(Image credit: Square Enix)
Masayoshi Soken, renowned composer for Square Enix, recently shared his challenging experience of working on both Final Fantasy 14 and its Dawntrail expansion alongside the Final Fantasy 16 soundtrack. This undertaking, he described, was nothing short of personal torment.
Soken had previously collaborated with Nobuo Uematsu, Ryo Yamazaki, Tsuyoshi Sekito, and Naoshi Mizuta on the base game of Final Fantasy 14. However, for Final Fantasy 16, he stepped up as the lead composer. In an interview, Soken emphasized that juggling these two vastly different projects was an arduous task he’d never wish to repeat. The contrast between the dark, moody backdrop of Final Fantasy 16 and the vibrant world of Final Fantasy 14 created an unexpected challenge.
Soken reflected, “I can’t pinpoint one example due to the overwhelming workload, but the creative spirit required was indeed very different,” he explained. “I initially thought it wouldn’t vary much, yet it turned out to be quite contrasting. In simple terms, while Final Fantasy 14 embodies variety, Final Fantasy 16 focuses on intricate stories.”
As someone somewhat familiar with balancing multiple creative tasks, I can empathize with Soken’s struggle, though it sounds like his was particularly overwhelming. “Every day was a really horrible hell,” he confessed, attributing his ability to manage both projects to previous experience with Final Fantasy 14 1.0 and its successor, A Realm Reborn.
Soken remains firm on avoiding future similar undertakings, indicating he’d decline if Square Enix ever proposed working on Final Fantasy 17 while still engaged with Final Fantasy 14. “I would just say ‘no, I don’t want to’… Only if I had two bodies,” he stated emphatically. Listen up, Square—take the hint.
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