Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles - Sound of The Wind / Kaze No Ne | Reacting To Video Game Music!

[@braedonallen4291]

Honestly, the whole Crystal Chronicles soundtrack is fire, it was probably the best thing to come out of that game. Whenever you have the chance, I highly recommend that you circle back to the rest of it.

[@Leonsbane]

This song has stuck with me since the first time i played the game, even if it had its problems. The most memorable part for me, especially in the english version, is the vocal harmonies/layering. Glad you enjoyed it!

[@markschmidt3081]

The whole soundtrack uses medieval instruments throughout which makes it so memorable. I can only imagine how great of a time it was to research all of them to write music for. FFCC came out in 2003 and as far as I know, it was pretty early on in the many many many Final Fantasy spin off games. Just imagine having to compose something comparable to the quality of Nobuo's work shortly after FFX.

[@MagnyusG]

The instruments Tanioka Kumi chose for this game's soundtrack gives it a very authentic and old sounding feeling, it's extremely immersive but also sounds very fresh. Lovely little gem on the Gamecube for its time, unfortunately the barrier for entry for a lot of players that wanted to play this game with their friends was insane, requiring multiple Gameboy advances, and link cables. This is why so few people talk about it, it was too niche for the time. Also doesn't help that the recent remaster that came out was a lackluster, watered down version of the game. It's my personal favourite FF franchise and it kinda died out during the Wii/DS era, but it left a lasting impression on me in my youth. My first tattoo is actually going to be a reference from this game, I've had it planned out for quite some time. This song is the beginning of the game, the very first thing you hear upon pressing New Game. Setting you up for the coming adventure. The game's premise is that the world is covered in miasma, the only force keeping this poisonous mist at bay are large crystals. Once a year, every village and settlement releases a caravan to go out and collect myrrh to sustain the crystal's power. The game is a top-down dungeon crawler with a big emphasis on exploiting enemy weaknesses by combining magic with other party members for added effects and damage. The game progresses with each drop of myrrh you collect from a dungeon, until you've filled your chalice, the picture in the thumbnail, and go home. The Annual Festival you already reacted to is the celebration after the adventurer's return to their village/town. Each year is added your journal and it will go through several years until you beat the game. Pretty sure the remaining requests are mine, and don't worry, I have several more planned from this game, as well as one of the sequels.

[@kevinnguyen4711]

I never was able to get into Crystal Chronicles, but I remember absolutely loving both the game's mystical nature aesthetic and the soundtrack, with this song being my first introduction to the subseries' existence. From what I remember, most of the soundtrack had this chill Middle Eastern vibe to it, which is great because Middle Eastern music, along with Celtic/Irish music, are some of my most favorite music in the whole world.

[@hioute]

so excited to see you react to this, it's one of my all-time favourites, hands down. has stuck with me forever. so many feels

[@StarfieldDisarray]

Crystal Chronicles has one of my favorite soundtracks of all time. Deeply flawed but hugely unique and interesting game.

[@WaterArk]

You've got to hear the version sing by Floor Jansen 💙 it is MAGNIFICENT

[@ultradude15]

This was the first Final Fantasy game I ever played as a kid, so this is definitely my most nostalgic FF song.

[@tiredgamer9767]

If you're wondering where you've heard the name Donna Burke -- she sings the main vocal theme for Metal Gear Peacewalker, and one of the songs from Metal Gear V "Sins of the Father".

[@kse3]

Less well known than Metal Gear, but she also voices Raising Heart in the Nanoha series.

[@1wakuralain]

My all time favorite video game track. I tear up each time, in the best way. The world is not beautiful, therefore it is.

[@suicunesolsan]

Holy crap! I considered donating just to request this song. I am pleased to hear you react to both versions. Awesome!

[@Tetsujin_MK]

I remember buying this for Gamecube...never finished it, couldn't really get into it. Love the theme song though! There is a live orchestral version out there with Floor Jansen of Nightwish/ReVamp/After Forever etc fame on vocals. Blew my mind when I learned Floor performed an FF song.

[@EriksBlue]

I love this song :D takes me back to my childhood, i still get chills

[@yep8058]

The instrumental version of this played in the very first trailer for the game all the way back

[@Namadu7]

Loooove this soundtrack. I dunno how well-known this is, but this game's remaster added some alternate versions of many of the tracks, as well as a few completely new tracks! Some of the alternate versions are better than others, but it's just great to hear some variety and to see some new life breathed into this excellent soundtrack. Personally I prefer the Japanese vocals in this song, probably because of how mellow they are. The way that Yae controls her volume really kinda makes it sound like her voice is carried on the wind... That said, kudos to Donna Burke for both singing *and* writing the English version! ...Also, I've just learned that Donna Burke voiced the in-game narrator, as well! I definitely remember those narrations fondly. What a beautiful game.

[@militarykobold]

And now I'm gonna comment on this one too- Crystal Chronicles' soundtrack is thoroughly medieval and it sticks to that instrumentation almost unilaterally. Crumhorne! Hurdy-gurdy! Tin whistles! stonking *crumhornes!* And it does several different styles, from marches to jaunty market music to slow relaxing pieces, and a waltz (with crumhorne carrying the main melody). The whole soundtrack is worth a listen; somehow, one of the least dynamic songs (at least imo) made it into your lineup first. I like the Annual Festival song, dont get me wrong, but it's thoroughly undynamic compared to the rest of the game's music. Here's hoping we see some more FFCC (and Lost Odyssey) filling up the Auditorium soon.

[@ManyMaxwell]

Crystal Chronicles was not a very popular game due to the fact it was a gamecube title that required everyone to have a gameboy advanced, a Gamecube and 4 cables to connect that, so to play 4-player co-op, you needed to spend something like near 800$ total to play it. The music is far and away the best part of the game though.

[@JessesAuditorium]

What a mess :D

[@SolBlade91]

To be fair, you only needed that for multiplayer. Single player you could just use a regular controller. Thankfully I had one other friend with both a GBA and cable, so him and I were able to do a 2-player game that was still a lot of fun. But yeah, 4 player co-op... not really an option as a kid with no money.

[@Arksimon2k]

@@JessesAuditorium It was super janky doing it that way, but at the same time if you could get it set up it was really fun and unique.

[@thend4427]

I was able to play solo up to year 300 and I got tired lol

[@jccdsym6605]

@@Arksimon2k you're right. I had the chance to play with a circle of friends and it is an experience I deeply cherish. We had a 4 weekend's session to play it and took turns carrying the Crystal chalice, casting magic, seeing the random events, etc... The one thing I don't like about the remastered version, is that you no longer share the same village. On the original version, all players were the child of someone on the village, blacksmith, the fishermen, alchemst, etc.. and it was cool going back, visiting our families for goodies and receiving letters. it really felt like you were a caravan!

[@AlexanderMartinez-kd7cz]

I actually recommend people play this game solo, it's pretty good if you don't mind a difficulty spike at the final boss or doing some grinding before it. and trim mog's hair if you're going to a hot place so he doesn't get tired. it's pure wholesome adventuring and it's artstyle is straight up FF9.

[@HAERTofWINTER]

I forgot about this song! Immediate nostalgia after the vocals hit. I really liked the Crystal Chronicles lore, it had such interesting races.

[@nozomikei5251]

I was so flippin thrilled when I saw this on here!! I have literally been vibing to my ffcc cd the last few days and dying to recommend songs from it to you! ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ If I remember correctly, Kumi specifically used less common instruments to give the whole track the feeling of being in another world (while still feeling rustic and familiar to listeners). The whole soundtrack is incredible, dude, cannot recommend it enough. The game was heckin fun too! I bought some vintage consoles just to play it again.

[@NepNepTech]

this and monster dance rondo continue to live rent free in my mind

[@siverwrites]

I have such mixed feelings but also a real soft spot for this game that I've never finished though I've started several times because once in a while the urge to play it really hits. The music, however, no mixed feelings there. I love its soundtrack. Crystal Chronicles came out originally when FF had moved onto Playstation so there was already a split there with this one being on Gamecube and very very much a spinoff. Which I was excited about as we were a Nintendo family so after the SNES we were deprived of FF. Then got an entirely different experience than I was used to, but I enjoyed it once I was over that hurdle; it has its own charms. But it is definitely a departure from the main series of the time and makes some weird or clumsy choices. The Switch port has its own problems. So I'm not surprised you don't hear about it nearly as much. But the music!! :D

[@brainfreeze91]

I was a Nintendo Power kid of the early 2000s. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles were my first experiences with Final Fantasy. Chronicles especially, even though the game can drag on at times the aesthetic is flawless for feeling like a grand LOTR style adventure.

[@altart8102]

Man, I loved this game. Was one of the first games I had on gamecube forever ago. Never was able to do multiplayer due to what was needed for setup, but playing it on single-player was still tons of fun. Never beat it back then, but definitely loved the soundtrack. Brings back good memories of that time. The "remaster" a few years ago everyone expected would be an improvement on the multiplayer, but somehow they made the game arguably worse and shockingly increased loading times. Super unfortunate since my friends and I were planning on playing it together.

[@ryuuzaakii1656]

Best thing to come out of FF Crystal Chronicles.

[@Conkel]

Its always a treat to hear this theme.

[@aeternusvotum]

I totally missed this upload, but gosh, while I never played Crystal Chronicles, I really really love this song and I used to sing it a lot; listening to it now makes me notice how much I've forgotten the lyrics! I also notice that I understand enough Japanese now to pretty much get the whole song in Japanese, too, I really haven't listened to it for a long long time ♥ I've always wanted to play it but even with the Switch port out, it's still a "I wanna play it" but never actually doing it, maybe one day ... :'D

[@Stormfall7]

Crystal Chronicles had some really fun and interesting mechanics, as well as some pretty annoying ones haha. I enjoyed this game quite a bit, though setting up the multiplayer for it was a nightmare, yeah. This song is awesome. It stuck out to me immediately upon hearing it for the first time. I'd say I probably prefer the English vocals here. FF games can definitely have their diverse soundtracks, but this game's always stuck out to me for having a very different sound compared to other FF games.

[@zammich3649]

Crystal Chronicles was not a BAD game for its time, and is actually quite exemplary in music, art direction, and story themes (very much centered around memory, nostalgia, passed on stories, etc.). The reasons it's not well known are because it was so unfeasible to play (game is built around 3+ player multiplayer but everyone needed a gba and a link cable), and then the modern port massively fumbled by not having local co-op among other issues and was pretty much instantly forgotten. The OST deserves to live on, though. Gorgeous allthroughout.

[@dou5397]

One of my favorites games soundtracks

[@Graeldon]

I have incredibly fond memories of playing this game with my 2 brothers. We were lucky enough to have a GBA each - which is why this game was never super popular, each player needs one for the co-op mode. It was with good reason as each player would be able to access their inventory and other menus on the GBA screen, preventing the TV from becoming too cluttered. Really neat idea, and I'd love to see a modern take that uses smart phones instead. Mechanics aside, the music is super memorable and uses some really unique instruments. The most prominent one that features in most main themes is called a Hurdy-Gurdy.

[@BrushpointJ]

I love this game for a lot of reasons- most of all is the soundtrack. I genuinely think it's one of the most impressive soundtracks, it communicates settings FLAWLESSLY. Kumi Tanioka is a legend. The game itself aged poorly, which is unfortunate because it didn't exactly receive glowing reviews on launch... But the soundtrack is a masterpiece.

[@xXFoiXx]

This is indeed the intro of the game well spotted. It is funny you brought up Tactics as well because both are spinoffs but more importantly 6th generation spinoffs on nintendo consoles. So they do have a different feeling Personally two of my favorite FF games.

[@zeadus1]

I hear the TTT2 character customization music in the background, love that track

[@nekorion]

FFCC got a port to switch a bit ago and it still had problems. The fact that controllers are more common, couch coop wasnt included but online was, was a weird choice. Theres also a story item everyone called "the bucket". In single player, you had an AI, hold the bucket and follow you which was fine except if you got lost for a minute or two itd drop the bucket and ask you to carry it for about 10 to 15 seconds. Carrying the bucket limited mobility and made you unable to attack. The moment you add even one player, the ai disappears. With 2 players one person is a dedicated bucket bitch most of the time. In multiplayer 1 player is usually having less fun It did have one cool mechanic, if you found spells in a level youd be able to cast them. Lets say 3 people found a fire spell, casting them ontop of each other would increase it to fira and firaga. Other combos were blizzard and fire being gravity, life then an elemental makes holy but an elemental then life makes slow. For me this game is good memories but it had issues

[@thend4427]

I played solo and the issues weren't a big deal with me just had a difficulty spike at times like the desert

[@Drew_KaeAskavi]

Yeah I have not much to add to the first comment about the Crystal Chronicles mess. But it was very fun if you were able to play in multiplayer. I haven't finished the game because it was hard to get a group of 4 together for a play session. Also most other FF games had lately released on the PlayStation/Playstation2 and many of us FF fans did not even own a gamecube and a GameboyAdvanceSD. Gamecube was home to the 'Tales of'- Series and that had a vastly superior multiplayer. But anyway the song is VERY good, and I had it on my playlist long before I played the game myself. I do like your comparison with ff11, tho. I do not know much about both of the games, but I always thought the artstyle is very similar, so that is funny if the art AND the music seem similar. Maybe the same team?

[@Zenkori]

It's a hidden gem for sure, but a very memorable one to those who managed to get further into it. I can definitely see some of its influences in both FF11 and FFXIV, especially with the different race options to choose from---the customization with the rng families and profession choices adds some nice detail and flavor to the world that also doubles as a nice cherry-on-top reward for finishing dungeons, as you'd get letters from some of the family members after. The ost is absolutely filled with catchy tunes that linger in the mind, and they did a marvelous job of capturing atmospheres through that ost alone. Gameplay-wise, playing it solo was honestly not so bad due to the little bucket-carrying moogle as I recall it, but multiplayer through the GBA system would for sure be a bit of a more limiting experience. An otherwise fun afternoon for those who don't mind a bit of a grind and exploration imo!

[@ghadi4222]

i think you'd find a lot of things you like in the chronicles and tactics soundtracks tbh

[@pokemaster374]

This was my first final fantasy game ever, while i never finished it let aline knew how to progress past the first boss, i always liked this song

[@TheWaffleFactory]

FF7 and Crystal chronicles are my favorite OSTs from the series. This game has so many stand out tracks.

[@nicholascunningham4439]

Ill take Songs I Forgot I Loved for $500 Jesse

[@Zaque-TV]

Dude square enix gets the best vocalists in the world for final fantasy games

[@Arksimon2k]

i prefer the japanese one. I'm not sure if that's because its what I heard in the game, or if I just had an old mp3 of it and that's all I heard for decades after haha. I feel like it flows with the music nicer.

[@SlyHikari03]

The bouncy sounding drum (Udu) in here my my favorite. Other than that, mostly renaissance era or Mid eastern instruments are used in this OST. I’m a percussionist, I know my shit. Also, I like the Japanese version better, the enjoyment comes from not knowing the word/lyrics imo.

[@thend4427]

This game is so tricky but so fun i love it and the tracks are amazing..hope u can listen to the level tracks someday...i got to year 333 before i said well thats a good year to stop playing lol

[@brennanlable]

I think the bass-y sounds are half plucked cello and half percussion and I think there's a hurdy gurdy in there rather than bagpipes

[@ShiroKage009]

I personally prefer the Japanese singer and how the lyrics flow with the melody. The song was clearly composed with Japanese lyrics in mind.

[@InnocentGuillotine]

I prefer the Donna Burke version, in no small part because her version was the first I heard and what I heard every time I started a new file (which was often, because this was before it was easy to find songs on KZbin), but both singers are very solid-they're just also very different. The OST of Crystal Chronicles is definitely the best part of it, even as an FFCC defender-the gameplay loop can be very unforgiving and repetitive for single player and especially the single-player final level is a slog, and the remaster wasn't great (and added voice acting that I absolutely hated, it was just not great and it felt like a hard emotional downgrade to have vocal barks constantly compared to the relative silence in the original).

[@Qizer49]

Hi Jessie! I love your content. There is one great mmorpg with great soundtracks, called guild wars 2. I really like these tracks: Fear Not This Night - Asja Kadric The Tengu Wall - Jeremy Soule Dragonflight · Maclaine Diemer The War Eternal · Maclaine Diemer Episode 1 - Daybreak · Maclaine Diemer · Brendon Williams

[@EnigmaTimGaming]

So the singer here is Floor Jansen, lead singer of about the most reacted to band on KZbin. Probably one of the most gifted vocalists out there. This song is like 5% of her vocal ability.

[@wayfaringspacepoet]

Floor Jansen performs a live version, it's not the same as the studio version by Donna Burke

[@Angel_Flash]

I've had this game on Gamecube since I was a little kid. I never played it for more than 30 minutes because I didn't care about FF at all back then. A few years ago after falling in love with FF (due to XIV) I unearthed my old Gamcube that was untouched for a decade, and played the game for the first time. it's bad lol

[@thend4427]

It's an action rpg with annoying carrying the chalice elements if it wasn't for that crutch it would be amazing