<p>If you ask any Final Fantasy fan what their top five favorite songs in the franchise are, there’s a 99 percent chance one of them is “To Zanarkand” from Final Fantasy X. However, it turns out, it wasn’t originally intended for the game. </p>
<p>This news comes from Audrey (<a href=”https://twitter.com/aitaikimochi”>aitaikimochi on X</a>, formerly Twitter), a mega Final Fantasy fan, Twitch streamer, and CEO of Aitai Japan Inc., who translated a recent interview between <em><a href=”https://youtu.be/A1vaw1R5UOc”>Weekly Ochiai</a></em> and Final Fantasy X composer Nobuo Uematsu, whose credits also include One-Winged Angel and Aerith’s Theme from Final Fantasy VII and so much more. In that interview, Uematsu revealed “To Zanarkand” originally began as a piece for a French flute player, meant to be played during a recital. </p>
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<p>”‘To Zanarkand’ was actually not meant to be the theme for Final Fantasy X,” Uematsu tells <em>Weekly Ochiai</em>, as translated by Audrey on X. “There was a flute player from France who originally asked me to write a song for them to play during a recital. When I wrote the piece, I thought perhaps this sounded a bit too sad for a recital. So I set it aside for the time being. </p>
<p>”Sometime after, when I was making the score of Final Fantasy X, I was falling behind all the while the producers were hounding me. So since that flute piece was unused, I just kind of meekly handed it to them. They listened to it and said, ‘Yes! This is brilliant!'” </p>
<p>In retrospect, it’s wild “To Zanarkand” wasn’t originally composed by Uematsu for Final Fantasy X because it fits the game’s themes so well, nailing the somber and sad tone present throughout Tidus and Yuna’s journey in Spira. </p>
<p>For more about Final Fantasy music, read <a href=”https://www.gameinformer.com/FFXVI”><i>Game Informer’s </i>exclusive</a> four-part series on composer Masayoshi Soken’s score for last year’s <a href=”https://www.gameinformer.com/review/final-fantasy-xvi/victory-in-the-land-of-gods-and-monsters”>Final Fantasy XVI</a>:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href=”https://www.gameinformer.com/exclusive-feature/2023/06/02/the-music-of-final-fantasy-16-part-1-creating-the-prelude”>Part 1: Creating The Prelude</a></li>
<li><a href=”https://www.gameinformer.com/exclusive-feature/2023/06/02/the-music-of-final-fantasy-16-part-2-the-victory-fanfare”>Part 2: The Victory Fanfare</a></li>
<li><a href=”https://www.gameinformer.com/exclusive-feature/2023/06/05/the-music-of-final-fantasy-16-part-3-finding-a-main-theme”>Part 3: Finding A Main Theme</a></li>
<li><a href=”https://www.gameinformer.com/exclusive-feature/2023/06/05/the-music-of-final-fantasy-16-part-4-the-sound”>Part 4: The Sound</a></li>
</ul>
<p>After that, read <a href=”https://www.gameinformer.com/games/final_fantasy_xx-2_hd_remaster/b/ps3/archive/2014/03/18/final-fantasy-x-x-2-hd-remaster-review.aspx”><i>Game Informer’s </i>review of Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster</a>. </p>
<p><em>What’s your favorite Final Fantasy theme song? Let us know in the comments below!</em></p>