Oh snap! Time to break open some marble soda, because it’s time for #SQkawaii Sounds -Final Fantasy-! Enter a sugary synth-pop wonderland, where the music subverts genre expectations and the music is very, very hard to describe! What I can say for sure is that this is, indeed, a Final Fantasy series arranged album: one track from each numbered Final Fantasy title, as well as four melodies re-used throughout the series (prelude, main theme, chocobo, moogle).
Square Enix Music has produced plenty of arrange albums where a specific musical genre, theme, or instrument is the limiting factor. I think #SQkawaii is arguably closest to the two SQ Chips albums Square Enix published over a decade ago. Those albums had the intentional limitation of the music being, well, chiptunes. With #SQkawaii, the arrangers utilize a range of synthesizers and sampled audio. The end goal is to create something fun, lively, and effervescent. I keep going back to food metaphors, and I don’t think I’m wrong to, given the cover art features characters eating ice cream cones and Shantotto (from Final Fantasy XI) drinking what I assume is boba tea. Whatever we’re going for here, the aesthetic is kawaii: cuteness, bright colors, stars, and stickers and light, sweet tasty treats!
Each arranger has a different way of translating Final Fantasy tunes into something they associate with a kawaii soundscape. Rather than tackle all 20 tracks individually, I would like to provide you with a deeper analysis of a few of my favorite tracks.
First and foremost, Yoshinori Nakamura‘s arrangement of “Battle at the Big Bridge” from Final Fantasy V deserves time in the spotlight. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined Uematsu’s celebrated rock anthem turned into a chill, smart synth pop track like this. Nakamura—whose other Square Enix composer and arrangement credits include LIVE A LIVE HD-2D, Final Fantasy VII Remake & Rebirth, and Final Fantasy Record Keeper—maintains the core melodic elements of “Big Bridge” while restructuring the rest of the piece from the ground up. His reharmonization around the melody is clever; the silly sound effects and catchy vocal samples make me giggle in delight. Nakamura even does a downward pitch bend for the final note in each phrase of the “A” section melody, and it really helps turn down the seriousness of the source material. Don’t call it “Battle at the Big Bridge” anymore, folks. This is a carnival!
Much as I love Nakamura’s work on this FFV battle, I have to give the “best battle arrangement” award to an absolutely unexpected entry. This one is the standard “Battle Theme” arrangement from Final Fantasy XI. Now look, I love FFXI, and I love its soundtrack. But I don’t think anyone is going around celebrating Uematsu’s first attempt at an MMORPG battle theme. Arguably, there were half a dozen themes from Naoshi Mizuta that would have served as better source material. But oh, how wrong I was. Arranger Kyota. (with the period!) gave Uematsu’s FFXI standard battle fare the ultimate facelift.
The first 30 seconds help establish the synth voicing and overall tone for this piece. And up until this point, the scaffolding here could have served for virtually any track. But then, right at that 30-second mark, we get a vocal sample of someone shouting “Okay!” and then BOOM, Uematsu’s melodic line bursts on the scene, and it sounds much more fun and engaging than its OST counterpart. I cannot explain it. I must have heard this particular piece of music somewhere between, oh, 50 and 100 hours of my waking life between 2005 and 2013. I didn’t think it could ever sound this good. But right here in this moment, it’s like someone breathed new life into the song and made it worth hearing in a whole new way. And Kyota.’s arrangement doesn’t let up, bringing new layers and effects every few measures to keep things fresh. It’s the best.
Everyone who worked on this album arranged at least two tracks, with exactly two exceptions! Arranger “5u5h1” put together a tasty, rhythmically dense arrangement of “The Rebel Army” from Final Fantasy II. And then we get a surprise arrangement from Tsuyoshi Sekito, who has been working with Square all the way back to the PS1 days with Brave Fencer Musashi! Sekito brings us the Final Fantasy VII arrangement, “The Chase.” For those unfamiliar, that’s the bike chase sequence out of Midgar, and the song was titled “Crazy Motorcycle” in older localizations. Sekito’s arrangement is so retro, it may well have fit on an SQ Chips album. What a delight!
All of the team members for this project did a great job, but I want to give a special nod to Yuki Hirose, who took on the most tracks and also did mastering for the entire album. His arrangement of “Somnus” from Final Fantasy XV is rock solid, and while his “Blinded by Light” (Final Fantasy XIII) arrangement felt a little paint-by-numbers in approach, it’s still great to listen to!
Generally, this is a great album to check out. Square Enix released five tracks from this album as a free-to-stream EP on Spotify and other services—but the full album is only available through purchase of the genuine article, whether physical or digital. I think it’s worth the cost, even if the music feels less like a meal and more like a treat. Let’s face it: we could all use a treat now and then.
Two additional considerations before wrapping up. First, I need to send some love to our old friend Derek Heemsbergen, an RPGFan alum (who wrote the SQ Chips review I linked to earlier!) who has gone on to work in localization. Well, Derek recently launched his own blog: Astral City Mini. I wasn’t sure if I would get around to listening to this album, and it was actually when I read Derek’s piece on #SQKawaii that I knew it was up my alley. Be sure to check out that blog!
Second, it’s worth observing that this album’s full title is a heading and subheading. First, we get #SQKawaii Sounds, then we get -Final Fantasy-. This reads like there’s room for growth in this album as a series, perhaps exploring other franchises or digging into Square Enix’s musical library writ large. I know I have enjoyed their Jazz and Acoustic albums for a variety of franchises. So, Square Enix Music, how about it? Can we get #SQkawaii Sounds -SaGa- next?
