Composed by Masayoshi Soken
Lyrics by Tom Mills
“Of Countless Stars” arranged by Daiki Ishikawa
Arranged for NJGSO by Catherine Tom-Wolverton
Video Editor: Dave Hall
When a significant loss leaves you with a hole in your heart, the healing process often doesn't involve "moving on" as much as it does "moving forward." "Close in the Distance," and all its variations, is a song about loss and suffering and finding a way to keep going while carrying that hole with you.
No other place in the Final Fantasy XIV universe looks and sounds like Ultima Thule. The ambient "music" sounds distorted and heavily processed with lots of reverb; maybe there is a song in that noise somewhere but only maybe. As the Player Character ("PC") progresses through the story, the PC is gradually separated from allies. And yet, even as the party's numbers dwindle, the reverb clears up, more instruments can be heard, new paths are revealed, and then the lyrics to "Close in the Distance" begin.
I remember feeling so unsettled by the initial distorted version, as well as the emotional high I felt listening to the fully realized song. But an orchestra can only do so much to replicate the work of computers. I tried to capture that feeling of finding hope somewhere in the desolation. Starting with just the bass line, then a single voice, then a chord slowly building as new voices join in, followed by more instruments and entire sections, until the chorus at the end. Each new voice and sound represents a friend reaching through time and space to give the Player Character a little encouragement to keep walking.
"Of Countless Stars" is a variation that plays as the party is confronted with a battle that is as much psychological as it is physical. It is the last effort of the enemy, before fighting the PC directly, to convince the PC to join the many suffering in their desire for oblivion, for it is inevitable that everything will one day come to a Dead End. This isn't a piece about the strength of mighty warriors going into battle (though, being an MMORPG dungeon, there is plenty of that); it is about the strength of just continuing to stand. Through scenes of war, plague, apathy, and despair, there's that melody reminding the party that hope still exists.
#njgso #vgm #orchestra #finalfantasyxiv
29 сен 2024
