Scarlet Moon creates fantastic albums of fan-made arrangements of classic video game music, and its next album will celebrate some of the biggest titles form Squaresoft’s 16-bit and 32-bit RPG days. You know, stuff like Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger.
But this new album, called The World is Square, give all of these songs a chilled-out twist. Scarlet Moon has given us a sample of a track based on the main theme from Final Fantasy VII to share with all of you. You can listen to the song, “Serenity,” above.
Pretty, isn’t it? Along with producing these arrangement albums, Scarlet Moon also creates original albums for modern games, such as Wizard of Legend.
Scarlet Moon gives plenty of love to songs from Square’s classic RPGs. Last year, it released an album of guitar arrangements of Final Fantasy IV’s soundtrack. Along with sites and groups like OverClocked Remix and GameChops, they are giving the video game music scene, especially fans of retro games, plenty to listen to.
As for this track I get to share with you, I love it. You have that soothing, almost angelic voice singing that iconic main theme from Final Fantasy VII, and you also have the classic Final Fantasy prelude melody providing an other-worldly background track.
The original version of Final Fantasy VII’s main theme is at times melancholy and epic, but this version is more relaxing. It’s something you could listen to while studying or working. You can put it on in the background without it taking over your senses.
The entire album will become available on February 14 on Bandcamp. You can preorder it here. Along with Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VI, and Chrono Trigger, it will also include arrangements of songs from Secret of Mana and Final Fantasy IV.
The RetroBeat is a weekly column that looks at gaming’s past, diving into classics, new retro titles, or looking at how old favorites — and their design techniques — inspire today’s market and experiences. If you have any retro-themed projects or scoops you’d like to send my way, please contact me.
Disclaimer: Jayson Napolitano, our contact at Scarlet Moon, also represents former GamesBeat senior editor Dale North, who’s now a composer of games music and wrote music for Wizard of Legend, one of the games mentioned in this story. Our coverage remains objective.