VGM Essentials - Final Fantasy Vinyl Review By Lee 📀 @FiragaRecords #Vinyl #VideoGameVinyl

Firaga Records and the VGM Essentials series. Lots of them are out, many of them are essential for the discerning video game/electronic music fan in your life. And this, the Final Fantasy edition, is no different.

I'm not going to delve into the history of the series, because everyone who knows video games knows Square Enix's franchise, from the NES era to the modern 9th-generation console powerhouses. One thing the multitude of FF games has in common, though, is excellent music. This collection takes a sprinkling of that magic from across the whole series and allows a bevvy of producers to drag it firmly into club-ready territory.

The presentation is, as usual, exemplary. A bright, glossy die-cut slipcase houses two sleeved records, pressed on black vinyl at 45rpm. Each sleeve has a beautiful crystal design that is visible when the package is put together. Each track is remixed by one or two producers, some of whom will be familiar to fans of the series, such as SARE, nokbient and Noteblock, along with some new-to-me names like Emunator and Prower.

Musically, the offering here is in keeping with the rest of the series. Each remixer stays true to the often-pixelly spirit of the original track while updating it for the dancefloor. The mix of genres across the 14 tracks is what you'd expect, from the sunny drum n' bass of Tetracase's take on Besaid Island to the dark basslines and breakbeat of FFXIII's Blinded By Light, remixed by No Nice Things. And don't worry, there's dubstep too, although you have to wait till the end for Theology to give it to you via The Gapra Whitewood.

There's not a duff song here, which, given the number of tracks, is always a risk a label runs. Standout tracks include Shady Monk, who adds kick drums and bass to J-E-N-O-V-A, nokbient's junglist salute to Prelude from FFII and Chimpazilla's pounding rework of The Djinn's Curse (FFIII). I also have to give a shout-out to The Diamond Planet and SARE, who listened to the 9-note Victory Fanfare from FFVII and thought, you know what? This needs to be a 150bpm rave banger.

I feel like I say this every time I review a VGM Essentials release, but it remains true - this has crossover appeal for both Final Fantasy fans and dance heads. It's not cheap on vinyl but is a lovely package, and of course, you can buy it digitally, on CD or stream it too.

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PURCHASE LINK: VGM Essentials: FINAL FANTASY (2xLP Vinyl Record)