I dont even know where to start with this one - I played Xenoblade for the first time last month when the Definitive Edition came out and I have **never** been so thoroughly engrossed in a game or finished one so quickly. SERIOUSLY EVEN MORE THAN FIRE EMBLEM. The soundtrack is god tier level and you can bet I have stuff planned for this channel - but of all the ones I want to do, this one seemed the most appropriate to start. The first track that grabbed me while playing, and the one that accompanies some of the most emotional moments of this game (I literally cried while filming this..)
This is one of the most difficult arrangements/mixes Ive had to do - the original is so grand and sweeping that I wasnt sure if a chamber arrangement would cut it.because it is so string heavy I initially thought I would take the Edge of Dawn approach, string trio plus piano to fill in the rest, but it became clear pretty quickly that this theme was going to require more than that. I learned a ton of new tricks while working on this one, and did my best to do justice to the magnificence of the original
Also, PLEASE NO SPOILERS IN THE COMMENTS - I know this is a 10 year old game, but lots of people are now discovering it for the first time (like me!) so lets let them enjoy this masterpiece as we did :)
HUGE THANKS to my Patreon producers for this video: Rian Hunter, Josh Whelchel