What does Super Piano 64 sound like?
Soft, gentile and dreamy piano soundscapes.
The review of Super Piano 64 and GameChops – Phoenix Down: Piano Lullabies from Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy has long enjoyed its official piano collection series. It’s one that I rabidly purchase and lap up as classic themes from the game series are reimagined in new lights. This collaboration between Super Piano 64 (brothers Nate and Cannon Evans) and GameChops is focused on gentle, more direct reworks of 31 tracks across the series. Launched for World Sleep Day, it’s a cosy and delicate 100 minutes of memorable melodies.
The first thing I want to shout about is the pacing of this album. Super Piano 64 hones in on a slow canter for almost every rendition. You’ll not find changes of pace here and it’s as if each song has been tempo adjusted to provide a pitter-patter for the arrangements. This means that Final Fantasy VIII’s ‘Breezy’ moves at the same lazy speed as ‘On Our Way’ from Final Fantasy VII or ‘Crossing Those Hills’ from Final Fantasy IX. Songs are generally slower with broken chords keeping a steady rhythm underneath. It allows the album to just flow effortlessly from track to track.
Most Final Fantasy mainline games are represented here and the tracklist places songs melodically similar to each other close by. Some song transitions made me smile. Moving from Final Fantasy X-2’s ‘Memories of Light and Waves’ to ‘Balamb Garden’ from Final Fantasy VIII makes the tracks feel like cousins. Similarly ‘The Boundless Ocean’ (Final Fantasy III) moving into ‘Terra’ from Final Fantasy VI is another sisterhood I hadn’t spotted melodically. There’s a lot of this and the soft, lo-fi smudge of the piano capture gives every note a warm Gaussian blur that just sounds pillowy.
Being slightly critical and needlessly picky, there is a lot of Final Fantasy VII here a lack of II, XI, XII, XIV, XV or XVI. It still works as a musical kebab that twists and turns from entry to entry but don’t expect full representation here. I imagine this is because the PS1/2 era of the series is easier to pair down into music box ditties that play at a steady tempo. That’s the style of piano playing here and that era of Final Fantasy lends itself well to this rendition. Whilst most arrangements are direct translations of the original, readjusted tempo-wise for piano, a couple of songs have some unique trills to them. ‘Interrupted by Fireworks’ has been extended out to flesh the track into a three-minute version and it sounds very sentimental. The closing ‘Theme of Love’ also gets an extended, octave switching outro that slows you down to the tiniest ivory tinkles.
Pheonix Down is a gorgeous anthology of memorable melodies wrapped up in a duvet to comfort you. Super Piano 64’s excellent piano playing and GameChop’s lo-fi tint give the album a home-cooked meal fullness that refreshes the spirit and revives the soul. I hope this is the start of a mini-series as I have so many suggestions and ideas. What’s here is beautifully crafted though, and it is the perfect aid for sleep.
Recommended track: Interrupted by Fireworks
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Super Piano 64 and GameChops - Phoenix Down: Piano Lullabies from Final Fantasy