Games of the Year

RPGFan Games of the Year 2024: Best Music

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth - Best Music of 2024

Winner: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

Writeup by Jerry Williams 

I’ve been to a few Distant Worlds concerts in my time, which is a celebration of the Final Fantasy series’ suite of outstanding compositions and arrangements played by a full orchestra near you. I get decent seats but never felt the need to splurge on premium seats. Until now. I dropped some serious cash so my family and I could get up close and personal at the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Orchestra World Tour this month. Row five! The only way something like this happens is if a soundtrack delivers, which is exactly why Rebirth won Best Music this year. Mitsuko Suzuki and Masashi Hamauzu continue to execute in both original compositions and outstanding arrangements of the legendary Nobuo Uematsu’s original work. These professionals seamlessly mesh old with new in ways no fan, enthusiast, or otherwise hired arranger has been able to in nearly thirty years. I have zero doubts they’ll astound in the third entry.


Runner-Up: Metaphor: ReFantazio

Writeup by Patrick Gann

If you’ve read this far, you can already see that Metaphor: ReFantazio is sweeping up a lot of categories, either as winner or as runner-up. In the music department, we find that a Persona mainstay is no one-trick pony. Composer Shoji Meguro, known for dance-pop grooves and collaboration with jazz and hip-hop musicians, has gone an entirely different path for much of Metaphor to fit the scenario. Featuring performers such as Glory Chorus Tokyo and the chief priest of the Myojiji Buddhist temple (Keisuke Honryo), Meguro’s soundtrack is full-on epic, bombastic, and well-suited to the game (hence its recent Rhythm Encounter appearance). While this is a 2024 winner, I have my eye on the prize: the recently released full five-disc soundtrack.


Readers’ Choice: Best Music of 2024

Winner: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (37.5% of votes)

Runner-Up: Metaphor: ReFantazio (27.5% of votes)

Jerry Williams

Jerry Williams

Jerry has been reviewing games at RPGFan since 2009. Over that period, he has grown in his understanding that games, their stories and characters, and the people we meet through them can enrich our lives and make us better people. He enjoys keeping up with budding scholarly research surrounding games and their benefits.