FINAL FANTASY XI 22nd Vana'versary Special Feature
Sound Composer Interview featuring
Nobuo Uematsu, Kumi Tanioka & Naoshi Mizuta — Part 2 of 2

Can you tell us how "Distant Worlds," which was the closing song for Chains of Promathia and also the first FFXI song to contain vocals, originally came together?

The vocals in "Distant Worlds" are sung by Izumi Masuda*. Hiromichi Tanaka (FFXI's first producer) told me that Ms. Masuda was the perfect choice for the song based on her role as the heroine in "Candide" on stage. She was obviously a very talented singer, so I was ecstatic about getting her to sing our song. I am also quite fond of the way the words "Distant Worlds" sound when she sings them.

The lyrics were first written in Japanese by Yaeko Sato (planner responsible for the Windurst and Chains of Promathia scenarios, among others), and were then translated into English by Michael (Michael Christopher Koji Fox, former localization staff member for FFXI). I've heard that even though "Worlds" has an "s" at the end, reading it as "World" was something that Michael was quite proud of.

I think Michael gave us an excellent title for the song. We've also had a long-running orchestral concert series* that is named after this song.

Do you have any other memories regarding the song?

Actually, there were two versions of "Distant Worlds." I distinctly remember the arrangement I created, but the song Mr. Uematsu originally wrote was much shorter than the current version, mainly consisting of just the verse and chorus. We talked about how it was kind of short, so Mr. Uematsu said, "Okay, I'll add onto it." He came back about a week later and had the general outline for the version as we know it today.

Oh, is that how it went? (laughs) Does that original version still exist somewhere?

Given how much time has passed, I'm afraid it's long gone, unfortunately. (laughs)

Next, I'd like to ask about one of your songs, Ms. Tanioka. The song "Awakening" that plays during the final battle against the Shadow Lord is a famous song that every FFXI player is sure to know, but if you were to ask them to sing the exact melody today, I think they might have trouble remembering how it went. Can you please share with us how you came up with such a unique melody?

When I was composing the song, I was afraid that Final Fantasy fans would say "This isn't a Final Fantasy song!" Therefore, I constantly listened to songs from previous Final Fantasy titles in order to remind myself just what made them unique. So I focused on that while composing the song, but since I didn't have very much experience writing battle songs, I kept stressing over the fact that it was for the final boss and didn't simply want to copy phrases that had been done before.

How did you finally break free from those constraints?

I asked the scenario team for details about the Shadow Lord so that I could come up with a detailed picture of the character in my mind. As a result of that, I imagined someone who carried the weight of a sad destiny on his shoulders and detested humanity. However, I still didn't have a template for the song at that point. Shortly thereafter though, the melody came to me in a moment of inspiration, and I feel like the rest of the song came together relatively quickly after that.

Mid-way through "Awakening," the number of instruments is suddenly reduced, and the song consists of just female vocals and a harp arpeggio. I found that sequence to be particularly memorable.

I composed that sequence to represent the Shadow Lord declaring his devotion to the woman he loves as he tearfully goes into battle. While songs played during battles can feature rather intense melodies, I personally like to establish a four-part structure to my songs, consisting of a beginning, a developmental phase, a twist, and finally a conclusion. Therefore, I like to include quieter sequences as well. However, if you only listen to that portion of the song, it isn't really suited to playing during a battle. I was somewhat anxious when I asked the other team members to listen to it, but I remember feeling relieved when they told me they liked it.

Following this quieter sequence, the number and type of sounds continue to increase until the song reaches its climax.

That last bit came out of desperation really. I had to think about how to loop the song, so I added that note at the end of the chorus, but my original plan was to lower the note even more through the use of a pitch bend. However, the engineer told me that it wasn't possible to lower the pitch to that extent, so we worked to find out the range of the sound source and settled on a pitch that wouldn't distort.

This is somewhat of a different topic, but I feel like the music played during final boss battles in the Final Fantasy series is often in 7/4 or other asymmetric time signatures. Is there a particular reason behind this?

One of the main reasons is that using unusual time signatures and key changes makes the songs more interesting. I always feel like the music for final boss battles should differ from those of regular battles or other bosses. I want it to be something special for those players who have put so many hours into the game in order to reach the end. Therefore, I usually rely on a variety of techniques so that I can come up with new ideas to surprise the players. As a result of that, however, things got a bit hectic around the time of FFVI. (laughs)

You're talking about the song "Dancing Mad" that plays during the final battle.

It was Tetsu's* idea to split FFVI's final boss battle into stages, starting at the bottom of the Statue of the Gods. I thought that was an interesting idea, so I wanted the music's melody to change with each ascension. As a result, "Dancing Mad" ended up spanning close to 18 minutes from the song's first movement to its fourth. In the next game, FFVII, I took a different approach and incorporated the use of a choir for "One-Winged Angel."

I feel like both songs were perfectly matched to the intensity of the battles.

Similarly, I imagine many people consider "The Extreme" from FFVIII to be a fairly standard battle song, but it actually features something of an acoustical trick as part of its composition. If you listen to the song from a spot that forms an equilateral triangle with the left and right speakers, the chant "Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec" that plays during the intro will revolve around you in tighter and tighter circles until the sound stops near the top of your head. This effect is highly dependent on the distance from the speakers to your ears though, so I imagine not too many people knew about it at the time.

Can you experience the effect with headphones?

I don't think it can be recreated without using speakers.

I had no idea that "The Extreme" had implemented such a measure.

At the time, I sequestered myself in the studio with the engineer and asked, "Do you think this is possible?" While the song in and of itself may not have been anything new, I felt like it had surpassed FFVII. It also helped me realize that there can be various means of expression within game music.

Mr. Mizuta, you've also worked on memorable final boss battle songs such as "Ragnarok" and "Realm of Emptiness," but the latter was written with a 7/4 time signature, right?

I try not to use such techniques as a matter of course, but when I want to create a sense of tension within a song, that often results in using things like key changes or irregular time signatures. So although I usually refrain from employing irregular time signatures, I find that if I'm running out of ideas, their inclusion can help me come up with something fresh and new.

Can you please share what kind of role FFXI has played in your careers?

I left the FFXI team a while ago now, so there isn't much I can say, but like I mentioned earlier, I'm happy that the game was able to help these two make a name for themselves.

As Mr. Uematsu says, the game helped people gain an awareness of the name "Kumi Tanioka." When I first joined the company, I never imagined that I'd be working on a numbered Final Fantasy title, so I'm extremely happy that I was able to be a part of it. Furthermore, I'm grateful for the positive response toward what I hoped to express with my music.

I feel like "Awakening" is a song that lives on in the memories of many adventurers to this day.

At the time, I composed the music without truly understanding what an MMORPG was, but if FFXI was a traditional standalone title, I imagine people would've only heard "Awakening" once during the final boss battle, or perhaps not at all. However, I'm glad that because it is an MMORPG, people are able to hear the song multiple times. Speaking of which, music from FFXI was livestreamed on YouTube in order to commemorate the game's 22nd anniversary. I was happy to see the warm reception that it received.

Although the livestream lasted more than 24 hours, there were more than 2,000 viewers who tuned in from start to finish.

I woke up in the middle of the night and upon taking a look at the stream, I was surprised to see how many people were still listening to it. I was extremely grateful that there were so many people who remembered FFXI's music. Much like Mr. Uematsu, I was only involved with the game early on, but the world of FFXI continued to be established through Mr. Mizuta's music over the years. I feel like his work has clearly defined what it means to be "FFXI music" in terms of style and genre. On top of that, it makes me happy to know that players still cherish the music from the game, even after 22 years.

How about you, Mr. Mizuta?

Like Ms. Tanioka, I was very happy to get the chance to work on music for FFXI, even though I had pretty much no experience at the time. I have worked on FFXI for many years now, while also striving to live up to the expectations that come along with it. In fact, you could say it's become something akin to my life's work. I listened to the recent livestream and it was almost like a summary of my life replayed in chronological order as I relived what I was thinking and feeling as I composed each song. I suppose it's due to how much time I've spent on this project over the years. Whenever I'm working on a new title, I tell people that I was a composer for FFXI and they immediately know what I am talking about. I am very grateful for everything that FFXI has done for me.

These days, game music features pretty much none of the technological constraints that it did back in 2002. As such, it feels as if the boundaries that once existed between the soundtracks for games and other media such as movies and anime are gradually disappearing. How do you think game music should evolve in the years to come?

This might be a bit off-topic, but in a recent discussion between Mr. Uematsu and Mr. Yoichi Ochiai, it was mentioned that the music should be left up to the composers. I wholeheartedly agree and would like more people to understand that concept.

Yes, that would be nice.

As people who compose music, we often have certain things we want to try, or have an idea of what sounds good. So if we receive a request about what kind of music they want us to make from the very start, we end up having to compose the music within that predefined framework. Naturally, I do my best to try and create something good within those constraints, but it often leads me to feeling that the results just end up sounding like everything else.

It becomes more of a "job" than a passion.

Yeah, that's what it feels like.

Of course, I'm being paid to do a job, so I'll always give it my best, but it would be nice to have more freedom to focus on "creativity" at times. Ultimately, I'm a creator, so I'd like to be able to create things. Musicians tend to know more about musical genres and how music is made. At least once, I'd like them to leave everything to me from the beginning.

Musicians have a desire to express themselves.

Recently, I worked on FANTASIAN* with Mr. Sakaguchi (Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of the Final Fantasy series) and he told me, "I'm not going to say anything, so feel free to create whatever you like." It was a lot of fun working on that project. In fact, I had so much fun that I ended up working too hard and wore myself out. There was even a moment where I thought it'd be the last time I'd handle all of a game's music by myself. It just took too much energy. However, I think being given the freedom to create what I wanted was the right choice in the end. I feel like I was able to accomplish what I had originally set out to do.

When I listen to the music, I can definitely feel the vibes Mr. Uematsu was aiming for. He was able to create the music without any preconceived notions and simply focus on what he thought was right for the project, so it all flows together perfectly. Therefore, I feel like leaving the music up to the composers like this will ultimately lead to a better game overall.

Do you feel the same way, Ms. Tanioka?

In my case, I worked on Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles ("FFCC"), where I was fortunate enough to have such an experience. I looked over the development materials at the start of the project and then made a presentation based on the things I wanted to do given the type of game it was. As a result, almost all of my songs were used in FFCC, and I was told that I could write them "however I please." So I had a real sense of freedom while working on the project. Although, the first main theme song that I submitted was too quiet for the opening sequence, so I ended up writing another, meaning there were two main theme songs for the game...

You're talking about "Sound of the Wind" and "Moonless Starry Night."

I wanted to create something that felt "old," but wasn't based on Celtic or any other type of folk music. So I turned to ROBA Music Theatre, who specializes in the use of "ancient instruments," and also the Catherina Early Consort to help create the sound I was looking for. It was a lot of fun working on that project. Like Mr. Mizuta and Mr. Uematsu said, the motivation that you feel when working within a preset framework is quite different from what you feel when given the freedom to be more creative. Naturally, we always give our all no matter which method we're utilizing, but I know the songs where my input was incorporated from the very start are the ones that are the most special to me. So when someone is working on a game, I hope that they'll approach me from the beginning so that we can discuss the direction for its music together. That is especially true now that I have gone freelance, as I'm not able to have the team sitting right there next to me.

Yes, that can be difficult.

Working as a freelancer, I'm often exchanging emails with people I've never met in person before. They give me a list of songs that they want me to write, so it often causes me to remember the times I spent working within a team. I think the order is usually placed once the game planner already has an image of the music in his or her head, but I prefer to be consulted before the scene is completed so that we can work on creating something together.

Lastly, is there any message you'd like to share with the FFXI players out there?

When we composed FFXI's music back in 2000 or 2001, I don't think anyone ever expected the game to last as long as it has. It is clearly a sign of the support that FFXI has received from its players all these years. I think that's a wonderful thing. I really only worked on the game during the very beginning, but to all of the players out there, I would like to say thank you.

I also did not compose very many songs for the game, but I would like to thank Mr. Uematsu and Mr. Mizuta for entrusting me with the song for the final boss battle. I feel like it gave me a crash-course in game music composition. It was also nice that "Awakening" was used not only in the Shadow Lord battle, but also for Dynamis - Xarcabard, making it a song that has been with the players for a long time.

FFXI is still going strong, so I think the players would be happy to hear some new songs from both Ms. Tanioka and Mr. Uematsu, considering how long they've been away from the game. So, Mr. Uematsu, how about repairing that Rhodes and giving us another song?

I'll have to think about it. (laughs)