First taste of Remake BGM

[Wol]

no synths, only orchestra

arrangements are great, but diversity is gone.

 

[Tetsujin]

There are absolutely synths in these arrangements to be fair

 

[oty]

Really?

 

[Smoothie King]

This is the one thread where I'm not going to check this stuff out. I want to hear Tifa's theme for the first time while I'm playing the game. But I've loved the comments thus far. I can't wait for this damn game.

 

[Ghost X]

Surf music was inspired by Mexican influences, and it is the latter I hear in the Turks theme, like some kind of wild west movie. It's average, but not immersion breaking, imo. Would have been curious to hear a more Jazz-influenced track, as someone else mentioned. Seedy nightclub stuff.

 

[Heason]

Concerning fowers blooming in the church, its my favorite of the new vinyl tracks. I love the arrangement, but i think I the instrument choice for the rhythm part in the original, (some kind of idiophone, vibraphone/synth thing) works better than piano. Creates more of a ambient, dream like quality, which is how this church full of flowers feels like situated in a place like midgar.

But the clarinet/string accompaniment in the remake rendition is so great. I just think with a idiophone instrument/ and a
more pronounced diminuendo itd be even better.

Here's a cover that keeps true to the feel and arrangement of original with real instrumentation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUD_njpQPrk&feature=emb_logo (click to expand)

I think with that change this new version would be pretty perfect. Still very happy with it though. Its just a bit frustrating to listen to imagining it with that change. The piano might grow on me though. I'm totally on board with changing and embellishing the old arrangements, but i think their essence should be preserved.

 

[Heason]

My only main concern is something ive heard alot of ppl echo, that the musical direction of the Remake is too orchestral. Orchestral music is my favorite kind to listen to , but part of the the originals charm was the synth/electronic music which fit the more technological atmosphere of FFVII. Also midgar has this grungy dirty feeling, the music needs to reflect that. I don't want to hear a really orchestra wall market. Not that you can't do do those kind of things with orchestral music, course you can, but Nobuo always said he took it as criticism when people said FF music was becoming too orchestral. I really think that musical diversity is integral to VII's atmosphere.

I'm most anxious to hear J.E.N.O.V.A . Its one of the nest tracks because it encompasses that diversity. You have these descending arpeggios, an assertive melody, and a prominent bass line thats playing around with arpeggio motif, all on synth. On the other side, there's this renlentless bouncy string rythmic thing, crashing timpani hits, Brass with these rapid firing chord flurries and runs playing off the melody. They even come into the foreground at one point during the triumphant fanfare section before the loop. Its an AMAZING combination of orchestral and electronic instrumentation, both perfectly captured the alien/sci-fi feeling of Jenova and its epicness respectively.

Now I've heard a good purely orchestral version( not distant worlds) so it can be done without. But I just see no reason to not try to capture that. Its one of the best tracks for these reasons.

 

[pxp]

My only main concern is something ive heard alot of ppl echo, that the musical direction of the Remake is too orchestral. Orchestral music is my favorite kind to listen to , but part of the the originals charm was the synth/electronic music which fit the more technological atmosphere of FFVII. Also midgar has this grungy dirty feeling, the music needs to reflect that. I don't want to hear a really orchestra wall market. Not that you can't do do those kind of things with orchestral music, course you can, but Nobuo always said he took it as criticism when people said FF music was becoming too orchestral. I really think that musical diversity is integral to VII's atmosphere.

I'm most anxious to hear J.E.N.O.V.A . Its one of the nest tracks because it encompasses that diversity. You have these descending arpeggios, an assertive melody, and a prominent bass line thats playing around with arpeggio motif, all on synth. On the other side, there's this renlentless bouncy string rythmic thing, crashing timpani hits, Brass with these rapid firing chord flurries and runs playing off the melody. They even come into the foreground at one point during the triumphant fanfare section before the loop. Its an AMAZING combination of orchestral and electronic instrumentation, both perfectly captured the alien/sci-fi feeling of Jenova and its epicness respectively.

Now I've heard a good purely orchestral version( not distant worlds) so it can be done without. But I just see no reason to not try to capture that. Its one of the best tracks for these reasons.

I agree, I’m hoping they’re somehow holding out on showing us these versions/remixes you describe, as a surprise for the OG fans. But at the same time I’m not holding my breath.

 

[oty]

Thing is, most composers and music experts say that Nobuo's Original FFVII track was always envisioned to be performed by an orchestra. Nobuo has always been an orchestra guy. It's no surprise whatsoever that that's what he does at Square now. Therefore, as an another composer remaking the sountrack you can definitely think that by going into an orchestral direction, not only it might be easier for them to make these tracks, but also, as composer to composer, you are almost passing his "spirit" to these tracks. Doing something to "make him proud". It's a weird feeling, but those kinds of sentiments are very strong when making a composition. I don't think there would ever be a chance they werent going to go for this direction, in atleast one of the Parts.

Also, there are definitely guitars and other instruments that arent part of any kind of traditional orchestras in some of these tracks. The Scorpion Sentinel is a very clear one tbh

 

[LNK]

I know some people may not like the orchestration direction the Remake has taken for most of its music, but as an orchestra/classical nerd, I fucking love it. And it gives FFVII Remake the sort of cinematic, Big Budget Hollywood movie feel the OG wanted to go for. The "Hurry!" and "Scorpion Sentinel" tracks just exude "epicness." I can't... Describe it any simpler than that.

Nobou's tracks mixed in with the new arrangers and the orchestral quality just creates some serious, high quality music. It's just superb. I'm getting goosebumps just hearing these.

I'm loving it too! I can't wait to get my copy of the vinyl

 

[Tetsujin]

As I said before, I definitely want some of that electronic vibe preserved for tracks like JENOVA but the tracks revealed so far that people say are too over-orchestrated are not the ones that I thought were supposed to be overly synthy anyway? I think it's just that it's hard to gauge because ALL of FFVII is obviously synth due to it being PSF sound format (basically kindasorta the PS1 equivalent of MIDI).
And then there are tracks that have synth where I didn't expect it (that dreamy ethereal opening to 'Flowers Blooming in the Church')

Eitherway, I always expected a mix of electronic elements and orchestral ones which a lot of these tracks already do (with acknowledgement that even a lot of the orchestral parts are probably synthesized, I don't think there's a real orchestra at all in Scorpion Sentinel to be honest). The Boss theme in the trailer not having the e-guitars is regrettable but I don't wanna complain until I've literally heard all of the soundtracks to every part. Not getting a faithful rendition of certain tracks in this part doesn't mean there might not be one in the next. Or even in this one. We have only heard a small part of the OST to part 1 after all.

That being said, Yoshitaka Suzuki is one of the arrangers on this and I trust him to put some variety into the arrangements.
He worked as an arranger for Uematsu on The Last Story and you get tracks that give you a synthy MGS vibe (fittingly as Suzuki did work on MGS games as well):

And then some of the tracks he arranged in a way where you'd think Uematsu got the Black Mages together again:

I don't know, I'm not too worried about variety just yet.

 

[ForceStealer]

Agreed. With all the different versions of battle themes I'm not worried about the boss theme. And the Turks Theme, even if it lacks the percussion some of us would like, is clear evidence that they have guitars in the house

The only thing I think Hurry kinda lacks is the tick-tock sound, the rest of it sounds really good. The violin doing that really fast keyboard run from the original sounds pretty sweet.

If we get only a sweeping symphony for Crazy Motorcycle, maybe then I'll join the complaints

 

[Obsidian Fire]

The really funny thing is that all the music arranged by Umetsu we've heard in the game so far has been from ACC. All of which features heavy use of electronic music. YMMV on if that's good thing or not.

The argument is not that the string orchestra shouldn't be there. The argument is that currently, the string orchestra (with some winds) is what is mainly being heard with a notable lack of anything else. Including other sections of the orchestra (how does Those Who Fight get an orchestral arrangement without a brass section?).

That the Turks Theme is the only main theme we've heard with a guitar part isn't a good thing in my opinion... The orrginal version mainly uses that vibraphone-like tone that a lot of other FFVII songs in use. Including Flowers Blooming in the Church, Oppressed People, Lurking in the Darkness, Chasing the Man with the Black Mantel, J-E-N-O-V-A, Mark of the Traitor, Birth of a God, etc.

 

[oty]

Didnt Scorpion Sentinel had a guitar part? I've heard Let the battles beggin also had guitar but in the background. And it also had the strings section to differentiate from the initial lot of brass.

 

[Obsidian Fire]

Scorpion Sentinel is so far the only battle theme that sounds anywhere in the right ballpark for me. Which makes it too bad as it's a variation of "Bombing Mission". It really makes me wonder why it's the only released song in this style so far... The others sound much "weaker" then it.

 

[oty]

I consider it more of an Boss theme mash up with Bombing Mission (or maybe the opposite? lol), which to me is very neat. If every boss has it's own mash up with the Boss theme, taking notes of the location/other characteristic they are notable for, it's a win win for great and "new" scores. Of course, if they keep this same level of quality.

Besides Scorpion Sentinel, I think Let the Battles Begin is the only other one that truly hit it for me too. Specially since it's like an almost carbon copy of the original, taken the right considerations of course. The other ones have been great arrangements, but definitely didnt hit me like the other two (maybe Flowers Blooming in the Church but only because I'm a sucker for that). And then there's Hurry, which I dont really know what I feel. And Turks, which is...tough. Dont really know what to say from Prelude too

I'm almost certain that J-E-N-O-V-A wont capture the same feeling, and I'm starting to prepare myself for that. I'm also not a firm believer on the "multiple versions of the same track" thing. I think they will only do it for the very used and famous tracks, so we would only get a new Jenova on the next part.

I would say I'm fairly pleased tho, as much it maybe doesnt appear like that based on my previous comments. I think they are all amazing arrangements in themselves, which always should be focus 1 for me (I dont think Square can make horrible tracks but who knows), I feel like they are atleast trying to balance capturing the original's feelings and also do their own stuff. Really wanted to see what Newcomers think of the soundtrack (and trailers and stuff too). It would be an interesting insight

 

[Ite]

If we get.... maybe then I'll join the complaints

 

[cold_spirit]

Reading this topic I feel like the only one who doesn't care much for orchestra.

I'd like to see lots of rock and hip hop in the Remake. Think Black Mages merged with Mega Ran. Think Persona 3's soundtrack. I want the music to SLAP. Needless to say, it's a good thing for ya'll that I'm not in charge of the Remake lol.

These lyrics from Mega Ran's Don of the Slums breathe a whole new life into the VII's world for me, and I think it'd be cool if that same feeling existed in the Remake:

"Livin under tin huts, and holes in the ground
Police ain't around, Don's controllin the town
And these walls has been bad, outside is much worse
Outside is scorched earth, so happiness here
Is like finding flowers inside an abandoned church
Everybody hurt, but we livin with this curse
We strugglin, hustlin, scraping, scrappin
Guns, murder and drugs, kidnappin

It happens all the time in the slums"

 

[Wol]

Reading this topic I feel like the only one who doesn't care much for orchestra.

I'd like to see lots of rock and hip hop in the Remake. Think Black Mages merged with Mega Ran. Think Persona 3's soundtrack. I want the music to SLAP. Needless to say, it's a good thing for ya'll that I'm not in charge of the Remake lol.

These lyrics from Mega Ran's Don of the Slums breathe a whole new life into the VII's world for me, and I think it'd be cool if that same feeling existed in the Remake:

"Livin under tin huts, and holes in the ground
Police ain't around, Don's controllin the town
And these walls has been bad, outside is much worse
Outside is scorched earth, so happiness here
Is like finding flowers inside an abandoned church
Everybody hurt, but we livin with this curse
We strugglin, hustlin, scraping, scrappin
Guns, murder and drugs, kidnappin

It happens all the time in the slums"

Haha listened to this album just a few months ago, was surprised at how good it was.

I also wound lean to a more jazzy/dirt/industrial soundtrack if I was the sound director, with npcs listening to all kind of stuff as well on bars etc.

 

[Saven]

I think I've made peace with the emphasis on an orchestrated soundtrack as long they are used for story set pieces that would make sense for an orchestra to appear just like it does in movies. This game is going for a cinematic approach based on what we've seen so far. I do hope that in downtime sections when there is nothing going on in the story we will hear something else that fits the theme of wherever you are at (the slums would have a more urban sound). I'm still holding out hope for a reggae version of Wall Market myself (its always sounded like that to me).

 

[LNK]

Reading this topic I feel like the only one who doesn't care much for orchestra.

I'd like to see lots of rock and hip hop in the Remake. Think Black Mages merged with Mega Ran. Think Persona 3's soundtrack. I want the music to SLAP. Needless to say, it's a good thing for ya'll that I'm not in charge of the Remake lol.

These lyrics from Mega Ran's Don of the Slums breathe a whole new life into the VII's world for me, and I think it'd be cool if that same feeling existed in the Remake:

"Livin under tin huts, and holes in the ground
Police ain't around, Don's controllin the town
And these walls has been bad, outside is much worse
Outside is scorched earth, so happiness here
Is like finding flowers inside an abandoned church
Everybody hurt, but we livin with this curse
We strugglin, hustlin, scraping, scrappin
Guns, murder and drugs, kidnappin

It happens all the time in the slums"

Hip Hop is my favorite genre, but not for a Final Fantasy game

 

[Smoothie King]

It's impossible to separate the memories from the original game with the vision that Uematsu had in his head while composing. If he had access to the technology that we have now, the OST for FFVII would sound like the OST for the VII Remake. I share that same connection as all of you with the quirky synths and whatnot. But those were not deliberate choices of artistic expression. They were decisions made out of necessity. At least that's what I think. It's clear just by listening to the Remake compositions that they were intended for orchestral arrangements. The transition is seamless. So while I understand the frustration (and share in some of them myself), I have to remember that this is as close as these developers/composers are ever going to get to fully realizing the work that they conceived in their head so long ago in the material, tangible world.

 

[Wol]

It's impossible to separate the memories from the original game with the vision that Uematsu had in his head while composing. If he had access to the technology that we have now, the OST for FFVII would sound like the OST for the VII Remake. I share that same connection as all of you with the quirky synths and whatnot. But those were not deliberate choices of artistic expression. They were decisions made out of necessity. At least that's what I think. It's clear just by listening to the Remake compositions that they were intended for orchestral arrangements. The transition is seamless. So while I understand the frustration (and share in some of them myself), I have to remember that this is as close as these developers/composers are ever going to get to fully realizing the work that they conceived in their head so long ago in the material, tangible world.

Not sure about that, take Advent Childrens as an example, neither its original tracks or arrangements of older ones are heavily orchestral.

 

[Smoothie King]

Not sure about that, take Advent Childrens as an example, neither its original tracks or arrangements of older ones are heavily orchestral.

I couldn’t stand that OST, honestly. I don’t need to hear an Yngwie Malmsteen clone shredding insane guitar solos over my beloved FFVII music.

 

[Ite]

How could you think that after 7 soundtracks over 3 different consoles that Uematsu was picking synth waves over synth instruments because of technological limitations? You do know that one of his biggest heroes is Elton John, right?

Uematsu *does* use the whole orchestra. He also uses drum kits, synth waves, random sounds, and instruments not typically found in faux-classical opera like the banjo, the saxophone, etc. Just because the instrument samples aren’t realistic enough doesn’t mean he was unsatisfied with the compositions... that’s ridiculous.