Nobuo Uematsu, Naoshi Mizuta, and Kumi Tanioka. Composer Yasunori Mitsuda was also asked to contribute, but he was busy scoring Xenosaga. The expansion packs were scored by Mizuta alone after Tanioka left to pursue other projects and Uematsu left Square Enix, although their names remain in the credits for those albums due to the inclusion of versions of songs they had previously composed for the game. The opening of the game features choral music with lyrics in Esperanto. According to Uematsu, the choice of language was meant to symbolize the developers' hope that their online game could contribute to cross-cultural communication and cooperation. He also noted the increased difficulty of scoring a game for which there was no linear plotline, a major change from the previous Final Fantasy games. It was the first game in the series for which he composed while he was no longer a Square employee. New music has been employed for special events, such as a holiday score titled Jeuno -Starlight Celebration- which can be heard in the city of Jeuno each mid to late December since 2004. Some of the game's music has been released on iTunes for download, such as the vocal "Distant Worlds", which was released on the Japanese iTunes Music Store on September 13, 2005, having been put in the game in a July 2005 patch. Albums Final Fantasy XI Original Soundtrack Final Fantasy XI Original Soundtrack is the soundtrack album of Final Fantasy XI. The album contains musical tracks from the game, composed by Nobuo Uematsu, Naoshi Mizuta, and Kumi Tanioka. The soundtrack was released on June 5, 2002 by DigiCube with the catalog numbers SSCX-10069-70, and re-released on May 10, 2004 by Square Enix with the catalog numbers SQEX-10017-8. The album spans 51 tracks over two disks and covers a duration of 1:51:57. Final Fantasy XI Original Soundtrack reached #25 on the Japan Oricon charts, selling over 13,200 copies It received mixed reviews by critics, with Ben Schweitzer of RPGFan finding it to be a "strong" album, if "slower" and "more repetitive than previous Final Fantasy scores". Liz Maas of RPGFan enjoyed the album, advising any fan of the series, even if not of the game itself, to buy the album. Chris of Square Enix Music Online, however, felt that while it was "not instantly likable" that it had "the potential to become a favorite with multiple listens". Final Fantasy