Final Fantasy XVI - Away (Phoenix) | Reacting To Video Game Music!

[@kainthe4th]

Spoilers aren’t an issue with this song really, it plays 30 seconds after you click new game

[@Capothekid]

And it’s like, at the end of the demo lol. You don’t even need to buy the game to hear it

[@frankhemstra634]

So it spoils the beginning? 😛

[@HellGatyr]

​​@@frankhemstra634it didn't spoils anything to story but sure telling what you expect to get inside the game, if this ifrit vs phoenix already that epic imagine all Eikon battle and yes it is more even epic to the end

[@HeadBangerExtreme]

It spoils the fact that the fight comes back later on, no?

[@smala017]

The video he picked, though, does spoil things from later in the game. Not the first 5 minutes.

[@andygutierrrez1136]

Now we gotta make him listen to ascension. Bahamut theme😎

[@christianito20195]

I think he should follow the game order and make Titan theme the next one.

[@soulserver127]

@@christianito20195 I was thinking the exact same things :D

[@maijieg822]

@@christianito20195 Definitely! Titan's theme is dope as well and pretty different from the others and then Bahamut just to cap everything else.

[@coen226]

Nah, The Riddle. Odin’s Theme

[@leserbeacerbe6910]

No to sails forbidden seas.

[@Azdaja13]

The lyrics are all English, which I'll put here: O Prometheus! Epithemeus! Hollos out your noble name! O Prometheus! Epithemeus! Clamours for your stolen flame! Fiery bonds Severed atwain Innocence lost Buried in broken faith A stormhead fills the horizon Foul shadows whispering ruin Yet from this darkness arises The burning light of a new end Far from heaven, heaven flown Down and down on weary wings borne Carried lower, deep below, from light to shadow, Light to shadow! Circled in the strife of an empyreal catastrophe Whorls of ire fan infernal flames on high! Fire in the night A scarlet beacon in the sky Look up to the heavens The firmament reddens Throw open your wings and fly! Away! Away! Away! A stormhead fills the horizon Foul shadows whispering ruin Far from heaven flown Dry your eyes and let your wings fold From the dark light be reborn and rise from shadow Rise from shadow! Circled in the strife of an empyrean catastrophe Tongues of fire incandescent oaths decry! Shadows in the night A swirling cyclone in the sky Look down to the nether Bid farewell forever Throw open your wings and fly! Away! Away! Away!

[@andresmoreno4470]

The final fantasy soundtrack never disappoints. tremendous works of art.

[@Rixstarian]

Soken & YoshiP (director & producer of FF14 & FF16) have a band of brothers kind of relationship, so YoshiP will often talk to Soken, give him instructions, & Soken will write based on that. W/ FF16 the instructions were a little more clear on the tone, while still allowing him creative freedoms. So yeah, the compositions are generally carefully crafted for the fight segments or scenes they're in.

[@ReveredDead]

And that synargy is exactly why they succeed in almost everything they do. I say almost cause in FF14 stormblood and recently dawntrail has been found lacking. However they have WAY more good than bad so they are deadass the soul of this franchise.

[@enmakozato8894]

I have nothing to add to this request. The song just flat out slaps and that's all that really needs to be said on the matter. Soken does it again.

[@leftymu]

This is my favourite track from FFXVI. The violin is great as you said, what I love about this one is the melodies; the softer choir section and the violin at the end are basically my favourite melodies in the game. What I like about this over some of the other tracks is that it has its soft moments among the intense booming; it's like it's showing that the Phoenix has great power, but is also gentle, and all about preservation and life.

[@snakkupakku]

We know from interviews, you are on the money -- Soken creates music per experience. He's said before that he makes his music specifically with the intent to match up with the gameplay and enhance the experience of it all. I recall also reading that he makes new unique tracks as he feels is needed in FFXIV. Which, I think you can tell, is a LOT of music.

[@nachot6592]

This song is in English and the album version doesn't loop. There are some videos with the lyrics and if you played the game, the song with lyrics takes a completely different and deeper meaning other than just being a really cool song. And this is only the "New game" song; hits you in the face head on.

[@lanonyme-vod8090]

Now we need to request Ascension Crap I love this game

[@invokeur15]

+1 But he definitely needs to find a spoiler free video for this one.

[@LowSkillPlays]

The music in 16 is very high energy and bombastic (with a couple exceptions) but also pretty catchy. I've listened to Away a lot since playing the game, definitely a highlight.

[@smala017]

I started listening to Away in mid-October after I finished watching a playthrough of the game and it's my most-listened song in 2023 - after less than two months! XD

[@rawaali8451]

Listen to Ascension- and let us know how you feel especially when those Violins kick in 😂

[@TheBpendleton44]

I think what makes this channel as successful as it is is because it gives gamers a chance to nerd out over their favorite music with someone who has never experienced it before. I can tell you that no one in my life listens to it or gives two shits about it 😅

[@陳威麟-q7o]

15:00 Exactly ! That's the very principle who make tracks in the first place. So usually, some titles will do arrangements for live performances or a concert, either orchestral or band. Like this one is VERY challenging if it comes to live. But we are looking forward it as well, lol.

[@Tetsujin_MK]

Good timing as my ultimate edition soundtrack of XVI just arrived :D Booklet lets me confirm the lyrics are in English. Composition by Masayoshi Soken and arrangement by Soken and Yoshitaka Suzuki. Suzuki's involvement with anything orchestral/bombastic comes as no surprise here! I do believe it is mostly if not entirely VST/sample based. The live recording section in the credits is fairly small for XVI. VII Remake's seemed massive by comparison!

[@katarh]

I once asked Souken about it at a Fanfest (I believe it was 2014, asking about the lyrics to Pharos Sirius in 14. He sheepishly admitted they were nonsense, set to "Latin-ish" in his synthesizer.) He has a sound recording studio of sorts at home. His synthesizer is a custom build since he's spend a lot of time as a sound engineer, not just a composer, and the COTS stuff didn't cut it for what he wanted it to do. His piano arrangements are usually done with the pianist Keiko (the one who managed to keep a straight face all during LA HEE), who is the primary performer for them, and his orchestral stuff involves arrangements from others like Suzuki since Souken lives in his synthesizer most days.

[@Arksimon2k]

AWAAAAAAAY! Soken coming out of the gate so hard with this track. My favourite from 16.

[@陳威麟-q7o]

Like you try this. An epic scene theme finally awaken after a decade of waiting, and it breaks much of the limits. This is a new iconic legend, just like when the "answer" appeared in XIV, definitely made a landmark for game music. Enjoy other tracks when it's suitable.

[@angel__king]

The coolest part of this song is that it’s a theme. This isn’t a fight theme or well it is but the motifs in this song are used every time the Phoenix is on screen. And there’s seperate motifs for each of the eikons (the big recognizable ones being for Titan, Bahamut, Ifrit, Garuda) so what ends up happening in some scenes is that multiple themes blend together. So you’ll get dashes of bahamut and odins theme in the same song. It’s such a great way of getting hype for two gods clashing together

[@KZorander]

Soken is a master when it comes to using leitmotifs. I haven't played 16 yet, but I play 14 like crazy and I hear so many motifs in this song that just aaaaalllmost sound like it's about to segue into a 14 track.

[@katarh]

@@KZorander There are echoes of XIV stuff throughout XVI. One of the primary battle themes is a variation on the FATE music that was also remixed for Eureka. All of the eikon battles have at least one riff that comes from XIV's version of that fight. Its just little musical easter eggs for the XIV players, on top of all the other text, visual, and game play easter eggs.

[@nPCoNDe]

Away Lyrics O Prometheus! Ephimetheus Hollos out your noble name! O Prometheus! Ephimetheus Clamors for your stolen flame! Fiery bonds Severed atwain Innocence lost Buried in broken faith A Stormhead fills the horizon Foul shadows whispering ruin Yet from this darkness arises The burning light of a new end Far from heaven, heaven flows Down and down on weary wings borne Carried lower, deep below, from light to shadow Light to shadow! Circled in the strife of an empyreal catastrophe Whorls of ire fan infernal flames on high! Fire in the night A scarlet beacon in the sky Look up to the heavens The firmament reddens Throw open your wings and fly! Away! Away! Away! A stormhead fills the horizon Foul shadows whispering ruin Far from heaven flown Dry your eyes and let your wings fold From the dark light be reborn and rise from shadow Rise from shadow! Circled in the strife of an empyrean catastrophe Tongues of fire incandescent oaths decry! Shadows in the night A swirling cyclone in the sky Look down to the nether Bid farewell forever Throw open your wings and fly! Away! Away! Away!

[@Varizen87]

Some fun info spoiler free.... Soken used new technology and composition techniques to allow the music to adapt to your game play and transition more seamlessly between scenes based on your performance. You shouldn't notice differences in things with the transitions.

[@angel__king]

The only exception to this is the final attack for the Ifrit v Ifrit fight that transitions a little jarring

[@jonathanzimmer725]

ultima final phase has it too@@angel__king

[@SK.2388]

This is probably my second favorite track from 16 and imo it’s definitely the most emotionally charged track from the game. Its also one of my favorite songs from the franchise. I definitely think it’ll become the main song the game is known for because of how great it is and what it represents when it plays.

[@mechamaya]

I believe the choirs here were actually singing in English, it's just hard to make out most of what they're saying.

[@jonathand.4088]

One thing I love about this piece is how it establishes motifs early on that will reoccur throughout the rest of the story.

[@Maxbeedo2]

My favorite song in this OST, and the main one that I'll be looking forward to eventually seeing done live (perhaps with more intelligible English) at Distant Worlds concerts. I almost can't help but sing along to it after learning the lyrics.

[@CGBartz]

This and Ascension I cannot wait to hear at Distant Worlds honestly. I know Arnie Roth is gonna go wild with Ascension since he played Violin.

[@loulou3881]

I’ve just been to the distant world concert in my city in France and they didn’t play it 😭😭I was really bummed

[@PaigeTheRemembered]

Listening to the choir sing this is like hearing a Godly being bringing destruction to earth.

[@seekittycat]

Me: Aw man I wish Jesse reacted to Away instead now we have to wait The community: 😎 One of my favs that convinced me to buy the game after free trial. One of my fav Suzuki and Soken songs in general. I just kept singing AWAYYYY AWAYYYY at like 4am LOL

[@EdgardoJCruz-dk5kv]

Personally if it was me that asked for this I would have reccomended watching a lyrical only video as not only would you avoid spoilers, but get to focus on how the lyrics go along the melody better. I love this theme as it not only ties a inciting moment in the game, but it contains core notes that become recurring themes throughout the game too.

[@MattEngarding]

Absolutely my favourite track in the entire game, that choir goes so hard.

[@陳威麟-q7o]

And sure we support u for you joining us.

[@RenHeng_canon]

Another GREAT one of FFXVI: "Ascension" (Bahamut Phase 3) IF you feel like giving it a listen, of course ☺️ Also! There's a 2hr demo for FFXVI on PS5 👀... if you're curious 👀👀

[@jorntumrongwit9056]

Easily, EASILY one of my favourite tracks from 16. It's so, so good in context and everything else

[@rayzel5671]

Dayum that bloody roar 2 background music. What a throw back.

[@ryanseager123456789]

It's actually all in English, here are the lyrics: O Prometheus! Ephimetheus Hollos out your noble name! O Prometheus! Ephimetheus Clamors for your stolen flame! Fiery bonds Severed atwain Innocence lost Buried in broken faith A Stormhead fills the horizon Foul shadows whispering ruin Yet from this darkness arises The burning light of a new end Far from heaven, heaven flows Down and down on weary wings borne Carried lower, deep below, from light to shadow Light to shadow! Circled in the strife of an empyreal catastrophe Whorls of ire fan infernal flames on high! Fire in the night A scarlet beacon in the sky Look up to the heavens The firmament reddens Throw open your wings and fly! Away! Away! Away! A stormhead fills the horizon Foul shadows whispering ruin Far from heaven flown Dry your eyes and let your wings fold From the dark light be reborn and rise from shadow Rise from shadow! Circled in the strife of an empyrean catastrophe Tongues of fire incandescent oaths decry! Shadows in the night A swirling cyclone in the sky Look down to the nether Bid farewell forever Throw open your wings and fly! Away! Away! Away!

[@landis9767]

ff16's ost is very heavy in leitmotifs. this bombastic battle theme uses joshua's melody (the character who can turn into phoenix), of which there are several gentler versions, primarily on piano

[@danielj6897]

I like the final three chords of the song. The way it lifts on the second chord I was expecting it to resolve into something more like a typical major but the last one is much more sorrowful than I was expecting.

[@navasize]

You know that the game will have dope music when this is the first song you hear in the game!

[@lockekappa500]

Technically the first song you hear is Find the Flame on the intro scene. But yeah, it's hilarious that this is barely a spoiler, since its the first 5mins of the game lol.

[@myleg6720]

I'm taking a Music video game as an elective; all your videos are helpful! We do talk about our favorite music/song in games and our favorite campers this might be the best class I had.

[@andresashura5550]

Oh brother, the wild part is that this song is like the tutorial LMAO, FF16 is actually insane, but I would totally recommend Ascension or to forbidden seas

[@cupafail]

one of the best tracks from the game imo, can't wait for you to do more from it

[@typhoon37351]

I absoloutely adore the Torn From the Heavens motif in the choir, really punched me with that nostalgia

[@ilakya]

It's fine to be honnest about your thougth. I personally put many other recent FFXIV songs higher than FFXVI as a stand alone music. But that doesn't mean it's bad. Fun fact that may sounds like an excuse, Did you remember the bridge? You must've notice the song isn't just simply loop. Soken had said that he did something in the background that make the music could adjust the length to match the player experiences since everyone would take different time to beat a fight. And you have already guess it that this song is very specific to what happen in the cenematic. The percussion got softer at the later part because in the actual gameplay it get a lot more actors dialouge and things get emotional. Overall it's from firely furiousness and transision into a little bit of sadness and loss. Both of those feeling under the "grand/large/powerful" vibe at all the time. This game is a thereterical experience where you can actually play/control the movie. With these musics to guide you through all kind of emotionals happening on the screen. I believe the album/concert/live/Primal version would be different from this too.

[@FreyRosfield]

You talked about the expression "from 0 to 60" Here in Brazil we say "from 0 to 100"

[@mika9578]

The lyrics of this song are actually english

[@JessesAuditorium]

o_O

[@MuraCasardis]

@@JessesAuditorium Yeah I think they intentionally made the lyrics almost unintelligible because of the underlying meanings and symbolism of them, especially in reflection of the story.

[@ikkinwithattitude]

@@MuraCasardis I think this style of chant is equally unintelligible in Latin -- it's just not as obvious because you don't expect to understand it in Latin. There were enough Latin speakers in the FFXV fandom that translations inevitably appeared when Latin lyrics were either leaked (like Apocalypsis Noctis) or were capable of being understood by listening (like Somnus and Prayer of the Oracle), but no one's ever figured out what Omnis Lacrima says in either Latin or English.

[@Zephhi]

Imo best song in the game

[@TLiebCNV]

Our national anthem

[@merety91]

One of my favorite songs from this game is called Riddle/Odin boss theme

[@ericbright1742]

That's a very good observation of what Soken does. His music is very "for the scene," for lack of better term. It's almost Peter and the Wolf levels of storytelling through music. There are leitmotifs that associate with characters, and with locations. You get to the point where certain characters' leitmotifs show up, and give the audience a hint as to who is *really* behind the events going on.

[@Koustav_04]

The choir was in English. There are videos with lyrics too

[@mugen1292]

away is probably my favorite video game theme from 2023, sure the year hasn't ended but i know away will take my personal video game ost of the year i just lose myself and sing along AWAAAAAAY AWAAAAAAY AWWAAAAAAAAAAAAY

[@brotmitwurst4]

Now we need to request sail forbidden seas

[@TheDarkChaplain]

There's actually a Gamerip of the NieR Automata OST on the internet, which has the different layers / versions of the songs split up. For instance, there's Dark Colossus (Kaiju) with 8bit, Calm (No Vocals), Intro, No Vocals, Scene Change and Vocals Only tracks. The game dynamically layers them over one another, so fans were able to extract them from the game files in this instance. It's not the same as having instruments split up and the whole raw recording stuff in there, but it's interesting nonetheless to hear the parts in isolation.

[@specialnewb9821]

At one point in the game in a dungeon I realized that despite being rather quiet and simple, the bgm was rocketing up the tension like crazy. Soken really did well in 16 but I feel like the songs benefit a lot from how tied into the game they are.

[@TehParismio]

Yeah, I love this track. It has a great energy to it and definitely made an impression on me. May I recommend giving Baldur' Gate 3, Main Theme Part 1? There's 3 tracks total titled Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 so you don't have to watch all of them. All of Baldur's Gate 3's tracks have been uploaded to the composer, Borislav Slavov's official KZbin channel.

[@Eredom]

I can strongly recommend playing this one. It's my GOTY so far, although so far Baldurs gate 3 is a strong runner up. (not finished BG3 yet)

[@DJToMyHits]

Hey man super stoked you reacted to the song! You bring insight that really refreshes my interest in a song I already love! As far as people assuming you'd play, you do you. I will say 10/10 amazing game but it made me feel things so really its a 1/10 trash game absolutely hated it :*)

[@Dorgrin]

The way they’ve mixed the vocals in this soundtrack, ah. Everything about it is just awesome.

[@flik221]

Watching while taking my 5am dump before heading to the gym. This got me fired up. No pun intended.

[@danielj6897]

Ayyy I've been looking forward to this one since the first FF16 song you reviewed.

[@icequeen19devilbrat]

He absolutely needs to do the 3 titan fight songs

[@Nickachuuuuu]

Soken Unleashed

[@Ashborne907]

I really really would love to see your reaction to both the Typhon battle theme and ttian lost theme. I think you would love them both!

[@JesseAnderson]

Totally separate from the sequence this track is tied to. If you're wondering how strong the narrative is, I started crying at 4:30 for a good minute. The leit motif is so on point

[@darshio8307]

Same! That part with bahamut made want to cry

[@레데]

It's amazing enough to be on my music top list this year :3

[@grand1994]

Ah yes, goosebumps every time.

[@Armitaco]

First time commenting in quite a while but Ascension really needs to happen next. Best of the soundtrack imo.

[@HakaishinCat]

you have to do the OST called Ascension if you get time, amazing theme but pretty heavy spoilers if you are avoiding the videos. Amazing music in this game from start to finish though

[@jazzorion1]

The songs are great, but IMO these songs are way more impactful during the gameplay sequences they go along with.

[@braskabani8011]

Bahamut theme is going to make him go crazy

[@Ecastro179]

I hope someone requests a certain boss battle in the game that drops pretenses and just screams Soken all throughout.

[@darlick9227]

Can really recommend "Heart of Stone", both Phase 3 and 4.

[@Tabbycat2701]

I know they’re just passionate but I wish people wouldn’t pressure you to play the game as much as it sounds like they are. I think a lot of the time that can have the opposite effect to what they want. I love the music in the game too, but whether or not to check it out isn’t a choice someone should be pressured into.

[@Stargazing_night_sky]

I hope he gets a request to listen to "do or die" at some point, its like the least final fantasy song in the soundtrack but it sounds like something from sonic rush which is only a good thing lol

[@lockekappa500]

Surprised that you're now saying you weren't really wow'ed by Find the Flame, considering during the reaction of it you said you were glad it didnt sound like XIV, and sounded more like what you liked of XV.

[@DanePimp]

Ascension. Ascension. Ascension. This isn’t a request. It’s a requirement 😅

[@powermaxx11]

Just play the game, not because others told you to, but because its just a fucking amazing game

[@wolfair]

Language is actually English for this song. But do NOT look them up, there are huge spoilers there 🧐

[@silvertayuun]

I just looked them up, I’m really not sure why you think they’re spoilers…

[@SokiHime]

Honestly man, if you felt "spoiled" by those lyrics, I question your media literacy.

[@DigitalMaru]

Joshua 💖💖💖🔥✨

[@muhammadmousavi5756]

Bro odin's theme is crazy .....

[@charlesjohnson3217]

Hard agree on wanting the stems to be available as a standard.

[@nickr3526]

Where can I find the list of submitted songs?

[@JessesAuditorium]

First $1 perk on Patreon.

[@HellGatyr]

Video games music need to see the game, play it even better because great game developer match the music with the actual happening in game The "away, away, away" match the cutscene

[@digiopsnyc]

Idc what anyone says, Soken went OFF on this OST. I've been listening to it again and again after completing the game. Not only the battle tracks, a lot of the field tracks and dungeon tracks are so good, and he uses area/ character motifs really well. I don't know how I was seeing complaints that the soundtrack has "no emotion" online!

[@maj0ga.]

I love all the FF reacts, but really looking forward to the day he finally reacts to some Honkai Impact 3rd :)

[@NinjaMinkzx]

If you dont mind too much with spoilers, Ascension is GOATED, modern classical music.

[@FahadGG1]

:) just adding to the preasure please play ff16. Hope this helps

[@Odelein]

I'd suggest you do yourself (and us) a favor and try the free demo :)

[@mobiusnnaito2543]

Do ascension next from ff16 and if possible,choose with lyrics on it,cheers

[@chuchuleptitrain]

awesome track, I hope you have time to play the game before listening to the bahamut track

[@pedropereira6888]

you should play FF16 on stream

[@at_ur_service4311]

Lyrics are English

[@KevinM491]

I'm going to be honest, experiencing this OST out of context this way is the single worst way to experience it.

[@alonsojett]

One of the issues I have with some Soken material is the wall of sound that the production blasts your ears with. The lyrics in this track are in English but they're near inscrutable.

[@123-o2r4n]

Bruh someone request some fromsoftware ost wtf theres like 2 soulsborne reactions

[@hennessytawate3834]

Nobody is stopping you from putting the money in and requesting.

[@123-o2r4n]

@@hennessytawate3834 na idk how much it costs but not worth the money

[@degapalgamer3772]

damn that was sick. i want to play the game but cant because I haven't got a PS5.