rpg ( pathfinder)

Town

D&D Night / Rest Music

towns

D&D campagin

This track is from the album Dungeons & Dragons - Official Roleplaying Soundtrack and is available for purchase on CD Baby here: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/midsyn5

Prelude

Skirmish

This album is free to download. Consider supporting me on www.patreon.com/thesecondnarrator to support my future works!

Update 3/20/15 - Re EQ'ed

I have been thinking of this moment in the game since I first started arranging. Thanks to this year's Thanksgiving sale (Happy Thanksgiving!) I was able to get some new expressive string samples and immediately put them to use here. This track and the next one are actually composed of three different cues.

I - Ambience
Generally, cavern and great hall music seems to sound really eerie when it consists of nothing more than deep lows and soft highs, which the original version already does fairly well. For some weird reason, I could have sworn I remember hearing a wailing female vocal in the original version, even though that couldn't have been possible. That is a testament to how effective the 8-bit Game Boy game was in setting the atmosphere.

Southern Face Shrine - The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening Orchestral Arrangement

MP3 and FLAC available for Patrons. ► www.patreon.com/thesecondnarrator

Terranigma is one of the most emotional games I've ever played, something rare during the 16-bit era of video games. This is a very obscure RPG title that was never released in the US. It is the spiritual successor to Illusion of Gaia, and shares similar themes. This arrangement is focused just on the character of Elle. More than just a love interest that gives the protagonist motivation, Elle's character gets woven throughout the storyline in many interesting ways. What I like about the game is how so much is communicated just through the imagery, the music, and the heavy hidden implications of events. When you slowly realize the truth behind your quest, you can't help but feel empathy for everyone involved.

I kept the original tune and wrapped around it using two other pieces of music from the soundtrack. This would technically make it a medley, but I refrain from using that term because the structure is different. Elle's theme is repeated at the end with a full orchestral pallete. I used a lot of sweeping strings to increase the emotional mood of the piece.

Arrangement and fan art by Jeremiah Sun

Original Composer
Masanori Hikichi

Terranigma Orchestrated - Prayer (Elle's Theme)

MP3 and FLAC available for Patrons. ► https://www.patreon.com/thesecondnarrator

This arrangement was an idea that's been gestating in my head for awhile. Being that Tifa is just as popular, if not more so than Aerith, it is disappointing to see that her theme is given much less love from Square-Enix and everyone else online. Admittedly, Aerith's theme is much more dynamic and emotional, and her story arc is much more significant to the game, which I understand. A shame that causes it to overshadow how good Tifa's theme music also is. It was certainly good enough for Nobuo Uematsu to reuse a phrase for Final Fantasy VIII's Eyes on Me. Here's my attempt to spread some love in Tifa's direction.

The melody exudes calm serenity, representative of Tifa's caring and compassion for Cloud and others. It is for the most part a five-note motif that repeats itself with numerous transpositions and variations. To me this is like Tifa wordlessly expressing her pining for Cloud, wanting to share her feelings, which she is unable to due to her shy personality. If FFVII were ever adapted to a musical (haha), I could totally imagining Tifa break out into song, Les Miz-style, about her state of mind. In my arrangement, I felt that I could keep it just as serene, without really trying to make it epic or anything. I spent most of my time obsessing over the articulations of each individual instrument, most notably the solo flute. Even though I used a full orchestral palette, I wanted to maintain an intimate sound. Lots of crescendos and decrescendos, no note would sustain long at constant volume. I imagined the conductor, as well as the musicians, would constantly hold their breath, keeping the audience in suspense, as they took their time crafting this emotional aural performance for us to enjoy. I listened to a ton of Square's Distant Worlds recordings for reference. One thing I learned from orchestral recordings was that instruments not currently in the foreground would be mixed to an extremely low volume or entirely out of existence. This keeps the piece from becoming muddy, which is a problem I still struggle with in my arrangements.

Lastly I added a climactic bridge to punctuate the piece, because though Tifa is shy, she is incredibly strong willed and determined. It’s interesting how Square gave Tifa and Aerith physical designs that contrast with their personalities. On the surface level, Tifa may look like just eye candy because she just stands around looking pretty and talks less, but once you spend more time with her from Disc 2 onwards, you see a lot more depth in her character than before. My favorite part of the song is the augmented fifth chord in the 2nd bar, and playing it out with grandeur is heaven to my ears.

For those curious, the portrait of Tifa is a detailed paint-over I made of a screenshot capture from Advent Children. It took almost as long as the music itself, as I am extremely out of practice.

Arrangement by Jeremiah Sun

Original Track by Nobuo Uematsu
You can buy FFVII on Steam and PSN

Easthaven in Peace

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