Following his work on Final Fantasy X, Masashi Hamauzu took on the project of arranging tracks for a piano album, a roll previously assigned to Shiro Hamaguchi, who had his hands full with the anime Final Fantasy Unlimited. The finished pieces were performed by pianist Aki Kuroda. The composer expressed the opinion in an interview with RocketBaby that arranging electronic videogame tracks for the piano must be one of the most difficult adaptations imaginable. For the piano album, not only would the musician arrange his own tracks, but he would also tackle the compositions of his colleagues. The composer said that this was something of an intimidating task, but he was also intrigued by the idea of approaching songs like "Guadosalam" by Junya Nakano, whose arpeggios and the placement of the instruments the composer greatly enjoyed.

In the material for the Final Fantasy X Piano Album, dated Jan 8, 2002, Hamauzu writes, "For someone like me, who usually relies upon MIDIs, confronting the staff music for a piano score is an arduous process. One does not have the option of burying clumsy progressions in the mix, or altering the surface of the music with other instruments. Nor can you predict the results until the occasion of the performance, when your sheet music is interpreted by the pianist. So you have to prepare the score with every bit of thoroughness and precision. It was a trying experience but, as someone who came to composing late, participating in such a musical project was a valuable opportunity for leveling up, for which I am extremely grateful."