Customer Reviews

Final Fantasy IV: Celtic Moon

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This CD is not actually the original soundtrack to Final Fantasy IV as it may lead to believe, but is actually the arranged FFIV Celtic Moon CD. However, this is no reason to avoid it. This is one of the best Final Fantasy Arranged cds that can be easily enjoyed by anyone, regardless of whether or not they've played FFIV, or even played any of the games. The music is very relaxing celtic style and includes a wide variety of arranged music from the game including the sweet Theme of Love (Rosa's), fun Chocobo-Chocobo, the haunting Into the Darkness (dungeon theme), the beautiful Rydia's Theme, and the sinister Dancing Calcobrena! There are fifteen tracks in total, all unique and relaxing. The only drawback is that the cd might be a bit too mellow overall, as none of the tracks are very fast paced. However, this is still worth the money and is a must-buy for fans of Nobuo Uematsu and FFIV.

One person on the Internet said that this is where Final Fantasy meets Braveheart. He wasn't kidding! I can sum this CD up in just one word: "wonderful". When I first turned it on and heard "The Prelude" I melted in my seat. The flute was absolutely beautiful. And, it kept getting better. The "Main Theme to Final Fantasy IV" is great. The fiddle and flute each played the song with the other instrument accompanying in the background - the flute was especially nice with the fiddle background. This track is not to be missed! "Rydia" is just fantastic, with a beautiful female vocal background - no words mind you. The flute along with the voices together make this piece enough to shed tears over!

In my opinion, this CD stays true to the original sound version. Obviously, there is some "artist's liberty" with this CD - it's *not* endlessly repetitive. The additional music is very good, however, and adds to the song. I get shivers just thinking about the game if some of the music on this CD were involved. The best in this case would be "Prologue..." and "Chocobo-Chocobo". Very appropriate. There is only one disappointment with this CD. "Into the Darkness" was turned from a eerily beautiful and haunting piece into a waltz! I can just see Gomez Addams dancing with his wife. However, the background was still very nice, so the song wasn't that bad. All in all, this CD is a delight to listen to and should definitely be added to any video game music fan's collection.

This special Celtic arrangement of Final Fantasy IV music, "Final Fantasy IV: Celtic Moon", was utterly breathtaking when I first downloaded the Main Theme off this soundtrack. I was so amazed by what celtic-style music can do to enhance these well-known songs!

At first, I was uneasy about downloading this song, because I feared that this rendition would only spoil the original piece taken straight from the game. I had never really liked celtic music, and never taken the time to listen to it. Once I did, I was compelled to buy this CD. The Main Theme of Final Fantasy IV, aka the overworld theme, is definately one of my top 10 ALL-TIME favorite Final Fantasy pieces so I immediately fell in love. I am a cellist, and often when I hear a song I absolutely love, I teach myself to play the piece by ear on my cello. This song is definately fun to play on my instrument!

After hearing that song, I bought the CD, and was more excited about it that any other Final Fantasy CD I bought. When it finally shipped to my house, I popped it into my computer right away! To my surprise, the well-known, well-loved Final Fantasy Prelude and Prologue were incorporated in there! Now of course you have to love those beautiful pieces. The soundtrack is just so true to original Final Fantasy IV music, but with a livelier, more fresh touch. The third track, Chocobo-Chocobo, can be described in just two words: Pure Fun. It's just that short, bouncy tune that every Final Fantasy fan knows, except it's not the least bit annoying. Because of the instruments used, the arrangement, and track length, you never get bored. Besides, who ever said Chocobos don't like celtic music? You can definately tell they do in this happy song.

Since there are 15 songs on this CD, it sure would be a long review if I went through every song. (They are all worth a paragraph each.) So instead, I will just touch on my favorites from this soundtrack. The Main Theme, which I have already talked about, is at the top of that list. My other favorites are Welcome To Our Town!, a very blissful piece that reminds me of a folk dance celebration; Theme of Love, which is optimistically heart-wrenching (to say the least); Dancing Calcobrena, a great song that really sounds like a "dance", or waltz; Mystic Mysidia, which takes me directly back to that insanely strange town, with a fun rendition of the medley; and last, but certainly not least, Illusionary World. The eerie beginning gives me that feeling of being lost and alone in a cold world of fog. About halfway through the track, you hear the sound of a gong and all of the sudden the music picks up with a cheerful tune. You no longer feel lost in this 'illusionary world' and are at peace. This song does wonders for the imagination, and is no-doubt one of the best songs I have ever heard coming from all of Final Fantasy.

If you still feel unsure whether to buy this soundtrack or not, just remember... this is Nobuo Uematsu's music here. ...And it is all orchestral. You really can't go wrong. If you are new to the Final Fantasy series, or long-time fan like myself, this album will surely please the ears of both. I sincerely hope this review was of some help to you, and that it perhaps got you interested in buying this magnificent arrangement by Nobuo Uematsu.

If you like Celtic Orchestra, this ones for you. If your looking for CD with action battle music, you won't find it here (If it did, I would probably of given it 5 stars instead of 4).
The main overworld theme is probably my favorite.
"Mystic Mysidia" is a very funny one to listen to.
There are a lot of sad-sounding songs on here as well.
Great Soundtrack.

Celtic Moon is an arranged album that belongs on any FF fan's shelf. The arrangements, while mostly not quite true "Celtic" music, are beautiful and really give the music more life and depth. The lighthearted and fun "Chocobo-Chocobo" is the only really fast-paced track in the album, while "Into the Darkness" and "Illusionary World" capture the creepy wariness of the originals quite well. "Main Theme of Final Fantasy IV" often causes one to reminisce about wandering around on the world map; "Welcome to Our Town!" adds much more depth to the slightly sad & tired original, including a wonderful happy interlude. Mischievous "Palom & Porom" gives these characters the spot they deserve ;), greatly expanding their theme, and "Mystic Mysidia" enhances the best of the funky, upbeat original. The only possible downside to this collection is the lack of any battle tracks, but what is here is so great that it doesn't much matter. Any FF fan should buy this. Now.

FFIV is one of my favourite games ever, with some of my favourite music from any game/movie/composer. But how does it sound when adapted to a "celtic" style?

Fantastic.

It may not seem to fit in to this style (at least that was my impression) until you actually hear it. The arrangements are lush, without being overwhelming, and the music is VERY true to the originals. Mystic Mysidia is great, as is Illusionary World, Into the Darkness, Giott, Prelude, Rydia is a great improvement on the original, and Toroian Beauty is an utterly stunning conclusion.

The only reason I didn't give it a 5 star rating is because occasionally (such as on Welcome to Our Town!) they will insert a cute little jig that doesn't seem to fit with the theme. This is not a big deal, and it is the only blemish on an otherwise perfect adaptation.

The music speaks for itself, it doesn't need me or any other reviewer to do that for it. So do yourself a favour and re-live a masterful soundtrack by an absolute genius of a composer through a wonderfully different lens.

So, this is *not* the exact music from Final Fantasy IV, but rather "celtic" versions of some of the songs. Whether or not that is completely accurate, who can say? What we can agree is that it is Uematsu and it is good. Final Fantasy fans - you all already have this anyway heh :)

I wholeheartedly recommend this CD to anyone who is either a fan of Final Fantasy music or arrangements such as the Talisean Orchestra CD Orinco Flow. The often haunting Celtic sound adds a new and unique dimension to music that already possesses a great adventurous/fantastical quality. Pieces such as Chocobo-Chocobo would fit readily into any collection of Irish jigs.

I personally am a fan of Celtic music, so when I saw the title I had to give this CD a go. Combining Final Fantasy classics with Celtic-type instruments was pure genius. The Prelude was very well done, although it strays a little bit from the original version. After a while, though, you come to appreciate its quality. The Prologue and Into the Darkness were also done extremely well. I must say before I go any further that I've listened to this CD numerous amounts of times, but most of the songs I never even looked at the title after the first or second time through. Nevertheless, that doesn't take away from the experience. A couple more that are my personal favorites are Theme of Love and Rydia. Although I have no idea what the vocals are saying in Rydia, the music is once again extremely well done. There really aren't any words to describe this CD, and to really see what I mean you need to at least hear samples of a couple of songs. If you enjoy Celtic and Final Fantasy music, I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

I finally got this CD, and I'm so glad I did. Songs so familiar and beautiful to me became so much more in the arrangments used in this CD. The Celtic style fits so perfectly with the orinal coposition of this music.
For a person that greatly enjoys video game sound tracks and Celtic music, this CD is a wise choice to take. However, I think even someone not familliar with Final Fantasy IV could easily enjoy this CD just as much as I do.