Best battle music in a game?

@ConanTheStoner: maybe Tactics Ogre got you nostalgic lol. Those are awesome pics. Maybe you’ll like some of those retro inspired games like Octopath Traveler.

@ConanTheStoner: absolutely incredible.

@sakaixx: Yeah, thought they were pretty sick.

A lot more of them if you're interested.

FFVII

FFIX

@ConanTheStoner: That Y tower music is a masterpiece! SR4's OST is all around amazing.

J-E-N-O-V-A & One Winged Angel from OG FFVII.

"Sign of Evil" [Phobos Anamoly]"

It's probably considered "stage" music, but you battle/kill stuff while it's playing. This is my favorite track in any FPS ever.

"Bowser Battle" from Super Mario Bros. 3. Has a nice, wild, tribal sound. Some crazy stuff coming out of an NES. Also one of the best boss battles in the franchise.

As an amazing "generic" battle theme, this one comes to mind:

Surprised absolutely nobody mentioned Dark Souls.

Trying to think of other games that had a mournful tone for the big final boss battle prior and can't really think of any, though sure this isn't some new thing.

That's one of the things liked about Darksouls (that the score like this helped enforce), weren't saving the world or anything, the world from the get go has gone to shit with Cinder and others like Sir Artorias being dammed husks of what they were put out of their misery.

Sure bunch of lore shit haven't looked up but that's the vibes get.

The music that plays in the fight against the clones in God of War 1, where you save you're family.

Champions of the Continent proves the Octopath composer is top tier.

And Octopath 2's soundtrack will have 6 disks worth of music.

So badass. Sephiroth!

1980s

The Revenge of Shinobi (Sega Mega Drive) − "Terrible Beat" (1989)

Herzog Zwei (Sega Mega Drive) − "There is No Time to Lose" (1989)

Ys I & II (PC Engine CD-ROM²) − "Termination" (1989)

Early 1990s

Zero Wing (Sega Mega Drive) − "Hit Man" (1991)

Dragon Ball Z: Super Saiya Densetsu (Super Famicom) − "Fight!" (1992)

Thunder Force IV (Sega Mega Drive) − "Metal Squad" (1992)

Fatal Fury Special (Neo Geo) − "Soy Sauce for Geese" (1993)

P5 and FF7 are up there but personally i prefer P4 ost. Specifically reach out to the truth and time to make history.

Reach Out to the Truth is so good.

Mid−1990s

Live A Live (Super Famicom) − "Killing Field" (1994)

Zero Divide (Sony PlayStation) − "Waiting for the Sound of Thunder" (1995)

Street Fighter Alpha 2 (Sony PlayStation / Sega Saturn) − "Theme of Sagat vs Ryu" (1996)

@Jag85:

Disqualified bro.

90s era FG tracks are basically cheating.

Final Fantasy V has the best battle theme out of the series

Final Fantasy VII has the best boss theme

Late 1990s

Final Fantasy VII (Sony PlayStation) − "Kanzen-naru Jenova" (1997)

Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact (Arcade) − "Nile (Drum and Bass Mix) ~ Egypt" (1997)

Metal Gear Solid (Sony PlayStation) − "Duel" (1998)

@ConanTheStoner: No fair! Fine... I'll edit out the fighting game tracks.

@Jag85: 😂

Not for real tho, they're just that good.

Gills 2nd Impact theme is top, so much better than his Third Strike shit.

SFV actually did a decent rendition of it.

Ended up setting that to my main menu music.

@ConanTheStoner: Damn, you almost got me there! 😂

2nd Impact was peak Street Fighter music for me. 3rd Strike was peak Street Fighter gameplay, but the soundtrack was a step back from 2nd Impact.

The SFV version of "Nile" sounds like a mixture between the 2nd Impact and 3rd Strike versions.

Early 2000s

Guilty Gear X (Sega Dreamcast) − "Still in the Dark" (2000)

Final Fantasy X (PlayStation 2) − "Seymour Battle" (2001)

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (PlayStation 2) − "Father & Son" (2001)

Mid−2000s

Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner (PlayStation 2) − "Air Fight" (2003)

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (PlayStation 2) − "The Tower of Dawn" (2003)

Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection (Arcade) − "Hall of Fate ~Resurrection~" (2005)

Persona 3 (PlayStation 2) − "The Battle for Everyone's Souls" (2006)

So good. Brings back so much good nostalgia.

Heard this one before, but didn't know it was Persona 3. Speaking of which, the re-release next month!

Late 2000s

Ragnarok Online 2: Legend of the Second (PC) − "Din Don Dan Dan" (2007)

Persona 4 (PlayStation 2) − "Reach Out to the Truth ~ First Battle" (2008)

Final Fantasy XIII (PlayStation 3) − "Blinded by Light" (2009)

As of late, Warhammer 40k Darktide has some bangers

You forgot it was from P3? I would've been more excited if it was P3 FES, but it's P3 Portable. Still great either way, but FES is my favourite version.

@Jag85: hmm interesting. I bought FES for PS2 but couldn’t make up my mind which version I should play.

Wait, when did I say that? Maybe I said something about Squall being designed as an emo "bad boy" so that he appeals to young female audiences.

It didn't bother me that he was negative so much (besides, gamers seem to love negative "badass" characters)... but my problem with him as that he's just a dull protagonist. Like Conan said (and as I've said elsewhere), Laguna is a way more interesting character than Squall. The game would've been so much better with Laguna as the protagonist instead of Squall.

Honestly, I found Rinoa more annoying than Squall. I found her to be whiny, selfish and entitled. So I didn't really care much about their relationship, because neither of them was that interesting. On the other hand, I loved the triangle between Laguna, Julia and Raine. It's puzzling why Square relegated Laguna's story to the background, when that should've been the main story.

Squall does tone down the negativity later in the game. But he's still a dull protagonist. That part doesn't improve much.

Does it help that Squall has a sword gun?

Didn't like any of them. Boot it up, elite trained force, something or another.

But they sound like mentally stunted 8-year-olds who had too much sherbet.

It may be a cultural barrier thing where I'm not expecting them to act like fucking idiots, sadly they are.

In this regard can almost understand Squall being a passive aggressive prick.

The reason Western gamers like asshole characters like Kratos and what not is obvious. He's perceived as masculine. Many Sony users think they are gangsters on skidrow. Kratos being a baller who fucks hoes and blasts fools.

Squall (ll) is effeminate. He looks like a boy band member like many Japanese designed male characters.

Woman generally get damp in the panties at this, while men go "ew" I want to be Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Doesn't really matter to me if you replaced him, hated the game outright, probably least liked RPG in existence and almost single-handedly put me off playing other JRPGs.

Some people like it. Good for them. Some people liked the Nazis.

Think about it.

I'd recommend playing FES first, to be honest. It has extended story content (and lets you walk around like a regular RPG, for those not into P3P's visual novel style). However, it's been a long time since I've played FES, and I haven't played much of P3P. I've heard there's a FES patch that it adds some battle system improvements from P3P. However, P3P is still worth checking out for the female protagonist route.

@texasgoldrush: Nice one, haven't listened to OT2's ost yet.

I didn't care for the main cast of FFVIII... But when it goes to the past flashbacks with Laguna, that's when you get the interesting characters! They don't get that much screen time, but they show more personality and character development in those flashbacks than what we see from the main cast for most of the game.

Bruv, you read my mind... Kratos is exactly who I was thinking of! Or rather, Kratos from the OG God of War trilogy (Dad of War is a totally different character). Clearly, Western gamers love arsehole protagonists, e.g. OG Kratos or that Trevor guy from GTAV. Yet when Squall also behaves like an arsehole, it doesn't work so well because of his emo appearance.

Japanese games in general tend to cast more attractive characters (whether male or female), whereas Western games in general tend to cast less attractive characters (whether male or female). Just as male gamers generally find female characters in Japanese games more attractive, the same holds true for female gamers who generally find male characters in Japanese games more attractive, e.g. Squall, Dante, Leon Kennedy, etc.

The thing I hated most about FFVIII is the draw system, which was an annoying chore-fest. But for all its flaws, I'd still prefer VIII over any recent mainline FF games. It was worth it just for the Triple Triad card minigame alone. And the Laguna flashbacks tell a compelling story with interesting characters (even if they don't get much screen time). VIII had so much missed potential.

Early 2010s

Ys: The Oath in Felghana (PlayStation Portable) − "The Strongest Foe" (2010)

Akai Katana (Arcade) − "Close Competition" (2010)

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky (PlayStation Portable) − "Silver Will" (2011)

Ys Origin (PC) − "Termination" (2012)

@Jag85: Ys rocks, especially in the music department. did you hear that they announced 10 recently?

@SolidGame_basic: For sure. Falcolm always delivers kickass soundtracks! And yeah, cup posted a thread about it here.

Mid−2010s

Might Switch Force 2 (3DS / Wii U) − "Final Boss" (2013)

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC (PC / PSP) − "The Merciless Savior" (2015)

Mushihime-sama (PC) − "Levi-Sense ~ Arrange" (2015)

Late 2010s

Persona 5 (PS3 / PS4) − "Last Surprise" (2016)

Final Fantasy XV (PS4 / X1) − "Veiled in Black" (2016)

Sonic Mania (NS / PS4 / X1) − "Danger on the Dance Floor" (2017)

2020s

Final Fantasy VII Remake − "Hundred Gunner" (2020)

Streets of Rage 4 − "Shiva" (2020)

Streets of Rage 4: Mr. X Nightmare − "Ritual of Battle" (2021)

FF8, Just pure soundtrack MGS2

Weird, 8 is the most replayable for me. Think 7 and 8 are leagues above 9 which I find highly overrated these days. Cloud was a prick too but doesn't get the hate Squall does for whatever reason. Loved 8s cast.

Yeah fair. I get that between the junction system, Triple Triad, and the scaling system, FF8 can be more replayable for some. Basically a make or break, just not something I'm all that interested in personally.

I've replayed some of the FF games, but admittedly don't find any of them all that replayable lol.

Eh, not all that invested either way. Not like I think Cloud is some great character either. But Cloud does show much more personality, much earlier on, and it becomes crystal clear in the early going that it's all a front anyways, a facade. Think likening him to Squall is a bit disingenuous? A bit hazy on these, I could be wrong.

Would agree they're both a far cry from the charismatic heroes of previous FF games, or even FF9 for that matter.

Yeah, hard disagree lol. First game I can think of where I wasn't rooting for anyone. Well except Laguna squad, they're dope.

Is what it is, every FF has its fans, FF8 just wasn't for me.

I like FFX's regular battle theme.

King K Rool's theme from DKC .

Pokemon deserves to be mentioned ... maybe one of the gym themes. G/S Rocket Theme and Rival themes are really good.

Since no one will ever mention this game or series ... Ratchet and Clank UYA , the Courtney Gear's fight.

Kingdom Hearts has alot of good stuff. Rage Awakened, the 13th struggle, forze de male

Yea, this an the augmented version for the climax "escape" are prob fav MGS soundtrack.

Like the later soundtracks but the more repetitive nature of the music here is reminiscent of something like John Carpenter where it's more about creating mood. This is further reinforced by the technology at the time with shitty draw distance where get a sense of being boxed in by black fog and still winter. The remake and MGS4 sequence never managed to capture that.