Final Fantasy XIII : Original Soundtrack PLUS Final Fantasy XIII : Original Soundtrack PLUS is an additional soundtrack for " Final Fantasy XIII " that was released in Japan on May 26 , 2010 . It contains new tracks made for the overseas release , prototype versions of tracks , tracks used in the trailers , and three tracks used in the game but not included on the original soundtrack . The music is composed by Masashi Hamauzu . Liner notes ( translated from the original Japanese ) . The liner notes to the album contain a message from composer Masashi Hamauzu and his comments on individual tracks . Message from Masashi Hamauzu . With the main focus of my efforts complete , I ' ve finally had a bit of an opportunity to relax . I was so busy at the height of things last summer that I hardly remember there even having been one , but I ' ve had enough spare time this winter and spring to take notice of the changing temperatures again . Still , projects of such a major magnitude always bring strong aftershocks in their wake , and the " Final Fantasy XIII : Original Soundtrack PLUS " is one such seismic event . " Final Fantasy XIII ' s " worldwide production and release entailed the creation of assets extending far beyond the scope of the game itself , and music was no exception . Starting with the very first E3 announcement trailer theme back in 2006 , there have been numerous promotional video tracks , overseas version game tracks , and alternate - take tracks that did not quite fit within the framework of the original soundtrack . Toward the end of last year , I spoke of wanting to digitally distribute the English version of " Chocobos of Cocoon " at the very least . One thing led to another , and before I knew it I had enough songs and prototype audio tracks for a full - fledged CD . This new disc ' s jacket design incorporates elements not often seen in Japan , lending a unique " collector ' s edition " flair to an already fascinating compilation . Written commentary has been included for each and every track , so please listen with booklet in hand and come along for a backstage tour of " Final Fantasy XIII ' s " music production process . As for myself , I think I had best go off in search of more hidden gems for the next big aftershock . Be looking forward to it ! A beautiful day with cherry blossoms in full bloom , April 2010 . Created for Jump Festa 2007 , this song features interwoven motifs of " Blinded By Light " ( Lightning ) , " Prelude " ( Vanille ) , and the sound of footsteps ( crystal ) . It was an attempt at seeing how far I could take layering ( placing raw instrumentals on top of synthetic audio ) in the way I had envisioned , so I had to be very picky about everything from sound generation to the scoring and final mixing , being sure to pick up the lines I wanted , getting the kinds of performances I could not create synthetically , adjusting the pitch and balance of the raw and synthetic audio , and so on . Track commentary . On the upside , it succeeded in allowing me to create of a full orchestra from a group of only just over ten musicians , but on the downside , it was quite time - consuming . There was trial and error involved , and it ended up requiring a full month to complete . The pace picked up over time , though , and I was able to use a technique very close to this one for several songs in the actual game . This was the theme used in the E3 2006 trailer . It was the very first song I composed for " Final Fantasy XIII " , followed by " Blinded By Light . " I had been toying around with the idea of rearranging the ending and recording a live orchestral version , but the opportunity never came along . I would have been content even if this version had only stuck around for that year or so after E3 , but as it turned out , it ended up being used in several places even after the game ' s release . This was the demo version of " FINAL FANTASY XIII – The Promise " . It ended up being scrapped , with the synthesizer sounds you can hear from time to time all replaced by live recordings , but a lot of people seemed to think this version was fine as it was , and I remained on the fence about what to do right up until the recording . This was the demo version of " Saber ' s Edge " . The final version placed a live orchestral layer on top , and the piano was swapped out as well . Toward the end of development , there was actually a problem with some of these old versions of songs being played in the game for an unknown reason . I first noticed when someone said , " Hey , the boss battle music just got cooler all of a sudden . Did you change it again ? " Well , hey . Those kinds of things happen every once in a while ! This is an extended version of " Defiers of Fate " . I had only planned on using the song in a few select places originally , but I miscalculated the number of tracks I would need to cover all of the scenes and ended up having to use it in quite a few different places . The original version of " Hope ' s Theme " was mocked up on piano . I wanted to go with an acoustic guitar for Hope in the actual game , so I ended up hiding this version away without letting anyone listen to it . Quite a few other issues developed along the way , and I ended up abandoning it altogether . It was something of a mixed bag , so the version included in this CD is only a portion of the full track . Sorry ! We tweaked the lyrics for the overseas versions of the game , so we rerecorded this song after we had finished up the domestic version . I think if we ever had the chance to do a live concert version , this would be the one . " The Gapra Whitewood " had actually been an instrumental song called " Gapra Forest " until midway through development . We then made a second version with lyrics , and decided to use both . There were some twists and turns along the way , though , and this instrumental version never ended up being used . This is a version of " Fighting Fate " with the chorus removed , rearranged to fit with the lines of a movie and made slightly shorter than the original version as a result . The scene in question was one with intense fighting and a lot of speech , and I think this arrangement did a good job at remaining subtle in the background so as not to interfere with the spoken lines . A number of songs , including the main theme , were altered or replaced in the English version of " Final Fantasy XIII " . " Chocobos of Cocoon " was one of them , featuring all - English lyrics . The vocalist was Frances Maya , just as in the domestic version . The Square Enix localization team , Frances , and I put a lot of careful thought and consideration into the choice of lyrics , and I think the final song has a very cohesive feel as a result . This was the early take on " Lightning ' s Theme " . In this version , piano was central in the refrain . It was a small enough undertaking that I ended up having it rearranged with a live recording for the final version , but the synthesized version was also rather popular , and we considered using it alongside the recorded one . I remixed this version for inclusion on the CD . This was a demo track I created at the beginning of development , before I had a grasp on the game ' s mood and setting . It was modeled on the structure of " Final Fantasy X ' s " " Assault " and titled " Assault 2 " . I had still needed a drum part and some other things to bring it closer to the original song , but it ended up needing to be rearranged for the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra anyway ( later turning into " Fang ' s Theme " ) , and it never quite got there . It might be fun to try to create a dryer version like that sometime , though . This was an early demo version of " Can ' t Catch a Break " . I had a guitarist friend from my college days , Toru Tabei , come into the composition booth and play for me . It was only intended to be demo track , so you can hear us shouting out and horsing around a bit . It has been quite a while now since synthesized audio began to have an influence on the world of orchestral music . I think it will be hard to ever create something synthetic that ' s more convincing than a live performance , but at the same time , there are a lot of people with whom it really strikes a chord ; gamers and game music fans in particular . The advances in game music in recent years have been remarkable , and the amount of data you can fit into a game has increased to such a degree that it can ' t even be compared to what we had in the past . Still , we older gamers grew up accustomed to the shackles of onboard sound generators , and I think that familiarity with clear , distinct sounds and very regular rhythms is very big for us . If you ask people who don ' t really play games , on the other hand , they will agree overwhelmingly that a genuine performance is better for music . How to take into account those two differing views is always a major issue of concern , especially in the " Final Fantasy " series , which , traditionally , has made use of hardware - generated music . There are also factors to consider beyond music . Other things have changed over time as well , like the greater movie file sizes resulting from advances in graphical quality , and the balances there have to constantly be taken into account as well . We game music composers are still very much in a transitional period . I often hear things like , " Isn ' t synthetic music good enough ? " but that means sampling , and that there won ' t be a musician playing the piece who actually understands it . I think we tend to dance around the issue of what that really means . Then again , even if it is recorded live , the recording process involves cutting and pasting pieces of the performance together . Some people may say that at that point there really isn ' t any difference . Synthetic audio is based on the laws of physics , employed to work with the atoms that make up our human ears and brains . At the end of the day it may well be that it plays to our sensitivities and moves us in a strange but definable way . This " M106 Final Battle Prototype + " formed the foundation for " Nascent Requiem " , but I also reedited it for this CD as an opportunity to demonstrate the issues with authentic and synthetic audio . I tweaked the verse for this version , greatly extending the overall length . The editing was done to allow the song to be aligned with the scene in such a way that the chorus would fall in just the right place . A lot of people had expressed a burning desire to sing Sunleth . By all means , sing along to this karaoke version at home or at a friend ' s house .