Opening - Bombing Mission

"Opening - Bombing Mission" is the medley of the opening theme of Final Fantasy VII. It has become an important motif for the entire Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, and was composed by Nobuo Uematsu.

Development
"Opening - Bombing Mission" was the first song Uematsu was asked to compose for Final Fantasy VII. The game's director, Yoshinori Kitase, showed the opening cinematic to Uematsu and told him to start with that scene.

Final Fantasy VII
"Opening - Bombing Mission" plays during the opening of the game. "Opening", refers to the opening Full-Motion Video sequence of Final Fantasy VII, while "Bombing Mission" plays continuously during the AVALANCHE attack to the Sector 1 Reactor, changing to the location's background music, and returning to a continuous play as the first boss battle against Guard Scorpion ensues. "Bombing Mission" ends as the Sector 1 Reactor explodes.

"Opening - Bombing Mission" is the second track of the first disc of the Final Fantasy VII: Original Soundtrack album.

A rescoring of "Opening ~ Bombing Mission" plays on the Final Fantasy VII Technical Demo for PlayStation 3. The rescoring was not done by Uematsu himself.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
"OPENING", the song played during the enhanced version of the Final Fantasy VII ending cutscene showing Red XIII that opened the film, is an arrangement of the first part of "Opening - Bombing Mission". It is the first track of the movie's soundtrack.

Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-
Crisis Core pays a strong homage to the start of Final Fantasy VII, and two themes are used for the first chapter: "Mission Start" includes the "Opening" section of this theme, and plays during the opening full-motion video of the game, while "First Mission (from Final Fantasy VII Opening - Bombing Mission)" is an arrangement of the "Bombing Mission" section, and plays throughout the first chapter of the game, which mirrors the Sector 1 assault by AVALANCHE. The themes are, respectively, the third and fourth tracks of the game's soundtrack first disc.

"Fragments of Memories (DMW)", which plays during the game's opening credits, is a short arrangement of "Opening - Bombing Mission". It is the first track of the Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Original Soundtrack first disc.

Dissidia Final Fantasy
The original release of "Opening - Bombing Mission" appears in Dissidia and is available after beating Shade Impulse in the PP Catalog and can be the default music for battles against Sephiroth or Cloud, or as the default music for a battle in the Planet's Core.

Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
As with all themes from Dissidia, "Opening - Bombing Mission" returns for its prequel. It is still an unlockable bonus battle theme, but is now available at the PP Catalog from the start of the game. When purchased, it has the same use as in the original game, but can also be the default music for battles against Tifa.

The Black Mages III: Darkness and Starlight
The theme was arranged as a progressive metal track and included in the Black Mages's third studio album The Black Mages III: Darkness and Starlight. This version included an enhanced drums and percussion sequence performed by Arata Hanyuda.

Final Fantasy Remix
The theme was also included as a trance remix in the album Final Fantasy Remix.

Final Fantasy VII: Voices of the Lifestream
The song was also included in the fan-made remix album Final Fantasy VII: Voices of the Lifestream, retitled as "Every Story Begins with a Name".

Final Fantasy VIII Chips
The song is included in the 8-bit arrangement album as its first track.

Tour de Japon: Music from Final Fantasy
"Opening ~ Bombing Mission" had its first orchestral performance as the opening of this series of live concerts. It was arranged by Nobuo Uematsu and Shirō Hamaguchi.

More Friends - Music from Final Fantasy
"Opening - Bombing Mission"'s orchestral arrangement from "Tour de Japon" is included on this live recording of an orchestral concert, preformed by The World Festival Symphony Orchestra conducted by Arnie Roth at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, California on May 16th, 2005.

Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy
"Opening - Bombing Mission" orchestral arrangement opened the concert of this tour. It is the first track of its live recording. The song is performed by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra.

Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy Returning Home
"Opening - Bombing Mission" is again included on this live recording of an orchestral concert, performed by the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by Arnie Roth held in Tokyo, in November 2010.

Final Fantasy VII: Reunion Tracks
"Opening - Bombing Mission" included in the album Final Fantasy VII: Reunion Tracks as the first track.

Final Fantasy Vinyls
"Opening ~ Bombing Mission" is included on the first disc of this collector's edition set.