Bombing Mission has always struck me as one of the greatest opening themes, ever, even now.  Final Fantasy had just entered the world of 128-bit gaming, CDs meant gloriously epic cutscenes were now possible for the first time ever, and Square was starting to redefine the JRPG with all this new technology at their disposal.  The opening cinematic was a perfect example of such, with the high, hushed strings that swell into a grand E major buildup, as the camera slowly pans out of Aeris' green eyes to all of Midgar in its seedy, steampunk glory.  Then the FMV seamlessly transitions into real time, Cloud jumps off the train, the pounding bass triplet ostinato begins, and the game unexpectedly dumps the player into the action immediately.  It was such a brilliant, powerful beginning, and this has been my favorite track of the FFVII OST ever since.  It was a real challenge to try to arrange this for strings and piano—though I knew the opening would work, I really tried to make the Bombing Mission part as punchy and percussive as I possibly could, even though it was better suited to drums and horns/winds.  Thanks to the fantastic playing by my amazing string players, I think we pulled it off, and I could not have done it without them!

Appears on MATERIA: Final Fantasy VII Remixed