The Music of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (ft. Alex Moukala)

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn had the impossible task of rebuilding a failed MMO, and its music had to help redefine what Final Fantasy XIV could be.

In this episode of The Music of Final Fantasy, we're joined by composer and musician @AlexMoukalaMusic to break down Masayoshi Soken's soundtrack for A Realm Reborn, how his background in sound design shaped his approach to composition, and what makes FFXIV's music different from the work of Nobuo Uematsu.

We discuss Soken's philosophy of prioritizing the player experience in writing, the surprising techniques behind some of the soundtrack's massive sounds, why certain vocals and instruments are deliberately filtered for long MMO encounters, and the countless ways A Realm Reborn weaves the musical history of Final Fantasy into something new.

We also talk about Uematsu's continuing influence on the series, the collaborative nature of FFXIV's enormous soundtrack, the importance of Yoshida's direction, and why Casen walked away convinced this may be one of the greatest video game soundtracks of the last 20 years.

And according to Alex… the best is still yet to come.

Thanks again to Alex Moukala for joining us! Check out his channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEKRfoZ5t1VBdWfn9k6UgXw

Time Codes: 1. Intro (0:00) 2. Background on Masayoshi Soken and how the music of A Realm Reborn was made (5:46) 3. Breakdown of individual tracks from the OST (41:44)