History Main / SadBattleMusic

* The same creator also made an original composition for her ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' FanFic, ''[[Fanfic/KingdomHeartsTheAntipode Antipode]]''. The piece, titled ''[[https://soundcloud.com/megaflamehedge/fracturedmirror Fractured Mirror]]'', plays during Riku's FinalBattle with [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories Riku Replica]] in Castle Oblivion.

* The same creator also made an original composition for her ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts'' FanFic, ''[[Fanfic/KingdomHeartsTheAntipode Antipode]]''. The piece, titled ''[[https://soundcloud.com/megaflamehedge/fracturedmirror Fractured Mirror]]'', plays during Riku's FinalBattle with [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories Riku Replica]] in Castle Oblivion.

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/AceCombat''
** ''VideoGame/AceCombat5TheUnsungWar'':
*** In mission 17, after [[spoiler:Chopper crashes]], the previous aggressive music abruptly stops and for a minute or so, there is no music at all. Then, just as new waves of enemies arrive, "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxSA18Fer5U&list=PLLrug9JZTq61fWpULkLSZvttfAEZl1SLv&index=27 Into the Dusk]]" picks up and plays until the end of the mission. It's made even worse by your remaining wingmen sobbing quietly on the radio.
*** In mission 24, the fight against [[spoiler:the sabotaged [[SpacePlane Arkbird]]]] is set to [[https://youtu.be/hkCMVsGy8Kk?list=PLB5A294C912C49005 a grandiose, yet mournful theme]], serving to underscore the tragedy of its current predicament: [[spoiler:being corrupted from a majestic symbol of peace into a pitiful superweapon of mass destruction by the [[ConflictKiller Grey Men]], all for the sake of [[LetsYouAndHimFight prolonging the war between Osea and Yuktobania]].]]
*** In the mission “Sea of Chaos,” [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6-PKe-XQpI a beautiful, yet wistful song about longing for peace]] plays during a fierce sea battle, which turns out to be because of your aircraft carrier’s captain [[LeftTheBackgroundMusicOn playing the song from a record over the airwaves.]] The context is that [[spoiler:several Yuke sea captains have come to their senses and decided to defect to the Osean navy, having learned that their prime minister has been rescued by the Oseans after having been kidnapped by Belkan spies who had started the war on purpose]].
** In ''VideoGame/AceCombat7SkiesUnknown'', a chilling, appropiately somber piece titled "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUw6S1fJrSQ Lost Kingdom]]" plays during the raid of a small, near-defenseless country for fuel and supplies, during which part of the mission [[ObligatoryWarCrimeScene involves the bombing of refugee tents, civilian vehicles, and such]], and you'll have to take part in it.
* In ''VideoGame/AngelsOfDeath'', there's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIAtErOqLdc First Quarter Moon]], played [[spoiler:after Ray falls to despair on her floor and tries to kill Zack to make him hers]]. Mournful piano and violins backed by intense dubstep.
* In ''VideoGame/AssassinBlue'', the penultimate "battle" against [[spoiler:your boss, who doesn't actually fight you at all]], simply reuses the main menu theme, which sounds [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZGmin_gsS0 like this]]. The final boss battle track is also [[https://youtu.be/dyXzZ_K5qEk?t=316 anything but cheerful]].
* Half the music in ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath'' is like this, and [[RatedMForManly this game is 90% fighting]]. It is ''that'' sad of a story. Most of those music incorporates the melody of ''[[OneWomanWail In your belief]]''.
** [[Franchise/StreetFighter Evil Ryu's]] theme, ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et6L2Ws-9EA Hatred Incarnated]]'', is even darker than that of the ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV'' version.
** The rendition of ''In Your Belief'' which plays during Asura's moment of UnstoppableRage in Episode 12. It even has lyrics in the Japanese version.
** [[spoiler:[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nvelCV1wuE "One Who Spins Samsara"]] -- the True Final Boss theme]] in the "Nirvana" DLC.
* ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'':
** The game has its own in the final battle against [[spoiler:Gehrman, the First Hunter.]] There he is, trying to free you from this horrific nightmare and send you back to the world of the living, and you refused his help. The entire time, he's trying to save you. The fight is fittingly accompanied by a slow, melodic track by the name of [[spoiler:[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZWpYGuqsHI The First Hunter.]]]]
** The Old Hunters DLC is no slouch when it comes to sad battle music either, as the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahfb7M7jYvA battle theme]] of the [[spoiler:Orphan of Kos]] consists primarily of an EtherealChoir backed up by slow, mournful violin melodies. A fitting theme for a BattleInTheRain against a [[spoiler:newborn alien god weeping over the corpse of its mother]]. It stops being an example of this trope in the second phase, though.
* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaPortraitOfRuin'' has the aptly-titled [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRXZq7gYTq0 "Dance of Sadness"]]. The sadness part isn't apparent when you fight the boss with this theme the first time, but soon after you find out that [[spoiler:Stella and Loretta, whom you thought were the villain's daughters]] turn out to be BrainwashedAndCrazy.
* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDbfOdvFBrA People Imprisoned by Destiny]]" in ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'' plays during the climax of the game's WhamEpisode, when it's revealed that [[spoiler:things did ''not'' end well for the protagonists of ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger,'' and that their actions are directly responsible for the events of the game]]. It culminates in the fight against the infamous [[spoiler:Miguel]], who was bound to the Dead Sea by fate.
* In ''VideoGame/CreepyCastle'', the battle against [[spoiler:Darking]] is at first your standard climatic battle against the BigBad, but then [[spoiler:Darking asks to what extent we know pain and if we have ever felt the loss of love]], and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flBU37uccqs Heart Heist]] starts to play as the tone of the battle changes.
** In Scenario 2A, when the player faces [[spoiler:Lost Moth]], the music that plays is [[https://dopterra.bandcamp.com/track/concerto-for-the-lost-vs-moth Concerto for the Lost]], which is a melancholic reprisal of [[https://dopterra.bandcamp.com/track/preludium-for-the-lost-inner-sanctum the music that played in the cutscene preceding the fight.]] The same song also plays during [[spoiler:the fight against Moth in Freepy Castle]], highlighting the fact that [[spoiler:Moth's immense insecurities and fears are real, and not just something brought on by the Possessor]].
* ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}'':
** The final Rebuttal Showdown of Chapter 5 of ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'' against [[spoiler:Sonia, who's desperately trying to prove that Chiaki isn't TheMole, which would get her convicted and executed for a murder she was tricked into committing]], forgoes the more beat-driven theme that typically accompanies it for a more somber, despairing theme.
** The final Rebuttal Showdown in the last chapter of ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'' does the same. This time, [[spoiler:you're playing as K1-B0, trying to talk Shuichi out of his HeroicBSOD following the revelation that everything he knew is fiction]].
* ''VideoGame/DarkCloud2'' (also known as ''Dark Chronicle'') plays [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRIYB7Pq9dE Sad Fate]] during the second half of your second battle against Emperor Griffon. Only natural, considering everything that led him to villainy in the first place.
* ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'':
** The first game uses this trope in a couple places to communicate something critical about the boss being fought, as the game eschews more traditional exposition. The thing communicated is often why you should be feeling [[YouBastard guilty]] right now.
** The theme of the FinalBattle in ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' against [[spoiler:Gwyn, Lord of Cinder]] is one of the saddest tracks in the game. Sure, he's mutely charging headlong at you with unparalleled viciousness, swinging a [[spoiler:blazing]] greatsword like a man possessed. But it's not fury that's motivating him. [[spoiler:It's simple, blind desperation to preserve the Age of Fire, for which he sacrificed ''everything'' from his kingdom to his body to his very soul, in the struggle to fuel the First Flame that turned him from a dragon-slaying god to the disfigured, nearly brain-dead husk you end up fighting. His boss title even emphasizes this: he was famously known as the Lord of Sunlight, yet all that's left for him to rule is cinders. It's made even worse by the fact that ''The Ringed City'' reveals that his actions probably just made things worse despite his intentions]]. For an extra easter egg, the tune is played entirely on the white keys of the piano. [[spoiler:Appropriate for an old man afraid of the dark]].
** ''VideoGame/DarkSouls2'' does this for [[spoiler:Vendrick, when you finally meet him]]. The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnoZG6iCbjU lonely piano piece]] that plays when you find the man you've been searching for the entire game [[spoiler:and discover that he's nothing more than a mostly-naked, mindless Hollow now]] also plays as you [[spoiler:fight him to finally put him to rest]], once and for all, and accomplish what he could not.
** The second game also does this in the ''Scholar of the First Sin'' expansion. The optional final boss fight against [[spoiler:Aldia]] uses a song that is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ub-bg-rmEF4 rather melancholy]], as the player is meant to have learned that fighting against him doesn't amount to much in the endless cycle. [[spoiler:Even death doesn't mean much for Aldia: he's perfectly capable of talking after his physical body appears to be destroyed]].
** ''VideoGame/DarkSouls3'' has its final boss start out with a bombastic orchestral track... which, over the course of the battle, slowly fades into a melancholic piano theme ([[spoiler:the very same theme that played for Gwyn in the first game, as the boss itself takes on his form]]), underpinning exactly what it is the player is fighting against. The song is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9dNrmGD7mU aptly named]] "[[spoiler:Soul of Cinder]]".
** The battle against the [[BadassArmy Abyss Watchers]] is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0LdIZ8TWYo accompanied]] by a particularly tragic male choir alongside a OneWomanWail, which really helps establish the fact that the once proud BandOfBrothers are being forced to kill their own endlessly resurrecting comrades who have been corrupted by the very force they once fought against.
** The music for the battle against [[spoiler:Slave Knight Gael]] begins as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xggWJLgN-Es a sad piano piece]] accompanied by a OneWomanWail, emphasizing the tragedy and futility of the fight as the two of you, [[spoiler:possibly [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the last beings alive in the world]]]], kill each other for tiny fragments of a long-lost power. [[spoiler:The music becomes much more intense once Gael TurnsRed, which is also when you notice that Gael now bleeds Blood of the Dark Soul -- the only thing that can paint the new world, which may finally be better than what you have waded through for all three games.]]
* ''[[https://youtu.be/HKmYRsnMsOk Ashes, to Ashes, to Ashes (to Ashes)]]'' in ''VideoGame/{{Deadbolt}}'', the track that plays during the final confrontation with [[spoiler:Ibzan]] once his motivation is revealed.
* [[https://youtu.be/FkfdeOG9Nh8?t=1529 Moonlit Sniper]] is a quiet, subtle theme, played in ''VideoGame/DeathsGambit'' during the battle with Origa, the LastOfHerKind who has been the only one of her race to resist [[spoiler:BrainUploading that ultimately resulted in the monstrous Bysurge]], and now fights only to preserve the sanctity of her species' graves.
* ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPJUQg_U5HY&list=PL9A3ABDEAD72720E8&index=18 Maiden Astraea]], the subtle, harpsichord-heavy theme that is unlike every other boss music in the game. It also very much reflects the nature of the level, as [[spoiler: the Maiden has become an Archdemon only in order to heal the Depraved Ones in the Valley of Defilement, and so she never fights you, and repeatedly asks you to leave at the start of the level. As you make your way towards her, you are duelled by her bodyguard, knight Garl Vinland, who is very much human and sane. Once you defeat him, Maiden Astraea simply commits suicide so that you can take "your precious Demon Soul" off her.]]
* In ''VideoGame/Destiny2'', "[[https://youtu.be/zYfe9caNqfA Journey]]" plays during a section of the second half of the ''Homecoming'' mission, taking place after the Red Legion takes humanity's last refuge, captures [[CosmicEntity the Traveler]], and renders all Guardians BroughtDownToNormal. Here, you escape from the fallen city as the Red Legion hunts down and executes defenseless Guardians, and survive as you try to fend off patrolling soldiers along the way.
* In ''VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness'', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idHONGNrXds&ab_channel=TheDiscoShrew Angel of Sorrow]] plays during most of the battles in Chapter 8, which naturally is the saddest chapter in the entire game as it explores the main character's aversion to love and kindness, and it also seriously tests the CharacterDevelopment he's acquired up until that point.
* ''VideoGame/DragaliaLost''
** Happens twice in the main story. Chapter 5 has the WhamEpisode that The Other, the evil entity that had possessed Euden's father Aurelius and turned him into an evil emperor...[[spoiler: has now possessed his kind and benevolent sister, warping her into Empress Zethia.]] On top of that, he has to fight against Zodiark, the Shadowyrm to prove his bond with him. Chapter 10 is another whammy that uses the same music after [[spoiler: findind the sixth Greatwyrm, Cthonius, has been sealed away for the last several hundred years while fused with King Alberius to keep the full power of Morsayati, aka the Other, from taking him over. At this point, it becomes an utter MercyKill.]]
** The "Resplendent Refrain" event has the "[[https://youtu.be/R8oaFbI3aic Overture]]" theme fought against a dark entity that came from [[GuestStarPartyMember Elias's]] resentment that he's losing his soprano voice as [[GrowingUpSucks he gets older]] and that he [[ItsAllMyFault unleashed it by accident]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Drakengard}} 2'': In the game's C Route, you fight against [[spoiler:Legna, the dragon who raised Nowe from birth]]. All the while, the song Growing Wings plays; however, unlike the first game's version, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuI671YQV2c this one is quiet, melancholic, and really fits the tone of the battle]].
* ''VideoGame/Drakengard3'' has this in the TrueFinalBoss in Route D. [[spoiler:Even though Zero has finally killed One, she needs Mikhail to kill her so that [[EldritchAbomination the Flower]], part of the Grotesqueries, aka Watchers, can't invade.]] Mikhail does so tearfully in a NintendoHard final battle set to “[[https://youtu.be/axT_RojfaRs Black Song, White Scales]].”
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZatAtW0wRk This piece]] from {{VideoGame/Ehrgeiz}}'s quest mode, which is rather jarring, considering the game.
* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', in the battle against JENOVA Life. The music that plays is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIqKWLkm2-g Aeris' Theme]], because [[spoiler:Aeris was killed by Sephiroth moments earlier]]. (Fun Fact: this was a GoodBadBug that the developers [[ThrowItIn left in]].)
** In ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'', "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOJ91H4mraU The Price of Freedom]]" is a highly melancholic song, and the nature of the battle makes it sadder. [[spoiler:As you realize your character must die at the end of that battle.]]
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'': Beatrix's fight theme, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqhUDIqx9TI Sword of Doubt]].
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'':
*** When the player is approaching Zanarkand, the music that plays is the aptly titled "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xRCjjiTR7I Someday the Dream Will End]]". This even [[BGMOverride carries over]] into the FightWoosh and the actual battle.
*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMfx-PRNino Lulu's Theme]] plays when you fight Yojimbo. [[spoiler:He was summoned by Lulu's first summoner, who was killed in the cave.]]
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'': [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6imJKgRDrQ Yuna's Ballad]] plays over the battle against [[spoiler:Bahamut]] at the end of Chapter 2.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI'': [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pA72nT3xuSY Wail of the Void]] plays during the final fight in Rhapsodies of Vana'diel, against [[spoiler:the Cloud of Darkness — it is, after all, the last major story fight in the game, so circumstances are dire regardless of the outcome]].
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5HK60dTLgw Dust to Dust]], the background theme replacing the default battle music in all encounters (except the boss) in [[spoiler:the desolate and monster-overrun Oerba]].
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'': While you fight against Pacos Amethyst and Luvulite, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-a3XbazNLvg Song Of The Farseers, a variation of Yeul's Theme,]] plays, with several snippets of Yeul's voice begging you to stop and turn back now, or else [[spoiler:the Goddess Etro will die]]. [[DownerEnding She's right, too.]]
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' has multiple examples, including:
*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtuwltmTp9I Dragonsong]], one of the main themes of the Heavensward expansion, during [[spoiler:the trial against Nidhogg, the main antagonist of the expansion]].
*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMv9uiQsXvg Wayward Daughter]], the main theme of the battle against [[spoiler:Tsukuyomi, a primal formed from [[TragicMonster Yotsuyu]] crossing the DespairEventHorizon]].
*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3m8GewVWQk Sunrise]], the theme of Suzaku, one of the Four Lords who [[WhoWantsToLiveForever is forced to live on eternally long after the man she loved had passed on]].
*** [[https://youtu.be/YtxR97bgF-Q Mortal Instants]], which plays during Amaurot, the final 4-man dungeon of ''Shadowbringers'' main story. [[spoiler: It's played through the apocalypse of the Ascian homeworld and no matter how many demons you kill, it cannot be saved or prevented because it already happened.]]
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' gives us "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HBPCtVSsOY A Tear-Stained Sword]]" from ''Episode Ignis'', after [[spoiler:Ignis and Ravus arrives at the altar too late to save Lunafreya, Ignis is forced to protect Noctis from a berserk Ravus who blames the former for her death]].
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC9y1mALuiI Eternal Time]]. While not all of the battles it's used for aren't necessarily sad, there are quite a few that are such as the Florah and Floraxion battles.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyLegendII'' has [[spoiler:[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qI2-atMBx_8 Ending Sol's Demise]]]]. It plays over the first phase of the final battle, in which the named character refuses to attack and begs the party to kill him.
* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'':
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWO4ff1HXYY "Don't Speak Her Name!"]], which plays throughout an entire chapter, [[BackgroundMusicOverride including battles and even when fighting the boss]], [[spoiler:after Exalt Emmeryn's (apparent) death]]. For bonus points, said chapter is also a BattleInTheRain, with the enemy leader only fighting against the Shepherds in order to protect his family from his king; he genuinely expresses regret for [[spoiler:Emmeryn's death]], insists he can find a way to spare the Shepherds if they surrender, and his only request before he's killed is that his men be spared... if you haven't already killed them all for experience.
** Similarly, ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fpya3o7sjfQ "Thorn in You"]], which plays during Chapter 6 no matter which option you take during the SadisticChoice, and again in ''Birthright'' Chapter 26 and ''Conquest'' Chapter 25 when you engage your older brother from the nation you sided against in a DuelToTheDeath.
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'':
*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TV4_wZolyY "Between Heaven and Earth"]], the theme for the brutal three-way battle of Gronder Field after the TimeSkip, which is a DarkReprise of both [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbOjYLNb4kQ "Blue Skies and a Battle"]], the battle theme for when the students held a mock-battle at the same location in happier times, and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ept5qal_wY "Edge of Dawn"]], the game's main theme and also the personal theme of Edelgard, [[spoiler:a major antagonist in all the routes where this battle occurs]].
*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5T1CZS6Bq-I The Long Road]] is the standard story battle theme during the second half of part 2, and it's a slow, somber peice, reflecting the escalating tragedy of the war.
*** Even one of the final battle themes fits here. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQtatbUFy-8 A Funeral Of Flowers]] plays during the final battle of the Church Route, [[spoiler: where Rhea suddenly loses control of herself and goes berserk, has to be put down. It's a mercy kill of an ally you'd thought you saved. Fittingly, it's incredibly sad, and the battle version is actually more subdued than the map version.]]
* ''VideoGame/FragileDreamsFarewellRuinsOfTheMoon'': It's not an exaggeration to say the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWeXfiU-rrY final boss music]] would not sound out of place on ''Film/TheFountain's'' soundtrack.
* Several examples in ''VideoGame/{{Furi}}'', most notably [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CGMk_roNaE Make it Right]], the theme of The Song, an angelic boss who doesn't want to fight you, and even offers you to quit before her battle. [[spoiler:And you can actually take her up on the offer, receiving an alternate ending if you wait in her area for long enough.]] Then there's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZv2OCbQOmI A Monster]] for The Beat, a barely adult girl who spends her battle [[spoiler:running away from you, with her turrets being the only attackers]].
* The ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'' series has a habit of using sad music in its trailers, which usually feature at least some fighting. Gary Jules's cover of "[[Music/TearsForFears Mad World]]", used in the first game's trailer, has even become somewhat of an iconic song for the series.
* ''VideoGame/{{Gloom}}'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Mznitf-R7c Cosmophobia]], the theme for [[MultipleEndings either of]] the two real final bosses. While the slow melancholic melody remains the same, the meaning behind the sadness is different in either battle:
** The final battle of the worst Cosmic ending is sad because [[spoiler:win or lose, the dreamer has already cast off any decency or humanity he had in the hunt for cosmic knowledge. After all, the battle is triggered by him literally sacrificing a baby, who may have been his own child: we outright see him stab it with a dagger and get the whole arm splashed in its blood, which is what turns the dark moon of the dream into The Gate to the new realities.]]
** The final battle of the true Royal ending is sad because [[spoiler:you confront King Domnhall, who was once a great king and did so much for his people. However, he did so at the price of carrying the Yellow Monarch EldritchAbomination within him, and it eventually drove him mad, to the point he ordered a complete genocide of the rival kingdom they defeated in battle, and eventually decided to escape Renegade God's plague through putting all his subjects into the Common Dream, where so many went mad and became the enemies you fought in the Unholy Parish. Thus, you are doing something difficult but necessary, and it's reflected in the battle itself going through three stages: Great King Domnhall, Mad King Domnhall, and, finally, the Yellow Monarch bursting out of his dead body and challenging you on its own.]]
* ''VideoGame/GODHeedTheCallToAwaken'' has "[[spoiler:[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUsQdmOvYCA The Reunion with Mother]]]]", which plays when Gen is forced to [[spoiler:kill his own mother]], as well as in [[spoiler:the PostFinalBoss against Sadness]].
* ''VideoGame/TheHalloweenHack'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DojOfnJXh0 a remix]] of the aforementioned song from ''Final Fantasy Legend III'' for the first phase of its final battle, which plays out similarly to the same battle from that game, with the twist that [[spoiler:the old man here is begging you ''not'' to kill him]]. Also, the ''VideoGame/EarthBound'' theme [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwegKPNjnf0 Buzz Buzz's Prophecy]] is repurposed as battle music for the Remember Me? enemies.
* ''VideoGame/HaloReach'' is a game allowing you to play through the Fall of Reach, and by the time of the final level "Lone Wolf", Noble Six is alone, every other member of his team either off-world or dead. He has successfully bought time for the UNSC ''Pillar of Autumn'' to escape to locations unknown (later revealed to be [[VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved Installation 04]]) with its [[SealedGoodInACan package]] by taking down Covenant forces on its tail, and now all that's left is for him to fight to the bitter end as wave after wave of Covenant forces come after him. The level is heralded by the LonelyPianoPiece section of "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8q4jWeo5oxA Epilogue]]."
* ''VideoGame/AHintOfATint'' has "sorry", the theme for the battle between Tyalline and [[spoiler:Jezebel]], after [[spoiler:she tricked her into betraying her vows to the Bee Queen, through offering Tyalline the chance to see her long-thought-dead human beloved, without telling her he's become a desiccated Vampire]]. It's also tragic for [[spoiler:Jezebel, because she knows Tyalline is fated to die along with the rest of Flesh of the Tail in the flood of blue water, and only manipulated her to ensure her own race would survive this apocalypse through a deal she struck with the first humans]].
* ''VideoGame/HitogataHappa'' has the track "The price of playing with fire -- paid in full" for the stage 4 boss. It's a solemn piece with a violin playing the melody complemented by a flute and church bells for percussion.
* Halfway through the final boss fight of ''VideoGame/HollowKnight'', the music [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLtCCfHYNiM&t=2m12s turns to this]] [[spoiler:as the [[SealedInsideAPersonShapedCan titular]] [[LeakingCanOfEvil knight]], through brief moments of clarity from the [[ThePlague Infection]], repeatedly and viciously stabs itself in an attempt to help you kill it.]] [[spoiler:The music for the ''true'' final boss is all action, though.]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Homeworld}}'' examples:
** ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPfY1D3O7C8 Agnus Dei]]'', a choral version of Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings, plays during [[spoiler:the Burning of Kharak]] as well as the final mission to reclaim Hiigara.
** ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY1fVrI2NFQ Swarmer Battle Music]]'' plays in the battles in the Kadesh Nebula, befitting the fact you aren't fighting [[TheEmpire the Taiidan]] or their servants but just trying to get out of the nebula ''alive'' and that [[spoiler:the Kadeshi are actually the descendants of another group of Hiigaran exiles and are trying to kill you for fear you'll cause the Taiidan to track them down]].
* In ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami2WrongNumber'', the soundtrack for missions is usually pulse-pounding, but there are several exceptions:
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsT_fcjDT48 The Way Home]]. An appropriately bittersweet tune for [[spoiler:Beard's last mission before he can leave [[AlternateHistory war-torn Hawaii]]]].
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWTbo5muJ_Q Remorse]]. Plays during the mission where [[spoiler:the Fans, under the player's control, brutally kill the sympathetic Henchman]].
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ozft-BDgOBE We're Sorry]]. Utterly haunting, in one of the game's ''creepiest'' levels.
* The fight against the final boss of ''VideoGame/IAmStillAlive'' Act One,[[spoiler:Chance]] has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVttj49XU5c "Alone" and its short intro, "The Last Fight"]] for the first phase. It's somewhat upbeat, showing just how determined both Emily and her opponent are -- but this only makes it all the more sad once you realize that both potential outcomes of the fight are tragic. Either [[spoiler:Chance, a man who lost his home, his wife, all of his friends (or so he believes,) and his daughter, will die]], or [[spoiler:his daughter's tormented soul will continue to suffer for an eternity, and Chance will be even more hopeless and guilt-ridden than before]].
** His flavor text when using the Diagnosis skill only makes things worse: "The man who lost everything." In addition to this, unlike other enemies whose Hearts are described in terms of strength (Strong, Weak, etc.) his is simply labeled [[spoiler:"Broken."]]
** The name of the intro song, "The Last Fight", references both the fact that this is the last battle in Act One, and the [[spoiler:melancholy, creepy "song" Chance played to properly express his emotions about losing everyone he loved, entitled "The Last Light."]]
** It only gets sadder. The second phase occurs when [[spoiler:Chance]] breaks down into tears, and tells Emily that no matter what, she has to win the fight. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVp5vMq7kP8 "Rest in Peace"]] begins to play as the name of the enemy you're fighting changes to simply [[spoiler:"The Father"]], and Emily is forced to fight against a man whose will has become so broken that he can [[spoiler:barely deal 20 damage to Emily]].
*** During this phase, the information gathered from Diagnosis changes to reflect just how low Chance's stats have become. The flavor text also changes into: [[spoiler:"Man fueled entirely by desperation."]] Couple this with the fact that the only skill (aside from normal attacks) he will now use is called [[spoiler:"Desperation"]], and suddenly the name of the act starts to make a lot more sense.
** To a lesser extent, the song that plays for the fight against [[spoiler:Lyght's deranged mentor, Grand Paladin Egon]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-08cF7hg_I "To Battle"]], is a mixture of an intense orchestral battle theme and a melancholy violin/choir duet. It emphasizes how powerful [[spoiler:Egon]] was before losing his sanity, without glossing over the tragedy of his descent into madness. It doesn't help that his "Diagnosis" flavor text reflects on the irony of his nickname, [[spoiler:"Unbreakable Egon"]], and the fact that he inflicts a status effect on himself called [[spoiler:"Unbreakable"]] in one last desperate attempt to protect his Queen. This is made even 'more' tragic when it's later revealed that the Queen he was trying so hard to protect [[spoiler:was actually the one he was attacking with an axe -- Emily]].
* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lguM3lpxdSs Moonlight, Side A]]", the track that plays during the first part of [[spoiler:the second battle with Agent Black]] in ''VideoGame/{{Iconoclasts}}''. "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Xuq3wV410A Moonlight, Side B]]", which plays during the second part, is more energetic, yet also sad, especially considering [[spoiler:that Agent Black was just murdered by Robin, in the first time she ever truly killed someone personally, and yet she comes back [[OneWingAngel as an inhuman, pained Ivory Beast]] through the sheer power of her stubbornness and despair.]].
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUeroxqJEbo Memento Mori]], the track which plays in the battle with the BonusBoss [[spoiler:Fitzroy]], is possibly even sadder. [[spoiler:After all, you are fighting a man who's lived so long, the only thing he has left is a memory of how he failed the woman he loved, and you are letting him die by destroying that memory.]]
* The final level music of ''VideoGame/ImmortalDefense'', "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYlgmBnQIjs&feature=plcp A Winter's Journey]]".
* ''VideoGame/InfamousSecondSon'' has "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKNbpJCfPMU Double Crossed]]", which plays during the fight with Augustine right after [[spoiler:she murders Reggie]].
* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'':
** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII Final Mix+'', during Sora's battle with Roxas. The song that plays is a melancholy remix of Roxas's theme (which was sad to begin with), and it is called "The Other Promise". Likewise, the final boss is a SequentialBoss that uses different variations of the same track ("Darkness of the Unknown") for each stage, with the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkw1NG4CQ_I final one]] being much slower and more somber than the others.
** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsCoded'', the battle against Data-Roxas uses Roxas's regular theme instead. Similarly, the battles with Data-Riku are accompanied by his rather somber leitmotif.
** ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2'': [[spoiler:Xion's]] fight theme, "Vector to the Heavens".
** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'':
*** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4jDVSXoUlk Tears of Light]]" plays when Terra visits Castle of Dreams for the first time and battles several Unversed, while WesternAnimation/{{Cinderella}} cries in the aftermath of her stepsisters ripping her dress to shreds.
*** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4x-hVR9fZk Dismiss]]", the final boss theme, is a more tragic version of the recurring "Destati" theme with Terra and Aqua's character themes mixed in.
*** The ''Final Mix'' rerelease adds "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEzsLC4qcGI Night of Tragedy]]", the battle track for the Realm of Darkness.
** ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance'' has a dark battle theme exclusive for the boss of the ''Film/TronLegacy'' world, and for a good reason: "Rinzler Recompiled".
** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'':
*** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNxcHYt2b7w Aqua (Dark Dive)]]", Anti-Aqua's battle theme is an incredibly depressing remix of Aqua's own theme. It can be downright ''haunting.''
*** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMYfULr80jg Nachtflügel]]", [[spoiler:Yozora]]'s battle theme, is a much more sombre and melancholy affair than the series norm with an underlying melody of tragedy, emphasized by its minimalism in instruments and preference for keeping in the minor scale. Mind you, it's no less epic.
* ''{{Franchise/Kirby}}'':
** ''VideoGame/KirbysReturnToDreamLand'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRkYZEWvtcg Landia's theme]]. It gives the vibe of a battle [[spoiler:that shouldn't be happening, which is exactly what Kirby and co. discover after beating them]].
** ''VideoGame/Kirby64TheCrystalShards'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwpLSiplyYc Zero Two's theme]]. The theme heard is rousing, but it's also very melancholic.
** ''VideoGame/KirbyStarAllies'' has [[spoiler:the TrueFinalBoss [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNPAh2ySGNU Void's theme]]]], which starts out identical to [[spoiler:Void Termina's final phase theme]], before transitioning into a significantly slower and more melancholic track after around a minute and a half, eventually shifting into a chiptune version of Green Greens.
* ''VideoGame/TheLastStory'' has a sad theme heard right after one of the final bosses [[spoiler:kills Lowell, during Chapter 40]]. The quiet, yet melancholic tone of the theme contrasts by all means all other battle themes in the game.
* ''VideoGame/LibraryOfRuina'' has the song ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_qiWvjJ3kk Gone Angels]]'', the theme of [[spoiler:The final phase of the Black Silence reception]], which details [[spoiler:Roland's conflicting emotions (specifically, his friendship with Angela against the grudge he holds against her for causing the Distortion phenomenon that led to the death of his wife) and self-destructive desire for revenge.]] Really, the entire [[spoiler:Black Silence reception]] counts, as the theme used for the other three phases, ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jnr4rTNnTO4 Furioso]]'', is also plenty melancholic.
* ''Videogame/{{Lisa}}: The Painful RPG'':
** The game has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXzSY-bNIiQ The End is Nigh]], [[spoiler:Rando's]] battle theme, which goes from sorrowful to brooding to terrifying.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwyOCdt1mEo Go Home Johnny]] also counts, as while it's climactic when you battle the Dojo Buster/Tiger Man, it becomes downright tragic when you battle [[spoiler:Sticky, if you've spared him before]].
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GMaty9S9co Bloodmoon Rising]], the track playing while you fight the Indian tribe who guard the [[LastOfHisKind last bloodmoon tree]] in Olathe, because [[spoiler:Brad is trying to build the new boat for Shardy to find Buddy, after she escaped from him on the old one]].
* ''VideoGame/LuminousAvengerIX'' has "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2C92BiSYmI& Painful Determination]]", which plays during the boss battle against [[spoiler:Mytyl, [[TheHero Copen's]] own sister, who has been reduced to a BrainInAJar that [[ICannotSelfTerminate begs her brother for death]]]].
* All over the place in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', but especially during the fall of Earth and [[spoiler:the asari homeworld of Thessia]].
* ''VideoGame/MaxPayne 3'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEH_LSL4rVw "Tears"]] during the final battle.
* ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonorFrontline'' has this during the levels [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54sSF5JS_HA "Rough Landing"]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nMw2RLq4_g "Arnhem Knights"]], the latter of which is set during the failed Operation Market Garden.
* ''VideoGame/MegaManX4'' has the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOePaSnZyKI boss battle theme]] of [[spoiler:[[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds Iris]]]] in Zero's story mode, when [[spoiler:she turns on him after he's forced to kill her brother Colonel, and fuses with his salvaged core to transform into a Ride Armor-like monstrosity that requires Zero to [[FightingYourFriend fight her as well]], leading to her accidental death]].
* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'':
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'': The final boss starts with no music, but five minutes in, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5CYt0nqMUc the instrumental of Snake Eater kicks in, followed by the full song]]. The melancholy elements of the song come to the forefront here, as the instrumental removes the lyrics to allow the somber strings to command the melody, and when the vocals come in, the player becomes fully aware of how the lyrics reflect the tragic tale of [[spoiler:The Boss]].
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' has different musical themes from previous games played during your last fight with Revolver Ocelot. The last music score is the sombre sad theme of ''4'' and it reflects how Ocelot and Snake are both on their last legs, with the fight mechanics even changing to show they can barely stand and even if Snake wins, he's doomed anyways.
* ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nMFLquJeCc sad but intense music]] during the battle against [[spoiler:Rundas]].
* Due to its GreyAndGreyMorality, nearly every boss theme in ''VideoGame/{{Minoria}}'' is sad. Special mention goes to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aTSCEeA8ew Decisive Battle]], which is played during the battle with Sister Devoir, and starts off heroically, but then quickly takes on a much more sorrowful tone. Then, once she's heavily wounded and reduced to limping while slashing ineffectively and saying her last words, the music shifts to a slower and very appropriately titled [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNMKRgSNQhk On the Brink of Death]].
** The FinalBoss theme, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMm76-vN88A Auto-da-Fé]] (Portuegese for "act of faith"; [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto-da-f%C3%A9 usually associated]] with the Inquisition's ritual of public penance and/or execution of the heretics) is already sad [[spoiler: As by that point the player should well realize they were fighting for genodical theocracy against non-believers trying to defend themselves all along]], and it also shifts to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGxUPukbq5E Auto-da-Fé II]] when [[spoiler: Princess Poeme TurnsRed and becomes even more angelic-looking as Snake Witch Poeme.]] Then, [[spoiler: Standing up to Princess Amelia after that battle]] triggers the final, short fight, scored to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkhtILBrJEc Auto-da-Fé III]].
* In ''VideoGame/MitsumeteKnight'', there's "Sorrowful Blade", the battle theme played when fighting [[spoiler:the enemy Eight General Salishuan the Spy, alias Raizze Haimer (one of the winnable main heroines), when she's torn between her duty and her love for the protagonist. You actually need to hear this theme to get her ending: if not, she's [[PermanentlyMissableContent gone forever]]]].
* "The Enemy of my Enemy" from ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare 2'' is set to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnmK06pap5A Boneyard Intro]], which rather fits the level [[spoiler:immediately after TheReveal Shepherd's been a traitor all along]].
* Being a spiritual precursor to ''Minoria'', even the default boss theme in ''VideoGame/{{Momodora}}: Reverie Under the Moonlight'', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h05cgLJOFNM Confrontation]] is far from being cheerful. However, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dm-8LKGVGiY Pardoner's Dance]], played during the battle with Pardoner Fennel, is in a league of its own, since the entire battle is essentially a case of PoorCommunicationKills.
* ''VideoGame/Mother3'' does this during [[spoiler:the final battle against Claus: "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nENrxSRqz78 Battle Against the Masked Man]]"]], a distorted confusion of sound reminiscent of Giygas's themes from [[VideoGame/EarthBound the previous game]], is periodically interrupted by [[spoiler:"[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHsbV3gtNgQ Memory of Mother]]"]], which combines it with [[spoiler:one of Hinawa's themes]], and eventually both are replaced by [[spoiler:"[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWWlRKyYdgs It's Over]], a heartrending rendition of the Love Theme]]. Earlier, there's "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPMSvwPOGzo Tragic Reconstruction]]", a combination of the Pigmask {{Leitmotif}} and Beethoven's Symphony no.3, which underscores the fate of the animals that were subjected to the Pigmasks' experiments.
* ''VideoGame/NarutoShippudenUltimateNinjaStorm3'': [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-QNASOkuGk Bond of snow Tears]].
* ''VideoGame/{{NieR}}'' has its final boss theme, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGtnBnmJ8MA&fmt=18 "Shadowlord"]]. While it does pick up a faster and bombastic tempo after the opening, it also utilizes VariableMix in a highly-effective way — as the battle goes on and the boss' health bar depletes, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nepIkbum2E8 elements of the music fade out]], so eventually the instruments are gone and there's just mournful vocals. In the Shadowlord's last phase, even that is replaced by a NostalgicMusicBox carrying the melody, as by that point, [[DespairEventHorizon he just wants to die.]]
* It'd be easier to count the boss themes in ''VideoGame/NierAutomata'' that ''don't'' have an air of sadness to them. Of particular note are [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBH-Q2jcBW4 Grandma (Destruction)]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzMFg3SfXZA Emil (Despair)]], and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcbVZWFgel0 Song of the Ancients (Atonement)]], more fast-paced, actionized versions of slower, more solemn/wistful themes from the original ''VideoGame/{{Nier}}'' that play during moments such as [[spoiler:a grieving 9S losing his mind after having to fight hostile copies of 2B, a battle against against Emil's clones, who've been driven to insanity and nihilism after thousands of years of living, and Devola and Popola's HeroicSacrifice to buy 9S time to hack the entrance to the Tower]].
* ''Videogame/{{Nioh}}'': Against [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLR5dYmmbMo The White Tiger]] [[spoiler:Ishida Mitsunari, both "heroes" in their respects who have fallen.]] Especially appropriate [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksagJ_8nWdA for the Ogress]], the quiet rage and grief [[spoiler:of a mother spurned and bereaved]] permeates the fantastic stringwork.
* ''Videogame/NuclearThrone'' the final boss first form theme. [[spoiler: The second form has the snippet of the main theme instead]].
* In ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'', the first fight with [[spoiler:Simeon]] in Primrose's Chapter 4 is tragic and solemn, unlike every other battle theme.
* The music for the FinalBoss fight against [[spoiler:Levanthan]] in ''VideoGame/OdinSphere'' is usually the mellow, but somewhat uplifting world map theme, but if the player is on the track to the [[MultipleEndings bad ending]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DH3_7lOELzc A Fate Accepted]] (which is normally reserved for sad/somber scenes) is used instead.
* ''VideoGame/{{OFF}}'' has a few, like the Queen's theme, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnnqoFzT6p0 The Meaning of His Tears]], and to a lesser extent Japhet's theme, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLAP2X16GP4 Minuit A Fond La Caisse.]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Omori}}'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W766EABGHe8 "OMORI"]], the theme for the FinalBattle: [[spoiler:a BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind between Sunny and Omori, with the latter attempting to get the former to [[DrivenToSuicide kill himself]]]].
* The route to the C ending of ''VideoGame/PandorasTower'' replaces [[spoiler:Zeron with Possessed Elena]], the bright final battle location to a dark dungeon, and the powerful, intense final boss theme with an oppressing chanting. The fact that it is the only ending where [[spoiler:Aeron and Elena worsen the war they were trying to run from]] makes it even more fitting.
* ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_clCIqmg1Q Someone Calls Me... Someone Looks for Me]], a very sad, somber music that plays when fighting the TrueFinalBoss: [[spoiler:the original Eve, possessing the body of Aya's late sister]].
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56f2Kt6IeZU "Heartful Cry"]] in ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}} [[UpdatedRerelease FES]]'', a powerful yet melancholy piece that plays when you fight [[spoiler:the other members of SEES]].
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDr_krEQNrU The Reincarnation version of "I'll Face Myself"]] in ''VideoGame/Persona4'' ''[[UpdatedReRelease Golden]]'', a powerful but tragic piece that hammers home that [[spoiler:Marie]] ''really'' doesn't want to fight you.
** [[https://youtu.be/Kbw6hF7tHns "Throw Away Your Mask"]] in ''VideoGame/Persona5'' ''[[UpdatedReRelease Royal]]'' (and its instrumental version, [[https://youtu.be/4r_k-aLI0PU "Keep Your Faith"]]), featuring a very beautiful piano riff at the beginning, ''really'' hammers in the fact that the TrueFinalBoss of the game is not at all as [[HateSink malicious]] as the other Palace Rulers and the final boss of the original game, especially with lyrics like this:
---> ''Don't sleep through dreams that can't come true''
---> ''No more tears shall drop from your cheeks anymore''
---> ''You won't need to strive for greatness''
---> ''Believe in me that you don't need to suffer from anything''
* In ''VideoGame/{{Pyre}}'', the Lone Minstrel and the Gate Guardian perform the duet [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1k5SCCN1sk Never To Return]] for each Liberation Rite.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XT7wZgs3BnI Sad But True]] from ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'', for the battle against [[spoiler:[[BrainwashedAndCrazy mind-controlled]] Jill Valentine]].
* ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonExplorers'' has [[https://youtube.com/watch?v=nxS8YDjTpeg Dialga's Fight to the Finish!]]", played during the final battle of the pre-credits story.
* In ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'', [[spoiler:the music that plays during [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DzyKaGYspA the fight with Micah]] is aptly titled "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iGoLmFK8jw Red Dead Redemption]]" after the final mission of Chapter 6 (which doubles as PlayingTheHeartStrings!), where we know that it's never gonna end well with Arthur fighting him off while his lungs are failing him due to tuberculosis.]]
* ''VideoGame/RiseOfNations'' has a soundtrack that changes depending on recent events, whether it be peaceful economic building or engaging the enemy in battle. After the end of a losing battle, music is likely to turn melancholic, as with the touching [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JhCaaJictE Battle At Witch Creek.]]
* In ''VideoGame/RiskOfRain'', a number of tracks carry this tune, but the one that stands out the most is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysPtBjY8o_A Coalescence]], which plays in the last level while the player fends off hordes of enemies and [[DegradedBoss Degraded Bosses]] amongst the SceneryGorn of [[spoiler:the UES Contact Light's crash]]. This sets up an atmosphere of finality and triumph, but also mourning and loss.
* ''VideoGame/RuneScape'' holds the world record for the most original music tracks in a game (over 1300), but these are surprisingly uncommon.
** When you are fighting [[WhenTreesAttack Solak]], "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3c2G60wSFMQ Guardian of the Grove mvt.1]]" is still mostly traditional fanfare or threatening music, but bridged by a LonelyPianoPiece segment. "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FK5-HwbSF5Q Guardian of the Grove mvt.2]]" additionally features a OneWomanWail.
** In the "Love Story" quest, during the flashback to Dionysus and [[OldFlame Zenevivia]] relationship in their youth, "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt5jjDbNZxs Love Story]]", a soundtrack [[NamesTheSame with the same name]], plays, which starts off tender and sentimental before turning into a melancholy LonelyPianoPiece as the scene turns to the two fighting each other. "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64XOFR2uIwM Love Bites]]" playing during the boss battle against Zenevivia is a sad and bitter piece featuring the OminousPipeOrgan.
* ''VideoGame/SekiroShadowsDieTwice'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOzQ_OqnY2s Gentle Blade]], which plays if you decide to [[spoiler:forsake Kuro and fight against Emma]].
* ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheColossus'' has ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzbvcsNPEEE Demise of the Ritual]]''. Words cannot describe how fitting it is, as it makes you reflect on your actions, and if they were worth the price.
* The ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' series tend to use this on various occasions, and considering the nature of the series, it is not hard to see why. Some examples include [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhwSm1gS3Lw Kuroe's theme]] from ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiImagine'' and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrxtedscrUI the Yamato Reactor's theme]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhvLVhuh2dg Isabeau's theme]] from ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV''.
* ''VideoGame/SonicForces'' has the theme for the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVlbA7FjcRI&t Death Egg Robot's second phase,]] which is an incredibly dire-sounding song emphasizing the fact that Eggman's done screwing around, and that losing will doom the planet to obliteration.
* ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'' has "[[https://youtu.be/UX1c7wgAbDA Tidal Rush]]", a BossRemix medley of "[[https://youtu.be/fmoLeGjlHbw Tide Goes Out]]" and "[[https://youtu.be/fVq0s1ABjNE Bomb Rush Blush]]" played during the second phase of the final boss battle. Although much more rousing than many other examples here, it still has a clear emotional edge, since in-universe [[spoiler:it's a duet sung between Callie and Marie as the latter [[IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight tries to snap the former out of her brainwashing.]]]]
* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
** In ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'', the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqntoncPN3I final boss fight]] against Bowser is accompanied by a dark, moody, atmospheric piano rearrangement of the game's main theme.
** The first half of the final battle against Bowser in ''VideoGame/MarioParty 9'' has a more melancholic tone than that of the other bosses. The second phase has a more desperate tone.
** The final battle theme for ''VideoGame/YoshisNewIsland'' contains some pretty sad parts.
** In ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPartnersInTime'', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCYkpZ5vNrs this type of music]] plays during the FinalBoss battle.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6M2xt_Ks4Y "The Grand Finale"/"In The Final"]] from ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory'' has a heavy melancholy air. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPGzYDGKFX0 The version used in]] ''[[VideoGameRemake Bowser Jr.'s Journey]]'' amps up the melancholy factor somewhat.
** Antasma's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrAYVhPU-9g battle theme]] in ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiDreamTeam Dream Team]]'', while [[BossRemix remixed from his decidedly sinister leitmotif]], has an emotional undercurrent that reflects his [[spoiler:[[SympathyForTheDevil pitiable fate]] of being betrayed by his supposed ally [[HijackedByGanon Bowser]].]]
** [[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPaperJam Paper Jam]]'s [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GphACo5c0Y0 final boss theme]] is somber in tone.
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'': A slow melancholic rendition of the game's theme song, Ring a Bell, plays during Yuri's battle with [[spoiler:Estelle, during which she pleads with him to kill her to save himself and the others]].
* ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfTheWorld Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology]]'': The track ''Sad Memory'' plays while battling [[spoiler:Kannono]]. Upon regaining memories and their true purpose of being in Teresia, they allow Gilgulim to continue devouring the world and end up battling the Descender.
* Unsurprisingly, the ''VideoGame/TotalWar'' series has this in abundance. For example, in ''VideoGame/MedievalIITotalWar'', a battle the game thinks you won't win may be fought to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8AgHffLawI "This is It,"]] and the European defeat music is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUk1Qg2LZXU "Did They Have to Die Today?"]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' has a wonderful soundtrack, with some character boss themes that definitely qualify as this.
** Suika's theme, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcobOGPSDz4 "Onigashima in the Fairyland ~ Missing Power"]], is energetic yet still sad, almost desperate. Fitting for the last oni on the surface, who's starting a ruckus to try to lure her people back.
** Nitori's theme, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KkcwBE7vx0 "Akutagawa Ryuunosuke's Kappa ~ Candid Friend"]] has a playful yet wistful and tearjerkingly earnest sort of feel, for some reason
** Fujiwara no Mokou's theme, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOefbCXJ0Sc "Reach for the Moon, Immortal Smoke,"]] is as ''WebAnimation/TouhouElectronicWindInstrument'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5K-_JVuFEg points out]] her [[WhoWantsToLiveForever long, unhappy life]] in song.
** Sanae's theme, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaqeawuY0r0 "Faith is For The Transient People"]] carries a distinct air of melancholy.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVM92Yi2fNo "Green-eyed Jealousy]]," for when fighting the lonely and resentful Parsee Mizuhashi.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmslIIu9WTA Beware The Umbrella Left There Forever]], Kogasa's theme, is an emotional track wrought with desperate cheerfulness and sadness.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZOnG5vAj60 "The Lost Emotion"]] against Hata no Kokoro, a desperate, yet hopeless mask youkai.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWb99ZDi2pY "Last Occultism ~ Esotericist of the Present World"]] is a melancholy piece for battling a psychic girl searching for meaning in her life. Reflecting on this terrible night, and the frustration with being ''alone'' in this world...
** The fan game ''VideoGame/ConcealedTheConclusion'' has a remix of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zphrWpK3fuc "G Free"]] for TheLastDance between [[HeterosexualLifePartners Reimu and Marisa]] before a DreamApocalypse. For bonus poignancy points, the track also incorporates "Eternal Shrine Maiden," [[BookEnds the first theme in the entire series.]]
** The fan game ''VideoGame/TouhouLabyrinth'' uses [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeBBRPIsqfc this]] for the final battle against Maribel Hearn, since she's not malicious, but has [[PowerIncontinence lost control over her powers]] from her grief since she thinks she's accidentally killed her best friend with them.
* ''VideoGame/{{Transistor}}''; Sybil remembers Red's music. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGMWL8cOeAU "In Circles"]], then [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMyoI-Za6z8 "_n C_rcl_s"]] play during this fight.
* The FinalBoss theme in ''VideoGame/TheTreehouseMan'', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R35uUcSWwjI&list=UU0PpjNRYTqcQE0tPrgUc2Bg Apotheosis]], is a slow, heavily melancholy piece, as it's revealed your real opponent is an insane DarkMessiah, and how unnecessary the conflict he started had been.
* ''VideoGame/TrialsOfMana'':
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu2PU5Oc82w Innocent Sea]]:. It plays when fighting [[spoiler: Heath the fallen cleric and Charlotte's adoptive big brother]]. After he was kidnapped by [[MonsterClown Goremand]], the [[BigBad Masked Mage]] brainwashed him and forced him to fight Charlotte and co. After he's defeated, he reveals the Masked Mage is his father who was once famous mage whose study of dark arts in an ill-fated attempt to cure a young girl twisted his mind and body and transformed him into the Dark Mage.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ctYv_lrftQ Fable]]: [[spoiler: Plays when fighting the Darkshine Knight with Duran in your party. He reveals that he's in fact Duran's long-lost father, the Golden Knight Loki, thought to have died while fighting the [[BigBad Dragon Lord]]. In reality, he was LeftForDead and then subsequently revived by the Dragon Lord to serve as his loyal servant.]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Tyrian}}'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGAVNClKWBQ Asteroid Dance, Part 1]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'':
** Toriel's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ypvg1WC-m-Y battle theme]] that plays at the end of the first dungeon and is notably called "Heartache" on the OST. Rather appropriate, given that [[spoiler:Toriel is trying to stop the player, who she grew to admire upon their meeting, from leaving the ruins and risk getting killed by Asgore. But the player needs to leave to progress the story, and they may even end up (accidentally) killing their friend instead of sparing Toriel several times until she gives in and lets you go.]]
** Asgore's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcamjcoRmrQ battle theme.]] It's not as sad-sounding as most examples on this list, but is a lot more serious than the silly and whimsical boss themes the player has gotten used to, with a subtle air of melancholy about it, and fits the far more solemn nature of the fight. [[spoiler: This fits his reluctance of fighting for his people, but he has to soldier on if that's what it takes for him to bring hope to his people from getting out to the underground that they retreated in.]]
** Undyne's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrBB3_rFPjg battle theme]] is normally bombastic, but if [[spoiler: she is killed in a Neutral run]] the theme is replaced with the much more somber LonelyPianoPiece [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3sJ79C1Zyo "An Ending"]]. Even her normal battle theme is, like Asgore's, considerably more serious than most other boss themes, to go with Undyne being the first monster you meet in the game who legitimately wants you dead. And ''times ten worse'' in her battle theme in Genocide Run, [[spoiler: with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWBtpBwzzdM Battle Against the True Hero]], which really shows how desperate she is enough to tap determination even that means that she will suffer into a gruesome meltdown all in the name of saving both monsterkind ''and'' humankind against the player's wanton mass murdering.]]
** True Pacifist's final boss[[spoiler:, Asriel Dreemurr,]] starts with the upbeat and hopeful [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz82xbLvK_k "Hopes and Dreams"]], before switching to the more oppressive [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pumVu-WWhKM "Burn in Despair"]] when he [[OneWingedAngel unleashes his true power]], then turns back to hope again with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZRP7nQkfrM "SAVE the World"]] [[spoiler:when you try to save your friends he absorbed to become a god of destruction]]. However, the battle ends with the [[TriumphantReprise triumphant]] but melancholic [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkOK8tdEsFY "His Theme"]]. [[spoiler:At this point, the boss realizes his desire to destroy you is nothing against your determination to save him and his own desire to reunite with his lost sibling, despite them being the reason behind his suffering.]]
* Most bosses in ''VideoGame/{{Unworthy}}'' have battle themes that are more sad than anything else, to highlight that they used to be good people, who fell to their gravest sins. This is at its most obvious with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3vyVPaBEyQ Gaston's]] and Frayed Knight Dominic's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNaRMnXDAcQ two]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Jr-s_MH-yQ themes]]. Even Altus, The First Father, whose experiments led to the entire apocalypse, still has a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPfTqYkKOYg sympathetic theme]].
* The track for the final battle in ''VideoGame/{{Utawarerumono}}'' is the slow and melancholy [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAPuVLRcwTQ The End of Legends]]. A track fitting given that [[spoiler:you are fighting to forever seal away the main hero in order to stop his evil half]].
* ''VideoGame/VoidMemory'' has a very sad theme play during the late-game boss battle against the Nameless Investigator, who is a phanthom much like yourself, and is pretty much a MirrorBoss.
* The third installment of the ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}'' trilogy has the battle between KOS-MOS and T-ELOS. While their previous battles were accompanied by intense music, their final confrontation has the melancholic "Hepatica" playing.
** ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}'' has "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCHt8Eaesyo Tragic Decision]]". It only plays thrice in the course of the main story, two of those times being during particularly dramatic {{Hopeless Boss Fight}}s towards the final stretches of the story. It does play a fourth time during a BonusBoss fight at the end of [[SidequestSidestory a long sidequest chain]], but that time is used for [[SoundtrackDissonance a deliberately]] [[MundaneMadeAwesome jarring effect]].
** The thematic sequel, VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX, has "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkHmZ0tKKww aBOreSSs]]", the first half of which plays during [[spoiler: the second phase of the Prog Ares fight (hence the title's uppercase and lowercase letters splitting into 'ares' and 'BOSS')]]. The [[https://youtu.be/CkHmZ0tKKww?t=2m57s other half of it]] (which is echoed in [[LastNoteNightmare the last note of the first part]]) is instead a lot more menacing, and plays for [[spoiler: the Zu Pharg fight.]]
** ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0laPiOKsTGQ The Power of Jin]] playing during Jin's later game boss battles [[spoiler: which reflects on Jin's sadness and desperation]].
* It's almost a series standard for ''Videogame/{{Yakuza}}'' final bosses to have this (and sometimes they're not even the only one): since the series deals heavily in the AntiVillain and TragicVillain tropes, even the more pulse-pounding boss themes will often have a segment where the mood dips into melancholy. It's almost easier to list the ones that ''aren't'' sad:
** ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza 1}}'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8LZ2GqzOSA "For Who's Sake"]], the final boss theme for Akira Nishikiyama which empathizes on the grief of him and Kiryu. It gets a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Hl6KNY10ZA much more dramatic remix]] in the Kiwami remake.
** ''VideoGame/Yakuza2'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcEtPhCJenQ A Scattered Moment]], which plays [[spoiler: during the final fistfight with Goda]]. Like the above, it gets [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8WGb2gs-F8 remixed]] in the remake.
** ''Yakuza Kiwami 2'' has another remix of Fiercest Warrior as [[BonusBoss Jo Amon's]] theme, only this one is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MAqTLHpeTo more somber and emotional]] than the normally energetic, pulse-sounding versions, reflecting that this is the final game (at least in terms of real-life chronology) where Kiryu and Amon will face off.
** ''VideoGame/RyuGaGotokuIshin'' has the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KB6f5fQn0Y final phase]] of the FinalBoss theme ''"[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G25zh83_gvc Assassination]] Of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOM_8Dfc7tI Bodhisattva]]"'', which is notably more somber that the former two. Problem is, it's [[NoExportForYou Japan-only]]...
** ''VideoGame/Yakuza0'' has a final boss for each protagonist, and each gets a distinctly non-sad theme: Majima gets "Archnemesis", a tension-filled, imposing track fitting for a fight against the ruthless hitman Lao Gui, while Kiryu has "Two Dragons", an powerful metal song perfectly suited to Keiji Shibusawa, one of the most manipulative and cold-blooded villains in the series.
** ''VideoGame/Yakuza6'' has "The Way Of Life", a song that underscores both the nature of the fight as Kazuma Kiryu's final bout and the sheer smackdown you're laying on the sociopathic, childishly cruel Tsuneo Iwami.
** ''Videogame/YakuzaLikeADragon'' has "Light and Darkness", the boss theme of Ryo Aoki, AKA [[spoiler:Masato Arakawa, Ichiban's EvilFormerFriend]]. The song's somber nature emphasizes how Ichiban is fighting [[spoiler:to save the man he sees as his brother as well as Aoki's VillainousBreakdown]].
* ''VideoGame/YsVITheArkOfNapishtim'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0KbYMIpv_Y "Defend and Escape"]] while [[EscortMission escorting]] [[DamselInDistress Olha]] out of the Romun fleet.
[[/folder]]

** ''[[https://soundcloud.com/megaflamehedge/dontkillgoatdad?in=megaflamehedge/sets/inverted-fate-ost Regret]]'', Asgore's battle theme is both tense and melancholy, reflecting the fact that he is secretly trying to goad Frisk into taking his soul so they can return to the surface without killing Toriel.
** ''[[https://soundcloud.com/megaflamehedge/attackoftheweeb?in=megaflamehedge/sets/inverted-fate-ost Wavering Spirit]]'', Alphys's fight theme, while not as somber as the other examples, does have a somewhat melancholy feel, reflecting Alphys's going against her own beliefs and trying to kill the human, as the Captain of the Royal Guard is expected to do.

* The same creator also made an original composition for her ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts Kingdom Hearts]]'' FanFic, ''[[Fanfic/KingdomHeartsTheAntipode Antipode]]''. The piece, titled ''[[https://soundcloud.com/megaflamehedge/fracturedmirror Fractured Mirror]]'', plays during Riku's FinalBattle with [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories Riku Replica]] in Castle Oblivion.

* In Film/{{Braveheart}}, during the Battle of Falkirk, sad music begins to play as the Scottish nobles William Wallace trusted to help them flee the field instead, and the King of England, Edward Longshanks, orders his archers to fire on the infantry fighting in the front. The music becomes more tragic and dramatic as Wallace attempts to chase after Longshanks, and finds out that yet another Scottish noble he trusted betrayed him, causing him to suffer a HeroicBSOD after witnessing this DespairEventHorizon.

** ''[[spoiler:[[https://youtu.be/KEKdXc9W2Jo Everything Is (Not) Fine]]'' is eventually revealed to be this, as it plays as Papyrus and Sans "fight" an emotionally distraught Frisk in Part 48 to calm them down and help them get back on the right track.]]

* The same creator also made an original composition for her ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts Kingdom Hearts]]'' FanFic, titled ''[[https://soundcloud.com/megaflamehedge/fracturedmirror Fractured Mirror]]'', which plays during Riku's FinalBattle with [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories Riku Replica]] in Castle Oblivion.

[[/Folder]]

** ''[[spoiler:[[https://soundcloud.com/megaflamehedge/manykittensmanymeows?in=megaflamehedge/sets/inverted-fate-ost Everything Is (Not) Fine]]'' is eventually revealed to be this, as it plays as Papyrus and Sans "fight" an emotionally distraught Frisk in Part 48 to calm them down and help them get back on the right track.]]

** ''[[https://soundcloud.com/megaflamehedge/attackoftheweeb?in=megaflamehedge/sets/inverted-fate-ost Wavering Spirit]''], Alphys's fight theme, while not as somber as the other examples, does have a somewhat melancholy feel, reflecting Alphys's going against her own beliefs and trying to kill the human, as the Captain of the Royal Guard is expected to do.

[[Folder:Fan Works]]
* The ''[[VideoGame/{{Undertale}}]]'' WebComic/multimedia project ''[[WebComic/InvertedFate Inverted Fate]]'' has several examples:

[[Folder/Fan Works]]

** True Pacifist's final boss[[spoiler:, Asriel Dreemurr,]] starts with the upbeat and hopeful [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz82xbLvK_k "Hopes and Dreams"]], before switching to the more oppressive [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pumVu-WWhKM "Burn in Despair"]] when he [[OneWingedAngel unleashes his true power]], then turns back to hope again with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZRP7nQkfrM "SAVE the World"]] [[spoiler:when you try to save your friends he absorbed to become a god of destruction]]. However, the battle ends with the triumphant but melancholic [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkOK8tdEsFY "His Theme"]]. [[spoiler:At this point, the boss realizes his desire to destroy you is nothing against your determination to save him and his own desire to reunite with his lost sibling, despite them being the reason behind his suffering.]]

** Undyne's battle theme is normally bombastic, but if [[spoiler: she is killed in a Neutral run]] the theme is replaced with the much more somber LonelyPianoPiece "An Ending". Even her normal battle theme is, like Asgore's, considerably more serious than most other boss themes, to go with Undyne being the first monster you meet in the game who legitimately wants you dead. And ''times ten worse'' in her battle theme in Genocide Run, [[spoiler: with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWBtpBwzzdM Battle Against the True Hero]], which really shows how desperate she is enough to tap determination even that means that she will suffer into a gruesome meltdown all in the name of saving both monsterkind ''and'' humankind against the player's wanton mass murdering.]]

* ''VideoGame/LibraryOfRuina'' has the song ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_qiWvjJ3kk Gone Angels]]'', the theme of [[spoiler:The final phase of the Black Silence reception]], which details [[spoiler:Roland's conflicting emotions and self-destructive desire for revenge.]] Really, the entire [[spoiler:Black Silence reception]] counts, as the theme used for the other three phases, ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jnr4rTNnTO4 Furioso]]'', is also plenty melancholic.

* ''VideoGame/LibraryOfRuina'' has the song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_qiWvjJ3kk ''Gone Angels'']], the theme of [[spoiler:The final phase of the Black Silence reception]], which details [[spoiler:Roland's conflicting emotions and self-destructive desire for revenge.]] Really, the entire [[spoiler:Black Silence reception]] counts, as the other theme it uses, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jnr4rTNnTO4 ''Furioso'']], is also plenty melancholic.

* ''VideoGame/LibraryOfRuina'' has the song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_qiWvjJ3kk ''Gone Angels'']], the theme of [[spoiler:The final phase of the Black Silence reception]], which details [[spoiler:Roland's conflicting emotions and self-destructive desire for revenge.]]

* ''VideoGame/LibraryOfRuina'' has the song ''Gone Angels'', the theme of [[spoiler:The final phase of the Black Silence reception]], which details [[spoiler:Roland's conflicting emotions and self-destructive desire for revenge.]]

* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaPortraitOfRuin'' has the aptly-titled [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRXZq7gYTq0 "Dance of Sadness"]], which plays while fighting [[spoiler:Stella and Loretta]], who previously have been revealed to be BrainwashedAndCrazy.

** ''Videogame/YakuzaLikeADragon'' has "Light and Darkness", the boss theme of Ryo Aoki, AKA [[spoiler:Masato Arakawa, Ichiban's EvilFormerFriend]].

* Being a spiritual precursor to ''Minoria'', even the default boss theme in ''VideoGame/{{Momodora}}: Reverie Under the Moonlight'', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYOg62_8_nA Assault]] is far from being cheerful. However, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dm-8LKGVGiY Pardoner's Dance]], played during the battle with Pardoner Fennel, is in a league of its own, since the entire battle is essentially a case of PoorCommunicationKills.

** ''VideoGame/RyuGaGotokuIshin'' has the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KB6f5fQn0Y final phase]] of the FinalBoss theme ''"[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G25zh83_gvc Assassination O]][[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOM_8Dfc7tIf Bodhisattva]]"'', which is notably more somber that the former two. Problem is, it's [[NoExportForYou Japan-only]]...

Generally, whenever works of fiction decide they want to employ some good ol' pathos during TheSiege to get tears flowing, such as showing beloved characters die as their losing side of a battle gets steamrolled by the enemy, or a OneManArmy making his/her last stand before finally giving in, sometimes they won't just rely to having characters [[DiedInYourArmsTonight dying in people's arms]] or resorting to [[PietaPlagiarism Pietà Plagiarisms]], ignoring the carnage around them just because TalkingIsAFreeAction.

*** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMYfULr80jg Nachtflügel]]", Yozora's battle theme, is a much more sombre and melancholy affair than the series norm with an underlying melody of tragedy, emphasized by its minimalism in instruments and preference for keeping in the minor scale. Mind you, it's no less epic.