War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius Soundtrack

War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius Soundtrack, Noriyasu Agematsu / Hitoshi Fujima / Junpei Fujita / Ryota Tomaru, 2019

Among the many, many off-shoots of the Final Fantasy franchise that Square Enix churned out over the years, War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius was one of the more intriguing ones. Obviously a spin-off of Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, War of the Visions took inspiration from the Final Fantasy Tactics games, turning into a strategy RPG – not a direction that the franchise had taken much outside of the FFT titles. With War of the Visions being a free mobile game, gacha systems and in-app microtransactions were inevitable features gamers had to contend with. Some balancing issues aside, though, War of the Visions offered a surprisingly fully-fledged and in-depth strategy game experience bolstered by excellent production values. Maybe due to its genre, the game was significantly more successful in Japan than abroad but still managed over eleven million downloads in total soon after its release.

With Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, Noriyasu Agematsu’s Elements Garden ensemble had delivered the best franchise soundtrack since Final Fantasy Tactics – even if it had its issues (namely a lack of sufficiently strong material to sustain its immense duration). Not surprisingly, Elements Garden was called back to compose the War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius soundtrack. However, Agematsu would take a back seat this time, only providing the game’s main theme. The majority of the score would come from the minds of Junpei Fujita and Hitoshi Fujima, founding members of Elements Garden who had already contributed to Brave Exvius. Prior to War of the Visions, both artists had already accumulated a massive list of credits, primarily for animes, but also including several games. War of the Visions’ impressive production values extended to its music, recorded by two different orchestras (one in the UK, one in Germany).

Does the War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius soundtrack continue Elements Garden’s winning streak? It does indeed, even though it shares some of the caveats that prevented Brave Exvius from becoming an unqualified success. Like its quasi-predecessor, War of the Visions succeeds in fits and spurts, consistently beguiling when the composers can fully indulge in their melodic instincts and let the music radiate warmth and youthful vigour. The music becomes more static and less involving once the mood turns belligerent or sombre (particularly on CD 2). However, the composers’ impressive orchestral technique ensures that even these pieces register as ‘good’ – they just don’t quite measure up to the level of excellence seen elsewhere on this score. Also, unfortunately, Square Enix doubles down on its misbegotten practice – already evident on Brave Exvius – of looping tracks more than once, so the score fills two CDs.

Still, the War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius soundtrack dishes up about 50 (looped) minutes of some of the best orchestral material written for a game during the 2010s. Acknowledging the stylistic differences between Brave Exvius and War of the Visions highlights the latter’s originality. Brave Exvius’ orchestral approach was very much in line with the late-romantic, lush strains typically associated with the high fantasy genre. For War of the Visions, Fujita and Fujima take a more creative approach, opting for a lighter orchestral palette and a greater focus on rhythms and timbres rather than expansive melodies. The result is a score that at its best feels wonderfully fresh and surprising, its occasionally impressionistic touches reminiscent of Masashi Hamauzu’s work – but arguably beating the veteran composer at his own game.

The soundtrack consciously underlines its individualistic style right from the start with “Main Theme (Piano Arpa Ver)”, which fittingly presents its lovely, elegantly unfolding melody as a dialogue between piano and harp. Agematsu and his arrangers make the most of the instruments’ rich, yet intimate timbres that particularly spotlight the harp’s ethereal nature – rarely does a game score highlight the instrument as proudly as War of the Visions does. Refreshingly, both piano and harp will continue to play a prominent role in the soundtrack’s orchestrations – again, not something you often find on fantasy scores (game, movie or TV).

It’s on the War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius soundtrack’s sunny pieces that the composers’ virtuoso handling of the orchestral forces is felt most keenly. These cues are as succinct as their brethren on Brave Exvius, but their flighty orchestrations and rhythmic versatility arguably make for more complex compositions. Take a cue like “The Twin Princes”, which joyously and gracefully rushes from one idea to the next, a flurry of skipping rhythms and utterly delightful melodies. “Honey Bees” and “The Grass Field” continue the impression of strolling through sun-lit, verdant fields buzzing with life. The composers’ control of fluid dynamics and their confident handling of the lithe instrumental palette imbue these compositions with an astounding richness of musical substance that belies their short run times. “Day of Fortune” equally charms with its rolling string rhythms and cheekily pompous brass declarations, answered in good humour by a glockenspiel.

Fujita and Fujima apply their particular mix of instrument colours to more varied emotional contexts as well. “Cold Fingertips” and “Snowy Peak” obviously underscore chillier climes, but don’t lose the melodic appeal of the soundtrack’s springier compositions. “Cold Fingertips” is particularly striking, its slowly unfolding woodwind lines radiating glimmers of warmth in the vast empty spaces these melodies drift through. “Bygone Days” further underlines the composers’ skills at writing material full of chamber music-like intricacies when a nostalgic oboe solo leads into a delectable interplay between solo woodwinds and strings. On the other hand, “Flowers for the Grave” knows when to scale back its rhythmic and melodic complexity, instead focusing on effective repetitions of earnest, passionate string utterances. If one needs any further proof of the composers’ skills, consider that they manage to make the tired Chocobo theme fun again on “Jaroch de Chocobo” with a sprightly, Tropicana-inspired rendition.

As mentioned, the War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius soundtrack loses some of its sure footing once it turns heavier, but it still offers some highlights. “The Art of Diplomacy” is the first piece to add martial elements to the mix, but without losing the score’s winning lightness of touch. “Upon Whom the Crystals Shine” features yet more militaristic bombast, presented in cleverly layered brass fanfares surrounded by darting woodwind lines that help keep the track swift-footed and full of energy. Given the soundtrack’s generally benign demeanour, it seems fitting that a cue like “The Ceremony” alternates between bucolic episodes and brassy heroism, never relinquishing its agility.

Even the battle tracks convince occasionally – and when they do, they can deliver spectacular results. “As a Knight” is the one composition that manages to translate the wealth of ideas found on the soundtrack’s best cues into the context of an action track, rather than presenting a succession of snappy, expertly arranged ostinato rhythms. That being said, one composition – “Venom Fang” – manages to pull off the latter approach. Its constantly choppy string rhythms, persistently gnawing in irregular patterns, charge the music with unsettling, nervy energy that is often lacking on the soundtrack’s other battle cues. Here’s to hoping Fujita and Fujima will receive further opportunities to develop their refreshing take on fantasy game score tropes.