Tsuyoshi Sekito, the composer for Final Fantasy Explorers, has been discussing his work in a four-part column on the game on 4Gamer. The third part was recently published, and in it, we get to listen to a bit of the game’s battle theme.
According to Sekito, the “Normal Battle 1” track starts out with an intro-like two measures to start out, then onto the main melody two seconds later, as he feels that goes perfectly with the idea of “instantly from the field to the battle scene!” which is suited the action-heavy game.
He also believes that the track is a versatile one, as the tempo isn’t too fast, and has the image of the players being supported along with great melodies.
He also explains that he put a considerable amount of guitar sampling into the track, which gives it a nice presence for a battle-sounding track. He also mentions that the Normal Battle track is made of two pieces, with the other kicking in over time, to give players a more fresh feeling during the tougher and longer fights.
“Again, without using the digital modeling guitar plug-in software as I usually do for Final Fantasy Explorers, this time I prepared a recording method by using a mic and a small tube amp,” explains Sekito.
He then explains that digital and analog recording both have their upsides, but prioritized the sound of presence you can only get from analog, this time around.
For those of you interested in what he’s using as far as guitars go, he’s using one six-stringed guitar, and two seven-stringed guitars. The six-string guitar is at a standard low-E, whereas the seven-stringer is brought down to a B.
The Normal Battle 1 track you heard has parts that goes with a lower sound than a regular six-string guitar can go, so he’s been recording with the seven-string guitar.
Sekito says that some of the especially low-toned parts can get a little dim if he used digital recording, so he felt that he went with the right choice to go with analog recording, this time around.
Next time, Sekito says, he’ll reveal the Boss Battle track for Final Fantasy Explorers.
Final Fantasy Explorers is slated for release sometime this Winter in Japan for Nintendo 3DS.
