The story of JRPG music begins in that same ironic place so many JRPG stories begin, with Final Fantasy for the NES in 1987. After initially being thrown into the game without much explanation, the four warriors of light are rewarded with a bridge to take them further on their quest. But it’s not just a bridge.
Players are also treated to a crude, chiptune narrative crawl, a convenient excuse to show credits alongside the game’s now iconic logo. But unlike most of the music that had characterized gaming up until that point, Final Fantasy’s opening crawl was genuinely epic, embracing a story-driven aesthetic that served to define JRPGs as distinct from the more worldbuilding-focused CRPGs in the decades to come….
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