Final Fantasy 16 soundtrack — the music and how to buy

The Final Fantasy XVI Pre-Launch Celebration stream revealed a lot about the upcoming Final Fantasy 16 (FFXVI) game. The team took time during the live stream to focus on the soundtrack and music for the upcoming title.

Music is one of those things that really makes a game or movie. It sets the scene, the tone. Music evokes feelings in others and it weaves a narrative for players or viewers to become immersed in. The team behind FFXVI understood this notion, and gave us some insights into the music for the new game.

FFXVI soundtrack

Some of the music for the Final Fantasy XVI was showcased during the Final Fantasy XVI Pre-Launch Celebration. The music is very orchestral, featuring strings and many voices. Diego Contreras, the game’s Film and Content Director spoke during the livestream about the importance of music. Contreras and his team also put together a live action trailer for FFXVI.

Contreras said that the trailer story was written as a musical. The narrative “driv[es the] emotional point of the film” and builds to the transformation of Clive — the protagonist in FFXVI.

There’s very few spoken words in the trailer, highlighting the importance of music to set the tone and pace of the narrative. This extends to the games where music is important at every step of the way, especially in battle.

Combat music

Battles in games can be particularly annoying when it comes to scoring them, particularly in action games. In these types of games, battles last for an undisclosed amount of time. Players who are good with combat controls finish a battle much quicker. Thus it’s an epic task for music composers to create music that “fits with what’s going on in the game” as described by Contreras.

Good music makes players feel like the music is part of the action. It’s something that just feels right. Contreras points out that this is very difficult in an action game as due to the varying lengths of battle. The team however have developed a way to make music that fits within any combat length, and also peaks at the right moments in battle. Contreras called it “magic”, like having your own composer in your console while you play.  They figured out a way to make the music “smooth”, to match the battle. This ensures players don’t “notice the music changing, yet it still builds at the right moments.

Get the soundtrack

The seven disc soundtrack is available for pre-order on the Square Enix website.

If you missed the live stream, check out our guide on how to catch up. You can find out where to play the FFXVI demo which has already been released, and more about the narrative.