Famitsu recently published an interview with Final Fantasy series composer Nobuo Uematsu and pianist Hiroyuki Nakayama. The two of them had gotten together for a signing event to celebrate the release of their collaborative album entitled Piano Opera Final Fantasy VII/VIII/IX. The album features piano renditions of MIDI-arrangements of songs taken from Final Fantasy VII-IX.
Uematsu stressed the difficulty he had reducing the track list down to just four songs from each game. A process that saw the prolific One Winged Angel cut from the album:
“We wanted the track list to feature songs that weren’t shoe-in inclusions, songs that sometimes don’t get the spotlight.”
But not all of the track choices were agonizing. Uematsu noted that two tracks in particular, Final Fantasy VII’s Cosmo Canyon and Interrupted by Fireworks were easy choices to make : “Naturally, I love these tracks myself. But I also considered that these songs hadn’t seen many re-arrangements until now.”
When the two were quizzed on their favorite song Uematsu chimed in, stating: “I guess it would be Interrupted by Fireworks. I love all the songs naturally, as a parent would love a child they gave birth to. There are children everyone loves and some that shut themselves in, but they’re all loveable [to the parent].”
However, it was not wholly clear if Uematsu was talking about his favorite song from the album, or his favorite of all time.
Conversation turned to the inclusion of the piano rendition of Final Fantasy VIII’s Ami. Uematsu explained that the name from the song came from the Spanish word “Ami”, or “friend”. Friendship being an important part of Final Fantasy VIII’s story. But there was a little more to the story; Uematsu went on to explain that the songs’ naming was also inspired by 1986 novel by Chilean writer Enrique Barrios, entitled “Ami, el niño de las estrellas”. The book is known in Japanese as “Ami Chiisana Uchuujin” (“Ami, the tiny alien”) and in English as “Ami: Child of the Stars“. Uematsu went on to say that:
The book is about the struggles of getting everyone to live together peacefully. It’s a great book that I recommend reading.
The album Piano Opera Final Fantasy VII/VIII/IX has no western release planned, so fans may want to look into importing it through Amazon or dedicated import resellers. Those who are more interested in playing to Nobuo Uematsu’s works rather than simply listening to them however, might find the upcoming Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call is just what they are looking for.
Shehzaan Abdulla
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