Final Fantasy XIII-2 - Eternal Fight (MP4;H.264;AAC)

Final Fantasy XIII-2 Original Soundtrack
Composed by Masashi Hamauzu, Naoshi Mizuta, Mitsuto Suzuki, Yoshitaka Suzuki & Nobuo Uematsu

Track: Eternal Fight / Eternal War
Composed & Arranged by: Masashi Hamauzu

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Final Fantasy XIII-2 Original Soundtrack Liner Notes (translation: Ben Schweitzer - Square Enix Music Online)

Q: Can you tell us about how you go about composition, what you do when you find yourself stuck, and so forth?

Masashi Hamauzu: Nothing special. My primary motivations for composing are things like my feelings at a given time, or deadlines (laughs). I have been storing up ideas since I was in my teens, so it comes to me that this piece goes with this scene. When a piece is finally born, it feels like a little child of my own, so I fill it with character, all of these little bits of mischief in the harmony and chords. If I didn't, I would feel bad for it (laughs)

Q: As this game was the sequel to Final Fantasy XIII, which you composed, which parts carried over from the original?

Masashi Hamauzu: None consciously, but while I was composing some appeared naturally... The world view carried over from the previous game, so certain its motifs crept into the music at points. When I compose, all of the pieces in a single game are related to each other. There may be pop or rock in the score, but they aren't completely separate pieces, and they will have some of the same motifs as the rest. In Final Fantasy, characters reappear over time, and I'll take a bit of a motif from a game I composed for, and add the briefest of references to it. There are a number of such places in XIII-2, but I suspect that out of a million people only two or three will recognize the oldest of them.

Q: Could you give us a bit of the inside story behind some of the music here?

Masashi Hamauzu: Final Fantasy XIII's "Blinded By Light" was fortunate enough to be quite well received, but as its composition had taken a good deal of effort and planning, I was afraid that it would be difficult to write something at the same level again. I couldn't simply replicate the original, but if I took it in a new direction, there would be no way it could surpass the original. While I was wondering what to do, [the director] Toriyama-san told me "I want you to write a music that sends a message, like Japan is rising up energetically." When I heard that, a melody popped into my head in about ten seconds. I thought, "let's end this meeting quickly so I can write!" (laughs) So "Warrior of the Goddess" was finished without difficulty, and it was relatively well-received when it showed up in the trailer.

Q: Did you feel pressured by the first game's good reception?

Masashi Hamauzu: "Blinded by Light" was very polished, and I felt that it would be impossible to compose music that surpassed it. But I felt I could equal it, and personally, I thought that that was a more comforting direction to go.

Q: Can you tell us what to listen for overall?

Masashi Hamauzu: Last time I was the only one in charge, but we're not yet at the point where I can take time to listen through the whole score. I will say, though, that I've worked with Mizuta-san and Suzuki-san for a long time, and I know them quite well. They're both very talented individuals. There are differences in our music, but when it is put into the game, mysteriously it sounds completely coherent. I think it gives the game another layer of depth.

Q: Finally, a message for Final Fantasy fans.

Masashi Hamauzu: This time, I created all of my tracks by myself, orchestration included. They are composed as if drawn from the bottom of the earth, as if they overflowed with power, so I hope that you feel something similar.