In an exclusive interview, Sound Director and Composer for Final Fantasy XIV, Masayoshi Soken, talks about how he almost became a scientist and why FFXIV music comes first for him.
Music has always been something special in Final Fantasy games, and Square Enix did not spare any expense in the soundtrack for Final Fantasy XIV.
After a successful debut in Japan, the FFXIV concert “Eorzean Symphony” has now also been announced for Germany, which will take place during Gamescom.
We had the opportunity to ask the man behind the music some questions: Masayoshi Soken.
Soken-san has been with Square Enix since 2001 and has accompanied FFXIV through its highs and lows as part of the development team.
Of Science and World Records
Mein MMO: Can you tell our readers a bit about your musical background and what led you to decide to start working at a gaming company?
Soken: My father played trumpet in a symphonic orchestra and my mother taught electric organ at home, so I grew up surrounded by music. By the age of 3, I had already started playing the piano, but I never received formal training in music composition.
In school, I was very interested in science and specialized in chemistry at university. I would probably have developed coatings for plastic bottles or drugs for cancer in the future. But during my studies, I began to feel that I was not meant to be a scientist.
During that time, I played my favorite video games every day. Back then, I didn’t even know that Game Sound Creator was actually a real job.
It was only when I started looking for work that I thought, “Hey, someone must be professionally making sound for all these video games!” So I decided to do it myself.
Mein MMO: In 2017, you set the world record for the most original pieces in a video game. At that time, it was 384 tracks, but the number has drastically increased since the release of Stormblood and several content patches. Where do you find the inspiration to compose such large amounts of music in such a short time? Have you ever had to deal with burnout?
Soken: Almost everything in my everyday life inspires me. Of course, I have my favorite music and artists, but I think more so that I use the many different things and experiences I collect every day, and especially take the opinions of the players into account.
After that, I combine it all in the music I compose. I believe I will never stop processing inspiration from the world around me into creative output, no matter how complex and advanced games become in the future. I have never run out of ideas!
Mein MMO: Some musicians talk about a success formula in their compositions that they have identified and can use repeatedly. Have you found any “strategy” that you can apply repeatedly? A kind of “earworm guarantee” for Final Fantasy fans?
Soken: I don’t view music in such an educated manner. It’s much more about how I can enhance the fan experience through my work. I don’t know if that counts as a “strategy” or not.
I am responsible for the sound of FFXIV, but if you look at it more broadly, I am just as much a game developer as anyone else.
Music for FFXIV Comes First
Mein MMO: With the Omega Sigma raid, pieces like “Dancing Mad” from FFVI entered the world of FFXIV. Are there any other music pieces in the FF series that you would like to rearrange for FFXIV? Do you have any personal favorites?
Soken: My motivation comes from primarily considering what music FFXIV as a game needs. Therefore, I don’t really think about whether I want to make an arrangement of one song or another.
If I had to choose a personal favorite, I would probably take “Torn from Heavens,” as it was the song that accompanied the transition from FFXIV 1.0 to “A Realm Reborn.” My favorite from arrangements across all FF games would be “Battle Theme 1.x” from FFII.
Mein MMO: What are the criteria for selecting the tracks for the arrangements? Do you decide alone or is it a process involving multiple people?
Soken: I decide together with the development team which tracks should be reissued, but I do the actual work and redesign of the track alone. However, no matter how the final version of the arrangement may look, I try to treat the original melody with as much respect as possible.
The music from old FF games is still very vividly remembered by fans due to the player experience, so I make every effort when I reissue such a track.
Mein MMO: It’s easy to draw parallels between your band “Primals” and the bands of your mentor Nobuo Uematsu, “Black Mages” and “Earthbound Papas.” Is this a signal that you want to follow in his footsteps or did you simply want to start a band?
Soken: The origin of “The Primals” was actually very simple. When we began planning for the first Fan Festival, the team suggested concluding everything with a musical performance, and that’s how the idea of starting a band came to us.
We thought that a band would be most appealing to the players. The fans were very excited about the performance at Fan Fest, and “The Primals” have since become a big enough band to record their own music.
Mein MMO: You mentioned in an interview that as the composer and sound director of FFXIV, you are under an extremely strict schedule. Do you have personal projects for which you lack the time, but would like to realize at some point?
Soken: I have many projects on my plate! For example, the FFXIV OST and the arrangement albums, a FFXIV orchestral concert, and the Primals Japan tour, which have already been realized, but I want to realize many others.
However, composing the music for FFXIV itself comes first for me, so I will not sacrifice my time to work on my personal projects.
Soken-san then commented on the upcoming concert “Eorzean Symphony” in Germany:
I will hold an FFXIV concert in Germany during Gamescom in August and will also stop by at the fair! I am looking forward to seeing all the fans from Germany again!
We are already looking forward to seeing him at Gamescom and during the “Eorzean Symphony” concert.
Want more interviews? We also had a conversation with the lead writer for Final Fantasy XIV:
Interview on the story: Final Fantasy XIV offers no guarantee of a happy end
