FINAL FANTASY X-2 Unofficial Composer Breakdown
Noriko Matsueda (NM)
Takahito Eguchi (TE)
As I mentioned previously, there's no way to tell to what extend each composer worked on another's track. I would presume there was quite a bit of crossover. For the purposes of this breakdown, I'm just going to list who I believe to be the "main" composer of each track. That said, some are just too close to call or just seem equal in contribution, so I attributed these tracks to both composers.
Matsueda has a pretty distinct style, which is useful for things like this. Unfortunately, Eguchi does not. What helped me was listening to some of the music from Trinity Blood. In fact, the first few tracks of that anime score really give clues on Eguchi's tendencies. He even uses some of the same samples as heard on X-2.
According to SEMO, Eguchi is the composer of 1000 Words. I'll buy that. I do know that he is the orchestrator, and also has traditionally handled all live instrumentation arrangement on Racing Lagoon and Bouncer. Thus, I believe here he is responsible for at least arranging any instances of live guitar parts. I also believe he's responsible for the frequent sound effects on many tracks.
On the other hand, if there's a piano solo, you can bet it's Matsueda's work.
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DISC 1
01 Eternity ~Memories of Light and Waves~ (NM)
02 real Emotion (FFX-2 Mix) (Kazuhiro Tada)
03 YuRiPa Fight No.1 (TE)
04 Yuna's Theme (NM)
05 YuRiPa Fight No.2 (NM)
06 Mission Complete (NM)
07 Sphere Hunter - The Seagulls (NM)
08 Mission Start (TE)
09 Mount Gagazet (NM)
10 YuRiPa Fight No.3 (NM)
11 Game Over (NM)
12 Lady Leblanc Has Everything! 1:45
13 I'll Give You Something Hot (NM)
14 Shuyin's Theme (NM)
15 Besaid (NM)
16 Kilika (NM)
17 Luca (NM)
18 Mi'ihen Highroad (NM)
19 Mushroom Rock Road (NM)
20 The Youth League (NM)
21 The Machina Faction (NM)
22 Guadosalam (NM/TE)
23 Thunder Plains (NM/TE)
24 Macalania Forest (NM) [this is basically an arrangement of Mt. Gagazet]
25 Bikanel Desert (NM/TE)
26 The New Yevon Party (TE)
27 Calm Lands (NM)
28 Zanarkand Ruins (NM)
29 Sphere Hunter (NM)
30 Temple (TE)
31 Tension (NM)
DISC 2
01 The Seagulls March (NM/TE)
02 Great Being (TE) [references Nightmare of the Cave briefly]
03 Good Night (NM)
04 Anxiety (TE)
05 Infiltration! Leblanc's Hideout (NM) [uses Leblanc theme]
06 Rikku's Theme (NM)
07 Chocobo (TE) [uses an extremely disfigured Chocobo theme, include Nobuo Uematsu in the credits if you wish]
08 Paine's Theme (NM)
09 Bevelle's Secrets (TE)
10 Under Bevelle (TE)
11 Yuna's Ballad (NM) [an arrangement of Yuna's Theme]
12 Assistance Store Seagulls (NM) [uses Yuna's Theme]
13 It's Our Turn Now! (NM)
14 Labyrinth 1:43 [basically an alternative version of Infiltration]
15 Turmoil (TE) [lol at this track. First there's the super common orchestral samples heard in many TV shows and films, such as X-Files. Then there's the overall homage to William's Jaws score]
16 Summoned Beast (TE)
17 The Farplane Abyss (TE) [uses 1000 Words theme]
18 Eternity ~Band Member Performance~ (NM) [an arrangement of track 1]
19 1000 Words (FFX-2 Mix) (TE)
20 Nightmare in the Cave (NM/TE) [piano solo Matsueda, the rest is Eguchi]
23 Thunder Plains (NM
21 The Akagi Squad (NM)
22 Vegnagun Activating (NM/TE) [piano solo Matsueda, the rest is Eguchi]
23 Clash (TE)
24 Desperate Struggle (TE)
25 Ruin (TE)
26 Demise (TE)
27 1000 Words Piano Version ~Feelings That Crossed Time~ (TE)
28 Ending ~Until the Day We Meet Again~ (NM/TE) [uses Yuna's Theme briefly; orchestrated by Eguchi]
29 1000 Words Orchestra Version (TE)[orchestrated by Eguchi]
30 Epilogue ~Reunion~ (NM) [an arrangement of Besaid; orchestrated by Eguchi]
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I think Eguchi provided a lot of arrangement, engineering, and other support for a lot of the tracks I attributed to Matsueda. However, I do believe Matsueda did the lion's share of the actual "composing". Here trademark jazz style is everywhere, and as I mentioned above, I'm positive all piano/keyboard solo parts are composed and performed by her (with the exception of 1000 Words, which she probably still performed). It's her specialty, after all.
As always, feedback is appreciated!
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