We know that this is the Original Soundtrack to possibly one of the most famous games in history, but the question in the back of everybody's mind is though, can the boys at squaresoft pull out another cracking soundtrack to accompany the game?

Well, in the short answer, yes, and then some!

The music that accompanies the Final Fantasy name has always been a major talking point in all the previous games due to the fact that it has always had sumptuous melodies and brilliant backing in literally all of the songs, and this one is no different. Nobuo Uematsu amazes us once again with his large range of styles and his fantastic knowledge of world cultures, and when these two aspects are put together there is only one outcome. A truly masterful piece of work that meets all our expectations and manages to make us wonder what he will bless our ears with next time.

The first piece of music that you hear in the actual game really sets the scene; it has pretty much everything needed to make it a memorable piece of music. It starts out very mysteriously, and then it pans out to a wide view of the city. It changes to the major key slightly when the FFVII logo comes up, but then it goes pretty much straight into minor key. This piece has everything that you would expect the beginning of a game to have, especially when you don't know anything about who you are or what you are doing there.

This soundtrack is influenced quite a bit at the beginning of the game but industrialised music, basically because of the fact that it is largely set in a huge industrial city called Midgar. This doesn't mean that every piece of music has uses synthesisers and an analog drum kit. If it did then it wouldn't be half the OST that it is. The Techno theme is used where it is needed, in the fighting themes mainly and the action music and pretty much as soon as you leave the city everything in the musical aspect of the game changes. The music becomes a lot calmer and Nobuo really starts to use his brilliant composing skills. I'm not saying that the industrial music is bad, because it certainly isn't and pieces like 'Jenova Absolute' and 'Still More Fighting' really stand out as true classics. I just feel that Nobuo is much better at his orchestral and calmer composing.

As soon as you leave the city of Midgar, you hear the brilliant World Map Theme. For me this piece really outlines the game. It is cased in uncertainty with it changing between the major and minor keys all the time. You aren't sure what the piece of music holds but you hope it will all turn out good in the end. This piece does use repetition in a very good way since every time the same chord scheme is repeated it just sounds better than the last and it really makes you just want to stand still on the world map just so you can hear it. It really brings back the phrase "Damn Random Battles!!"

The music in the rest of the game changes theme depending on where you are, ranging from the oriental feel of Wutai to the Military sounding Fort Condor. In every aspect of culture Nobuo has put a set theme in his mind and he has composed a brilliant piece of music to go with that style. Some would argue that square wanted to test him on this project because his range of versatility has been tested far greater than in any project to date. Well I if was Yoshinori Kitase then I would be much more than impressed, I would be enthralled. Nobuo has outdone everything previous and has proved to the critics that he is much greater than he was previously rated. He only seems to get better and better.

Obviously, the music from Final Fantasy VII is going to be compared to its predecessors in terms of sound quality and composition style, and due to the increased sound capabilities of the Playstation, Nobuo has had a largely increased view about how he compose his music. The quality of the sounds he has used are far superior to that on the SNES, with noticeable changes being the increased quality of the stringed instruments and I feel that this has been utilised very well. I say this because more of the pieces in FFVII use stringed instruments than in previous Final Fantasy games. They are also used in much more depth with many layers of harmony making up each piece. A very good example of this is 'Highwind Takes to the Skies'. This piece is largely based on stringed instruments, and it works amazingly well. It is a memorable tune that you will probably never forget, and it has the type of melody that you just want to go to your instrument and play.

The Final Fantasy VII soundtrack is clearly in a league of its own. It excels in quantity, quality and just pure epic scale. Every piece is individual, and every piece has its own meaning. For me when I listen to each song a different part of the magical story is being told. I'm not saying that you should definitely go out and buy it, because without the game it just isn't as special. Having said that though it is still a brilliant selection of music when listened to without images.

If you are a Die Hard Final Fantasy Fan, then buy this immediately because you will definitely like it. If you aren't then play the game and then buy it because I guarantee that it will win you over.

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Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy Dissidia
Ehrgeiz
Final Fantasy XII
Final Fantasy XIII
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