"Love goes away, like night into day. It's just a fading dream."
As we brought out a masterpiece to the world [...], we asked ourselves, "Can we really fight 24 hours?" And the answer was, "We will fight 8,760 hours!"
TheCrystalTheme. AKA the Prelude. It's even more awesome when you realize it was a Throw It In; the song took Uematsu all of ten minutes to put it together.
The Dissidia version of the Prelude is incredibly beautiful, sounding like a mixture of all the versions made so far.
And now that XIV's take on the Prelude is out, it's not too much of a stretch to say Uematsu seems to keep building on one of the classic tunes in gaming music history in pleasing ways. It's also incredibly soothing.
Victory Fanfare, one of the tunes to be etched into every FF fan's' mind.
FFIV, FFV, FFVI, FFVII, FFVIII, FFIX, FFX, FFX-2, FFXI, and FFXIII have "Piano Collections" albums, which are (for the most part) solo piano pieces of the more memorable pieces. They are fairly advanced arrangements (and the sheet music is available for most of them) and a good number of them sound amazing, if only for the sheer virtuosity required to play them.
The arrangement of Temple of Chaos heard here sends shivers up the neck. What's more amazing is that the orchestral concert it originates from was held in 1989. Videogame music is Serious Business in Japan.
There's also Last Battle, Boss Battle A, and the latter's remix in Boss Battle B. Although none of these existed until the remakes (the original merely used the standard battle theme on all enemies including bosses), they still deserve a mention here.
"Finale", the credits music. As beautiful as it is, the vocalized version by Risa Ohki - Love Will Grow - could give many Award Bait Songs a run for their money.
Oh, hey. You know that delicious, melancholy overworld theme? No? Here you go. Now try it with an orchestra and choirhere Actually, every last song on the Symphonic Suite CD is a Crowning Music of Awesome. EVERY. LAST. ONE.
And the opening cutscene of the DS remake gives us Memory of the Wind: Legend of the Eternal Wind, a beautiful orchestral medley of some of the game's finest tunes. Bravo, Mr. Uematsu. Bravo.
Let Me Know the Truth, known as Pavillion of Dorga and Une in the remake. The piece is already amazing enough in its 8-bit incarnation, but when Tsuyoshi Sekito and Keiji Kawamori arrange it with an orchestra at their disposal, it just ascends to another level of awesomeness. The hidden version from FFIX is brilliant too.
The remake's team took the already amazing 'Crystal Tower' theme and made it better. [1] Sekito's also responsible for II's redone soundtrack, and it's AWESOME.
Don't forget about the fanmade remix made by Hyadain, featuring the four fiends speaking in the song. Pretty awesome song. Video is a bit NSFW at Cagnazzo's part.
Red Wings, the intro theme. It speaks to this song's versatility that it evokes one emotion during Cecil's moral quandary at the beginning of the game and an entirely different emotion during the Red Wings' Big Damn Heroes moment.
OC Remix took the entire soundtrack and made a remix album out of it: Final Fantasy IV: Echoes of Betrayal, Light of Redemption. It seems unfair to give any one song a shout out, as the entire album is amazing, but special props must be given to "Genesis of Destruction", the fight with Zeromus transferred into rock opera and given the full epic glory it deserves.
And then there's the S.S.H. remix, which manages to actually surpass the original, while still maintaining its calm and beautiful feel - a feat which is made even more impressive when you consider what S.S.H. workstend to sound like.
Unknown Lands, the second overworld theme, which evokes a dark, dreary land where it only rains - it makes it feel clear just how badly ExDeath fucked the place up.
Mariaand Draco, aka The Dream Oath Opera. Yes. It's an OPERA. For a VIDEO GAME. That's awesome enough on its own. Best known for having Aria di Mezzo Carattere, which one of the heroes gets to sing.
There's also a heavy metal version in the Black Mages' third album. It even got put to a live actionplay in one of the Black Mages' concerts. Let me put it another way; the Black Mages did the Opera for real. Including the uninterrupted ending and the epic sword duel between Draco and Ralse.
Then there's Terra's theme by itself, used for the world map. It's even more amazing when played with vocals and actual instruments. (That's "Toki no Horousha", on the album "Final Fantasy: Pray".)
Awakening. The music played during plot events involving Terra.
The OCRemix of Terra's Theme (simply called Terra) done by none-other than Jeremy Soule.
DancingMad from Final Fantasy VI is especially notable because it samples at least three songs from earlier in the game, melding them together with some Bach to create the opera of madness.
The final section of the song is particularly awesome in my mind, if for no other reason than because it includes Kefka's distinctive laugh as part of the music.
This detailed, critical analysis of Dancing Mad should be enough to make even the few who are left unimpressed by the music itself change their opinion and admit that it is an ingenious masterpiece concieved by an ingenious composer.
And this version from the recent Distant Worlds II album.
it played several times before, but when Metamorphosis starts to play during Kefka's ascension, you know you won't be saving anybody, let alone the world.
"Epitaph," the flashback song just before getting the Falcon, and "Searching for Friends," the new world map theme just after. It comes just after the game has spent the last several hours hammering in the sheer hopelessness and gloom of your situation, and even gives you one more Tear Jerker in the form of just how Setzer got this spare airship from a lost love in the first place, complete with appropriately sad flashback music. But then... then Epitaph fades out, and Searching for Friends fades in just as Setzer declares that the Falcon just may save them all. On top of being a damn good song in general, it has this unmistakable aura of light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel-style hope. Hearing this theme gives the message that all the sudden, you're back in the game, that you have one more chance. Even inside the game, Edgar declares "For once I feel hopeful!" Very powerful scene, the music absolutely makes it. See for yourself.
The endtheme—yes, all 20 minutes of it. Especially when the Main Theme kicks in towards the end.
Speaking of tear jerkers, here is Gau's theme, which is a Wasted Song, unfortunately. This is really too bad because Gau gets a nice orchestrated piece on the Final Fantasy VI: Grand Finale album.
Relm's Theme. The song perfectly reflects the adorable innocence (that tamed Shadow's killer dog, by the way) of the 10-year-old heroine. Also, it has some splendid bagpipes.
Try playing it at the same time as Shadow's Theme, they complement each other surprisingly well, and lends different meanings to both.
A strange tune, but Gogo's awesome and so is his theme.
Okay, so Celes's part in the opera is unmatchable, but the fitting yet suitably goofy Grand Finale, playing as the rest of your party and Ultros accidentally hijack the opera's ending by knocking out the actual leads and fighting for keeps over Celes - that's got to be worth something.
Not as well known, but Mt. Kolts remains an endearing song and makes you think you are going on some great adventure. Phantom Forest is also a very mellow but creepy song that will get embedded into you head.
Birth of a God, played for the penultimate boss fight. It's overshadowed by One-Winged Angel, but still an awesome track in its own right.
Aerith's Theme. And how about Aeriths Theme in full orchestra? Most notable for playing during the Jenova:LIFE battle following her death.
While its "official" vocal version Pure Heart is only above average at best, katethegreat's and Choucho's renditions are indeed awesome. Bonus points to Choucho for using the orchestra version as her version's background music.
The timing of the music at certain points creates a CMOA. In Cloud's original flashback section, Sephiroth begins his murderous rampage through Nibelheim by dramatically announcing, "I'm going to see my mother." Cue spine-chilling theme song of pure evil. The scene's music is perfect because up until Sephiroth says that, the music in the mansion had been just the backing percussion and bell sounds... the rest of the theme kicks in as he leaves to go burn the place.
The true account of what happened in Nibelheim has dull, repetitive background music all the way through it until the point where Sephiroth stabs Cloud through the chest. The very moment that Cloud grabs Sephiroth's sword and begins to overpower him the music reaches a dramatic and beautiful swell and becomes appropriately heroic.
Nibelheim's theme: Anxious Heart. There's a reason it's called Anxious Heart. It's creepy, almost to the point of Accidental Nightmare Fuel. It puts you on edge, and you can just tell something bad's gonna go down.
Crisis Core's "The Summoned," a remix of "Fight On!," is pretty good, and it's universally accepted that "The Price of Freedom" is made of awesome, despite how depressing it is.
Living Legacy, the credits music for Crisis Core. Especially around the 4:00 mark, when a fully orchestrated version of "Those Who Fight" kicks in. HOLY CRAP.
The Sandy Badlands, especially this particular version, which is a melancholy piano remix.
The sheer beauty of Theme of Elfe is overwhelming. Ishimoto does not get enough credit.
''For The Reunion'' is simply one of the better tracks on the Advent Children soundtrack. The tension it provides during the exchange between Kadaj and Rufus at Healin is simply atmospheric WIN.
So not only is Mako Reactor a brilliantly atmospheric piece that plays in EVERY Mako reactor you go into, its Voices of the Lifestream remix, entitled No Such Thing As The Promised Land, manages to ramp the feeling and the badass up to 11.
The demo version of the Landing is different, but just as awesome.
They changed it due to a potential risk of a copyright lawsuit since it too closely resembled a score from The Rock.
The Oath, Squall's theme, with its powerful final crescendo.
Eyes On Me, the game's vocal theme, is a true Crowning Music of Awesome. Not really for the game ending (which is a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming by its own) but for the "Rinoa and Squall in space" scene. Seriously, that scene had a giant Narm potential. After all, by that point the game almost became an epic space opera - but when Rinoa is listening to the countdown of her oxygen, wondering if she will die, Squall saves her, they head home, and the song start playing, in a true Crowning Moment of Heartwarming. The song saved the scene. Thus, it is awesome.
The Ending Theme, specifically the twinbill of orchestrated renditions of Eyes on Me and then Final Fantasy/Prologue. It might just be the best sequence of videogame themes ever heard.
The Extreme. Used as the final boss music, it starts out with the opening verse of the aforementioned Liberi Fatali, then begins a very ominous piano piece, and finally shifts to the fast-paced theme proper, which sounds nothing short of amazing.
What makes the final battle especially awesome is the classic Final Fantasy riff that plays at the 1:39 mark in The Extreme. It really kicks the song into high gear and lets you know that, yes, this is a Final Fantasy final battle - now go and slay that sorceress.
With Ride On, the Ragnarok theme, let's just say Selphie's not the only one exhilarated.
Premonition, most notably played during battles with Edea.
Fisherman's Horizon, the peaceful theme of the peace-loving town that share's the theme's name.
The orchestral version from Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec is unbelievably beautiful. In fact, that whole album is a CMoA for FFVIII remixes. Equally beautiful is the slightly-altered Distant Worldsremake.
Movin' is like the Final Fantasy version of Powerhouse, that one piece of music used in Warner Bros cartoons anytime something resembling an assembly line occurs. Partially because it's opening is set to a FMV, it goes on for a while before looping, which is unusual for FF songs built around a catchy chorus.
The Salt Flats, which is unfortunately a Wasted Song as the only places where it's heard are the Great Salt Lake and the sorceress sealing facility (but only if you visit it before the plot demands).
The Spy, played in the Missile Base. It really feels like you're infiltrating some hideout and have to maintain cover.
"Lunatic Pandora". Yes, you are inside a giant crystal superweapon that just wiped out half of Esthar, oozing alien menace, containing the reawakening Sorceress Adel.
Otherworld, which plays during the game's opening FMV and again when fighting Aeon Jecht. Even more awesome is the fact that the only reason Uematsu wrote it is because he's a fan of heavy metal and wanted to try writing a metal song himself.
And Movement In Green is a beautiful romantic reprise of To Zanarkand.
"The Skies Above" by the Black Mages and Mr. Goo, a remix of To Zanarkand.
The bass-redone Someday The Dream Will End from the first approach to Zanarkand. Haunting in its deep tones.
And of course the coolest part about the approach to Zanarkand is that the regular music is so awesome, they play the same music during the battles. No transition. None is needed. It's that cool.
Summoned Beast Battle, which plays when you fight your Aeons in the final battle. To hear the once tranquil and somber Hymn of the Fayth in such an effectively stirring rendition gives you chills and helps ease the pain of being forced to destroy your own Aeons.
Summoned Beast Battle also plays when you fight the Bonus Boss Penance. The tension of the music fits perfectly the fight.
Besaid Island. What every tropical paradise should sound like.
Auron's Theme: because he's such a bad-ass, he gets synthesiser music. It's also a bit of a Tear Jerker when it plays when he dissolves into pyreflies at the end of the game.
For fan remixes, the conceptual piece The Final Summoning, building off the Hymn Of The Fayth and sheer fucking epic.
Giza Plains, a perfect companion to any start of a journey. It's almost as if the composers knew you were going to start a fight at the exact moment the song goes from adventurous and free-spirited to badass and rowdy.
The Battle For Freedom is the most epic, being the final boss song. Starting of as a tranquil strings, it later builds up the tension with percussion, and more strings. The buildup was so intense that when it comes to the centerpiece, you just had to prolong the battle to listen to the entirety all over again.
Esper, an epic remix of the aforemention Esper Battle.
Eruyt Village is a just background music for a few towns. But it's so hauntingly beautiful and calming that it needs to be included here. It's the perfect theme to go with some of FFXII's most visually stunning locations.
Being the first location that Vaan can go to outside Rabanastre, the Dalmasca Estersands' theme conveys a real sweeping sense of freedom. Appropriate, given the comparatively open feel of FFXII's gameplay as compared to previous games in the series.
"My Hands", the song "set to defile the English version" is quite moving and very fitting, especially when it played in the game's international trailer.
Here is the game's jazzy Chocobo Theme. It's so... catchy...
The Prelude (a departure from the standard Final Fantasy prelude) and Cavalry Theme.
Saber's Edge, especially once the brass section kicks in. Oddly for a battle theme, it's in waltz time.
Fighting Fate, this Boss Battle theme in particular. Fits very nicely when fighting Galenth Dysley.
The non-battle version of this theme, Ragnarok, which plays when the party is turned into l'Cie by Anima, is also good, as well as very haunting.
Born Anew is incredible as well. Nothing matches the adrenaline rush you get from 0:15-0:33 especially, which plays as Orphan rises out of its pool to battle you. The buildup on Nascent Requiem was quite exhilarating, and somehow the playful theme seems to be mocking the players.
The Sunleth Waterscape. Take the game's leitmotif tune, speed it up to a bubblegum pop rhythm, and throw in upbeat lyrics. This is what you'll get.
Atonement is a beautiful track that plays when Hope reconciles with Snow, and later on, when Snow reaffirms his commitment to save Cocoon. Other great tracks include This is Your Home, which plays when Bartholomew tells Hope that l'Cie be damned, Hope is his son...and that their home will always be a sanctuary for him, no matter what.
Eidolons and Test of the l'Cie, which play during the battles with the Eidolons, depending one which one you're facing, make this list easily.
Dust to Dust, the track that plays when you explore Vanille and Fang's hometown, Oerba, and find that everyone there is either dead or has been turned into a Cie'th. As if to emphasize the sorrow, it plays during battles instead of the regular theme, too.
Will to Fight was a perfect piece to play in Palumpolum after Hope realizes just how feared he is as an l'Cie. It truly evokes the emotions of how painful it must be for him to be looked on as a monster by his neighbours.
The Battle Results theme which plays after the game's victory fanfare is too awesome to be left out! (Normally, you guys'll just skip the results after each battle, shame that you missed such an alluring music...)
This list ain't complete without Desperate Struggle. Only plays during a handful of boss battles, but they're also some of the most intense battles in the game. Thus it doesn't matter when Cid Raines kicks your ass for the 100th time, because it just means you get to listen to this badass music even more.
Note that Trisection is the first battle theme in the game. It lets you know what you're in for.
The heartbreaking music-box rendition of Ovelia's Theme.
"Antidote" plays only once: during the battle when you have Olan as a Guest Star Party Member. It also has no business being a battle theme, being nothing more or less than one of the most stirring waltzes ever written.
Correction: It plays twice more in the game, both times during the search for Reis in the first part of the Beowulf and Reis sidequest. Although, it still doesn't work as a battle theme. Maybe they thought it fit with the snowy area theme around Goland (where both Olan's battle and the search for Reis take place)?
Other than Hitoshi Sakimoto's FFTA battle music, Kaori Ohkoshi composes one of the most epic songs in the game, including "Beyond the Wasteland" and "Surpassing the Wall". "Unavoidable Destiny", however, is the most epic and deserves a Crowning Music Of Awsome.
Front and Back. It very firmly seals Hitoshi Sakimoto as an amazing composer. But wait! It's not over yet! Into the Fantasy is an amazing version of The Salikawood (mentioned above) from Final Fantasy XII, Green Wind is a great battle theme to start the game's first fight with, and Putting Words Together is a short, yet gorgeous piano piece. Very fitting for Luso's return home.
There's also Determination which is a somewhat uplifting battle theme used for the Duelhorn storyline.
Looming Crisis. It helps that it plays during the incredibly epic battles against the Mage Kings of Ciquleur. The part starting at 0:40 is GODLY.
"Gathering Allies" is, and always will be, one of the catchiest tunes you hear as you fiddle around with your clan's equipment, jobs, and abilities. Dun-dun-duh-dadada-da-dun-dadada-da-dun-dah-dun-duuun...
Raem's original boss theme, "Sad Monster". It takes all the instruments used in all the previous songs in the game, and turns it into a song that really gets the blood pumping, readying you for the penultimate battle. Bonus points for the title actually being a Meaningful Name — Raem may seem like a Big Bad when you first hear him, but once you hand him his phoenix behind on a silver platter he becomes a whimpering, simpering creature whose only desire is to live . . . of course, he then eats his only companion and goes One-Winged Angel on you (leading to the epic Final Boss fight and the aforementioned "Unite, Descent").
The boss battle music. Heard it 16 times in a relatively short RPG and absolutely loved it every single time...even when it interrupted the Doom Castle music 4 times. THAT is saying something.
Dissidia: Final Fantasy plays like a Greatest Hits album with some original work in there too... oh, right, there's also a game in there, but the music - original versions and kickass remixes - is mostly listed above for obvious reasons.
The ending theme takes the cake, though, remixing the ending themes of all the first ten games as scenes from each character's story play over the credits. It's enough to make a die hard fan tear up.
The Duodecimversion is the same concept, except that it takes Terra's theme as the piece representing FFVI (instead of Cyan's theme), adds pieces for FFXI, XII and XIII and the Carmen Lucis track from the game itself, and is overall rearranged to pure awesome.
Still from Duodecim : Carmen Lucis. The first half is an awesome music of a desperate battle that ends up with seven Heroic Sacrifices, including one from Cosmos. The second half is plays when Shinryu revives the fallen warriors, with the Warrior of Light (not being dead) watching it, ending with Lightning's When She Smiles moment.
Even if the music of the Chocobo series are remixes from various tracks in the series, these are very epic remixes. For example Chocobo Racing has Mysidia's Sky Garden is the upbeat, fast-paced version of the dragon-riding track from Final Fantasy V.
Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales has some awesome tunes, most of which are remixes from other music, but mostly better then the originals. An example: The intro.
The Black Mages, Uematsu's rock band. They've produced some utterly amazing remixes of pretty much every track mentioned above, and then some.
Distant Worlds: Music From Final Fantasy, taking various tracks from all across the FF series and orchestrating them to awesome proportions. The whole soundtrack qualifies, but the ones of note are One-Winged Angel, Swing De Chocobo, Medley, and last but most defenetly not least, Memoro DeLa Stono.
Many of the arrangements found on Distant Worlds first appeared on 20020220 Music from Final Fantasy, the live recording of a concert held in Tokyo in 2002. These arrangements would go on to be performed during the Dear Friends - Music from Final Fantasy concert tour in 2004 and 2005 and then used again during the Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy concert series from 2007 to 2010. Which then brings them to the CD for Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy.
Distant Worlds II and its subsequent world tour have brought an even greater selection of music to the orchestra hall, including the above-linked "Dancing Mad."
Heavy Metal Arrange Album GUARVAIL, taking tracks from a ton of the games and turning them into metal of awesomeness. The whole album is pretty sweet, but the ones of the most note are the arrangements of The Extreme, The FF Main Theme, Battle Scene A, and last but most definitely not the least, DancingMad.
Nearly all of Love Will Grow, the Spiritual Successor to the aforementioned Final Fantasy: Pray album, belongs here.
The remixes from Sega Fantasy 6, a parody video taking the 7th Gen console wars and fitting them in flawlessly into Final Fantasy VI's last battle, deserve mentioning here.
CROW'S CLAW, known for its Touhou arranges, has also done some awesome remixes of Final Fantasy songs.
Final Fantasy Song Book: Mahoroba is the the sort-of-but-not-quite spiritual successor to Pray and Love Will Grow, being stylistically a bit different. And fantastic. (Examples including Evanecense (Home Sweet Home) and Maybe, Goodbye having the most unlikely theme, VII's "Farm Boy."
