[Josh_1]

Dirge was different, but for the most part I found it a decent departure. It fit the game quite nicely, at least. I do agree with Unlimited SaGa, it's a shame the game wasn't as great as its music.

Hamauzu's work on Musashiden II was top notch. I was even impressed with Nakano on that because his work was more... matured. He always had a knack for writing percussion.

[Blu Ray Disc]

I too didn't like Dirge of Cerberus's music that much. There were only two pieces that I enjoyed from the game,
1. Fragment of memory; and 2. Calm Before the Storm.
However, the song that they used in the trailer, probably wont' be in the main game in my own opinion. If it were to be used, I would expect just parts of it to be used.
Isn't uematsu doing the opening theme of FF13?
I believe that Uematsu makes better music than Hamauzu, but only in those epic songs that he creates. whereas, in some songs that Uematsu can be very bland (Djose Temple - FFX) and every piece that Hamauzu has some sort of melody in it.

[Ronin]

Yes, Uematsu is composing the main (most likely vocal) theme to Final Fantasy XIII.

[Indra777]

I'm looking forward to xiii's ost. i personally really like Hamauzu's music, and I really like the song in the trailer (with the violins). I don't understand why you don't think it's 'ground-breaking' or 'amazing' or w/e because I love that melody.

[Nicol Armarfi]

The thing about Hamauzu is that his orchestrations are actually a lot less oriental in nature than Uematsu's music, which has become sort of a figure head of Final Fantasy music. I find Hamauzu's music to be a lot more like Western film soundtracks: they are actually composed very well and show his skill, but it's just not something we're used to with Final Fantasy.

[Bahamut]

I kind of agree. I wouldn't have worded it the same, but i've found Hamauzu's music very well written, but i never quite associated it with the series as well as i did Uematsu's music. Although, I'm don't quite understand your comparison between Uematsu's oriental natured music and the "Western film" type of music (maybe i'm just lacking the musical knowledge to really know the difference?).

[Daniel DeCastro]

Hey guys =)

Can't wait for this score to come out, huge fan of Hamauzu myself! As much as I still love Uematsu, he set the bar for my future standards quite high, however, I see composers like Sakimoto, Hamauzu, and others as his natural heirs, just as he was heir to Koichi Sugiyama's legacy. I'm sure others will think to the contrary, but I'm not alone in this sentiment, and this is what matters most to me.

Good to see game music going through such a diverse flux of developments.

[Indra777]

Originally Posted by Nicol Armarfi

The thing about Hamauzu is that his orchestrations are actually a lot less oriental in nature than Uematsu's music, which has become sort of a figure head of Final Fantasy music. I find Hamauzu's music to be a lot more like Western film soundtracks: they are actually composed very well and show his skill, but it's just not something we're used to with Final Fantasy.

Isn't it the other way around? I thought Uematsu was Western. Hamauzu's music sounds nothing like something you would hear around here

[MilesOfMusic]

I think Hamauzu's influences of impressionism are quite prominant mixed with a kind of new-age/contemporary classical sound.

Anyway have people seen this video, its made me really excited about FFXIII. Also I think the vocal theme is on here aswell.

YouTube - Final Fantasy XIII TGS 2009 Official Trailer

[The-Real-Link]

Yea. I saw it the day of it's premiere. (Square-Enix put it up in the videos section of the members website.) It also has me REALLY excited for this game. It looks like FFXIII is going to bring back the level of polish and genius that was exhibited in some of the older game, but was lacking in the newer entries to the series.