Even two-plus years into a pandemic, life is #tough. As a way to celebrate Fridays and usher in the weekend, we’re trying out a new segment: Friday Fortissimo. Check back each Friday for a new song (from games, movies, or elsewhere) to blast in the car and set the airwaves ablaze.
This week, I purchased a book of Final Fantasy VII sheet music for the piano. It was an impulse purchase—good sheet music is hard to find online, and I needed an excuse to dust off the keys.
As I thumbed through the 13-track booklet (which, as an aside, is entirely in Japanese), I quickly found my way to some nostalgic favorites. There’s “Gold Saucer,” with its jovial, carefree melody; “Rufus’ Welcoming Ceremony,” a pompous fanfare indeed, yet deliciously good; and the ever moving “Ahead on Our Way.” The book even includes the Advent Children rendition of “Those Who Fight“—a song that’ll truly make your hands cramp.
Yet, it was the very first song in the collection I had to share today, and that’s “Tifa’s Theme.”
Tifa’s Theme Is Still a Banger, Decades Later
I don’t need to say much about this theme. If you’ve played Final Fantasy VII or Final Fantasy VII Remake, you get it. And if you somehow haven’t played one of these JRPG greats, well, take a listen for yourself:
It’s incredible to me that this rendition has been available as far back as 2008. Back then, a remake of Final Fantasy VII was still just wishful thinking. A 2005 tech demo for PlayStation 3 teased the possibilities, but it wouldn’t be until 2020 that this vision came to be.
The remake itself might have taken its sweet time to get here, but damn—Nobuo Uematsu’s wonderful music has been here for decades. Consider what the original “Tifa’s Theme” (1997) sounds like, then listen to the remade “Tifa’s Theme” (2020), and it’s crazy how well 2008’s piano version still holds up.
I won’t belabor the point. Final Fantasy VII is a special game, and Tifa is an iconic character (Aerith’s still better—sorry not sorry, Kei). This is a song I need now in life more than I can express, and it’s my pleasure to nominate it for this week’s Friday Fortissimo.
