Discography of Final Fantasy III

The music of the video game "Final Fantasy III" was composed by regular series composer Nobuo Uematsu. "Final Fantasy III Original Sound Version", a compilation of almost all of the music in the game, was released by Square Co./NTT Publishing in 1991, and subsequently re-released by NTT Publishing in 1994 and 2004. The soundtrack to the remake of Final Fantasy III for the Nintendo DS, "Final Fantasy III Original Soundtrack" was released by NTT Publishing in 2006, with revamped versions of the songs and additional tracks. A vocal arrangement album entitled "Final Fantasy III Yūkyū no Kaze Densetsu", or literally "Final Fantasy III Legend of the Eternal Wind" containing a selection of musical tracks from the game. The tracks were performed by Nobuo Uematsu and Dido, a duo composed of Michiaki Kato and Shizuru Ohtaka. The album was released by Data M in 1990 and by Polystar in 1994.

The music received positive reviews from critics, and is lauded as one of the best soundtracks of any NES game. Several songs from the soundtrack remain popular today, and have been performed numerous times in orchestral concert series such as the "" concert series and the "Distant Worlds - Music from Final Fantasy" series. Music from the game has also been published in arranged albums and compilations by Square as well as outside groups.

Albums

"Final Fantasy III Original Sound Version"

Infobox Album |
Name = Final Fantasy III Original Sound Version
Type = Album
Artist = Nobuo Uematsu


Cover size = 150
Released = July 15, 1991 November 26, 1994 (re-release) October 1, 2004 (re-release)
Recorded =
Genre = Video game soundtrack
Length = 54:24
Label = Square Co./NTT Publishing NTT Publishing (re-release)
Producer = Nobuo Uematsu
Last album =
This album =
Next album = "Final Fantasy III Original Sound Version" is a soundtrack album of video game music from "Final Fantasy III". The album contains the musical tracks from the game, composed by Nobuo Uematsu. It spans 44 tracks and covers a duration of 54:24. It was released on July 15, 1991, by Square and NTT Publishing. The original release bears the catalog number "N23D-002". It was re-released on November 26, 1994 and again on October 1, 2004 by NTT Publishing under the catalog numbers "PSCN-5013" and "NTCP-5013", respectively.cite web | author=Gann, Patrick; Schweitzer, Ben | title=Final Fantasy III OSV | url=http://rpgfan.com/soundtracks/ff3ost/index.html | publisher=RPGFan | accessdate=2008-03-27]

"Final Fantasy III Yūkyū no Kaze Densetsu"

Infobox Album |
Name = Final Fantasy III Yūkyū no Kaze Densetsu
Type = Album
Artist = Nobuo Uematsu, Dido


Released = May 25, 1990 March 25, 1994 (re-release)
Recorded =
Genre = Video game soundtrack
Length = 52:32
Label = Data M Polystar (re-release)
Producer = Nobuo Uematsu
Last album =
This album =
Next album = nihongo|"Final Fantasy III Yūkyū no Kaze Densetsu"|ファイナルファンタジーIII 悠久の風伝説|Fainaru Fantajī Surī Yūkyū no Kaze Densetsu|extra=lit. "Final Fantasy III Legend of the Eternal Wind" is an arranged album containing a selection of vocal and arranged musical tracks from the game interspersed with English narration of a story similar to "Final Fantasy III". The songs were performed by Nobuo Uematsu and sung by Dido, a duo composed of Michiaki Kato and Shizuru Ohtaka. It spans 7 tracks and covers a duration of 52:32. It was first released on May 25, 1990 by Data M and subsequently re-released on March 25, 1994 by Polystar. The original release bears the catalog number "PSCX-1005", and the re-release bears the catalog number "PSCR-5252".cite web | author=Gann, Patrick | title=Final Fantasy III Yūkyū no Kaze Densetsu | url=http://rpgfan.com/soundtracks/ff3legend/index.html | publisher=RPGFan | accessdate=2008-03-27]

Reception and legacy

"Final Fantasy III Original Sound Version" was well received by critics. Ben Schweitzer of RPGFan felt that it was "one of the strongest soundtracks" of any NES game, a sentiment that Patrick Gann of RPGFan agreed with. Gann further declared the main theme "Eternal Wind" to "quite possibly be the best world map music" in a video game. Jon Turner of Soundtrack Central felt that, although the sound limitations of the album detracted it in the eyes of many listeners, the album was still well worth the purchase. [cite web|author=Turner, Jon | url=http://altpop.com/stc/reviews/ff3osv.htm |title=Final Fantasy III Original Sound Version| publisher=Soundtrack Central| accessdate=2008-03-31] Dave of Square Enix Music Online, however, disagreed, feeling that, although it was "charming", it was "one of the weaker Final Fantasy albums". [cite web|author=Dave | url=http://www.squareenixmusic.com/reviews/dave/ff3.shtml |title=Final Fantasy III Original Sound Version| publisher=Square Enix Music Online| accessdate=2008-04-07] The "Final Fantasy III Original Soundtrack" received mixed reviews from critics, with Patrick Gann declaring that "even if you own the original Famicom version's soundtrack, there is plenty of reason to own this soundtrack alongside it," while Richard of Square Enix Music Online found it to be a "passable" album, but "mostly forgettable". [cite web|author=Richard | url=http://www.squareenixmusic.com/reviews/theshroud13/ff3ds.shtml |title=Final Fantasy III Original Soundtrack| publisher=Square Enix Music Online| accessdate=2008-04-07] "Final Fantasy III Yuukyuu no Kaze Densetsu" was received positively by critics, with Patrick Gann declaring that it was worth "searching long and hard" for the album. Ben Martin, Jason Strohmaier, and Aaron Lau of Soundtrack Central all agreed, finding the songs to be varied and interesting, though each added that the narration seriously detracted from the album. [cite web|author=Lau, Aaron; Martin, Ben; Strohmaier, Jason | url=http://altpop.com/stc/reviews/ff3elw.htm |title=Final Fantasy III Eternal legend of the Wind| publisher=Soundtrack Central| accessdate=2008-03-31] Dave of Square Enix Music Online also found the narration to be a flaw of the album, but termed it overall to be "a great effort from Nobuo Uematsu". [cite web|author=Dave | url=http://www.squareenixmusic.com/reviews/dave/ff3arr.shtml |title=Final Fantasy III Legend of Eternal Wind| publisher=Square Enix Music Online| accessdate=2008-04-07]

The Black Mages, a band led by Nobuo Uematsu that arranges music from "Final Fantasy" video games into a rock music style, have arranged two pieces from "Final Fantasy III". These are "The Rocking Grounds" from the album ', published in 2004, and "KURAYAMINOKUMO", a remix of "The Final Struggle", from ', published in 2008. [(December 22, 2004). "The Black Mages II: The Skies Above". Universal Music. UPCH-1377] [(March 19, 2008). "The Black Mages III: Darkness and Starlight". Sony Music Distribution. DERP-10002] Lyrical versions of "The Boundless Ocean" and "Elia, the Maiden of Water", sung by Risa Ohki, appeared on ', a compilation album produced by Square. [(June 25, 1994). "Final Fantasy: Pray". NTT Publishing. PSCN-5006] Additionally, lyrical versions of "Eternal Wind" and "Cute Little Tozas", sung by Risa Ohki and Ikuko Noguchi, appeared on '. [(November 25, 1995). "Final Fantasy: Love Will Grow". NTT Publishing. PSCN-5041]

The music of "Final Fantasy III" has also appeared in various official concerts and live albums, such as "20020220 music from FINAL FANTASY", a live recording of an orchestra performing music from the series including several pieces from the game. [cite web| url=http://www.rpgfan.com/soundtracks/20020220/index.html|title=20020220 - Music from FINAL FANTASY| publisher=RPGFan| accessdate=2007-04-01] Additionally, "Elia, the Water Maiden" was performed as part of a medley by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra for the "Distant Worlds - Music from Final Fantasy" concert tour, [cite web|url=http://www.squareenixmusic.com/albums/f/ffdistantworlds.shtml|title=Distant Worlds - Music from Final Fantasy - Album Information |publisher=Square Enix Music Online|accessdate=2008-02-22] while "Eternal Wind" and "Cute Little Tozas" were performed in a medley by the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra in the "" concert series. [cite web|url=http://www.squareenixmusic.com/albums/dvds/tourdejapon.shtml|title=Album Information - Tour de Japon: Music from Final Fantasy DVD|publisher=Square Enix Music Online|accessdate=2008-02-22] Independent but officially licensed releases of "Final Fantasy III" music have been composed by such groups as Project Majestic Mix, which focuses on arranging video game music. [cite web | author=Rzeminski, Lucy | title=Project Majestic Mix: A Tribute to Nobuo Uematsu - Gold Edition | publisher=RPGFan | date=2002-07-02 | url=http://www.rpgfan.com/soundtracks/pmm-gold/index.html | accessdate=2008-08-13] Selections also appear on Japanese remix albums, called "dojin music", and on English remixing websites. [cite web | title=Game: Final Fantasy III (NES) | url=http://www.ocremix.org/game/final-fantasy-iii-nes/ | publisher= OverClocked ReMix | accessdate=2008-03-27]

References

External links

* [http://na.square-enix.com/uematsu/ Nobuo Uematsu's official website]
* [http://na.square-enix.com/music/tunes/ff/ Square Enix's official music store]