Final Fantasy 7 Remake Team Explains How They Reworked The Game's Iconic Soundtrack

There are few tunes in gaming more iconic than Final Fantasy VII's "The Prelude," and the new Final Fantasy VII Remake, which speaks to the immense and difficult task of adapting the soundtrack for modern audiences. Episode 4 of the excellent Inside Final Fantasy VII Remake video series is all about the soundtrack, explaining how Nobuo Uematsu's music has been reworked for the Remake.

Inside Final Fantasy VII Remake

• Episode 1: Introduction
• Episode 2: Story and Characters
• Episode 3: Combat and Gameplay

When work on the remake began, producer Yoshinori Kitase put together a video of all the events in the game, set to the music from the original PlayStation release. It outlined his vision for the game, but co-director Motomu Toriyama decided that a modern approach was called for. The game thus has a dynamic soundtrack, where the music dynamically shifts.

Keiji Kawamori talks about how the music on the soundtrack needed to be repurposed for different scenarios, depending on the tensions and intent of each scene, and composer Mitsuto Suzuki talks about how interactive music is becoming more popular, and how it works in this new game. In some scenes, three versions of a track are playing in parallel, and the game crossfades between them depending on what the action calls for. "It's like a really top-class DJ performance," Suzuki says.

Aerith's theme used multiple times in different ways throughout the game now, and its sound changes a bit depending on context. There was a lot of pressure in adding new music because the original soundtrack was so good, the teams say, and because there's dialog in cutscenes to consider now.

Uematsu wrote a single track for the game, too--it's called Hollow, and it's the game's theme. Beyond this, the composers did not want to copy his original score too much with their new arrangements.

The video also delves into some cool behind-the-scenes insights into how AI generates sound effects, and you can see Cloud running around with a bunch of code spilling out of him that dictates the sounds he makes. It's a cool, unusual insight into the making of Final Fantasy VII Remake.

According to GameSpot's 10/10 review of Final Fantasy VII Remake--only the 18th 10/10 in the site's history--Tamoor Hussain wrote: "The wait for its release was a long one, but in gameplay, story, characters, and music, it delivers--the wait was worth it." Final Fantasy VII Remake releases April 10, and is exclusive to PlayStation 4 for one year.