Customer Reviews

Final Fantasy IX: Original Soundtrack PLUS

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Uematsu's music (known for all previous Final Fantasy games) has always been a favorite of mine. Final Fantasy IX takes a step back from the more modern-styled 7 and 8, and the music reminisces of earlier games. The victory fanfare (disc 1 track 19) returns to the original tune, and the battle theme (1.18) starts with the familiar rhythmic bass line. Also included are two new renditions of the Chocobo theme (2.8 and 2.9) and the "prelude" (4.23) which is played, ironically, at the end of the game.

Also worth mentioning is Gulug Mountain (3.25), which is a clever remix of one of the tunes from FF1, done largely in synth tones (possibly to hint at the more primitive origins of game music.) This is the track which, when I heard it in the game, immediately made me decide that I had to have this soundtrack.

The soundtrack covers many different styles, with four or five strong themes as the central focus. (Don't be put off though, not every track is based on one of a handful of themes.) Moods range from apprehensive to excited, from mysterious to just plain whimsical (for example, the "Black Mage Village" track, 3.6, which is punctuated occasionally by hooting sounds, or "Turning Frog," 3.23, which sounds like you might hear it at a ballpark.)

The song for the final boss, typically one where the composer goes all out, certainly lives up to many of its predecessors. This often plays right after the music for a scene in which the final boss explains its motives (which this particular boss seemed sorely lacking; the FF9 boss reminds me of the Mana Dragon in "Secret of Mana" in that both show up after you've beaten the villain you've been going for throughout most of the game, and neither really has a sensible reason to be there other than having another boss) and you get to pick your characters. Uematsu decided to lead this song into the boss tune, which has a cool effect in the game but means that in the soundtrack, it takes a while to get to the part that's actually the boss battle music within its track.

Those of you who like to examine music closely will notice some particularly clever intricacies in this soundtrack. My favorite example is "The Hilda Garde," Disc 4 Track 1. One almost has to be wearing headphones to catch that the instrument that does the arpeggios in the background starts out in the center but quickly pans further and further out to the left and right in a manner that is vaguely suggestive of the motion of a propeller starting up. (Keep in mind that this is the airship theme.)

There are some tracks in the set that don't go particularly well by themselves, but that's what you get in a more or less complete soundtrack. (It even has the music that plays when your party goes to sleep; the track is 9 seconds long.) I say "more or less" complete because a few tracks are not in this collection. For the music from the cutscenes, or Eiko's theme with the "Melodies of Life" song layered in, for example, you will need to buy the "PLUS" CD. On the other hand, Disc 4 of this item includes two tracks (24 and 25) that use the Melodies tune as backgrounds for what were apparently Coca-Cola commercials, though thankfully (or not, depending on what you're looking for) any speech in the ads has been removed.

If I have one complaint about the soundtrack, it's that the cutoffs could have been done better. In other game soundtracks, the tunes that repeat themselves go on for a relatively fixed number of times before fading out. In this soundtrack, it seems they were trying to make most tracks approximately the same length; as a result, some music loops three or four times while other tracks cut off shortly after it goes back to the repeat point. However, it's not entirely fair to blame the composer for writing for a medium that's inherently difficult to translate into a soundtrack. Technical issues aside, the music is characteristic of some of Uematsu's best (a category which, in my opinion, now includes several pieces in this soundtrack.)

this is definetly worth the money i suggest to any Final Fantasy that u buy this as soon as possible. Here's a list of the songs because it doesn't say in english on the soundtrack.The soundtrack has 4 discs of pure Final fantasy pleasure. here are the songs DISC ONE 1. The Place I'll Return to Someday 17. Awakened Forest 2. Memories Erased in the Storm 18. Battle 1 3. Battle Strategy Conference 19. Fanfare 4. The Skies of Alexandria 20. Memories of that Day 5. Vivi's Theme 21. Battle 2 6. Feel my Blade 22. Game Over 7. Vamo' alla flamenco 23. RUN! 8. Decisive Action - Search for the Princess - 24. Goodnight 9. Jesters of the Moon 25. Crossing those Hills 10. Steiner's Theme 26. Ice Caverns 11. Prima Vista Band 27. Frontier Village Dali 12. Stolen Eyes 28. Far Away in the Twilight 13. Tonight 29. Reckless Steiner 14. Your Warmth 30. Limited Time 15. Mistaken Love 31. Zidane's Theme 16. Queen of the Abyss 32. Black Waltz DISC TWO 1. Cid's Theme 14. A Face Unforgotten 2. One Danger Put Behind Us... 15. Kuja's Theme 3. Lidbulm 16. The Sword of Doubt 4. Song of Memories 17. Sleepless City Treno 5. Hunter's Chance 18. Theme of the Tantalus 6. Qu's Marsh 19. Immoral Melody 7. Quina's Theme 20. Garnet's Theme 8. Aloha de Chocobo 21. Gargan Roo 9. Ukule le Chocobe 22. Cleyra's Trunk 10. Freija's Theme 23. Cleyra Settlement 11. At the South Gate Border 24. Eternal Harvest 12. Fairy Battle 25. Grieve for the Skies 13. Burmecian Kingdom 26. Extraction DISC THREE 1. Ambush Attack 14. We are Thieves! 2. Loss of Me 15. Slew of Love Letters 3. Fossil Roo 16. Quad Mist 4. Mountain Pass - Conde Petie 17. Mogri's Theme 5. Black Mage Village 18. Protecting my Devotion 6. Unfathomed Reminiscence 19. The Chosen Summoner 7. Ceremony for the Gods 20. Keeper of Time 8. Eiko's Theme 21. Oeilvert 9. Ruins of Madain Sari 22. A Transient Past 10. Walls of the Sacred Beasts 23. The Sneaky Frog and the Scoundrel 11. Lifa Tree 24. Esto Gaza 12. Salamander's Theme 25. Gurugu Volcano 13. Footsteps of Desire 26. The Heart of Melting Magic DISC FOUR 1. The Airshipt, Hildagaldy 14. Crystal World 2. Secret Library Daguerreo 15. Dark Messenger 3. Ipsen's Heritage 16. Final Battle 4. The Four Medallions 17. Bittersweet Romance 5. Successive Battles 18. Hidden Lips 6. Terra 19. I Want to be Your Bird 7. Bran Bal, The Village Without Souls 20. Two Hearts not Captured 8. Pandemonium, The Castle Frozen in Time 21. Towards that Gate 9. You're not Alone! 22. Melodies of Life - Final Fantasy 10. Passing Sorrow 23. Prelude 11. The Evil Mist's Rebirth 24. CCJC TVCM 15" (Coca-Cola Commercial) 12. Assault of the White Dragons 25. CCJC TVCM 30" (Coca-Cola Commercial) 13. Place of Memory 26. Melodies of Life (The Layers of Harmony)

The Final Fantasy IX OST is perhaps the best video game soundtrack ever. From the first track to the last.It includes everything from the opening theme song to Melodies of Life. From the first track to the last, this soundtrack is unlike anything else.Composed by Nobuo Uematsu; famous for composing Final Fantasy I to IX's soundtrack. Nobuo's work is always great, and this game falls under the same patern.If you enjoy Final Fantasy IX or the music, be sure to pick up this masterpeice.

This is the only thing that came up the first time I ran a search for a FF9 soundtrack, so I ordered it. And I was in for a bit of a disappointment. Be warned, if you're looking for the main music within the game, this is not it. This is mostly music from the FMV sequences, with a few extras thrown in (such as the version of Eiko's theme that incorporates the overworld theme into it and a few Kuja numbers.) It's good for what it is, but it's not what you might think it is.

Disc One (72:05)
1) The Place I'll Return to Someday 2:08
2) Memories Washed Away in the Storm 1:15
3) Strategy Conference 1:38
4) The Skies of Alexandria 0:54
5) Vivi's Theme 3:11
6) Living by the Sword 2:42
7) Vamo'alla flamenco 1:52
8) Decisive Action ~ Search for the Princess 3:14
9) Clowns of the Moonless Night 3:20
10) Steiner's Theme 2:27
11) Prima Vista Band 1:45
12) Captivating Eyes 2:50
13) Tonight 0:16
14) Your Warmth 0:34
15) Mistaken Love 3:35
16) Queen of the Abyss 1:31
17) Rustling Forest 2:28
18) Battle 1 2:40
19) Fanfare 0:57
20) Memories of That Day 2:27
21) Battle 2 4:05
22) Game Over 1:55
23) Run! 2:47
24) Goodnight 0:09
25) Over That Hill 2:38
26) Ice Cavern 2:59
27) Frontier Village Dali 2:28
28) In the Distant Twilight 3:07
29) Reckless Steiner 2:45
30) Limited Time 3:03
31) Zidane's Theme 2:46
32) Black Waltz 1:39

Disc Two (71:10)
1) Cid's Theme 4:00
2) One Danger Behind Us... 3:10
3) Lindblum 2:11
4) Song of Memories 1:53
5) Hunter Chance 3:47
6) Marsh of the Qu Tribe 3:17
7) Quina's Theme 3:52
8) Aloha de Chocobo 2:56
9) Ukele de Chocobo 2:22
10) Freya's Theme 3:02
11) South Gate at the Border 2:56
12) Fairy Battle 2:28
13) Burmecian Kingdom 3:55
14) An Unforgettable Face 3:24
15) Kuja's Theme 2:25
16) Sword of Confusion 3:17
17) Treno, the Sleepless City 2:53
18) Tantalus' Theme 2:21
19) Wicked Melody 2:25
20) Garnet's Theme 2:40
21) Ancient Road - Gargan Roo 1:47
22) Cleyra's Trunk 2:43
23) Cleyra Settlement 2:21
24) Eternally Good Harvest 1:15
25) Heaven's Distress 2:35
26) Extraction 1:15

Disc Three (71:30)
1) Attack 2:23
2) Rose of May 2:34
3) Fossil Roo 2:31
4) Village on a Windy Mountain - Conde Petie 3:43
5) Black Mage Village 3:22
6) Unreachable Desire 3:47
7) Ceremony for Gods 2:09
8) Eiko's Theme 3:36
9) Ruins of Madain Sari 3:49
10) Wall of the Illusionary Beasts 2:31
11) Iifa Tree 2:29
12) Salamander's Theme 2:28
13) Footsteps of Desire 2:19
14) We are Thieves! 2:11
15) Love Letter Epic War 2:53
16) Testra Master 3:39
17) Moogle Theme 1:56
18) Those Whom We Must Protect 2:21
19) The Summoned 2:55
20) Warden of Time 2:43
21) Oeilvert 2:17
22) An Irrevocable Past 2:52
23) Turn Around, He's a Frog! 2:03
24) Sacred Grounds - Esto Gaza 3:49
25) Gurgu Volcano 2:07
26) The Mind and the Fused Magic 2:03

Disc Four (71:54)
1) The Airship - Hilda Garde 4:07
2) Hermit's Library - Daguerreo 2:04
3) Ipsen's Ancient Castle 1:58
4) Four Mirrors 2:45
5) Concurrent Battles 2:02
6) Terra 2:10
7) Soulless Village, Bran Bal 3:11
8) Pandemonium, the Castle Frozen in Time 3:03
9) You're Not Alone! 2:36
10) Dissipating Sorrow 3:29
11) The Evil Mist Returns 2:26
12) Assault of the Silver Dragons 3:48
13) Place of Memory 2:14
14) Crystal World 3:43
15) Messenger of Ruin 4:43
16) Final Battle 6:15
17) Bittersweet Romance 1:32
18) Kiss of Betrayal 0:28
19) I Want to be Your Canary 1:18
20) Two Unstealable Hearts 1:21
21) Behind the Door 2:06
22) Melodies of Life ~ Final Fantasy 7:35
23) Prelude 2:45
24) CCJC TVCM 15" (Coca-Cola Commercial) 0:20
25) CCJC TVCM 30" (Coca-Cola Commercial) 0:34
26) Melodies of Life - The Layers of Harmony 2:03

Okay: when Final Fantasy IX first came out, I thought the music was great. I HAD to have the soundtrack. And in my craze, I just added the "Original Soundtrack PLUS" to my shopping cart at Game Music Online; I wanted it all!

Naturally, several minutes later, I got to thinking how the PLUS was probably just a milk-marketing gimmick and that I just wasted some money. Too lazy to cancel it from my order, I just let it arrive.

Wow, I'm glad I did. The soundtrack moves at lightning pace, barraging you with the music from every cutscene in the game (usually :25 to 1:35 or so max)... but that's not bad at all. It's excellent, in fact. Uematsu is so good you could soundtrack films with his stuff. The composing quality is just as good on these short tracks as his other works.

But after the last cutscene theme, it's not over! There are still 12 more songs, remixed and unreleased tracks from Final Fantasy IX. It's very interesting to see which of Uematsu's compositions didn't make the final cut, and to see how some of the character and scene themes might have come out differently. There's also a remix of Rufus' Welcoming Ceremony (from FFVII - played by the Prima Vista band in the Evil Forest section), a remix of Melodies of Life, and the Doga and Une theme heard in the Black Mage Village.

So here's the low-down: this is a surprising success. It's definitely worth the money, and quite good. Don't pass it off as a cheap tack-on album, it's a genuine companion to the OST - they just couldn't fit another disc! Highly recommended if you're a game music fan.

Although I did not like the game of FF9 quite as much as FF8, I still could not resist the CD, and I'm quite pleased with it, although the music is a bit more samey than the previous release. Of course the battle and boss music themes are easy to recognise, and both are pretty good, up to the series standards. I also enjoy the "lullaby" battle music of the friendly monsters, it's very relaxing! The theme of the game is somewhat medieval, and there are lots of tunes that carry this flavour, with jingling bells and pipes...Actually, there are a few too many like this, and having all the tracks listed in Japanese makes it worse, as I couldn't remember a lot of the tracks, or relate them to the time I heard them while playing the game. After spending some frustrated hours listening to the songs with no titles to help me, I tracked down a full translation of the titles on the web, and I have to say, my appreciation of the music went up enormously once I could identify a piece in its context within the game. For this reason, I am including the list of translated titles here, to help other non-Japanese speakers identify their favourite tracks:

Disc 1:
1 Place I Call Home 2 Memories lost in the storm 3 Battle strategy meeting 4 Skies of Alexandria 5 Vivi's theme
6 Living by the sword 7 Vamo' alla flamenco 8 Decisive action ~Search for the princess~ 9 Jesters of the Moonless Sky
10 Steiner's Theme 11 Primavista band 12 Captivating eyes 13 Tonight 14 Your warmth 15 Mistaken love 16 Queen of
the abyss 17 Awakened forest 18 Fighting 19 Fanfare 20 Memories of that day 21 More Fighting 22 Game Over 23
Run! 24 Goodnight 25 Crossing those hills 26 Ice caverns 27 Dali - Frontier village 28 Far away in the twilight 29 Reckless
Steiner 30 Limited time 31 Zidane's Theme 32 Black Waltz
Disc 2:
1 Cid's theme 2 One danger put behind us 3 Lindbulm 4 Song of memories 5 Hunter chance 6 Marsh of the Qu clan
7 Quina's theme 8 Aloha De Chocobo 9 Ukule Le Chocobo 10 Freya's theme 11 At the South Gate border 12 Fairy
battle 13 Burmecia kingdom 14 Unforgettable face 15 Kuja's theme 16 Sword of doubt 17 Treno - Sleepless town
18 Theme of Tantalus 19 Wicked Melody 20 Garnet's Theme 21 Gargan Roo - Ancient Passageway 22 Clayla's trunk
23 Town of Clayla 24 Eternal harvest 25 Heavens Grief 26 Extraction
Disc 3:
1 Ambush Attack 2 Rose Of May 3 Fossil Roo 4 Conde Petie - Village Where The Mountains Blow 5 Black Mage
Village 6 Where love doesn't reach 7 Ceremony for the gods 8 Eiko's Theme 9 Ruins of Madain Sari 10 Walls of the
Sacred Beasts 11 Iifa Tree 12 Amarant's Theme 13 Footsteps of desire 14 We Are Thieves! 15 Slew of love letters
16 Quad Mist 17 Mog's Theme. 18 Those Whom We Must Protect 19 The Summoned Ones 20 Keeper of Time
21 Oeilvert 22 A Transient Past 23 Frog Appearance 24 Esto Gaza - Sacred Ground 25 Gurugu Volcano 26 Dissipating

Magic and Spirit
Disc 4:
1 The Airship, Hildagaldy 2 Hermit's Library - Daguerreo 3 Ipsen's Heritage 4 The Four Mirrors 5 Successive Battles
6 Terra 7 Bran Bal, The Village Without Souls 8 Pandemonium, The Castle Frozen In Time 9 You're Not Alone!
10 Endless Sorrow 11 The Evil Mist, Again 12 Assault Of The Silver Dragons 13 Place Of Memory 14 Crystal World
15 Messenger Of Destruction - Trance Kuja 16 Final Battle - Necron 17 Bittersweet Romance 18 The Kiss Of Betrayal

19 I Want To Be Your Canary 20 Two Hearts That Can't Be Stolen 21 Beyond That Door 22 Melodies of Life ~ Final
Fantasy 23 Prelude 24 15'' Commercial song 25 30'' Commercial song 26 Melodies of Life (The Layers of Harmony)

My favourites are the Mage Village (poppy, electro number) and the more sombre songs that accompany Zidane's loss of faith in his friends, such as "You're Not Alone, and "Endless Sorrow". The themes for Kuja and Necron, are impressively dark, and look out also for the tune "Iifa Tree", a really creepy piece. I also really like the song "Melodies Of Life", both the vocal and instrumental, in fact I prefer it to "Eyes on Me", it's very simple and brings just the right mood to the end of the game. All in all, an enjoyable CD, not as good as FF8, but still a high quality product.

Disc One (66:09)
1) Brahne's Appearance ~ The Play Begins 0:42
2) World Flags ~ Steiner Crashes 0:38
3) Escape from Alexandria 1:13
4) Prima Vista Crash 0:57
5) Petrification of Blank 1:20
6) Black Mage vs. Black Mage 0:44
7) Breaking Through South Gate 1:20
8) Arrival in Lindblum Kingdom 0:50
9) Song ~ Zidane and Dagger 0:49
10) Kuja Leaves Burmecia 0:52
11) Summoned Beast Destroys Cleyra 0:46
12) Lindblum in Flames 0:52
13) Lindblum Annihilation 0:58
14) The Disappearing Mist 0:36
15) Dagger's Recollection (Village of the Summoners Destroyed) 0:43
16) Summoning Bahamut 0:47
17) Annihilation of Brahne's Fleet 1:07
18) Birth of the New Queen 0:38
19) Bahamut Raid 0:34
20) Eiko Descends 0:39
21) Alexander is Summoned 1:10
22) Ghost Ship 0:24
23) Dagger's Escape 1:10
24) Dagger Cuts Her Hair 0:51
25) Dagger's Recollection (Ghost Ship) 0:26
26) The Fall of Neo-Kuja 1:01
27) Escape from Terra 0:50
28) Zidane and Dagger Separate 0:39
29) To the Origin of Kuja 1:17
30) Rufus' Welcoming Ceremony - Millennium Version 2:19
31) Doga and Une 2:10
32) Daughter of Madain Sari 3:36
33) Kuja's Theme - Millennium Version 2:34
34) Main 4:51
35) Waltz 1:55
36) Machinery Motet 1 2:42
37) Organum 2:18
38) Mediterranean 2:33
39) Somewhere 3 1:07
40) Weuber 3:10
41) Kuja 5 4:29
42) Melodies of Life (Silent Mix) 7:33

Most of these tracks are under a minute long, because all of these songs come from the FMVs (Full Motion Videos) in the game, and don't appear on the actual 4-disc soundtrack. Some of the most outstanding ones are ALL of Kuja's themes, the silent mix of Melodies of Life and what I like to call the "Zidane Running" theme, which is really more of a sped-up variation of Melodies of Life.

All of the tracks are orchestrated, which is always a nice touch. (as a general rule, Nobuo Uematsu + Live Piano OR Orchestra = gooooood.)

I really wish they'd release these in the states so I wouldn't have to pay the exhorbanant prices for imports, but I guess Square and Digicube don't think there's enough of a market for this type of stuff over here. But nonetheless, it's still worth it.

As a fan of the series, starting with Final Fantasy 6/3 on the SNES til now, I have to say this is one of the BEST soundtracks I have heard. I often find myself humming the songs or having them stuck in my head, and are great for quiet moments or any moment. From the first track to the last, I find myself enjoying every moment of Uematsu's latest work. Each theme reflects their character well, and each piece is a work of art. The grandiose work of 110+ tracks is bound to enchant the listener, and you'll relive the most memorable moments ever.