Awesome music for an awesome game
Hot damn, but I love the Crisis Core soundtrack. It retains the overall "feel" of the music from the original Final Fantasy VII, regardless that Uematsu Nobuo is not the primary composer for this soundtrack. Ishimoto Takeharu does a good job in emulating the musical atmosphere established in the original game, and incorporates many of Uematsu's FFVII melodies into it as well, yet it's different enough that it's obviously its own soundtrack, rather than just an imitation of the original game's. It illustrates how Crisis Core takes place in the same world as FFVII, and with many of the same characters, yet in a different era. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys video game music, Final Fantasy or otherwise.
Ayaka's ending song, "Why", is absolutely beautiful. It captures the essence of Crisis Core's melancholy (read: absolutely depressing) ending, yet also contains the spark of hope for the future that's starting to shine. Plus Ayaka's voice doesn't sound like your typical Japanese pop singer. That is to say, she doesn't sing in the sugar-laden falsetto that 99 out of 100 J-pop singers use. Kudos.
I dunno what prompted this random soundtrack review. I listened to it last night 'cause playing the game again had gotten it stuck in my head, and I was reminded of its brilliance. And I realize I just answered my own question as to what prompted this review. 9_9
Seriously, though, check it out. At least give "Why" a try. I'm sure you can find it on YouTube or something.