Overview

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Yasumi Matsuno's Game Boy Advance sequel to Final Fantasy Tactics, sees composer Hitoshi Sakimoto return once more, fresh-faced and ready to create a score that is on par with Tactics' in terms of musical maturity, yet with an entirely different aura to it. Just like the game it accompanies, the Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Original Soundtrack is a fun and joyful romp in the world of Ivalice, free from the sinister themes and action basis that characterised Tactics' soundtrack; it's much lighter, much more innocent, yet just as nourishing as its predecessor. Tactics' co-composer Masaharu Iwata was not involved in this project, perhaps saddening given the quality of his contributions to Tactics, but understandable given the darkness that shrouds most of his best works. Still, three other musical forces join Sakimoto. Nobuo Uematsu is involved, creating the main theme, likely a ploy from Square Enix to attract a greater number of people to the soundtrack given the composer's popularity, while Sakimoto's special relationship with Super Sweep's Shinji Hosoe results in the involvement of two of his employees — Ayako Saso, Hosoe's principle collaborator and prolific game composer, and Kaori Ohkoshi, whose only major work to date is this score. The soundtrack is split into two, the first disc being dedicated to the Game Boy Advance original version, which is of decent sound quality given the console's limited capabilities, though inferior relative to the second disc of the score, which features superbly remastered versions of most of the original themes. Ten of the briefer ones were not remastered, but this is no loss, given that it essentially removes all the filler tracks from the remastered disc and ensures it is largely a consistently high-quality experience, despite the clarity of certain melodic progressions being occasionally lost.

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Nobuo Uematsu's "Main Theme" suitably sets the scene for the soundtrack. The theme's imposing introduction and sweeping melodic progressions in the latter half make it grandiose in places, though the lyrical nature of its initial melodies, thin textures, and prominent use of the harpsichord create a light and whimsical overall feel. It's more than clear from the liner notes (a quote from them is provided below) that Uematsu wasn't entirely happy with what he produced here — both in terms of fulfilling Matsuno's vision as the game's producer and with regards to complementing Sakimoto's musically mature works — and, indeed, the theme's bothersome harpsichord use, underwhelming brevity, and unremarkable conclusion mean that it is, at best, an inconsistent musical experience. Uematsu nonetheless accurately portrays the scene, creating a theme that bubbles and bounces with lightness and wit to characterise what Tactics Advance and its soundtrack are all about. Sakimoto flatteringly exclaims that he was 'awestruck by the fantastic main theme' he received from Uematsu prior to starting work on the album, and, despite its flaws, it fits the game wonderfully and likely provided an inspiration for Sakimoto's creations on the album. Some of Uematsu's humility, as promised, follows:

"I hope that my sorry excuse for music somehow matches your world views of this game without destroying the beautiful scenery." - Nobuo Uematsu

Sakimoto's "Snow Dancing in the Schoolyard" begins the broader Final Fantasy Tactics Advance musical and artistic experience. Here, artistic representation — the way the theme lives up to its mesmerising title by painting abstract and beautiful images of youthfulness and nature — becomes complemented by a new level of musical sophistication. Three major forces — buoyant string and harp arpeggios in the background, a series of imitative structures from glockenspiel and 'cello, and a charming and gliding clarinet melody — correspond nimbly and innocently to incredibly endearing effect. "Companions That Surpassed Their Tribe" uses all sorts of forces in a playful yet temperemental way to provide a constant sense of momentum while demonstrating just how elegantly Sakimoto phrases lines. An underlying sense of turbulence and unpredictability is provided due to phrases being occasionally cut short just as low brass bellows and vibrant timpani rolls make brief appearances. It is, after all, a battle theme, though largely maintains a sense of jubilance away from the aggressive moments and occasional cinematic buildups. The way the soundtrack is also often boosted by its occasionally percussive emphasis is worth special mention; this is best reflected by "At the Bar," where a diverse array of percussion instruments provide the theme's melodic and rhythmic foundations, ideal for a secondary force — highly syncopated wind lines — to bounce off. Another good example of how fine musicianship allows interest to be maintained amidst a positive atmosphere comes in "Magic Beast Farm." Here, a rich and elegant string melody corresponds intricately with two other forces — a plodding wind-based bass line that quirkily opens the piece and a clarinet melody that provides colourful counterpoint — creating two-part polyphony with hilarious continuo. It's understated yet highly effective features like these that makes Sakimoto's music worthy of the description 'magical'.

All this talk of musicianship aside, Mr. Sakimoto made it very clear in the liner notes for the album that it was imagery that was the principle source for his inspiration to employ such musical styles. Sakimoto's inspiration varies from the most subtle to the most obvious, but is nearly always expressed in an delightful way — whether it be dreaming of a scene that interprets 'snow dancing', imagining the experiences a gamer might face during a simple stroll through Ivalice, representing the devious yet important activity of receiving rumours and mission information at each town's bar, or interpreting the nature of several characters with four complex yet adorable themes, Sakimoto creates music that fits and endears. Consider, for instance, the way a variety of exotic instruments are integrated into the light march "Different World Ivalice," the kazoo included; it gives an organic and unusual musical representation of an exciting yet alien world. Often, the representation of a certain image or emotion can be quite misleading. For example, the feeling of overwhelming apprehension that inspired "Unhideable Anxiety" is not initially reflected by its rather peaceful and lusciously phrased exterior; however, the theme is soon made to sound incredibly eerie as the main passage reappears unexpectedly mid-phrase following development sections featuring some rather sinister diminished chord progressions. The rare dark themes are especially inspired by imagery, as shown by the dark melodic progressions and ethereal timbres of the chorale "Crystal," which interprets a powerful and precious object that inspires and is corrupted by malovolence, or the claustrophobic chord progressions and Tactics-esque percussion use of "Prison," used in the most chilling location in the game. Though the majority of Sakimoto's inspiration is probably not evident to even the most perceptive of listeners, the soundtrack manages to be a visually and emotionally engaging experience, as well as aurally satisfying, largely thanks to Sakimoto's musical expression of his own fantasies. Given the quote below, Sakimoto should be a very happy man indeed:

"Alright, I tried to create the score while fantasizing about the things everyone will think of when they play this game. If only a fraction of my thoughts have come across to you, then there is no greater happiness for me." - Hitoshi Sakimoto

The involvement of the two Super Sweep composers on this album adds contrast and continuity; Saso and Ohkoshi create four pieces each, which contrast musically from Sakimoto's, though are still very much based on the style he and Uematsu moulded elsewhere. Ayako Saso's "Amber Valley" is perhaps the single most enjoyable and memorable theme on the score, boasting a catchy initial melody, gorgeous uplifting orchestration, immensely satisfying development, and some powerfully crafted secondary melodies. Appealing on a number of levels to a very wide audience, the theme is a classic to revisit. Saso's musicality and flair also shines in two of the soundtrack's major battle themes, "Painful Battle" and "Battle of Hope." Both are actually quite optimistic, though sufficiently well-paced and energetic to give a sense of action. The phrasing and layering of "Painful Battle" is really remarkable — clean, intricate, and elegant yet unusual, unpredictable, and 'busy' — and, in conjunction with the rhythmical stimulus of the harmonic line and its melodic emphasis, this theme is simply lovely, both in the battlefield and as a stand-alone creation. "Battle of Hope" isn't all that different, crafted in a similar and effectual way, though is noteworthy for its 5/4 metre; each measure is well-subdivided to give the theme great bounce and the metre employed is a highly original musical feature in itself, despite Sakimoto perhaps deliberately reusing this metre in "Law Card," the subsequent track. Saso's other creation, "The Road We Both Aim For," initiates the soundtrack's subtle intensification towards its conclusion. It's still rather thin texturally and based on similar instrumentation to other tracks, yet has a completely different tone; this is thanks to lots of dissonance, some effective trombone and timpani use, and Saso's oh so creative and comprehensive development. Having succeeded so well here, it's a real pity she didn't create more tracks here; she ought to work on many more non-electronic projects.

Unfortunately, Ohkoshi is a somewhat weaker force in comparison to Sakimoto and Saso, despite her clear efforts to parallel the quality of their work. This is largely the result of development problems, as evidenced by the inappropriately lengthed "Surpassing the Wall" and "Undefeated Heart." The former is an example of the type of theme this soundtrack does best — light and carefree yet with a clear action emphasis and march-like feeling — but isn't quite as remarkable as it could have been due to it ending after just 80 seconds of playing time, when there was plenty more room for enticing development. "Undefeated Heart," on the other hand, is a Sakimoto-influenced light battle theme with a lovely melody and brilliant finisse, but suffers from being needlessly and inexplicably elongated in the Full Sound Version — looped over and over to amount to an actually nauseating 7:33 playing time, when a third of the length would have satisfied. Her other contributions are unflawed, though: "Beyond the Wasteland" retains the character of "Surpassing the Wall," but is more melodic thanks to a playful wind melody and is also a great example of the soundtrack's quirky percussion use. "Unavoidable Destiny" demonstrates the development of Ohkoshi's musical maturity during this soundtrack; the way each instrumental line is so creatively and delicately crafted and pronounced means it could easily be mistaken as one of Sakimoto's best here were track credits not provided. Given that Ohkoshi hasn't created anything since, it seems highly likely that she was summoned to Mr. Hosoe's office one day and given her P45, unfortunate considering the potential and talent she expressed here, though understandable given that Super Sweep only employ highly productive, consistent, and multitalented artists, which she wasn't at that time. The expectation upon her must have been immense, though she made some more than amicable contributions and leaves behind a nice farewell message, bless her:

Since this is a big title after all, and I got to work together with these two people whom I have a never-ending respect for, geez, the pressure was just terrible! And yet, if I can get you to recall the adventure you experienced through the main character, just by listening to my music, I will be happy." - Kaori Ohkoshi

All Sakimoto soundtracks have noteworthy conclusions and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is no exception, partly because of the main theme being beautifully reprised, but also because it reflects a considerable change of pace and emotion in a soundtrack where much intensity and a dramatic arch wasn't especially evident. This turn is initiated by Saso's darkest composition and developed by Ohkoshi's two finest creations, though Sakimoto proves to be the main mastermind, relying on largely the same forces, but changing the harmonic and melodic frameworks of his creations considerably. "Confusion," for example, might seem like 'typical Sakimoto' at first, given no melody is immediately evident, yet the flute melody that emerges, with unpredictable intervallic leaps and lots of chromatic movement, is downright eerie, particularly in conjunction with the complex web of countermelodies and harmonies beneath it. The final area theme, "The World Starting to Move," also deceives. It appears to be another light march at first, but is soon strangled to the point of hypoxia by the development of a schizophrenic clarinet melody into something discordant and aggressive. Initially mellow, its unpredictability literally changes the entire direction of the piece, and the passage that follows is even darker. The drama reaches its peak in "Incarnation," one of Sakimoto's most mature final boss themes, which, much like preceding tracks, uses many light instruments and musical features, but manipulates them in such a way that they become very foreboding and unsettling. Perhaps the only description that can do it proud is 'organised chaos' — so much, both musically and emotionally, is packed into one theme, but it is always purposeful and Sakimoto doesn't once lose control, guided by his imagination. With the scene carefully wrapped up in "Vanishing World," Uematsu's "Main Theme" reappears in the two pieces that conclude the soundtrack, though, obviously, as ever with Sakimoto, the arrangements are not straightforward reprises, but feature the melody intricately interwoven into complex pieces with their own musical and in-game purpose. Effectively, Sakimoto takes melodically strong and appropriate original material, but instils his own maturity into it, producing the "Main Theme" in its best, most dramatic, and ultimate form in "Fulfilled Dream Segment," the album's final theme.

Summary

Popular response to the Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Original Soundtrack sometimes baffles me. It's not heavily criticised or unpopular, generally receiving a positive response, but remains, for one reason or another, perhaps Hitoshi Sakimoto's least acclaimed work. It's a victim to the Game Boy Advance's sound capabilities, limited further by its brevity, and a source of alienation for those who expected a soundtrack as dark, epic, and intense as Final Fantasy Tactics'. Though Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is a sequel to Final Fantasy Tactics, the soundtracks are near enough polar opposites in terms of the emotion they reflect, two or three themes excluded, even if Sakimoto's fingerprints can be found all over both scores. The key audience this score might well initially attract therefore, due to their collective morbidness, might well not respond positively to the soundtrack's overall cheerful, blithe, yet highly sophisticated nature. Excusing sound quality of the first disc, a few minor problems with Uematsu's and Ohkoshi's creations, and perhaps a slightly underwhelming number of tracks, there isn't a single major problem with the soundtrack. The composing from Sakimoto and Saso, in particular, is so creative, appealing, and mature that the score is given enough momentum, inspiration, and variety to be a highly satisfying achievement, particularly where the Full Sound Version is concerned. For the new Sakimoto fan looking for a chance to see his versatility in action, a fan of the game's music looking forward to seeing it presented in an immensely superior way, or a general lover of magical, energetic, and inspirational light-hearted scores, this soundtrack is a must-have and one that is well worth regular revisiting, though other audiences should probably consider checking the samples to see if this suits them before making the big plunge as it is re-released.

Overview

By the year 2003, one of Square Enix's most intricate game producers / directors Yasumi Matsuno was widely known for his brilliant video game creations. His projects while working at Square were arguably his best; Final Fantasy Tactics proving to have a reliable and consistent production team, deferring away from the normal Final Fantasy RPG game, and Vagrant Story was easily the most distinctive game by Square released in 2000. It was in the year 2003 when Matsuno released the sequel to 1997's Final Fantasy Tactics, named appropriately Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. The game was made for Nintendo's Game Boy Advance, as every gamer should know, the small system's capabilities simply don't equal that of the PlayStation. This resulted in a quality downfall for Final Fantasy Tactics Advance compared to its predecessor. This included the vastly inferior sound chip compared to the PlayStation's powerful card. Both games are set in the same world of Ivalice (the name for the world in Matsuno's 2006 production of Final Fantasy XII), but they are not connected or 'continuing' in any other way other than the battle system and the world name.

The soundtrack for Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is a really nice deal. There are two discs. The first disc is the original sound version; this means that the music is identical in quality to the music found in the game. The second disc is a specially arranged version of the score featuring a major improvement on the synthesizer quality, up to PlayStation 2 standards; these tracks are also rearranged with the advantage of the new sound. Both discs have their weaknesses though. The first disc's music is obviously recorded with the Game Boy Advance sound card and to some people, the Game Boy sound card sounds 'murky' and dated. But the problem with the second disc is that some of the compositions loose their flair with the new sound quality, as strange as it sounds. But both are definitely worth the listen.

At that time, it was also the beginning of the ending days of Nobuo Uematsu's career at Square, composing his last virtually solo score (with Hanjuku Hero VS 3D). Now, all of Matsuno's games have made exceptional use of Hitoshi Sakimoto with or without the help of Masaharu Iwata, like in Final Fantasy Tactics. In Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Iwata did not contribute to the score at all, and although disappointing to some, he was replaced by not one person, but three people. They were famous game composer Shinji Hosoe's 'soldiers' at Super Sweep, Ayako Saso and Kaori Ohkoshi. And last but not least, Nobuo Uematsu, who composed the main theme. This became a continuing tradition for Uematsu who went on to compose the Final Fantasy XII and Final Fantasy XIII theme songs. Nonetheless, the huge majority of the soundtrack was composed by Sakimoto, and the music, while keeping his traditional style, is quite different to Final Fantasy Tactics. While the prequel was mostly 'darker' (well, in comparison at least), this score has a much lighter focus. Still, expect to hear some epic orchestrations. Let's break down into individual composers.

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Nobuo Uematsu's main theme for this game is actually a really good one. It fits in with the dominant Sakimoto tracks (unlike "Kiss Me Good-Bye" did in Final Fantasy XII), but Uematsu doesn't feel scarred to insert his own style in it too. It's symphonic based and could easily be passed as a Sakimoto track for the untrained ear. I largely prefer the revamped version on Disc Two because of the advanced instrumentals (and the harpsichord lead). But other than this theme, Uematsu doesn't contribute anything else. Quite obviously, using Uematsu was a publicity stunt to attract more fans over the game, but I am glad they did it.

Kaori Ohkoshi doesn't have such a large role in the game, composing only four tracks in the whole game, but she produces is good stuff. All are very stylistic and fancy, she has a style which I think is very addictive. She does a particularly great job with tracks like "Undefeated Heart", where she utilizes Uematsu's main theme and turns it into a grandeur epic full of inspiration and power. Unfortunately, it gets slightly butchered in the full sound version where it is arranged into a 7 minute track with MANY loops. "Unavoidable Destiny" is even better with the impressive intro, which is expertly done ith great use of the strings and various other instruments. This is possibly even my favorite track on the soundtrack.

Ayako Saso has her moments to shine in the soundtrack too, although only composing a mere four tracks. Her style in the past is known to be of the electronica nature, but in this score, she expresses an orchestral style that, sometimes, is very traditional. "Amber Valley" is active and bouncy. Like Ohkoshi's "Undefeated Heart" and "Unavoidable Destiny", "Amber Valley" is addictive, and proves Saso's composing ability. "Painful Battle" is much in the same style, except it focuses more on hope and accomplishment in a battle. One thing that I can pick out from Saso's tracks is her love to use rhythm and her love for prevailing strings. They sound great together, especially when the melody is strong.

Of course, this soundtrack is mostly about Hitoshi Sakimoto, so let's take a look into his tracks. "Snow Dancing in the Schoolyard" is light hearted and child-like with the melody being played on various wind instruments. I found "Marche" to have a very special theme; I haven't heard such a short character theme with such emotion and deepness, especially when the pinnacle arises with the horn and the strings meeting up with the 'cello to produce a tear jerking moment. "Ritz" has a nice arrangement of "Marche" in it while still keeping that touch of freshness to it. The full sound version is undoubtedly better because of the advanced instrumentation, to which conveys the epic mood better. "Incarnation" is the final battle theme of the game. Here, we can hear, if on the original sound version, some 'reminiscent' Game Boy sounds, pleasant or not. Not being a huge fan of Sakimoto battle themes, this theme didn't strike me any differently than the many others I have heard, although the atmosphere is nice.

The ending themes on this soundtrack can't compare to the brilliance of the two finale tracks on Final Fantasy Tactics, but Sakimoto does the same thing with this finale. Using Uematsu's main theme, he molds an original track around "A Place We Should Return To". The orchestration in this track is excellent, even on both versions of the track, but the brass and the horns steal the show (Sakimoto was probably trying to express the extravagance by using 'royal' instruments). "Fulfilled Dream Segment" has a slow string introduction which leads to middle section focused on "Marche" and the main theme, but this is quite a light and upbeat way to finish of the soundtrack, and Sakimoto hasn't been this 'light' for a while. But for what it's worth, it's an awesome track (most Sakimoto ending themes are).

Summary

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance features a simply astounding score. There is a lot to like about it, and I mean A LOT. All composers perform to their best and create some pretty amazing compositions. My only gripe would be the length of some track times, and that some are too short, but other than that, there is no other standout fault. So the untimely question has come: "Will I enjoy this if I loved Final Fantasy Tactics?" Well, the answer to that question is 'Yes', but be warned that the music to Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is completely different to the prequel. It may not be as impressive as the prequel, but believe me, there is more than a hundred things to like about it. But, like I said before, the music style from Sakimoto especially hasn't changed much, if not matured a bit. Don't let the Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Original Soundtrack slip out of your mind because you don't like the sound chip quality of the Game Boy Advance, because the compositions are well worth it. And even if that won't change your mind, there is always the second disc, the full sound, PlayStation 2 like versions.