bucks on a soundtrack I don't like......

Any recommendations? I know that Sakimoto's and Uematsu's styles are so different which is why I am a little hesitant.....Sakimoto is kinda known for his 19th century orchestral style with alot of brooding themes and ambience(ala Vagrant Story) while Uematsu is heavy on the simple, catchy melodies and the great battle and character themes......

I know that battle themes arent Sakimoto's strong point so I am curious as to how, say, the boss battle themes and the final boss battle music are.....as epic as Uematsu's greats like One Winged Angel, Battle w/ Seymour or Legendary Beast?

Thanks for any input.....

I found FFXII to be too lighthearted and contrived to be worth anything to me. I regretted buying it almost immediately after listening to it. I liked all of Sakimoto's darker stuff, and was really thrown off by how much I disliked the album. Not my cup of tea at all.

I love it. I think it's the best FF OST since VI (and the second best overall).

It depends what you're after in your music. If you want hummable melodies, you might be disappointed. The music is pretty dense and complex (which is right up my alley. I like stuff that I can come back to over and over again and find something new each time). Uematsu's music is often very pretty and there's no doubt he's a master melodist but his stuff doesn't have much depth.

I think Sakimoto's battle themes are very strong and FFXII continues that tradition with a great boss theme and a stirring final battle theme (which might remind you of the first battle theme from FFT, only more heroic). The music works very well in the game as well (although it's somewhat undermixed).

Tastes vary, of course. If you want a traditional Uematsu-esque FF soundtrack, look somewhere else. If you like Sakimoto's style, grab it immediately! It is a lot of money to spend on something you're not sure you'll like (and it might be worth hunting around for samples).

I second Wanderers' assessment, but not his opinion...Dense is probably the best description of it and there is stuff to keep discovering there, but you kind of have to like the sound to be inclined to listen that deeply. A couple tracks (thinking of Dalmasca Eastersand offhand), I just remember thinking how there was so much going on and how so little of it gelled together in the end. This was one of those albums, where for every 8-10 tracks I heard, I had to put something else on...ANYTHING else. Even among Sakimoto OST's (I'm generally not a fan, but Breath of Fire V was really good and FFT and Legaia had some fine stuff), I rate this one pretty average/below-average.

I don't even remember the battle themes...It's sad I remember the length of the final battle theme more than the theme itself.

For the Uematsu fans though...There IS a nice arrangement of Gilgamesh's theme.

I'm firmly in the 'love it' camp, but I do very much favour Sakimoto's style. Themes from this OST play round in my head on a regular basis - especially the first boss battle theme (track 5). I never found much in any of Uematsu's work to match the sheer power of Sakimoto's battle and boss themes. That's not to belittle Uematsu, as he's obviously done some very fine work on the FF series. His style simply wouldn't have suited FFXII though.

I LOVE "Dalmasca Eastersand!"

Yeah, that's the key. Some people don't relate to this type of music and that's fine. I don't much care for rock, myself. It's that different strokes thing at work!

Oddly enough, BoFV never really grew on me... Then again, neither did the game.

I agree with that. It would have stood out... and not in a good way.

I listened to the entire OST today at work (thanks to the lovely site that is Blue Laguna).  I must say, it wasn't impressed at all.  The composition style is pure Sakimoto, but he doesn't seem too inspired.  Matsuo and Iwata (two of my favorites) offer a few solid contributions, but nothing spectacular.  Maybe I'll warm up to it after a few listens, but right now, I'm not feelin' it all that much.

A few tracks that stood out to me:

(very nice arrangement by Sakimoto on these three)
1-1. "Loop Demo"
1-2. "FINAL FANTASY ~FFXII version~"
3-11. "Chocobo ~FFXII version~"

I also like:
1-17. "Signs of Change"
3-2 "Esper Battle"
3-13 "Battle on the Big Bridge ~FFXII version~"  I'd really like to hear the FFV version of this...  Anyone!? 

Also, I have the strongest urge to listen to my Vagrant Story OST after listening to FFXII OST today... so I'll listen to that tomorrow.

Huh?  I'm confused, how did you find it lighthearted?  Sure there are plenty of "light" tracks, usually they are tracks that coincide with the early Vaan and Penelo adventures, or refer to their characters in general.  But Final Fantasy Tactics Advance had plenty of light tracks too, and I wouldn't downgrade that cd.

Heck, as far as character themes go,  4-9 "Ashe's Theme" goes from sweeping melody to downright creepy.  And I don't want to spoil anything, as I've played the heck out of the import, but this theme crops up in the game in a spot that made me go "WTF, this is her theme?!"

But I love this game, and I love the soundtrack too.  For me, this game really reminds me of FFVI, maybe not in plot or presentation, but I got so wrapped up in it (my total play time is 178 hours, more time than I have spent on the last three FF titles combined) that when I hear certain tracks on the OST, I remember things that happened in the game and I get either happy or sad.  Yeah, I'm fruity that way.   And I havent had a experience like that since FFVI. 

And regarding Uematsu. as I said in the other FFXII thread, I just don't think that his style would fit this game very well, it's just not the type of Final Fantasy he is used to composing for.

One thing that really annoyed me however, is that in order to get FFXII to fit on one dvd, Square downsampled the audio.  I forget what type of Dolby encoding the game uses, but the audio on the cds is much better that in the game.  I remember first listening to the cds and going "Wow, I hadn't heard those instruments before!"  Due to this downsampling, some of the higher pitched themes (probably some of the ones Zane took offense to ) like, 1-7, "Secret Practice", and 1-8, "A Small Happiness" are downright painful. It's really rather disappointing, and I can only assume that they kept the game off two dvds for costs reasons, as the game was 7,800, or 8,800 yen to start with.  I paid $75 for it from ncsx.com.

Some of my favorite tracks:

1-9. "Royal City of Rabanastre"  This one gets stuck in my head.
1-11. "Dream to be a Sky Pirate"  I first heard this when I watched and early promo video, and it really struck me as so beautiful, I just wish it were longer.
1-12. "Little Rascal"
1-25. "Giza Plains"
2-8. "Nalbina Fortress Ungderground"  Love the vocals, which are really muffled in the game
3-3. "Sorrow Imperial Version"  Chokes me up, plays in a really significant scene.
3-7. "Ozmone Plains"  Probably my favorite track
3-9. "Eryut Village"  So beautiful it gives me chills
3-13 "Clash on the Big Bridge"  Love it.  You'll laugh when you get here in the game.
3-16. "Time for a Rest"  Another of my top favorites
4-11. "To the place of the Gods"  I like the waltz-like beat
4-13. "To the Peak"

Ones I dislike or am on the fence about:

1-19. "Rabanastre Downtown"  Don't like it at all
1-23. "Clan Headquaters"  I dunno, it just seems to annoy me.
3-1. "The Sandsea"  Ugh!  Of course, I hated this portion of the game too...
3-19. "The Phon Coast"  I sort of like it, but it's just so loud
3-24. "The Mosphoran Highwaste"  Same problem as 3-19.
4-9. "Ashe's Theme"  Why the heck is the theme at 1:36~2:39 even in there?!  You'll see what I mean when you get here in the game O_o
4-16. "The Battle for Freedom"  The theme is all over the place, and at 8:51, its really long, but given the way the game event plays out, it kinda needs to be.  From 4:14~6:17, and again at 7:21~8:51 is the core theme, which I really do like.

Kenology, the original version of "Clash on the Big Bridge", from FFV,  is equally awesome.

I uploaded it here

*edited because I can't spell when I type fast.  *

Sorry about double posting, but I just caught wind of an IGN article.

It seems that Tofu Records is releasing an FFXII cd here in the US.

I say "an" rather than "the" as it is a pared down, single disc release like TokyoPop's FFIX and FFX cds.

For those who are interested, Tofu interview is here and the tracklist is here

Why can't we ever get a full release of a multidisc OST here in the states, does it cost too much, or are they worried they'd lose money if it didn't sell?

I probably just answered my own question. 

The single CD release is extremely disappointing. It's missing many of the best tracks and it doesn't even have the ending movie!

Yeah, I noted that, and just flamed it accordingly in a mini review on the site.

I mean, I guess I could have bet on a single disc release, but could they have left out any more good tracks?

And why the heck did they include Yensa Sandsea?  I hate that "theme", it really strikes me more as atmosphere than a theme.  And to add insult to injury, the area in the game that the track is from is one of the most annoying ones in the game!

Ok, I'll quit ranting now. 

Well, it's trying to convey the feeling of a large (GIGANTIC) desert. Since you hear it for countless hours, at least it is appropriate. Agreed on the obnoxiousness of the Sandsea.

I know that battle themes arent Sakimoto's strong point

What...?
Sakimoto is the master of rousing battle themes!
And FF12's boss themes are up there with his finest...
I especially like "Boss Battle" (I love all the different moods in this... from the menacing start to the hope filled finish... perfect for boss battles), "Clash Of Swords" (again, many different moods and movements, expertly carried out) , "Speechless Battle" (most brutal FF boss music ever?), and the final battle music, "Battle For Freedom". (this is not as extravagant as, say, a "One Winged Angel", but it's amazing in its own right... reminiscent of FF4's final battle to me, as it uses the game's main theme)

And don't forget Esper Battle!

I love FFXII's main theme. It's all over the score and very malleable. His themes for the Resistance and the Imperials are also quite strong.

I can't even recognize the main theme...  Where is the damn thing?

No part of the "Opening Movie (Theme of Final Fantasy XII) stands out for me.  So I certainly can't place it in any other tracks.  This might be just a lack of familiarity or lack of a strong memorable melody.  I dunno yet.

BTW, "Rabanastre Downtown" is lovely...! 

And what track is the 'Yensa Sandsea'?  The tracklist I'm going by doesn't have that title.

Also, myaje, can you re-up that FFV version of "Battle on the Big Bridge"?  The link didn't have the download.

According to my tracklist "Yensa Sandsea" is just "The Sandsea".  It's track 3-1.

It seems like nearly all of the tracks have been re-named in order to mesh with the so-called "Elizebethan" dialogue from the US game.

I'm assuming that "Gutter Churl" on this US cd is in fact, 1-12 "Little Rascal" as listed on my treacklist.  Other track names seem to be midly cosmetic changes, like changing 2-2 "Clash of Swords" to "Flash of Steel".  But for me, changing 1-7 "Secret Pactice" to "Training in the Sewers", while a more descriptive name, just feels kinda silly to me.  I dunno, it just does. 

Man, so much about this cd aggrivates me.  Like why the heck did they include "Golmore Jungle", but leave out 3-7 "Ozmone Plains", or 3-9 "Eryut Village".  Ugh.  Somebody at Tofu has poor taste. 

Kenology, I re-uploaded the file here.  I'm not sure why the previous one went down so fast.

*edit* Wait, I think I know why the file went down.  Aparently Megaupload doesn't allow straight mp3s, as they are copyrighted.  But they allow them to go up if they are zipped or rar-ed.  Sheesh, isn't the internet grand?    The correct link is here

And the "Theme of Final Fantasy XII" is track 4-21.  If my memory serves me right (its been a few months since I last played my import copy) this theme is only used in the production movies (the second Japanese one, that introduces all the characters, I think) and isn't found in the actual game, which is a shame as it is a really great theme.

You can hear it all over the place in the "Opening Movie" but if you want specific locations, :51-:58, 2:45-2:52, 6:38-6:46.

I think my favorite use of it is in "Nelbina Fortress Underground Prison" at 1:04-1:15.

FFXII OST is horrible. I am a huge fan of some of Sakimoto's works like Vagrant Story and Gradius V, so I was expecting more high quality, especially in the battle music. It ended up being absolutely abysmal. Definitely listen to it or play the game first before putting any money in.

It's very good.  I don't like the game, but the music is very good.  Think Final Fantasy Tactics meets Star Wars.

Thanks!  I always like it when people listen thoroughly and pick the music apart. 

But how do we know this is the main theme?

Well, it's just a label, really. It's the theme that's in the score the most and it bookends the game (with major appearances in both the "Opening Movie" and the "Ending Movie").

There are several other themes but they're more associative (like the Imperial theme) and unlike the main theme, they're generally only used in circumstances that warrant them (like the Imperial theme only being used in tracks that have to do with the Imperial Army).

The main theme is used in dungeons, field music, the FMVs and event music. It's the glue that holds the score together.

Nah, there must be about 700MB to 1GB free space in FFXII DVD (you can check it by mounting a FFXII DVD on your PC) and I hear it could be 3GB without dummy data. I guess it's enough for streaming the compressed audio of almost the same quality as the soundtrack. In fact, the file size of Stella Dues's game audio that contains 47 tracks was about 280MB and as everybody knows we can reduce the size freely by compressing them at lower bit-rate. The reason why FFXII music was sequenced and downsampled in the game was they had to give priority to other stuff (e.g. reading time, frame-rate and...ask developers) rather than the disc space. Also, it's what the developers say in a certain guide book and not my guess.

Though I disagree Uematsu doesn't suit for FFXII, I don't argue about this here because I do enjoy FFXII OST itself a lot and I'm non-native English speaker.

After repeated listenings, I like the soundtrack a lot better now.

However, I still think Sakimoto fumbled this one a bit.  This is arguably his biggest stage yet, composing for a (main series) Final Fantasy title, but he didn't really step up his game accordingly.

Also, I am rockin' out to "The Phon Coast" right now... anyone else thinks parts of this sound very similar to "Ifrit" from Vagrant Story?

I'm a bit disappointed that Matsuo and Iwata didn't do too much either.  Granted, a few tracks probably isn't enough to make a decent mark, but still...  Matsuo's best piece was "Rebellion" and I'm quite fond of Iwata's "The Sochen Cave Palace", it sounds like a piece that didn't make it into Stella Deus.

Sakimoto's arranging skills are very good.  The Chocobo theme on disc 3 is just brilliant.  I can't get enough of it.