Yasunori Nishiki has done it for a third time, giving us an OST that is just as good, if not better, than its predecessors.
Beware of unmarked spoilers!
- Each character once again has a unique Leitmotif that suits them perfectly and sounds amazing. This then gets added to their final chapter boss themes to make each struggle more personal.
- "Ochette, The Hunter" has a persistent drumbeat and flute that give the theme a distinctly nature-y vibe.
- "Castti, The Apothecary" is an incredibly wistful piece, with a slow tempo and melancholy woodwinds that fully embody the air of trying to remember something that colors Castti's story.
- "Throné, The Thief" is dark and dramatic, with heavy violin instrumentation and a driving tempo that hint at her grim determination.
- "Osvald, The Scholar" is slow and dramatic, with an oppressive cello playing the melody to showcase how heavy his quest for revenge is.
- "Partitio, The Merchant" manages to be both intense and easygoing, with electric guitars and saxophones to emphasize both his personality and the modernity of his storyline.
- "Agnea, The Dancer" is extremely lighthearted and hopeful-sounding, with a fiddle and flute to emphasize her upbeat personality and big dreams. Unlike the others, her final chapter boss theme isn't a remix of "For The Dawn", but rather, an even more intense version of her usual theme, called "Song of Hope"
. - "Temenos, The Cleric" wouldn't sound out of place in a film noir, with a slinky back-alley sound that fits the intrigue in his storyline and his own sly personality to a T.
- "Hikari, The Warrior" uses Asian instruments to fit his homeland's aesthetic, and adds a dramatic and magnificent sound reminiscent of fellow warrior Olberic's theme to boot.
- The Final Battle theme, "For the Dawn", as the battle progresses depending on the story uses riffs from the theme of the character whose final boss you are fighting. Agnea, however, has her own track called "Song of Hope", which is a rearrangement of her theme complete with lyrics.
- Caits and Octopuffs, the Metal Slime creatures of Octopath Traveler, have their own encounter theme: a bouncy and mischievous theme for clarinet that sums up the sneaky cats and slippery octopi quite well. The second half of the song features an incredibly silly trumpet tune that sums up the attempt to catch and defeat these elusive enemies to a tee.
- Flamechurch's theme, "Flamechurch, Sacred Light", is a lovely and peaceful theme for the starting town of the team's cleric, but what elevates it to truly amazing is that, if one listens to the melody, it's almost identical to the theme of Flamesgrace in the first game, making it an excellent Shout-Out to its predecessor!
- The normal town themes of the Crestlands is "Home of Wisdom and the Arts", capturing a somewhat aristocratic yet nostalgic and whimsical feel.
- All three of the regular battle themes, "Normal Battle I", "Normal Battle II", and "Normal Battle III", are a significant step up from the battle themes of the first game, being far more energetic and fast-paced.
- Both standard boss themes, "Critical Clash I" and "Critical Clash II", build off of their predecessors in the first game, with "Critical Clash II" in particular perhaps not dropping as hard, but sounding even more desperate and playing during suitably important boss fights.
- Optional bosses, Ritsu and Hikari's curse in Hikari's Chapter 5, as well as Grotesque Monster and Arcanette in Final Chapter, have a new unique battle theme, "Fierce Confrontation", instead of using other normal battle or boss battle themes. Its intensity fits the bosses' powerful and/or threatening nature perfectly.
- "Torrent of Evil", which plays during moments that shine the spotlight on villains such as Harvey, General Mugen, Kaldena, and Arcanette, serves to exemplify them as absolute monsters in human skin, complete with Ominous Latin Chanting to hype up how wicked they are.
- "Tempest on the Battlefield" is a tense but also very courageous theme that plays in situations where you are braving through the enemy forces. Specifically, it plays in Ochette's chapter 3 when she and her companions fight their way through shadow creatures in Summit of Strife, as well as Hikari's chapter 5 when he and his friends force their ways into Ku and fight the soldiers there. It even replaces the regular battle theme in Ochette's case.
- The music used during the final boss, titled "Vide, the Wicked" and "Those Who Deny The Dawn", features an operatic tenor and escalates into an absolutely epic symphonic metal track reminiscent of God-Shattering Star from Fire Emblem: Three Houses note . It easily stands just as tall, if not taller, than "The One They Call the Witch" and "Daughter of the Dark God" from the first game.
- Not to be outdone by Vide's themes, Galdera's theme in this game, "Underworldly Entity", takes "Daughter Of The Dark God" and gives it an absolutely incredible remix, complete with the lyrics from the first game and ups the intensity drastically, creating a powerful song befitting the hardest boss in the game.
