Final Fantasy XV Nabs Florence and the Machine for Theme Song

[The Witch]

http://twinfinite.net/2016/03/final-fantasy-xv-nabs-florence-and-the-machine-for-theme-song/

During the Final Fantasy XV Uncovered event tonight, a new version of the classic song “Stand by Me” played. If that voice sounds familiar, that’s because it was done by none other than Florence and the Machine. What’s more, they’ll also be working on the theme song for the game. Most will remember them as the people behind the haunting version of “I’m Not Calling You a Liar” from Dragon Age II.
Just like most Florence songs, strings and bass will be included in the song. As Florence Welch describes, she’s always viewed the series as “mythical, beautiful, and epic”. Eventually, she wanted to get in on video game music and met up with Square Enix. She views Stand by Me as one of the “greatest songs of all time”, and hearing it, it’s hard to disagree.
Keep coming to Twinfinite for more information on Final Fantasy XV!

This just keeps getting better and better.

 

[Soulcorruptor]

I will say I disagree, hearing this as a theme song was very disappointing to me. It was very slow and drawn out and didn't attract me the way other theme songs did, ontop of that the second time it played during the uncovering it just repeated Stand by Me over and over so it lost more of a feel to it there as well.

 

[Rey]

This doesn't really work for me, honestly. I wanted a Japanese theme and now I am getting flashbacks to Leona Lewis singing "My Hands" in FF XIII. It doesn't bother me THAT much as it seems to me the theme of the game is very dark, so stand by me makes sense as a theme. Does it cut it? Nope, and I am still hoping for a Japanese song, honestly.

 

[The Witch]

A Japanese theme would have taken away seriousness of the story. Japanese people are a lot more accepting to Western culture than the English-speaking world is to Japanese pop-culture. It's smart that they used an English band, it makes it a global thing instead of a "JRPG", which is what they wanted to avoid.

 

[AuronX]

I thought it was brilliantly done. Notice how the original Final Fantasy menu theme song is playing beneath the vocals at the beginning--fitting that with a pre-existing song and arranging them both to work together so well is truly the work of a master. Yes it is reminiscent of Final Fantasy XIII and yes a Japanese theme would've been nice, but really since when has Final Fantasy used Japanese theme songs anyway? FFVIII, IX, XI, XII, XIII, and XIV all have either exclusively English theme songs or the English version is more popular than the Japanese version. I love Japanese (I have put a lot of time and effort into learning it, after all) but at the end of the day I'm one of those people that chooses which voiceover to use based on the quality of the voice acting and how well each actor fits the characters, not the language, and I approach this theme song the same way. It just works so well as it is, performed by Florence and in English, that I don't mind one bit.

 

[Linnaete]

This doesn't really work for me, honestly. I wanted a Japanese theme and now I am getting flashbacks to Leona Lewis singing "My Hands" in FF XIII. It doesn't bother me THAT much as it seems to me the theme of the game is very dark, so stand by me makes sense as a theme. Does it cut it? Nope, and I am still hoping for a Japanese song, honestly.

What reason would it have served being a Japanese song? There's no heavy Asian motif that would make it fit naturally as in FFX and this game was always primed for worldwide appeal. I would have been absolutely surprised if they had elected to go for a Japanese theme, given how keen they were to throw Sayuri Sugawara under the bus for the western version of FFXIII in favour of Leona Lewis.

And no, this is already much better than Leona Lewis's song. Florence and the Machine commands a genuine global fan base and I think she's a wonderful choice. It's no "Answers", but it's certainly nothing as ill-fitting as "My Hands".

 

[Dionysos]

If I get that quoted text rightly, Florence and the Machine covered that song and Square used it for the demo, but the song we might get for FFXV might be a different, original song, also performed by Florence and the Machine?

If that's the case then it isn't quite the same as the 'My Hands' with Leona Lewis problem with an out-of-place song being forced into a game in order to appeal to a Western audience. If it is an original song which Flo and co will be performing then it's no different to the Japanese divas which have performed original songs for other FF games.

As for English versus Japanese songs... I honestly prefer English versions since selfishly it means that I can understand the lyrics and connect more with the song. Globally speaking more people will speak English than Japanese so it does make sense when considering a universal audience.

I think Suteki Da Ne might be the only Japanese-language main theme which worked (but there may be more - I can't recall many), and I think that was perhaps because FFX was such a spiritual game that it didn't matter what language the theme song was sung in... It could have been performed in Klingon and people would still enjoy it.

But we were lucky to have English versions of Melodies of Life and Eyes on Me. Japanese versions of those songs would have taken us out of the game too much in our English versions of the games. Imagine completing FFIX and having the credits roll with clips of the most iconic scenes from FFIX, but then instead of our familiar version of Melodies of Life we had Japanese vocals which we couldn’t understand? It would make us feel as if we'd just finished watching an anime but the translator forgot to paste subtitles over the end credits.

 

[Linnaete]

I've given it another listen and come to think about it, the lyrics actually fit eerily well with the game's main abstract motifs of the longer, encroaching nights and the moon. Then there's the incorporation of the familiar crystal theme into the cover and it's just perfect. Yes, it's also cheesy, because it's so in-your-face about the idea of friends standing together against insurmountable odds, but it's genuinely one of the smartest theme song decisions Square Enix have ever made.

This is a veritable how-to case study on how to pick a theme song and an absolute far cry from Leona Lewis's song that had virtually nothing to do with anything in FFXIII.

 

[greenyxi]

I won't listen to the song to avoid spoilers, but I've always loved Florence (Lungs was her best album: fact!). This is giving me good vibes .

 

[Rey]

I won't listen to the song to avoid spoilers, but I've always loved Florence (Lungs was her best album: fact!). This is giving me good vibes .

The song won't spoil anything for you. The trailer might but the song will not. I don't mind Florence but like I said earlier, I do feel the song sounds a bit forced to tell us this game is going to be sad. I think she's a random choice, honestly. I don't like it but I hope to see it grow on me. Cheesy, and just a bit off putting in the trailer (which you wont watch)

 

[greenyxi]

The song won't spoil anything for you. The trailer might but the song will not. I don't mind Florence but like I said earlier, I do feel the song sounds a bit forced to tell us this game is going to be sad. I think she's a random choice, honestly. I don't like it but I hope to see it grow on me. Cheesy, and just a bit off putting in the trailer (which you wont watch)

How can a song not be a spoiler? It doesn't have to be story-related to be a spoiler, you know. As for the choice of word "cheesy"...this is Final Fantasy. Every song ever has been cheesy.

 

[charliepanayi]

I can't stand Florence and the Machine, and this is no exception. It's her usual over-emoting! Stand By Me deserves better.

 

[Linnaete]

How can a song not be a spoiler? It doesn't have to be story-related to be a spoiler, you know. As for the choice of word "cheesy"...this is Final Fantasy. Every song ever has been cheesy.

Is this what spoiler culture has turned into? A cover of an established song is also a spoiler?

Honestly, if you're that frightened by spoilers down to the smallest, imaginary level like this, you may as well flee from the internet for half a year.

 

[greenyxi]

Is this what spoiler culture has turned into? A cover of an established song is also a spoiler?

Honestly, if you're that frightened by spoilers down to the smallest, imaginary level like this, you may as well flee from the internet for half a year.

It's more about how it's used. Is it already an established song? Everyone was talking as if it was new for her, for this game (going by my twitter). Well, I can hear that then :/.

How is it an imaginary level?

 

[LovingOfLightning]

Well... It's Florence FROM Florence + The Machine as opposed to Florence + The Machine. I managed to watch the video with both songs and clips from the game.
The game looks great. Florence, as ever, sounds like she's just woke up from a nap. Sorry Florence + The Machine fans!
It doesn't take anything away from the game however.

 

[Cefca]

If I get that quoted text rightly, Florence and the Machine covered that song and Square used it for the demo, but the song we might get for FFXV might be a different, original song, also performed by Florence and the Machine?

I'm about 95% sure that when I was watching the stream that it actually said it was the main theme for XV rather than just the trailer.

It's more about how it's used. Is it already an established song? Everyone was talking as if it was new for her, for this game (going by my twitter). Well, I can hear that then :/.

How is it an imaginary level?

There's nothing it can spoil - It's a 55 year old well known song. It might be new for the band and the game, but it's a very old song.

 

[Razberry Knight]

I will say I disagree, hearing this as a theme song was very disappointing to me. It was very slow and drawn out and didn't attract me the way other theme songs did, ontop of that the second time it played during the uncovering it just repeated Stand by Me over and over so it lost more of a feel to it there as well.

I couldn't agree more. For me it reminds of of Leona Lewis My Hands. But also I just thought any original game deserves an original theme.


But I knew Somnus wasn't staying as the theme.

 

[Dionysos]

I'm about 95% sure that when I was watching the stream that it actually said it was the main theme for XV rather than just the trailer.

Okay, thanks for clearing that. Everyone here has been taking it to be the main theme song, so I started to believe that the wording of this article was either awkward or incorrect:

During the Final Fantasy XV Uncovered event tonight, a new version of the classic song “Stand by Me” played. If that voice sounds familiar, that’s because it was done by none other than Florence and the Machine. What’s more, they’ll also be working on the theme song for the game.

I've just checked the website that this quote was taken from and it seems that they've now updated the article wording to this:

During the Final Fantasy XV Uncovered event tonight, a new version of the classic song “Stand by Me” played. If that voice sounds familiar, that’s because it was done by none other than Florence and the Machine. What’s more, it’ll be the theme song for the game.

I guess that settles that one then! 'Stand By Me' will indeed be the theme song for the game.

Depending on how they use it, it should be appropriate for the game. It's nothing like the 'My Hands' disaster in my opinion. 'My Hands' had nothing to do with the storyline of FFXIII (did Lightning really care about putting on her makeup?). 'Stand By Me' does have lyrics which fit the FFXV story.

See the lyrics here:

Spoiler

"Stand By Me"

When the night has come
And the land is dark
And the moon is the only light we'll see
No I won't be afraid
Oh, I won't be afraid
Just as long as you stand, stand by me

So darling, darling
Stand by me, oh stand by me
Oh stand, stand by me
Stand by me

If the sky that we look upon
Should tumble and fall
Or the mountain should crumble to the sea
I won't cry, I won't cry
No, I won't shed a tear
Just as long as you stand, stand by me

And darling, darling
Stand by me, oh stand by me
Oh stand now, stand by me
Stand by me

So darling, darling
Stand by me, oh stand by me
Oh stand now, stand by me, stand by me
Whenever you're in trouble won't you stand by me
Oh stand by me, won't you stand now, oh, stand
Stand by me ​

If I was to criticise the decision to include this song then it would be that this is rather lazy. It would be better to have a truly original song for the game which uses the melody of one of the main theme tunes from the OST (like most of the main vocal themes have done for the FF series, such as: Melodies of Life, Eyes on Me, Suteki Da Ne, Distant World, etc).

However... Since they have chosen a pre-existing song, they have chosen relatively wisely this time. This isn't Britney Spears or the Spice Girls. I'm quite surprised it isn't Snoop Dogg either since he's been creeping into all sorts of video games in recent years (Tekken, Call of Duty, and more). This song can fit, so I hope they use it well.

 

[Kei]

Leona Lewis was bad, Florence and The Machine is also a bad choice. Also, if that "Stand by Me" is the theme song for the game, yep that sounds horrible af. :> Final Fantasy used to get artists to come up with songs for the game, not grab a random song and put it in. Utada Hikaru, although for the Kingdom Heart series, was really good for songs. I don't care if it is Japanese or English as long the music/lyrics and ALL of it fits the game, If it is in fact a "sad" game, Stand by Me was a TERRIBLE choice, the music actually sounded satire and the vocals surely didn't deliver the theme, I don't care about the lyrics here, the vocals and the music seemed WAY out of place.

 

[Cefca]

I'm not sure about having a well known song as the main theme myself to be honest. It can work in a trailer or as a secondary theme in a game (Gears of War 3 is a good example), I'm just not sure about a main theme.