FF1 Fan Remake/Orchestration [In development]

[monsieur_madeleine]

Hello, I've never posted here, but I found your site on a whim and thought you all might be interested in what I've been working on for the past few months. I'm hoping to make a completed "fan remake" of FF1, but if I never get as far as the (albeit minor) graphics/code edits, I'd at least like to build a complete audio mod, likely for the PSX remake.

I'm doing this because I'm grossly dissatisfied with the remakes' music. So I'm either pulling from existing orchestral recordings, or -- for most of it -- creating new orchestrations from scratch.

Below, you'll find the orchestrations I've done so far. Perhaps the coup de grace is the Epilogue Theme, which I only just now completed.

(also sorry I wish I knew how to embed Bandcamp in BB code)

TL;DR I made new orchestrations for FF1 music check it out

FF1HD - Epilogue
FF1HD - Airship
FF1HD - ALL Battle Themes (playlist)

I also have videos as a proof of concept, but I doubt you guys really need to see them, since you get the idea. All that stuff is floating around on this Tumblr page I made. But it's really not all that fancy. Anyway I feel a little gross telling everybody to indulge themselves in my work so Imma stop now.

ok thanks baiiii

(edited to be less formatting obnoxious, clearer thread title)

[monsieur_madeleine]

Ok, first off, sorry for bumping this thread when I'm not much of a participant in this forum. Second off, I am bumping with new content. Below I'm posting a Bandcamp playlist of

ALL THE DUNGEON THEMES ORCHESTRATED

Be sure to check out Marsh Cave, Sunken Shrine, Floating Castle, and Temple of Fiends (Revisited), as these are original orchestrations by myself. The others are pulled from existing recordings (I do like how Gurgu turned out though, after some manipulation). I've also plussed the Epilogue (posted above), so check out at least the last couple minutes of that track if you haven't already.

Thirdly, and most importantly, question: how would I go about modding the PS1 remake of FF1?
It seems that simple methods have been developed for plebs like me to mod FF7, but none for FF1 (PS1) as far as I can tell. I just want to do an audio mod, but if minor sprite modification is possible, that would be great too. I appreciate any help, really and truly, and have no idea where else to inquire on this subject.

[Covarr]

This is some pretty good stuff. I can't bring myself to enjoy the game itself (or in fact any of the NES FFs), but your orchestrations are excellent.

[monsieur_madeleine]

Hey thanks! I will say that one intention of my mod will to make the remakes a little more accessible, at least aesthetically, so hopefully I can spread the FF1 gospel a little wider and change a few minds (like yours). But we'll have to wait and see I guess. Cant get very far until I actually figure out how to mod the game in the first place.

[Ragna]

Thirdly, and most importantly, question: how would I go about modding the PS1 remake of FF1?

You'd better try it with the 20th Anniversary Edition for the PSP, for a number of reasons, like:
I'm fairly positive it will be easier to port them there as AT3 encoded files than on the PSOne version, and that PSP version is the best one out there right now.

Now, I'll proceed to listen to your work.

[monsieur_madeleine]

You make a good point, Ragna, that I had never considered before. If it's easier to do a music mod on the PSP, I'm totally willing to give that a try.

However, I'd still rather use the PS1 if at all possible, because there's a huge, glaring issue with the PSP version: all the gameplay changes. This includes new items (e.g. Phoenix Downs), accelerated leveling, different magic system, and auto-targeting (not a bug-fix!), all of which make it a very different, easier, slightly crappier game.
(Not to mention some non-critical stuff that I don't personally like, e.g. running through towns and the added dungeons.)

The other reason is that if I was hoping to do any graphical changes, I felt it would be easier to do it with the lower-res sprites in the PS1. That's if it can even be done in the first place, though, so it's also not critical.
Actually I've been thinking of commissioning a non-pixel-art artist to draw the sprites more in Amano's original style, and maybe this is easier on the higher-res PSP after all??? So geez I don't know.

Anyway I figured the PS1 could be tricked into reading the music like on-disc CD audio (called "red light" or "yellow light"? I can't remember), so that's why I thought it would be possible at all. How do they do this kind of thing with the FF7 mods?


Edit: Didn't want to double-post. Here's a playlist of everything I have thus far. All info in notes is current:
https://soundcloud.com/combe-sound/sets/final-fantasy-1-re-orchestrated-phase-ii

[GuyInDogSuit]

Honestly? I loved the rearranged themes from FF Origins. And I think they added in some music that wasn't present in the original Famicom/NES release. I don't remember there being any boss battle themes to begin with.
But these are great. I love your mini-boss theme. It gives the impression that a full orchestra is performing the song. The flute is a nice touch. The Fiend Battle theme is damn good too, I can hear some of the Marsh Dungeon theme in it as well. The Sunken Shrine theme is beautiful beyond measure. And the Chaos Temple, damn! It actually brought tears to my eyes. It's one of my favorite tracks from Origins and you did it justice.

You're right, the PSP version kind of went overboard with the easy mode. I understand that they were trying to make it more accessible to fans who are more familiar with the later games, but wasn't there options to turn off things like Phoenix Downs and Gold Needles? It's one thing to add in the ability to dash, but to level up to 99? I did it just for the hell of it though I found it weird that in the PS1 Origins release you had to complete Normal mode first. But I agree, the PSP version is the definitive version, and I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to hack a "hard mode" for it. I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't already one. Definitely worth looking into. The old diehards like you and I might appreciate something like this.