The music of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has rightly gained lots of attention since the game was announced. With a team helmed by legendary JRPG composer Yasunori Mitsuda (of Chrono Trigger, Xenogears, and Chrono Cross fame), and made up of Xenoblade series veterans ACE, Kenji Hiramatsu, and Manami Kiyota, there's no doubt the music will be quality. And basically, every single trailer has confirmed that.
One of the most arresting tunes we've heard is the game's main theme — A Life Sent On. Lead by a beautiful Celtic-sounding flute, and evoking powerful emotions, this stunned us from the very first trailer it was used in. It's haunting, and despite sounding a little Celtic (a bit of a signature sound for Mitsuda), there's something very unique about it. And it turns out that it's all down to some custom-made flutes.
In an 'Ask The Developer' interview published on Nintendo's website, director and producer at Monolith Soft — Koh Kojima — revealed that it was Mitsuda's idea to create a unique flute so that the game's signature sound would be distinctive.
"Before Mitsuda-san started writing the music, he said, "Let's make flutes." I wondered why we should be making them, but Mitsuda-san said, "By making the flutes from scratch, you can create a sound that hasn't been heard before." Since we had told Mitsuda-san in advance that Takahashi-san wanted to interweave the two melodies of Noah and Mio into a single piece of music, Mitsuda-san seemed to have thought that creating the flutes from scratch would enable him to choose a scale freely and express himself more easily. Above all, he said to me that the fact that the same flutes used in the game exist in real life would be compelling and unique. It sounded interesting, so I decided to give it a try."
So, of course, Monolith Soft created two unique flutes just for this piece of music. And they might look a little bit familiar if you've been keeping an eye on your Xenoblade Chronicles 3 trailers, tweets, and promotional material:
These two flutes are based on the flutes that Noah and Mio play in-game. Not only is the flute a key instrument for the game's music, but it's also an important narrative device. Played by an Off-Seer, this person uses the flute to send off the dead with a beautiful, ethereal song. So there was no other way about it — that main theme, the one that plays when Noah is first seen playing the flute in the trailer, had to be played with the same instrument by the musicians. Bravo, Monolith Soft.
It's no surprise that so much effort has gone into the music — and in our review of the game, we called the sound of the game "sensational":
- Further reading - REVIEW Xenoblade Chronicles 3 - An Epic, Emotionally-Charged Masterpiece
The two flutes also have totally different sounds to each other, too. Genki Yokota, from Nintendo Entertainment's Planning and Production Department, shared that the two flutes were specifically made to be different from one another:
"...the music is comprised of two distinct melodies, one of Noah and one of Mio. Noah’s melody is played by a larger flute with a slightly lower pitch, whereas Mio’s melody is played by a smaller flute with a slightly higher pitch."
But this is all just about one theme at the moment, isn't it? Yokota revealed that there are 140 tracks in the game — one hundred and forty. And creative director Tetsuya Takahashi felt like that wasn't quite enough! Phew.
You can read the full interview on Xenoblade Chronicles 3's music right here, where Koh Kojima also discusses the difficulties of designing the game's cast of characters.
Are you looking forward to the music of Xenoblade Chronicles 3? Sound off in the comments!
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[source nintendo.com]
Comments 28
Cover artists are going to have their work cut out trying to recreate them.
Dang, that’s some impressive effort. Then again, the soundtracks of these games have been amongst my all-time favourites so I’m not surprised they’d go the extra mile for ‘unique sound’.
Mitsuda -san sure is passionate about his work. This is the stuff, that shows they do not just make video games for the money.The flutes look beautiful.
Of course I am looking forward to the music. It was one of the best aspects of the series. Even Xenoblade X was great. I am sure this soundtrack will be a treat again.
@Jhena My favorite track from X was that New LA Night Theme "Uh Uh UHHHHH"
Just making fun, but i really do love all the work they put into these compositions for these games. Ive avoided a bit of the music for this game to be as blind as possible.
Wowww, that is impressive stuff. I'm glad the developers are taking music as seriously as they do. Makes me feel good inside.
I'm conflicted between wishing we got cool stuff like this as merchandise and not wanting to ruin the story behind them by mass-producing the things.
I swear if this doesn't get nominated for soundtrack of the year...
@Jhena The one major problem I have with X's soundtrack is that one freaking song that restarts every time you start flying. It was like the bike in Pokemon all over again.
I can't give Nintendo enough credit for putting so much effort into XC3. It seems like a labor of love.
Those are some nice instruments, make some replicas and slap Nintendo's logo on it then watch it sell for millions on eBay.
@Mauzuri Oh god, I'd finally managed to wipe the actual lyrics from my memory, and now they're looping in my head again.
@Anachronism
Just like our dreams, they’ve gotta be free,
So, anyway, let’s move on…
@Anachronism
I really loved that track. Maybe I did not hear it as often as most people. Generally I would say I prefer songs without lyrics. They often make a song feel to heavy.
I started the game last night on Switch.
I confirm that this is the best OST I have ever heard in a game.
Okay, but why? What’s the deal with this game and flutes?
That’s really awesome that they did that. I took a flute making class once and that handcrafted aspect really does flavor the tone.
In the picture it seems like they swapped the flutes. Maybe it is to show they are like yin and yang.
@MetalMan well if you read the lovely words that follow the headline, you'll find out...
@Jhena In the in-game picture at the top? I saw that too. The darker colored flute seems to be Noah's so I imagine there's a point in the story at which they trade flutes for solve reason. I can't wait to find out!
@Jhena The song itself is pretty good, but taking the place of the rest of the environmental tracks and having to hear the opening few seconds 17 times in a row when doing a bunch of short glides wore out its welcome pretty quick. I'd also agree on preferring instrumental music in general. The easiest way to ruin the emotional impact of a song is bad or unrelatable lyrics.
@Debo626
I am sure you are right and I hope you will have a great time playing. I will wait a few weeks, so enough infos are released on the internet, because I will try to do everything there is to do.
Edit: @Anachronism
Yes I can understand how that can feel unwelcome.
Wow. Those are beautiful.
I have wanted a replica of one of those flutes since the first time I laid eyes on them!
And it is also interesting that after putting so much work into making a unique voice for these characters they still decided to have the female protagonist's name be a meow joke. I am not saying it was a bad choice — just...interesting.
Um, that seems like something they should sell. I would buy those. They are beautiful.
Okay nintendo, my wallet is open. Just reach in and grab what you want, and then leave the flutes.
Monolith going far and beyond hhh
They have outdone themselves with the soundtrack.
They're master works all you can't go wrong!
Journalists will be asking for backlash if this game's soundtrack does not get nominated for best music at The Game Awards.
@MetalMan
Play the game, you will quickly find out
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