"Into the Darkness"
1991
composed by Nobuo Uematsu for Final Fantasy IV for SNES
I love this song. This song invokes a very specific emotional response in me. It is a sense of wonder and exploration. A sense of diving into something new, of venturing away from the familiar. Of mystery. This is nostalgic in such a powerful way as to send me right back to the space and time of playing this portion of this game for the first time. This song is the very definition of a MIDI Week Single, for me.
I love the way this song starts, with it's slow repetition and rising volume. It resembles a slowed down version of a battle theme alert - battle themes often have a little intro to grab your attention. I love the way the song swings gently, and I love how the instruments sound.
In some sense, Final Fantasy IV might be the most influential soundtrack to me. I think it is because it represents the biggest leap in musical quality at the most formative time for me. I may have played FF VI more times, and may like it better, overall. But FF IV brought video games as whole up to a much finer level, and in no place better than the music.
While the game's dialogue and pacing didn't hold up as well the last time I played it, the scene of the mist cave is vivid and alive in my mind, and I am very thankful for that. I have only to think of this music, and I can recall it with perfect clarity of feeling. I can't ask for anything more in a single.
-D
No comments:
Post a Comment