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Please expand this article into a full one. This can be done by Adding descriptions in the sections for:
Each OST
The many arrangements
The Black Mages
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The Music of Final Fantasy has been, since the release of the initial game in the series, an integral part of the gaming experience. Most of the games' original soundtracks have garnered much critical praise from various sources, ranging from video game magazines to professional music reviewers. Alongside the original soundtracks, many compilations and arranged albums have been produced over the years, to similar acclaim by fans and critics.
Within the whole of the body of musical works, there are certain themes that have made an appearance more than once in different games, clearly associated with a character or a situation.
These themes have appeared in most of the original soundtracks of the main series under different lengths, arrangements and even variations.
The Prelude was the opening theme of the original Final Fantasy. Since then, it has become one of the most prominent musical pieces in the series, playing at many different stages throughout the games. It is also one of the most musical pieces beloved by the fans of the series.
The Main Theme of Final Fantasy (originally titled "Opening Theme" in Final Fantasy) has appeared in most of the main series, usually played during the opening sequence or during the ending. Not to be confused with the Prelude, since, despite its title, the "Opening Theme" was in reality not the opening track of the game.
The Victory Fanfare is the track that plays in every instance of the main series when a battle encounter ends with victory. Although variations of the Fanfare have been used in some of games, the opening bars have remained unchanged since the original Final Fantasy, until the production of Final Fantasy XIII.
The Chocobo Theme is played each time the party travels across the land by means of riding a chocobo or when the enter a Chocobo Forest or any place related to them. Since each entry of the main series includes at least one particular version of the Chocobo Theme, numerous arrangements of this track exist.
The original soundtrack of Final Fantasy introduced three of the musical themes that became a staple of the series ever afterwards, as well as some lasting fan favorites such as "Matoya's Cave".
The complete soundtrack of the original NES version of Final Fantasy III was actually not the first compilation album of the game, having arrived to the music stores a year after the arranged album Final Fantasy III: Eternal Legend of the Wind was released.
The NES version of Final Fantasy III never made it to Western shores, and therefore it was not until the DS Version of the game that the soundtrack was widely distributed in America and the rest of the world.
Final Fantasy IV's soundtrack was the first to include amongst its body of works a Piano Collections album, a practice that became a rule of sorts for every game in the series afterwards. Another arranged album, Final Fantasy IV: Celtic Moon was released as well, performed by Máire Breatnach in the style of Celtic music.
Uematsu noted that the production of the soundtrack was an arduous task, involving much trial and error. The reason stemmed from the then-recent transition phase between the Famicon and the Super Famicon hardwares.
During production, Final Fantasy V was originally designed to include more than a hundred different themes. Nobuo Uematsu felt the number would make the album unpurchasable for the children in the audience, as it would require a two-disc release, and cut down the track list to 50 tunes. The soundtrack was nevertheless released as a two-disc set.
The last of the soundtracks to be issued for the 16-bit generation of consoles, the soundtrack was the longest recorded for said generation of games. For Uematsu, Final Fantasy VI's music marked the end of a stage in his career, which was well-grounded by then in the video game music industry.
Uematsu stated that this particular soundtrack was the most challenging Final Fantasy soundtrack he has ever worked on. Despite this, Final Fantasy VI: Original Sound Version received raving reviews, being hailed more than once as one of the best soundtracks ever composed for a video game. The game was the first installment in the series to feature a leitmotif for every one of its main playable characters.
Preeminent among these are two themes, "Terra's Theme" and the Aria di Mezzo Carattere, which featured a synthesized voice in the original game, but was re-recorded with a full orchestra and singer. Another famous piece from this soundtrack is "Dancing Mad," a very complex 14 minute piece which accompanies the Final Boss.
Called by Uematsu his "greatest harvest" in terms of creativity, the soundtrack, despite its length, was composed in a period of less than a year, as opposed to the bi-annual period of producing that had become the standard regarding the previous original soundtracks.
Final Fantasy VII's soundtrack was innovative in that it was the first game in the series to include a track with digitized vocals, "One-Winged Angel," which has been described as Uematsu's "most recognizable contribution" to the music of the Final Fantasy series. Another one of Uematsu's best known compositions is "Aerith's Theme."
Its music was a mix of the rock and orchestral genres. It is one of Takeharu Ishimoto's notable works because of the various versions of some famous Final Fantasy VII songs composed by Nobuo Uematsu and his own compositions for the game itself. It also includes a few tracks provided by Kazuhiko Toyama.
One of the most notable songs on the soundtrack is "The Price of Freedom," which was played when Sephiroth was reminiscing his days with Angeal and Genesis, as well as during Zack's final stand against the Shinra Army.
The game's soundtrack was composed by Takeharu Ishimoto, who also composed the soundtrack of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. It features remixes of different famous songs of the series, some original tracks composed by Ishimoto himself, some tracks sung by Your Favorite Enemies, and a bonus track— "The Messenger" by Your Favorite Enemies.
Some tracks that featured in the game weren't featured in the soundtrack, which were the original versions of some famous songs like the "Dancing Mad", and the "Mambo de Chocobo" and Final Fantasy V Victory Fanfare which was featured in the Data Install feature.
The game's soundtrack was composed/arranged by Takeharu Ishimoto, who was also responsible for the music from the first Dissidia. Like the first Dissidia, it features arrangements of the music from the series as well as some original versions of some songs from the series.
The soundtrack's regular edition sports a white cover on the front with the Warriors of Cosmos, and a black cover on the back with the Warriors of Chaos.
The limited first run edition featured an album jacket box with the Cosmos side artwork on the front and Chaos side at the back. It also included a DVD featuring the game's trailers and promotional videos.
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Zero
Final Fantasy Type-0: Original Soundtrack
Final Fantasy Type-0: Limited Edition Soundtrack.
Final Fantasy Type-0 Music Collection -First Campaign-
Final Fantasy XIV : Field Tracks.
Final Fantasy XIV : Battle Tracks.
