Final Fantasy IV: Echoes of Betrayal, Light of Redemption

You have to go back to 2003 to find OC Remix’s first ever fan arranged album. That album was called ‘Super Metroid: Relics of the Chozo’. Who would have thought that 6 years from then we would have the pleasure of enjoying 13 other similar albums! It truly is outstanding work by a community powered simply by the love of video game music.

Sonic fans have been lucky enough to see two of their greatest loved games OST’s represented in this way by OC Remix. Now Final Fantasy fans get the privilege of bringing their number of arrangements from the community up to two with the addition of ‘Final Fantasy IV: Echoes of Betrayal, Light of Redemption‘.

Final Fantasy IV: Echoes of Betrayal, Light of Redemption is a massive fan-made arrangement album of Nobuo Uematsu’s classic video game soundtrack through a musically re-imagining of the story told in a 3 act format. The three acts are titled as follows; Betrayal, Strife, and Redemption. The discs correspond with the drama of the story and the tracks are arranged as a narrative, culminating in the two-part finale of act three. The musical style of the project is best classified as a rock opera, but a variety of genres are represented in the album, enhancing the breadth of the original score.

Andrew Luers, head coordinator and co-creator of the project, states:

It’s been a pleasure to work with so many excellent musicians who all share a similar passion for the original soundtrack. This is a fantastic album, and I’m incredibly excited to share our team’s hard work, dedication, and most of all talent with the Final Fantasy music fans around the world.

More than thirty-three artists participated in honoring Uematsu’s famous FF:IV music. The end result is over three hours of quality filled remix tracks. For a taster of what to expect Jay Yaskin (a composer from this arrangement, featured on 9 of the 46 tracks) describes the arrangement of the track ‘Rydia’ for us:

Playful and innocent, this jazzy piano and guitar backed arrangement of “Rydia” features a lively melodica performance that captures the feeling of carefree village life that existed before the events of the story were set in motion. Brushed drums and upright bass keep the rhythm locked in as a round of improvisation occurs, with each soloist bringing a colorful and inspired addition to a festive atmosphere.

Find the official website for the project @ http://ff4.ocremix.org. Thanks to Jay Yaskin (Audio Fidelity) for the tip.

NOTE: Unfortunately it seems that the projects link to the torrent is broken at the moment. I will update if I hear anything on this.