A couple months ago, I put together a series of answers to some questions as part of a project at Extending the Fantasy. The project is essentially gathering the experiences and stories of video game music fans and performers through a sort of interview process. Her questions are in bold; my answers are unbolded:

1. When did you first hear of Final Fantasy? How old were you, and which games have you played? Can you recall any memories surrounding this time period, and what you felt while playing these games?

I first heard of the Final Fantasy series in high school, which was right around the turn of the millennium. At the time, I had just finished Chrono Trigger and was looking for another big Super Nintendo RPG to dive into, and FFVI turned out to be the winner. That became the first game I played through, which means I get to be a hipster and say I was into the series before VII made it mega-popular. I was probably 15 at the time. I remember thinking that the story was engaging and that the game’s lack of a true main character (even though there were several very important ones) was pretty interesting.

Since then, I’ve played VII, X, IX, four hours of VIII, most of XIII, and about half of XII, in that order. I’ve also played two of the Crystal Chronicles games and the first Dissidia. And both main Kingdom Hearts games, if we’re stretching things.

2. When you listen to Final Fantasy music, do you ever find yourself thinking back to these earlier times? (If so, what are some memories you recall? Are there any particular emotions that are made salient?

I’m a sucker for nostalgia, so absolutely. An easy example, and also a boring one because it’s likely that most gamers share it, is Aeris’s Theme from VII. That song and that moment are inexorably tied together. But it goes beyond just a simple link between a song and the moment that it played. Songs from FFVI and Chrono Trigger remind me that I played that game during one of the happier times in my life. Songs from X put me back in my freshman dorm in college, having friends walk in the open door and bring food to watch me play. Because I have a somewhat freakish memory, I can almost connect each song in a soundtrack I like to a particular place that resonates with me — for example, “Phantom Forest” from VI will always be linked with taking a road trip in college and driving through heavy snow, because that song was playing through the speakers at that time.

3. When you play video games (doesn’t just have to be FF), are you aware of the music? Do you listen to the music outside of the games?

I’ve got more than 30 GB of video game music in my collection now, which has been building up slowly over the last decade or so. Originally, when I was a teenager, I got my first computer: a hand-me-down piece of crap relic with a 100 MB hard drive. Yes, you read that correctly. So I started cataloging songs I liked in MIDI files from the Video Game Music Archive (vgmusic.com) because even though the songs didn’t sound quite right, the melodies (and thus the memories) were still intact. Eventually that spread to entire soundtracks on mp3s.

For me, I love to listen to music outside of games, but there has to be some context first; I generally don’t listen to a soundtrack from a game I haven’t played, because that in-game context is part of the appreciation. And while actually playing the game, I’m probably more cognizant of the music than most, to the point where an awful track is jarring to the experience.

4. Which FF tracks do you find yourself listening to the most, and why?

On a playlist I put together recently of the VGM tracks I wanted to hear the most, a handful of FF tracks (out of around 250 songs) made the cut as the creme de la creme. The aforementioned “Phantom Forest” is on there, as is “Devil’s Lab,” “Dancing Mad” and “Decisive Battle” from VI. “One-Winged Angel” and “Cosmo Canyon” are there from VII. “Battle Theme,” “Seymour Battle” and “To Zanarkand” from X. “Vamo’ Alla Flamenco” and “Boss Battle” from IX. Finally, there’s “The Extreme” and “The Man With the Machine Gun” from VIII, which is the exception to the rule in terms of having to hear it in the game first. From that list I’m sure you can glean that I usually lean toward battle themes because I like having faster-paced songs in the background when I’m working, but really the primary factor in me liking a song is usually strong melodies and harmonies and a full soundscape.

5. Have you ever been to a Distant Worlds concert? (if not, skip this question and the next few) If so, which one(s) did you attend? Why did you go, and what was your experience like? (if you could describe this as much as possible, that’d be great)

I haven’t had a chance to go to one of the Distant Worlds concerts, but I did attend the very first Dear Friends concert in the States, so I’ll describe that and hope it still helps.

Three friends and I made the seven-hour drive to California to attend the concert after being fortunate enough to hear about tickets being available before they sold out (I think they were gone within four days). Our seats were actually in the balcony above and behind the orchestra, looking out at the majority of the audience. It was a unique perspective and the sound quality was certainly acceptable from there.

This circle of friends shared my interest in video game music, even if they weren’t quite as enthusiastic. It was also an excuse for a mini-road trip and had the added bonus of being a symphony performance with tracks we all recognized. Some of the things I remember about the trip include our plan to kidnap Nobuo Uematsu and keep him trapped in the basement until he composed original tracks for us, begrudgingly (and quietly, given the setting) booing James Arnold Taylor when he came out as the MC because Tidus was kind of a douche, and being excited — albeit not surprised — when One-Winged Angel’s familiar opening drowned out the audience at the start of the encore.

My only regret from the entire process was not picking up one of the nifty art books they were selling at the venue. It was pricey — $25 or $30 if I remember correctly — but it was also high-quality and a neat collector’s item. Oh, and the fact that we didn’t manage to kidnap Uematsu was a little disappointing too.

6. At the Distant World concert(s) you attended, when you listened to the music, what went through your mind? Did you find yourself thinking back on your past experiences with the game? If so, what went through your mind?

Honestly, this was one of the rare times when my brain spent more time connecting the similarities between the bleeps and bloops of a song in the game and its changes in an orchestral setting than my past experiences. Since the pieces had to be adapted for a full symphony, there were differences in instrumentation and even slight variations in melody that grabbed my attention. If anything, the video screen they had showing clips of the games was more likely to get my mind thinking back of my times playing through those titles — I was too immersed in the concert itself to make the connection otherwise. And throughout it all, there was always that lingering thought like “man, how cool is it to see and hear these played in this setting?”

7. What is your concertgoing experience? What differences (besides the music) do you see between these video game concerts and other concerts, such as classical or pop or rock or whatever? Can you talk about the atmosphere or how you feel in this setting?

I have been to a handful of concerts in my life, and two of them were related to games: the Dear Friends concert and the recent Symphony of the Goddesses for Zelda when it came to Phoenix. As far as the differences between classical music in these settings versus a traditional setlist, the biggest difference is the audience. It’s hard for fans to contain their excitement when they hear their favorite songs, especially if they’re unfamiliar with the decorum that’s generally expected at the symphony. That’s not necessarily a negative, though; in some ways, it produces a unique vibe, an electricity that generates more excitement in the venue. And the concert organizers seem to be aware of this: at Dear Friends, James Arnold Taylor played to the crowd and Nobuo Uematsu received a huge ovation when he came up to the conductor’s stage; and at Zelda’s SotG, the MC for the night made several jokes catered toward fans of the series, and they played three encores just to get the crowd more and more excited.

As far as the comparison between game concerts and, say, a rock concert, one of the prevailing similarities goes back to what I mentioned before: the crowd’s familiarity and love for their favorite tracks. The reaction at Dear Friends when the attendees recognized Terra’s Theme was similar to what you’d hear at a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert when the opening guitar riff for Californication plays, for example. It all boils down to a similar love for music that easily transcends categories and barriers.

8. Have you ever experienced chills or moments of transcendence while listening to Final Fantasy music? If so, can you describe them to me? (what piece, what you were doing at the time, if this is normal for you, etc)

Again, cookie cutter answer though it may be, Aeris’s Theme is an easy example. It might not be the manliest thing to say, but that scene almost made me cry, and the music is partly responsible for that. The Dear Friends concert actually had a number of those moments, but they were more of the “holy crap, listen to how good this sounds — and it’s like 30 feet away from me!” variety, especially during Liberi Fatali, To Zanarkand and One-Winged Angel.

9. Do you have a preference for the older, original tunes, or remixed/orchestra versions? When you listen to new remixes or concert renditions of these pieces, do you find yourself enjoying these versions more than the old? Vice versa?

It depends, really. By default, I’m probably more partial to the originals, especially from the older games. But it’s also fun to hear updated versions of those tracks that take advantage of those great melodies with all the advantages of full instrumentation. I’m much more of a fan of covers (pieces that stay close to the original and essentially update the sound quality or instruments) than full-on reinterpretations (like those at OCRemix, if you’re familiar with them).

As an example, I love all four parts of the original Dancing Mad from VI. But the version they performed at Distant Worlds II has probably been my favorite ever since I heard it for the first time, especially the end of the fourth part. Conversely, there have been a ton of versions of One-Winged Angel, but the original is probably still the best in my book — any version that skips the bridge that starts at around the 2:13 mark in the original (I’m looking at you, Kingdom Hearts) just isn’t as good. The Advent Children version’s pretty neat, though, with its new part mixed in with the rest of the iconic theme. So really, it differs from track to track.

10. Anything else you’d like to say or elaborate upon?

I dunno how many words deep I am at this point, but I think I’ll leave it at that for now.

Music to My Ears covers soundtracks or individual songs from video games on a recurring basis, which is basically whenever Chris gets around to writing it. You can view all posts in the series by clicking here.