On the oeuvre of Nobuo Uematsu, the Beethoven of video game music. Japanese musician and composer Nobuo Uematsu has built his career and reputation on his soundtracks to the enduring Final Fantasy video game series, which are notable for their remarkable cinematic feel. Today Uematsu is one of Japan's most beloved living composers, credited with inspiring a new generation of classical music fans. This volume, the first book-length study of the music of Uematsu, takes a variety of different analytical approaches to his body of work. It offers readers interested in ludomusicology--the study of and research into video game music--a variety of ways with which to understand Uematsu's compositional process and the role that video game music has in the overall gaming experience.

On the oeuvre of Nobuo Uematsu, the Beethoven of video game music. Japanese musician and composer Nobuo Uematsu has built his career and reputation on his soundtracks to the enduring Final Fantasy video game series, which are notable for their remarkable cinematic feel. Today Uematsu is one of Japan's most beloved living composers, credited with inspiring a new generation of classical music fans. This volume, the first book-length study of the music of Uematsu, takes a variety of different analytical approaches to his body of work. It offers readers interested in ludomusicology--the study of and research into video game music--a variety of ways with which to understand Uematsu's compositional process and the role that video game music has in the overall gaming experience.

Terra the magical half-human. Shadow the mysterious assassin. Celes the tough, tender general. Kefka the fool who would be god. Each of the many unforgettable characters in Final Fantasy VI has made a huge impression on a generation of players, but why do we feel such affection for these 16-bit heroes and villains as so many others fade? The credit goes to the game’s score, composed by the legendary Nobuo Uematsu. Armed with newly translated interviews and an expert ear for sound, writer and musician Sebastian Deken conducts a critical analysis of the musical structures of FF6, the game that pushed the Super Nintendo’s sound capabilities to their absolute limits and launched Uematsu’s reputation as the “Beethoven of video game music.” Deken ventures deep into the game’s lush soundscape—from its expertly crafted leitmotifs to its unforgettable opera sequence—exploring the soundtrack’s lasting influence and how it helped clear space for game music on classical stages around the world.

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Commentary (music and lyrics not included). Pages: 34. Chapters: Music of the Chocobo series, Music of Final Fantasy IX, Music of Final Fantasy XIII, Music of Final Fantasy VIII, Music of Final Fantasy X-2, Music of Final Fantasy III, Parodius music, Super Mario Bros. theme, Still Alive, Korobeiniki, List of songs in the Donkey Konga series, Follow the Nightingale, Still Alive: The Remixes, Eyes on Me, Jordan, Late Goodbye, Haze, Ranse Eroica, Girl in the Tower, It's a skull, True..., Even Rats, Control, To My Boyfriend, Burning Heat, Here Come The Champ. Excerpt: The Chocobo video game series is a spin-off series composed of over a dozen games developed by Square Co. and later by Square Enix featuring a super deformed version of the Chocobo, a Final Fantasy series mascot and fictional bird, as the protagonist. Several of the titles have received separate album releases of music from the game. The music of the Chocobo series includes soundtrack albums for the Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon sub-series-comprising Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon, Chocobo's Dungeon 2, and Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon-and soundtrack albums of music from Chocobo Racing, Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales, and Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book: The Witch, The Maiden, and the Five Heroes, as well as an album of arranged music from Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon and a single entitled Chocobo no Fushigina Dungeon Toki Wasure No Meikyuu: Door Crawl for the vocal theme song of Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon. The first album of the discography released was the soundtrack to Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon, Chocobo no Fushigina Dungeon Original Soundtrack. It was released by DigiCube in 1997 and was reprinted by Square Enix in 2006. An arranged album of music from that game was released in under the title Chocobo no Fushigina Dungeon Coi Vanni Gialli...

(Piano Solo Selections). A dozen favorites from the hit video game series in piano solo notation, including: Aeris's Theme * Eyes on Me * Melodies of Life * The Prelude * The Promise * Theme of Love * Tifa's Theme * Zanarkand * and more.