Sunday 6 November 2011

Not just backing sounds


             Music is essential to almost all video games, there are very few exceptions to this rule and sports games are the only ones I can think of and even then there is something to be said for it. Even the mentally challenged sheep poring hours and hours into Call of Duty have a backing score which they may not notice is there, but definitely would realise something was different if it weren’t. Arguably the most important video game scores are those for RPGs where the gamer is led to identify with characters and situations, the correct music must be employed to ensure not only you engage fully with the game but should the music be wrong the opposite can occur and the illusion completely dispelled. Luckily for us there are plenty of games where the musical score is precisely what is needed and to my mind the most striking combination of games and more importantly composer of such pieces is, and here’s a shocker, Final Fantasy and Nobuo Uematsu. Don’t worry this isn’t just a fanboy raving about his favourite series again… well not much anyway, there’s a point to it all and to this latest rambling of mine though granted it is slightly different than usual.

            ‘Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy’, a concert of popular tracks from the legendary series, has been touring the world for a while now and finally made it to London last night and I was lucky enough to get a hold of a pair of tickets for myself and a close friend who shares my love for Final Fantasy and for game soundtracks. So comfortably overdressed as we turned out to be we headed for London’s Royal Albert Hall for an evening of orchestral excellence. Upon arrival we discovered that the last minute tickets I managed to get were in fact rather good, centrally located, on the floor and about 10 feet from the stage and settled down for the show, after dashing to a merchandise stand to grab programmes, copies of the FFVII Original Soundtrack and in my case a t-shirt as well. 

            The atmosphere in the hall was incredible. Completely packed with fans of the series, possibly a few begrudging partners dragged along but even they couldn’t have been disgruntled once the orchestra started playing. The show kicked off with Nobuo himself taking the stage to rapturous applause, closely followed by conductor Arnie Roth leading the musicians in the Prelude which is synonymous with the opening menu screen of the series before launching into the sublime and nostalgia inducing Liberi Fatali from Final Fantasy VIII’s opening sequence. I have never been to a classical concert before and was therefore unsure what to expect, what took me slightly by surprise was how much these songs affected me. Goosebumps and butterflies in my stomach were not the results I had anticipated but none the less this is what occurred.  

            Rather than give a play by play of the entire event I shall just skip to the end which was met with a standing ovation, an encore of ‘One Winged Angel’ and a second standing ovation. The evening was unlike anything I have ever experienced and helped to show me something I have always held to be true. Music is an incredibly powerful tool and perhaps this is more apparent in video games than any other medium. The fact that The Royal Albert Hall, a large and prestigious theatre, was filled to capacity for both this event and one the previous week for the ‘Zelda Symphony’ concert is proof that music in games is more than just the sounds in the background. It breaths life into the games and seen performed live the true significance is mind blowing and made abundantly clear. My friend and I are already keeping an eye out for tickets for the return of ‘Distant Worlds’ next year to commemorate Final Fantasy’s 25th anniversary, I urge you to do the same.
            

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