In the end, I don’t know if the score’s flaws can be traced back to the game’s design, its troubled production or Shimomura herself, but the final product, while okay, is definitely not the masterpiece I was hoping it would be. Reports that the game had switched directors and development teams had me worried that this would have drastic consequences for the score as well. As the days turned to years, the music became the sole reason I occasionally kept an eye on the game’s increasingly troubled development.

This was going to represent the maturation of Shimomura’s style. I was hungry for more and couldn’t wait until the game was released. That solemn piano intro, Andrea Hopkins’ exquisite vocals and Kaoru Wada’s orchestration swept me off my feet. On that day, fiv- I mean, ten years ago, I heard Yoko Shimomura’s “Somnus” for the first time.

Square Enix Music (Japan) Sony Classical (International)