Stefan Betke

First of all, if you understand the title, then I bow my head to you in defeat.

Second of all, turns out I had that poll up for a reason. You remember, the "Most Deserving Final Fantasy" for a musical or whatever I called it? Well... let's see what we got.

Final Fantasy X lost. Bad.  Not for any fault of Hedy Burgess.

If I recall correctly, Final Fantasy VII and VIII were tied for third, followed by a nice attempt by Final Fantasy VI (because Kefka rules all.)

Which leaves... oh. Well, fancy that!

FINAL FANTASY IX

Which means in honor of that poll result, I'm going to do something I've never done before.  Something brash.  Something daring!  Something EXTREME.

Final Fantasy IX: The Soundtrack

ACT I

1. Skies of Alexandria [Garnet, Zidane]

-An opening number begun by Garnet, picked up by Zidane, following the storm dream.   Garnet opens the window to her castle and sings about how beautiful the skies are and how she'd like to one day fly herself.  Zidane, sitting on the deck of the Prima Vista, sings about how great it is to fly in the sky, adventuring and all that.  They begin to sing with eachother without knowing.  A good, clean, upbeat opening number.

2. Follow Me [Puck, Vivi, Alexandrian Citizens?]

-A really upbeat, kinda rockish, kinda spunky song sung primarily by Puck, leading the disheartened Vivi around the town of Alexandria and mingling with its citizens (often just getting in their way.)  Puck, while being a somewhat tyrannical leader, becomes Vivi's first friend, and leads him to the start of his greatest adventure ever.

3. Trouble We Are In! [Zorn, Thorn, Steiner]

-Starts out with Zorn and Thorn popping in and out of the castle, looking everywhere for Garnet and generally just freaking out about where to find her.  They eventually appeal to Beatrix, who appeals to Brahne, who decides against her better judgment to send Steiner.  Steiner grandly accepts, and while Zorn and Thorn offer some backup vocals to their original melody, Steiner takes up lead vocals on his search, as they all bumble about and make fools of themselves.

4. Canary Finale [Zidane, Garnet, Vivi, Steiner, Brahne, Zorn, Thorn, Baku, Blank, Marcus, Cinna]

-A somewhat more elaborate number with the whole gang after Steiner is defeated and everyone is raised to the stage.  The final scene takes place, and then Tantalus tries to make their escape, being somewhat thwarted by Brahne (the bomb battle can be much shorter) and the crew crash in the Evil Forest.  If Brahne doesn't hit a soprano high C when firing the harpoons at the Prima Vista, I won't be happy.

5. Trance [Zidane, Steiner, Garnet?, Vivi?]

-The plant cages come and capture Garnet and Vivi.  Zidane goes into trance, freeing the two (I know that's not exactly how it happens, but for the sake of time...).  A short song, heavy rock influence, Zidane taking the lead and blasting the Plant Cages away.  Garnet is then captured, Vivi and Steiner wounded.  Zidane takes them back to the ship.

6. Brotherhood (Or, She's Just a Girl) [Baku, Blank, Zidane]

-Why did I want to call this song bros before... well, you know.  Zidane wants to save Garnet and continue to Lindblum, but Baku and Blank would rather he stick with his bros and help Tantalus.  Zidane counters them both and eventually Baku lets him pass.  Blank dissents, but Baku shuts him up.  After Zidane leaves with Vivi and Steiner, Baku sings a final verse to Blank about watching over Zidane.  Should have a rock edge, and be chock full of character conflict.

7. Brotherhood (Reprise) [Zidane, Garnet, Vivi?, Steiner?]

-Zidane sings a little reprise of the last song he sang with Blank, supplemented by Garnet's attempts at consoling him.  A much more mellow version of the preceding song.  The gang decide that they must continue on to Lindblum, through the Ice Cavern.

8. Waltz of Discord (or something.) [Zidane, Black Waltz 1, Zorn?, Thorn?]

-In the Ice Cavern, Zidane confronts the 1st Black Waltz.  Think Thenardier's Waltz of Treachery from Les Miserables.  The accompaniment should have dissonant violins, bells, and things that sound generally creepy (and they beat must be 3/4 or else!)  I haven't decided if the final stanza should be sung by Zorn and Thorn's disembodied voices warning Zidane of the other two Waltzes to come.

...this is harder than I thought.  Well, it's a work in progress, at least.  Tell me what you thought.  Any ideas for things I missed?  Things I should change?  Things to add later?  Tell me!

Eekum-Bokum

I have a feeling that the updates are gonna be pretty barebones over the next week or so, I have a lot of work I need to do/catch up on. So, I apologize for the last week of less-than-stellar updates, and apologize for the next.



"Breezy" from Final Fantasy VIII. Just a mellow tune to kick things off. Really beautiful, but relaxing.



"Rusty Bucket Bay" from Banjo Kazooie. Wow, who remembers this gem of a game? And don't you dare mention Nuts and Bolts to me.



"Aquanet" from Bomberman 64: The Second Attack. This game was so epic, and I spent many hours in fourth grade trying to get the ending where I beat the devil boss. I never did.

Hm. We need more visitors.

Knowledge is Power?

Well, my excuse tonight is that I saw a production of Chess and also spent too much time preparing for my NYU audition on Tuesday... so you're gonna get two cop-out days in a row, basically.  This one is Chess themed though.  Sorry to disappoint!

(Sung by Josh Groban. Oh, how I love him)

Well, at least I sort of expanded your horizons tonight. And that's the most valuable thing of all.

HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH

Skipping Zidane like the coward I am, we are brought to our whistling hero, Tidus [Final Fantasy X]

Tidus doesn't have much opportunity to go off by himself and sing a solo, due largely to the fact that he depends on the others in his group because he is so confused about what's going on all the time (I suppose I would be too if I fell into an alternate reality).  However, I think in my weary sleepiness I have come up with an idea.

Tidus' theme in my opinion contradicts his original character.  His original character is lively, outgoing, and somewhat juvenile.  Yet, his character theme is mature, somber, and sorrowful.  Why the transition?  Where does this transition happen?  My personal answer is that it begins in the Macalania Woods.

After destroying that weird Jello monster (or Spherimorph, for the purists in the room), Tidus receives the first "Jecht Sphere," which is our first glimpse of Jecht in a state of maturity and acceptance of his state.  Obviously, this is the first we see of Jecht that isn't recollected by the biased mind of the spurned Tidus, and Tidus' own journey mirrors that of Jecht's, going from carefree to mature on the way to defeat Sin.

This side of his father is far different than the drunken chauvenist that Tidus knew as a child, so it must be kind of a wake-up call for him.  Anyway, I see Tidus watching the sphere, and then asking to be left alone, making a couple off-hand remarks about how he still "hates his old man."  The group leaves, leaving Tidus in those sparkly woods alone with the sphere of his father.  He begins to sing about his confusion, his stress, his anger, and all of his other various emotions directed at an absent father, having been dropped from his "normal" world and into an alternate reality where he knows no one and his entire life apparently happened a millenium ago.  Naturally, when I talk about it this way, the first song that comes to mind is this:

I feel like linking all these videos instead of thinking of any lyrics or melodies for myself is kind of a cop-out... but they explain the audial aesthetic far better than I could by myself.

Basically, Tidus' soliloquoy is a cathartic outburst in which he finally comes to terms with the fact that he doesn't know what's going on, but he's on a mission, and that's about all he has to cling to for now.  He finally matures in almost exact fashion, while probably unintentionally, as his father.  What this also does that helps for the flow of the piece is that it's a little additional character development, and this added boost of maturity would likely give him the inner drive to confront Yuna and have their whole "Suteki Da Ne" underwater romance thing going on.

But I still hate Hedy Burgess's performance.

It's Still the Word

Today I had a rather interesting brainstorm, and decided to kind of change a plot aesthetic of Final Fantasy VII in order to get this new idea.  It'd be a kind of "quasi-opening number" following the bombing mission and some generic Cloud/Aerith song.  Have you guessed what I'm talking about yet?

Yes, indeed, the characters I'm going to give a song to are the Slum Residents of Sector 7.  That's new, huh?

Basically, Barret and the AV ALANCE crew just successfully blew up a Mako reactor with the immense help to "Ex-SOLDIER" Cloud Strife.  However, Cloud is likely new to the slums.  I don't know if this would be his first time in the slums, but definitely his first time after the energy of a successful bombing mission, so adrenaline has to be pumping.  Keep this kind of sound in your head as I go on...

(And I'm secretly sorry for posting a song from Grease, but I like this one, and it's the closest thing I could think of for the sound I'm aiming for.)

I see this song beginning on the train in the way back.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there some kind of siren they pass through in a security checkpoint?  This isn't the time they get caught with the fake IDs, but there's still a siren, I think.  I want that to begin the song, just a pulsing siren beat to start off the tempo of the song, then the introduction of guitar and drums as the siren fuels Barret's adrenaline and energy, from his already amped state of blowing up the reactor, and he begins to, for lack of a better term, rally the slums into song.  He's got a lot to say about Midgar's current state, and others begin to join him: Jessie, Biggs and Wedge at first, followed eventually by the entirety of Sector 7's inhabitants.

Barret would start the song out with this siren beat, followed by the instrument lead-in, and have a verse to himself talking about how the slums are a mess, leading Cloud through the Sector 7 area from the train station, and other slum residents would begin to follow suit, answering Barret's anger with anger of their own.  No one is satisfied with their condition, and rather than have a quiet opening following the bombing mission, I think this is the perfect way to really get the audience ingrained in the world of Midgar after a somewhat confusing and muddled opening with the bombing and meeting Aerith.

This can be seen somewhat as Cloud's "induction" to the slum society.  He hasn't been around for too long, and this event is probably somewhat common, while being new to the "inexperienced" Cloud.  It would be a very driving beat like the song above with everyone kind of "rocking out" to how much they hate the current social establishment, Shinra, and their economic condition.  So, led by Barret, Jessie, Biggs and Wedge, Cloud is swept into this grungy world of the Sector 7 slums, after his initiation of his first successful mercenary mission, greeted with this song of invoked induction.

Yikes.  I hope you guys followed all that, haha.  It's ultimately a way to grasp the audience by the face and drag them into the dirt and grime of the slums.  Agree?  Disagree?

(Also, don't forget to scroll down to see yesterday's lost post.)

Bujururururu!

HELLO-WELCOME-BACK-TO-THE-BLOG

TODAY'S-POST-IS-ABOUT-NORG [FINAL FANTASY VIII]

Get it?  Form as it relates to content.  Eh, it was worth a shot...

(Oh, and sorry for the late post.  This was ready last night, but I fell asleep before I pressed "Publish"...  So you get two today, technically)

Ok, NORG is what is called a "Shumi," a strange, somewhat anthropomorphic being who is the financial owner of Balamb Garden.  However, because he owns the Garden, he becomes quickly obsessed with it and its upkeep.  In fact, he even orders the assassination of the Sorceress Edea to make sure that he maintains full control of the Garden.  Basically, he's a little maniacal and more than a little obsessive.

The Shumi are an incredibly adaptable species, and are said to have forms that reflect their personalities, which explains NORG's large nose and obese frame, showing him as somewhat miserly and hooknosed in dealings, as well as gluttonous and indulgent.

His song, "Heresy," can be seen here:

I think this song is perfect for NORG's descent into madness in the game, but I also want to keep it in step with the kind of grunge/rock feel that FF8's environment delivers.  I feel the organ is great for an intro and NORG begins to sing deeply (voice, not emotion) about how the Garden belongs to him and no one else, and as Squall and Co. continue to reject his ideas, the music becomes less refined organ playing and more distorted guitars and bass, heavy drums, signaling the transition from a "normal" NORG to further spiraling into madness over his obsession with the well-being of the Garden.

As I said earlier, I think NORG should have a deep, resounding voice.  I understand how there might be an interpretation to have NORG with a somewhat squeaky, pathetic voice, but for the purpose of the threatening nature of his song as he becomes madder and madder with somewhat of a hero complex, I don't think that a squeaky, high voice would match the instrumental effect.  As the stakes of the battle become higher and higher, the guitar and bass should get more and more distorted, the pulse of the drums should drive more.  Just overall the music should amp up more (not necessarily in volume, but in feeling).  Then, finally, the battle is won.  Song over.

THANK-YOU-FOR-READING-MY-POST.

COME-BACK-LATER-TONIGHT.

(See ya!)

Why Did Constantinople Get the Works?

We know them, we love them, they're The Turks [Final Fantasy VII].  Oh, sorry for another FF7 update, I just realized, haha.

The Turks are a specialized unit in Shinra under the direct jurisdiction of Heidegger (who is an unstoppable force of awesome).  Their primary purpose is to "recruit" members for SOLDIER, and if they need to use force to do so, so be it.

Their theme is here, for future reference:

That song obviously means the Turks mean business.  However, the members we meet in the Turks are all someone inept at what they do.  It's a little paradoxical: they're experts at getting the job done, but they're not so great at doing it efficiently.  For instance, Elena, a female member, can't seem to talk to Cloud's party without accidentally rattling off vital details of their plan, just as Reno is simply uncaring and apathetic towards anyone's plight.  He is known to not care at all for the Turks when off duty.

That being said, while the Turks mean business, the members we meet are decidedly human, and while they have to get the job done, they also have shreds of humanity and dignity in them, as evidenced when they team up with Cloud's party to save Elena and Yuffie, or when they are in a last ditch effort to save the citizens of Shinra.

But my ramblings aren't as important as the substance, so take a listen to this song.

This song depicts a kind of bitter, jaded, cynical outlook perfect for members such as Reno, and those he has an influence on such as Rude.  Even Tseng, who blatantly disregards Shinra's orders when it suits him.  This song is another example of a multifaceted song due to it really seeming like it could be a mocking condescension when sung smugly toward Cloud and the gang, or a real honest moment of admitted world-weariness, such as when Reno tells the group that he really has no interest in fighting them; that it's useless to do so.

I assure you that I'll have more in-depth posts for various members of the Turks to come (especially Reno, dude.  He's awesome), but this is a pretty good generalization for now.