That Tune Really Holds the Game Together: Thematic Families in Final Fantasy IX

One of the characteristics of Nobuo Uematsu’s music is the cohesiveness of his game soundtracks, where he will often reuse the same or similar material throughout the game. As Karen Collins (2008) points out, this repetition helps players become more immersed in the world of the game, yet Uematsu seems to take advantage of this repetition to enhance the game’s narrative. This chapter explores that idea through the examination of thematic families in the music of Final Fantasy IX. Thematic families consist of musical cues that share a common theme, though often present that theme in different ways. The thematic changes within families are viewed through the lens of topic theory, in which adaptations to a topic create tropes that are inherently meaningful (Almén 2008, Hatten 2014) and contribute to the surrounding narrative (Atkinson 2018, Neumeyer 2015). This chapter focuses on two of the numerous thematic families (mainly “Vivi’s Theme” and “Melodies of Life”) in the soundtrack, illustrating how Uematsu’s musical narrative interacts with and augments the game’s plot.