Related Research Articles
Yoko Shimomura is a Japanese composer and pianist primarily known for her work in video games such as the Kingdom Hearts series. She graduated from the Osaka College of Music in 1988 and began working in the video game industry by joining Capcom the same year. She wrote music for several games there, including Final Fight, Street Fighter II, and The King of Dragons.
The Symphonic Game Music Concerts are a series of award-winning orchestral video game music concerts first performed in 2003 at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Germany, notable for being the longest running and the first of their kind outside Japan. They are produced by Thomas Böcker and performed by various orchestras conducted by Andy Brick (2003–2007), Arnie Roth, Niklas Willén and Eckehard Stier.
Final Fantasy is a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi and owned by Square Enix that includes video games, motion pictures, and other merchandise. The series began in 1987 as an eponymous role-playing video game developed by Square, spawning a video game series that became the central focus of the franchise. The music of the Final Fantasy series refers to the soundtracks of the Final Fantasy series of video games, as well as the surrounding medley of soundtrack, arranged, and compilation albums. The series' music ranges from very light background music to emotionally intense interweavings of character and situation leitmotifs.
The music of the video game Final Fantasy X was composed by regular series composer Nobuo Uematsu, along with Masashi Hamauzu and Junya Nakano. It was the first title in the main Final Fantasy series in which Uematsu was not the sole composer. The Final Fantasy X Original Soundtrack was released on four Compact Discs in 2001 by DigiCube, and was re-released in 2004 by Square Enix. Prior to the album's North American release, a reduced version entitled Final Fantasy X Official Soundtrack was released on a single disk by Tokyopop in 2002. An EP entitled feel/Go dream: Yuna & Tidus containing additional singles not present in the game was released by DigiCube in 2001. Piano Collections Final Fantasy X, a collection of piano arrangements of the original soundtracks by Masashi Hamauzu and performed by Aki Kuroda, was released by DigiCube in 2002 and re-released by Square EA in 2004. A collection of vocal arrangements of pieces from the game arranged by Katsumi Suyama along with radio drama tracks was released as Final Fantasy X Vocal Collection in 2002 by DigiCube.
Final Fantasy VII is a role-playing video game by Square as the seventh installment in the Final Fantasy series. Released in 1997, the game sparked the release of a collection of media centered on the game entitled the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. The music of the Final Fantasy VII series includes not only the soundtrack to the original game and its associated albums, but also the soundtracks and music albums released for the other titles in the collection. The first album produced was Final Fantasy VII Original Soundtrack, a compilation of all the music in the game. It was released as a soundtrack album on four CDs by DigiCube in 1997. A selection of tracks from the album was released in the single-disc Reunion Tracks by DigiCube the same year. Piano Collections Final Fantasy VII, an album featuring piano arrangements of pieces from the soundtrack, was released in 2003 by DigiCube, and Square Enix began reprinting all three albums in 2004. To date, these are the only released albums based on the original game's soundtrack, and were solely composed by regular series composer Nobuo Uematsu; his role for the majority of subsequent albums has been filled by Masashi Hamauzu and Takeharu Ishimoto.
The music of the video game Final Fantasy XII was composed primarily by Hitoshi Sakimoto. Additional music was provided by Masaharu Iwata and Hayato Matsuo, who also orchestrated the opening and ending themes. Former regular series composer Nobuo Uematsu's only work for this game was "Kiss Me Good-Bye", the theme song sung by Angela Aki. The Final Fantasy XII Original Soundtrack was released on four Compact Discs in 2006 by Aniplex. A sampling of tracks from the soundtrack was released as an album entitled Selections from Final Fantasy XII Original Soundtrack, and was released in 2006 by Tofu Records. Additionally, a promotional digital album titled The Best of Final Fantasy XII was released on the Japanese localization of iTunes for download only in 2006. "Kiss Me Good-Bye" was released by Epic Records as a single in 2006, and Symphonic Poem "Hope", the complete music from the game's end credits, was released by Hats Unlimited the same year. An abridged version of the latter piece, which originally accompanied a promotional video for the game, was included in the official soundtrack album. An album of piano arrangements, titled Piano Collections Final Fantasy XII, was released by Square Enix in 2012.
The music of the video games Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II was composed by regular series composer Nobuo Uematsu, who would go on to be the exclusive composer for the next seven Final Fantasy games. Although they were composed separately, music from the two games has only been released together. All Sounds of Final Fantasy I•II, a compilation of almost all of the music in the games, was released by DataM/Polystar in 1989, and subsequently re-released by NTT Publishing in 1994. Symphonic Suite Final Fantasy, an arranged album of music from the two games by Katsuhisa Hattori and his son Takayuki Hattori was released by DataM in 1989, and re-released by NTT Publishing/Polystar in 1994. Final Fantasy & Final Fantasy II Original Soundtrack, another arranged album, this time by Nobuo Uematsu and Tsuyoshi Sekito, was released in 2002 by DigiCube and again in 2004 by Square Enix.
The Mana series, known in Japan as Seiken Densetsu, is a role-playing video game series from Square Enix, created by Koichi Ishii. The series began as a handheld side story to Square's flagship franchise Final Fantasy, although most Final Fantasy-inspired elements were subsequently dropped, starting with the second installment, Secret of Mana. It has since grown to include games of various genres within the fictional world of Mana. The music of the Mana series includes soundtracks and arranged albums of music from the series, which is currently composed of Final Fantasy Adventure and its remake Sword of Mana, Secret of Mana, Trials of Mana, Legend of Mana, Dawn of Mana, Children of Mana, Friends of Mana, Heroes of Mana, Circle of Mana, and Rise of Mana. Each game except for Friends and Circle has produced a soundtrack album, while Adventure has sparked an arranged album as well as a combined soundtrack and arranged album, Legend of Mana has an additional promotional EP, and music from Secret and Trials were combined into an arranged album. For the series' 20th anniversary, a 20-disc box set of previously-released albums was produced, as well as an album of arrangements by Kenji Ito, composer for several games in the series.
The music of the Final Fantasy Tactics series, composed of Final Fantasy Tactics, Tactics Advance, Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift, and The War of the Lions, was primarily composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto. He was assisted by Masaharu Iwata in composing the music for Final Fantasy Tactics. The Final Fantasy Tactics Original Soundtrack, a compilation of almost all of the music in the game, was released by DigiCube in 1997, and re-released by Square Enix in 2006. No separate soundtrack has been released for Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions. The soundtrack was well received by critics, who found it to be astounding and one of the best video game music soundtracks in existence at the time of its release.
The music of the MMORPG Final Fantasy XI was composed by Naoshi Mizuta along with regular series composer Nobuo Uematsu and Kumi Tanioka. The Final Fantasy XI Original Soundtrack, a compilation of almost all of the music in the game, was released by DigiCube in 2002, and subsequently re-released by Square Enix in 2004. Final Fantasy XI Rise of the Zilart Original Soundtrack was released by DigiCube in 2003 after the release of the Rise of the Zilart expansion for Final Fantasy XI, and re-released by Square Enix in 2004. Final Fantasy XI Chains of Promathia Original Soundtrack was produced by Square Enix in 2004 after the release of the Chains of Promathia expansion, and in 2005 Square Enix published Music from the Other Side of Vana'diel, a collection of arranged tracks from the game performed by The Star Onions, a group composed of Square Enix composers including Naoshi Mizuta, Kumi Tanioka and Hidenori Iwasaki. Final Fantasy XI Treasures of Aht Urhgan Original Soundtrack was released by Square Enix in 2006 for the Treasures of Aht Urhgan expansion.
The music of the Kingdom Hearts video game series was composed by Yoko Shimomura with orchestral music arranged by Kaoru Wada. The original soundtracks of the games have been released on three albums and a fourth compilation album. The soundtracks to the Kingdom Hearts games feature several musical pieces from both Square Enix and Disney works, including such pieces as "Mickey Mouse Club March" by Jimmie Dodd, "This Is Halloween" by Danny Elfman, and "One-Winged Angel" by Nobuo Uematsu. They also feature several vocal songs, the most notable being the four main theme songs: "Hikari", "Passion", "Chikai", and "Face My Fears." The two themes were written and performed by Japanese American pop star Hikaru Utada; in addition to Japanese, English versions of the first three songs were produced, titled "Simple and Clean", "Sanctuary", and "Don't Think Twice", respectively.
Final Fantasy is a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi and owned by Square Enix that includes video games, motion pictures, and other merchandise. The original Final Fantasy video game, published in 1987, is a role-playing video game developed by Square, spawning a video game series that became the central focus of the franchise. The primary composer of music for the main series was Nobuo Uematsu, who single-handedly composed the soundtracks for the first nine games, as well as directing the production of many of the soundtrack albums. Music for the spin-off series and main series games beginning with Final Fantasy X was created by a variety of composers including Masashi Hamauzu, Naoshi Mizuta, Hitoshi Sakimoto, and Kumi Tanioka, as well as many others.
The music of the video game Final Fantasy XIII was composed by Masashi Hamauzu. Former regular series composer Nobuo Uematsu did not contribute any pieces to the soundtrack. Music from the game has been released in several albums. The main soundtrack album, Final Fantasy XIII Original Soundtrack, was released on four Compact Discs in 2010 by Square Enix, the developers and producers of the game. Selections from the soundtrack have been released on two gramophone record albums, W/F: Music from Final Fantasy XIII and W/F: Music from Final Fantasy XIII Gentle Reveries, both in 2010 by Square Enix. An album of arranged pieces from the soundtrack, Final Fantasy XIII Original Soundtrack -PLUS-, was also released by Square Enix in 2010, as was an album of piano arrangements, Piano Collection Final Fantasy XIII. The theme song for the Japanese version of the game, "Kimi ga Iru Kara", was released as a single by For Life Music in 2009.
Front Mission is a series of tactical role-playing games produced by Square Enix. The music of the series includes the soundtracks to the main series, composed of Front Mission through Front Mission 5: Scars of the War, as well as the spin-off games, which include Front Mission Series: Gun Hazard, Front Mission Alternative, Front Mission: Online, Front Mission 2089 and its remake Front Mission 2089: Border of Madness, Front Mission 2089-II, and Front Mission Evolved. The soundtracks of the series' installments have been released in album form in Japan, with the exceptions of 2089, 2089-II, and Border of Madness, which reuse music from the other installments, and Evolved, which was published in 2010. The soundtrack to Front Mission was released in 1995 by NTT Publishing, which also published the soundtrack to Front Mission: Gun Hazard in 1996. DigiCube published soundtrack albums for Front Mission 2 and Alternative in 1997 and 3 in 1999. Square Enix published the albums for Front Mission 4 in 2004, and 5 and Online in 2006.
Symphonic Shades: Hülsbeck in Concert was a symphonic tribute concert held twice in Cologne, Germany on 23 August 2008 featuring video game music. The concert was held in honor of the German-born video-game composer Chris Hülsbeck, and featured orchestral arrangements exclusively based on Hülsbeck's works throughout his 22-year-long career. The concert was produced and directed by Thomas Böcker, with the majority of arrangements provided by Finnish composer and musician Jonne Valtonen, and with contributions by Japanese video-game composers Yuzo Koshiro, Takenobu Mitsuyoshi, and additional assistance from Adam Klemens.
Symphonic Fantasies: Music from Square Enix was an award-winning symphonic tribute concert originally held in Cologne, Germany on September 12, 2009, at the Cologne Philharmonic Hall featuring video game music from Japanese game developer Square Enix. The concert featured symphonic movements based on the Kingdom Hearts series, Secret of Mana, the Chrono series, and the Final Fantasy series. It was produced and directed by Thomas Böcker, with arrangements provided by Finnish composer and musician Jonne Valtonen with assistance by Roger Wanamo. Due to overwhelming demand, a second concert was added at the König-Pilsener-Arena in Oberhausen, on September 11, 2009. Both performances were by the WDR Radio Orchestra Cologne and the WDR Radio Choir Cologne under conduction from Arnie Roth, with guest performers Rony Barrak and Benyamin Nuss joining the orchestra. Symphonic Fantasies was broadcast over radio on the WDR4 station and streamed live video online.
Merregnon Studios is a company based in Dresden, Germany, founded by Thomas Böcker. It produces recordings and concerts worldwide, including the orchestral Merregnon and Game Concerts series.
The music of the 1998 role-playing video game Parasite Eve, based on the novel of the same name by Hideaki Sena, was composed by Yoko Shimomura, and was one of her early popular successes. The music for its 1999 sequel Parasite Eve II was composed by Naoshi Mizuta and arranged by Hiroshi Nakajima. The 2010 spin-off title The 3rd Birthday was composed for by Shimomura, Mitsuto Suzuki and Tsuyoshi Sekito. Shimomura's work was described by herself as experimental, and incorporated multiple musical genres including opera music. The score for Parasite Eve was recorded at the Andora Studios in Los Angeles. For Parasite Eve II, Mizuta spent a year and a half on the project, using the game's scenario and visuals as references and taking inspiration from multiple film genres. It was Mizuta's first project after transferring from Capcom to Square Enix. For The 3rd Birthday, Shimomura worked with Suzuki and Sekito to create a score reminiscent of Parasite Eve, while Japanese rock band Superfly provided the theme song "Eyes on Me".
The music for the video game Final Fantasy XV, developed and published by Square Enix as the fifteenth mainline entry in the Final Fantasy series, was composed primarily by Yoko Shimomura. Having previously worked on the Kingdom Hearts series, among various other titles, Final Fantasy XV was her first project for the series. Shimomura was brought on board the project in 2006, when it was a spin-off title called Final Fantasy Versus XIII, and stayed in her role during the game's ten-year development cycle. Her music, based around themes of "friendship" and "filial bonds", incorporates multiple musical genres, such as orchestral, bossa nova, and American blues. Several tracks, including the main theme "Somnus", feature Latin lyrics written by the game's original director Tetsuya Nomura.
References
- ↑ "Consolidated Financial Results for the Six Months Ended September 30, 2004" (PDF). Square Enix. 2004-11-18. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2006-05-06. Retrieved 2011-08-12.
- ↑ "Drammatica—The Very Best of Yoko Shimomura—" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 2013-09-20. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
- ↑ "SQ Chips" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 2013-09-20. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
- ↑ "SQ Chips 2" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 2013-09-20. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
- ↑ "Love SQ" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
- ↑ "Chill SQ" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 2013-09-20. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
- ↑ "Symphonic Fantasies—Music from Square Enix" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 2013-03-10. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
- ↑ "More SQ" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 2013-09-20. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
- ↑ "Cafe SQ" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 2013-09-20. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
- ↑ "Battle SQ" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 2013-09-20. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
- ↑ "Beer SQ" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 2013-09-20. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
- ↑ "Composer List :: Major Composers". Square Enix Music Online. Archived from the original on 2013-12-10. Retrieved 2013-09-11.
- ↑ "Personal Computer Music Jesus ~ Gandhara ~ Wingman II". Square Enix Music Online. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2013-08-16.
- ↑ "Enix Game Music". Square Enix Music Online. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2013-08-16.
- ↑ "Square Vocal Collections" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2013-08-14.
- ↑ Wilson, Mike (2005-09-06). "tri-Ace Sound Battle Collection". RPGFan. Archived from the original on 2013-09-20. Retrieved 2013-08-14.
- ↑ "Square Enix Music Compilation". Square Enix Music Online. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2013-08-16.
- ↑ Square Enix Music Powered Vol. 1 (album). Square Enix. 2006-06-22.
- ↑ Square Enix Music Powered Vol. 2 (album). Square Enix. 2006-08-22.
- ↑ Square Enix Music Powered Vol. 3 (album). Square Enix. 2006-10-21.
- ↑ Square Enix Music Powered Vol. 4 (album). Square Enix. 2006-12-22.
- ↑ Square Enix Music Powered Vol. 5 (album). Square Enix. 2007-02-22.
- 1 2 3 "Battle Tracks — バトルトラックスシリーズ" (in Japanese). Square Enix. Archived from the original on 2012-01-06. Retrieved 2013-08-14.
- ↑ "Square Enix 音乐经典收藏集 Vol.2" (in Japanese). 92wy.com. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2013-08-20.
- ↑ "Drammatica — The Very Best of Yoko Shimomura" (in Japanese). Square Enix. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2013-08-14.
- ↑ "Square Enix X Xbox 360 Sound Collections". Square Enix Music Online. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2013-08-16.
- ↑ Square Enix Music Compilation Vol. 3 (album). Square Enix. 2009. SQEX-200901.
- ↑ "Love SQ" (in Japanese). Square Enix. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2013-08-14.
- ↑ "Chill SQ" (in Japanese). Square Enix. Archived from the original on 2013-07-23. Retrieved 2013-08-14.
- ↑ "The CD: Symphonic Fantasies - music from Square Enix". Maz Sound Tools. September 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-09-17. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
- ↑ "クリスマス・コレクションズ music from Square Enix" (in Japanese). Square Enix. Archived from the original on 2013-06-02. Retrieved 2013-08-14.
- ↑ "more SQ" (in Japanese). Square Enix. Archived from the original on 2013-07-28. Retrieved 2013-08-14.
- ↑ CD Book/ギターソロ スクウェアエニックス オフィシャルベストコレクション (CD Book ギター・ソロ) (in Japanese). ASIN 4773233303.
- 1 2 3 "イベント限定販売CD" (in Japanese). Square Enix. Archived from the original on 2013-09-20. Retrieved 2013-08-16.
- ↑ ""お台場合衆国2011"に『FF零式』と『スラもりDQ3』が出展" (in Japanese). Dengeki Online. 2011-07-13. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2013-08-20.
- 1 2 "SQChips" (in Japanese). Square Enix. Archived from the original on 2013-07-18. Retrieved 2013-08-14.
- ↑ "Cafe SQ" (in Japanese). Square Enix. Archived from the original on 2013-08-25. Retrieved 2013-08-14.
- ↑ Richardson, Bob (2012-05-09). "SQ Lovers". RPGFan. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2013-08-14.
- 1 2 "Battle SQ" (in Japanese). Square Enix. Archived from the original on 2013-09-18. Retrieved 2013-08-14.
- 1 2 "Beer SQ" (in Japanese). Square Enix. Archived from the original on 2013-07-15. Retrieved 2013-08-14.
- 1 2 3 "SQChips2" (in Japanese). Square Enix. Archived from the original on 2013-08-29. Retrieved 2013-08-14.
- ↑ "The CD: Symphonic Fantasies Tokyo - music from Square Enix". MAZ Sound Tools. Archived from the original on 2011-09-11. Retrieved 2013-02-21.
- ↑ "Square Enix Composers Best - Black Disk" (in Japanese). Square Enix. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2013-08-16.
- ↑ Chandran, Neal (2013-10-20). "Compi de Chocobo". RPGFan. Archived from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
- ↑ "SQUARE ENIX Sound Effect Collection 3". Video Game Database. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
- ↑ "X'mas Collections II music from Square Enix" (in Japanese). Square Enix. Archived from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
- ↑ Richardson, Bob (2015-02-02). "Cure SQ". RPGFan. Retrieved 2015-02-09.
- ↑ Khan, Jahanzeb (March 12, 2014). "Upcoming Yoko Shimomura Album Will Feature Music From Final Fantasy XV". Hard Core Gamer. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
- ↑ Napolitano, Jayson (October 27, 2014). "Review: SQ Swing". Scarlet Moon Productions. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
- ↑ 大陸新秩序 (February 25, 2019). "スクウェア・エニックスの人気ゲーム楽曲をジャズアレンジで披露。「Billboard Live presents SQUARE ENIX JAZZ -DEBUT-」をレポート". 4Gamer. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
- ↑ "The World is Square". RPGFan. Archived from the original on 2019-11-03. Retrieved 2019-11-03.
- ↑ "Square Enix Acoustic Arrangements". Square Enix.
- ↑ "Square Enix Music Chips Selection". Square Enix.
- ↑ "Square Enix Chill Out Arrangement Tracks - Around 80's Mix". Square Enix.
- ↑ "Symphonic Memories Concert - music from Square Enix". Square Enix.
- ↑ "Square Enix Jazz -SaGa-". Square Enix.
- ↑ "Opening Tracks 1987-1996". Square Enix.
- ↑ "Preserved Tracks Collection from 1986～1996". Square Enix.
- ↑ "Square Enix - Mellow Minstrel Mix". Square Enix.
- ↑ "Square Enix - Airship Cruise Beats". Square Enix.
- ↑ "Square Enix - Mellow Minstrel Mix Vol. 2". Square Enix.
- ↑ "Square Enix - Airship Cruise Beats Vol. 2". Square Enix.
| Video game development | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other industries | |||||
| Lists of video games | |||||
| Key people |
| ||||
| Former assets |
| ||||
| Related articles | |||||
