Final Fantasy III Soundtrack

Final Fantasy III Soundtrack, Nobuo Uematsu, 1990

After the release of Final Fantasy II, developer Square found itself in a curious position. Not many studios would begin tinkering with a successful formula that had just saved them from financial ruin. Yet that is precisely what Square did after Final Fantasy, handing the sequel to newcomer Akitoshi Kawazu, the future mastermind behind the SaGa series. The result was a divisive game whose genuinely intriguing gameplay experiments were ultimately let down by weak implementation. For Final Fantasy III, Square decided to take fewer risks, returning to many of the narrative tropes and design ideas that had made Final Fantasy so popular. However, aside from a much larger world, the developers made one crucial addition: a job system allowing players to switch the protagonists’ classes on the fly, greatly increasing both customisation and gameplay depth.

Naturally, Nobuo Uematsu returned to compose the Final Fantasy III soundtrack. His score for the first game had been a major leap beyond his earlier NES work and established him as one of the 8-bit era’s finest melodists. Final Fantasy II, by contrast, had been something of a retreat, offering less memorable material that even the game’s 2021 Pixel Remaster could not fully redeem.

Thankfully, Uematsu comes roaring back with Final Fantasy III, delivering his finest and most expansive chiptune score. At nearly an hour in length, this is one of the most substantial NES soundtracks around. Its scale may not quite match that of genre rival Dragon Quest IV, but Uematsu’s music adapts its ambitions more effectively to the constraints of 8-bit hardware. What really distinguishes the Final Fantasy III soundtrack from its predecessors is Uematsu’s increased command of the NES sound chip. That mastery allows him to create a surprisingly intricate and beguiling sonic world using, for the most part, only three channels, since the noise channel is employed relatively sparingly here.

That assured handling of the NES hardware is evident from the outset. To suggest the glistening quality of its setting, “Crystal Cave” presents its melody as a chain of tremolo notes, not unlike the way Western chiptune composers of the time used arpeggios to simulate fuller harmony. “The Boundless Ocean” is perhaps the score’s most remarkable demonstration of technical virtuosity and of Uematsu’s resulting ability to evoke elusive, mysterious realms. The phased interaction of its two pulse channels creates shimmering harmonies that do not depict the motion of waves so much as the uncanny stillness of a world entirely covered by water. Other location themes such as “Elia, the Maiden of Water” and “Town of Water” use related effects to clothe some of Uematsu’s most expansive and elegant melodies in extraordinary harmonic colours.

Other pieces on the Final Fantasy III soundtrack reveal a similar fascination with sonic experimentation and emotional contrast. “Castle of Hain” is a surprisingly tense castle theme, all foreboding melody and restless accompaniment, and that impression never quite lifts even when the B section introduces a more conventionally noble strain. “Salonia” presents an even more heightened version of this mixture, moving from threatening undercurrents and syncopated rhythms to impressive displays of grandeur. That emotional complexity also extends to some of the score’s warmer cues. “Time Remains”, for instance, begins as another idyllic town theme, only for its reflective atmosphere to turn markedly more pained once one pulse-wave line becomes wispy and elusive, clashing with the second melody voice in sharp harmonies that suggest loss rather than simple introspection.

It is another striking example of Uematsu using the technology not merely as a delivery system, but as an expressive tool capable of shaping the music’s emotional impact through unexpected timbres and melodic turns. Other creative highlights include fan favourite “Eternal Wind”, Final Fantasy III’s overworld theme. Rather than evoking swashbuckling adventure or awe at the open horizon, it begins with an irregular arpeggiated figure whose catchy stop-start motion immediately intrigues. Off-beat rhythms then support an airy, wistful melody that paints a world less heroic than enigmatic and alluring. “Jinn, the Fire” is quirkier still, with its apparently aimless bass line and sudden accents, before Uematsu sets the two melodic voices into dialogue and conjures a vaguely Middle Eastern atmosphere. Once again, his use of chromatic harmony produces a heady effect, making the cue unexpectedly spellbinding.

Of course, Uematsu is often also content simply to write straightforwardly beautiful melodies. The travel-related cues in particular allow him to operate in his most buoyant register. “Sailing Enterprise” is a charming miniature that never outstays its welcome, while “Go Above the Clouds!” and “The Invincible” go a step further. Both sweep through the sky on propulsive, springy rhythms and instantly memorable tunes – the former driven by especially hooky pop instincts, the latter more measured and heroic in profile. “My Home Town” does not break new ground within this idiom, but its gracefully unfolding, laid-back melody is more than enough to sustain the piece. Uematsu’s improved technical control also benefits even a melody as familiar as the “Opening Theme”. Details such as the carefully judged accents on individual notes make this famous tune feel richer and more affecting than it had in earlier scores.

And what of the battle themes? They occupy relatively little of the soundtrack’s running time, yet still leave a strong impression. Interestingly, their punchy pseudo-percussion and galloping rhythms recall the NES Mega Man scores more than a little. Uematsu folds such science-fiction inflections effortlessly into his densely packed fantasy action music, which crackles with skittish, trembling energy and at times genuinely biting melodic lines. Finally, a score of this scale requires a suitably grand conclusion, and Uematsu provides one with “The Everlasting World”, his longest and most complex chiptune composition to date. Its triumphantly racing middle section feels like a dry run for the ending music of Final Fantasy VI, surging joyously through its material and benefiting from Uematsu’s strongest contrapuntal writing thus far. As impressive as the Pixel Remaster was, the original NES Final Fantasy III soundtrack remains an essential, more original and more daring achievement.