Fortunately, that's what one gets. The music in Final Fantasy IX can best be described as a return to the roots of the series -- here in America, those roots are best represented by Final Fantasy II (really Final Fantasy IV) and, to a lesser extent, Final Fantasy III (really Final Fantasy VI). Some tunes, like ?Vivi's Theme,? will have you thinking of the town of Mysidia in FF4; ?Memory Erased by a Storm? feels like a modern revamp of the song that plays when Cecil and Kain first leave the castle. And ?Prelude? is likely to bring tears to any fan's eyes -- hear it once and you'll know exactly what I mean.
There's even at least one nod to Final Fantasy VI, with the Kefka-meets-Queen sound of ?Wicked Melody.? And, of course, no Final Fantasy album would be complete without a Chocobo theme remix. Much like the game, Final Fantasy IX returns to what made the original games so good; its soundtrack brings back fond memories of long nights spent sitting in front of the Super Nintendo. It, well, rocks, and comes highly recommended. Even the lyrical song (?Melodies of Life?) ain't too bad, which is an achievement for an English game song.
Now, if you don't mind me, I'm going listen to ?Prelude? another ten times or so while I bemoan the advancement of technology and swear to become a full-fledged Neo-Luddite. Yeah.
On an semi-related note, find a copy of the oldie-but-goodie Vandal-Hearts and listen to the intro to see how much songs not in your native tongue (at least, most probably not) can rock. Or, for that matter, the Japanese version of Bust-A-Groove (which is called Bust-A-Move).
