Octopath Travelerās soundtrackĀ is one of our recent favorites, and the gameās composer Yasunori Nishiki recently talked about what inspired him into creating the gameās main theme.
Hereās what the Yasunori Nishiki had to share:
āFor our inaugural entry in this deep dive into the music of Octopath Traveler, Iād like to talk about the main theme.
The main theme is the āfaceā of the game, as it were, but I can tell you thatĀ this one didnāt come out easily. Thinking back, all I can really remember is how much I struggled with thisāthatās how much pressure I felt havingĀ to compose the main theme of this game.
At the point I wrote this, I had already finished about half the songs fromĀ the game. We recorded the whole soundtrack in two sessions, and I composedĀ this theme just before the first session. I remember spending about a month composing something, tossing it out, and so on over and over again.
It took me about two weeks to compose my first version of the theme, whichāafter agonizing for quite some timeāIĀ decided to submit as my initial draft.
Unfortunately, it wasnāt very well received. I remember thinking to myself, āYikesā¦I really messed this one up, didnāt I?āĀ And so I was given five days to submit a second draft. Which I did, butĀ again, the response wasā¦less than enthusiastic.
To be honest, at this point I was in complete disarray. It was like I wasĀ lost in the woods, with no clue of how I could emerge with a completed piece. I mentioned this in my Famitsu interview as well, but I honestly considered resigning from the project (even though Iād already composed half the soundtrack!).
So I asked for a one-day extension. I had a feeling that Iād just get evenĀ more lost if I tried to start over from scratch, so I presented the idea of trying to combine the first and second versions into a third draft. On top of that, I structured it so that the melody repeated, helping it to stick in your head as much as possible, and the theme you hear today finally cameĀ together.
The main theme that I arrived at after this long road starts off in the keyĀ of C, with a melody taken from the first draft of the piece. The original version had more of an extended intro, but I decided to cut it and haveĀ players hear the main melody right from the start.
The string melody that follows is from the second draft. It has a hint of melancholy while also being full of hope. Iām quite pleased with it, and Iām glad I was able to preserve it in the final version.
After this comes a trumpet melody thatās also used in the victory fanfare (the lead-in to the victory fanfare is from the original draft, while theĀ part that loops after is from the second draft).
After this, the melody from the first draft returns, this time in the key of D-flatāthis is the intentional repetition I mentioned above.
Transposing it up a semitone, we bring back the melody with even more spirit and energy. We then repeat the melody once more with an added fill to make a further impression, then bring the piece home with the ending. I was asked to make a lavish (but not too long) ending that would be suitable for trailersĀ and the like, and this is how it turned out.
And thatās the main theme. While it was a struggle all the way, when I listen to it playing now at the character selection screen, I feel it really evokes the feeling of these eight travelers and their journeys. I guess itās a goodĀ thing I didnāt quit the project after all, haha.ā
Octopath Traveler is available on the Nintendo Switch.