October 5th, 2000 - Following in the path of the recently released Parasite Eve II, Square are joining forces with Tokyopop and publishing the much-acclaimed soundtrack to Final Fantasy IX in the States.

The compact disc, entitled 'Uematsu's Best Selection, Music from the Final Fantasy IX Video Game", will come with 33 tracks selected 'personally' by Nobou Uematsu himself (Final Fantasy IX's musical composer). Featured exclusively for the American release is a bonus track, called 'Fu-Ru-Sa-To (Homeland original version)'.

Obviously, the English-lyric version of the main theme ('Melodies Of Life') will be included, as opposed to the Japanese-lyric version that was seen on the Japanese Final Fantasy IX soundtrack.

U.S. FF IX Soundtrack Cover

Extra bonus items to be bundled with the package include an eight-page colour booklet, artwork of the cast 'beneath the CD tray' - most likely to be Yoshitaka Amano sketches - and a translated interview transcript with Nobuo Uematsu.

The CD is expected to hit American shelves on November 13th, before the release of the actual game, at an expected price of 16.98 U.S. Dollars. Tokyopop, American publisher of the soundtrack, commented; "The tracks and the sequences were indeed personally selected by Uemtasu, and we have taken a unique approach to try and bring something special to everyone in the American market."