After several chapters set in hi-tech worlds, Final Fantasy XVI (2023) has brought the players of the well-known JRPG franchise back to a classic (dark) fantasy setting, explicitly inspired by the European Middle Ages. Just like the developers were suggested to take inspiration from Game of Thrones, the main composer Masayoshi Soken was asked to adapt his usual style to the Hollywoodian conventions of music for fantasy cinema. But Final Fantasy XVI cannot be defined as a plain “pseudo-European” fantasy story, as it features a gradual shift towards narrative topics that are more typical of JRPGs and shōnen manga and anime – and I argue this passage from the West to the East is subtly reflected by the music as well. In this paper, I offer a thematic and topical analysis of some relevant compositions from the soundtrack of Final Fantasy XVI, to show how Soken and his fellow composers and arrangers have injected “foreign” (mainly electronic) musical elements in a generally symphonic context, thus evoking an idea of “otherness” that points in two directions: the (quite literally) alien spaces and characters that gradually become central in the story – which are musically accompanied by unexpected genre synecdoches; and the related “alien” narrative topics that are typical of JRPGs and anime and end up largely replacing the classic fantasy setting in the second half of the game – thus allowing into the music elements that betray the authenticity of the “Western(ised)” soundtrack, in favour of eclectic choices more typical of other Japanese media.

Brainwashing Soken: Symphonism and Otherness in the Music of Final Fantasy 16 / M. Merlini. ((Intervento presentato al 13. convegno Ludo2024: European Conference on Video Game Music and Sound : 11-13 luglio tenutosi a Mataró nel 2024.

Brainwashing Soken: Symphonism and Otherness in the Music of Final Fantasy 16.

M. Merlini
2024

Abstract

After several chapters set in hi-tech worlds, Final Fantasy XVI (2023) has brought the players of the well-known JRPG franchise back to a classic (dark) fantasy setting, explicitly inspired by the European Middle Ages. Just like the developers were suggested to take inspiration from Game of Thrones, the main composer Masayoshi Soken was asked to adapt his usual style to the Hollywoodian conventions of music for fantasy cinema. But Final Fantasy XVI cannot be defined as a plain “pseudo-European” fantasy story, as it features a gradual shift towards narrative topics that are more typical of JRPGs and shōnen manga and anime – and I argue this passage from the West to the East is subtly reflected by the music as well. In this paper, I offer a thematic and topical analysis of some relevant compositions from the soundtrack of Final Fantasy XVI, to show how Soken and his fellow composers and arrangers have injected “foreign” (mainly electronic) musical elements in a generally symphonic context, thus evoking an idea of “otherness” that points in two directions: the (quite literally) alien spaces and characters that gradually become central in the story – which are musically accompanied by unexpected genre synecdoches; and the related “alien” narrative topics that are typical of JRPGs and anime and end up largely replacing the classic fantasy setting in the second half of the game – thus allowing into the music elements that betray the authenticity of the “Western(ised)” soundtrack, in favour of eclectic choices more typical of other Japanese media.
lug-2024
Settore PEMM-01/C - Musicologia e storia della musica
https://www.ludomusicology.org/ludo2024/
Brainwashing Soken: Symphonism and Otherness in the Music of Final Fantasy 16 / M. Merlini. ((Intervento presentato al 13. convegno Ludo2024: European Conference on Video Game Music and Sound : 11-13 luglio tenutosi a Mataró nel 2024.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/1118854
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