Slashdot Mirror

Last Saturday night I had the pleasure of enjoying the "Dear Friends" concert of Final Fantasy music in Rosemont, Illinois. Composer Nobuo Uematsu is well known among game players for the intricate melodies that create the backdrop for most of the Final Fantasy titles. Even the older titles, 8-bit compositions though they were, made for evocative soundscapes. When taken into the hands of a skilled orchestra Uematsu's works are incredibly stirring pieces of music. Read on for my impressions from the start of the first U.S. concert series composed entirely of video game music. Update: 02/25 21:08 GMT by Z : Coincidentally, GamesIndustry.biz has an interview with Nobuo Uematsu available for perusal today. The Rosemont Theatre holds over four thousand seats, and every one of them was filled for the "Dear Friends" performance on Saturday night. The concert was set to start at 8pm but the evening didn't really begin until almost 8:20, when the "Square-Enix" logo was replaced on the large video screens at the front of the theater with the image of Nobuo Uematsu walking down an aisle. Four thousand some fans leapt to their feet and applauded the entrance of the man who made the evening possible. When the composer found his seat, the Chicagoland Pops started the night off with a bang.

"Liberi Fatali" is the defining theme from the eighth game in the series, and began the night's musical selections. The choral accompaniment added to the raw energy of the piece, talented individuals who successfully evoked the emotion of the images that appeared on the screens up front. Portions of the full motion video from the game gave a visual contrast to the auditory experience. These images were alternated with camera-work showing the audience close-ups of the musicians at work, allowing individuals with seats too far away from the stage to get a good look at the artists at work.

After the explosive introduction we were introduced by conductor Arnie Roth to Gene Honda, the master of ceremonies for the evening. He commented on the momentousness of the evening, a theme which was touched on several times by speakers during the night. He then introduced the next trio of pieces and prompted more rock concert-like cheers from the audience.

Final Fantasy X's "Zanarkland" began the next trio of musical pieces, with images of Yuna offsetting the tempo of the music. The piece following that got a huge response when it was mentioned by the MC, and caused the entire crowd to grow hushed when it began. "Terra's Theme" is one of the most poignant musical selections in the Final Fantasy repertoire, and in many ways defines Final Fantasy VI as a cornerstone of the series. Similarly, the "Theme of Love" from Final Fantasy IV brought back many memories for the assembled concert-goers, the love between Cecil and Rosa a basis for future relationships in the series.

After another moment of commentary from Mr. Honda (who delighted the audience by proclaiming his gamerdom like a badge of honor), the title song of the evening began to be played. The story of Final Fantasy V's group of comrades reflected in some ways the idea behind the evening's entertainment. Later in the evening, with Mr. Uematsu on the stage, it was stated that the title of the show was meant to get across the appreciation he has for all of the many gamers and music fans alike who have made the music of Final Fantasy so well known. The concert series, he said, was meant to be a heartfelt thanks for the support the music and the series has received over the years.

Following "Dear Friends" was the peppy and dramatic "Vamo' Alla Flamenco". An extremely talented guitarist sat in with the orchestra on the title song and on the latin-accented theme from Final Fantasy IX. The powerful music played to beautiful images of the airship and the extraordinarily popular character of Vivi the Black Mage. The final piece in the pre-intermission set was "Love Grows", from Final Fantasy VIII. The beautiful music was played against the ballroom scenes between Rinoa and Squall, providing a compliment to the story unfolding on screen.

During intermission I received several compliments on my shirt. Old-skool is the best skool, apparently.

After the break they went right for the heartstrings, with the haunting Aeris's Theme from Final Fantasy VII and "Not Alone" from IX. Aeris' climactic moments played out on screen, and the piece ended as the on-screen animation pulled back to reveal the cityscape from the seventh game. It was easy to remember why VII is still one of the most popular games in the series. "Not Alone" was played to images of Yuna dancing on the water, more beautiful imagery from a snappy game. The last piece in the set was the theme from Ronfaure, an area in the online Final Fantasy XI. Despite the repetitious nature of the music it was really excellent to hear such a familiar theme done with orchestral force.

MC Honda came out for a final farewell and to introduce the last three themes for the evening. A medley from Final Fantasy I-III kicked off the set, recalling several of the truly classic elements of the series. The medley opened with the harp from the very beginning of Final Fantasy I, the crunchily 8-bit background that plays while we are introduced to the Crystals for the very first time. The medley also included the toe-tappingly excellent Chocobo theme, which elicited more than a little laughing and cheering when the first notes were played. The last "official" song of the evening was, simply, the Final Fantasy theme. Over a decade ago that theme first found it's way into the consciousness of American kids through the original NES title. In my case, I'm firmly convinced farming ogres in the woods outside of the elvish lands in FFI had something to do with the choices I was to make in my life to follow.

From the reactions of the audience that night, it was obvious that many felt the same way. When the original theme ended with a crash, the applause just went on and on and on. Mr. Uematsu took the stage to speak with the assembled and wildy cheering audience. A congenial translator passed on his questions. Aside from wanting to know if we'd had a good time (an ear threatening "YES!!" from the crowd), he asked us to respond to a few questions. First he wanted to know how far we'd come, and asked how many were locals, how many from Illinois, etc. When he reached the confines of the United States, the response was deafening. Just in the front row there were individuals who had driven from New York, Nevada, and Florida to hear the concert. Surprisingly, when he asked if there was anyone there from outside the U.S. there were a number of cheers from around the auditorium.

He thanked us all for our exuberance, stating that we needed to calm down "so that we could speak tomorrow". The atmosphere at the point in the evening was very much like a rock concert attended by thousands of adoring fans, and he seemed a little overwhelmed by the enthusiasm. His next question was to compound that issue, as he asked "If I brought the Black Mages here to the states, would you all promise to come to a concert?" Apparently there will be at least 4,400 people ready if ever rock-arranged video game music finds its way into a concert venue in the states. His last question, though, brought down the house. "Would you like to hear one more song?"

And what a song it was. They had, of course, saved the best for last. As the choir filed back onto the stage more cheering broke out. The conductor and the orchestra readied themselves and the audience grew quiet again. When the first frantic strains of "One-Winged Angel" burst into the Rosemont Theatre it was like lighting a match in the crowd. The rapt attention the audience gave to the final theme of the evening was only matched by the beauty of the skilled playing of the Pops and the enthusiasm of the choral group. One young man in particular found himself on the stage screens for some time, and the enormous grin he had on his face was a testament to the joy the group got out of the beautiful lyrics and powerful energy of the signature Final Fantasy VII piece. With one final "Sephiroth!", and with the antagonist himself looking down from the screens, the night came to an end with a flourish. When the house lights came up a lot of people looked like they were shaking themselves out of a dream, coming reluctantly back to reality.

The work of Nobuo Uematsu is challenging to listen to as a game player. It forced us to become involved in the story in a way that some of the story elements of the early games didn't. As the series progressed, as we grew older as gamers, the music developed from a supporting character into a force all its own. Game music has a wonderful familiarity to it that ensures instant appeal and enjoyment. Someone who may never set foot into a opera house would gladly hum the Mario theme on queue. The idea touched on throughout the night by the MC, the conductor, and Mr. Uematsu was the hope that this was going to be the first of many concerts to come here in the states. The experience during the evening was exciting, interesting and, I hope, a harbinger of similar events across the country.

Carlos Rodriguez writes "I just read at Games Are Fun that Square Enix has officially announced the first U.S.-based Final Fantasy Concert. Entitled 'Dear Friends', it will take place in Los Angeles at the Walt Disney Concert Hall this May 10th, and will feature melodies from the entire series composed and arranged by Nobuo Uematsu. This is the first Final Fantasy music event since 'Final Fantasy 20020220' took place on February 20th, 2002 and the first official Final Fantasy concert to take place outside Japan... It looks like fun! Anybody is planning to attend?"

Carlos Rodriguez writes "I just read at Games Are Fun that Square Enix has officially announced the first U.S.-based Final Fantasy Concert. Entitled 'Dear Friends', it will take place in Los Angeles at the Walt Disney Concert Hall this May 10th, and will feature melodies from the entire series composed and arranged by Nobuo Uematsu. This is the first Final Fantasy music event since 'Final Fantasy 20020220' took place on February 20th, 2002 and the first official Final Fantasy concert to take place outside Japan... It looks like fun! Anybody is planning to attend?"

Carlos Rodriguez writes "I just read at Games Are Fun that Square Enix has officially announced the first U.S.-based Final Fantasy Concert. Entitled 'Dear Friends', it will take place in Los Angeles at the Walt Disney Concert Hall this May 10th, and will feature melodies from the entire series composed and arranged by Nobuo Uematsu. This is the first Final Fantasy music event since 'Final Fantasy 20020220' took place on February 20th, 2002 and the first official Final Fantasy concert to take place outside Japan... It looks like fun! Anybody is planning to attend?"

Thanks to The Magic Box for their chart showing the top-selling videogames in Japan during 2003. Square Enix's Final Fantasy X-2 for PS2 tops the chart, selling a little less than 2 million copies, despite Japanese consumer discontent with the title, and Nintendo's Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire for GBA places second, with almost 1.5 million copies sold in 2003, and nearly 5 million in total. A surprise hit in third place is the PlayStation 2 action title Dynasty Warriors 4 from Koei, and further down the chart, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles for GameCube can only manage a disappointing 26th place, with 310,000 copies sold, and an Xbox title of any kind is, sadly, nowhere to be seen in the Top 30.

Thanks to Game Science for their news story compiling the results of an end-of-year survey in Japanese videogame magazine Famitsu. Among the intriguing results: the most popular game of 2003 for readers was Namco's GameCube RPG Tales Of Symphonia, with another GC title, Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, coming in second, and Square's Final Fantasy X-2 for PS2 was voted the most disappointing title of the year. Elsewhere, game developers and shops voted Western-developed Grand Theft Auto III the game that "sold better than your expectations", and Square Enix's Final Fantasy XII is the most-awaited Japanese title of 2004 among developers, retailers, and gamers, with that company's Dragon Quest VIII firmly ensconced in second place. Finally, as an aside, the Game Science site has collected a neat conglomeration of Happy New Year postcards from Japanese game developers.

Thanks to Game Informer for their hands-on look at Sword Of Mana for the Game Boy Advance, as Square Enix follow up Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, which has sold almost 500,000 copies on Nintendo's handheld in the US alone, with this portable RPG, which GameNow describe succinctly as "...a retelling of the age-old black-and-white Game Boy release Final Fantasy Adventure... essentially a prequel to the rest of the Mana series." The official site has more in-depth information, and GameNow points out "most of the original Mana games team is working on this one", suggesting "RPG fans can't really go wrong" with the December 1st-released title. What other Square Enix games would you like to see on Game Boy Advance?

Thanks to Game Informer for their hands-on look at Sword Of Mana for the Game Boy Advance, as Square Enix follow up Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, which has sold almost 500,000 copies on Nintendo's handheld in the US alone, with this portable RPG, which GameNow describe succinctly as "...a retelling of the age-old black-and-white Game Boy release Final Fantasy Adventure... essentially a prequel to the rest of the Mana series." The official site has more in-depth information, and GameNow points out "most of the original Mana games team is working on this one", suggesting "RPG fans can't really go wrong" with the December 1st-released title. What other Square Enix games would you like to see on Game Boy Advance?

Thanks to 1UP for the news that Square Enix has announced a total of 430,000 subscribers have signed up worldwide with PlayOnline, as the online subscription service "...which powers Square's MMORPG Final Fantasy XI, broke through the 400,000 user mark approximately 18 months after its Japanese debut in May 2002." According to the reports, the recent PC release of FFXI in the U.S. has "...provided a significant boost to the service's user base. Square Enix said it has shipped around 200,000 copies of the PC version to the US market already, and picked up around 100,000 new subscribers so far." More subscriptions are likely when the Final Fantasy XI-bundled PlayStation 2 hard drive launches in the U.S. next March, possibly taking FFXI over EverQuest's total of nearly 500,000 subscribers. The company's mid-term results also provided information on sales of their games, with Final Fantasy Tactics Advance a particular sales highlight in the U.S.

Thanks to 1UP for their feature discussing important videogame developers to watch out for, as they list "...fifty people in the game industry - some you've likely heard of, many you've not - who we think will help define gaming the most in the next twelve months." As well as the John Carmacks and Warren Spectors of this world, notably overlooked figures on the list include Julian Eggebrecht of Factor 5 ("Eggebrecht's team is one of the few out there that actually try to tax the GameCube to its limits") and Yasumi Matsuno of Square Enix ("..the director of Vagrant Story and Final Fantasy Tactics... [now] directing Final Fantasy XII.")

Thanks to GameSpot for their list of the newest set of budget Xbox titles "in the second wave of Platinum Hits". The titles that already have, or shortly will retail for $19.99 include Dead Or Alive 3, Hitman 2, and Medal Of Honor: Frontline. There also seem to be some new additions to the extensive PlayStation 2 Greatest Hits line-up due, although it's difficult to officially verify, with Final Fantasy X (currently), plus Sly Cooper, Ratchet And Clank, and Kingdom Hearts (in the next couple of months) all apparently dropping to $19.99.

Thanks to GameSpot for their list of the newest set of budget Xbox titles "in the second wave of Platinum Hits". The titles that already have, or shortly will retail for $19.99 include Dead Or Alive 3, Hitman 2, and Medal Of Honor: Frontline. There also seem to be some new additions to the extensive PlayStation 2 Greatest Hits line-up due, although it's difficult to officially verify, with Final Fantasy X (currently), plus Sly Cooper, Ratchet And Clank, and Kingdom Hearts (in the next couple of months) all apparently dropping to $19.99.

wyatt writes "The newly merged Square Enix has released updated versions of the seminal RPG classic Final Fantasy (now nearly 14 years old) and Final Fantasy II (never before released in North America) for the PlayStation. New features include "cinematic movies, opening theme songs, event scenes including updates of the original event sequences, enhanced graphics, improved sound quality and new game play modes"." If you're saying "But I played Final Fantasy II on my SNES!" that's because it was actually Final Fantasy IV given the import treatment.

wyatt writes "The newly merged Square Enix has released updated versions of the seminal RPG classic Final Fantasy (now nearly 14 years old) and Final Fantasy II (never before released in North America) for the PlayStation. New features include "cinematic movies, opening theme songs, event scenes including updates of the original event sequences, enhanced graphics, improved sound quality and new game play modes"." If you're saying "But I played Final Fantasy II on my SNES!" that's because it was actually Final Fantasy IV given the import treatment.