Written by Pupu0_0

I was rather surprised when this addition of Final Fantasy VIII soundtrack was released. I expected it to be something like FF VII: Reunion Tracks, with a selected number of tracks of the OST and 3 to 4 songs being scored for orchestration. Nevertheless, being a big fan Mr. Uematsu's music, I bought it once it was released. Oh my, I was totally bewildered and frantic after 'scanning' through all the tracks! I went fanatic! EVERYTHING IS ORCHESTRATED!!

In my opinion, FF VIII's music contained one of the best scores. In fact, its the best till now (YES! BETTER THAN FF VII AND IX! AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, BETTER THAN VI!!). It has a great and not-so-traditional battle theme and 2 lovely musical themes throughout the game - "Succession of Witches" and "Eyes on Me". Almost all the music in the game is not less than cinematic. Like my friend said, FF VIII is like a movie that is being made into a game. I guess its true, both to its game play and music. Hence, having a selection of tracks being orchestrated is quite easy for its cinematic character.

However, simple for orchestration is only a reason to a release orchestrated FF VIII tracks, the effect of the orchestration is not simple at all! I love all the tracks in the addition. My favorites include "Don't be Afraid", "Fisherman's Horizon" and especially Laguna's battle theme, "The Man with the Machine Gun".

"Don't be Afraid" was scored very well for orchestration. It gave me goose bumps and I felt somewhat excited when I first listened to it. The 5/4 rhythm, the aggressive brass section, the beautiful woodwinds and the energetic strings gives the listener an immense power. Not forgetting the Percussion that gives us an urge to move our feet. A RPG battle theme has never sounded so good!

"Fisherman's Horizon" is great! Its soothing and mellow. It sounds a lot better from its original arrangement in the OST. When listening to this track, you have to close your eyes and you really do feel relaxed. It will give a soothing and calm sensation you've never had.

To me, the most notable track is "The Man with the Machine Gun". I don't like it at all when I played the game. Its more of a techno battle theme, yet it has a yucky melody (to me). At first, I skipped this track when I bought this addition. However, I heard it inconspicuously one day and was totally shocked. I never thought it would sound so good! ITS GREAT! I love it! It changed my opinion of that song totally! This is the best track, my friends!

The rest of the tracks were equally well done, even though you may have already heard the 1st,7th and 12th track on the OST (Liberi Fatali, Eyes on Me and Ending Theme respectively). Nevertheless, the addition really scored itself 99% of a 100 (1% deducted for its repetition for Eyes On Me, the single, the OST and now this addition really makes it rather boring!) Well, all in all, I believe this is one of the most worthwhile additions to the FF music collection. Do get it at your nearest music stores!