Music of Final Fantasy VI - Legacy

Legacy

Uematsu was personally very pleased with the way that the soundtrack for Final Fantasy VI turned out, and has said in interviews that he felt that "with the satisfaction and excitement I felt after finishing that project, I thought I had reached my primary goal, and could quit doing game music with no regrets." He stated in the liner notes for Piano Collections Final Fantasy VI that he intended the music to be emotionally moving, and entreated the listener not to think about the music, but to feel it. He also feels that the title track for Final Fantasy VI was the most challenging track he has ever made. As for Final Fantasy VI Grand Finale, on the other hand, Uematsu has said that he was "not satisfied with this album at all", due to the deviation it took from his original visions for the music due to his lack of personal involvement in the arrangements. Although he did not feel that the album was a poor one, saying that if he said nothing no one would ever know of his dissatisfaction, he felt that it was not what he would have created if he had "defend the image of each piece".

The Black Mages, a band led by Nobuo Uematsu that arranges music from Final Fantasy games into a rock music style, has arranged four pieces from Final Fantasy VI. These are "The Decisive Battle", "Battle", and "Dancing Mad" from The Black Mages, published in 2003, and "Darkness and Starlight", based on "Aria di Mezzo Carattere", from The Black Mages III: Darkness and Starlight, published in 2008. A lyrical version of "Kids Run Through the City", sung by Risa Ohki, appears on Final Fantasy: Pray, a compilation album produced by Square. Additionally, a lyrical version of "Relm's Theme", sung by Risa Ohki and Ikuko Noguchi, appears on Final Fantasy: Love Will Grow.

Uematsu continues to perform certain pieces in his Dear Friends: Music from Final Fantasy concert series. The music of Final Fantasy VI 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 "Terra's Theme". In 1994, "Aria di Mezzo Carattere" was played as "Love Oath, Maria and Draco" by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra for the fourth entry in their Orchestral Game Music Concerts series. Additionally, the aria was also performed by the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra in the Tour de Japon: Music from Final Fantasy concert series. Independent but officially licensed releases of Final Fantasy VI music have been composed by such groups as Project Majestic Mix, which focuses on arranging video game music. Selections also appear on Japanese remix albums, called dojin music, and on English remixing websites.