Written by Joshua Kaufman

Final Fantasy. Among gamers it's one of the most well known and well respected series. It has also always been known for its great music, courtesy of composer Nobuo Uematsu. The music to the latest in the series has caused much controversy. Many say it's wonderful, while many say Uematsu has lost his touch. At first, I was one of the latter. I heard much of the music, and liked some, but just couldn't get into it very much. I still bought the soundtrack, however. Then the game came out in the US. I played it. I was amazed at how well the music fit the game. I now believe that Uematsu has not lost his touch at all. 

The soundtrack has many diverse styles. Right from the beginning it stands out, as the opening track, "Liberi Fatali", is performed by a live orchestra with a choir singing in pseudo-Latin. The next track, "Balamb GARDEN", is the first of one of the two main musical themes, the Garden / Friendship theme. This theme is also heard in "Tell Me", "Ami", and "Trust Me", among others. The other main theme is the Love theme, which is first heard in "Waltz for the Moon", a wonderful romantic-style waltz. Other versions of this are "Julia", "Roses and Wine", "My Mind", among others. It's also the theme of the theme song, "Eyes on Me", later heard in the ending. Both of these themes are very good, and are treated well whenever they show up. 

Besides the two major themes, there are many other notable tracks, especially the battle music. I would say that FF8 has the best battle music in the series overall. The standard battle music, "Don't Be Afraid", is incredibly well done, and is a pleasure to listen to over and over, like a good standard battle should. I especially love the 5/4 rhythm. The boss music, "Force Your Way", is a great techno/fusion tune with plenty of square waves. The other battles themes are great as well, but of special note is the final battle music, "The Extreme". It starts off sounding a bit like Vincent's music from FF7, then it hits the classic FF battle opening and goes into a style most similar to the FF4 final boss music. 

One of my other favorite tracks is "Slide Show Part 2". It's a great Joplin-esque rag with great harmony. Also of note is "Only a Plank Between One and Perdition". Besides having a cool name, it fits into the game incredibly well, and the piano bass line is incredibly well done. There are many other good tracks, but I don't have room to talk about them all. 

All in all, this soundtrack is a very good buy, but it seems to have a better effect after playing the game. It's not as must-have as FF4 or 6 are, however, it makes a good addition to any collection. 

I'd like to add one final thing: This soundtrack is a perfect example of why one should *not* buy Son May or other bootleg versions. Besides the fact that the Son May version of this soundtrack cost more and has worse packaging (and no sticker inserts), track 20 of disc 3, "Eyes on Me", simply is *not* on the soundtrack. So while you are supporting the original artists with the licensed version, you are also getting a much better deal.