Sakimoto noted that during the initial phase, he composed "bright and cheerful" tunes similar to "Final Fantasy Tactics", but Matsuno emphasized music that was "more deep and heavy". Matsuno also advised him to listen to music from "The X-Files" for ideas on ambient scores, and Sakimoto pointed out influences of James Horner and Hans Zimmer in his compositions. Sakimoto was impressed with the dedication of the development team to the game, and expressed uneasiness trying to come up with music during the game previews. Sakimoto created themes for each character and monster, and made several changes in their melody to reflect their relationships, feelings as well as antagonistic views. The soundtrack for "Vagrant Story" remains to be one of Sakimoto's favorite compositions.