Final fantasy 7 soundtrack: how to get started

Published 28 September 2026

Start with the 1997 four-disc Final Fantasy 7 Original Soundtrack, then branch out. That set holds every cue Nobuo Uematsu wrote for the game, and it is the reference point every other Final Fantasy VII album is measured against. Budget roughly three to four hours of listening, decide whether you want physical discs or a stream, and you are set.

Here is the thing nobody tells you first: the album you find on a streaming service is often not the album people argue about in forums. Different editions, different track counts, different mixes. Pick the wrong one and you will wonder what the fuss was about.

What you need before you press play

Nothing expensive. A pair of headphones or decent speakers, a streaming subscription or a CD player, and about 20 minutes to figure out which edition you are actually looking at. That last part matters more than the gear.

• A streaming app, Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music or similar, for the quickest start.

• A physical option, the four-CD 1997 release or a later reprint, if you want the full sequence as originally assembled.

• Headphones, the arrangements reward close listening; laptop speakers flatten them.

• A note-taking habit, jot down the three or four tracks that hit you, because the catalogue is large and easy to lose track of.

The catalogue is bigger than most newcomers expect, and that is exactly where people get stuck.

Which Final Fantasy VII album should you actually start with?

The original 1997 soundtrack is the place to begin, and there are only three albums built from that game's music. Everything else belongs to later titles in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, which is a different story with different composers.

Square (now Square Enix) released the game in 1997, and DigiCube put out the Final Fantasy VII Original Soundtrack as a four-CD set the same year. A single-disc selection followed under the name Reunion Tracks, also in 1997. In 2003, Piano Collections Final Fantasy VII arrived with piano arrangements of pieces from the score. Square Enix began reprinting all three in 2004.

Those three are the only albums drawn from the original game, and Nobuo Uematsu composed all of them alone. For most of the later albums tied to the wider series, that role passed to Masashi Hamauzu and Takeharu Ishimoto.

If you only have half an hour tonight, take the sampler. If you have a long evening, take the full set.

Photo: Miguel Á. Padriñán · Pexels

A listening order that works

Play the original set in disc order the first time, because the sequence follows the game's own arc and the emotional build only lands when the quieter town themes sit next to the battle cues. Skipping around on a first pass flattens the whole thing.

• Disc one, straight through. This is the opening act. Let it play without skipping; the mood shifts are the point.

• Mark three tracks. Write down whatever catches you. Those three become your re-listen list.

• Disc two and three, in order. The middle stretch carries the most variety, from tense to tender within a few minutes.

• Disc four, then stop. Finish the set before you touch anything else.

• Reunion Tracks next. Hear how the same material behaves in a tighter, single-disc edit.

• Piano Collections last. Save it for a calm evening. The arrangements strip the score down to melody and harmony.

Get this sequence right and the later Compilation albums stop sounding like a random pile.

Where the Compilation albums fit in

The Compilation of Final Fantasy VII started eight years after the game, with the animated film sequel Advent Children in 2005, and each title in that collection came with its own album. Treat these as a second phase, not a starting point.

The Advent Children soundtrack landed in 2005. Nippon Crown released an album for the game Dirge of Cerberus the following year, alongside a download-only collection of music from that game's multiplayer mode that stayed inside Japan. Warner Music Japan produced the Crisis Core soundtrack after that game launched in 2007. The most recent album in the set, Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII & Last Order: Final Fantasy VII Original Soundtrack, arrived the same year, bundling music for the mobile game and the animated short.

Notice the pattern: different labels, different composers, different eras of the same fictional world. That is why a newcomer who jumps straight to a 2005 album often bounces off it.

Once you know which era a track comes from, the whole catalogue becomes navigable.

Photo: Dmitry Demidov · Pexels

Why this score still gets talked about

Critics at the time were unusually warm about it, calling many of the tunes memorable and pointing to the emotional intensity of individual tracks. That reaction has stuck for nearly three decades.

Part of it is craft. Uematsu wrote for a fixed set of sounds and made the melody carry everything, which is why a piano reduction of the same material still works. Part of it is context: the music is doing narrative work, not just filling silence, and players remember where they were when a particular theme started.

Reception for the later Compilation albums has been more mixed, which is worth knowing before you spend money on a box set you might not revisit.

If you want to place this score against other games of the era, our guide to the best video game soundtracks puts it in context.

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

Most people who bounce off this music do so for one of four reasons, and all four are fixable.

• Starting with a remake album. The 1997 score and its later re-recordings are different listening experiences. Begin with the original.

• Shuffling on a first listen. The disc order is deliberate. Shuffle destroys the pacing.

• Confusing Compilation albums with the original. Different composers, different labels, different decades.

• Using laptop speakers. The quieter passages disappear entirely on small built-in drivers.

None of these cost anything to fix. They just require knowing which album you have open.

Frequently asked questions

Who composed the Final Fantasy 7 soundtrack?

Nobuo Uematsu, the series' regular composer at the time, wrote the music for the 1997 game and all three albums drawn from it. For most of the later Compilation albums, Masashi Hamauzu and Takeharu Ishimoto took over.

How many albums came from the original game?

Three. The four-CD Final Fantasy VII Original Soundtrack and the single-disc Reunion Tracks, both from 1997, plus Piano Collections Final Fantasy VII in 2003. Square Enix began reprinting all three in 2004.

What is the main theme of Final Fantasy VII?

The score's best-known piece is the main theme, which shares its name with the game and appears in arranged form across the album set. It is the natural first track to sample if you want a single taste before committing to the full four discs.

Should I listen to the remake soundtrack first?

No. Start with the 1997 original, then compare. The remake material is a reimagining built on top of the original themes, and hearing it first makes the source material sound thin by contrast.

Is the soundtrack available on streaming?

Availability shifts by region and platform, and physical reprints come and go. Check your usual service first, and if the full four-disc sequence is missing, look for the single-disc selection as a fallback.

How long does the full soundtrack take to get through?

Plan on a long evening rather than a quick commute. Four discs of score is a commitment, which is exactly why the sampler exists.

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