OC Remix Gives Final Fantasy IX's Soundtrack a Masterful Rearrangement
Worlds Apart celebrates the 15th birthday of FFIX with an amazing, four-disc collection full of new takes on Nobuo Uematsu's classics.
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It's strange to think of Final Fantasy IX as underappreciated—few games that move more than five million copies can claim this status—but it certainly hasn't seen much love from its parent company over the years. While it's practically begging for a souped-up port to eliminate its few technical shortcomings, to date, the only way to play FFIX remains the original PlayStation release.
Still, IX is a Final Fantasy with a strong following, most likely thanks to its status as the last "traditional" game in the series—as well as creator Hironobu Sakaguchi's Squaresoft curtain call. Like The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, FFIX is one of those games that launched just as the console generations shifted, causing it to get a little lost in the shuffle.
It's been nearly 15 years since its American release date, and while we've seen plenty of amazing fan tributes in the passing years, OC Remix's newest album, Worlds Apart, may be the most elaborate and spectacular celebration of Final Fantasy IX so far.
If you're unfamiliar with OC Remix, the site's been around since 1999, acting as a sort of central hub for the video game remix community. Along with hosting individual reimagined tracks from a variety of games, OC Remix occasionally assembles entire album-length project, with Worlds Apart being one of the most ambitious ones they've ever attempted. Final Fantasy IX had a massive soundtrack to start with, and while Worlds Apart can't quite measure up to its 120-plus songs, the four discs' worth of music on this remix album should keep fans happy for roughly four hours and twenty minutes. And, like all of the content available on OC Remix, Worlds Apart is absolutely free—though I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you donated a few bucks to show your appreciation.