Music of the Final Fantasy VII series

Lore & Background

Nobuo Uematsu composed the music for Final Fantasy VII in less than one year, matching the game's development time. The game was the series' first on PlayStation, and the music was synthesized in real time using sample-based synthesis and note data, a decision credited with giving the soundtrack a distinctive mood. Uematsu initially planned to use vocal performances but found loading times too long; he later reversed his stance for Final Fantasy VIII after seeing Suikoden II. He treated the composition like a film soundtrack, composing songs that reflected scene moods rather than strong melodies, to avoid overwhelming the new 3D visuals. The first piece he composed was the opening theme, shown to him by game director Yoshinori Kitase.

Final Fantasy VII was the first series entry to include a track with digitized vocals: "One-Winged Angel". Uematsu spent two weeks composing short unconnected musical phrases and arranged them into a song, an approach he never used before or since. The lyrics were taken from medieval poetry that forms the basis of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. Uematsu has stated the intro is based on Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze" and that he still thinks of it as a rock piece. The original soundtrack received highly positive reviews from critics, who found many tunes memorable and noted the emotional intensity of several tracks. Reception for other albums in the series has been mixed.

Reader's Guide

The music of the Final Fantasy VII series is significant as the foundation of a multimedia collection that began eight years after the original game's release. The original soundtrack, composed by Nobuo Uematsu, was released on four CDs in 1997 and sold over 148,000 copies by 2010, reaching No. 3 on the Japan Oricon charts. Its legacy includes the enduring popularity of tracks like "One-Winged Angel" and "Aeris' Theme", which have been performed in orchestral concert series such as Dear Friends and Tour de Japon. The soundtrack's use of synthesized music on the PlayStation gave it a distinctive feel, and Uematsu's approach of treating the score like a film soundtrack influenced later game music. Subsequent albums in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII were composed by Masashi Hamauzu and Takeharu Ishimoto, with soundtracks for Advent Children (2005), Dirge of Cerberus (2006), Crisis Core (2007), and a combined album for Before Crisis and Last Order (2007). The original music remains the most critically acclaimed, while later releases received mixed reactions.

Did You Know?

• The original soundtrack was released on four CDs by DigiCube in 1997.
• "One-Winged Angel" was the first Final Fantasy track to include digitized vocals.
• Uematsu composed the music in less than one year, matching the game's development time.
• The lyrics of "One-Winged Angel" were taken from medieval poetry that forms the basis of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana.