page_title: Music of Final Fantasy XV
section_title: Final Fantasy XV
hierarchical_section_title: Music of Final Fantasy XV / Creation and development / Final Fantasy XV
caption_attribution_description: English: Video game composer Yoko Shimomura. Français&#160;: La compositrice japonaise Yoko Shimomura.
context_page_description: The music for the video game Final Fantasy XV, developed and published by Square Enix as the fifteenth mainline entry in the Final Fantasy series, was composed primarily by Yoko Shimomura. Having previously worked on the Kingdom Hearts series, among various other titles, Final Fantasy XV was her first project for the series. Shimomura was brought on board the project in 2006, when it was a spin-off title called Final Fantasy Versus XIII, and stayed in her role during the game's ten-year development cycle. Her music, based around themes of "friendship" and "filial bonds", incorporates multiple musical genres, such as orchestral, bossa nova, and American blues. Several tracks, including the main theme "Somnus", feature Latin lyrics written by the game's original director Tetsuya Nomura.
  Final Fantasy XV was expanded into a multimedia project dubbed the "Final Fantasy XV Universe", for which other composers were hired; John R. Graham composed the music for the film Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV, with additional tunes from Shimomura.
context_section_description: The musical score for the action role-playing game Final Fantasy XV, originally a spin-off game called Final Fantasy Versus XIII, was composed primarily by Yoko Shimomura, whose previous work included Parasite Eve, Legend of Mana, and the Kingdom Hearts series. Final Fantasy XV was her first time composing for the Final Fantasy series, so she took a more tentative approach than her Kingdom Hearts projects. Shimomura was involved with the project when XV was still titled Versus XIII, being hired to composed the music in 2006 and staying on through its ten-year development cycle. In 2010, Shimomura was still forming a framework for the game's music, ensuring that the music fitted the game without it solidifying into an image that seemed wrong. Her work over the time prior to its rebranding as Final Fantasy XV was fairly sporadic. Shimomura worked on around 80% of the music: the rest were variations on her work and other themes created by others involved in the soundtrack. Other composers who worked on the game were Tetsuya Shibata, Yoshino Aoki, Yoshitaka Suzuki and Mitsuhiro Ohta; the latter two assisted with arrangements.
  The first track created by Shimomura for the game was "Somnus", at that time the official theme song. "Somnus" was sung by Aundréa L. Hopkins; its lyrics were written by original director Tetsuya Nomura, which were translated and adapted into Latin by Taro Yamashita and Kazuhiro Komiya. According to Nomura, the title, which translates from Latin to "Sleep", reflects the subject matter and real-world themes. An instrumental version was also created for use in Final Fantasy XV, having been recorded at around the same time as the vocal version. When Versus XIII was rebranded as XV, "Somnus" was retained as the game's main theme, though it was replaced as the official theme song. Another long-standing track was "Omnis Lacrima". Translating to "All the Tears", it was featured in trailers for both Versus XIII and Final Fantasy XV. The lyrics for both "Omnis Lacrima" and other Final Fantasy XV tracks using Latin vocals were written by Nomura and translated by Yamashita. Nomura credited the high use of Latin to his wish for a language that was no longer used on a daily basis and that people "won't be able to understand and yet appreciate", desiring a sense of general equality.
  The game's music was designed to encompass themes of "friendship" and "filial bonds". Initially, due to its status as a spin-off, Shimomura did not feel the same amount of pressure to conform to the legacy of previous composers. By the time the game changed from Versus XIII to XV, she had a clear idea of what the score would be like and so felt minimal reservations despite the game now being part of the main series. At the same time, she felt the need to respect the work of earlier composers such as Nobuo Uematsu while staying true to the series' legacy of musical variety. Despite the ten year development, the musical concepts Shimomura worked from did not change much: she constantly aimed at creating a darker score than other Final Fantasy titles. Ultimately, only a third of Shimomura's completed work for Versus XIII was carried over into Final Fantasy XV.
  New elements were added when the game became Final Fantasy XV, but that was to suit the new elements being introduced rather than overwriting previous work. In contrast to her work with Nomura, Shimomura's tracks were quickly approved by Tabata, who only later requested changes or revisions. The score combined multiple music genres: apart from Shimomura's typical classical style, she also incorporated other styles such as Bossa nova and American Blues for certain locations. For his work on the game, Suzuki drew on his work on the Metal Gear series, though he watched gameplay videos rather than cutscenes for his work on Final Fantasy XV. The music was performed and recorded in Boston by the Video Game Orchestra, a North American orchestra specializing in video game music whose first Final Fantasy project had been Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII in 2013. The orchestra's founder Sho
caption: Yoko Shimomura served as the lead composer for Final Fantasy XV, writing around 80% of the soundtrack.
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