Final Fantasy XVI soundtrack now available on streaming services
In the fifteen (aww, so close) months since Final Fantasy XVI (16) has launched for the PS5, one constant refrain we’ve heard is that the soundtrack is loaded with banger tracks by the talented composer Masayoshi Soken. I count myself amongst one of the people championing this soundtrack. To me it is full of tracks that can instantly take me to various moments throughout the game, much in the same way One-Winged Angel can take me to moments of Final Fantasy 7, or Dancing Mad can instantly take me to the final boss atop the World of Ruin in Final Fantasy 6. And I believe I can confidently say that Soken is the new standard bearer when it comes to the level of excellence expected of a new Final Fantasy score, now that Nobuo Uematsu has decided to enter his twilight years. With the release of Final Fantasy XVI on PC, now is the perfect time to revisit the soundtrack, and it can now be found on streaming services, arriving side-by-side with the PC port. All eight (yes eight) discs of the original soundtrack (and DLC soundtrack) can be streamed on various streaming platforms, whether your preference is Spotify or Youtube, Square Enix has you covered.
Original Soundtrack
DLC Soundtrack
Throughout the course of Final Fantasy XVI, from start to finish, Soken’s score was a perfect companion to the storytelling. I found myself constantly hyped to hear ‘Find the Flame’ to get that Ifrit blood pumping as I toppled the massive Eikons on Clive’s quest for vengeance. A tough boss fight coming up? ‘No Risk, No Reward’ is there to accompany you into battle and help drive that sense of urgency that you must not lose. But I think what’s most surprising about the soundtrack is the wide range of genres that Soken managed to touch over the course of the game. Though a lot of that variety was already on offer with the myriad soundtracks to Final Fantasy XIV (side note: really looking forward to that Dawntrail soundtrack release), so I already knew what Soken was capable of, but still the surprising shift in style and tone when I’d hear tracks like ‘Do or Die’ or ‘Heavensbound - Reverie,’ would provide the necessary shake-up and prevent things from feeling too familiar. There’s so much more to this soundtrack than meets the eye, especially when you get into the DLC, where it looks like Soken decided he wanted to make music that was intended for arcade music games like ‘Groove Coaster’ or ‘Beatmania IIDX.’ What was also an interesting include, the ‘unused’ tracks, are also a part of the offer on streaming, and it gives an interesting look at what might have been early tracks as part of the game’s initial development.
One of the best Easter Eggs throughout this soundtrack have been the crossovers with Final Fantasy XIV, especially when it comes to the aforementioned DLC soundtrack. I think it goes without saying that the collaboration between Final Fantasy XVI’s director, Naoki Yoshida, and Final Fantasy XIV’s director, Yoshi-P has been a resounding success. The fact that both products were able to share Soken and still generate over a hundred new tracks for a mainline Final Fantasy game is nothing short of impressive.
If you consider yourself a fan of good video game music, then you would be doing yourself a disservice by not listening to this soundtrack, and having listened to it front to back multiple times, there’s no better time than now to enjoy this soundtrack alongside the PC release of Final Fantasy XVI, you won’t be disappointed.
