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What genre of music is Final Fantasy VIII's "Eyes on Me"?


sephfire
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I'm trying to find a name for my hatred.

Starting with FFVIII, Square had a habit of including some sort of ballad in their games. In Final Fantasy VIII, we had

. Then in Final Fantasy IX's end credits, we heard a cheesy rendition of
. Final Fantasy X's
actually wasn't bad, but still fit into the same style and genre. The absolute worst example I've heard so far is the ballad for Lost Odyssey:
.

Don't get me wrong: the melodies in most of these songs are beautiful. The same melodies were used many times in each game in various tracks and they really added a lot to the game. And the lyrics in these ballad versions aren't terrible either. And I have absolutely no problem with lyrical songs being used in these games. Kingdom Hearts has had some great Utada Hikaru tracks. The Disgaea games are flooded with lyrical tracks, and they're fantastic.

But that style ... the cheesy, smarmy sound of these songs. I must know what the specific genre and/or origin of that sound is. Where did it come from? It sounds so classic and familiar, yet I can't think of any other place I've heard that style of song outside of Japanese video games. I must know my enemy. :-x

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I'm trying to find a name for my hatred.

Starting with FFVIII, Square had a habit of including some sort of ballad in their games. In Final Fantasy VIII, we had

. Then in Final Fantasy IX's end credits, we heard a cheesy rendition of
. Final Fantasy X's
actually wasn't bad, but still fit into the same style and genre. The absolute worst example I've heard so far is the ballad for Lost Odyssey:
.

Don't get me wrong: the melodies in most of these songs are beautiful. The same melodies were used many times in each game in various tracks and they really added a lot to the game. And the lyrics in these ballad versions aren't terrible either. And I have absolutely no problem with lyrical songs being used in these games. Kingdom Hearts has had some great Utada Hikaru tracks. The Disgaea games are flooded with lyrical tracks, and they're fantastic.

But that style ... the cheesy, smarmy sound of these songs. I must know what the specific genre and/or origin of that sound is. Where did it come from? It sounds so classic and familiar, yet I can't think of any other place I've heard that style of song outside of Japanese video games. I must know my enemy. :-x

It's a pop-ballad.

And it's not that bad. >:|

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It's a pop-ballad.

And it's not that bad. >:|

Oh, I was wondering what it was... but it isn't that great, either. Listen to that recording on Eyes on Me - waaaaay to wet, and that singer is a bit too thin. It's hard to make out what's going on, there :?. I'm sure other renditions are better because they'll tend to clean up that stuff and make the actual music legible.

Fortunately, they're not going through the J's panel, so they don't need to worry about their quality as much :tomatoface:.

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I don't completely hate these songs. Like I said, the melodies are great and are used to great effect throughout each game. The melodies from Suteki da ne and Melody of Life in particular are among my favorites from each game. But that cheesy style just grates on me.

"Pop ballad," you say? Would Utada Hikaru's Kingdom Hearts tracks fit into this same category, do you think? I love the way those turned out, but perhaps they're more "pop", less "ballad". It's something about the slightly retro vibe Eyes on Me and those other have that irritates me so much, I guess.

Now that you mention it, it does sound similar to some of Celine Dion's stuff. Perhaps that's why it feels sort of familiar.

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Oh, I was wondering what it was... but it isn't that great, either. Listen to that recording on Eyes on Me - waaaaay to wet, and that singer is a bit too thin. It's hard to make out what's going on, there :?. I'm sure other renditions are better because they'll tend to clean up that stuff and make the actual music legible.

Fortunately, they're not going through the J's panel, so they don't need to worry about their quality as much :tomatoface:.

Faye Wong is the shit. Not too many asian singers right now as celebrated as her.

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The absolute worst example I've heard so far is the ballad for Lost Odyssey:

Never... EVER... EVER mention this song anywhere. It took me a week to get that retarded song out of my head the first time I heard it. After that I had to mute the game every time. :-x

Also, the original language versions of the songs are generally better. Hell, that goes for any song. This is especially true for Melodies of Life and Kiss Me Goodbye. Not TERRIBLE in English, but not as great either.

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