General RPG Music Lists 1: Them's Fightin' Chords

So, I've had a couple of readers suggest to me that I make a list rant of some sort for the specific RPG tunes that I particularly love, since I've lauded the genre for its consistent good quality in the musical field, and often mentioned that even bad games can have some really awesome background themes.  Now, of course, a couple of people isn't very many in the objective sense, but for this blog, 2 readers constitutes, like, at least a quarter of my entire readership at any given time (hell, it's probably a fair percentage of the entire user base of Blogger itself), so I figured I'd better put my mind to giving the fans what they were, relative to the microcosm of Thinking Inside the Box, practically battering down my door for.

The trick, of course, is that I know fuck-all about music, would have to keep updating a list of my favorite RPG tunes constantly (which is too much trouble and time for me to want to do), and have a very difficult time ranking individual songs of similar quality over one another even in my own head, let alone in any official sense. But I think I've got a system figured out! I'll just sort them all according to a broad quality spectrum, and not sweat which one is better than which others inside that range. As such, these listings of my favorite RPG songs will sort the songs I love by whether they get a B+, an A-, an A, or a coveted A+. Anything lower than a B+ isn't something I keep for my personal listening, because if you think I'm picky about the games I play then you should see what I'm like about the music I listen to, I don't have to apply any particular knowledge about music to justify my decisions (at least, not as much as I might if I were more specifically ranking), and updating the rant as I play new games and acquire new songs will be very simple.

So, for what I want to be an ongoing series of rants this year, let's kick these things off with a listing of all the kickass Battle music of RPGs! Who doesn't love a good tune to get your blood pumping in such an excited fashion that you'd almost forget that all you're actually doing is selecting options from a stupid menu? The fighting music of RPGs is perhaps the type that's saddled with the most unfair responsibility in the soundtrack, because these things are supposed to make a gameplay process that's almost indistinguishable from the act of looking through folders in a file cabinet seem intense and suspenseful. Say what you will about the responsibilities of sad music to create melancholy out of scenes rendered in 16-bit graphics, or town music to make the monotony of equipment shopping and uncontested breaking-and-entering just to have a 1-sided chat about the local cave system seem pleasant in some way, but I think that RPGs' battle music's expectation of making the least active and engaging gameplay system short of a visual novel give the illusion of being exciting is by far the toughest job handed out to a game's compositions. So let's take a look at the very best the genre has to offer! Here's all the battle music of RPGs that I particularly love.

Note: I do not in any way care about what the actual name of any of these tracks is. I organize the songs I listen to by their function, essentially what I'll remember them for. So if you really love the Legends of Storied Tales's song, "Rushing Breach of Valkyric Splendor (Pull Up Yo Pants And Throw Hands Symphony)", which played during boss fights, then just assume that I call it Legends of Storied Tales Boss Battle, as that's the game of origin and its actual function.

Additional Note: This list will be updated constantly as I play new games and acquire new music. I don't think I'll track the updates; sorry, it's just gonna be too much hassle to do so.



BASIC BATTLE

Among RPG fighting music, the Basic Battle theme has the absolute hardest job of all. Forget boss fights, forget final confrontations, forget climactic event battles: the basic battle theme is expected to get you in the mood for a clash of blades and a struggle of heroism every single time you encounter a normal enemy. These are songs that you will hear, without exaggeration, hundreds of times during a game's course, and they will accompany any non-notable battle no matter how great or small. Generic slimes? Under-powered zombies in an area you're returning to after you've gained 20 levels? Actual, innocent bunny rabbits? It's this song's job to make you feel like this is an intense and/or epic encounter in the heroes' tale each and every time. No wonder so few battle themes make the cut to be here.

Qualification Notes: Must be a generic battle theme. Battle themes specific to certain continents/worlds/whatevers in a game are allowed, as long as they're the generic theme for that area, and that area is a substantial part of the game (Breath of Fire 4 is divided into 2 continents and each has its own basic battle theme, Tales of Symphonia is divided into 2 worlds and each has its own basic battle theme, etc). Similarly, if the music only plays in battles involving a certain character, but that constitutes (or can constitute) a substantial portion of the game's battles, then it counts for this (like Golden Sun 2's Jenna's battle theme). If it's a battle theme only found in 1 of several chapters of the game, though (such as the battle theme for Hollow Bastion in Kingdom Hearts, or certain types of battlefields in Final Fantasy Tactics), or a battle theme for a character that doesn't get played all that much, it doesn't count.

B+
- Breath of Fire 4 Empire Battle
- Golden Sun 2 Jenna Battle
- Lufia 1 Battle
- Omori Pyrefly Forest Battle
- Tales of Symphonia Tethe'alla Battle
- Valkyria Chronicles 1 Battle

A-
- Baten Kaitos 2 Battle
- Final Fantasy Mystic Quest Battle

A
- Final Fantasy 8 Laguna Battle
- Wild Arms 1 Battle

A+
- Xenosaga 1 Battle
This particular song did extra heavy lifting, as, to my recollection, it was the ONLY battle theme in Xenosaga 1 until the very final confrontation, meaning that both regular AND boss battles used this. And yet over the course of hundreds and hundreds of times hearing it, I never once got sick of it. It just has such an elegantly urgent, truly epic power to it, that brought you into the moment of a new, amazing science fiction saga unfolding before your eyes. This is the battle theme that proudly cries that you've taken a first step of combat into a grand tale to come.*


EVENT BATTLE

The Event Battle song is an interesting beast, in that it covers a wide, wide range of possible needs for an RPG, but each tune must itself be extremely specific to the time in which it plays. While every piece of music has at least some intended purpose in a game, the Event Battle song plays only for a particular moment, or small handful of moments, so it can be much more fine-tuned to coordinate to the idea and emotion of that scene. At the same time, its composer has to be particularly careful to make it work just right, because the events this tune plays for are almost always more important than just normal battles, or at least more nuanced.

As such, there's not much of a broad expectation for these tunes: rather, their success and eligibility for my collection is based on whether they're really enjoyable to listen to, and whether they accurately depict and significantly enhance the setting and circumstances they play for.

Note that this is not the same as the Event Boss, which we'll get into further down.

B+
- Deus Ex 1 DuClare Chateau Battle
- Final Fantasy Tactics Snow Battle
- Final Fantasy Tactics Urgent Battle
- Fire Emblem 16 Battle of the Eagle and Lion
- Mass Effect 3 Earth Battle
- Neverwinter Nights 2 Memory Battle
- Pokemon Generation 5 Team Plasma Battle
- Shin Megami Tensei 5 Fionn Battle
- Stella Glow Amatsu Battle

A-
- Final Fantasy 9 Hunt Festival
- Makai Kingdom Battle
- Kingdom Hearts Series Hollow Bastion Battle
- Kingdom Hearts Series Twilight Town Battle
- La Pucelle Tactics Angel Gate
- Legend of Heroes 6-1 Arena Battle
- Suikoden 2 Prologue Attack
- Tales of Berseria Rangetsu Style

A
- Disgaea 1 Celestia Battle
- Legend of Heroes 6-1 Intelligence Division Battle

A+
- Skies of Arcadia Ship Battle
I will be very, very much surprised if I ever, over the course of my life, hear a more perfect, courageous, hearty song of grand battle between ships sailing the high seas (or, in this case, the high breeze). I love Skies of Arcadia's Delphinus as the greatest battleship of all time, and I love this as the greatest theme of battleships engaged in combat of all time.


BOSS BATTLE

Alright, here we go. The Boss Battle is the meat of the musical meal, the entree of fighting themes. Basic Battles can aspire to be exciting, but by simple reasoning the Boss Battle's gotta be a substantial step up; this is the piece that tells the player that shit is being thrown down hard. Yeah, Final Battles and some Event Battles will go harder, but I'd argue that the standard Boss Battle's the more important overall, because more singular tracks should have the helping power of the narrative backing them up and adding power to their scenarios, while the standard Boss Battle tune's often gotta handle the creation of extra tension all by itself--yeah, sometimes a boss battle's against someone important to the story or has a lot of current plot events riding on it, but sometimes it's just a skeleton that's bigger than the rest blocking the party's way, or a tough bounty that the player has engaged with at the time of their own choosing. A Boss Battle song's gotta slap, has to get you leaning forward and breathing heavily as it tells you that this ain't like those other battles you fought on the way here: this is the real deal and shit is going down.

B+
- Bonds of the Skies Boss Battle
- Breath of Fire 3 Boss Battle
- Dragon Fantasy 2 Boss Battle
- Final Fantasy 8 Boss Battle
- Magic Knight Rayearth RPG Boss Battle
- Pokemon Generation 8 Gym Leader Battle (Could only find extended version of the first part, which is the only part I like)
- Shin Megami Tensei 1 Boss Battle
- Steven Universe: Attack the Light Boss Battle
- Whisper of a Rose Boss Battle
- Ys 1 Boss Battle

A-
- Atelier Iris 1 Boss Battle
- Breath of Fire 4 Boss Battle
- Children of Mana Boss Battle
- Final Fantasy 7 Boss Battle
- Grandia 2 Boss Battle
- Treasure of the Rudras Riza Boss Battle
- Treasure of the Rudras Scion Boss Battle

A
- Fire Emblem 14 Heir of Fates Boss Battle (Could only find extended version)
- Justice Chronicles Boss Battle
- La Pucelle Tactics Boss Battle
- Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha 2 Boss Battle

A+
- Live-A-Live Boss Battle
This is just hardcore awesome. You hear this, and you know that the hero's in a no-holds-barred, fight to the finish against a foe so formidable that you've gotta give everything you've got to even stand a chance. Just love the intensity of this piece.

- Pier Solar and the Great Architects Boss Battle
Dude, this may be the greatest possible fusion of Sega Genesis sound style, Phantasy Star musical aesthetic, and pure, undiluted fucking rockin' out.


EVENT BOSS BATTLE

The Basic and Boss Battles might be the workhorses of the soundtrack, and power to them, but there's no denying that the Event Boss Battle music is where the greatest examples of a composer's talents are most vividly shown. These are tunes played for boss battles of greater importance than the rest, fights that are unique and stirring events worthy of their own accordingly grand and compelling music. Like the Event Battle, this is judged by how well it fits to the circumstances in which it plays, be it a climactic showdown that changes a world's fate or a confrontation with a significant character, and like the Boss Battle, this is judged by just how powerful and pumped, how immersed and excited it can get you, how great a fight it describes to you.

Note: Sometimes this will call the song a character's battle, other times it'll just refer to the character alone. The difference is whether the song only plays when fighting the character (such as Breath of Fire 2's Barubary), or whether it's the character's song as a whole, which includes the fight against them (such as Chrono Trigger's Magus).

B+
- Breath of Fire 2 Barubary Battle
- Breath of Fire 4 Epic Battle
- Final Fantasy 7 Jenova Absolute Battle
- Final Fantasy Series Gilgamesh
- Hololive CouncilrRys RPG Cursed Fauna Battle
- I Am Setsuna Time Judge Battle
- Mother 3 Mecha-Drago Battle
- Omori Pluto Battle
- Phantasy Star 4 Dark Force Battle
- Pokemon Generation 4 Cyrus Battle
- Pokemon Generation 8 Final Mustard Battle
- Star Ocean 2 Wise Man Battle
- Suikoden 2 Neclord Battle
- Wild Arms 1 Zed Battle
- Wild Arms 2 Liz and Ard Battle

A-
- Celestian Tales 1 Severin Battle
- Children of Mana Big Boss Battle
- Chrono Trigger Epic Battle
- Final Fantasy 4 Fiend Battle
- Final Fantasy 6 Atma Weapon Battle
- Final Fantasy 7 Jenova Battle
- Golden Sun 1 Saturos Battle
- Hololive CouncilRys RPG Cursed BaeRys Battle
- Hololive CouncilRys RPG Cursed Mumei Battle
- Okage: Shadow King Vampire King Battle
- Omori Space Ex-Boyfriend Battle
- Pokemon Generation 8 Battle Tower Boss Battle
- Pokemon Generation 8 Marnie Battle (If anyone knows a version of this that's exactly the same but without the stupid cheers, I'd be very obliged if you'd share it)
- Pokemon Series Cynthia Battle
- Shin Megami Tensei: Persona Q2 Velvet Room Battle
- Suikoden 2 Luca Blight Battle
- Suikoden 3 Destiny Battle
- Suikoden Tierkreis Fredegund Battle
- Tales of the Abyss God General Battle
- Threads of Fate Doll Master Battle
- Treasure of the Rudras Big Boss Battle
- Undertale Asgore Battle
- Undertale Muffet Battle
- Whisper of a Rose Iron Angel Battle
- Wild Arms 1 Boomerang Flash Battle
- Wild Arms 4 Brionac Battle
- Wild Arms 5 Ice Queen Battle (Link avoids unnecessary intro)
- Wild Arms 5 Persephone Battle

A
- Baten Kaitos 1 Big Boss Battle
- Breath of Fire 5 Big Boss Battle
- Chrono Trigger Magus
- Dark Cloud 1 Dran Battle
- Final Fantasy 10 Final Seymour Battle
- Kingdom Hearts 2 Epic Battle
- Mana Khemia 1 Isolde Battle
- Millennium 5 Gisele Battle (I really liked most parts of this song, but couldn't stand 1 part, so I fiddled around with it to make a version I liked. I don't know whether this really counts, but what the hell, I'm putting it here anyway)
- Pokemon Generation 7 Legendary Pokemon Battle
- Pokemon Generation 7 Red and Blue Battle
- Shin Megami Tensei: Persona Q1 Best Friend Battle
- Shin Megami Tensei: Persona Q1 Zeus Battle
- Tales of Phantasia Big Boss Battle
- Undertale Sans Battle
- Undertale Toriel Battle
- Wild Arms 3 Schroedinger Battle

A+
- Etrian Odyssey 1 M.I.K.E. Battle
A raw, rockin' remake of a battle theme that was already insanely great, the methodical intensity and pressure behind this piece, mixed with just a hint of an industrial aesthetic, combines perfectly with the desperate, brutal clash against the AI M.I.K.E. where every turn that passes counts down that much closer to the deaths of millions. Damn awesome.

- Romancing Saga 1 Big Boss Battle
Dude, RS1's music fucking kicks.

- Romancing Saga 1 Epic Boss Battle
I mean, it seriously does.

- Shin Megami Tensei 4 Series Parting Ways Battle
This battle theme really captures in perfection the battles in which it plays, in which the protagonist is parting ways violently from trusted friends whose consciences cannot let him go any further. You really can hear the emotional, the bittersweet desperation of Nanashi's friends in SMT4-2 as they try to keep him from making a terrible mistake, the pain as they're struck down and resign themselves to their fate...by heavens, this song is so good that it even made me care about Isabeau for a few minutes. There are plastic milk jugs that possess more and greater personality than Isabeau, and this music still managed in SMT4-1 to put regret deep in my heart as I put sword deep in hers. That's not to say that strong writing and narrative placement don't factor in heavily to the power of these battles, but at least half the work is done by the music, and when a scene is so distressing that you might actually feel physically ill afterward, even being just half responsible for that is a wonder. This is a triumph of emotional combat themes, it really is.

- Undertale Undyne the Undying Battle
Yeah, I know, it's heresy to put this at the top even above Sans's fight theme. But screw it, I'm standing by it: this is the greatest battle theme of Undertale, full stop. Soulful, frenzied, heroic, unyielding, intense, this tune does proud the idea of the hero who's been empowered by the entire world's hope and faith.

- Wild Arms 3 Asgard and Janus Battle: I honestly have no idea why I am absolutely in love with this battle theme. I mean, it's very unique, has a good, active pace, and gets the idea across that it's a big battle quite well; it's certainly a good battle song 1 way or another. But up at the very top? I have no explanation. I just know that I sincerely love this tune.


VICTORY

Technically speaking, the actual music played during battle aren't the only fighting songs an RPG typically has.  Victory music is that which follows a successful encounter, typically accompanied by victory poses, confident quips, and sweet, sweet Experience Points being doled out.  Victory music's job is simple--congratulate the player on a job well done, close out the encounter, and typically just be upbeat and confident.

Unfortunately, this traditionally can be done well enough with just a quick little ditty of a few basic, "We did it!" kind of notes as in introduction, and then a loop of similarly celebratory music that fills like 20 - 40 seconds in total.  Which means that while Victory music is functional, it rarely has the opportunity, cause, or motivation to reach the kind of musical heights where you'd actually want to hear it for its own sake.  So there's not much here.  Well, not every nook and cranny of an RPG soundtrack can dazzle.

B+
- The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Boss Battle Victory
Well, since this is the only 1 here, I guess I'll comment on it.  I like how calming and reassuring this tune is--rather than go for the usual, aggressive fanfare, TLoZTP uses its Victory music over bosses to gently calm you back down after the intensity and adrenaline of the boss battle.  It's like a soothing rub-down to release the tension after you've finished a tough task.  Nice and quite effective at what it's going for!

A-

A

A+


FINAL BOSS BATTLE

Being able to maintain interest in normal battles, enhance the mood and significance of major plot events, and create a regular feeling of excitement and tension may make the previous categories more important to an RPG as a whole than the Final Boss Battle's music does...but make no mistake, this last category of fighting music is still a darned important one. Final Boss Battle songs have a major advantage in their corner in that, if anything in a game's narrative is already set up to be epic and engaging, it's most likely gonna be the ultimate clash between the heroes and the antagonist, so really, a Final Boss Battle's job is almost more about just keeping up and not dropping the ball than it is about forwarding the title's aims on its own. Still, the importance of just seeing a game to its proper conclusion shouldn't be understated--falling completely flat at the finish line and/or trying to switch thematic narrative horses right at the finale is how you get baffling, ruinous endings like those to Witch Hunt and Mass Effect 3.

A great Final Boss Battle can be as fierce and high-octane as regular Boss and Event Boss Battle music, but it doesn't have to be. What really makes or breaks the music that accompanies the last fight of a game is whether it feels like a satisfying and emotionally/thematically consistent finale to the adventure. If this is a battle on which the fate of the world rests (as is most often the case in RPGs), then it needs to feel epic as hell. If this is a battle that settles the emotional journey of the protagonist, be that journey 1 of self-discovery, revenge, rediscovery of hope, etc., the music should capture feelings appropriate to that mindset. And so on and so forth--the Final Boss Battle music should be great fighting music, but it should also sound right for the game that's led to it. Which is, honestly, the best advice for anything related to a game's ending, really.

And also, as always, the Final Boss Battle music has to be hella good. So let's see which ones are.

B+
- Ara Fell Final Boss Battle
- Dark Cloud 1 Final Boss Battle
- Evoland 1 Final Boss Battle
- Final Fantasy 5 Final Boss Battle
- Final Fantasy 7 Final Boss Battle 1
- Final Fantasy 8 Final Boss Battle 1
- Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 1 Final Boss Battle 1
- Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Final Boss Battle
- Steven Universe Save the Light Final Boss Battle
- Super Mario RPG Final Boss Battle 1
- Wild Arms 1 Final Boss Battle

A-
- Chrono Trigger Final Boss Battle 1
- Crimson Shroud Final Boss Battle
- Grandia 2 Final Boss Battle
- Lunar 1 Final Boss Battle
- Shadow Hearts 1 Final Boss Battle
- Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 1 Final Boss Battle (I really liked most parts of this song, but couldn't stand 1 part, so I fiddled around with it to make a version I liked. I don't know whether this really counts, but what the hell, I'm putting it here anyway)
- Symphony of Eternity Final Boss Battle
- Tales of the Abyss Final Boss Battle
- Trials of Mana Final Boss Battle
- Wild Arms 2 Final Boss Battle
- Ys 1 Final Boss Battle

A
- Lunar 2 Final Boss Battle (Link avoids unnecessary intro)
- Mario and Luigi 3 Final Boss Battle
- Radiant Historia Final Boss Battle
- Secret of Mana Final Boss Battle
- Shin Megami Tensei 4-2 Final Boss Battle
- Shin Megami Tensei: Persona Q1 Final Boss Battle
- Undertale Final Boss Battle
- Whisper of a Rose Final Boss Battle (From what I can understand, this is an original composition made freely available to anyone who wants it, which was used by Whisper of a Rose, and several other games. Since WoaR is what I know it from, I just categorize it as such)

A+
- Final Fantasy Mystic Quest Final Boss Battle
I'm pretty sure that this is my favorite battle theme. Not just favorite Final Boss Battle song, I mean favorite of all of them. It's either this, or that Pier Solar and the Great Architects boss theme further up. I don't even think I need to explain this one's score; if you can listen to this thing and not get fucking amped about a climactic, high-paced desperate showdown between good and evil for the fate of everything, then I just don't know what to do with you. This song managed to make the end boss of Final Fantasy Mystic Quest epic. Final Fantasy Mystic Quest!

- The Princess' Heart + Sweet Lily Dreams Final Boss Battle
Similar to Whisper of a Rose's Final Boss Battle, this is an original creation that's freely available for others to use, and Sweet Lily Dreams and The Princess' Heart were 2 RPGs that did so (well, mostly; they took its best part and just looped that (0:56 - 2:46)). Whether you like the whole thing or just the middle section that Roseportal Games uses, there's no denying that this song kicks some serious ass.



NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: Apparently Youtube is extremely unreliable.  If you notice that any of these links are dead, I'd be much obliged if you left a comment to let me know which one(s), and I'll address it as best I can.





* This was before said saga released its second game and it became apparent that Xenosaga had committed to a screaming nose-dive straight into a burning trash can.