FINAL FANTASY VIII ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK

FINAL FANTASY VIII
ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK
Copyright © 1999 Square
Digicube Co, Ltd.
SSCX 10028
Available Now in Japan
¥ 3,873

—by Keith Rhee

4 discs, 76 tracks

Disc 1:

1. Liberi Fatali (3:07)

2. Balamb GARDEN (3:29)

3. Blue Fields (2:54)

4. Don't Be Afraid (2:52)

5. The Winner (1:07)

6. Find Your Way (3:47)

7. SeeD (4:16)

8. The Landing (4:36)

9. Starting Up (1:19)

10. Force Your Way (3:53)

11. The Loser (1:26)

12. Never Look Back (3:23)

13. Dead End (1:11)

14. Breezy (2:43)

15. Shuffle or Boogie (2:04)

16. Waltz for the Moon (3:00)

17. Tell Me (3:24)

18. Fear (2:24)

19. The Man with the Machine Gun (2:49)

20. Julie (1:23)

21. Roses and Wine (2:18)

22. Junction (1:37)

23. Timber Owls (2:51)

Disc 2:

1. My Mind (3:12)

2. The Mission (3:36)

3. Martial Law (3:48)

4. Cactus Jack (1:30)

(Galbadian Anthem)

5. Only a Plank Between (2:24)

One and Perdition

6. SUCCESSION OF WITCHES (3:18)

7. Galbadia GARDEN (3:37)

8. Unrest (2:36)

9. Under Her Control (3:30)

10. The Stage Is Set (3:39)

11. A Sacrifice (3:26)

12. FITHOS LUSEC WECOS VINOSEC (4:33)

13. Intruders (2:31)

14. Premonition (4:36)

15. Wounded (0:53)

16. Fragments of Memories (3:13)

17. Jailed (3:50)

18. Rivals (3:30)

19. Ami (4:37)

Disc 3:

1. The Spy (3:46)

2. Retaliation (0:45)

3. Movin' (5:14)

4. Blue Sky (0:44)

5. Drifting (2:56)

6. Heresy (4:10)

7. Fisherman's Horizon (3:35)

8. ODEKA ke Chocobo (1:15)

9. Where I Belong (3:40)

10. The Oath (3:25)

11. Slide Show Part 1 (1:23)

12. Slide Show Part 2 (1:47)

13. Love Grows (4:28)

14. The Salt Flats (3:36)

15. Trust Me (3:13)

16. Silence and Motion (5:47)

17. Dance with the Balamb-fish (3:39)

18. Tears of the Moon (1:12)

19. Residents (3:08)

20. Eyes on Me (5:38)

Disc 4:

1. Mods de Chocobo (2:24)

(featuring N's Telecaster)

2. Ride On (3:03)

3. Truth (3:40)

4. Lunatic Pandora (3:28)

5. Compression of Time (4:34)

6. The Castle (5:19)

7. The Legendary Beast (5:50)

8. Maybe I'm a Lion (5:35)

9. The Extreme (6:44)

10. The Successor (3:37)

11. Ending Theme (13:20)

12. Overture (3:36)

Oftentimes, a soundtrack fails to impress when it is listened to outside the context of the show it was written for, and gains its impact only after the listener has watched the show and grasped the emotion and significance behind each piece. The soundtrack for FINAL FANTASY VIII, composed by Uematsu Nobou, falls into this category.
The comprehensiveness of the four-disc set, which includes nearly every music track from the game, is perhaps its weakness as well; many of the tracks are used for the sake of ambience within the game and tend to be ho-hum when listened to on their own. And while there are a number of decent tracks, true standouts such as the opening's "Liberi Fatali" are far and few inbetween.
The music of this four-disc set can be broken down into four categories:

	1.	tracks based on the latin chant "Liberi Fatali".
	2.	tracks based on Faye Wong's "Eyes on Me".
	3.	the obligatory Chocobo theme.
	4.	the rest.

The track for the opening, "Liberi Fatali", is perhaps the best stand alone piece in the soundtrack. As the two rivals Squall and Sipher clash blades in a gripping sword fight, this rousing orchestration provides an equally epic musical backdrop to the action-packed opening sequence. The operatic chants are repeated in other pieces such as the haunting "Succession of Witches" and "Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec"; the latter is used in the parade of Edea the Witch and has a dark, ritual feel to it.
Another recurring theme in the soundtrack is the melody from "Eyes on Me". Performed by Hong Kong pop singer Faye Wong, it is the first true vocal song used in a FINAL FANTASY game. Considering the fact that Square spent a whopping $1 million (US not HK dollars) for Faye Wong's performance, the song seems rather average when listened to for the first time. But the melody begins to grow on you after a while, as variations on the theme are used throughout the soundtrack, such as the ballroom dance theme "Waltz for the Moon," the beautiful piano solo titled "Julia," and the slow and emotional "Love Grows." By the time the actual vocal performance is played in the game, the theme has grown a great deal in familiarity and meaning.
No FINAL FANTASY soundtrack would be complete without the Chocobo theme, and there are two of them on this soundtrack. The first track of the two, "ODEKA ke Chocobo" is a simplistic, 8-bit Nintendo game music affair, and while it's fitting for the scene in the game, it's not much to listen to. The real treat is "Mods de Chocobo", a spiffy 50's pop 'n rock affair. With its bass guitar, electric organ, and backup singers, this rendition is my most favorite take on the Chocobo theme alongside FFV's mambo version.
The rest of the tracks include battle-related music, eerie ambient BGM used for certain location shots, romantic mood setters, and the groovy "Shuffle or Boogie" theme used during FF8's card games. The ambient stuff is a bit hit and miss, and some sound as if they've been recycled from the FF7 soundtrack. But some of the more dramatic tracks are actually quite good, especially the track "Only a Plank Between One and Perdition," which is used for certain sub-boss battles. There are also a number of emotional pieces as well, such as the music-box-style "Fragment of Memories" and the melancholic "Where I Belong."
Rounding off the soundtrack is the splendid Ending Theme. The theme starts out sad and mysterious, but as good conquers evil in the ending, it segues into a more emotionally charged, symphonic version of "Eyes on Me." The piece then leads into the triumphant Final Fantasy Anthem, and brings closure to this long four-disc soundtrack.
This reviewer bought the soundtrack before playing FF8, and somehow felt that there was something missing from the soundtrack. But after finishing the game, I found myself remembering every heartfelt moment of the epic adventure with every music piece. Whatever the soundtrack may be lacking in terms of emotion and meaning, the game experience is supposed to fill in and complete.
As such, if you haven't played the game or aren't familiar with the Final Fantasy phenomenon, you'll probably wonder what the big deal is about. But for those who felt for the heroes Squall and Rinoa in their epic journey, the FINAL FANTASY VIII Soundtrack becomes a much-recommended purchase.