Liner Notes XII: “No One-Winged Angel.”

(Editor’s note: From Fire Emblem to Persona, everyone’s got at least one videogame tune stuck in their heads. Enter Liner Notes: a Pixelitis feature in which our writers discuss their favorite videogame music.)

Have you ever heard the saying: “No Stairway” before? Yes, it’s a Wayne’s World reference and jokes about amateur guitarists butchering a Led Zeppelin classic. It can be seen as a snobby way of saying that the song is overplayed. But, that’s how I feel about one of the most popular Final Fantasy tracks ever, “One-Winged Angel.”

Now, I’m not going to flat-out proclaim that the final boss theme from Final Fantasy VII is overrated. It’s a phenomenal and haunting track, especially when Uematsu’s former progressive metal band The Black Mages covered it. I simply feel that there’s been enough obsessive adoration and praise thrown at it, so how about all of those other fantastic final boss themes that Uematsu and his fellow Final Fantasy composers have under their belts?

Final boss themes are the crème de la crème of battle themes in an RPG. The fate of the entire (in-game) world rests on the player and his or her party, so the game better have fitting music to go with it. So join me in my third and final examination of Final Fantasy’s battle themes and let’s talk final battle music. Bring plenty of Megalixirs (and be sure to actually use them, dammit!).

[Snookies12]

Persona 4's final battle was wonderful, but not in the usual way. It was barely audible for most of the battle, however those moments where the full orchestra would kick in during pivotal moments was just amazing. Really gave you that sense that you were trying your hardest to bring an end to it all.

FFVI's Dancing Mad was Uematsu's gem in my opinion. It gave way to four different themes that almost seamlessly crossed into one another for each stage of the Kefka finale. For its time, that was just amazing.

Chrono Trigger's World Revolution when fighting the Lavos inside (not the core, but the one just before) was and still is one of my favorite themes in gaming.

While I'm on that note, I know it's not an RPG, but Ace Combat 5 on PS2. The final mission where the satellite is crashing down had music that fit the mood so well. I always have to crank up the volume when playing that one again.

[izumo_lee]

Zeromus is perhaps my personal fave final battle theme cause it was the first time i heard a piece of music that epic in nature. The change in tone of the song really brings out the feeling of a final battle.

World Revolution was amazing but for me Yasunori Mitsuda's 'Awakening' in Xenogears shows his talents in music.

[Kos-Mos]

The last boss of Final Fantasy VI is like an opera from the beginning to the end and it works damned well. Why are japanese music better than the crap in the west? Think about it, a game from 1994 pisses on games like cod,gow,gears,killzone,halo,sk yrim,me,gta.