Date of SoA Revealed: 3/27/13

[ronin sparthos]

Zitah gets talked about because its a great ambiance track reinforced by the Goobbue craze that made the zone popular amongst the layfolk. Zitah was also one of the few zones that looked drastically different from other places being set in a primeval forest rather than a rainforest or deciduous forest.

Of course there are better tracks in my opinion like Pso'xja, Eastward Bound, Flowers on the Battlefield, Movalpolos, Lufaise or even NQ Ronfaure but most of those zones didn't see the traffic or exposure that Zitah did.

And a quick shoutout to Yve'noile, one of the better Zilart tracks for cutscenes. Turmoil will also never leave my head after all the CoP boss/Limbus repeats.

[drwaffles]

Agreed completely, with particular regard to Tavnazian surroundings.

Also agreed about Heaven's Tower, Slycer. Probably one of my favorite places in the game.

I pitty da fool who don't Windurst in general. Windurst has a monopoly on 'coolest areas/music/storylines'

Are you still playing? I've logged in like once for 10 minutes since starting my new job.

[Tarage]

Agreed completely, with particular regard to Tavnazian surroundings.

Also agreed about Heaven's Tower, Slycer. Probably one of my favorite places in the game.

I pitty da fool who don't Windurst in general. Windurst has a monopoly on 'coolest areas/music/storylines'

This is why I don't understand why Ronfaure gets so much love. It's not nearly as cool as some of the Windy songs.

[Edelweiss]

[Selamis]

This is why I don't understand why Ronfaure gets so much love. It's not nearly as cool as some of the Windy songs.

Everything about Windurst is terrible. Ronfaure is just so calming and relaxing, I have listened to it on repeat for an hour while at work many a times

[Ophannus]

I think the most memorable songs to me also happen to coincidentally be songs that Nobou Uematsu composed for FFXI, namely Ronfaure, Anxiety and Repression. Ronfaure is one of the longest tracks in the game, it goes for like 5 minutes before looping. I remember listening to Ronfaure back in 2000/2001 on Napster/Limewire when it was originally called "Final Fantasy XI World Map/Overworld Theme"

[ronin sparthos]

Mizuta's tracks have been steadily improving since RoZ and much of what he's up has been pretty awesome.

[Prothescar]

Ragnarok is the best BC track

[NynJa]

I honestly never understood the pants-jizzing over the Zi'Tah theme that's been around since time immemorial.

I think thats because you associated it with "great, time to waste 3 hours in fucking aery"

[Spira]

FYI I just found a bit more info about the SoA OST - it's only 11 tracks: 10 new tracks and one "bonus track" which will probably either be something arranged or previously unreleased like they've done with the past bonus tracks. Kind of a disappointing number of tracks, but hopefully we get a few good ones. For reference, that's less than half as many tracks as the WotG OST which had 22 new tracks and 3 previously unreleased from ToAU.

hmm only 10 tracks.. i guess the're working with the bare minimum.
to be fair, they really don't need that many tracks because FFXI already has a massive music library and a lot of tracks for situation and mood can be taken from elsewhere..

i'd think the 10 tracks are...

1 new Vana'march for title screen / cutscene use (A New Direction? >_>)
1 town theme (Sacred City of Adoulin)
1 outdoor party battle
1 dungeon party battle
1 BC fight
1 event battle track (a la Assault/MMM)

and maybe a mix of 4 tracks that are
cultural themes / cutscene use
background music, that can also be used for cs.

the bonus track is probably Provenance.

[Taim Meich]

Ragnarok is the best BC track

Indeed. Most final boss themes are great, this one is totally awesome.

[Chamaan]

This is why I don't understand why Ronfaure gets so much love. It's not nearly as cool as some of the Windy songs.

For the same reason that Gustaberg is my favorite starter area theme. Vana'diel was never bigger than the first time I heard that song.

http://youtu.be/NM8bdzxKKyk

[Guitarman]

For the same reason that Gustaberg is my favorite starter area theme. Vana'diel was never bigger than the first time I heard that song.

http://youtu.be/NM8bdzxKKyk

100% agree. The pure joy and sensory overload of walking out into the dusty canyon of gustaberg was topped off by the track. I still get chills listening to it to this day.

edit: ok mostly agree, you can't top the original track, honestly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx3-k7XbsxM

[Chamaan]

Original track is best, but I linked that one for the kids, ya know. They love those hippity hop music remaxes.

[The Stig]

Sandy/Windy starter area theme was very great and relaxing. Oh look, a harmless rabbit OMFG HELP
--

Bastok in comparison was depressing. That's where I started but despite that, back when I had no fucking clue what I was doing ,walking around there and with that tune seemed depressing as the maps were huge and it felt endless.

---

I could also remember when going to Konshat Highlands and Dunes/Pashbow where there was no music quite jarring/scary. I mean, fuck me an IT++ LIZARD HOLY SHIT god!

---

Ronfaure is good. Very good. Then made better with:



An alternative arranged by Katethegreat (who also sang/vocalised a few other FF songs)



--

Finally, in 2004 I remember someone remixing "Recollection" into a trance mix, I always enjoyed the mix:



I can't find it quickly at the moment but the one I had was a music video showcasing all of the game's jobs and some cut scenes found in the game.

[Podginator]

I can't find it quickly at the moment but the one I had was a music video showcasing all of the game's jobs and some cut scenes found in the game.

Absolutely love this video, there was another too, but I can't seem to recall the name of it.

[Kyreth]

Agreed completely, with particular regard to Tavnazian surroundings.

Also agreed about Heaven's Tower, Slycer. Probably one of my favorite places in the game.

I pitty da fool who don't Windurst in general. Windurst has a monopoly on 'coolest areas/music/storylines'

There have been times when I couldn't sleep that I'd log into FFXI, go in Heaven's Tower, and just doze to the music while occasionally fishing in the "wishing well" in the center. Definitely relaxing. I can remember going an entire night in there without seeing a single PC wander by.

[Kyreth]

This is why I don't understand why Ronfaure gets so much love. It's not nearly as cool as some of the Windy songs.

The track in-game? Not so much. The Distant Worlds orchestral version? That's awesome.

[Spira]

ah.. cruia's vids.. he actually made a lot more.. tho not with FFXI music.
his yt channel : http://www.youtube.com/user/gmanx209...ew=0&flow=grid

i thought he paired Crystallize very well with his most recent video for the 10th anniversary..

[Slycer]

100% agree. The pure joy and sensory overload of walking out into the dusty canyon of gustaberg was topped off by the track. I still get chills listening to it to this day.

edit: ok mostly agree, you can't top the original track, honestly.

I'm sure my opinion is also swayed by having Bastok as my starting nation, but I do think that the music for Gustaberg better conveys a sense of exploration and wonder/awe at the scope of the world than Ronfaure and Saruta (which I guess is actually a reflection on the way the zones are laid out and perhaps intentional). That said, all of the starting nation and surrounding area tracks are very well done and perfectly fit each area's theming and lore.

I'm hoping SoA makes some surprising musical choices. The WotG soundtrack was good but "safe." CoP soundtrack I felt was more experimental (Promy and Al'Taieu music for instance, both of which I find pretty awesome).