The Best Final Fantasy Tribute Album of All Time (Final Fantasy VI)

I want to share with you the most amazing fan tribute project I have ever personally witnessed. This is a masterpiece of love.

The entire album can be found HERE: http://ff6.ocremix.org/

A group of musicians over at the OCRemix.org put together an entire remake of the soundtrack for the 1994 Super Nintendo release Final Fantasy VI. For those of you who purchased it at that time, it was then named Final Fantasy III in the USA.*

This is the first game I remember saving tons of money to buy at the time (I believe it was $74.99 on the release date.)

When the release date finally arrived I took my hard earned money and asked my mom to give me a ride to the local Target shopping center to buy my copy. I still remember unfolding the included map that came with the game.

I have a lot of great personal memories during the time I first played through this particular game. During this time my family was building a new house, with my dad doing a lot of the work. We were living in a trailer on the property, and I actually was sleeping on the couch in the living room. (This worked out in my favor, because that’s exactly where the TV was!)

Since this was a rather lengthy game, and I was not glued to the TV 24/7, I remember this as a several month long event. I have some great memories of eating from a metal tub of Christmas popcorn (the kind with butter, regular, and caramel corn  all split up) during this time, and I always think back to the moment in my life when ever I eat this particular type of popcorn.

The other thing I remember, and absolutely love: cold weather. As the seasons changed, this just further added to the expirence.  It also doesn’t hurt that I was only 14, with no full time job, and no real responsibilities. Well except for helping my dad build a house from the ground up.

To this day, Final Fantasy VI remains one of my absolute favorite video games of all time,  so I was absolutely thrilled when I heard about the project to create a tribute to the entire soundtrack.

I’ve been a frequent visitor of the OCRemix.org website, as I enjoy good instrumental music, as well as the nostalgia of listening to classic soundtracks from games and enjoy growing up. The talent and creativity of the musicians is unbelivable.

But this project is different in scale.  The massive project spans across four separate CDs, with 74 tracks of music. The music of the original soundtrack itself was brilliant enough in composition, but when given a modern-day interpretation and vocals, full orchestration, and live instruments, the final result truly is breathtaking.

Here’s a side-by-side comparison of one of my favorite songs from the game. Listen first to a 16-bit video game score, and then compare to a Queen inspired rock opera rendition that you won’t be able to stop smiling to.

Original

Remixed

Amazing.

The entire album can be found HERE: http://ff6.ocremix.org/

The Final Fantasy VI OST was incredible, but this tribute to the entire soundtrack leaves me speechless. In fact, this has been the only music on my iPhone since it was released, and I listen to it almost everyday as I am working.

Great for background listening, but also as amazing to listen to intentionally. What are you waiting for? Go pick up this awesome work of art, and while you are at it check all the other great video game music from the super-talented folks over at OCRemix.org.

*This was because II and III from Japan were not released in the USA, so when IV was released, it was renamed II. Then V was skipped for a US release, so that is why VI was III. Basically.

Do you have a favorite soundtrack/video game memory?