Around the turn of the millennium, straight edge hardcore singer Bill Muir was asked by Japanese game developer Square (now known as Square Enix) to lend his vocals to a song for its upcoming RPG, Final Fantasy X. It seemed like just another recording session. Instead, it became the opening track to one of the most beloved games in the series. Twenty-five years later, “Otherworld” remains one of the most iconic video game openings ever made.
At first, Final Fantasy X lulls players into a familiar rhythm. Gentle music plays over the opening menus, evoking the orchestral soundscapes longtime fans had come to expect from the series. Then, just minutes into the game, Muir’s ferocious vocals rip through the silence. As Tidus awakens and flashes back to his former life as a blitzball star in Zanarkand, “Otherworld” explodes onto the soundtrack, replacing tranquility with pounding guitars and raw aggression. It’s a startling introduction that immediately announces Final Fantasy X isn’t interested in playing by the series’ established rules.
Muir, who was in his late twenties at the time, was living in Tokyo and performing with his band, xtillidiex (pronounced “Till I Die”), when he was asked to work on the song. A few months after the game’s July 19, 2001, release in Japan, Muir got a taste of how much people loved the track.
“I remember being at a show, a later show for my band xtillidiex, as we were wrapping up and I was going to be leaving Japan, somebody having that song on as a ringtone,” Muir told Mashable over a video call from Los Angeles. “And I remember slowly turning and looking at that and being like, “Oh my goodness! Like, this [game] is a pretty big thing.”
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