Notable Songs From Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts
Being a fan of the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts series, one of the best RPG series out there, I am not the only one to say that Square Enix (the company that created these games) produced wonderful and memorable music. Suprisingly, although games are supposed to charm players with their wonderful gameplay and graphics, Square Enix never fails to attract attention with their tracks. Here are some music which I found very ear-pleasing.
#10~J-E-N-O-V-A (Final Fantasy VII Advent Children)
While this song doesn’t have any vocals at all, it is still a nice song to listen to, as the instruments behind and the computer effects really make it a nice song to listen to while relaxing.
#9~To Zanarkand (Final Fantasy X)
A song played in the beginning of Final Fantasy X, this song is another song to be played during relaxation. It’s melancholic nature and the sad tone behind the song is actually a song about 2 lovers in-game. Definitely a must-hear.
#8~Eyes On Me (Final Fantasy VIII)
This song serves as the theme song for Final Fantasy VIII. A good enough ballad by anyone, it’s even better performed by Hong Kong singer Faye Wong. At the end, this song won numerous awards, including firsts for video games.
#7~Real Emotion (Final Fantasy X-2)
There’s 2 version to this song, Japanese and English. Personally, I prefer the latter, which is quite strange when it comes to songs sung by Japanese singers. But don’t underestimate Koda Kumi. She has sang for quite a number of games and animes, and is no newcomer when it comes to fast-tempo hits like this song. Serves as a B-Side for 1000 Words, also in the list.
#6~Tatakau Mono Tachi (Final Fantasy VII Advent Children)
Considered one of the FF7 Sountrack’s gem, this is a piano song played during the fight between Tifa and Loz. Ever since it was played in the original game I have loved it, but with the release of FF7 Advent Children, I adore it even more. Bet you can’ t play this on your piano.
#5-Hikari /Simple And Clean (Kingdom Hearts)
The opening song to Kingdom Hearts, this is the infamous song that broke records in Japan the year it was released. Sung by queen of J-Pop Utada Hikaru, it is #1 on the Oricon charts (The Japanese equivalent of Billboard) for 3 weeks, not to mention that over 500 thousand copies have been sold. There is an English version called Simple And Clean, which has the same melody but different lyrical content.
#4~The 13th Reflection a.k.a. Marluxia’s Theme (Kingdom Hearts 2:Final Mix)
The only non-vocal song from Kingdom Hearts to deserve a spot in my list. When KH2:Final Mix was released, not only is the gameplay enchanced, but there’s loads of worthy songs. The 13th Reflection is a melody that was just so good, I seriously can’t think of any words to describe it. Be sure to listen to it.
#3~1000 Words (Final Fantasy X-2)
Released as the A-side of Real Emotion, this song is definitely one of the best songs from a video game. Koda Kumi did a great job in this song, fueling it with emotion and sadness. Don’t be suprised if you happen to watch this song’s scene in the game and weep with sadness. Available in both English and Japanese, but I prefer the English version. Can’t really describe this song in 1000 words.
#2~Passion/Sanctuary (Kingdom Hearts 2)
Yet another song from Utada Hikaru, this time better. Serving as the theme song for Kingdom Hearts 2, this song can be heard throughout the game, with clever use of reversed lyrics. As opposed to the 2 previous bilingual songs, Passion is better than Sanctuary. Listen to it and be amazed.
#1~ One-Winged Angel (Final Fantasy VII)
Look what we have. I’m sure Final Fantasy fans reading this post will be wondering where is this song. Of course, the song regarded as many as ‘The Grandfather Of FF Songs’ deserves the top spot. Fulled of vengence, FF’s biggest baddie has a cool song as well. The original song has it’s lyrics in Latin, but another version in Advent Children has a new set of lyrics in Japanese.
That’s all for this long and tedious post. Keep visiting as I will add links to the songs after I’m back from tuition. In the meantime, just enjoy my reviews =)
From,
Patrick
