Thankfully, this isn’t the only Chocobo theme we get in Final Fantasy XIII. And yes, I’m saying that this is worse than even Crazy Chocobo, which was at the very least entertaining to listen to. Look, it fits in well with the futuristic, wonderland setting of Nautilus, sure, but that doesn’t change the fact that this might very well be the worst rendition of the beloved Chocobo theme we’ve ever heard in the series. It starts off with an electronic opening before we get these auto-tuned, vocaloid-style vocals. On the contrary, it certainly is striking, only for pretty much the worst reasons possible. The issue isn’t that it’s not memorable or striking.
Without a doubt, Chocobos of Cocoon is the absolute worst track in the entire Final Fantasy XIII soundtrack. Sadly, the dichotomy in the soundtrack doesn’t always produce ideal results, and this is something that’s most apparent when we come to the two Chocobo themes in Final Fantasy XIII. It sets the stage for the rest of the game and fits in nicely with the story’s core conflict between Cocoon and Pulse. It was definitely a little disappointing to see that composer Masashi Hamauzu had opted not to riff on the classic Prelude theme, but this is a pretty solid departure on its own. The Prelude plays during the game’s intro cinematic as well, and it fits perfectly with the militaristic look at PSICOM, then transitioning to the beautiful scenes of Pulse when the orchestra kicks in. Midway through the track, however, we get hints of a swelling orchestra as the music starts to open with a grand build-up. The metallic beginnings of the track create a very rigid and industrial soundscape -perfect for the mechanical look and style that Cocoon is going for.
This dichotomy and contrast are immediately present in the game’s impressive prelude track, which is also aptly split in half in terms of musical tone. The first half takes place in the futuristic, Midgar-like continent of Cocoon, while the second half brings us down to the abundant fields of Gran Pulse. One of the very first things you notice about FFXIII’s music, and the game in general, is how it’s split into half. With that in mind, I finished up my playthrough of FFXIII, made notes about musical moments that stood out in the game, then dove headfirst into the soundtrack. Final Fantasy XIII references itself, and it’s multiple composers writing multiple songs to make this holistic kind of listening experience.” And, to me, that’s what serves a game best. “A soundtrack is just a bunch of songs, but a score is everything tied together in some sense. North, however, offered a deeper explanation as to why it was one of his favorite scores of all time. While my initial impression of Final Fantasy XIII’s soundtrack was that it had a few good tracks that stood out, it was overall a very bland collection of music. Just last month, when we were at E3, I had the opportunity to speak with Wizard of Legend soundtrack composer Dale North, who coincidentally had a few things to say about this game’s music. What has changed is that I’ve also found myself developing a newfound appreciation for the game’s music and score. The plot and characters are still silly, and the combat system’s still really fun. Fast forward eight years later, and my feelings on the game are mostly the same. I did, however, enjoy the hell out of the combat system, but that was about it. From what I could recall, I had disliked the nonsensical plot, moronic characters, and remember thinking the soundtrack was unmemorable and poor, especially compared to the rest of the series. Two months ago, I decided to revisit Final Fantasy XIII for the first time since playing it many moons ago on the PS3.