This essay will try to examine the breakthrough of symphonic game music by following my hypothesis of the actual breakthrough in late 90s through early 2000s. The method of the essay is a hermeneutic approach which will find different interpretations that in the later part of the essay will lead to an analysis and discussion. This approach is a way for later scholars to examine the subject further. A central part of the essay is to define the term symphonic game music which never before in broader terms have been defined, though the terms dynamic music and orchestral music has been used by scholars such as Collins. Central figures i write about are Nobuo Uematsu and Winifred Phillips, whose contributions to the field of game music are extraordinary, and they also bring forth their own theories. I write more about theories, among others Karen Collins and Koji Kondo, to broaden the discussions. The delimitations in this essay are very important to narrow the types of games studied, and they are for the most part video games and computer games. In the actual examination i refer to among others the scholars Donnelly, Phillips and Collins to map the time of breakthrough and how it actually happened. The games I examine in more detail are Final Fantasy and The Elder Scrolls because I argue in my hypothesis that these two game series are important for the actual breakthrough. Tables and notes from Final Fantasy are used to clarify the subject studied. In the end of the essay I conclude with different perspectives and evaluation of the subject.

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