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Title: Melodies of Life (English Version)
Artist: Shiratori Emiko
Specifics: 5:51 / 5.36 MB / Video Game: Final Fantasy IX
Opinion: Soft, quiet, and ultimately, a beautifully soothing song. Shiratori Emiko's voice holds precedence over the soft music in the background, downplaying anything but the melody. While I doubt this was on purpose, I think it's funny that the main melody of the song is stronger than the harmony of the music in this song, given its title. It builds slowly into a stronger beat with defined percussion, but the song remains very calm. I appreciate that it doesn't try to push beyond the simplicity of the tune, and that the lyrics for this English version are as lovely as the Japanese ones; they do not hold the same exact meaning, since thoughts don't always cross languages so easily. The basic idea is there, and it's a nice, hopeful one.
Title: Eyes on Me
Artist: Faye Wong
Specifics: 5:42 / 5.23 MB / Video Game: Final Fantasy VIII
Opinion: I take it for granted that most people have heard this gorgeous song and will swoon over it the way I do. Eyes on Me is my favorite Final Fantasy song, hands down. It was love at first sight for me, ironically not unlike Laguna and Julia, the two characters in the game who share this song as a romantic link. It is a love song without the promises of eternity and the complete sappiness of other love songs. In its starkness, in its honesty, it's one of the truest love songs I can name off the top of my head; love is not always about burning passion and the sex. It's also about being there for one another, being able to relate and to talk and see one another for what you really are. If you get no other idea from Eyes on Me, walk away with an idea similar to that. It's a concept that I have rarely heard expressed so wonderfully in such a catchy, powerful song.
Title: The Promised Land
Artist: Ohki Risa
Specifics: 5:29 / 5.02 MB / Video Game Soundtrack: Final Fantasy Vocal Collection I - Pray
Opinion: Every time Ohki Risa croons the part of the chorus that declares, "You'll surely find me sailing away / For the white beach of the promised land," it sends delicious chills up my spine. It really does. The first time I heard this song, I can remember not really liking it until I actually started to pay attention to the lyrics. Then it grew on me so quickly that I think it's fair to say I fell head over heels in love with the descriptive lyrics and the message they convey of looking forward to a much-desired future. The optimism is my favorite part of the lyrics, like Ohki Risa's rich voice and her wide range are my favorite part of the melody. The harmonizing music, too, is important; it follows the basic melody quietly and obediently, and closes with a series of repeated trills on a flute-like instrument that I can't pinpoint, but that I love to listen to.
Title: Suteki da ne
Artist: Rikki
Specifics: 5:49 / 5.33 MB / Video Game: Final Fantasy X
Opinion: The beginning of the song was the part that held my attention, with its sweet, high piano that seems almost hesitant to bring in the vocals. However, Rikki's singing is prominent once the introduction fades away and gives her a chance to take over; I have to admit that in comparison to voices like Ouki Risa and Shiratori Emi, hers is not so rich. At the start, one would assume that she doesn't have such a broad range simply because of the quality of her voice. While I do like this song, I'm not as in love with it as I am with others from the Final Fantasy spectrum, and I blame that on the fact that I don't believe the lyrics coming from Rikki as much as I feel I might from another source. Some of the charm of the song comes from that: the singer does not have a sweet, perfect singing voice, and yet she can see the beauty of the world. I forgive Suteki da ne for that alone.
Title: Have You Ever Seen Me?
Artist: Ohki Risa
Specifics: 2;45 / 2.52 MB / Video Game Soundtrack: Final Fantasy Vocal Collection II - Love Will Grow
Opinion: From The Promised Land, we do a total one-eighty to a different kind of song for Ohki Risa to show off her versatility. Admittedly, her English pronunciation is imperfect, and for those preoccupied with that, it will take away from the quality of the song. For those who are more forgiving, this is a fun song! Bouncy, upbeat, and it always gets me wanting to dance along to it. It invites silliness and, in my mind, it makes said silliness seem like it's all right. Instead of talk of love, or of hope, it's a different show of optimism: the desire to play and goof off with friends where no one can see you and outside opinions of what you do no longer matter. It's the kind of song that one wouldn't typically associate with Final Fantasy, at least not right off the bat. The unconventionality makes it even more fun for me! The song is a little repetitive and simple, yet it's a good contrast.
