An In-Depth Analysis of the Final Fantasy VII Soundtrack
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- Опубликовано: 4 июл 2019
- A detailed analysis of musical motifs that connect various songs on the FF7 soundtrack. The graphic shown in the video can be downloaded here:
www.dropbox.co...
Acknowledgments:
- Thanks to Reddit user JRokujuushi for pointing out the connections between Who Am I? and Main Theme, between Under the Rotting Pizza and Main Theme, and between Judgment Day and the B motif of Aerith's Theme
- Thanks to Reddit user symfonikev for pointing out the connection between Reunion and Aerith's Theme
- Thanks to RUclipsr Mike Bettencourt ( / jimmypmv ) for the FF7 playthrough footage.
This is a new type of project for me, and I found it really interesting to examine the structure of a beloved game soundtrack in such detail. If you also found it interesting, please like, subscribe, and let me know in the comments! 
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That it took 5 years for this to find my mind is a bad indictment of the algorithm. This is great work, my friend.
Aerith's theme has the power to make grown men cry.
it doesn't take a lot to make a grown man cry man, aeriths theme is awesome tho
A tip : watch series at Kaldrostream. I've been using them for watching a lot of movies lately.
@Alexis Messiah Yea, I have been watching on kaldrostream for since december myself =)
I was 17 when it made my cry and I'm 41 when it keeps making me cry. Even the first three notes in isolation make my anxious heart break in tears.
Imo, Tifas theme is so much sadder, some brutal stuff
1:55 - Chart of shared motifs
2:30 - Chocobo family
4:33 - Main Theme family
7:51 - Prelude/Sephiroth family
13:22 - Midgar/Fighting family
19:53 - Barret family
20:41 - Yuffie family
21:33 - Aerith family
24:45 - Cid family
25:36 - Nanaki family
26:35 - Tifa family
27:30 - Bombing Mission family
28:17 - Fanfare family
28:41 - Oppressed People family
29:44 - Lifestream family
32:34 - World Crisis
34:02 - Staff Roll
1. The basoon in Lurking in the Darkness quotes a phrase from the World Map music
2. Crazy Motorcycle Chase quotes the Bombing Mission motif towards the end
3. The bass from Opressed People matches the opening melody in Trail of Blood! Seriously!
4. Aerith's theme is in the first three notes of the harp on Interrupted by Fireworks
5. Interrupted by Fireworks is largely based on the piano melody that occurs roughly in the middle of the World Map music
Number 3 well found, it’s amazing how much this soundtrack links togeather
Thank you for a great video! Many connections here that I hadn't thought about previously. One that immediately comes to mind that wasn't mentioned in the video is the J-E-N-O-V-A theme's beginning. It is basically The Prelude inverted, descending from the high notes, and instead of having an add2 major triad, it has an add6 minor triad. I think it suites very well the idea of a falling "Calamity from the sky". Would also suit your Prelude/Sephiroth connection storywise since Jenova and Sephiroth are also very much connected.
Brother, instant like and subscribe. I woke up this morning thinking “I want to watch a video ABOUT the music of ff7”. I typed in “final fantasy 7 music”, saw only videos of different tracks, added the word analysis to the end, and boom, you made literally that exact video, which my now be my favorite ff7 video of all time. Thank you so much for doing this kind of work. Additionally, I’d like to add something about
J-E-N-O-V-A; you have it listed in orphan tracks, but I think in the middle of the song there’s a callback to Sephiroth’s motif (did I say that right? Not as read up on music theory as I’d like to be); not a nitpick, just an observation, albeit a selfish one based on me just wanting to hear some of that goat of a track in this video as well. All in all, I know I’m 4 years late on this comment, but bravo, 11/10.
Nope my bad, I was thinking of Birth of a God; disregard!
@@nathanielmadlem5422 Many thanks! This took a ton of work so it’s great to see people still enjoying it. Also, the FF7 Remake version of J-E-N-O-V-A does sneak in a melody from One Winged Angel.
One very Important Song to add to the Group of the main theme : The Great North Cave. It's played in a very neglected way at the very end of the track, and with a very dark melody. A Beautiful contrast to the leitmotif of the Main Theme World map
Loved this game since '97 and I noticed some of this, including the main theme in under the rotting pizza, but I can't believe I never noticed the bass line is the same as the melody in the battle theme. It's so obvious now I hear it! Amazing video!
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it and learned something new! After listening to this soundtrack for 20+ years I was surprised by how many more connections I found by taking an in-depth look.
This was SUCH a great video, and I learned a whole lot about this soundtrack. I'm inspired to do a similar analysis with Shimomura's KH2 OST--the score I've studied pretty extensively, but I'd love to see you release a similar video like this for other composers like Yasunori Mitsuda's Chrono Trigger and Koji Kondo's relevant Nintendo catalogue that you mentioned there at the end. There are so many great scores in VGM that are deserving of recognition for how they supplement the stories with they way they weave motifs into various themes, and I really enjoyed the thoughtful & no-nonsense presentation of the connections you talked about here
Thanks! Chrono Trigger is a particularly interesting example because it marks Mitsuda's first real entry in VGM composition (to my knowledge) and to my recollection he was supervised by Uematsu for this project. I suspect we'd see some interesting evidence of Mitsuda's differing style that becomes more pronounced with his later, independent projects (Xenogears, Chrono Cross, etc.) but haven't done that analysis yet so it's speculative at this point.
I love how even in the comments, people are discovering more and more. This soundtrack has always been one of my favorites, and this video highlights exactly why it is. I hope in the future, you dive into Remake/Rebirth's soundtrack, because I feel like in Rebirth especially, there's a lot of additional motifs/flare to some songs. Great video!!!
The oppressed section is really interesting. It's such a unique group of songs with different feelings. Never thought If You Open Your Heart and It's Hard to Stand on Two Feet, Isn't it? would be so similar.
No, this legitimately is my new favorite video. This flowchart is exactly what I’ve been trying to explain to people when they ask why I love this soundtrack so much. Thank you!!
“ reunion” is one of my favorite songs in the game and i never noticed that aerith’s theme was in there... wow! it makes so much sense to me and amplifies that moment now that i’m thinking about it. that scene is shortly after aerith passes and it the moment where the group is really broken because of what happens to cloud. it makes me miss aerith presence in the party like notes in the song makes you yearn for her to be there in that moment to help everyone unite :(
I can't believe this video doesn't have more views. It would be cool to see an update to include the Remake's additions to the existing motifs as well as any new families added. EDIT: should have watched to the end.
IIRC, Mining Town also alludes to Barret's theme. A part of the Main Theme (from around 3:48 into it) appears in Lurking in the Darkness too. Also, I think Trail of Blood's intro is also utilized in OWA (at around 2:37 into the track).
The three notes from Lifestream at the end of World Crisis hit me so hard.
Yeah, it’s a great example of how to make a player feel something deeply using only images and sounds, and without 100% clarity in plot exposition.
Wow, this video blew my mind! FF7 is my favourite game of all time so this was really interesting, especially since the music in the game is one of my favourite things about it. Specifically, concerning the main theme, I was always a bit bummed out that in disc 3 you don’t hear it in the over world. But you technically do then when riding the Highwind. Amazing video :)
16:40 It's amazing how much music they got out of a C melodic minor scale! Excellent video :)
Adrian Sobiechowski It is amazing! Thanks :-)
I also firmly believe it's no accident it emphasises the seventh tone in the scale, as does the main theme.
This should have millions of views.
I’ve always loved this soundtrack! It got me interested in music theory and writing music so many years ago! This was a PHENOMENAL analysis and video! Loved it!! Thank you for the hard work and dedication put into it!
God tier analysis
In my opinion, the unifying thematic connection for the Main Theme tracks, is definitely Cloud himself (the only track that seems to elude this is perhaps "Highwind Takes To The Skies", but there may be something that I'm forgetting about).
It is also worth mentioning that the "Main Theme" of Final Fantasy VII is in fact Cloud's theme, even though it doesn't specify it in its title, much like "Chosen By The Planet" is Sephiroth's theme and again it doesn't specify so in its title.
Now this is merely something I've just remembered, but I've also seen people pointing out similarities between "Jenova Absolute" or "Jenova Complete" and "Those Who Fight".
I'm not entirely sure what the two of them have in common but some people seem to hear it and some don't, not sure if there's something there or not but someone with a trained ear might know better.
Aside from the "Who Am I?" rendition being tied to a pivotal moment concerning Cloud's identity, what pretty much confirms it's his theme is how they have the leitmotif intended to represent him in the Final Symphony concert.
As for the Jenova Absolute and battle theme similarity, I think it was mainly just their intros being similar.
Dude, thanks for this analysis. I am sure you could go a lot deeper, but as an overview this is perfect. There are some obvious ones, but I also discovered a few I never noticed the connection before. I think FF7 had the perfect balance between those connected tracks and the so-called orphans to keep it fresh. FF8's soundtrack was very good too, but I think you noticed immediately that the tracks are more similar from the tone and from the leitmotif used.
You can't forget that 3 tracks come from past Final Fantasy games!
"Prelude" is the title screen track from all the previous games, "A Great Success" uses the victory theme from the previous games, and "Staff Roll" includes the Main Theme of Final Fantasy, which was in every game before except 2.
Oh, I haven't! The focus of this video was primarily on the connections within the FF7 soundtrack itself, not with other FF soundtracks. However, I'd love to delve into a longitudinal analysis of the series's OSTs at some point. The coolest stuff IMO is when motifs from one game get reused and modified in another game, like how part of Cid's Theme got reused in the main battle theme of FF8.
I always grouped these songs based on their themes, but this video showed me a lot of connections I hadn’t made before. Hearing that part in “Judgement Day” really gives Aerith a presence in the final dungeon. Like she’s ready for the final battle. Awesome video!
This may be a stretch, but I hear similarities in the melodies for Tifa and Barret’s themes.
not a stretch, brother, Judgement Day contains parts of every main character themes in a pensive, patient descent down the crater assuming they will all die, while simultaneously portraying an inspiring feel to do his or her part to help the planet
This is a great video, I’ve always loved ff7 score and its use of leit motif, but this video has made me notice examples that I didn’t even know were there after all these years, like how did I even miss the Shinra theme hiding in the main battle music I must have heard both thousands of times, Aeriths theme in the northern crater music is a good find too. all so obvious now it’s been pointed out.
this is why I love Nobuo Uematsu
This was so satisfying in so many levels! The insight, mixed with the nostalgia, all presented in with such a charming diagram!
I would like to see more videos like this indeed, Doc! Have I mentioned you are the best?
JusaStronomer Belated thanks for your nice comment! :-)
Fantastic video! You really opened my eyes to just how connected these songs are to one another. I would like to mention that not only does the song Planet’s Crisis contain Aerith’s Theme, the Main Theme, Tifa’s Theme, And Cid’s Theme, but I also believe it briefly uses Sephiroth’s leitmotif as well.
Yes it does, it happens when Meteor starts to go through Holy.
Damn this game is so good. This is a really interesting explanation of how things are tied together and as someone who knows nothing about music... This was wonderful!
Now do ffviii 👀💪🏼
PLEASE do final fantasy tactics like this. The soundtrack in that game has absolutely no analysis on youtube. Fantastic video!
Very nice analysis. I feel that there's not only connections through notes but also through textures, instruments and genres.
Awesome piece of analytical breakdown of a soundtrack. More!
The Main theme and Shinra's theme also share a lot of similarity. Both melodies begin and end at about the same place and the first three notes are basically identical.
The last three notes of Cid's Theme and the Lifestream theme are also very similar.
30:57 This part. About the Remake. People have been speculating that the ending of the original sets up the Remake. At the end. You see Aerith with her eyes closed and she opens them up. In the Remake. She does the exact same thing. She came back to the Planet to try and change things.
So much much songs i didn't realise that was connected. The fact that the Cosmo Canyons theme brings Nanaki and his fathers themes together is just beautiful. Great video!
One thing I think you missed is something that I never noticed until Remake came out, when they played the scene's new version. "The Chase" actually contains the Bombing Mission motif at its 0:35 mark. The first time I played the Midgar Expressway in Remake, I remember wondering why they altered it to sound like Bombing Mission; then it occurred to me that it's been the same note progression all along!
Thanks for taking the time to put this all together. I knew themes certainly repeated, but it's great to see them all laid out beside each other. The commentary is helpful for providing context and showing the interrelatedness of the themes with their various story points.
Awesome job!
Thanks for sharing
You rock!
I absolutely need more of these videos surrounding more of the games, this was wildly entertaining
Thank you very much for your analysis!
You focused on the connection between songs. I would really appreciate a new video where you focus on single songs and describe how they build up emotions and atmosphere.
I really hope this videos gets more attention and blows up soon.
This is awesome... subscribed
One of the most profound soundtracks of any game. Thanks for sharing
I should've assumed there'd be game spoilers in a music analysis video but I didn't expect it to be on an innocuous chart at 2:00 into the video, about a side character for whom I never would've guessed would have such a twist (Barrett).
Awesome content, thank you.
I'd like to add that World Crisis starts with the first three notes of the first arpeggio in Interrupted by Fireworks.
Also, Main Theme of FFVII quotes the initial two chords of Anxious Heart
honestly not much of a gamer ( ive never played anything beyond mobile farming games) but such an interesting listen!! never realized that game soundtracks could be this intricate ^-^
The first opening notes in the game are also the last notes played at the end of the credits.
I’d love to see this again but with another JRPG like Bravely Default which also has a lot of leitmotifs.
Another absolutely fantastic breakdown, thank you.
Every time I get into thinking about leitmotifs, I come back and watch this video again.
Wonderful video! congratulations!
I'd like to see more of this!
Awesome work! Thoroughly enjoyed this!
Waiting for the remake/rebirth analysis - that'd be a challenge!
Great analysis! I'd love to see more videos like this!
This is amazing; thank you so much! One thing -- you asked us to let you know if we spotted any use of the Sephiroth theme outside of that "family"; in "World Crisis," starting around the 4:30 mark to the 5:00 mark, I think the Sephiroth theme is in there, isn't it?
Indeed! Really cool how they take just the first 2 notes a few times in different keys before playing the actual theme towards the 5 minute mark.
What a treat! I'd love to see more of this kind of thing.
Thankyou kind sir, good sir!
I'm glad you decided to make the video for this. Excellent analysis! I'd love to see more of this sort of thing.
symfonikev Glad you liked it, and thanks again for your contribution to the chart! Maybe later this summer I’ll have the time and energy to tackle another soundtrack.
Also, on the chart, is "The Chase" referring to the Motorcycle Chase theme? If so, that theme uses the "Bombing Mission" motif, albeit briefly. Just another little thing I noticed.
symfonikev Yeah, I don’t have time to listen for it now but I think you’re right!
It's looser, but I would definitely argue that either the JENOVA theme alludes to the opening/Lifestream motif or the other way around. JENOVA's main melody follows the general shape and extends the ascending motion of the Lifestream motif, and has the same descending triplet at the end.
This will be a treat.
Great work Doc Nano!
I would draw a thin arrow between Cid's Theme(s) and the Opening Theme. They employ similar melodies imho.
Interesting! IMHO the two melodies share some similarities but not enough for them to be solidly considered expressions of the same motif. I wouldn't be surprised if Uematsu ultimately derived one of these melodies from the other, though.
Goodness, the perfect utilization of leitmotifs in the FF7 soundtrack would make Wagner blush
This *was* a treat, thanks Doc!
One piece of criticism I'd like to offer (and something you might want to revise the graphic on) is the vertical alignment of accidentals in relation to the notes they alter. I assume you placed them manually because there is a couple of places where you got them right, but for the most part they are all targeting the wrong notes, usually one note above the intention. The center of the round portion of ♭, and the center of both ♯ and ♮, should be roughly in line with the middle of the notehead, regardless of whether it's a line or a space. As someone who's had his subconscious thoroughly drilled with musical engraving, this felt a bit like reading text with the kerning all out of place.
A friend of mine who took a cursory look at the graphic also commented on how it's all green. Color coding the different families and connections in some way might be helpful too.
Thanks! I did indeed place them manually, as I was intentionally going for an all-green-and-black aesthetic to harmonize with Final Fantasy 7’s logo. Hopefully the placement of the accidentals didn’t impede understanding - it’s funny, as someone who has been reading music for 25 years it never occurred to me that the vertical alignment was so standardized, but I’ll definitely take that into consideration for any future graphics I put together.
@@docnanomusic I figured you were going for a "lifestream" look with the green, but had to kinda agree with my friend that some colors could probably make it easier to discern how it's all divided into families. The placement of the accidentals didn't impede understanding, but to me it felt pretty awkward to read. I might be biased though because I've done work related to musical engraving on a daily basis for the last couple of years. There are actually many other parts on the notation that don't look standardized, but the vertical alignment of the accidentals is the only bit I think might actually be considered wrong, not just aesthetically. If they were chords instead of single notes, you definitely could not get away with it :P
@@david-gouveia Yeah, it definitely isn't meant to be used for performance, or I would have figured out a way to use actual notation software. It's more of a visual guide to what motif is being talked about, and I'm not too concerned about deviations from standard as long as understanding isn't impeded. If I thought people would be interested in purchasing the diagram as a poster I'd probably be motivated enough to rework the notation to look more professional, but as it is I've spent enough hours on this schematic. :-P But as I said, it's a good point to keep in mind if I make new versions or schematics in the future.
I can understand your concern for exactness, though. As a scientist, I can't tell you how many times I've seen a DNA double helix (on Star Trek or whatever) represented with a left-handed twist instead of the right-handed twist it should have. I'm sure 99% of people don't notice and it doesn't affect the story in any way whatsoever, but it bugs the hell out of me.
I don't think you're going to persuade me on using multiple colors -- I think it would look too busy with a separate color for each family, and rather like the scheme as is. Of 500+ likes on Reddit this is the first complaint I'm hearing about the color scheme, and at least a few people had positive feedback on the graphic design. But if enough other people express the same opinion my mind could probably be changed.
Ooooh, this was good. Would love to see a FF9 version!
Thank you very much for this!!! Please do more Final Fantasy OST!!!
I don't know if you'll read this, but I found some interesting regarding the "Oppressed People family" in the music_ogg directory in the Steam FF7. I firmly believe that, at one point, this family was meant to be dedicated to Cid. The internal file name for "It's Difficult to Stand on Both Feet" is "sido" (Cid's Japanese name), which does end up playing in the scene when he becomes the temporary leader. The internal file name for "Oppressed People" is "rocket", which does indeed play in Rocket Town. Finally, "If You Open Your Heart" is called "siera" (Shera's Japanese name), which plays when she saves Cid from the debris when you return to Rocket Town in disc 2.
Cid's final theme is called "sid2", which indicates either this was a triumphant reprise at one point or they simply decided to go with a new motif.
As for why the "Oppressed People family" play in scenes completely unrelated to Cid, it is not uncommon for songs to get repurposed in development. Zalbag's theme in Final Fantasy Tactics, which ended up becoming a positive situation theme instead and never plays for the eponymous character.
This is a wonderful analysis!
Thanks!
Perfect video man, i returned to my childhood :_)
Sebastian Granados glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for sharing, that was a kick-ass video
Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed it. It ended up being more work than I expected!
I absolutely love these kind of graphs and analysis!
I realized recently that in Mako reactor, the synth at the beginning takes the motif of the main theme in Locrian (or starts on the 5th of Phrygian bc of the pedal tone, but I hear it as Locrian because of where it starts and the minor with flat2 and flat5 combo). What do you think?
This is an incredible video.
The Prelude/Anxious Hearts motif also appears in Mako Reactors and (modified) Shinra Inc. There could be more, and Uematsu uses it or similar contour in other works. He’s quite fond of it!
The string melody of "Trail of Blood" starts with the bass line motif of "It's hard to stand on two feet", which I'd argue is the same motif as the following part of the main theme: ruclips.net/video/R2hG6naMJd4/видео.html.
There's probably more motifs (not mentioned in this vid) in the later half of the main theme that are repeated in other places too. It is really interesting how many little themes/motifs are interwoven throughout the game in different contexts. One of the reasons why I still love listening to it!
Amazing job!!! I was doing that, but your job is better than mine!!! I really enjoy your vídeo 😃😃
The Remake has more or less validate your analysis. Bravo!
This was just great.
Fantastic video.
It would be interesting to know how common such music design practices are in the industry, or whether this is Uematsu's unique style of world building through music
olorin818 I’m very interested in this question. I have a feeling that Uematsu’s composing style uses a lot more shared motifs and mini-motifs than most other VGM composers.
@@docnanomusic That could very well be true. A sing of when Nobou composed on limited hardware, and motif familiarity, limited track variations where a real problem when composing on NES and consequently SNES. Perhaps it stayed with him. Lended by the particular structure and length of the games he was composing for. Although it's not something you'd see in most other games (at least not in my experience)
I can see all the music!!!
good vid good graph
I always thought JENOVA sounded like alien synth twisting of The Prelude
Yeah, reversed prelude
It's wild that tifa's theme doesn't tie in with the soundtrack further. I could've sworn that it shared some motifs with Anxious Heart but I'm not finding anything solid there.
But even On This Day Five Years Ago, On The Other Side Of The Mountain, and On The Edge Of Despair -- which are all used in dramatic moments involving Tifa -- don't seem to share any melody with her theme at all (or with each other)
Nice analysis!
Was kind of dissapointed when I didn't find a continuation of this for the Remake.
Since it seems you haven't uploaded anything new in the 2 years since this, I'm not sure if this comment will reach you, but if it does, know that I'm very interested to see which connections you'd find.
You can add one more track to the "main theme" category. "Premonition" from FF8. Not kidding, Uematsu reused the exact same melody there :)
Fantastic! (he said while never having played a final fantasy game [but also just got it on switch and will play soon :D ])
As somebody who has played through FF7 10+ times, I'd say it's definitely showing its age. As an old fan of the original I can easily look past the wrinkles, but I'm glad the remake is on its way so that new players can hopefully experience some of the same feelings we did back in 1997. Having said that, I bought FF7 for probably the 4th time on Switch, and it's a good port to start with due to the quality-of-life improvements like the option to turn off random battles temporarily and the 3x speed toggle to make the more mundane battles fly by more quickly.
@@docnanomusic I appreciate you mentioning that because I'm actually very hesitant to start playing when I know the remake is so close 😓 but also the remake isn't even the entire game so I used that for justification to buy it. But now my fear has been almost entirely put to rest. Thank you haha
Vincent's theme somewhat ties into Lifestream as well.
trail of blood is NOT a weak connection, it’s gotta be one of the strongest
I was thinking it had a resemblance to the main theme motif
Amazing! I'm writing an RPG story and my favorite game of all time is FF7, would love to have a soundtrack as good. The discovery of these leitmotif will help. Do you create custom music? You sound like you know what you're doing and you love FF7 like I do. My story is called Starseed: Critical Eclipse and I'm trying to write a story worthy to stand up to FF7's greatness. Would be awesome to have music that stands up to it too.
I'd definitely argue that the Mako Reactor/Shrinra Company motif is derrived from Sephiroth.
I would disagree that Who…Are You and J-E-N-O-V-A are orphan tracks. They seem to be in the same family as Who Am I? which would make sense since they all involve Sephiroth or Jenova.
There is one you missed, the piano part which is heard in the middle section of the main theme is also played in Interrupted by Fireworks which I would identify as the love theme
Super curious what you think of ff 16s soundtrack after watching this.
City of the anceints contains an inverted Aeriths theme. Or something like that.
This is real shit, thank u
The 4 note motif almost seems too similar to be a coincidence. Seems like the prelude and other themes are foreshadowing and when we get the flattened note we see Sephiroth in his true form. Just a thought. I’m also not a professional, but a curious person like yourself.
Great analysis and I would love to hear your analysis on other OSTs that are connected like this!
J-E-N-O-V-A seems to have a Prelude like arpegio in it, but in minor key.
Good luck doing this with the remake :)
Luke Dodson No kidding! :-)
I always thought that the shinra theme was inspired by the theme from the running man.
you could argue the descending triplets are in one winged angel
Congratulations on zero dislikes.
I'd add a reeeeally long arrow from Those Chosen by the Planet to Sealed Book from Final Fantasy V because they sound the exact same 😂😂
Wow, you're right! The intro vocals at least are exactly the same. There are a lot of callbacks like that between FF games. I'd like to make a video about that someday as well.
@@docnanomusic that would be a great video!! I loved this one by the way, I'm a video game music nerd
What program did you use to make the chart?