I find it interesting that the tracks is called "The Red Wings." Black magic is the offensive magic while white magic being for protection. Red mages can use both to some extent. So what better to describe a man who has gone through both paths than with a red motif in some way.
Things like that make me wonder if they were conscious decisions. If so, ... they really were masters of their craft, planning out so many trivial details that would be lost on nearly all of their audience. - respect.
While that's a cool idea, I believe someone involved in development (probably Sakaguchi) said in an interview that the name of both the Red Wings and Baron were both simply references to the Red Baron
I love how at the end of the story, in the final dungeon, we get to hear Cecil's theme again, kind of like bookends when Cecil and all of his friends come together to fix the problems he kind of created by "just following orders" at the start.
That was a really cool focus on one landmark part of a game I never played, like a super early version of what Persona does with characters who have had a major development moment happen - aka changing up their main persona to reflect the change in the person.
Even today, I feel like FFIV is in a class of its own, as far as game-design goes. The soundtrack is amazing, the story is great (for its time), the plot-twists come at a pace that feels mostly natural... Sure, the story gets a little ridiculous after Mysidia, but it's still one of the most enjoyable games I've ever played. Also, let's be honest here. The fight against Dark Cecil is just brilliantly executed. It's literally the only fight in any game I can recall playing, where the only way to defeat the enemy is to just not do anything. It's also the only fight I've ever won by just giving up and deciding to let Cecil die for the umpteenth time, while I went to the toilet and when I came back, I had won the battle...
One of my favorite game OSTs. It's a lot simpler than other games in the serious, but each track is exceptionally memorable. Looking forward to part 2!
Great video 👍. Especially loved the ending with the Red wings theme playing during the battle with Cecil and his former self. The music, gameplay, and writing is being used all at once to connect the player to the narrative. It's brilliant!
This is so slick and well done. Excellent work! It's great to see you maturing as an editor and a storyteller over this series, and I hope you're proud of the end result so far. Take all the time you need, these are a joy every time they pop up in my subscription feed. :)
Excellent video! Very astute break down. I have no knowledge of music theory, but video game music is a massive passion of mine. It's awesome to see these videos.
Another great video!!! I got goosebumps when the Red Wings theme came in. Again, you’ve captured the emotions I felt playing this game as a child perfectly.
Oh God, a GSF video about the Final Fantasy closest to my heart and specifically about my all-time favorite video game character? *screaming* I am so looking forward to that next video. Every
I'm immensely excited for when you get to Final Fantasy VI. It is my all time favorite JRPG, and possibly game, and its music is phenomenal. I think it's one of Uematsu's most accomplished OSTs.
Since I was a little kid in started playing games in 1985, this has been one of my quintessential favorite moments in gaming. It warms my heart for you to give it even more depth than an already beautiful transfiguration and redemption that it represents. Thanks!
The second phase of Red Wings uses the Zeromus/Four Fiends two notes, though I think expresses the levels of command above him in the Red Wings; his command (one, two); followed by Golbez, (one one, two) then Zeromus with three sneaking at the end to resolve the of the line (one one one, two); and then those notes follow the same steps up as the two notes in the Zeromus/Four Fiends them. It even repeats twice like in those themes. I also think the first part, the trumpets aren’t so much as triumphant, but in discord with triumph. This is particularly felt when the line resolves down to a minor flat feeling note rather than that higher major C cord. When you consider the Paladin theme (the highest, most positive music used to represent Lunarian figures, and the call back to Golbez and Zeromus; the worst side of the Lunarians, Red Wings combines the two over a very terrestrial “foot soldiers on the ground” drum beat. So Red Wings represents the best from above, the worst from outside, and the battles they wage on the surface of the planet. The meaning is INCREDIBLY deep. It’s no wonder people consider Nobuo a music genius.
This series, and your other videos, made me more critical to other game's music, and it's great! Great game music, now that I have learned a little about their purpose, really adds to the feeling of immersion to what I play
Ive always liked final fantasy 4, especially because it was my first final fantasy, and especially because of Cecil's journey. Thanks for this deep dive at the music! I look forward to the second part! Are you going to talk about the finale?
I can't believe I missed the Zemus motif, those two battle themes are some of my favorite tracks in the game. And doesn't the Red Wings theme play in the final dungeon? I always found that weird but now thinking of it as Cecil's theme it makes perfect sense.
Very nice choice for a topic to look into in depth...this scene is one of the two most impactful moments in the entire game. The other is mainly because I'm a sucker for the heroic sacrifice scenes and Tellah is a perfect example of that.
I was just about to contact you to see if you were going to to continue this series on leitmotif. Then I saw you uploaded this very recently. This is an excellent series! Thanks for working on it.
I'm a year late but better late than never: Scarmiglione: roughly translated from Italian, it's a very large dishevelment, apt for someone embodies the dead/earth. Pronounced (approximately): Scar mi LYOH nay. Name origin: one of the demons Dante meets in Inferno in _La Divina Comedia,_ or _The Divine Comedy._ All the Fiends are named after that set: Scarmiglione, Barbariccia, Rubicante, and Cagnazzo.
@@GameScoreFanfare Hearing these soundtracks always reminds me of how much fun these were. To be honest idk how you get these videos done I'd just keep playing the games!
Amazing video, so much more appreciation for nobuo every time I watch one of your videos on him. And really all vg composers you've covered, thanks for some of dat good shtuff
I love how this video has a leitmotif of you going "for reasons that don't matter." That's kind of telling about the story of this game... The plot itself is not exactly complex or deep, it's just kind of, evil dude commands evil dudes to do evil deeds. The depth is all in the presentation, set-pieces, themes, all these elements that give you a glimpse of something emotionally complex. Coming from the perspective of someone who long ago spent hours just browsing Final Fantasy bestiaries, seeing all these amazingly diverse creature designs and fascinating names of the locations they appear in and everything, only to eventually play the game and find out it's all just minions of mr the evil dude. It was a pretty big let-down, but... it's still pretty fascinating how a shallow plot can function as a vehicle for all these components that are somehow fascinating in their own right. There's something inexplicably amazing about seeing something like a Tonberry for the first time, and you have no idea what it is or why it is or anything, but it just feels _right._ I mean, this video was about music, but... that's part of it. This is a very emotionally resonant scene in a story that, in itself, isn't terribly resonant. But the music gives it life. Even if the threads holding these elements together are kind of flimsy, there's bits of art in these games that makes you feel like there's something there beyond the surface.
@Game Score Fanfare I am certain that you would ADORE the use of leitmotif in Fire Emblem Three Houses and I highly recommend looking at the soundtrack, if not playing the game (it's fantastic even if you don't like strategy JRPGs). Just a suggestion as I have been going through your videos and thought that the sound design in this game is pretty great.
Great video! As you say at the end of it, using the class system for storytelling is brilliant, but I dindn't know how much music also took part in it.
One of my favorite soundtracks to a game I sometimes feel like I’m the only one who played. Minor correction tho, Golbez’s theme is not a fugue, there’s nothing fugal about it. Not all organ pieces are fugues. Anyway, looking forward to the next video. Thanks for reminding me of this wonderful music!
I dunno, the B section sounds pretty fugue-ish, which admittedly isn't the part I discussed in the video. It doesn't quite go as heavy into the counterpoint, but I feel like it's definitely implying Bach in its primitive form. Obviously Uematsu takes it much further in VI, but Golbez was the start of it.
Game Score Fanfare there’s no imitative counterpoint so no fugue. It references the famous fugue in D minor sure, but only melodically. The original already has an unusual fugue subject too, so nothing about it is fugue-ish apart from the form of piece it nods to.
One thing running through my mind as I watched this was that the "joined the party" theme is basically the first half of Cecil's theme. Seems reasonable, perhaps, for the purpose of having a single, consistent such mini-theme/jingle (since Cecil will always be part of the interaction) rather than having a different one for each person to join? Are there other instances of Cecil's theme in the music?
I LITERALLY just got the SNES version off eBay this week (I was a Blockbuster kid and am now trying to get all of the classics I only ever rented). I was gonna dive into the music myself but this series is looking perfect already!
With ff14 doing a ff4 flashback, I've been thinking about things a lot, I'm going to have to listen to the new elemental themes and see if it's still there.... and if it ends up with HIM too.
I legit appreciate seeing a spoiler warning for an almost 30-year-old game. It speaks to the longevity of the narratives and how you never know when someone might want to go back and experience a classic for the first time.
Yeah, I almost didn't do it! I feel like 30 years is long enough. But then I figured it takes 2 minutes to do, will be appreciated by those who care about it and ignored by everyone else. So why not?
Out of curiosity, what was the reason for opting for the older SNES OST rather than the updated DS OST? Just a nit-pick, in the beginning half and the tail end of the video there are notations that are highlighted, but that wasn't the case for the Tower of Zot, Zemus' motif and the Lunarian motif. Additionally, The Red Wings had the purple triangle highlighting the notes whereas at the end it doesn't. Just thought it was a bit inconsistent. Despite the notation not being too complex to justify animating a few songs and, in the case foe The Red Wings, redundancy, for consistency's sake I'd recommend sticking with the animation introduced. Aside from those nit-picks your video editing skills and writing are very eloquent and allows for me to digest what you have to say easily. I love your videos and am glad that this mini series is going to continue. Please continue with the quality content!
A couple reasons for choosing SNES over DS. First being I used footage from the SNES version, so I matched the music. Second being I'm not a fan of the DS music, it's pretty low quality and the virtual instruments sound lifeless and empty. They may be more like their intended instruments but they're obviously and unavoidabley canned. At least the SNES sounds are so far removed that they have character. And third is that the original OST is the one more people would know, its the iconic one! I'm trying to follow the series in its original context, so it makes sense to use the original look and sound. For the later remasters that just add more polygons and anti-aliasing, I'm happy to use the newer, prettier stuff because they keep the spirit of the original alive. But for something so drastically different as the DS remake, I wanted to stick with the original. As for the editing inconsistencies, I agree. I'm yet to work out a system that works for me. The dots are a lot of work and I wasn't sure how to approach them with chords. The arrow looks gross and there's no space for it when I have footage in the middle and it gets all cramped. I wanted to use the arrow on the initial Red Wings track because I needed something more visually engaging. So yeah, I'm not happy with it either but it's a work in progress.
@@GameScoreFanfare I appreciate the response and your insight for the usage of the SNES vs DS. My first exposure to the game was the DS remake, haha. Also, that's fair about the editing. The triangle may not look that flattering, but it really did make it easy to follow with the music and I love that. It takes some refining, just like most things, but just know I definitely appreciate your work. From a comment I was reading it seems like you're not too gung-ho about this little mini series? As much as I would like to see you continue and stick with an idea, I'm also of the mind that would much prefer you enjoying and brimming with passion and enthusiasm when approaching another topic to cover. Don't push yourself in a corner man. One of my favorite videos you did was when you gushed about Fisherman's Horizon from FFVIII. That was just brimming with your love for the piece and it really made me admire your personality and the effort you put into these videos. No matter what decisions you make, just know I'm here to watch. Cheers!
@@JairusC ahhh no, don't think that I'm not excited about doing this series! Of course I am! I wouldn't be doing it if I wasn't passionate about it. I'm not that self-motivated, lol. All I meant was that this series provides me with something that can be consistent and doesn't have to be completely emotionally draining to produce. I know GSF doesn't have to be either, but the expectations I have for the series make it difficult to crack the mindset. WoL provides a nice respite in that way, but just because I'm not as emotionally invested into the individual videos doesn't mean I'm not committed or I'm not passionate about it. Just means I can produce it with less crippling anxiety.
I hope you EVENTUALLY get to FF XIV, although it is an MMO goodness gracious it seems to be using either leitmotif or something very similar to it a lot.
I'm not sure if you made this mistake consciously as a way to simplify the information you're conveying, but at 1:42 you label the trumpet divisi section as using minor chords instead of half diminished chords. Love the video otherwise, separate from that mistake
Oh yes, thank you! I'm terrible with music theory. I do know about diminished chords, but obviously the lesson didn't stick! Now that you've mentioned it, I see it. Thanks for bringing it up kindly and for being patient with my ineptitude. 🙂 From my understanding however, a diminished (or half-diminished in this case) are kind of minor? Or at least similar.
@@GameScoreFanfare Well a diminished chord is too stacked minors Seems stacked samey chords make for some tense intervals, Diminished chords, augmented chords, I'm sure 1/4/b7 is weird too
@@GameScoreFanfare I can't speak for OP but I had the same feeling. I would have expected the Cecil pronunciation that's like "sea-sill" or "cease-ill", heard in something like ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-u7NZOS9QdeA.html or ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-uCBR5ogQedc.html Cecil Harvey, in Japanese, is セシル・ハーヴィ Seshiru Hāvi. So I might have expected that "seshiru" pronunciation. You can hear it spoken a bit after the 1:20 mark in this video from Dissidia Final Fantasy's story mode: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-f8J_oEJwnps.html That said, your "sessel" pronunciation, rhyming with "vessel", is backed up by the narrator of Dissidia's English release at 1:27 and two more times in the same introduction: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-k-49mr9nihU.html In the cutscenes that follow, different characters played by different actors all use this same "sessel" pronunciation. One of the more famous in recent memory, Cecil the Lion, is pronounced the same way, "sessel". Jimmy Kimmel and ABC News have videos on RU-vid with this pronunciation. It seems unlikely that I'd only ever read the name before... I'd never played the Dissidia games and likely have only previously read about Cecil the Lion... but after looking into all this I'm really not at all sure why I had the "sea-sill" pronunciation so firmly in mind. I guess part of it is just how it's a rather uncommon name?
