Final Fantasy V Pixel Remaster Soundtrack

Final Fantasy V Pixel Remaster Soundtrack, 2021, Nobuo Uematsu / Various

Among the three SNES Final Fantasy titles, the franchise’s fifth instalment has always been something of an underdog, a status that only adds to its appeal. For one thing, the original 1992 SNES version of Final Fantasy V was never released in the West, inevitably lending the game an extra aura of mystique. It took until the release of Final Fantasy Anthology in 1999 before US audiences could finally get their hands on it. Then there is Final Fantasy V’s chief claim to fame: a job system expanding on that of Final Fantasy III and offering countless ways to customise one’s party. In other respects, too, the game felt like a return to the NES Final Fantasy titles. Its relatively simple plot and broadly archetypal, if enjoyable, cast seemed like a conscious step away from Final Fantasy IV’s more elaborate storytelling.

Of course, Nobuo Uematsu returned to write the Final Fantasy V soundtrack. Like the game itself, the score remains somewhat overlooked, usually attracting less attention than the soundtracks flanking it – Final Fantasy IV and VI. The game’s comparatively low profile also meant fewer ports to other systems. As a result, until the 2021 Pixel Remaster, Final Fantasy V had never really received a substantial sonic upgrade. That makes this remaster particularly intriguing, especially in light of the outstanding work the arranging team had already done on earlier entries in the series.

Their winning streak certainly does not end with the Final Fantasy V soundtrack. In fact, this may be their most impressive effort yet. After playing things surprisingly safe on Final Fantasy IV, rarely departing very far from the source, the arrangers sound newly emboldened here. They still do not radically rewrite the music and always respect Uematsu’s originals. But this time they seem far more determined to ensure that the soundtrack lands consistently and that its full potential is realised.

That ambition is evident even in the score’s weaker corners, those built on some of Uematsu’s less convincing material. On the SNES, their problems often lay in thin melodic ideas and perfunctory pseudo-orchestration. Yet one certainly cannot accuse the arrangers of failing to try. They work hard to turn even throwaway cues such as “Hurry! Hurry!” and “Danger” into something more substantial and, even if Uematsu’s paper-thin material ultimately defeats those efforts, the attempt itself is admirable. Tracks like “The Fire-Powered Ship” and “The Ancient Library”, underwhelming on the SNES because of their repetitiveness, become at least decent pieces through more colourful orchestration and a wider variety of lead instruments. Elsewhere, however, the arrangers’ enthusiasm occasionally backfires when already meagre material is stretched beyond its natural limits, and there is probably no real way to rescue something as hackneyed as “The Evil Lord Exdeath”.

Still, as with Final Fantasy IV, such lapses remain the exception. On a few occasions, the arrangers even manage to turn formerly underwhelming compositions into clear successes. More often than not, they achieve this simply by strengthening the instrumentation of tracks that originally felt lacking in exactly that regard. The zigzagging, rhythmically awkward character of “The Fierce Battle” works much better now that the cue has moved towards power and progressive metal, rather than relying on the original’s thin sonics. On the SNES, “The Airship” and “The Castle of Dawn” were tuneful enough, but again somewhat underdeveloped. Reinforced by significant new counterpoint and denser instrumental lines, they finally get to soar in the Pixel Remaster. And on “Four Valiant Hearts”, the arrangers divert attention from the A section’s stodgy rhythms by passing the melody across the orchestra, generating an adventurous sweep that helps mask the cue’s structural weaknesses.

At other times, simply giving some of the score’s inherently stronger cues a richer sound is enough to produce impressive results. Right from the start, the Pixel Remaster version of the Final Fantasy V soundtrack wins the listener over with an emphatic take on “Ahead on Our Way”. That magnificently memorable, optimistic trumpet melody is now surrounded by lush orchestration that only heightens the buoyant feeling of embarking on a grand adventure. A more cinematic, at times less overtly melodic cue like “A Presentiment” also benefits greatly from more realistic instrumental textures, with the slower string writing in particular revealing some of Uematsu’s most poignant handling of the section. In “A New Origin”, the reliance on just two melodies becomes less problematic when repeated statements are clothed in different orchestral colours. And perennial fan favourite “Battle with Gilgamesh”? It is every bit as infectious and vivacious as one could hope, making this arguably the cue’s definitive version.

The Pixel Remaster version of the Final Fantasy V soundtrack does not stay as close to the SNES original as Final Fantasy IV, and it takes more liberties with the material. A handful of arrangements alter not so much the notes themselves as the mood surrounding them. “Fate in Haze”, “Sealed Away”, “Intention of the Earth” and “Beyond the Deep Blue Sea” all impressed on the SNES thanks to Uematsu’s skilful use of the console’s limited sound capabilities to create atmospheric cues oscillating between the claustrophobic, the intoxicating and the alluring. Much as on the Final Fantasy III Pixel Remaster, the new arrangements smooth away some of those more idiosyncratic intricacies, opting instead for a broader, more anonymous orchestral sound that is fortunately still grounded by Uematsu’s melodic strength. There is no need for ambivalence, however, when it comes to the new “The Decisive Battle”, which gleefully doubles down on the clash between dissonant roaring synths and another heroic trumpet lead.

As on previous Pixel Remaster scores, the arrangers extend cues by repeating material in new orchestrations before returning to the loop. That practice had receded somewhat on Final Fantasy IV, but here it makes a very welcome return. And not a moment too soon. Although Final Fantasy V’s narrative often has a reputation for being lightweight fluff, Uematsu’s music firmly contradicts that impression. Much of the score carries a sentimental, nostalgic quality, beautifully served by his legendary melodic gift and distinctive within the broader franchise. In the hands of arrangers who know how to add colour and counterpoint without excess, pieces such as “Lenna’s Theme”, “Unknown Lands” and “Waltz Suomi” become utterly gorgeous, luxuriant creations ranking among the loveliest musical moments the series has to offer.

The livelier material benefits just as much from this deft reworking and expansion. Once charming but somewhat repetitive, “Royal Palace” becomes in its Pixel Remaster version a far richer elaboration on the piece’s pseudo-Baroque foundation. By adding new melodic lines, the arrangers turn it into one of the soundtrack’s most intricate cues, and the orchestration could scarcely be more joyously colourful. “Critter Tripper Fritter!” used to be a fun interlude with some intriguing ideas; here the arrangers run with it almost completely, crafting a compelling mix of mock grandeur, comic undercurrents and Middle Eastern-flavoured woodwind writing. Best of all may be “Musica Machina”, whose Masashi Hamauzu-esque reimagining emphasises the original’s eccentricity to create a slow march for steampunk robots wandering a blasted industrial wasteland. Final Fantasy V may have been unfairly overlooked on its original release, but this Pixel Remaster decisively confirms its status as a game-music classic.