Brilliant celebration of Final Fantasy which fans of the series will love.
This orchestral production is celebrating the 35th anniversary of the first Final Fantasy game being released (since which there have been 15 games released in the “main” series, and dozens more outside of this). The music from the games is performed by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and led by conductor Arnie Roth. Final Fantasy is a series that I have some awareness of, due to my fiancé being a big fan, but I have never actually played any of the games, nor listened to any of the music. So, I was going into this production completely blind, having no idea what sort of music I was about to experience.
The music, which was beautifully performed by the Orchestra, I was really impressed with. I didn’t know what I was expecting with video game music, but most of the songs performed would not have been out of place in any high budget fantasy film. There were some wonderful bombastic songs intermixed with some more tranquil but equally beautiful moments. A particular highlight for me was the “Battle Medley” in the first half, which really showcased the ability of the orchestra very well, as the pace of the music was very fast and once it ended, I felt wonderfully energised in my seat.
While the songs are being performed, a large screen shows you videos from the Final Fantasy series. In the first half these videos show gameplay from the first few games, with brief snippets of story to go along with the music. If you are already a fan of these games, then these snippets will act as reminders of the larger story, but as a newbie, the snippets were generally easy to follow but obviously very shallow due to the limited time available to get through a large amount of story. In the second half, the screen showed animated cinematic depictions of the characters, which did not seem to have any real story to them. The second half was definitely more about the vibes of the music rather than any sort of story that you are meant to follow along with. I did not mind either, and I think both worked in different ways.
There was a lot in this production for you to really enjoy if you are an avid fan of the series. However, as a non-fan I certainly did feel like I was missing out on some of the enjoyment experienced by others. This was entirely evident by the cheers and gasps as certain sections of music began to be played (including the Chocobo theme and Sephiroth’s theme). The energy was quite infectious as there was a definite buzz in the room as certain pieces began, but without the familiarity and nostalgia attached to it, I was missing some of the joy felt by others.
The structure of this production was slightly peculiar to me. Before each section of songs, Arnie Roth would talk to the audience and say what songs were coming up, as well as encouraging applause for the composers (both present and not) and the production companies who produced the games. This kind of “warming up the crowd” felt peculiar to me, especially the moments when he had people cheer if they were fans of certain entries in the series. I am sure if you are a mega-fan this would have been more enjoyable, but as an outsider it did feel a little peculiar. This production is also shorter than I had anticipated. With the interval and talking taken out, I would estimate that there was approximately 90 minutes of music actually played. Not necessarily a bad thing, but definitely different to what I had expected.
It almost goes without saying, but the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra were brilliant and the Maida Vale Singers (who appeared in the second half) added a wonderful dimension to the music and were similarly faultless.
As a newbie to both orchestral music and Final Fantasy, I still had a very good time and regardless of any prior knowledge or experience, this is a very enjoyable production that is very well done indeed. I would definitely recommend this show more to fans of the videogames than fans of orchestral music, but I think most people would still find something to appreciate.
DISTANT WORLDS: MUSIC FROM FINAL FANTASY played on the 1st and 2nd October at the Royal Albert Hall, and it continues its world tour ending in Vancouver on the 15th April.