OCR Final Fantasy CD Giveaway

[IsolinearMoogle]

Hi all! Looking for anybody who'd be interested in physical copies (CD's) of Final Fantasy OCR albums. I was thrilled to get a bunch of these when I backed the FF6 album KickStarter in 2012, but I've still got some extras that have been sitting in the closet since then. Would love to find them a new home!

The albums in question:

• Final Fantasy: Random Encounter
• Final Fantasy IV: Echoes of Betrayal, Light, and Redemption
• Final Fantasy VI: Balance and Ruin - some autographed by Zircon
• Final Fantasy VII: Voices of the Lifestream

I've got about 10 of each, and I'll start by giving away sets of all four. All albums are shrink-wrapped except the autographed ones.

If you're interested, tell me your favorite Final Fantasy track and why, and I'll message you to work out shipping. I'll cover costs, just don't want people posting their addresses publicly.

Edit: I'm closing this down, thanks to everyone who posted! It's been great chatting about some of our favorite tracks, and I'm glad to find a bunch of these discs a home.

Edited April 10, 2021 by IsolinearMoogle

[Flash Strife]

Cool! I love free stuff so I'll bite. Favorite track from mainline entries for me would probably be Let The Battles Begin from FFVII since it's probably the track you hear the most therefore the most memorable. =P

[DeathlesSNESs]

Wow, free stuff, and it's related to FF music! I'll definitively try! :D

It's really hard to choose only one track because I love a lot of the FF classic ones, especially in the SNES era. But if I can say only one, then: Terra's theme, from FF6. The melody, the feeling, the samples... everything is simply amazing on this one! It's like mix of heroic, emotional and courageous, very fitting for a character like Terra, who I was in love with when I was younger.

[IsolinearMoogle]

7 hours ago, Flash Strife said:

Cool! I love free stuff so I'll bite. Favorite track from mainline entries for me would probably be Let The Battles Begin from FFVII since it's probably the track you hear the most therefore the most memorable. =P

So true! I love a lot of the tracks from FF VII, but this is undoubtedly the one that "feels" like playing FF7 to me.

[IsolinearMoogle]

2 hours ago, DeathlesSNESs said:

Wow, free stuff, and it's related to FF music! I'll definitively try!

It's really hard to choose only one track because I love a lot of the FF classic ones, especially in the SNES era. But if I can say only one, then: Terra's theme, from FF6. The melody, the feeling, the samples... everything is simply amazing on this one! It's like mix of heroic, emotional and courageous, very fitting for a character like Terra, who I was in love with when I was younger.

Ah, the golden standard of FF character anthems. Such a simple melody, and you can do so much with it! Shout-out to both the Terra covers on the OCR FF6 album -- Jovette Rivera's "6th Kingdom" is so much fun, and it's awesome hearing a vgmusic cover like "Terra's Resolve" by someone with Chad Seiter's credentials.

[Black_Doom]

Oh, this looks interesting, I'm in!

While I've barely played any of Final Fantasy games (only a few hours of FF6), I do know quite a few songs from some of the soundtracks, and I really love them! My pick would probably be "Dash" from Final Fantasy 13-2. I have a soft spot for this J-Fusion/Jazz/Rock/whatever-you-call-it type of stuff, and this particular track hits the said spot for sure! It's just so upbeat and lively! And man, the soloing is exceptionally gorgeous to say the least! I love listening to this one from time to time, and it's especially helpful if I need to cheer myself up

Edited April 2, 2021 by Black_Doom

[DeathlesSNESs]

9 hours ago, IsolinearMoogle said:

Ah, the golden standard of FF character anthems. Such a simple melody, and you can do so much with it! Shout-out to both the Terra covers on the OCR FF6 album -- Jovette Rivera's "6th Kingdom" is so much fun, and it's awesome hearing a vgmusic cover like "Terra's Resolve" by someone with Chad Seiter's credentials.

Yeah, Uetmasu was always very talented at making simple but iconic melodies for specific character's themes, and (in my opinion) FF6 was especially good on that, with so many characters having their own personal theme. Regarding remixes, I can't remember if it was submitted to OCR (surely yes, and probably the place I found it first), but I have my best memories with Ailsean's "Terra in black". It was sometime around early 2000s, I was totally unfamiliar with the VGM remix scene and that one blowed my mind. This tune could be remixed in thousands of genres and styles and still sounding great. There are also some more complex compositions like Dancing Mad, Fierce Battle, the Ending medley, etc that I also love and sounds like a fun challenge for musicians to arrange/remix. FF6 is truly full of masterpieces. FF5 is generally more underrated but there are many great tracks on this one, and it's probably one of the most diverse and exotic soundtracks among the classics.

[yangfeili]

Man, that's a tough choice.....

"Coin Song" from FFVI comes to mind as a favorite, I think just because of the scene it evokes between the two brothers flipping a coin to determine who has the misfortune of taking the throne. That little scene is some of the best writing in the series, or any series. It's pretty much the same melody as the Figaro castle theme, which immediately anchors it in your mind about what and where and who the track is about, but shifts the tone to give it an entirely different meaning soaked in a feeling of nostalgia, memories, almost happy, almost sad.

I feel like I have to name one other, and that's "Into the Darkness" from FFIV. It was the first RPG I really properly played (other than some dabbling with Dragon Warrior II and III as a kid, which mostly consisted of running in circles outside town and killing slimes until I ran out of HP and died and started over). That track in my mind is the definitive dungeon theme, as it just evokes such a feeling of vast, dark, mysterious places. I can't walk into a cave or spooky dark place in real life without hearing that theme in my head.

As you can tell, the scene a track evokes tends to be a big thing for me. One of my regrets in life is that I am not in any way musically trained, so I can't talk about the composition or harmony or sinewaves or whatever musical jargon to explain what makes a track good to me. For me, it's all about a mental image of a place or a scene that a track builds. This applies not just to game soundtracks, but to all music I enjoy. I think this is probably a direct result of all my earliest favorite music in life having come from video games, where music does indeed tend to be associated with and define specific places as you move around the game.

OK, OK, one more thought to throw out there. When playing FFVIII, the soundtrack didn't really stick out to me like the soundtracks of previous games had done. But when it came to the piano collections later, the FFVIII piano collection actually does stand out as my favorite. I think it just shows that there's a lot of potential in these tracks where if one version doesn't jump out at you, a remixed/alternate version can give it some new life and create an unexpected favorite.

Edited April 2, 2021 by yangfeili

[DarkeSword]

5 hours ago, DeathlesSNESs said:

Regarding remixes, I can't remember if it was submitted to OCR (surely yes, and probably the place I found it first), but I have my best memories with Ailsean's "Terra in black".

https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00206

[IsolinearMoogle]

15 hours ago, Black_Doom said:

While I've barely played any of Final Fantasy games (only a few hours of FF6), I do know quite a few songs from some of the soundtracks, and I really love them! My pick would probably be "Dash" from Final Fantasy 13-2.

Love it! I'm also probably more familiar with the music than the actual games. I've played quite a few, but I know some tracks from VIII and X without ever playing either. I still think of it as the franchise that made game music matter. I haven't played XIII-2 or heard "Dash" before, but I'm glad you linked it here. Great track, and an awesome violin solo!

[Tables]

I think my hands down favorite is Mako Reactor from Final Fantasy 7! Maybe not an original choice but it is such a cool atmospheric track! It's been stuck with me since I played the demo as a very young child. I was so happy to hear the new versions in the Remake, including the Battle variant!

Also, shout out to Forever Rachel, I haven't played much of FF6 and haven't heard this one in context, but I adore it so much, so beautiful and underrated.

[IsolinearMoogle]

14 hours ago, DeathlesSNESs said:

I can't remember if it was submitted to OCR (surely yes, and probably the place I found it first), but I have my best memories with Ailsean's "Terra in black".

Wow, that takes me back. Entirely possible this was one of the first OCR tracks I ran into. Synth brass from those days has not aged well  But, to quote djpretzel, the track still "fucking kicks ass". Agreed that there's such a wealth of great tracks from FF6. "Dancing Mad" has probably become my favorite of the franchise over time, especially after seeing and being in some awesome live performances of the piece. I get legit goosebumps from zircon's take in the FF6 OCR album, when he drops an ELP tribute in the middle of it.

Also agreed about FF5's musical excellence and under-rated-ness. Although they lost some points for making learning the piano look a lot easier than it actually is.

[IsolinearMoogle]

10 hours ago, yangfeili said:

Man, that's a tough choice.....

"Coin Song" from FFVI comes to mind as a favorite...

I feel like I have to name one other, and that's "Into the Darkness" from FFIV...

OK, OK, one more thought to throw out there...

Casting a wide net, I respect that!

"Coin Song" isn't a personal favorite, but I love how you describe it. Music that takes you back to a time and place is the best. Hear the right tune, and you're immediately back with a lost loved one, or feeling the unending potential of youth, or wandering Viridian Forest looking for Pikachus.

I may have ruined "Into the Darkness" for myself by listening to the "Relaxing with Final Fantasy Potion" albums about 1000 times while studying for exams.

I feel you on FF8 too! Maybe because I never played that game, but none of the original tracks resonate strongly with me. But I love some of the orchestral arrangements that have been done, and also Ziwtra's Rain in Chicago ReMix.

[IsolinearMoogle]

40 minutes ago, Tables said:

I think my hands down favorite is Mako Reactor from Final Fantasy 7! Maybe not an original choice but it is such a cool atmospheric track! It's been stuck with me since I played the demo as a very young child. I was so happy to hear the new versions in the Remake, including the Battle variant!

Also, shout out to Forever Rachel, I haven't played much of FF6 and haven't heard this one in context, but I adore it so much, so beautiful and underrated.

I mean, it's more original than "One-Winged Angel"  (no disrespect to anyone who responds to this thread with One-Winged Angel)

Honestly, I had to look up "Mako Reactor" just now to refresh my memory. I only played through FF7 once, and don't remember the track. Quality though! I ought to pick up the remake just to enjoy the soundtrack along with the battles again.

1000x for "Forever Rachel". The context is great for that one. Such a plucky male lead in Locke, and then they drop his traumatic back story on you. No spoilers and all, but that whole plot thread was a big part of FF6's narrative strength to me.

[Eino Keskitalo]

I see IsolinearMoogle finally found a way around the "no favourites threads" policy on the forums.

[DarkeSword]

2 hours ago, evktalo said:

I see IsolinearMoogle finally found a way around the "no favourites threads" policy on the forums.

It's fine because people aren't just posting lists. If actual discussion happens, it's alright.

[Jiggery-Ponkery]

The Prelude! Its the song that got me to love music. Specifically, Ailsean's "Final Ecstacy" remix (https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00063), which I think should be attributed to Final Fantasy 4, when the melody first appeared, rather than 7. Unless there's some extra background stuff I'm not familiar enough with... Anyway.

Before I heard this song, music was mainly one of two things: something to endure in church, or something to turn off in the car. There were a handful of songs I found okay, and some songs that, looking back, I love because of having heard them as a child. But I never put music on on PURPOSE. It never occurred to me to consider music from video games as music, I guess.

There was this old flash series, Final Fighting Fantasy. Episode 6, a Cid from one of the games is explaining the plot to some other characters. I think it was the first time in the series that there was voice acting. Suddenly, it was epic. And then that sweet guitar tone starts wailing that melody...! I am pretty sure I cried. First OCRemix I downloaded. When Ailsean re-did the song with, in his opinion, a better tone (something about a wind tunnel, if I recall?), I didn't like it. There was something about that hugeness of it that still grabs me today. Its just sublime. But its not just the tone, of course--its the melody. And where and how its used.

As was brought up, game music evoking a scene is important, especially for those old songs. Music was the voice acting, the character, all the dialogue that could never fit into the small cartridge space. It was the detailed emotion that couldn't fit on the 16x16 or 16x32 pixel sprites.

The Prelude. This guitar, that melody, in that scene, is what Final Fantasy is all about, to me. Heroes vs. villains (who may be other heroes), some cosmic disaster looming, all that. I can't say if hearing the song on its own would have been the trigger I needed. It was everything at the time; story, emotion, characters, melody, instrumentation, mood.

I have to admit, it was difficult for me. I could go on about Freya's Theme from FF9, or Temple of Chaos from FF1, or how it feels like half of all of FF5's OST is connected and the leitmotifs flow and mix together so that you start humming one song and end on a completely different one. Any of the great character themes from 6 or 7. Zanarkand--there's one I've never played, but that song still hits me as if it means something. Like a memory I know I should be able to recall, but can't; proof that the music stands on its own without the emotional baggage and scene-setting (or maybe the exception that proves the rule? (I never understood that saying.)) "The Dark's Embrace" from FF14, which sounds like it should have been a feisty dungeon song on the SNES. "Why" from, what was it, Crisis Core? Pretty much the only song off that OST I kept to listen to again (another exception; never played it!)

But, no. I'll stick with the Prelude! Final answer. :D The song that started it all; both for the series, and for me as a composer. As someone who loves music.

Thanks for reading my rambling stream of consciousness. (And please someone do a FF14 remix album where its retrofied. Hard to do modern soundtrack remixes justice sometimes, but crank up the nostalgia on some of those tunes, I bet it would be amazing.)

[IsolinearMoogle]

15 hours ago, DarkeSword said:

It's fine because people aren't just posting lists. If actual discussion happens, it's alright.

Thanks, DarkeSword! It didn't even occur to me that this might be against any forum guidelines. Glad it wasn't!

[IsolinearMoogle]

14 hours ago, Jiggery-Ponkery said:

The Prelude! Its the song that got me to love music. Specifically, Ailsean's "Final Ecstacy" remix (https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00063), which I think should be attributed to Final Fantasy 4, when the melody first appeared, rather than 7. Unless there's some extra background stuff I'm not familiar enough with... Anyway.

Before I heard this song, music was mainly one of two things: something to endure in church, or something to turn off in the car. There were a handful of songs I found okay, and some songs that, looking back, I love because of having heard them as a child. But I never put music on on PURPOSE. It never occurred to me to consider music from video games as music, I guess.

There was this old flash series, Final Fighting Fantasy. Episode 6, a Cid from one of the games is explaining the plot to some other characters. I think it was the first time in the series that there was voice acting. Suddenly, it was epic. And then that sweet guitar tone starts wailing that melody...! I am pretty sure I cried. First OCRemix I downloaded. When Ailsean re-did the song with, in his opinion, a better tone (something about a wind tunnel, if I recall?), I didn't like it. There was something about that hugeness of it that still grabs me today. Its just sublime. But its not just the tone, of course--its the melody. And where and how its used.

As was brought up, game music evoking a scene is important, especially for those old songs. Music was the voice acting, the character, all the dialogue that could never fit into the small cartridge space. It was the detailed emotion that couldn't fit on the 16x16 or 16x32 pixel sprites.

The Prelude. This guitar, that melody, in that scene, is what Final Fantasy is all about, to me. Heroes vs. villains (who may be other heroes), some cosmic disaster looming, all that. I can't say if hearing the song on its own would have been the trigger I needed. It was everything at the time; story, emotion, characters, melody, instrumentation, mood.

I have to admit, it was difficult for me. I could go on about Freya's Theme from FF9, or Temple of Chaos from FF1, or how it feels like half of all of FF5's OST is connected and the leitmotifs flow and mix together so that you start humming one song and end on a completely different one. Any of the great character themes from 6 or 7. Zanarkand--there's one I've never played, but that song still hits me as if it means something. Like a memory I know I should be able to recall, but can't; proof that the music stands on its own without the emotional baggage and scene-setting (or maybe the exception that proves the rule? (I never understood that saying.)) "The Dark's Embrace" from FF14, which sounds like it should have been a feisty dungeon song on the SNES. "Why" from, what was it, Crisis Core? Pretty much the only song off that OST I kept to listen to again (another exception; never played it!)

But, no. I'll stick with the Prelude! Final answer. The song that started it all; both for the series, and for me as a composer. As someone who loves music.

Thanks for reading my rambling stream of consciousness. (And please someone do a FF14 remix album where its retrofied. Hard to do modern soundtrack remixes justice sometimes, but crank up the nostalgia on some of those tunes, I bet it would be amazing.)

I'm fascinated by your character arc from not even enjoying music to becoming a composer.

Got to respect the Prelude! I'm guessing Ailsean contributed it as a FF7 remix, and that it's ReMixer's discretion how the track is classified? Or maybe they just wanted to file their first Final Fantasy ReMix under FF7 since it was such a landmark title. I used to spend a lot of time noodling with video game themes on the piano. I loved to start an arpeggio and see if I felt like turning it into "Prelude" or SM64's "Dire, Dire Docks" that day

I'm also going to elevate Temple of Chaos here. FF1 was the most difficult game in the franchise for me to get through -- so many long dungeons with doors that went nowhere but more random encounters. :sigh: That song was the only thing that kept me going through to the end!

[100_PERCENT ROEMER]

Wow, this is very generous of you. I would personally love a set of the Balance and Ruin soundtrack CDs. My fav track is Gobble, Snarf, Snap followed by Fistful of Nickels, but every track is great in its own right. If you have any extras I'd be most appreciative and I can cover shipping if you want. Thank you

[IsolinearMoogle]

On 4/6/2021 at 9:51 PM, TorchForge said:

Wow, this is very generous of you. I would personally love a set of the Balance and Ruin soundtrack CDs. My fav track is Gobble, Snarf, Snap followed by Fistful of Nickels, but every track is great in its own right. If you have any extras I'd be most appreciative and I can cover shipping if you want. Thank you

Love it. Gobble, Snarf, Snap is a great one -- I was pretty underwhelmed by the original "Phantom Train" song from the game. Like it's not bad, just... meh? XPRTNovice's take on it is just delightful though!

[Jiggery-Ponkery]

On 4/5/2021 at 7:27 PM, IsolinearMoogle said:

I'm fascinated by your character arc from not even enjoying music to becoming a composer.

Got to respect the Prelude! I'm guessing Ailsean contributed it as a FF7 remix, and that it's ReMixer's discretion how the track is classified? Or maybe they just wanted to file their first Final Fantasy ReMix under FF7 since it was such a landmark title. I used to spend a lot of time noodling with video game themes on the piano. I loved to start an arpeggio and see if I felt like turning it into "Prelude" or SM64's "Dire, Dire Docks" that day

I'm also going to elevate Temple of Chaos here. FF1 was the most difficult game in the franchise for me to get through -- so many long dungeons with doors that went nowhere but more random encounters. :sigh: That song was the only thing that kept me going through to the end!

It was a long journey! Really started when we somehow got a little electric piano, then I started downloading midis and printing out the piano roll scores so I could play melodies on it. Then realised I could use the program to change the songs... then make my own! Then after noodling around for 15 years, I suddenly have hundreds of finished songs?! Seems crazy to me sometimes.

Temple of Chaos needs way more love. Something in the style of RoeTaKa's Dark Souls remixes would be just incredible! And how well it meshes with the Undersea Shrine music? Brilliant. (And how the Epilogue kinda references the Town theme?! And how Matoya and the Prologue/main theme kinda start off nearly the same?? I feel like people never mention how tightly woven a lot of these songs could be...)

I also love "Gobble, Snarf, Snap"! May be my favourite off that album. The joy those descending lines give me is something I can't describe very well. Feels like a weasel happy-bouncing with a full tummy!