Piano Collections Final Fantasy X

It’s fitting that the tenth entry of Square-Enix’s long-running Final Fantasy franchise receive a piano collection since there are quite a few tracks played on piano in the first place. The album opens with one of the first pieces heard when playing the game, “To Zanarkand,” originally played on piano and thus sounding as good as it did within the game. Protagonist Tidus’s theme follows, somewhat sounding like a superhero’s theme, but still being nice on piano. The theme for Besaid Island then comes, having a bit of a bouncy feel and sounding at first a little like a band’s marching song, but having lovely flourishes a ways in.

“The Hymn of the Fayth” was originally a vocalized piece, but its piano rendition definitely does its original iteration justice, and it does indeed sound like a religious hymn. “Travel Agency” is another peaceful theme, and definitely fits the titular facilities found throughout the game, sounding a bit like easy-listening music one would hear in such places in real life. Rikku’s theme is happy and upbeat, fitting the character well, and the track for the city of Guadosalam has a similar sense of serenity. The theme to the Thunder Plains was another track originally performed on piano, opening with an original flourish native to the album that prevents it from sounding like a rehash.

“Raid,” in contrast, is a bit of an odd duck, definitely not sounding like a theme one would hear during a conflict, but it’s good nonetheless and quite lively. “The Way of Purgation” is a softer theme that sounds beautiful, and the piano rendition of the game’s main theme song, “Suteki da ne” (“Isn’t it wonderful?”), very much does the vocal version justice. “Yuna’s Decision” definitely sounds like a piece that would play during a critical time in the game’s narrative, and is lovely, too. “People of the Far North” also sounds like a tune that would play in a cold environment within the game.

The final battle theme is a bit of a change of pace for the album, sounding muh faster than its precursors and seeming appropriate for a critical conflict. The ending theme terminates the album on a high note, definitely making it a recommended soundtrack for videogame aficionados, music enthusiasts, series fans, and so forth. This reviewer definitely believes that the works of contemporary videogame composers, mostly from Japan and some abroad, are very much on par with those of classical musical composers, and need more love, recognition, and possibly awards.