Same Story, New Perspective
Q. Pair | USA | 07/18/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"With every new Final Fantasy VII spin off release thats come out in the last several years, each time I have been bracing myself for disappointment, specifically in regards to the music. FFVII, while primitive by today's standard of music composition, is a masterpiece of a score. Period. Nobuo Uematsu is a master of his craft. That being said, although he did not compose the music to this game, it still came out to be pretty damn good.
For those who don't know, Crisis Core is basically the prequel to the FFVII story, with the main character being Zack, the mysterious SOLDIER from Cloud's foggy past. Anyway, as far as the music goes, Takeharu Ishimoto doesn't just plunge the listener into a mass of newly composed peices we may or may not like. Instead, he eases us into it by using familiar tracks from previous FFVII installments (FFVII game, Advent Children and Last Order respectively). In fact, the first three tracks seem to be lifted right from the original game and given a little update, but by no means do I consider that to be a bad thing.
While there are a good many familiar songs on here that are nicely "remixed", there are plenty of new songs that came out to be very good. The thing that stands out the most about these new songs is that they feel a bit different from what we're used to hearing from a Final Fantasy game, especially those done by Uematsu. Some of Crisis Core's original pieces have a sort of.. hip hop-ish/pop-ish instrumental vibe to them, while others are very heavy metal. I've seen a few reviews that site these unconventional tracks as the weaker part of the soundtrack because they dont fit with the whole FFVII experience. To some extent they're right, because it doesn't fit with what FFVII fans are used to. But I personally think that these tracks are a bold attempt to change with the ever evolving world that is FFVII. If you've heard to music from Advent Children, which Uematsu did, it is a prime example of evolution. He does the same thing (mostly) that is done on this soundtrack. The point is that while some FFVII die hards will nitpick at this, its generally very good music in many respects.
Basically this is everything you might expect from a FFVII soundtrack, with a few extra treats thrown in there to shake things up a bit. The heavy metal tracks for the most part are pretty good, and the more soft, laid back and suspenseful type tracks are great. You don't need to have played Crisis Core to enjoy this (I didn't). Its worth the buy, spoil yourself.
A solid 5/5 stars."
For the few lone souls that actually read this
Darius Jackson | Rocklin, California United States | 04/20/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"While Crisis Core may not be in the ranks of say, Kingdom Hearts, Metal Gear, or the Final Fantasy series, CC does respectfully hold its own as a game ost. The composer is Takeharu Ishimoto, and he was entrusted with the goal of refreshing some of the classic FF7 themes from the original game - and I thought he did a decent job.
If you haven't played the game, some of the music may not be appealing, but for those that have played the PSP game Crisis Core, you will no doubt find yourself buying/downloading this OST and listening to it. You have quite a variety on this CD, you have your typical game music reflected in songs like "The Mako City" "Patriots of the Moonlight" "Wandering on a Sunny Afternoon" "Wilderness of Destruction" and "Town Where the Sunlight Doesn't Reach" which are either here nor there, but still great toons just to have in the background.
Then theres the techno-rock mix found throughout the CD that just doesn't do it for me - songs like "Encounter" "Last Order" "Conflict" "Controlling The Iron Beast" "The Face of Lost Pride" really don't fit the game at all, nor the FF7 lore. It's not that these songs are bad in themselves, it's just they don't belong here in FF7.
After that, you have the closest tracks that resemble the FF7 world and really capture the spirit of the game, these songs would include "Dreams and Pride" "Under The Apple Tree" "The Clandestine Dark Suits (Turks Theme)" "A Flower Blooming in the Slums (Aeriths Theme)" "Sky-Blue Eyes" "The Mako-Controlling Organization (Shinra Theme)" "Moonlight Wandering" "Night of Seclusion" "Duty and Friendship" and of course the climatic, orchestrated piece "Fulfilled Desire" which pays homage to alot of the original music in FF7 in a 8 min track.
It's a great soundtrack for those that have played the game."
