A Certain Writer

I went to a Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy performance a while ago and wanted to record my thoughts before I forget about it.

Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy is an official Final Fantasy symphony concert tour led by conductor Arnie Roth. It tours around the world and, since the Final Fantasy 35th Anniversary, seems to have performances in a different city once or twice a month. I had been to the Eorzean Symphony, a Final Fantasy XIV concert, but had never been to Distant Worlds performance before. I had always wanted to, though. I listen to the Distant Worlds albums all the time and they’re among my favorite Final Fantasy arrangement tracks. So, when a performance date was announced for my city, I jumped at the opportunity to finally see it in person.

The event is a lot different from the other Final Fantasy concert tours like Eorzean Symphony or the Final Fantasy VII Remake tour. For starters, Distant Worlds features music from all the Final Fantasy games instead of focusing on a single entry. At the performance I attended there was at least one song from almost every game in the series - Final Fantasy XII was the only exception. There may have been more songs and I may have gotten the order incorrect, but I’ve listed what I can remember of the setlist below:

• Prelude
• Liberi fatali from Final Fantasy VIII
• One-Winged Angel – Rebirth from Final Fantasy VII Remake
• Final Fantasy VI Melody – Phantom Forest ~ Phantom Train ~ The Veldt
• Cosmo Canyon from Final Fantasy VII
• Blinded by Light from Final Fantasy XIII
• Roses of May from Final Fantasy IX
• Torn from the Heavens from Final Fantasy XIV
• Chocobo Medley
• Apocalipsis Noctis from Final Fantasy XVI
• Battle with the Four Fiends from Final Fantasy IV
• Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy VIII
• Heavensward from Final Fantasy XIV
• Festival of the Hunt from Final Fantasy IX
• Final Fantasy ~ Final Fantasy VI Battle Medley
• Victory Theme
• Zanarkand from Final Fantasy X
• Final Fantasy Title Screen (credits)
• One Winged Angel (sing-along) from Final Fantasy VII

I’m an old-school Final Fantasy fan so it was nice to hear so much music from games like Final Fantasy IV and Final Fantasy VI. Battle with the Four Fiends was probably my favorite song of the night. Some games were featured more than others. Songs from games like Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy XI were only featured in medleys. As mentioned above, there were no songs from Final Fantasy XII which was kind of a bummer. Despite this, I still enjoyed the setlist a lot.

The concert was a lot more casual than most orchestra performances I’ve been to. Actually, I think it was the most casual preference I’ve ever been to, Eorzean Symphony and Zelda Symphony included. There were a lot of cosplayers at the venue and most that weren’t in cosplay wore t-shirts and jeans. I decided to dress in business casual like I normally do for these types of events, but I felt out of place in a polo and slacks. The program was designed for audience interaction. The conductor encouraged the audience to laugh at moments like Sabin suplexing the Phantom Train and sing along to songs like One Winged Angel. The casual atmosphere certainty wasn’t what I was expecting but it was still lots of fun.

While the concert itself was amazing, the venue for Distant Worlds in my city was kind of a letdown. The doors only opened a half an hour prior to the start of the performance so there were still people entering and being seated a few songs into the concert. The venue sold food and alcohol, something that I’ve never seen before at an event like this. The couple sitting next to me ate and drank through the entire show and got very rowdy after intermission. A security guard came to talk to them, but nothing was done. They continued to be loud and even belligerent with other audience members for the rest of the performance.

Problems with the venue aside, I still had a great time at the performance. Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy is absolutely worth seeing if you’re a fan of the series. I wouldn’t travel abroad to see it like I had with the Eorzean Symphony concert but if Distant Worlds ever has a performance in my city again, I wouldn’t hesitate to see it a second time.