Symphonic Fantasies was first performed and recorded in 2009 in Germany, featuring music from four popular Square Enix titles/series: Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger, Kingdom Hearts, and Final Fantasy. The team would go on to do the two Final Symphony albums, both specific to the Final Fantasy series. Pianist Mischa Cheung takes the Symphonic Fantasies project from Merregnon and makes a piano concerto out of it, with the help of four talented arrangers. I have cherished pretty much everything this team has done so far, but what happens when we switch from symphony to piano?
Piano Fantasies is not a simple transfer from symphony to piano solo. The four-movement symphonic masterpiece utilized large swathes of source material. While Piano Fantasies sticks with the same four titles (or, in the case of KH and FF, series), the specific pieces featured in the arrangements are quite different. And while arranger Roger Wanamo returns, Jonne Valtonen is sadly missing. However, the new arrangers on this project definitely have something special.
As Piano Fantasies‘ 12 tracks are broken neatly into four sections based on the respective games/franchises, with each section handled by different arrangers, I have followed suit. Let’s start with some time travel!
Chrono Trigger
Piano Fantasies starts with a bang: Cheung crashes onto the piano with “Boss Battles.” This medley moves in reverse order, starting with Mitsuda’s “Boss Battle 2” and transitioning to “Boss Battle 1.” Arranger Roger Wanamo puts Cheung’s technique to the test with chromatic descents that use harmonic thirds. I don’t know how one pulls this off without three hands, but Cheung does it, and it sounds amazing. Just try to keep up with the pace of this frenetic 12/8 piece!
With the next track, “At the Bottom of Night,” we, the listeners, and performer Mischa Cheung get a much-needed reprieve. This melancholy piece is perfectly suited for a piano arrangement. I was glad to see this selection versus fan favorites like “Wind Scene” and “Secret of the Forest,” if only to hear something different.
To end our Chrono Trigger block, fittingly, we have the end theme, “To Far Away Times.” Between Wanamo’s arrangement and Cheung’s deft handling, this arrangement feels like a ballad. It’s downright sing-along-able. My mind kept going back to the arranged album of the same name (To Far Away Times), which featured a vocal arrangement starring Sarah Àllain. The difference between plunking the right keys at the right time (what I imagine I would do as a hobbyist) and what Cheung does in his nuanced interpretation is exactly how you get this recording, where it feels like Àllain is singing the melody.
Final Fantasy
Andrew Cottee takes on the daunting task of arranging music for the Final Fantasy series block. At first glance, one could argue he plays it safe with his first pick: “Chocobo’s Theme.” First heard in Final Fantasy II, and expanded dozens of ways by various composers over the decades, Cottee and Cheung surprised me with a fanciful, delicate, and clever arrangement that is just as fitting here as it would have been on Masashi Hamauzu’s Chocobo’s Dungeon arranged album.
Next up, Piano Fantasies offers something old and something new with “No Promises to Keep,” the vocal theme from Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. While this piece does include references to Aerith’s leitmotif in its original form, Cottee leans hard into “Aerith’s Theme” in this arrangement, utilizing it as bookended intro and outro. For his part, Cheung keeps the cantabile approach from “To Far Away Times” alive and well here. So, if you know this one, it’s time to sing along. This one straddles the fence between a traditional concert piano piece and a standard ballad one could perform at a classy lounge.
Taking a cue from the Chrono Trigger battle medley before it, the last track in the Final Fantasy block is simply titled “Battle Themes.” Which battle themes, though? I’ve listened closely, expecting to find three or four pieces. However, we just have two pieces here: “Decisive Battle” from Final Fantasy VI and “Don’t Be Afraid” from Final Fantasy VIII. I have to say, however, if you’re going to pull together two battle themes from different FF entries, I don’t think you could do much better than these two. Cottee has a strong vision for marrying these two pieces, especially in maintaining the same tempo from one section to the next. He also puts Cheung’s chops to the test, and Cheung passes with flying colors. You’ll get no complaints from me!
Secret of Mana
Next we have my favorite section of Piano Fantasies. Arranger Torsten Rasch has some exquisite arrangements of Hiroki Kikuta’s seminal score from Secret of Mana for us to enjoy! The first two tracks border on mandatory arrangements for this title. The opening theme, “Fear of the Heavens,” features brilliant reharmonization and beautiful, cascading lifts. And yet, this arrangement pales in comparison to what is easily the most impressive rendition of “Into the Thick of It” I’ve heard to date. To give you an idea, I would estimate that I’ve heard a good 20, maybe 30 arrangements of this classic piece … and yes, this is the one that has truly floored me.
Cheung has a perfect sensibility for rubato on this one. The tempo is just slightly slower than you’d expect. Between that shift and an added emphasis of work in the lower range to flesh out this piece, you’ll be surprised how enigmatic and even unsettling this typically lively piece can be. I am still in shock. “Into the Thick of It” on Piano Fantasies stands head and shoulders above so much else in the VGM world. I want to give Rasch and Cheung some kind of award for this singular track. Of course, composer Hiroki Kikuta deserves his own award for crafting the Secret of Mana (Seiken Densetsu 2) OST decades ago, but that’s a whole other story.
Rasch isn’t done yet, though! As has been the pattern on Piano Fantasies, we have another battle medley in “Battlefields.” However, this one is different in two key ways. First, it features more than two songs. Second, it’s not a simple transition from one song to the next. The first portion is the typical boss battle music “Danger” (sometimes translated “Crisis”). The raucous introduction that Kikuta crafted for the OST borders on impossible to properly reproduce on a single instrument, but Cheung gets mighty close. Next in line is the intensely creepy piece “The Oracle,” which you’ll remember as the penultimate boss fight against the Dark Lich.
The tempo slows, and we get one round of the final battle theme, “Meridian Dance.” But here it’s big, slow, stretching Cheung’s reach, with each bombastic hit of the melody suggesting the gravity of this event. Rasch then weaves more of the “Danger” melody into the finale, starting with the fast descents, then once again utilizing the big, slow chords to emphasize that fantastic B part melody of “Danger” that I can’t get out of my head.
As much as I loved this section of Piano Fantasies, I am tearing my hair out in asking for a full piano collection of Secret of Mana and/or Trials of Mana. Between these three tracks and what the Square Enix Music channel did with “Powell” from Trials of Mana, I am convinced there is so much more of Kikuta’s source material worth arranging.
Kingdom Hearts
If I have a favorite section of Piano Fantasies (in Secret of Mana above), I suppose I should choose a least favorite. And if I had to choose one, it would be the Kingdom Hearts section. For me, this comes down to track selection. There are plenty of great songs from Yoko Shimomura across the Kingdom Hearts series. And while “Dearly Beloved” was an obvious pick, I’m not sure how I feel about the others.
Arranger Michael Fuchs takes some jazzy, reharmonized artistic liberties with the opening measures of “Dearly Beloved” before settling into the simple, unforgettable melody. I genuinely appreciate Fuchs trying some different things to surprise the listener. It’s certainly a step up from the 2009 Piano Collections Kingdom Hearts version, much as I admire Natsumi Kameoka for other arrangements.
Our middle piece in the KH block is “The Afternoon Streets” from Kingdom Hearts II. On one hand, sure, I’ll take it over the millionth arrangement of “Traverse Town.” As far as town themes go, Shimomura did a fine job with the original piece. I don’t think Fuchs flexed as many creative muscles here as he did with “Dearly Beloved,” but I’m okay with that. What I appreciate most about this particular track is Cheung’s gentleness with the keys.
Piano Fantasies‘ finale is “Edge of Existence” from Kingdom Hearts III. I think this was the strongest choice among the KH block’s source material. I think Fuchs also brings his A game to this arrangement, forcing Cheung to lock his left hand, and sometimes the thumb and forefinger of his right hand, into a percussive pattern of arpeggiation and clustering to emulate the drum loops from the OST version. The melody itself is a 16th note blitz, and Cheung keeps pace so well. I love the way this one turned out. Definitely my favorite of the block. That being said, I wish this one had followed in the footsteps of the other blocks’ battle tracks by weaving in some additional tracks. I think one could wed “Edge of Existence” pretty nicely with “Destati,” “Scythe of Petals,” or “Vector to the Heavens.” It’s a missed opportunity in my book.
Conclusion
I’m glad to report that 2025 has been a fantastic year for game music and piano arrangements. As I write this, I am waiting for my copy of Chrono Trigger Piano Soundscape Arrangement to arrive. It’s hard to say if Piano Fantasies is my top piano album this year, as there have been so many great albums, including two entries from Benyamin Nuss (NieR and Xenosaga). But I have a great deal of respect for all of the arrangers and pianist Mischa Cheung for making such a strong, cohesive collection of piano pieces. I envy my friends and colleagues in Europe who will be attending live performances of Piano Fantasies in 2026.
If you’re a fan of “the greats” from Square Enix’s game music library and want a rousing rendition of piano arrangements, treat yourself with Piano Fantasies – music from Square Enix. With any luck, we’ll get a sequel, one with some more deep cuts from the source material!
