In the Dead of the Night

February 28, 2021

This is only heard over the prologue, as we see images of the Mana Fortress, the world in ruin after the ancient war, and the Mana Tree. It evokes a more stygian character than the expositions of contemporaries Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger. I like how actual game locations are shown. We know they’re likely far off in our quest and we want to play on, find out what they are, and get there ourselves. 

The track begins with an overdriven low pedal point on a keyboard. This continues as the same two electric piano motifs are repeated for the duration. The heartbeat that sounds along is actually an effect that’s not on the main track. In the Dead of Night is also timed precisely for the scene—its ending, an angelic choir wail, is made for the flyover at the end of the prologue, one of the unexpected striking visuals of the 16-bit era.  

The remake’s version lost much subtlety, and a heavy reverb overamplifies every moment of the original, making the track fatiguing—not a favorable outcome given its repetitiveness. The angelic ending is present on the track, but not in the game as this iconic moment was excised from the remake. 

Electric Piano – Akai S-Series CD-ROM 2
Clavinet – Korg M1
Heartbeat – Sine wave (pitch adjusted)