Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles Remastered might not have had the world's smoothest launch, but its music remains a highlight for many fans. The series' composer, Kumi Tanioka recently said the soundtrack was very "precious" to her.
Tanioka and Hidenori Iwasaki, who was in charge of the game's original soundtrack and worked on the remaster with Tanioka, and Donna Burke, the game's narrator sat down and talked about the score with Nintendo Life. The interviewer asked what made them go in such a different direction with this soundtrack and if they felt it "paid off."
Tanioka said, "First of all, I did not really aim to change the direction. Having said that, I didn’t think to make it similar to any of the other FINAL FANTASY series games either…
The music for Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles came about after understanding the setting and the nature of the gameplay and then coming up with ideas about the kind of music I wanted to write based on that. I then expanded on those ideas to get the music that went into the game. This soundtrack originally had a big personal significance and is still precious to me."
Iwasaki added, "Firstly, we didn’t think at all about referring to the music from previous FINAL FANTASY games from the start. I had worked with Ms. Tanioka on FINAL FANTASY XI before Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, so I knew that she specialised in melodies that are easy to familiarise yourself with, and relatively simple arrangements.
Thinking from a synthesizer operator’s perspective, I first thought about how to make the best use of her skills. Then, I thought that it would be interesting to combine the sound of Roba Music Theatre, who I adored and who play using ancient instruments, with Ms. Tanioka’s songs. Thinking about this, I then invited her to one of Roba Music Theatre’s concerts. She took an interest in their musical performance, and then agreed with my suggestion."
When asked if it was risky to use such a unique musical style, Tanioka said she didn't hear any contrary opinions from anyone about the direction she chose. She added, "Having said that, neither of us were specific about the simplicity that we were going for, we just proposed the atmosphere and tone we wanted to create and said that we wanted to go in a particular direction with particular instruments etc."
Iwasaki explained, "Simply put, it’s true that the range of what we could do in terms of music production was narrowed down, but the music made by using these ancient instruments was so unique and impactful that I thought there was enough energy there to drown out my fears.
Thinking about it now, rather than being the type that is produced as the game progresses, the music from Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles has always spoken more matter-of-factly about the world of the game, perhaps like an instrument that plays behind a medieval European minstrel’s recital!"
Developed by Square Enix, Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition is now available on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and iOS and Android devices.