If you've ever watched YouTube sensation lo-fi beats to study/relax to and wished all the music was based on classic Final Fantasy tunes, this is the album for you. Square Enix recently added a bunch of new albums to Spotify, including the excellent Final Fantasy VII Remake soundtrack (PC version when?) and, best of all, Square Enix Chill Out Arrangement Tracks - Around '80s Mix, a collection of vibey, laid back remixes of Final Fantasy music.
"Introducing new chill-out arrangements of music from Square Enix’s popular game titles," reads the album's official description. "This album features a selection of classic tracks, mainly taken from Squaresoft’s 1980s releases, such as Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy Legend, Final Fantasy Legend II, Final Fantasy Legend III, and Final Fantasy Adventure."
"These arrangements have been produced by a wide variety of domestic and foreign talent, such as global trendsetter, DJ favourite, and treasure of New Zealand: Lord Echo, Ovall’s Shingo Suzuki, and Shingo Sekiguchi from Origami Production, both well-known from Seki Jam, and London keyboardist and pianist Chris Gulino, who also works as director for Kylie Minogue and Brian Ferry, as well as many more."
I've been listening to it all afternoon, and I can confirm that it has made me extremely chilled out. Epilogue, The Tranquil Earth, and Chocobo Theme are my personal favourites. Square Enix has always done great themed soundtrack releases, notably the many Piano Collections albums (Blue Fields still gets me), and this is a nice modern twist on the concept.
Final Fantasy 14's latest raids have me fully convinced that Square Enix can still cook, even as job design lags behind
Old armor continues to fall victim to Final Fantasy 14's bizarre two-channel dye system, unless you're super into changing the colour of teeny-tiny eyelets: 'Why even bother at this point?'
