Final Fantasy Wiki
Register
Advertisement

The opening song in FFVIII is fraught with tension and your heart will be shaken by its Latin chorus and multi-layered orchestration.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call description

"Liberi Fatali" is a prominent theme from Final Fantasy VIII. It was composed and arranged by Nobuo Uematsu and it is, notably, the composer's first experiment with a combination of chorus and orchestra for music. The lyrics were written by Kazushige Nojima and translated into Latin by Taro Yamashita, and it was orchestrated by Shirō Hamaguchi.

Nobuo Uematsu states that, along with "Eyes On Me", "Liberi Fatali" is one of the two main themes of Final Fantasy VIII.[1]

Lyrics[]

The official lyrics FFVIII song lyrics from FFVIII OST booklet alongside the Japanese translation were released on the Final Fantasy VIII: Original Soundtrack.

The phrase "Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec" is an anagram of the phrases "Succession of Witches" and "Love", two of the main themes in the game, and not an actual phrase in Latin. The phrase is not included in the official lyrics and is italicized below. The official lyrics' lines "Cunae non sunt" and "Somnus non est" in the song itself appear to be sung as "Cunae sunt non" and "Somnus est non", respectively, and the line "Invenite hortum veritatis." is instead sung "Invenite, Veni hortum veritatis, Horti verna veritatis", which would translate loosely to "Find, Go to the garden of truth, The garden of spring's truth."

In the original print of the original soundtrack, the line "Somnus non est." has a typo and it is written as "Somnus non eat." This was fixed in the reprint.

Latin
Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec
Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec
Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec
Excitate vos e somno, liberi mei.
Cunae non sunt.
Excitate vos e somno, liberi fatali.
Somnus non est.
Surgite.
Invenite hortum veritatis.
Ardente veritate
Urite mala mundi.
Ardente veritate
Incendite tenebras mundi.
Valete, liberi,
Diebus fatalibus.
Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec
Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec
Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec
Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec
Japanese translation
目覚めなさい私の子供たち
ゆりかごはもうありません
目覚めなさい運命の子供たち
やすらかな眠りは終わりました
立ち上がりなさい
真実の庭を見つけなさい
燃えるような真実で
世界の嘘を焼き尽くしなさい
燃えるような真実で
世界の闇を照らしなさい
さようなら子供たち
また会うときは運命のとき
Unofficial English translation
Wake up from your sleep, my children.
There are no cradles.
Wake from your sleep, children of fate.
Your slumber is over.
Arise.
Find the garden of truth.
With the fiery truth
Burn away the evils of the world.
With the fiery truth
Set the darkness of the world alight.
Goodbye, children,
On the days of fate.

Game appearances[]

Final Fantasy VIII[]

"Liberi Fatali" plays during the opening full motion video of Final Fantasy VIII, and its Latin meaning, "Fated Children", refers to the main playable cast who are within the ages of 17 and 18.

The central melody and elements of "Liberi Fatali" is incorporated in several other themes of the game, including "The Landing", "The Stage is Set", "Premonition", and the game's "Ending Theme".

"Liberi Fatali" is the first track of the first disc of the Final Fantasy VIII: Original Soundtrack. It was released again as track 1 on the Final Fantasy VIII Original Soundtrack Revival Disc.

Final Fantasy XV[]

"Liberi Fatali" plays in the music player after the player buys the Memories of FFVIII soundtrack from Hammerhead for 100 gil.

Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy[]

The original version of "Liberi Fatali" is part of the Final Fantasy VIII Music Pack DLC distributed through the PlayStation Network. It may be automatically selected for Arcade and Quick Battles featuring Squall Leonhart, Ultimecia or Laguna Loire, or taking place at Ultimecia's Castle.

Dissidia Final Fantasy NT[]

The original version of "Liberi Fatali" appears as a battle music, obtainable as a reward from winning "Battle of the Gods – Act 8" (Sep. 2017).

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call[]

"Liberi Fatali" appears as a Battle Music Sequence. It is available as DLC.

Theatrhythm Final Bar Line[]

Impresario-ffvi-iosThis section in Theatrhythm Final Bar Line is empty or needs to be expanded. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.

Arrangement album appearances[]

FITHOS LUSEC WECOS VINOSEC: Final Fantasy VIII[]

An orchestral arrangement of "Liberi Fatali" by Shiro Hamaguchi and conducted by Koji Haijima is included. It is the first track of the album.

The Best of Final Fantasy 1994 - 1999: A Musical Tribute[]

A version performed by the Hollywood Symphony Orchestra is included on this "best of" type album. The vocals are performed by Tamara Woodman. It is the eight track of the album.

Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy[]

An orchestral arrangement of "Liberi Fatali" was recorded as track 2 on the album for the concert tour. It was conducted by Arnie Roth and performed by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and Allmänna Sången.

The recording is also included as track 1 on the Distant Worlds and A New World Collections: music from Final Fantasy VIII.

Final Fantasy Remix[]

A remix of the song by DJ duo Ante is included on this album.

Benyamin Nuss Plays Uematsu[]

A piano arrangement of "Liberi Fatali" was performed by Benyamin Nuss and arranged by Bill Dobbins. It is track 5 on the album.

Octave Theory[]

"Liberi Fatali" was arranged by Tsutomu Narita and performed by the Earthbound Papas. It is track 2 on the album.

Final Fantasy VIII Chips[]

The song is part of the 8-bit arrangement album as its first track, arranged by BOKKADENcI.

Final Fantasy Orchestral Album[]

"Liberi Fatali" appears on this Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary arrangement album, orchestrated by Shiro Hamaguchi and conducted by Koji Haishima.

Piano Opera Final Fantasy VII/VIII/IX[]

"Liberi Fatali" is the sixth song in this piano arrangement album, arranged and performed by Hiroyuki Nakayama.

It is also included on the Piano Opera Final Fantasy I-IX album.

Live performances[]

20020220 music from Final Fantasy[]

20020220 music from Final Fantasy is a live recording of an orchestral concert, conducted by Taizo Takemoto and performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and G.Y.A. at the Tokyo International Forum on Feb. 20, 2002. "Liberi Fatali" opens the concert.

Dear Friends -Music from Final Fantasy-[]

20020220 music from Final Fantasy orchestral arrangement of "Liberi Fatali" was performed by a full orchestra at the Dear Friends -Music from Final Fantasy- concert tour. "Liberi Fatali" would always open the concert, and when asked to name his favorite act from the concert, the composer Nobuo Uematsu picked "Liberi Fatali", and explaining his reasoning with "Liberi Fatali" being his first experiment to combine choral and orchestra.

VOICES: Music from Final Fantasy[]

"Liberi Fatali" was performed live during the concert, arranged by Shirō Hamaguchi. It was conducted by Arnie Roth and performed by the Prima Vista Philharmonic Orchestra and G.Y.A.

It was also recorded and released on the album.

Vanafest 2012[]

"Liberi Fatali" was performed by the Earthbound Papas at the 2012 edition of Vanafest, the Final Fantasy XI Festival.

Distant Worlds: music from Final Fantasy The Journey of 100[]

The orchestra arrangement of "Liberi Fatali" by Shiro Hamaguchi was conducted by Arnie Roth and performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and the DWFF Tokyo Choir. The recording was released as track 2 on the album.

Distant Worlds: music from Final Fantasy Jiritsu[]

"FINAL FANTASY VIII : Liberi Fatali" was performed live for a concert and recorded for the Final Fantasy 30th Anniversary. It was orchestrated by Shiro Hamaguchi, conducted by Arnie Roth, and performed by the New Japan Philharmonic and the Tokyo Art Academy Singers.

Final Fantasy 35th Anniversary Distant Worlds: music from Final Fantasy Coral Live CD[]

"FINAL FANTASY VIII : Liberi Fatali" was again performed live for a concert and recorded for the Final Fantasy 35th Anniversary. It was orchestrated by Shiro Hamaguchi, conducted by Arnie Roth, and performed by the New Japan Philharmonic and Barzz.

Compilation album appearances[]

Final Fantasy S Generation: Official Best Collection[]

The original version of the theme is also included in this "best of" album as the first track.

Dear Friends: Music From Final Fantasy Original Soundtrack[]

The original version of "Liberi Fatali" was released as the first track of this collection of themes present in the Dear Friends -Music from Final Fantasy- concert tour.

Final Fantasy Vinyls[]

"Liberi Fatali" is included on the first disc of this collector's edition set.

Final Fantasy Heroes[]

"Liberi Fatali" is track 15 on the album.

Final Fantasy VIII Vinyl[]

"Liberi Fatali" is track 1 on side A of disc 1 on the album.

Final Fantasy 30th Anniversary Tracks 1987-2017[]

"Liberi Fatali" is track 65 of disc 1 on the album.

Heroes and Villains[]

"Liberi Fatali" is track 5 on side A of Heroes and Villains Fourth.

Gallery[]

Etymology[]

Līberī Fātālī translates roughly as "Fated Children" though the correct form of the Latin adjective, fātālis, would be fātālēs, i.e. Līberī Fātālēs.

Trivia[]

  • Monty Oum used this song for background music for the fourth episode of Dead Fantasy.
  • In the 2004 Summer Olympics, the American synchronized swimming duo consisting of Alison Bartosik and Anna Kozlova were awarded the bronze medal for their performance to the pieces "Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec" and "Liberi Fatali".
  • Liberi Fatali is used a few times in the Chinese drama, My Date With A Vampire 2.

References[]

  1. interview by Yoshitake Maeda (dead) (Accessed: March 09, 2016) at NobuoUematsu.com (dead)
Advertisement