By Joseph Walter
During this period of FF inundation, I've been doing a lot of battling (as one tends to do in RPGs), and with a lot of battling comes hearing a lot of battle themes.
Despite "never playing more than 30 minutes" of these particular entries, I've long been familiar with their soundtracks, and have thoroughly enjoyed their combat themes for years, even without a lick of context. They're awesome. And finally hearing them in context? Yep, still awesome.
That got me to thinking: what is it about Final Fantasy battle themes that just works so well? I've loved these songs for years despite never before experiencing them as intended, and they had just as much of an emotional impact then as they do now.
There's just something about the battle themes, specifically, that is undeniably magical. And that's about as well as I can describe it.
In any case, with a level of quality set as high as that, it's almost impossible to pick favorites... but that's what I'm doing today, anyway.
Just to be clear, I haven't played every game in the franchise (not even close), nor have I heard every piece from every soundtrack. My picks stem solely from the small pool of what I've experienced personally.
Now, after much deliberation, here are my top five Final Fantasy battle themes! (and one honorable mention that doesn't quite fit, but it's my blog and I make the rules.)
Honorable Mention: "Mystic Quest's" Boss Theme
Still, with a song this overwhelmingly cool, I had to fit it in somewhere.
I'm not exactly sure why the composer decided he was going to create something as wild as this for Mystic Quest, of all things, but damn, I'm glad he did. I'm also not sure how he did, considering how impressive and rich it sounds despite the limitations of the NES.
High-energy, shockingly dynamic (the harp like flourish at :38 is an outstanding touch) and featuring the perfect combination of heroism, desperation, intensity and hope that all boss themes should have makes this a must-listen piece.
5. Final Fantasy IX: Battle Theme
Once I sat down to compile this list, however, I was surprised to see it fall to the bottom. That doesn't mean it's "bad" (this is a list of my favorites after all), but it just lacks some of the components that make the other songs as good as they are.
Its use of the 8 and 16 bit compositional style is awesome, and the song itself is exciting both in and out of context, but its reliance on this specific style also means that there's an inherent lack of truly noteworthy innovation. Sure, the synth-y, rock guitar-ish sound mixed with traditional retro instruments and a bit of brass is cool as heck, but they just didn't go far enough with it.
Actually, in a lot of ways, it almost sounds like a prototype of what Final Fantasy X's battle theme would later perfect, but that's neither here nor there (actually, it is here; just not here yet.)
4. Final Fantasy VIII: Don't Be Afraid
Actually, a lot of my feelings about "Don't Be Afraid," and the reasoning for its low rank, mirror my feelings on IX's battle theme, except there's one key difference: where IX took things in an old school direction, FFVIII goes hard in the opposite.
"Don't Be Afraid" leans exclusively into a grand, orchestral sound, sacrificing a lot of what I would consider the "life-force" of an RPG battle theme. It's still an excellent and dramatic song, but this omission becomes glaring when you compare it to the songs higher up on this list.
Simply put, VIII lacks the "old school" compositional style and energy that made so many RPG battle themes great throughout the years, and that's why it's stuck at number 4.
... man, considering how well both VIII and IX excel at what they were going for, I can only wonder what a combination of their distinct musical sensibilities would have resulted in. Probably something really special.
3. Final Fantasy XV: Stand Your Ground
The robust orchestra and the bombastic intensity, the way the Final Fantasy theme motif was incorporated.... *hnnggghh.* So good.
"Stand Your Ground" covers all the bases of what makes Final Fantasy battle themes (and many other RPGs) work so well. You can easily imagine this being a 16 or 32-bit piece.
As it stands, "Stand Your Ground" is an exceptional example of knowing and fully understanding what makes classic RPG battle themes tick, and then successfully modernizing it for a new age.
2. Final Fantasy VII: Let the Battles Begin!
You know what I will do though? Lavishly praise "Let the Battles Begin!" for all time.
The first time I actually heard it was the truly exceptional piano rendition in Advent Children, but there was just something about the original PS1 version that made my soul soar.
The choice of instruments, the way the melody builds itself up, the weird metal clang/submarine ping, and, especially, that one part. The breakdown.
The flutes. The descending horns. The drama! My God! Chills every time!
That part just speaks directly to my spirit. I don't know what, why, or how, but there's just something... I don't know... "between the lines" of the music, and it resonates with every fiber of my art-loving spirit.
And then with the Remake version!??!? Ohhh myyy Godddd!!
Everything, and I mean everything, that made the original version work is here, except 1997 just got transformed into 2020. It's like the song did a fucking Limit Break!
Critically (this was my make-or-break), that one part of the song I adore so much... the feeling that that part gave me (the feeling I can't describe)... it's IN this version. And I mean IN. It's like they read the fabric of my soul, and understood what I was feeling, then transposed it musically. Seriously, it's like they found the exact frequency of my soul, and tapped right into it. What I could never put into words, what was never audible in the old version but still present, they found it and they did it.
My God.
1. Final Fantasy X: Normal Battle 1
It is the perfect culmination of what I look for in RPG battle music. Its deftly combines the best parts of the retro sound and style with the range and power offered by orchestral elements. Neither part of this equation overpowers the other; they work together in perfect harmony to create the perfect Final Fantasy battle theme, at least by my standards!
... man, I felt really confident about this choice while writing it, but now I'm not so sure.
*sigh*
C'est la vie.