In Closing

Now, this analysis series has been proceeding at a leisurely pace since April, including some breaks along the way, and with your support we have now made it all the way to the finish line. I apologize for not being able to respond to all the replies I received, but they certainly motivated me to keep going. Also, I remain an inveterate self-Googler, and the responses I find in those search results are also a great encouragement. Allow me to take this opportunity to offer my sincere gratitude for this.

The last thing I have to say may come off a little negative, but here it is: I think that describing music in words really is a tacky thing to do. The best place for all those details and nuances I worked so hard to get right is in the music itself. When other information in verbal form gets in the way, I can’t help feeling like a chef who comes out with every course to drone on at the table about what everyone is about to eat.

But that’s my perspective as the composer. From the listener’s perspective, hearing behind-the-scenes stories or comments about how I felt while working on the piece probably works the same way as seeing the faces of the farmers who supply a restaurant’s produce, or witnessing the seriousness of the chef’s gaze in the kitchen—the food may be the same, but it somehow tastes even more delicious. So, here I tried to cast off my negative, composer’s-perspective self, approach things anew, and put the music for this game into words. That was my objective when I started this series.

What I’m ultimately trying to say here is that I am always aware of the love everyone has for OCTOPATH TRAVELER and the effort people put into nurturing the community around it. As the composer, I might be seated at the far end of the table, but I wrote these posts hoping that each one might serve as a piece of firewood to feed that warm campfire, and thus express once more my genuine gratitude. Thank you so much—really.

Incidentally, tomorrow will also be the OCTOPATH TRAVELER series’ fifth anniversary! I plan to appear on the livestream, so by all means let’s celebrate this occasion together!

Our time together was short, but thank you for sticking with me all the way through it. I look forward to the day our travels bring us together again!

Yasunori Nishiki