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Some of the coolest content in FFXIV, of which there is much of, is re-living some of the old classic moments from our favorite games of the series' past. Cloud of Darkness, Demon Wall and Byblos are some of the encounters that are re-imagined in FFXIV to impressive effect. Calcabrina was always a really impressionable fight in FFIV, so when Pie and I finally came across Calcabrina in The Antitower, it was exhilirating!! Hearing the Calcabrina theme when you first encounter the Calca and Brina dolls evoked the imagery and emotion from IV...and then at phase two, everything goes downhill as the same old tired FFXIV boss music plays, completely destroying the mood and atmosphere! D:
Pie and I have long since tired of the boss music that plays ad nauseum throughout many of the boss encounters. I never thought it was particularly exciting and Pie likens it to that of circus music. In an overwhelmingly superlative soundtrack, the boss track, Ominous Prognisticks, fails to deliver as it comes off as simply...forgettable. I think that it would be mostly innocuous if we weren't made to listen to it so often, but the fact that we are catapulted it quickly from forgettable to downright grating.
After we intentionally or unintentionally wiped from Calcabrina the first time (I blame the music), I decided to act on Pie's suggestion, and tabbed out to put the old Final Fantasy IV boss music on as soon as Calcabrina switched forms. What resulted was this incredible, heart-pumping experience fueled of nostalgia and enthusiasm that made us swell. Pie and I must have gushed about it for an hour after the fight about just how much more it made us enjoy the encounter. X3
Afterward, I decided to see if there was any way to replace the music in FFXIV, and lo and behold some ingenious Eorzean had already tackled the problem~! Upon discovering it, Pie went on this multi-day journey to track down some of our favorite tunes from various games to inject new life into some of the underperforming tracks, as well as those we've heard overmuch. It took us quite some time to find the right fits, ones that captured the mood and theme of those we were replacing, but it was a fun adventure in nostalgia, discussion and collaboration for us :D
Undertale's Death By Glamour for the Aesthetician, Eternal Sonata's Boss Theme for FATE battles, Fire Emblem's "We should turn in for the night" for inn music and Chrono Cross' Voyage Another World and Another Guldove for the residential day and night themes, respectively, were a few of our picks. We were originally going to stick with just boss replacement music but we got caught up in the excitement and decided to go all out! We're really looking forward to hearing the finished product, and, barring any computer catastrophe caused by my amateur hack job, we should be able to see the fruits of our labors soon. Or, you know, a comic chronicling my skillful obliteration of a computer through improper hexidecimal manipulation. Either way, fun times ahead!