Awesome Music / Fire Emblem

aka: Fire Emblem Thracia 776

While the gameplay and story of every Fire Emblem game in the franchise can be considered divisive, one thing that the fans collectively agree on is how awesome and impactful the music is for each game in the series.

Per troping policy, all spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned.

In General

• The main theme from the Fire Emblem games is awesome. Take these examples, the latter being from Brawl.
  • While almost always used at the title screen, Path of Radiance instead has the Fire Emblem Theme in the epilogue. Still as awesome as ever, possibly even more so.
  • Ever wondered how the Fire Emblem theme would sound as a fast-paced rock song? Code Name: S.T.E.A.M's got you covered.
• There's plenty more awesome Fire Emblem music where that came from. Strike, Combat Preparations, Roy's theme Roy's other theme, and Together We Ride. All remixed in Brawl, albeit under different names.
• The tracks that were awesome enough to go into Brawl unaltered. The already mentioned Black Knight's theme, Oliver's theme, Crimea's Offensive theme, Victory is Near, and of course Eternal Bond (also known as Ike's theme).
• The character recruitment themes tend to be pretty strong: Gaiden has "Encounter" and its wonderfully orchestrated arrangement from Shadows of Valentia, "Unity". The latter is perfect for moments such as Zeke finding the courage to betray the corrupt Jerome after being told his lover Tatiana is free, and Celica getting to reunite with her comrades just before the final battle against Duma and his band of religious fanatics.

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (and the Blade of Light)/(New) Mystery of the Emblem

• The original Mystery of the Emblem Fire Emblem Theme is the most complete version of the theme to date, and is a wonder to listen to from beginning to end.
• The initial player phase theme of the original Famicom game has sadly been passed over and replaced with a Suspiciously Similar Song in all subsequent remakes, despite it being adorably catchy.
• Shadow Dragon and New Mystery were audible triumphs both in their revised themes and original tracks. For Liberty, A Hero's Destiny, Liberation, Early Initiative, Late Initiative, Tearing Shadows and Murderous Puppets are all excellent.
• Preparations sets the mood as you arm your units to the teeth before the battle starts.
• Forbidden Sanctuary is equal parts ominous and amazing. Somehow it manages to fit in the Fire Emblem theme in the first few notes.
• Footsteps of Fate and Blades of Treachery, the player phase and enemy phase music for the new prologue, are indeed quite awesome.
• From Shadow Dragon, there's Paean, which only plays on a small few occasions but could easily be mistaken for a main theme if you didn't know better. Its original incarnation "Chapter Clear" is just as powerful even in 8-bit. In contrast to the former however it played after every chapter.
• Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem has Off To War, which was Covered Up by the version of the song from Rockman 4 Minus ∞.
• The final boss theme for Mystery of the Emblem, The Last Stand (orchestral remix). There's also “Reign of Despair”, the New Mystery of the Emblem version, which kicks up the tempo.
• One who Carves a New History is one heck of a piece for the avatar.
• Expedition, the theme for when Marth heads away from the erupting war in Archanea to find a way to combat the Darksphere. It's equal parts epic, catchy, and mysterious. The remake also gives it justice, as does the remix it gets with Holy War in Shadows of Valentia.
• Katarina's theme, "Puppets Don't Cry", is an awesome piece in and of itself, but its happier remix at the end, "Friendship", is just heartwarming.
• Legend of the Divine Dragon A and B from Mystery of the Emblem as well as the new versions, Old Saga and New Saga from the remakes.
• After the Battle, a haunting track that perfectly represents a bittersweet victory. It is also prominently featured at the end Shadow Dragon's prologue as Marth leaves his home country Altea, swearing revenge to those who betrayed them.
• From the remakes, there's The Proud Commander, a powerful piece played for lategame high-ranking enemy commanders such as Camus and Michalis. As a plus, it's the basis for the "Clash of Two Virtues".
• Clash of Two Virtues itself keeps the player pumping as they battle those two upstanding enemy generals.
• Dark Emperor Hardin, a fantastic, emotionally charged battle theme against the tragically evil Hardin. New Mystery kept true to the original intent, while making it all the more awesome.
• The character themes, which basically remixes themes from Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light and assign them to certain characters. Caeda's theme in particular is a funky take on "Trouble!/Beginning of Each Map".
• Funny People, a base conversation song in New Mystery of the Emblem that plays during moments of whimsical hijinks.
• Exclusive to New Mystery of the Emblem, Endless Battle, the Player Phase theme of the Prologue VIII, Chapters 16x and 20x in the main story, and the Assassins DLC. All of these feature Katarina as a prominent character, and the theme reflects the feelings of sadness and confusion albeit with a glint of hope that things will (eventually) turn for the better.
• "For Whose Sake", the battle preparations theme for the Archanea chapters. Fittingly, its menacing tone makes it Fire Emblem's answer to the Imperial March. It was then reused in The Blazing Blade as "Stratagem".

Fire Emblem Gaiden/Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

• The game's title screen omits the usual Fire Emblem theme^note though, at the time it was actually not that usual and instead opts for an ominous track that shines a backlight on the backstory as it scrolls over the titles.
  • In the remake, the scrolling backstory is replaced with a cinematic cutscene and a brand new track called "Omen", which is a heavily retouched version of the last level's theme.
  • Following the cinematic, the new title screen appears, and this plays. A very short and quiet theme, but quite solemn and very powerful in setting the tone for the game you're about to play.
• Alm's "Map 1" is considered by many to be one of the series's quintessential heroic themes, with a very uplifting and invigorating cadence that contrasts Marth's more relaxed theme. In Echoes, this theme becomes "March to Deliverance", and WOW.
• On the other half of the game, we have Celica's "Map 1", otherwise known as "With Mila's Divine Protection". Another noteworthy hero theme in the series, and thanks to its inclusion in Brawl it can be argued to be what put Gaiden on the map for international audiences.
• The first "Battle" theme has gained iconic status by being unique among its peers, with time signatures that are uneven enough to stir a sensation of anxious furor as you dive in to attack your enemies head-on. Globally, this theme also appeared as a Colosseum battle theme in FE8, but it was not until the remake where the theme was truly remastered, with a version for Alm's party and one for Celica's. The final chapter kicks this theme up a few tones in the original game to emphasize the endgame status, but in Echoes it is completely reverse engineered to an even greater effect.
• The "Enemy Attack" theme seemingly takes cues from its previous incarnation, with a spin of its own. Its remastered version takes on a more tribal-like personality in concordance with the themes of more recent titles while still sounding heroic and energetic.
• Likewise, the "Boss Battle" theme seems to be a rather small variation from the first game's iteration, while the version in the remake has every possible instrument explode inside your eardrums.
• The remake also adds a few boss tracks that give some personality to certain battles:
  • "The Fallen Knight" plays for the battles against certain knights such as Fernand, Slayde, and Zeke.
  • "From the Land of Resentment", an otherworldly theme fitting for the battles against Duma Faithful bosses such as Nuibaba and Jedah.
  • "Pride and Arrogance" plays in every encounter with Berkut except in the last chapter, where the theme changes to "The Scion's Dance in Purgatory" to reflect Berkut's transformation.
• As the game finally kickstarts itself up, Alm/Celica are finally thrust into the world map with this jolly-sounding theme, one of the only pieces of music in the entire game that directly reference the Fire Emblem theme. In the remake this track is known as "Undiscovered Horizons" and it comes off as a more triumphant march.
• "One Star by the Next" is a beautiful piece with a flute and strings melody, giving some calmness at the Sluice Gate and Sage's Hamlet before the inevitable storm.
• In Act 4, the world map theme shifts into a tone of emergency and anxiousness as the parties set foot inside the Rigelian Empire. The remastered version in Echoes, "A Song for Bygone Days", slapped in a choir for good measure.
• The map themes for each Lord also change from here on after, with Alm's sounding more dutiful and Celica's sounding more hopeful. Made much more impactful in the remake, with "What Lies at the End" for Alm's map theme and "The Sacrifice and the Saint" for Celica's.
• When Alm reaches the Rigelian palace and Emperor Rudolf prepares his soldiers for his Last Stand, "Lord of a Dead Empire" plays, overriding the battle music and seemingly foreshadowing how Rudolf knew his death was coming. Both a choir and a single male voice sing a poignantly somber but nonetheless intense chant riddled with Incredibly Long Notes. Finishing the map, Alm ends up killing Emperor Rudolf, who promptly reveals that Alm is his only son. The scene cuts to a bewildered Alm and a dying Rudolf, and then "Truth" comes on to drive home the sad revelation. In Echoes, the theme is beautifully redone in piano and cello, to a much deeper and lasting effect.
• The Game Over theme in Echoes, "The Afterglow Fades", is a heart-wrenching Adagio for strings that starts off somber and builds up to dramatic. Therefore, it is rather fittingly used in-game during the scene where the dying Emperor Rudolf reveals the truth to Alm.
• "Parting". Merely a few steps into Duma's Temple at the start of the Final Act, Alm encounters a dying Fernand, who immediately falls into Clive's arms as the theme begins to play. Fernand is full of regret for having doubted Alm, and now that his own superior Berkut has done the unthinkable in his quest for power, he can only beg him to slay Duma for the good of mankind. Afterwards, he shares a touching moment with Clive, his one remaining friend, as he silently dies. Both Clive and Clair take Fernand's death very hard, and with this song you might too.
• "A Distant Promise", usually known as the two protagonists' love theme, plays during Alm and Celica's fateful but unfortunate reunion in Duma's Temple. Even though each is glad the other is okay, Celica is distraught and blames herself for all the suffering Alm has endured, and Alm himself refuses to accept the choice Celica has made for the fate of Valentia, to give her soul to Duma. When they are promptly separated once again, Alm is severely shaken.
• "Dayspring" plays almost immediately after, when Alm delivers a speech about how he would rather have a kingdom without the grace of gods than to have a land succumbed in the darkness of Duma, justifying his determination to destroy Duma and save Celica. The rest of the party pines in the conversation and speaks their wishes for the world as well.
• Further into Duma's Temple, the party finally encounters Berkut, but when Alm requests his aid, Berkut dispenses all courtesy and unleashes his new dark power in a mad fit of laughter, all while showing off what became of his lover Rinea, all to the pompous, terrifying sound of "Praise This Despair", which also bleeds into the ensuing battle.
• "In a Silver Garden With You" plays during Berkut's death, as the spirit of Rinea appears unto him, forgiving his lust for power and professing her eternal love for him before offering to walk with him in the afterlife. Berkut finally forgives himself and gives Alm a memento of his mother before reassuring himself that Alm will be the one to deliver Valentia from the gods. Alm promptly cries his hardest for him, as with Berkut gone his family is now lost.
• After Alm's ordeal in the Royal Vault where he almost kills a brainwashed Celica but saves her at the last second with the Falchion, the track "Revelations" cues Mila's final appearance in the game. She explains the reality of both her nature and Duma's, and by entrusting Alm with the Falchion she restates why he must rid the world of them both. It plays once again after the battle to herald the death and final words of Duma, who sounds tired of his own madness and implores Alm to learn from his and Mila's mistakes as they move on to create a new world.
• Entering the final dungeon, we get "Unity", a glorious reprise of the game's recruitment theme as Celica is reunited with her party, and together with Alm's they all make their stand against Jedah, who finally challenges them and see if they can prove that men can live without the gods.
• As soon as you're given control of both Alm and Celica's parties, "Preparations: Reunion" begins to play in the pre-battle screen. Alm and Celica have come a long way from the peaceful Ram Village, and now is the time to end the madness of the gods once and for all.
• And now, the "Final Map" theme, a track that has become so memorable that when Echoes was announced the track was one of the first things the crowd was excited about. Sure enough, once the remastered version was released, fans were swept off their feet with a combination of greater instrumentation and choirs aplenty with a hell of an extension to an already intense track. And if that wasn't enough, the track's name? Twilight of the Gods!.
• Duma's battle theme, a battle track like no other. It creeps the hell out of anyone by frequently jumping off-tempo and changing style, but throughout the song there is an unmistakable sense of despair as you fight a mad god in the form of a hideous decomposing dragon. Come to the remake, and the track devolves into a deranged composition that eventually takes the original theme and turns it over its head in a mad but awesome frenzy. Duma's battle theme even includes a sly reference to "Last Revels", the enemy phase theme for Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon's final map. This link even existed in the NES versions of both songs, suggesting a connection between Medeus and Duma. While Echoes made it explicit that Duma was a dragon, Gaiden's Duma was a more abstract, slime-like monster. This theme might have been a hint that Duma was once an Earth Dragon like Medeus.
• To close the entire experience, Echoes takes a page from the previous games and gives us "The Heritors of Arcadia" to evoke one of the most satisfying closures in the series.

Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War/Thracia 776

• The entire soundtrack of FE4 warrants mentioning.
  • Birth of a Holy Knight, the prologue's theme kickstarts the game with an upbeat heroic tune, fitting for a dashing Knight in Shining Armor like Sigurd.
  • The Level Up theme is very catchy, too! It gives a sense of accomplishment, especially if you're lucky with stat growths.
  • Girl of the Spirit Forest, Chapter 1's theme, is one way to summarize Sigurd and Deirdre's idealistic start in their love story.
  • Eldigan the Lionheart reflects the melancholy of Sigurd's party (as well as the player) having no choice but to put Eldigan down just because he's on the opposing side of war.
  • Playing on your emotions is what the 5th Chapter does, and its theme, Door to Destiny doesn't hold back- you can feel the determination, the sorrow, and all of the emotion that the chapter has just by hearing it... and that's Not mentioning the arranged version.
  • This theme that plays immediately after the Wham Episode also has a melancholic take on "Birth of a Holy Knight", "Girl of the Spirit Forest", "Crisis in Agustria", "Eldigan the Lionheart", "Dance in the Skies" and "Doorway to Destiny" in order as text rolls - a tragic telling of everything up to that point. In normal gameplay, you won't even hear the entire song, because the cutscene is shorter than it. The kicker is that at the end of the track, it plays a segment of "End of the Holy War", signifying there may still be hope after everything that went down the drain.
  • Beloved One. A sorrowful melody for a secluded maiden of the forest, it is notably used when the amnesiac Deirdre is reintroduced to Sigurd as Arvis' wife moments before Sigurd and his party is executed by Arvis' squad.
  • May not be catchy, but if Julia's Theme isn't moving, nothing is.
  • Fellow People, the recruitment theme. Though Binding Blade remixed it, the original version is still the best.
  • Light and Dark, the Chapter 10 theme. Seliph is about to make his homecoming, but a few obstacles stand in his way — including the emperor himself — and this theme captures the atmosphere perfectly. The arranged version is even better. It's so awesome it was reused for Path of Radiance.
  • End of the Holy War— For everything that has happened up to that point, and the entirety of that chapter, this song sums it up. And the Arranged Version is badass, too.
  • Arvis gets two awesome themes — a cutscene theme and a battle theme.
  • Seliph's theme, one of the most beautiful and hopeful songs in the game.
  • Loptous always manages to put one on edge.
  • When The Rush Comes is absolutely fantastic. It's not possible to compose a better theme for everything that's happened. The first time this theme plays is right after Arvis traps your army in an ambush, wipes out your army, and personally murders Sigurd. Then the game explains that in the 17 years following this, the Granvalle Empire has become a brutal and oppressive regime where the citizens live like slaves and children are hunted down. The rest of the game following this is Sigurd's son, Seliph, leading a liberation army to take his country.
  • This melancholic tune named after Tine is very beautiful, and conveys the sadness that she goes through in just about everything. Surprisingly, this also plays at one point when Tailtiu spoke with Azelle; in hindsight, it also fits her as well since it foreshadows her depressing death that shapes Tine's shy personality.
• Thracia 776's defense theme may be the only defense song that will make you say: "Oh god, I'm under attack. I'm in trouble."
• The attack themes of both games. The former for its sudden intro into a righteous tune, and the latter for its powerful, desperate feel. Both fit well for their respective games.
• Thracia has a kickass standard boss theme in the form of Applying Justice - Boss. It's a very triumphant, desperate theme which evokes a sense of desperation and climactic feel, which feels in line with the load of rather difficult bosses.
• Also from Thracia, Applying Justice - Veld, a sentimental and triumphant theme that backs you as you fight the final boss, signaling that the revolution has began, while also serving as a mournful sendoff to your brutal struggle.
• Thracia 776's "Charge" map themes are some of the tensest and most blood-pumping themes in the game, only being used for decisive battles.
  • In Search of Victory ~ Charge A is an assuring sign that Leif will come triumphant in his battle against the enemy, even if it will be difficult.
  • In Search of Victory ~ Charge B is saved for only the most important of battles and evokes a feeling of finally matching the empire blow for blow.
  • Even the enemy gets in on the fun with Come to a Trap Door ~ Charge, a dark and foreboding reprise of the Grannvale army theme from Genealogy.
• In Search of Victory ~ Leif, a triumphant reprise of Leif's theme that plays when he must defend his kingdom as its prince after being gone for years.

Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade/The Blazing Blade

• Shaman In The Dark, the final boss theme in The Binding Blade. Idunn's theme as a character is a sad, tinkly little piano melody, but when she turns into the final boss, they up the ante and redo it with a pipe organ.
  • The major boss battle theme: In the Name of Bern as well as Zephiel's theme and battle theme.
  • The Binding Blade has one of the best Fire Emblem tunes ever, the recruitment tune, reused from FE4, being one of them.
  • After you've gone through some tough fights, Beneath A New Light plays, giving you the resolve to face on even greater challenges.
  • The map themes for The Binding Blade are all good, with standouts being Within the Magnificent Nature, For the Commanders, and the final chapter theme, Path of the Divine Generals.
• Victory from the first game, which has been remixed as A Knight's Oath in 6 and 7 and its FE 9 version Vow, usually accompanied by some awesome loyalty speeches. Also Unshakable Faith which helped create a CMOA in the final chapter of FE 7.
  • For that matter, check out the Orchestral Version
  • From FE7 there's also Companions - the melody from 0:30 is absolutely brilliant.
• And the good guys aren't left out either. The heroes of FE7 get their own "epic boss music" - Blessing of the Eight Generals, which plays whenever a character is using one of the Legendary Weapons once wielded by the Eight Heroes. The song is slow, beautiful, sacred; not what one would expect of a weapon theme. However, considering that the theme's very name means that the greatest heroes who have ever lived have chosen to pass on their deeds and weapons to you and your companions, it's an extremely touching and powerful final battle song. And it's yours, for once, not the bad guy's!
• Shocking Truth II, which plays when you find out Eliwood killed Ninian. Combined with the autoscrolling, unskippable text, it makes for the best cut scene out of all the Fire Emblem games, including the 3D ones.
  • And to twist the knife even further, if you got an A Support between Eliwood and Ninian before she is taken away, when Ninian speaks her last words, a new, unique theme, Shattered Life plays, as well as her speech changing to reflect the new mood. These changes ramp her death scene up from "Nergal, you dastard!" to near Tear Jerker levels.
  • The scene where Eliwood's father dies also gets suitably heartbreaking music, namely Final Farewell. Awesome enough in itself, but becomes almost a double Tear Jerker to those who've played FE 6 and remember the exact circumstances in which the original played.
  • In the sixth game, Shocking Truth I adds to the ambience with the confrontation with Jahn, as he puts the scouring into an entirely different perspective climaxing at Shocking Truth II so as to hype up the battle with Jahn. It all makes for a memorable final level.
• Softly With Grace the perfect theme if you ever plan to be fighting for your mere survival when being ambushed by an overpowered badass swordmaster in a dark, misty night.
• "Shadow Approaches." Both versions fit the Fog of War mechanic perfectly.
• How do you know you've almost finished a long, hard struggle? "Winning Road" starts up.
• An Unexpected Caller can get you riled up for action just before the battle or underscore the desperation of a situation. Either way, it's never unwelcome.
• "Strike!" from Blazing Blade is an upbeat battle theme for when your units attack.
• Prepare toCharge, the preparation themes for both games, for their militant atmospheres that give an epic feeling for preparing your army for the incoming battle.

Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones

• Land of Promise, played as you are about to face the Big Bad's Dragon. Sacred Stones' version of the main theme was also quite possibly better done than the main theme of any other FE title.
• Rise Above, perhaps THE best music that is played during P-Phase. Though Determination and Truth, Despair, And Hope make solid cases. The first player phase theme, Distant Roads, is no slouch either. Powerful Foe is used for boss battles against story-crucial bosses, except The Dragon; this is his awesome theme. And of course, the final boss music.
• Ties of Friendship is simply one of the most dramatic pieces of music ever put to the GBA.
• Comrades, being a recruitment track, is to Sacred Stones as "Together We Ride" is to the Archanea games and Blazing Blade, and even sounds similar to it, though "Comrades" has an awesome rock organ to its name. "Comrades" is also perhaps most poignant when it plays after the cleric Natasha stakes her life on a coin toss with the gambling swordsman Joshua, but wins out and gets him to join forces with her and the rest of Eirika's army.
• Lyon's theme.
  • The organ arrangement.
  • Lost Heart, the Dark Reprise for Lyon while he's possessed by Fomortiis.
  • The Prince's Despair, his unbelievably epic and tragically short battle theme.
• Final Battle. The perfect track to grant the player just the heroic resolve they need to beat that final boss, especially after the Tragic Monster battle just beforehand.
• Follow Me! plays only once in the only Gaiden stage throughout the game, but leaves a lasting impression.
• Solve the Riddle is deliciously sinister.
• Although Plot Music tends to get ignored in favor of Stage and Battle music, Indignation and Legacy deserve some recognition; adding that extra little bit that helps draw you further into the story.
• From the Darkness is easily one of the best enemy phase themes in the game, if not of all the Gameboy Advance titles.

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn

• A Trusted Ruler. One of the most calming tracks ever written. First appeared in Path of Radiance, but beautiful enough to be re-used in Radiant Dawn. The latter game also remixed it into a boss battle theme very late in the game. Yes, a boss battle theme - Wisdom of Ages. And it works. It doesn't hurt that it plays for Dheginsea, That One Boss. Expect to hear it a lot in that chapter.
• Heron galdrar. All of it. For an example, listen to the galdr of rebirth - it's less than half a minute long and it still manages to be one of the game's most beautiful themes. On that note, Repose of Souls. For music that accomplishes a sad feeling right after a Moment of Awesome, what else could they have used?
• Path of Radiance had more than its share of great tracks. For example, A Battle and a Beginning as well as its full version, Ike's Resolution, Congregation of Ambition and Crimea Attacks, the last of which was included in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
  • The attack themes, Clash and Decisive Attack do a very good job hyping up the battles of Path of Radiance... Even though sometimes the battles themselves are kinda stiff.
  • Bittersweet Victory. Some shit just went down, and the music makes sure you know it.
  • The character promotion song Moving Up deserves a nod for being pure epic. This song is made even more badass when you actually see the scene of the character you have nurse from the beginning of the game being bless by the heavens to take their rightful place as your new destroyer. For reference look at Ike's promotion scene around 2:31 and see just how cool it is to become a lord. [1]
  • Father's Back is a particularly moving song, full of melancholy and sadness. It plays after Greil's death, leaving 2 orphans behind. Mist is devastated, and soon after begs Ike to not die too, him being the only family member she has left. All the elements are in place for a Tear Jerker moment.
  • Side Battle is a phenomenal remix of "Light and Dark" from Genealogy of the Holy War. Sadly, it only plays in trial maps.
  • In general, most plot-central characters in the game get at least one Leitmotif, and none of them disappoint (and most get an even better remix in the sequel). Take for example Beautiful Princess Elincia and A Messenger, Elincia's and Sanaki's themes respectively, and compare them to Radiant Dawn's Queen Elincia and Empress Sanaki.
  • The theme for the final boss, To Challenge Ashnard. As a very difficult boss to defeat, he deserves a theme that screams agony and despair, just like this one.
• Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn has Pray for Victory, the song that plays on the Preparations Screen in all four Endgames. A powerful theme that gets the player pumped for the final battle(s).
  • Additionally, the Black Knight's theme in its prequel, Path of Radiance. The song was made even more awesome in Radiant Dawn with the subtly altered The Black Knight Lives. And what could be a more fitting and badass name for his battle music be than Unstoppable Destiny?
  • Radiant Dawn has some standout pieces of music that didn't make it into Brawl. The biggest one by far is the final boss music, A Grasping Truth, 9 minutes long and with an epic feel to it the entire time. It does have to be pretty epic to beat out Ascent, played on the chapters right before it and definitely an awesome track in its own right. Bearer of Hope plays during all of the defense missions in that game. Beauty Is A Mad Mistress is a remix of Power-Hungry Fool, the latter which actually made it to Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Damn you, Oliver!
  • Finale in Fear, the main battle theme for the final chapters alongside the map theme Ascent, keeps you on the edge of your seat at every single enemy confrontation.
• Many of the battle themes in Radiant Dawn are amazing. You may find yourself humming out the bells of "On Glory's Wings" frequently due to how catchy it is.
• The laguz royals all have their own battle music in Radiant Dawn. Try on Naesala's Wheeling Corby or Tibarn's King of the Sky. But neither can compare with Caineghis' March of the Lion King, which is remixed from his normal theme.
• Another from Path Of Radiance, we have A Mighty Foe, the battle theme of the Four Riders of Daein, which wants to make you completely aware of what kind of boss you're facing.
• From Radiant Dawn there's The Strong, General Zelgius's battle theme. Sadly only plays in cutscenes because you never fight Zelgius. Well, you do but as the Black Knight, who also has his own theme.

Fire Emblem Awakening

• The game doesn't waste any time and right at the beginning it treats us with an awesome Opening Theme.
• Id ~ Serenity, the Avatar's theme. This gets remixed into multiple tunes, most of them awesome.
• Let's see what I'm capable of now. In other words, Took a Level in Badass: The Song.
• 'Don't speak her name!' plays throughout Chapter 10, immediately after Emmeryn's sacrifice and sets an appropriate atmosphere of sorrow and determination for the chapter. BGM Override (a trope this series is not known to use) being in full effect only gives the mood a greater weight.
• "And what if I can't? What if I'm not worthy of her ideals?" plays during the aftermath of Chapter 10, where Chrom is blaming himself for being unable to save Emmeryn, and questions whether he is able to live up to his eldest sister's position and ideals. A very powerful and fitting piece for this scene indeed.
• Conquest/Expedition and its Ablaze/Fire version. The non-Ablaze/Fire version is already a calm and beautiful piece that welcomes you to explore the world of Awakening, and the Ablaze version is undeniably one of the best battle themes to kick some Risen/Street/SpotPass team ass to (or any of the DLC chapters thanks to a random glitch where the xenologue chooses to use the regular battle tunes). What's more, while it's mostly an original tune, remixed notes of the original Fire Emblem theme come out in glorious spades towards the end of the songs. Even better; the best aspect about these songs is that they're so good that they fit perfectly on any map they're played on. Chances of you getting tired of hearing this song are low. Apparently this song is so good that the Ablaze/Fire version returns in full out of all of Awakening's songs in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and that's not even getting into the song's return in the next immediate game in the series and the Ablaze/Fire remix for Project × Zone 2!
• Storm Clouds and its Ablaze version; hoo boy, do these songs darken the atmosphere (and they are usually played when things get really tense story-wise). These songs remind you that you cannot afford to mess up here while intensifying the battle and absolutely making it more epic at the same time.
• Duty and its Ablaze version. It's a relatively nice tune that is first introduced in Chapter 3: The Warrior Realm (fitting for the song's first appearance). They set the mood of some good ol' fashioned fighting and that the fightings going to get real serious, with a real gauntlet-esque feel to it.
• Destiny and especially its Ablaze version. This theme appears in the mildly intense battles. Except that they make "mildly intense" sound "frigging epic", somehow! And when Super Smash Bros. Ultimate came out, it, too, got a particularly fantastic (and Scottish) remix.
• Divine Decree and the Ablaze version, does a good job setting the mood for a climactic battle. Particularly in how the music in Chapter 23 switches from Chaos to Divine Decree, once Validar's plan is foiled.
• Chaos and its Ablaze version is deliciously eerie and tends to play in latter chapters, where the Grimleal has the upper hand.
• Annihilation and its Galvanized version play during the enemy phases of the later chapters (and most of the SpotPass Paralogues), where you are usually dealing with more powerful Risen or the Grimleal, which - as one comment on the normal version puts it - combines For Doom the Bell Tolls, Ominous Pipe Organ, and "Psycho" Strings. Chances are if this is playing, the enemy you are fighting is not screwing around.
• Id~Sorrow, the reflective and moving version of the Avatar's theme used for a late-game scene where Lucina cannot bring herself to kill the Avatar to prevent the ascension of Grima.
• Mastermind, Gangrel's and Walhart's boss theme, is absolutely fantastic. The piece used as an intro for it is also really cool.
• Id~Purpose, the Triumphant Reprise of the Avatar's theme, redone for the Final Map and Grima's Battle. In addition, it works the Fire Emblem Main Theme into its chanting. There's also the theme before that which is used to build up to it: Id~Return! It's perhaps even better as a Metal cover courtesy of GaMetal, which starts out acoustic and then breaks down into awesome electric guitar.
• Monstrosity, Validar's and Aversa's boss theme. Sadly also an example of Long Song, Short Scene. Unless you're fighting Validar on any mode other than Normal. Echoes reuses the theme to great effect; here, it plays when fighting the Creation, aka Grima himself.
• Champion and its Ablaze version, unique in that not only does it become available for skirmishes once you beat the game, but also plays in the final Paralogue, where you get to fight Priam and a massive army of mercenaries. It also features a musical Canon Welding by reusing some notes from "Ike's Resolution".
• "You have power... like mine." is the theme that plays for most if not all of the scenes involving the Manakete, Tiki, and is a beautifully haunting and mystic piece.
• "Don't you put any stock in this destiny hogwash!", a triumphant piece which plays in Chapter 23 as Validar's plan begins to fall apart in light of the plan everyone pulled off to defy fate.
• From the DLC, Main Theme (Beach) and Main Theme (Spa). Both also double as a Funny Moment in music form.
• Also from the DLC, Id~Hope! Plays during the battles against the Future Past bosses who are all affiliated with the Avatar in some way (as the "Id" part gives away). AKA the Morgans and another version of Grima.
• And last, but not least, the credits theme: Old Battlefield!
• "Agh! Won goph in mah mouph! Blech! Ptooey!" is perfect music to accompany funny moments, and has the nice added bonus of having the most ridiculously awesome name ever for a musical track.
• The Game Over theme, despite its somewhat spoilery name ("I've never seen one fall so gracefully") fits like a glove. It is very sad, yet beautiful.

Fire Emblem Fates

• "Lost In Thoughts All Alone" ("if ~ hitori omou" in the Japanese version) is well liked across the whole fandom, and the singers for both the English and Japanese versions sound very impressive, making for a very memorable tune. The song has multiple variants and its instrumental serves as part of the main theme of Fates. Including some parts of Genealogy of the Holy War's first Crisis theme also helps.
• Ties That Bind, Fates' awesome opening theme. It also includes a passage of the Fire Emblem theme, amazingly enough.
• "End of All" is a focused, yet calm theme used for the final battles of the game, with the lyrics of "Lost in Thoughts All Alone" interspersed throughout. The two Shigure versions (by Yoshimasa Hosoya and Matthew Mercer respectively), which play during the last chapter of the Heirs of Fates DLC, manage to sound both quite similar and different to the original at the same time, and integrate some part of the original. And as a bonus, the fans found out that Matt Mercer has a shockingly beautiful singing voice...
• "Desire Below", the theme of the Hidden Truths DLC, which tells of how Inigo, Severa, and Owain ended up in Nohr. The map theme is rather mysterious, fitting with the multitude of Invisible Soldiers you have to fight, and it also has a rather calming piano that plays throughout the whole song. The battle theme, on the other hand, takes the previously calm map theme and makes it go completely nuts, with electronic riffs and a fast-paced percussion that makes battles all the more tense.
• "Road Taken" is this game's equivalent to the Conquest track from Awakening, playing on skirmish maps. It is one of the calmest and loveliest pieces in the game, while its battle variant makes for an energetic and wonderful fight theme.
• "Dusk Falls (Fire)" Is one of the first battle tracks in the game and takes some very Irish or Scottish sound cues since it serves as a theme during the Avatar's time as a Nohrian. Its map variant isn't half bad either.
• "Thorn in You" is this game's "Don't speak her name!", played in Chapter 6, Birthright Chapter 26 and Conquest Chapter 25. True to its name, it's a heartbreaking piece that will make you regret choosing one kingdom over the other. Its Roar version turns it into Sad Battle Music, and it's especially fitting as it plays when you fight (and have to kill) either eldest brother.
• "A Dark Fall" is played during the final invasion of Hoshido in Conquest. An intense and highly tragic and somber theme that perfectly captures both the atmospheric state of how despite being the ones who were trying to defend their homeland for the beginning, Hoshido is now losing the war against Nohr, and the emotional and mental state the Avatar is going through as they have to fight their Hoshido siblings one by one as they are all sad, angry, and/or confused of how could this tragedy be happening despite the Avatar's reasons for doing so. The Fire version cranks both the intensity and sadness up to eleven. Not to say that this song doesn't fit in Chapter 17 of Revelation, either. However, it is put in a more cathartic sense as Xander and Leo show up in a Big Damn Heroes moment along with their retainers as well. Imagine this for one moment: all of your beloved Hoshidan AND Nohrian siblings come together to face down the army of the fiend that made your life a living hell in Conquest (given that you played through it to the end). Although the danger and desperation are still there, it doesn't turn down the feeling of awesomeness. The lightning in the background also helps as well.
• The Birthright counterpart of "A Dark Fall", Alight, which first plays when the group is fighting Camilla for the second time, this time in Windmire's sewers, isn't too bad either. Its Storm variation, which played during the E3 trailer, cranks both the emotion and intensity to an extreme degree and end up turning the rather peaceful song into a powerful and emotional one, with some heavy Ōkami vibes.
• "You of the Dark", the Nohr sibling boss theme, is one of the most epic themes in the game. There's something amazing about bagpipes and Irish flutes, isn't it? The Hoshido sibling boss theme, You of the Light, is pretty amazing as well.
• "Dark Wastes" is played during the first few chapters of Conquest, and carries an uneasy tone that puts you in the correct mindset for the Conquest route, carefully considering every move and the potential consequences of a wrong decision. The Fire variant is very good in its own right as a battle theme.
• "No Justice" plays in several chapters where your army is attacked by the opposing army no matter which kingdom you choose, and like the name says, it gives the feeling that there won't be justice. The Fire version ups the ante and turns it into an intense, but melancholic piece.
• "Justice RIP", the Hoshidan equivalent of "No Justice", is an amazing Okami-esque tune that greatly captures the essence of being attacked by Hoshidan strangers. The standard one is quite relaxing, but the Storm version ramps it up into a thrilling, intense and most of all, amazing battle theme.
• "Past Below" and its Flow variant are played during your first trips into Valla in Conquest and Revelation and have a very different sound to what is normally heard elsewhere in the game, being otherworldly, mysterious, and threatening.
• "Destiny By Blood", the encounter theme for Arete, Mikoto, and Sumeragi in Revelation. The tense music signaling a battle of the family of the Hoshidan cast including Azura's mother with all of the royal family members deceased and now made into undead puppets of Anankos.
• "Far Away", the map theme for the first part of the last chapter in Birthright and for the second-to-last chapter in Revelation. In the same maps, the boss theme for King Garon and a possessed Gunter, Lost King's Supper. It really conveys the feel that the Nohrian King isn't a pushover, who can and WILL wreck you.
• "Coming Demise", Anankos' theme, is a dark and foreboding music track that plays whenever the true villain is enacting his plans, either through his possessed puppets, or when the Silent Dragon himself appears. The sheer terror you will likely feel from this intense music track tells you that something is terribly wrong. It's even used in Heroes when it turns out the King of Vanaheimr, Njörðr, was Evil All Along!
• "Glory/Ruin", the map theme for the penultimate chapter in Conquest and Revelation. A dark, twisted and most of all, intense piece that is highly reminiscent of Chaos from Awakening, it's perfect for the final stretch before the final battle in their respective paths. Also Garon as an Empty Vessel and Anankos' boss theme, Fantastical Feast. It has a similar "despair" feel to Garon's boss theme, which makes extra sense since it plays when you're fighting his Empty Vessel form, and his god Anankos.
• From the Heirs of Fate DLC, there's the boss theme of the "Vallite" children characters, "Temporal Dreams". It sounds tense, yet hopeful with a truly amazing piano playing throughout, highlighting the situation that the protagonists are stuck in during the DLC.
• "New Power", the theme that plays after promotion to a DLC class, when Corrin's Yato Blade reaches its final form, and the preparations screen in the semifinal chapter of each route. It truly exemplifies something holy, and gives such radiance and will make anyone feel like a god.
• "Destiny, Help Us", the preparations screen theme for the Endgame chapters of each route, conveys a feeling of hope and determination that suits as the Avatar and their army prepare for the final battle, which is certainly going to be tough, particularly in Conquest.
• "Endless Nightmare" is, like the name says, a very stress-inducing theme, but it's absolutely fitting for those moments where you're panicking as your units are likely about to die in Classic Mode, or in Casual Mode if you only have one unit left on the battlefield. And trust us, given the game's nature, you're gonna hear this A LOT, especially on Lunatic difficulty.
• For the DLC maps featuring the Hoshido and Nohr siblings against each other (or the Witch and Ballistician maps) we get "Contest of Pride". A mix of both Hoshidan and Nohrian thematics in the THREE versions of this track. The Map Theme has an intense start, and it calms for a moment, before it starts picking up once more. The Roar Mix - played only on Beach Brawl and Witches' Trial - makes the song even more intense. And let's not forget the THIRD mix - Blast - played on Royal Royale and Ballistician Blitz - which adds an ELECTRIC GUITAR!
• "Path of the Hero King", Marth's amiibo battle theme, and an epic remix of "Strike!" from FE1. It also appears in Shadows of Valentia.
• The Game Over theme, "Lament". Much like the one from Awakening, it's very sad, yet beautiful. It hits especially since it's used in several death scenes, like Mikoto's in Chapter 5 or Elise's in Birthright Chapter 26 (which also carries as the preparations theme for that chapter).
• "Condemnation" is a wonderfully catchy Celtic tune that instantly gets the blood pumping during fights against playable non-royal Nohrians, including Scarlet.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses

The Three Houses soundtrack combines electronic with traditional orchestral elements, which makes it radically different from anything else on this page. Against all odds, it works spectacularly.

• The Main Theme enraptured the fandom upon its reveal in an E3 2018 trailer. Deftly combining the series' iconic theme with "The Edge of Dawn", "The Spirit Dais (Sothis's Theme)", and a more uptempo version of "Farewell", it will make your jaw drop with the bass (if not earlier).
• "The Edge of Dawn" marks the newest entry in the series' growing list of Award-Bait Songs, with both English and Japanese versions leaving an impression on fans. It wouldn't sound at all out of place as an OP or insert song for Guilty Crown. "The Maiden of Hresvelg" is a faster-paced version with a stronger dubstep focus that was used for the E3 2018 animated intro, which can play if the player idles on the main menu long enough. While the full official version is only in Japanese, fan edits have tried to work out an English version. The official full English version of the song, "The Edge of Dawn (Seasons of Warfare)", was finally released a few months after the game's release, as a single on iTunes on December 4, 2019.
• "The Spirit Dais", a mysterious-sounding track with Ominous Japanese Chanting that highlights not only Sothis's divine nature, but also how mysterious she is even to herself. This leitmotif is repeated in "Awakening" (the awe-inspiring reprise that plays when Byleth fuses with Sothis and cuts their way out of an accursed dark realm) and "Apex of the World".
• You'll be hearing "Fódlan Winds" (the first map theme) and "Tempest of Seasons" (the paralogue map theme) a lot during the first few hours of the game, so it's a good thing that both of them kick serious ass. "Fódlan Winds" perfectly captures the tense ebb and flow of turn-based tactical warfare thanks to electronic/synth elements moving in and out of the piece. "Tempest of Seasons", on the other hand, could easily be mistaken as a track from Awakening or Fates... at least until the synths come in with a hard-hitting bass-line.
• "The Land Beloved By the Goddess" is used during the opening narration of each chapter until the timeskip, and makes you feel like you're sitting by the fire listening to a good folk story. Subdued and simple compared to the rest of this list, but excellent nonetheless.
• "Blue Skies and a Battle", the battle theme for the epic, yet friendly Mêlée à Trois between the three houses in Chapter 7's "Battle of the Eagle and the Lion". Punctuated by dubstep beats, this song plays over what is your largest battle at that point in the story. Five years later, the Mêlée à Trois would be reprised mercilessly in a bitter reunion, with none of the friendly rivalry in sight. For this, "Between Heaven and Earth" forsakes the dubstep beats of "Blue Skies and a Battle" and replaces them with the full might of the chorus, rivaling Shadows of Valentia's "Twilight of the Gods" in sheer grandeur.
• While it only plays for a few chapters, "Tearing Through Heaven" helps prove that mixing electronic genres with traditional Fire Emblem music was a great idea, as it takes a triumphant horn and strings track and amps it up with a driving drum line.
• Edelgard's assault on Garreg Mach Monastery starts with an all-out Orchestral Bombing thanks to "Roar of Dominion". Violin solos, an Ethereal Choir, downward arpeggios, church bells, and yes — several synthesizer embellishments — make for one hell of a battle theme. The synths and percussion go up a notch during the equally awesome Thunder version, which channels Hiroyuki Sawano in the best possible way.
• "Chasing Daybreak" kicks off the timeskip on all routes with an intense, dark tone perfect for a war.
• "Verge of Death" plays during encounters with the more dangerous enemies or major villains, indicating how dangerous the fight will be to the character.
• You'd be forgiven for thinking that the intense, driving, and incredibly epic "As Fierce as Fire" is a battle theme. Nope, it's your (post-timeskip) pre-battle menu music.
• "Paths That Will Never Cross" is one of the most Fire Emblem-sounding tracks in a game that doesn't usually sound like Fire Emblem. Hearing its triumphant and heroic melody whenever you're fighting former students/allies to the death is jarring, memorable, and perfectly underscores the tragic themes that dominate the post-timeskip narrative. After all, your enemies aren't generic baddies, but Heroes On Another Route.
• Indomitable Will, the intro theme for battles with the House leader you didn't pick, evokes feelings of sadness and tragedy, but with an unwillingness to give up and set aside their ideals.
• No electronic influence to be found in "Somewhere to Belong", a gorgeous and utterly romantic piano/cello duet used during a few cutscenes. Many lamented the fact that it's used in a grand total of four S-support endings, especially when two of those endings — Gilbert and Alois — are platonic.
• As for the other S-Support endings, you're treated to A Place To Rest, an oboe-heavy piece that's perfect for declaring your love to someone. Bonus points for being a remix of Teatime Joy, which you'll hear whenever you're building support points with the object of your affections.
• Yet another song to file under the "missed opportunity" category: "A Vow Remembered". It's a stirring powerhouse of a piece that brings to mind some of the Nohr tracks in Fates by way of its instrumentation, with the gravitas to match. Whether said gravitas is due to its own musical strengths or its association with several gut-punching narrative beats remains to be seen, but one cannot deny that it should have been a full battle theme.
• Unlike the other routes, Crimson Flower has its own credits them in the form of The Color of Sunrise, a soft piano version of "The Edge of Dawn". This is not only very beautiful, but it's symbolic as unlike the other routes, we joined Edelgard's side and she now has no regrets over what could've been.
• The theme of "Those who slither in the dark's" Supervillain Lair, Shambhala, is best described as an utterly malevolent rave party, highlighting the TWSITD's evil manipulations from the shadows before blasting out the sick beats to highlight their superior tech, rage, and hubris.
• The Golden Deer Final Boss theme, "God-Shattering Star", begins with a startling operatic tenor, a Dark Reprise of Nemesis' Leitmotif from the intro cutscene, and escalates into an epic aria. Between the dynamic vocal performance and equally dynamic tribal drums, it pushes the boundaries of what a final boss theme in a Fire Emblem game can be. It's far from surprising, then, that a massive contingent of fans have declared "God-Shattering Star" to be the best final boss theme of the entire series. The voice of Claude himself, Joe Zieja, hijacks God-Shattering Star with his own powerful vocal rendition, turning it into Claude's own song for the final battle of his route.^note Which, incidentally, Heroes also makes the case for, as "God-Shattering Star" played not in the final boss's Grand Hero Battle, but Claude's Legendary Hero Battle.
• "Apex of the World", the Final Boss theme for both Black Eagles and Blue Lions, is no slouch either. It takes the central musical ideas at the heart of the main theme and cranks the intensity up to create something truly special. The track effortlessly segues into a section of "Fódlan Winds", which, given the context of the battle, will probably make you cry.
• The Church Route's Final Boss theme, "A Funeral of Flowers", follows in the footsteps of "Don't Speak Her Name" and "Thorn in You" as Three Houses's somber orchestral map theme. While it may lack in bombast compared to "Apex of the World" and "God-Shattering Star", "Funeral" brilliantly uses segments of Rhea's Theme and Sothis's Lullaby to underscore the fact that you're performing a mercy killing. A haunting piano line and top-notch orchestration make it even better.
• "Scales of the Goddess" plays in the Monastery post-Time Skip and the bells perfectly capture the melancholy mood of the second half of the game. It also strikes a nice balance between the light-hearted Life At Garreg Mach Monastery and the depressing Broken Routine.
• To cap things off we get "A Star in the Morning Sky", which plays over the final list of mission results and paired endings. The track beautifully remixes several of the above motifs before finally - FINALLY - bringing out the series' main theme for its climax.
• From the Cindered Shadows DLC comes "The Shackled Wolves", a triumphant and blaring battle theme that perfectly encapsulates the Ashen Wolves. With booming drums and trumpets, and a beautiful piano piece underscoring its epicness, it's nothing less than a grand introduction to the expansion.
• The final boss track for Cindered Shadows, "At What Cost?". A fast-paced orchestral song that starts with a One-Woman Wail, it transitions to a deep choir with marching drums and a deep organ in the background. In the middle of the track, the piano that comes out marks a transition from the terror brought by the Final Boss, to the undercut of Aelfric's efforts to bring back the one he loved becoming true to the song's title.

Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes

• Kicking things off is The Edge of Dawn's remix, giving a nice rocking banger to an excellent piece of music.
• Shambhala returns in all of its dubstep glory with an additional piece from The Spirit Dias.
• A completely new piece, The Ashen Demon, is used as Byleth's theme, portraying them as a cold, unstoppable force that you can't hope to defeat. Near the end, it incorporates a more heroic melody that shows that Byleth is still the same person from Three Houses and gives the impression that you're just a bit player in their story.
• Between Heaven and Earth (Inferno) is a remix of the original Three Houses version of "Between Heaven and Earth" that is already intense and awesome by itself, but this version really cranks up the awesomeness with added choirs at the start, a more intense orchestral tune, and a climax that hits hard in the feels. And while Three Hopes doesn't get a "Battle of Gronder" equivalent compared to its original, it does play in the equivalent routes in two chapters that also reenact a massive three-way battle: Chapter 13 of Azure Gleam and both versions of Chapter 14 of Scarlet Blaze, both of which take place on the volcanic Ailell. It's especially fitting for the latter, where despite a tone of forces colliding ^note Shez, Edelgard, the Black Eagles (and allies you recruited beforehand) taking on the likes of the Kingdom's main force led by Dimitri, the Church of Seiros' forces including Seteth and Flayn, the later-betraying Alliance army led by Claude, and lastly, the Ashen Demon themselves, Byleth, who has convinced the Alliance to betray the Empire, yet Edelgard and Hubert have planned ahead of the betrayal, the Black Eagles will prove their supremacy by crushing any faction that opposes them, in a single decisive battle.

Fire Emblem Engage

• The rocking intro theme, Emblem, Engage!, wouldn't sound out of place in a classic '90s anime.
• Like with many other main themes, "Emblem, Engage!" also gets remixed for the final battle: Last Engage - Prayer Incantation is unlike most final map themes, which are usually far more bombastic and epic. It starts with a solemn build up with some chiptune, then adds in electronic beats and chanting choirs, leading up to a shredding guitar to to play the main theme again alongside the orchestra, giving a great sense of resolve and determination as you engage for the last time.
• Faraway Holy Land and its in battle Flare variation flawlessly convey the feeling of embarking on a new adventure with bright, wide eyes, and as such are the player phase themes for chapters 1 and 2 of the game. Fittingly, the Flare variation is used in Heroes for the story maps in which the first batch of units from this game appear. The slightly darker version of Faraway Holy Land, Faraway, Eternal Holy Land and its Flare variation, are no slouches themselves, befitting the attack on Lythos Castle in chapter 3 as well as the battles en route to and taking place in Elusia, as seen in chapters 18 through 20.
• "Royal Confidence" and its Might variant play in Chapter 7 at the Grand Crossing, bringing in the horns and drums to demonstrate the strength of Brodia, along with some beautiful violins in the middle part. "Unshaken Royal Confidence" intensifies the horns and drums in Chapters 8 and 9 when Brodia is on the defense against an invasion from Elusia and when Brodia's forces are on the offense respectively, especially with its Might variant that goes all out with those instruments to show that the Brodian army means business when threatened. This particular Might variant also plays in Fell Xenologue Chapter 3 during the enemy phase against the Brodian army in the Alternate Elyos.
• "Tear Streaked" is a dark and intense map theme for Chapter 10, which is the climax of the game's first act, and features excellent vocals in the "Ice" variant. Even better, it continues into the Enemy Phase.
• The battle tracks in Solm, Bright Sandstorm and Bright, Bold, Sandstorm are both fantastic and upbeat, after one of the darker portions of the game. Easily one of the better headbangers.
• Chapter 17 features "Falling Petals", and it pulls no punches in the sheer amount of intensity it brings with the orchestra and choir, as the player must face down six bosses with all of them having Emblem rings. And like with "Tear Streaked", it also continues into the Enemy Phase.
• Determined Journey may have a rather on-the-nose title, but nonetheless does well as a late-game map track to let the player know how far they've come with Alear and company. It even draws inspiration from Fates' "A Dark Fall" and Shadows of Valentia's "The Sacrifice and the Saint".
• The Emblem trials all contain remixes of classic themes from past Emblem games, bringing a sense of nostalgia for long-time fans. In order:
  • "Trial of Emblems", for Marth and Tiki, mixes four themes from both Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light and Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem, including "Trouble!" and "Come, Join Us!" from Shadow Dragon, and "Advance!" and "Victory is Ours" from New Mystery.
  • "Trial of Echoes" for Celica brings back "With Mila's Divine Protection" from Fire Emblem Gaiden.
  • "Trial of the Holy War" for Sigurd remixes "The Final Holy War" from Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War.
  • "Trial of the Genealogy" for Leif remixes "In Search of the Victory" from Fire Emblem: Thracia 776.
  • "Trial of Binding" for Roy is a return of the triumphant and encouraging "Beneath a New Light" with bits of "Beyond the Distant Skies" added from Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade.
  • "Trial of Blazing" for Lyn and Hector is almost a straight remake of the ever-classic "Winds Across The Plains" from Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade.
  • "Trial of the Sacred" for Eirika and Ephraim remixes three songs from Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, namely "Distant Roads", "The Final Battle", and "Determination".
  • "Trial of Radiance" for Ike and Soren mixes songs from across the Tellius duology, kicking off with "The Devoted" and proceeding to "Eternal Bond" from Radiant Dawn, before closing with "Moving Up" from Path of Radiance.
  • "Trial of Dawn" for Micaiah mixes "Bearer of Hope", "Echoes of Daybreak", and "Dark Traveler" from Radiant Dawn.
  • "Trial of Awakening" for Lucina and Chrom, as well as Robin, opens with "Destiny (Ablaze)" and segues into "You may call me Marth." before ending with a mix of "Prelude (Ablaze)" and "Id (Purpose)" to tie together some of the most prominent tracks from Fire Emblem: Awakening.
  • "Trial of Fates" for Corrin and Camilla is a medley of major themes from Fire Emblem Fates. Starting with "End of All (Below)", the final battle theme of Revelations, it then proceeds to "Far Dawn", the map theme for Hoshido in Birthright, then to "Dusk Falls", the theme for Conquest, and then ending with "Road Taken", the game's generic map theme, capped out by the trademark "Lost In Thoughts All Alone".
  • Finally, "Trial of the Academy" for Byleth brings back three of the major motifs from Fire Emblem: Three Houses. First, there's "Fódlan Winds", the game's first battle theme, and then there's the Song of the Nabateans—or rather the Church of Seiros' theme—most notably used in "A Funeral of Flowers". All concluding with the iconic chorus of "The Edge of Dawn" and even a snippet of "Paths That Will Never Cross".
  • As for the DLC Emblem Veronica, "Trial of Heroes" gives us a remix of "Violent Strings", the main map theme for Book VI of Heroes. How does one make an already amazing song, which heavily features classy yet sinister violins, even more foreboding and awesome? By pairing the aforementioned violins with a wailing electric guitar, giving a fitting vibe of Rotten Rock & Roll that complements the villainous tone of the original song perfectly!
• Hell, the "Preparations" music is awesome. The lively tune really embodies that the characters are preparing to fight.
• "Stalwart Preparations" accomplishes essentially the same goal as "Preparations", albeit for battles with dire consequences and high stakes. It is fittingly the track that one instead hears while getting ready for chapters 10, 11, and 17, as well as chapters 21 through 25.
• "Enforcer of Knowledge," the battle theme for Hortensia and Ivy (except for when the former is faced in Chapter 10 due to BGM Override), is a highly memorable boss theme that you'll end up hearing three times throughout the game.
• "Corrupted", the battle theme for the Corrupted, makes you understand very well that they are coming for your head.
• Advancing Sounds of Despair, the companion enemy phase track to "Determined Journey", drips with dread and horror. It has surely given a start to many who heard it for the first time, especially with the blaring horns at the beginning. One could say it's like Assault from Awakening but on steroids.
• "Keeper of History," which plays during the boss fights with Emblems as well as battles in the arena, is an upbeat and heroic-sounding track.
• Defective is a tremendous track, befitting the fights against evil Veyle in chapter 21 and Past Alear in chapter 24. In both tone and title, it does well to let one know the bosses (s)he is fighting are not themselves, under control—in differing ways—of a vile force.
• Corrupted Lumera's battle theme, Goddess in Shadow (Frenzy), captures that you're fighting a fallen goddess. Despite the turbulent tone, there are also parts that are more sad and tragic, which is perfect considering that said fallen goddess is Alear's mother. And the chants...
• The Fell Dragon's Hounds, as the name suggests, is the theme for whenever one or more of the Four Hounds appears onscreen. While to some it gives off vibes of the Pillar Men awakening theme from the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency anime, it's a catchy piece combining techno and hip-hop with ominous, foreboding chanting to let you know how much of a threat these guys are.

Fire Emblem Heroes

While Heroes reuses a lot of music from other Fire Emblem games, it still manages to sneak in some great original music, such as the following:

• Just when you thought the iconic Fire Emblem theme couldn't be any better, Fire Emblem Heroes revitalizes the theme not just by updating it, but gives the remix in Super Smash Bros. Brawl a run for the money by giving it lyrics, and in English (as well as Japanese), no less!
• "Heat Cracking" the Book II boss battle theme, mostly for being just so damn epic. It also plays during battles against Loki, and the Røkkrs that she summons.
• "Fallen" is a completely unexpected lyrical death metal track. It goes completely against everything you'd expect from a Fire Emblem music piece, and it is awesome. For bonus points, the lyrics of the song were a spoiler for Líf and Thrasir's motivations in Book III.
• "Lucid Dream", the Book IV map theme, manages to orchestrate an whimsical yet adventurous fairy tale theme, as the Heroes struggle to escape from the realm of nightmares.
• "Fairy Waltz" is a tune that wouldn't be out of place in a Paper Mario game. The music track is a gentle, dreamy waltz with a hint of unease to it, perfectly capturing the friendly yet mischievous fairies that dwell within the realm of dreams.
• "Howling Gears", the Book V map theme, brings an electronic soundtrack with industrial beats added to highlight the mechanical nature of the Niðavellir, which can get you pumped during the battle against the forces of Niðavellir. The version of the song that plays in the Book V Intro movie also adds some Mickey Mousing regarding the actions of the characters in the movie, and in an epic way.
• "Deity Hammer", the Mjölnir's Strike menu theme, is nothing short of epic with its tense mood. The thunderclaps accompanying the beat of the tune show off how menacing the god of war, Thórr, can be with her power of lightning.
• "Destiny Closes In (Full)" plays in Book VI, Chapter 12-5, and it’s a hauntingly beautiful and epic track that uses the classical violins and piano to convey the tragic final battle against Veronica, who is very reluctant to fight against her friends Alfonse and Sharena, but must do so due to Embla's curse.

Fire Emblem Warriors

• The Noble Lady of Caelin History Mode map features an orchestral arrangement of The Blazing Blade's "Winds Across the Plains". It's very easy for players who got into the series with that title to just sit back and listen.
• "This Precious World", the theme of the game's Final Boss Velezark, incorporates the final boss themes of Shadow Dragon, Awakening, and Fates into a fast-paced rock medley while still being an intense piece on its own.
• "Resolute Heart", the triumphant theme that plays when the tables turn in the Aytolisian Army's favor during Story Mode, and on certain History Mode maps. The song is empowering, giving a strong sense of victory.
• The game also has several excellent remixes of older tunes. Stand-out tracks include "Chaos (Hellish Blaze)" from Awakening and "Road Taken (Roar)", "No Justice (Hoshidan Fire)", "Justice RIP (Nohrian Storm)", "Alight (Hoshidan Wind)", and "A Dark Fall (Nohrian Fire)" from Fates.