When you talk to people about game music, Nobuo Uematsu is gonna come up.
It's just going to happen, and with good reason: the guy is the John Williams of the Final Fantasy series. The sheer volume and quality of work the man has produced is pretty staggering, and I can think of a number of gamers who have wept openly while listening to his music.
On today's Kotaku Mix Tape, we're going to listen to some of my favorite renditions of Uematsu's work. It even doesn't begin to cover the entirety of his career (Both "One-Winged Angel" and the theme from the PC88 game Alpha are not present), but it does include some orchestrations of his work you might have never heard before. Particularly worth noting is the absolutely fantastic and often overlooked Front Mission: Gun Hazard soundtrack.
THE PLAYLIST:
The Final Fantasy Legend - Wipe Your Tears Away
Front Mission Gun Hazard - Blue Sky
Final Fantasy IV - Theme of Love ("Piano Collections" version)
Final Fantasy V - Lenna's Theme ("Dear Friends" version)
Final Fantasy VI - Terra's Theme ("More Friends" version)
Final Fantasy VII - Anxious Heart
Final Fantasy VIII - The Man With The Machine Gun ("Fithos Lusec Wescos Vinosec" Version)
Final Fantasy IX - Kuja Exits Burmeci (From "Final Fantasy IX OST PLUS")
All illustrations by Yoshitaka Amano