Part of the appeal of Final Fantasy VII is the way it manages to tug onto those emotional chords deep within the gamer. Mind you this was in 1997, when the Playstation was beginning to hit its stride, 3D graphics were all the rage and the Virtual Boy had bitten the dust. Most games nowadays still fail to achieve the same powerful effect it's bigger brothers film and TV achieve, while 13 years ago FFVII made gamers across the world reach for their supply of tissues, gushing over the SPOILER ALERT death of Aerith.
But how? How did then Squaresoft manage to achieve what was almost the impossible in video games, that is, evoke feelings of joy, sadness and anger in a player from a game? Was it the graphics? Sure it was cutting edge for the time, but look at the game now; one could make the argument that Cloud and co. are the long lost brothers of lego men.
It was the music. Here I am, at 12:14 in the morning listening to the OST and remembering all the great moments from the game. Show me a cutscene of the game sans the soundtrack and it'll fail to have the same impact.
I've never been good at describing music. If I were to attempt to talk about time signature, pitch and tone, it probably wouldn't make much sense. The music of Final Fantasy VII doesn't require me to describe it though. It sings a melody, striking deep emotional chords in me that most gaming soundtracks nowadays fail to achieve.
Remember the meeting with Aerith in the church? It's a sentimental scene not because of the graphics, but because of the music. Every other element; story, graphics is conducted by 'Flowers blooming in the church'. It evokes a sense of tenderness between Cloud and Aerith, and the rest of the game design elements follow.
What Squaresoft (now Square Enix) do really well however, is manage to manipulate the choice of music and its intended meaning in FFVII. It's one thing to go and make a beautiful song for a touching scene, but to use that beautiful song and place it in a scene of absolute despair and sadness. Let's take the obvious example of Aerith again. As I said before, I'm no good at describing music, but 'Aerith's theme' is perfect for the character; going in tandem with the sweet, serene nature of the flower lady.
And then the infamous death scene. Sephiroth rains down from above and stabs her. In the moments before, a dark, foreboding song is in the background. Silence ensues, then 'Aerith's theme' plays. This theme, evoking emotions of calmness and serenity, clashes with what the gamer sees: death, sadness and loss of hope. To further iterate my point, there's a clash of the ears and eyes, with a song that's so beautiful, so touching, used in a scene that's of utter shock and sadness. Through this clever, and almost sinister manipulation of song meaning, Squaresoft had created one of the most powerful moments in video game history.
Do games nowadays fail to use their soundtracks effectively? No, game soundtracks have progressed far beyond the midi file, with large scale orchestras being the norm for triple A games. It's just the use of music in games is far too conventional, often getting left behind in favour of other aspects of game design. Music in Final Fantasy VII is different though; while managing to create an already perfect soundtrack, it didn't just use it as music for the game, but something that is integral to the game itself. The end result? A 13 year old game that still manages to make gamers across the world cry, cry and cry again.
