Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, scheduled for release on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 by developer Square Enix later this year, features an original score by the three musicians responsible for the soundtrack to Final Fantasy XIII-2.  We caught up with Masashi Hamauzu, Naoshi Mizuta and Mitsuto Suzuki to hear their thoughts on composing for the Lightning Saga, in anticipation of the final entry in the trilogy.

Final Fantasy XIII composer Masashi Hamauzu and vocalist Mina of Imeruat

1UP:  Your music compositions for Final Fantasy XIII-2 appear during Lightning's storyline, setting the thematic tone for the character.  Do you follow a particular approach in these instances when you are writing music for a specific character?

Masashi Hamauzu:  Writing a protagonist's music theme based solely on details like the look of their character illustrations or what I know of their personality can be limiting.  That amounts to their being represented on a surface level. 

There is the option of considering the environments they explore, the way their character arc progresses, how their interpersonal relationships evolve over time.  If I were to choose not to represent the character in such depth, I would risk emotional detachment.  It would hinder my own ability to be deeply involved in the musical theme, not to mention the listener's. 

For instance, "Prelude to Final Fantasy XIII" recurs as a motif within "Vanille's Theme."  This is a reflection of Vanille's role as a narrator, the way her most memorable scenes are pivotal moments in the unfolding of the story.  In my own thinking I came to view Vanille's theme and the Prelude as thematically related.  Had I focused too narrowly on setting the scene, this idea would not have occurred to me.  

1UP:   Your Imeruat concerts with vocalist Mina have included a selection of songs from Final Fantasy XIII, as well as original songs from your studio album Black Ocean.  Do you view the formation of Imeruat as a pioneering step for you as a musician?

MH:  As you might expect, the task of coming up with a concept from scratch is largely different from composing based on a request.  In that sense, this is something new, though not necessarily pioneering.  It has allowed me to explore creative areas that I have been thinking about for years. 

1UP:   Recently you have spent time outside of Japan, performing in France and Poland, while also composing in Switzerland.  How has traveling influenced your music for Lightning Returns?

MH:  It's difficult to say for certain.  The creative process is affected by chance encounters and new ideas all the time.  Knowing how exactly my activities overseas have impacted the score for Lightning Returns is hard to pin down.  I was in Switzerland while writing the theme for the trailer, so it might somehow contain some markings of that locale. 

Naoshi Mizuta, Final Fantasy XI series composer

1UP:  When you set out to write music for the Final Fantasy XIII series, what was guiding your approach to the style of composition?

Naoshi Mizuta: In the beginning stages of writing music for Final Fantasy XIII-2, director Motomu Toriyama requested that I break from tradition.  The challenge was to write something fresh sounding. 

I think that everyone familiar with the series has been left with a strong impression of Nobuo Uematsu's distinctive sound. Here, it was advised that my compositions not carry that familiar "Final Fantasy" feeling, but to try and surprise the listener with a tone for Final Fantasy XIII-2 that was unexpected.

1UP:  Was this then counter to your intentions for the score to Final Fantasy Dimensions?

NM:  Yes, you could say that Final Fantasy Dimensions represents the opposite end of the spectrum from Final Fantasy XIII-2.  There the background music was intended to preserve the time-honored traditions of the Final Fantasy series.

1UP:  At the Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary ceremonies announcing Lightning Returns, your band Nanaa Mihgo's performed acoustic arrangements of music from Final Fantasy XI.  Do you consider instrumentation styles useful in lending each Final Fantasy game a unique sound?

NM:  Having written music for Final Fantasy XI for this many years, an acoustic quality has emerged as the prevailing style. By contrast, when it came to Final Fantasy XIII-2, the selection of instruments was broadened to include synthesizer-based tracks and rock songs, as well as vocal pieces and techno.

It's not that I've resisted switching things up until now. There just didn't seem to be the need for so many miscellaneous genres in composing for Final Fantasy XI. That said, it was a lot of fun to go out on a limb and try something new.

1UP:  When you speak of Final Fantasy XIII-2 as breaking from the past, one instance is in vocal tracks appearing during gameplay sequences. Were there important considerations to bear in mind in these cases?

NM:  It's true that Final Fantasy XIII-2 has more vocal tracks than any previous title in the series, and that is one way in which we sought to break new ground. That meant lyrics needed to sit in the mix in a way that didn't distract from play. Vocals were going to be audible even during dialog sequences, so it was important for these multilayered elements of the sound design not to conflict with each other.

At the same time, in terms of my duties as a composer, I didn't concern myself too much with this issue. Above all, my priority was on creating an enjoyable atmosphere.

1UP:  Was there a particular vocal style that you felt would be appropriate to songs appearing in the game?

NM:  While we were looking to include a fair number of songs, it had not been decided from the start who would do the singing. In fact, while we were still conducting our search I resorted to asking people around the office to get in front of the mike and temp for demos.

We heard about Joelle from an agency we were working with, and Toriyama-san spent time listening to her sample tracks before she was asked to help us record. KOKIA had a style to her voice that sounded perfect for a particular song that I was working on, but I knew her only from videos that I had seen online.  Emailing her made for an abrupt introduction, seeing as we had never met in person, but she was up for taking part in recording for the game.

1UP:   Concerning the vocal tracks, "Unseen Intruder" was modified for the English-language localization. Was there something about the song that was deemed inappropriate for release outside of Japan?

NM:  There was some playtesting done during localization, where it was mentioned that the rapping sounded strange. We asked the North American localization team, but the results were inconclusive. I talked it over with the director and we decided to remove the vocals and replace them with a synthesizer track for the overseas release. You know, I'm curious, what were your impressions of these lyrics?

1UP:   There didn't seem to be anything out of place that I noticed.

NM:  Oh really? That's surprising to hear.

1UP:   I'm curious how this approach to modifying compositions relates to the way "normal mixes" and "aggressive mixes" are differentiated in the Final Fantasy XIII-2 score, an example of responsive audio in the game.

NM:  In this case all of the normal mixes were composed in advance of the aggressive mixes. Originally, the aggressive mixes were planned to appear during Archylte Steppe battles. But we wound up experimenting with placing both mixes next to each other in the same timeline, so that you could switch between them seamlessly in real time.

The aggressive mix kicks in when you are in the middle of an encounter, adding instrumental layers or percussive elements to heighten the intensity. Because this device was tied to time travel, a science fiction kind of sound felt natural enough, by contrast to "fantasy." Overall, I think the experiment with separate mixes turned out to be rather interesting.

1UP:   Did you find it was a worthwhile experience to be working with the other two composers over the course of development?

NM:  It was a very positive experience. Although it was not a straightforward collaboration, there were one or two instances where I passed the files for a completed music track to Suzuki-san and he arranged a variation. This was a lot of fun, and had there been more time I would have liked to do more of it.

Mitsuto Suzuki, Final Fantasy XIII-2 co-composer

1UP:   In collaborating with vocalists on songs for Final Fantasy XIII-2, what interested you in working with Origa, whose music is featured in the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex anime series?

Mitsuto Suzuki:  For one there is the quality of her voice, and then there is the surprising interpretation of the melody that she brings to the recording process.  I had anticipated that she would come prepared with ideas, but the power of her imagination went beyond my expectations. Origa worked with us both on the melody line and chorus segments, which she layers in a unique way.  I knew her fans would have a lot to look forward to.

1UP:   Another vocal track, the crazy chocobo theme, takes a familiar melody in a surprising new direction. How did it come about that Shawn McPherson became involved in the making of this song?

MS:  During development on the game, Toriyama-san informed me that in addition to the standard chocobo theme we would need something for a chocobo that was crazy difficult to tame. He said, "Wouldn't it be fun if the theme were death metal?"

Shawn was working with me as a vocalist, and I realized he had just the guitar skills we needed.   All I gave him to go on was "death metal," and the results he sent my way were pure Shawn. All that was left was for the melody line to be accentuated further for it to be recognizable as the chocobo theme.  By way of clarification I recorded a one-minute riff on the melody and sent it to him.

A response came the next day, and I discovered he had painstakingly duplicated the guitar track exactly as I had recorded it. It wasn't necessary to replicate every nuanced detail exactly, but he insisted. "I like this timing," he said. "It sounds crazy!" I presented that track to Toriyama and the design team, and they really liked how it had turned out.  It was unlike any version of the chocobo theme they had heard before.

1UP:   With the vocal tracks appearing during all kinds of gameplay situations, were you ever concerned that the lyrics would distract the player from the spoken dialog?

MS:  From the standpoint of creating an enjoyable game, I don't see there being conflicts with having vocal tracks appearing within event scenes. What you might want to be careful about is having the lyrics bear some relationship to the dramatic intention of the game.

This was something we really paid very close attention to in Final Fantasy XIII-2. Compared with pop songs, a game score needs to leave room for dialog and sound effects, which makes it necessary for vocals to be more understated. It's a case-by-case kind of situation, but I try to create a delicate balance between these elements of the audio. That extended to several songs where there are vocals in the first verse, a chorus and a bridge, then a second verse without vocals present. I intentionally removed the lyrics from certain passages to increase the sense of variety.

1UP:   Masashi Hamauzu has published his own studio album, and you have joined in live performances of these songs. Was this collaboration something that had been in the works during the development of Final Fantasy XIII?

MS:  Of course I was aware that Hamauzu-san had been working on the project since he founded his own studio. At the wrap party for Final Fantasy XIII we spoke about working together again if the opportunity arose, whether it were game-related or something new. I told him I would be up for it anytime.  Last year he contacted me and asked if I would join the live event he was planning alongside the album. I accepted right away, as it seemed that the opportunity we had spoken about during the wrap party had come full circle.

Interview and photographs by Jeriaska.  English translation by Yoshi Miyamoto, and French translation by Jérémie Kermarrec. This article is available in French on Musica Ludi and in Japanese on jeriaska.com. Screens courtesy of Square Enix.