This is where the Zanarkand Mix comes in. This album is described as a musical representation of Tidus’ journey as he makes his way through Spira. While I’m not really sure if the remixed tracks here are an accurate depiction of his journey, the album as a whole is a lot more exciting and enjoyable to listen to because of the electric guitars and synths. Even the Prelude track here stands out. We’ve heard so many remixes and covers of this classic Final Fantasy track over the years, but somehow, Zanarkand Mix’s version of Prelude still stands tall as epic clash of blips, synths, and a crying violin.
Right off the bat, you’ve got a rock cover of Jecht’s theme titled Blues For Jecht, which wouldn’t sound out of place at a 90’s rock concert. And Dreaming, a cover of Tidus’ Theme that’s beautifully stripped down to a soft piano track with vocals, before slowly giving way to a slightly faster electronic beat, and also dubstep.
Tidus’ Theme is, in my opinion, one of the best and underplayed tracks in Final Fantasy X. I like what remixers Faseeh and Sirenstar have done with the track here, though they probably could’ve eased up on the vocals and lyrics, and focused instead on delivering a more punchy sound with the instruments. It’s one of the best covers of Tidus’ Theme out there, and the beautiful part about it all is that the electronic direction of the song also fits in perfectly well with Tidus’ roots and Zanarkand’s machina culture.
The style of the songs on the Zanarkand Mix are a far cry from the ones we’ve heard on the Besaid Mix. These tracks are much more contemporary and experimental, and in a way, they’re also much better suited for chilled nighttime listening, if the album art wasn’t already enough to give that away. The best example of this is Sebastien Skaf’s remix of Wandering Flame.
The original track plays a few times in the game, and it’s always right after a devastating battle with Sin or during a somber moment in the story. When the crew first arrives at Kilika, when Tidus learns that Sin is Jecht, and more prominently, after the massive defeat that the Crusaders and Al Bhed suffered on the beach. It’s not a very cheery song for obvious reasons, and it was certainly fitting for the kind of mood Final Fantasy X was going for, but it never stuck out to me as a particularly good piece of music outside the game.
Skaf’s remix is somehow able to retain that tone of serious melancholy and longing, but also puts enough of an electronic spin on it to make it good listening during a night outing. The soft drums in the background of the track are the X-factor here, and it really helps to make it pop. It certainly wouldn’t work in the context of Final Fantasy X’s story, but this Wandering Flame remix is pure ear candy on its own. That’s what a remix should always strive for. Instrumental covers of good tracks are always welcome, but the best remixes are the ones that bring life to an otherwise unmemorable or forgettable track, allowing the listener to develop a deeper sense of appreciation of the source material.
Persistence is another one that deserves a shout out. Composed by Brandon Strader of OC Remix fame, this is a remix of Lulu’s Theme. By now, you’re probably thinking to yourself, “Wait, Lulu had a theme?” Yes, Lulu does indeed have a character theme on the original soundtrack. But, like so many other underwhelming tracks on there, Lulu’s Theme ended up being one of those that was so easily forgettable and looked over because, well, it only played once in the entire game. The original is a really beautiful piece of music, it’s just hard to connect it with anything in the game if you listened to it on its own.
Strader’s cover doesn’t stray too far from the original work, but it enhances the theme, making it feel a little more personal to the character, while also maintaining that sense of mystic and sorrow.
However, as much as I wish it wasn’t the case, the Zanarkand Mix also brings about its fair share of missed remixes and cheesy tunes. Some of the worst offenders include Never Wakka Way and Punder Plains, both of which include fairly obnoxious sing-talking and cringe-worthy lines. There’s also Mekrdhehk Cdnegac Padfaah Ic, which means “Lightning Strikes Between Us” in Al Bhed. Clever.
The main problem I have with remixed music is when artists choose to add lyrics or use vocals as a primary instrument and driving force of a track. When you’re listening to a remixed track, chances are that you’ve already heard the original score and you’ll have certain expectations in place. Adding in vocals to a remix is always a risky move because it can go in either one of two ways: enhance the meaning behind the original song, or completely break the listener’s immersion. The tracks here are humorous takes on Final Fantasy X’s story and plot points, and they’re funny enough to warrant a single listen, but they wouldn’t find their way into my playlists any time soon.
SPIRA: Music From Final Fantasy X truly is a labor of love. That much is evident from the amount of effort put into the composing and mixing of all these songs, and the top-notch production quality. It’s also a reminder of how painfully limited Final Fantasy X’s music was. Save for the remixes of Besaid, Wandering Flame, and Lulu’s Theme, the absolute best tracks in this massive collection end up being renditions of popular themes that were already well-received in the original soundtrack. There’s no other explanation for the five different covers of Suteki Da Ne and To Zanarkand on here, and I’m not even counting the remixes of the tracks that are really just reiterations of the motifs present in those two.
Much like Final Fantasy X’s soundtrack, many pieces in SPIRA also feel a little bit like filler. They’re not necessarily bad per se, but they’re just not remixed works that you’d actively listen to while you’re out and about. There are some really interesting musical ideas at play here, and a few of them do work out with surprisingly good results, while most of the others end up falling flat. Perhaps SPIRA would’ve been a stronger collection of remixed works had it been much smaller and selective of its tracks.
For all of my complaints and gripes with SPIRA, however, I’m still glad that this massive collaboration project exists. It’s not often that you’d find a group of talented remixers and composers coming together to produce a quality album full of video game music, and as much as I love to hate on some of the cheesy tracks here, there are still a few brilliant gems in SPIRA that will stick with me for a long time to come. Final Fantasy X’s soundtrack might have been a disappointment in my eyes, but at least we can always count on the community and fans to breathe new life into some of its dying beats and rejuvenate it.
