Sagacyte's BG corner

http://youtu.be/7GhJJ1YJGwQ

Morning! Let’s all thread together through the treacherous path of the final day of the work week joined by some great music!

First, a word of warning: the video above is a BGM-only capture of a cutscene from the ending of Final Fantasy XIV (SFX and dialogue are muted, but video track is still there). If you haven't completed the game yet and plan to do so, you may wanna skip watching it, or perhaps playing it but scrolling down so you can hear the music.

I recently mentioned this piece from the ending of FFXIV. It's a variation of the "Main Theme of Final Fantasy" (though some call it the "Opening Theme"), a piece that has been in the series since the very first iteration. In that game, the song plays when you cross the first bridge, while the title screen is shown for the first time, marking the beginning of your journey into the world.

My first time hearing this song was, as expected, during my first FF: IV. In that game, like in the first, it doesn't play right when you being but rather after a while, when Cecil (main character) crosses the bridge leaving Baron Castle to begin his quest and journey into the world. It's such a powerful song, you can't help but say "ok, this is gonna be grand". The song returns at the end, previous to the final battle (as a rally when all hope seems lost) and during the "cinematic" showing what happens to the heroes after the final battle.

It has been used in several installments, most notably during the ending themes, like VIII. In XIV, it's used twice: when you finally have access to the airship (symbolizing the start of your adventure in the world, like in I and IV) and during the end credits. In this version, it ends in a beautiful transition into a short Prelude - another iconic theme in the FF series.

The theme, having had such an impact in my FF experience during the years, brought a tear to my eye when the first notes started playing during my first (well, only) Distant Worlds concert. As befits the theme that marks the beginning of the adventure, it was the first in the night's program. And it usually hits me emotionally whenever I hear it, for it was not only Cecil that began his adventure crossing that bridge accompanied by the theme... it was my first FF as well.

Game on.

- Sagacyte

As usual, this post first appeared on my blog.