The music of the video gameFinal Fantasy VIII was composed by regular series composerNobuo Uematsu. TheFinal Fantasy VIII Original Soundtrack, a compilation of all music in the game, was released on fourCompact Discs byDigiCube in Japan, and bySquare EA in North America. A specialorchestralarrangement of selected tracks from the game—arranged byShirō Hamaguchi—was released under the titleFithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec Final Fantasy VIII, and a collection ofpiano arrangements—performed by Shinko Ogata—was released under the titlePiano Collections Final Fantasy VIII.
The game's soundtrack is best known for two tracks: "Liberi Fatali", aLatinchoral piece that is played during the introduction to the game, and "Eyes on Me", apop ballad serving as the game's theme, performed by Chinese singerFaye Wong. The song's lyrics, written in English by Kako Someya, unveil the hopes of a night club singer for romance with a member of her audience. Reviewers were generally pleased with the music, although several cited issues while comparing the score to previous games or looking at individual tracks.[citation needed]
Nobuo Uematsu's usual influences includeEmerson, Lake & Palmer,Simon and Garfunkel, andElton John.[1][2] In regard toFinal Fantasy VIII, Uematsu did not prefer to use multiple sources to findMIDI instruments—"I could be coming up with a great melody in the very moment"—instead using aRolandSC-88synthesizer for the entire score. Uematsu wrote notes based on character designs andscreenplays, creating a general picture of the pieces' moods. He could not express a character's emotions solely with plot, instead using images of appearance and attire: "It's important to know when their emotions are at their height, but it usually takes until a month before release for them to finish the ending dialog...!"[3] In response to a question by IGN music stating that the music ofFinal Fantasy VIII was very dark and perhaps influenced by the plot of the game, Uematsu said that "the atmosphere of music varies depending on story line, of course, but it's also my intention to put various types of music into one game".[2]
Uematsu enjoys writing lyrical pieces, but tries not to be genre-specific. He asserts that expressing the emotions he desires is more important than improving skills: "I think it will be a shame if we won't be able to cry as we play our own game". The absence of character themes was due to him finding those ofFinal Fantasy VI andVII ineffective. Uematsu considers it reasonable to have character themes if each character has a "highlight" in the game, but he foundFinal Fantasy VIII only focused onSquall Leonhart andRinoa Heartilly as a couple, resulting in the "Eyes on Me" theme.[3] The soundtrack features a Latin choral track "Liberi Fatali", which translates to "Fated Children"; its melody forms a musical theme heard in several other pieces in the soundtrack, such as "SeeD" and "The Landing", while the name of "Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec" is the recurring lyrics in "Liberi Fatali".[4]
Near the end of the production ofFinal Fantasy VII, the developers suggested to use a singer, but abandoned the idea due to a lack of reasoning based on the game's theme and storyline.[5] However, Nobuo Uematsu thought aballad would closely relate to the theme and characters ofFinal Fantasy VIII. This resulted in the game's developers sharing "countless" artists, eventually deciding onFaye Wong, aChinese vocalist. Uematsu claims "her voice and mood seem to match my image of the song exactly", and that her ethnicity "fits the international image of Final Fantasy". After negotiations were made, "Eyes on Me" was recorded inHong Kong with anorchestra.[3]
| Final Fantasy VIII Original Soundtrack | |
|---|---|
 Slipcase artwork for original release | |
| Soundtrack album by | |
| Released | March 1, 1999 January 2000(Music Collection) May 10, 2004(reissue) |
| Recorded | Sound City,Tokyo |
| Length | 62:07(disc one) 62:31(disc two) 63:38(disc three) 61:14(disc four) |
| Label | |
| Producer | Nobuo Uematsu |
Final Fantasy VIII Original Soundtrack is a soundtrack of the music fromFinal Fantasy VIII, composed and produced byNobuo Uematsu. The soundtrack spans four discs and 74 tracks, covering a duration of 4 hours and 9 minutes. It was first published byDigiCube on March 10, 1999 with the catalog number SSCX-10028, and subsequently published bySquare Enix on May 10, 2004 with the catalog numbers SQEX-10005~8. Unlike most otherFinal Fantasy soundtracks,Final Fantasy VIII Original Soundtrack is composed completely of English track names.[6] The album was also released in North America under the titleFinal Fantasy VIII Music Collection: Music From The Final Fantasy VIII Video Game. It features changes such as packaging design, translation, and additional images.[7] In addition, a limited edition was produced, which has a beige background instead of afull motion video montage.[4]
The soundtrack reached #4 on the JapanOricon charts, selling over 300,000 copies.[8][9] It received generally positive reviews from critics;New Zealand PlayStation magazine claimedFinal Fantasy VIII has "one of the most memorable scores you will ever hear".[10] Reviewers from multimedia news websiteIGN stated that much of the game's impact is owed to its "terrific" musical score, but were disappointed by "yet another" variation of the traditional battle theme.[11]IGN later named theFFVIII soundtrack as fourth best in itsFinal Fantasy Soundtrack Countdown feature.[12]GameSpot considered the game's sound its weakest point, but still commended it, claiming it has "more 'quality' songs thanVII".[13] Lastly,Game Revolution wrote that "there are only a few tracks that really stand out", including "Eyes on Me", which it deemed a "clichéd, but beautiful love song".[14]
Final Fantasy VIII Original Soundtrack has sold "more than 300,000 copies" in Japan according to Square, or 259,000 physical copies according to the independent chart companyOricon.[15][16] Adam Corn of SoundtrackCentral.com claimed the album shows similarities to previousFinal Fantasy games, but asserted he was "not overly impressed with this one".[17] A reviewer from Square Enix Music Online claimed the soundtrack is "unique and very special" due to its contrasts, as "when signs of age of theFinal Fantasy franchise are shown", Uematsu counterbalances this by creating something "weird and wonderful[...] when the soundtrack becomes too serious, a light-hearted number is inserted to liven up the mood".[18] Ben Schweitzer of RPGFan said in his review of the album that "the main flavor of Uematsu's compositions, his melodic style, remains consistent, and more importantly, consistently good". He criticized, however, the more minimalist pieces, which in his opinion were bland.[4]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Liberi Fatali" | 3:07 |
| 2. | "Balamb GARDEN" | 3:29 |
| 3. | "Blue Fields" | 2:54 |
| 4. | "Don't Be Afraid" | 2:52 |
| 5. | "The Winner" | 1:07 |
| 6. | "Find Your Way" | 3:47 |
| 7. | "SeeD" | 4:16 |
| 8. | "The Landing" | 4:36 |
| 9. | "Starting Up" | 1:19 |
| 10. | "Force Your Way" | 3:53 |
| 11. | "The Loser" | 1:26 |
| 12. | "Never Look Back" | 3:23 |
| 13. | "Dead End" | 1:11 |
| 14. | "Breezy" | 2:43 |
| 15. | "Shuffle or Boogie" | 2:04 |
| 16. | "Waltz for the Moon" | 3:00 |
| 17. | "Tell Me" | 3:24 |
| 18. | "Fear" | 2:24 |
| 19. | "The Man with the Machine Gun" | 2:49 |
| 20. | "Julia" | 1:23 |
| 21. | "Roses and Wine" | 2:18 |
| 22. | "Junction" | 1:37 |
| 23. | "Timber Owls" | 2:51 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "My Mind" | 3:12 |
| 2. | "The Mission" | 3:36 |
| 3. | "Martial Law" | 3:48 |
| 4. | "Cactus Jack (Galbadian Anthem)" | 1:30 |
| 5. | "Only a Plank Between One and Perdition" | 2:24 |
| 6. | "SUCCESSION OF WITCHES" | 3:18 |
| 7. | "Galbadia GARDEN" | 3:37 |
| 8. | "Unrest" | 2:36 |
| 9. | "Under Her Control" | 3:30 |
| 10. | "The Stage is Set" | 3:39 |
| 11. | "A Sacrifice" | 3:26 |
| 12. | "FITHOS LUSEC WECOS VINOSEC" | 4:33 |
| 13. | "Intruders" | 2:31 |
| 14. | "Premonition" | 4:36 |
| 15. | "Wounded" | 0:53 |
| 16. | "Fragments of Memories" | 3:13 |
| 17. | "Jailed" | 3:50 |
| 18. | "Rivals" | 3:30 |
| 19. | "Ami" | 4:37 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Spy" | 3:46 |
| 2. | "Retaliation" | 0:45 |
| 3. | "Movin'" | 5:18 |
| 4. | "Blue Sky" | 0:44 |
| 5. | "Drifting" | 2:56 |
| 6. | "Heresy" | 4:10 |
| 7. | "Fisherman's Horizon" | 3:35 |
| 8. | "ODEKA ke Chocobo" | 1:16 |
| 9. | "Where I Belong" | 3:40 |
| 10. | "The Oath" | 3:25 |
| 11. | "Slide Show Part 1" | 1:23 |
| 12. | "Slide Show Part 2" | 1:47 |
| 13. | "Love Grows" | 4:28 |
| 14. | "The Salt Flats" | 3:36 |
| 15. | "Trust Me" | 3:13 |
| 16. | "Silence and Motion" | 5:47 |
| 17. | "Dance with the Balamb-Fish" | 3:39 |
| 18. | "Tears of the Moon" | 1:12 |
| 19. | "Residents" | 3:06 |
| 20. | "Eyes on Me" | 5:38 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Mods de Chocobo (featuring N's Telecaster)" | 2:24 |
| 2. | "Ride On" | 3:03 |
| 3. | "Truth" | 3:40 |
| 4. | "Lunatic Pandora" | 3:28 |
| 5. | "Compression of Time" | 4:34 |
| 6. | "The Castle" | 5:19 |
| 7. | "The Legendary Beast" | 5:50 |
| 8. | "Maybe I'm a Lion" | 5:35 |
| 9. | "The Extreme" | 6:44 |
| 10. | "The Successor" | 3:37 |
| 11. | "Ending Theme" | 13:20 |
| 12. | "Overture" | 3:36 |
| Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec Final Fantasy VIII | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Soundtrack album by | |
| Released | November 19, 1999 July 22, 2004 |
| Length | 1:04:12 |
| Label | DigiCube Square Enix(reissue) |
Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec Final Fantasy VIII is a collection oforchestrated pieces originally fromFinal Fantasy VIII, arranged byShirō Hamaguchi. It also includes three unchanged tracks fromFinal Fantasy VIII Original Soundtrack; "Liberi Fatali", "Eyes on Me", and "Ending Theme". The album spans 13 tracks, totaling 1:04:12. It was first published on November 19, 1999 byDigiCube with the catalog number SSCX-10037, and subsequently published on July 22, 2004 bySquare Enix with the catalog number SQEX-10025.[19]
The album reached #59 on the Japan Oricon charts, selling 7,540 copies.[20][21] Adam Corn of SoundtrackCentral.com claimed "the superior instrumental quality, well-done arrangements, and tasteful selection of themes boost the [Original Soundtrack's] qualities while hiding its flaws", elaborating that "even people such as myself who are not fans of the original will be impressed by its prowess, and fans will simply be enamored".[22] Neal Chandran of RPGFan was similarly impressed, saying that it was "a very good soundtrack" and that its tracks sounded "more beautiful than the original version". His primary complaint was that he would have liked for the album to include more pieces.[19]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Liberi Fatali" | 3:08 |
| 2. | "Blue Fields" | 3:38 |
| 3. | "Don't Be Afraid" | 3:49 |
| 4. | "Balamb GARDEN ~ Ami" | 5:16 |
| 5. | "Fisherman's Horizon" | 4:01 |
| 6. | "FITHOS LUSEC WECOS VINOSEC" | 4:38 |
| 7. | "Eyes on Me" | 5:43 |
| 8. | "The Man with the Machine Gun" | 3:36 |
| 9. | "Dance with the Balamb-Fish" | 3:16 |
| 10. | "Love Grows" | 4:35 |
| 11. | "The Oath" | 5:09 |
| 12. | "Ending Theme" | 13:22 |
| 13. | "Fragments of Memories" | 4:05 |
| Piano Collections Final Fantasy VIII | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Soundtrack album by | |
| Released | January 21, 2000 July 22, 2004 |
| Length | 48:03 |
| Label | DigiCube Square Enix(reissue) |
Piano Collections Final Fantasy VIII is an album ofpiano arrangements fromFinal Fantasy VIII, arranged byShirō Hamaguchi and performed by Shinko Ogata. Its 13 tracks span a duration of 48:03. It was published byDigiCube on January 21, 2000 with the catalog number SSCX-10041 and subsequently re-published bySquare Enix on July 22, 2004 with the catalog number SQEX-10026.[23]
Robert Steen of SoundtrackCentral.com commended the performance, claiming "Shinko Ogata seems to be a very capable player" and noted that although the arrangements are similar to the original pieces, they "breathe new life into the songs".[24] Ryan Bradley of RPGFan also appreciated the album, saying that "the piano really brings out the emotion in some of the songs" and that the pieces transitioned smoothly to piano. Patrick Gann agreed, saying that it was one of his favorite albums and that Hamaguchi's arrangements were "wonderful".[23]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Blue Fields" | 3:19 |
| 2. | "Eyes on Me" | 3:26 |
| 3. | "Fisherman's Horizon" | 3:58 |
| 4. | "SUCCESSION OF WITCHES" | 3:49 |
| 5. | "Ami" | 3:34 |
| 6. | "Shuffle or Boogie" | 2:53 |
| 7. | "Find Your Way" | 3:44 |
| 8. | "The Oath" | 3:57 |
| 9. | "Silence and Motion" | 3:20 |
| 10. | "The Castle" | 3:43 |
| 11. | "The Successor" | 5:05 |
| 12. | "Ending Theme" | 5:40 |
| 13. | "Slide Show Part 2" | 1:35 |
| "Eyes on Me" | |
|---|---|
| Single byFaye Wong | |
| from the albumSing and Play | |
| Released | February 24, 1999 |
| Genre | Pop |
| Label | Toshiba-EMI |
| Songwriters | Kako Someya(lyrics) Nobuo Uematsu(music) |
"Eyes on Me" is theballad that serves as the theme of the gameFinal Fantasy VIII. It was performed by Chinese singerFaye Wong and composed, like the rest of the game music, byNobuo Uematsu. Within the game, the song is written byJulia Heartilly, a pianist who is the love interest ofLaguna Loire.[25] The lyrics, written in imperfect English,[26] unveil the hopes of a night club singer for romance with a member of her audience. It is heard repeatedly throughout the game in various incarnations, including as an instrumental piece entitled "Julia", as well as in "Waltz for the Moon" and "Love Grows" for the "love" scenes between Squall Leonheart and Rinoa Heartlily.[4][26]
Near the end of the production ofFinal Fantasy VII, the developers suggested to use a song with lyrics, but abandoned the idea when they could not connect the idea to the game's themes and story.[5] Uematsu, however, thought aballad would work. This resulted in the game's developers sharing "countless" artists, eventually deciding on Faye Wong, a Chinese vocalist. Uematsu claimed "her voice and mood seem to match my image of the song exactly", and that her ethnicity "fits the international image ofFinal Fantasy". After negotiations were made, "Eyes on Me" was recorded inHong Kong with anorchestra.[3]IGN claimed that she was reportedly paid $1 million US dollars for her work.[27] It was the firstFinal Fantasy pop ballad.
It was released as aCD single in Japan, including an instrumental version and Wong's ballad "Red Beans" (simplified Chinese:红豆;traditional Chinese:紅豆;pinyin:hóng dòu), composed by Jim Lau with Mandarin lyrics byLin Xi. The Japanese title for that song was "Akashia no Mi" (アカシアの実,"Acacia Seeds"). It had been included in Faye Wong's 1998 albumSing and Play, along with a Cantonese version "Repayment" (simplified Chinese:偿还;traditional Chinese:償還;Jyutping:seung4 waan4), and was popular in its own right. The single sold more than 500,000 copies,[21] making it the highest-sellingvideo game music disc ever released up until 2002, with the release of "Hikari" byHikaru Utada forKingdom Hearts.[28] "Eyes on Me" was the first video game song to win an award at theJapan Gold Disc Awards, winning "Song of the Year (Western Music)" at the 14th Annual awards in 1999.[1] The single reached #9 on the Oricon charts, and stayed on the charts for 20 weeks.[29]The song also charted in the US on the Billboard Hot 100, debuted at 88 and peaked at 67 staying on the chart for 2 weeks.[30][31]
The song was popular among the video game community in theWestern world, and brought Faye Wong to the attention of many who were not previously familiar with her music.[32] In 2017, Brian Ashcraft fromKotaku described "Eyes on Me" as one of the mosticonic songs of theFinal Fantasy franchise, as well as one of the most commercially successful singles associated with the video game industry.[30]
Ahappy hardcore remix was recorded for the 2000Dancemania compilationSpeed 4,[33] and on theDancemania Speed Best 2001 of theDancemania Speed series.[34] There is anotherdance remix of the song made byAlmighty, later included on the Japanese release of Wong's 2000 albumFable,Dancemania X5,[35] and Dancemania Diamond Complete Edition (Millennium Hits Collection).[36] In 2004, a Japanese-language version entitled "Summer Album" (夏のアルバム,"Natsu no Arubamu") with lyrics byKazushige Nojima was included onFinal Fantasy Song Book: Mahoroba.[37]
"Eyes on Me" was re-released on a 18 cm vinyl record on November 3, 2017.[30]
The original song was also covered byAngela Aki for release on her 2006 single "Kokoro no Senshi", with minor grammatical changes.[38] In anExcite Japan interview, Aki said that her version 'shed light on "Eyes on Me"'.[39]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Eyes on Me" | 5:36 |
| 2. | "Akashia no Mi (アカシアの実,Acacia Seeds)" | 4:15 |
| 3. | "Eyes on Me (Instrumental)" | 5:42 |
| Chart (1999) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Hot 100[40] | 67 |
| Oricon Singles Chart[40] | 9 |
| Chart (1999) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Oricon Singles Chart[citation needed] | 62 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Japan (RIAJ)[41] | 3× Platinum | 300,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
The music ofFinal Fantasy VIII is often considered to be one of the best in the franchise, often recognized for its unique and experimental sound.[42][43] The game's music has appeared in various officialFinal Fantasy concerts. These include 2002's20020220 Music from FINAL FANTASY, in which theTokyo Philharmonic Orchestra played "Liberi Fatali", "Don't Be Afraid", "Love Grows", and "The Man with the Machine Gun", the 2004Tour de Japon series, which featured "The Oath", theDear Friends series that began that same year and included "Liberi Fatali" and "Love Grows", and the 2005More Friends concert, which included "Maybe I'm a Lion".[44][45][46][47] More recent concerts include theVoices - Music from Final Fantasy 2006 concert showcasing "Liberi Fatali", "Fisherman's Horizon", and "Eyes on Me" and the internationalDistant Worlds concert tour that continues to date, which includes "Liberi Fatali", "Fisherman's Horizon", "Man with the Machine Gun", and "Love Grows".[48][49] Several of these concerts have produced live albums as well.[50] Music from the game has also been played in nonFinal Fantasy-specific concerts such as thePlay! A Video Game Symphony world tour from 2006 onwards, for which Nobuo Uematsu composed the opening fanfare that accompanies each performance.[51]
"Eyes on Me" was popular amonggamers in the West, and brought Faye Wong to the attention of many who were not previously familiar with her music.[32] It was covered byAngela Aki for release on her 2006 single "Kokoro no Senshi".[52][53] Covers byKanon[54] and Susan Calloway[55] were also made; these singers also collaborated with Nobuo Uematsu onThe Last Story andFinal Fantasy XIV respectively, with Calloway chosen due to herFinal Fantasy covers.[56] The singerMayBee covered aKorean language version of the song.[57] The song was played at theFantasy Comes Alive concert inSingapore on April 30, 2010.[58]
Music from the original soundtrack has been arranged for the piano and published by DOREMI Music Publishing.[59] All of the pieces in the book have been rewritten by Asako Niwa as beginning to intermediate-level piano solos, though they are meant to sound as much like the originals as possible.[60] "Best of" collections from the series includingFinal Fantasy VIII and arrangements for guitar solos and piano duets are also available.[61] Additionally, the actual piano sheet music from thePiano Collections Final Fantasy VIII album has been published as a corresponding music book by Yamaha Music Media. The book contains the original music, exactly as arranged and performed on the albums. Unlike the Original Score arrangements, these pieces are intended only for advanced players as they are generally more difficult.[62]
The Black Mages, a band that arranges music fromFinal Fantasy video games into arock music style, has arranged five pieces fromFinal Fantasy VIII. These are "Force Your Way" fromThe Black Mages, published in 2003, "The Man with the Machine Gun" and "Maybe I'm a Lion", fromThe Black Mages II: The Skies Above, published in 2004, and "The Extreme" and "Premonition" fromThe Black Mages III: Darkness and Starlight.[63][64][65] The Black Mages performed "Maybe I'm a Lion" at theExtra: Hyper Game Music Event 2007 concert in Tokyo on July 7, 2007.[66] In the2004 Summer Olympics, the Americansynchronized swimming duo consisting of Alison Bartosik and Anna Kozlova were awarded the bronze medal for their performance to the pieces "Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec" and "Liberi Fatali".[67]
bySquare Enix (formerlySquare) | |||||||||
| Main games | |||||||||
| Subseries | |||||||||
| Other games | |||||||||
| Related series | |||||||||
| Films and animation | |||||||||
| Related | |||||||||
