Since the Final Fantasy albums are a major area in the world of VGM, it only makes sense to give them some space on the blog, and today is going to be about the Piano Collections.
Shiro Hamaguchi/Shinko Ogata – Fisherman’s Horizon Final Fantasy VIII: Piano Collections Already a beautiful track from the original soundtrack, the piano rendition is wonderful. The soft, whimsical tone puts you at ease quickly. It captures of feeling of relaxing on a dock with a fishing pole and the warmth of the sun very well.
Masashi Hamauzu/Aki Kuroda – Traveling Company Final Fantasy X: Piano Collections Like Fisherman’s Horizon, this song is a soft, atmospheric track. However, instead of intending to capture of feel of fishing, its purpose is to create a peaceful enviornment inside a shop. A simple task, but Traveling Company exceeds in all categories.
Reiko Nomura – Tina Final Fantasy VI: Piano Collections This piece is nothing short of a classic. From the last Nintendo Final Fantasy until Crystal Chronicles, the music in VI was phenomenal, and this theme was no exception. It has a very epic feel to it. Though some of it is lost in the translation to solo piano, it still holds up as a wonderfully performed and composed piece.
Shiro Hamaguchi/Seiji Honda – One Winged Angel FINAL FANTASY VII: Piano Collections Another classic Final Fantasy track, this piano rendition does a great job of keeping the dark tone. The piece never lets up, and unfolds like any great epic song would. For those of you who have heard the original, you can almost hear the choir chanting “Se-phi-roth” in the background as the hammers of the piano slam against the strings with a great intensity.
All tracks originally composed by Nobuo Uematsu except “Traveling Company”, which was composed by Masashi Hamauzu.
He's simply awesome.