Search - Nobuo Uematsu, Reiko Nomura :: Final Fantasy VI: Piano Collections

Midi in the flesh.

Thosuvus Evans | Dallas, Texas | 10/11/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The piano collections of Nobuo Uematsu's series of Final Fantasy scores have proven to be just what the doctor ordered, considering that he was creating such spectacular music for such a "lowly" medium as the 'video game' before there was even a moderate respect for the art. Better yet, there was a far less than moderate respect for 'scores' to video games at the time. Considering the severely limited sound capabilities of the Super Nintendo, Uematsu's masterful compositions were not given their proper representation with what the current technology had to offer. But, even with such restrictions, Uematsu's music was no less than engaging. It makes perfect sense that his music should finally be played acoustically to help the other half realize the significance of his work, to spell it out for them. And, this collection is no exception.

Final Fantasy VI still stands out as the greatest of the series, and Uematsu's score is perhaps his most profound. With all of these collections, one who has heard the original scores cannot help but think that some of the pieces have been belatedly embellished to the point that they digress from their original forms, and therefore the original score, but the ones that remain faithful are well worth the time and/or purchase. "The Mystic Forest" and "Coin Song" are what appeal to me the most. The both of these titles are more beautiful and haunting to me as I'd realized they had the potential to be. Just gorgeous. "Celes", "Mystery Train", and "Waltz de Chocobo" are also well worth mentioning. If you are already familiar with this or any of Uematsu's other Final Fantasy scores (as I am), you are already prejudiced towards this release, and so forth. If you are new to his music, I can comfortably recommend that you know of this man. Who knows? You may have have been missing something."