Square Enix Cuts Sound Team

[ultimasupersaiyan]

It's the Square-Enix garage sale! Everything must GO! Sound teams, game quality, THE LOT!

Nah but seriously this seems like a stupid thing for them to do. Granted it will save money on production cost, but it may end up doing some serious damage to the feel and presentation of some games. Although I do have to admit that them relying more on Nobou Uemetsu does sound good since all my favourite Squaresoft and every Mistwalker games. Only time will tell I suppose.

 

[Hybridwolf]

Well so long as it has Nobuo I'm not concerned.

Uematsu left them a few years ago and is independent now. He is coming back to do FF14 though as he still enjoys working with SE. They didn't part on bad terms, Nobuo left because he didn't like working in the city.

Ah, I know he left, I just want him to make the music. Last J-RPG I played was lost odessy, and say what you want about the game, the music was awesome.

 

[Proteus214]

Oh thank god Nobuo Uematsu isn't on that list.

 

[LeonLethality]

Tsuyoshi Sekito?! NOOOOO!

oh well square has good tastes in music and have had many games with different composers that sounded great so if this means even more variety I welcome it.

Oh thank god Nobuo Uematsu isn't on that list.

Uh he left square in 2004...

 

[Jared]

The FFXI and Dissida people are gone...

I am very sad now...

 

[Azmael Silverlance]

So basicly we still get the same music but junst in another cover ?

 

[Nothankyou]

:[
I love Takeharu Ishimoto! But if they're still working with Uematsu and Shimomura in some way it's not so bad.

 

[xxnightlawxx]

At least no one involving Kingdom Hearts 3 was cut.

True true.

 

[IckleMissMayhem]

So they're basically using the same composers, just saving some money? Makes sense to me. So long as they keep using Uematsu and Nakano, I'm happy.

 

[Pendragon9]

At first I was saddened by this news, and it's never good news when people get the axe, but then I remembered that it's been a long time since I could point at a Square game and know unerringly that it would have amazing music.

Final Fantasy 4, Final Fantasy 6, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Maaa... godly music that hasn't been touched since.

Wow. i can't believe you ninja'd what I was gonna say word for word. XD

I agree. I feel sad these people were cut, but SE still has the REAL AWESOME talent at least.

 

[SavingPrincess]

As a composer I can really say this is not a bad thing and probably even better for the composers. We mostly work on contract, and working independently, we can retain most copyrights to the music we compose rather than it being "property of (production company)." I'm not sure if it's different in Japan, but this is probably a great thing. Plus, they will be able to take on more jobs from different developers and work more.

I wouldn't be surprised if the composers themselves asked for this or had a big hand in it.

 

[tetron]

This actually seems like a good thing overrall. Their soundtracks will probably stay the same if not get better since it just seems like they won't have their own music department. They could still use the same people those people would just be independent. Them getting cut will probably be tough at first but I'm sure they could be quite successful independently or at least get a job with another company. Junya Nakano's resume: Final Fantasy X soundtrack. Result: fucking hired.

 

[Grand_Arcana]

I'm just glad Yoko Shimomura wasn't cut. That woman's a genius.

 

[Incredible Bullshitting Man]

I doubt such big name composers have troubles getting back on their feet. As long as I can still hear new music from them, I´m fine. What worries me, however, is whether or not there will be further cuts down the line. Hopefully I´m just being pessimistic.

 

[Myoukochou]

Honestly, this seems more like a crafty way to hire them (and Uematsu, and Mitsuda, and Hamazu, and?) back as ?consultants? instead.

 

[Valiance]

Squeenix will be still contract the best composers out, and I'm sure these people will find contracts somewhere else and do well.

If anything, the composers should be happy - Square Enix will be using them and their work anyway, but they'll be independent and it'll be on license.

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

Takeharu Ishimoto (The World Ends With You...

*frowny face* I quite enjoyed TWEWY's music.

I have to agree, and TWEWY is the only game on there I've played that had decent music, so I can't say I'm shocked about the cuts. Final Fantasy X especially. After the legacy that Uematsu left behind with the first 9 games in the series, the composers for FFX really let it down.

I remember not long ago I was skimming through some FFX pieces on YouTube to see if they brought back any memories... not a one. Zanarkand brought a little something back, but that's only because it's the song that plays at the very beginning of the game (that and it's the only good piece in the game). Meanwhile you can take a game like FF9 which it's been longer since I'd last played it, and skimming through the different tunes brought back a whole flood of memories. THAT is what a good soundtrack should do.

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

I don't know ... economically it's not so bad. But people fail to realize that it's not a matter of payment, it's also about security of the final product.

There are legal issues when you hire contractors in creative markets. Which may become a source of heated confrontation if the music is used outside the contractual agreement as the music no longer represents a truly binding intellectual property of Squeenix.

Then you also have issues with loyalty... how can you be loyal to a company that arguably axes you when it was YOUR department that made their games different from all the JRPG 'Meh'-ness?

Loyalty tends to be a better resource then saving a few bucks when you reach final production stages.