Your favorite "boss" music
 

I play FFXI, and the PC version allows me to change the in-game music for myself using a .wav to .bgm tool.

The problem is, the fight music sucks. normal, boss, and major boss fight music is just dull, so I made thistopic in hopes I can get some ideas on what you guys really like as far as battle and boss music is.

However, I must ask if people vote for something other than One Winged Angel and Dancing Mad. What's your favorite BESIDES those (in numerous forums, those 2 songs were picked a good 90% of the time).


As for me, my favorit boss music is a tie between 2.

1) Incarnation of the Devil from Star Ocean 2 (and all tri-ace games following)

2) Nyx from Resident Evil Outbreak File 2. Very epic and very cool.

2 tracks from Sayuki Journy West. Fierce God, and Struggle.

All the boss tracks from Legend of Dragoon.

For some wierd reason, I can't remember any others at the moment. o_O

All three final boss themes in FFVIII are awesome. Fact. All are great on their own, and they're even better when combined. I prefer them to OWA.

As for regular boss music, I just love FFVII's Those Who Fight Further. Really rockin' piece of music. The Black Mages version of the tune is, in my opinion, amazing. FFVI's The Decisive Battle is good too.

If mini-boss fights count, I am digging the one used in LoZ: Wind Waker.

P.S. I think FFXI has an awesome battle theme : /

Battle With Magus - Chrono Trigger
Battle With King K Roll - DKC
Against Giygas - Earthbound
Big Bowser Battle - Mario World 2 Yoshi's Island

That should do for now :)

Let me check the noms I had for Best Battle Track Contest 2 (RIP)...

Atelier Iris Eternal Mana - Deceitful Wings
Atelier Iris Eternal Mana - Duke of Stratosphere
Atelier Iris Eternal Mana - Ferocious Drive
Blast Wind - The Justice Ray
Chaos Legion - The Drones of Hell
Chrono Trigger - Boss Battle 2
Neorude II - Last Battle (a GFF favorite)
Romacing SaGa: Minstrel Song - Decisive Battle! Saruin -Final Battle with Saruin-
The War of Genesis 3 - Destruction
The War of Genesis 3 - The Devil's Rhapsody

Note that I've only played AIEM and CT, so I'm not sure how the others work in-game.

In no order
(btw, I love all of FF9's battle themes - Battle 1 needs to be on a black mage album!!)

Valkyrie Profile 2 - How Wicked Ruler (i think is a boss theme), Unrestrained Struggle
Baten Kaitos 2 - Valedictory Elegy (Guitar)
Shadow of the Colloseus - All boss themes - epic and atmospheric
Final Fantasy XII - Esper Battle, Clash on the Big Bridge (Ver. FFXII), Boss Theme, Battle for Freedom
Xenosaga III - Battle for your Soul, Testament (yes, as far as youtube goes, it is a boss theme), Promised Pain
Shin Megami III and DDS 1&2 battle themes - take your pick!
Final Fantasy VIII - All
Final Fantasy VII - All
Rogue Gallaxy - Enormous Threat, Relic Theme (maybe boss themes?)

I could go on :P

SUMMONED BEAST BATTLE!!!! (Final Fantasy X). Seriously, what a kick-in-the-ass. What a shame it didn't get nominated for BSC =( Also, I have to second that all Shadow of the Colossus boss themes were pretty unique and awesomely cool

God - I haven't listened to that in ages! Nakano rocks!! all his battle theme on FFX where amazing

Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny - Red Lucifer Rising
Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song - Decisive Battle! Saruin -Final Battle with Saruin-
Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure - Last Waltz
Grandia II - Fight!! Ver. 3
Grandia II - Fight!! Ver. 4
Grandia III - Attack of a Flash (all versions)
Grandia III - GREAT ASSIZE
Wild ARMs 2 - Battle vs. Mid Boss -- Despite the name, it's really a true boss theme. I mean, it plays for Angolmois. >.>
Wild ARMs 2 - Battle vs. Lord Blazer -- It's freaking Lord Blazer.
Wild ARMs 3 - The End of the Beginning
Wild ARMs 4 - The Shining Spear Pierces the Darkness
Wild ARMs Alter Code: F - Windward Birds
Arc the Lad III - Last Battle -- Spawned one of my most favorite piano arranges ever.
Digital Devil Saga - Fierce Battle (I think that's what it was called)
Legend of Mana - The Darkness Nova
Legend of Mana - Pain the Universe
Shadow Hearts: Covenant - The 3 Karma
Shadow Hearts: From the New World - Lady Tears 2
Kingdom Hearts - Forze del Male

Too many good boss themes out there, if you ask me.

Final Fantasy Legend 1 - Fiend Battle
Tengai Makyou: The Apocalypse IV: The 12 Apostles Battle
Romancing SaGa 3 - Four Noble Devils
Seiken Densetsu 3 - Sacrifice Part 3
Tales of Phantasia - Decisive
Seiken Densetsu: Children of Mana - Evil Beast
Tales of Symphonia - Final Destination
Final Fantasy X - Challenge (Proof that Hamauzu CAN do non-piano music when he puts his mind to it)
Final Fantasy III (NES) - Boss Battle
Suikoden 2 - The Chase
Ys 4 (SNES) - Eldiel
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne - Fierce Battle
Tales of Destiny 2 - Coup de Grace

Definately, I'd have to say they'd be my favourites.

Didn't Nakano do that theme?

My favorite boss music is by far that from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Sub-Boss Battle...quite rocking

I'd have to say the other mentionable songs are that of

Fortress Boss - Super Mario Bros 3
Boss Battle - Legend Of Zelda, Link's Awakening
Mini Boss - Wind Waker (sounds like an upbeat western showdown)

Chrono Trigger - Last Battle
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles - Final Boss
Kingdom Hearts 2 - The 13th Struggle
Kingdom Hearts 2 - A Fight to the Death
Kingdom Hearts 2 - Darkness of the Unknown

I'll also second these:

The Extreme - Final Fantasy VIII
Battle with Magus - Chrono Trigger

That's all you need. Period. :D

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4: Turtles in Time - Super Shredder Battle
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 - Shredder Battle
Kirby's Dreamland 2 - King Dedede Battle

Damn! How can I forget about those!?

FF4 Boss, Dreadful and Final Battle...
Clash on the Big Bridge(All versions)
FF6 Boss Battle
All FF7 Battles
Force Your Way
Dark Messenger
FFXI and FFXII too...
Sonic 1 Final Zone
Sonic 2 Boss Battle
S3+K All Boss Themes
Sonic Adventure 2 Suitable Opponent and Master of the Desert
Grandia II - Fight!! Ver. 1(I know it isn't Boss but it deserves mention)
Grandia II - Fight!! Ver. 3
Tales of Symphonia Fighting of the Spirit
All Chrono Trigger boss themes
Battle With Magus(for extra emphasis)

That's my list of favourites...

How could I miss that? :(

Titania from Star Fox is awesome too, doncha know.

There is just far too many great boss themes to list!

I like all the chrono trigger boss themes, especially the battle with Azala, but my favourite for the moment anyway, is the Earthbbound boss music. It's so unlike anyother boss music out there and it's still awesome.

My tags say Hamauzu. They could be wrong. I'll check my OST.

OST book says Hamauzu.

Somehow, I don't think any rock pieces will fit FF XI. Therefore, I choose Beyond the Wasteland (FF VII advent children) for the creator of this thread question. Eventhough it's not the boss theme whatsoever, but I think it'll fit.
But since the thread's title is "your favorite boss music", I add Star ocean till the end of time: The divine spirit of language to our list.

There are so many freaking boss themes I like, but two that come to mind as all-time favorites are from Final Fantasy VIII: "Maybe I'm a Lion" and "The Extreme." And, at the moment, I can't remember the final one from Parasite Eve, but I liked that a lot too.

Lets see...there's been so many I have a hard time thinking of my favorites. But here's a few that spring to mind:

Ninja Gaiden (Xbox) - Alma Awakened
Beyond Good and Evil - The Choral Fight
Beyond Good and Evil - The Reaper Fight
Breakdown - Battle with Solus
Monster Hunter - Lau-Shun Long battle: areas 3 & 4
Panzer Dragoon Saga - Atolm Dragon
Parasite Eve - UB
Soul Reaver - Ozar Midrashim (final Kain Fight theme)
Star Fox Assault - Aparoid Queen Battle 1 and 2
Chrono Trigger - World Revolution
Shadow of the Colossus - Revived Power ~Battle With the Colossus~
Shadow of the Colossus - Counterattack ~Battle With the Colossus~
Shadow of the Colossus - A Despair-filled Farewell ~Battle With the Colossus~

And while not technically just boss battles, Megalith -Angus Dei- from Ace Combat 4 and Sidecar-Escape from the Fortress from Metal Gear Solid 3 are worthy of mention.

[Disc 4]
Masashi Hamauzu (4~9, 11, 13, 16 & 18)
Junya Nakano (1, 10, 12 & 17)
Nobuo Uematsu (1~4, 6, 8, 9, 13~16, 19 & 21)

from Gmronline

I'll scan the OST book at work on Monday, but it definately says Hamauzu.

No even mistaking the symbols. Uematsu is a filled in star, Nakano is an empty star, and Hamauzu is an X with 4 dots in it.

I really like the "Final Boss Theme" from the Shin Megami Tensei Devil Children Game Music Arrange Tracks album. Probably my favorite track from Motoi Sakuraba. And most of the boss music from Final Fantasy that has been re-done by the Black Mages is awesome as well, though my personal favorite is "Force Your Way" from eight.

I checked squaresound/ square enix music - my apologies, it looks like hamauzu did compose the track. GMRonline really need to sort out the translation errors :P

Darkness Nova - Legend of Mana
Pain the Universe - Legend of Mana

And from left field, as it were...
 

...come these recommendations:

• 'Megalith ~ Agnus Dei' (Ace Combat 4)
• 'Zero' (Ace Combat Zero)
• 'Grabacr' (Ace Combat 5)
• 'Invincible' (Emperor: Battle for Dune)
• 'Treadstone Assassins (The Bourne Identity)
• 'Battle at the Superportal' (Prey)

* Secret of Mana - Danger (yeah, I'm one of the crazy Europeans who think SoM is one of the best RPGs ever! :D)
* Secret of Mana - The Sorcerer (I can understand if someone says "wtf?" but I like it :D)
* Secret of Evermore - ??? (the music which you hear if you battle against the swamp monster e. g.; yes, it's monotone but I like the drumming)
* Final Fantasy XII - Esper Battle
* Final Fantasy X - Summoned Boss Battle
* Chrono Trigger - The Last Battle

Boss tunes are usually the high point of OST's for me.

Danger, The Oracle, Meridian Dance-Secret of Mana
Hightension Wire and The Sacrifice, part two-Seiken Densetsu 3
The Darkness Nova, Irwin on Reflection-Legend of Mana
Boss 1, Battle with Thraxx, Battle with Carltron-Secret of Evermore
Evil Beast-Children of Mana
Boss Theme-Secret of the Stars(What? Its nostalgia for me)
Vs. Liz and Ard, Vs. Lord Blazer-Wild ARMS 2

Supreme Ruler of the Nine Heavens from Baten Kaitos is the supreme ruler of all music, to me.

P.S. I'm *guessing* it's a boss theme, haven't actually played the game. If it's not, throw that boss song from Dirge of Cerberus in there - something like Immaculate.

Boss Battle - Kirby Super Star
Marx - Kirby Super Star
Boss - Kirby 64
Miracle Matter - Kirby 64
Zero Two - Kirby 64

I have a lot of favorites:

Area 88 U.N. Squadron---Boss
Mega Man 7---Boss 1
Ar Tonelico---Brave Beat (Boss theme, maybe?)
DQVIII---Break through the Barrier
Kingdom Hearts 2---Dance to the Death
Kingdom Hearts 2---Sinister Shadows
Wild ARMS 4---Ghost of the Knights
SaGa Frontier---Battle 2,3 (awesome songs)
Mega Man X5---Zero vs. X
Jak 2---Boss Battle theme with the Baron

I'll add another one I just heard recently:

Dragon Quest VIII Sorato Umito Daichito Norowareshi Himegimi Symphonic Suite: Dormaguez ~ Great Battle in the Vast Sky

Thank freakin god for the Galbadian Hotel, or else I would have never been able to reminisce on the couple of games nobody else mentioned yet:

Threads of Fate

The boss themes (the only battles which have their own music, anyways) are very minimalistic in style, instead of trying to be right out there in the forefront. But it serves as perfect tension for the battles.

And the Doll Master theme, because that's just too awesome.

Parasite Eve:

Plosive Attack is like the techno/acid version of Those Who Fight Further. It's so awesome.

And the third form final boss music is wonderful.

MMX 3:boss
MMx:boss
MMX Command mission boss



'm tired right now...so that's all I can think of at the moment....XD

Oh wow....

I have so many....

"Challenge" (FFX)
"Seymour Battle" (FFX)
"Summoned Beast Battle" (FFX)

"One Winged Angel" (FFVII)

"One Winged Angel Ultimate Remix" (Kingdom Hearts)

"Maybe I'm a Lion" (FFVIII)

"Neclord's Theme" (Suikoden I and II)

"Shuyin"(I think it's called): (FFX-2)

"Black as Sin, red as Blood" (Wild ARMS 3)--What a title.....
"Wild Bunch" (WA3)--It's got that "bluesy" part.

That's "Demise."

Okay. I wasn't sure, since that's who you're battling at the time.

Thanks.

Right now, I think that Tsuyoshi Sekito's "Final Battle with Saruin" from Romancing SaGa - Minstrel Song is the greatest and most addictive (final) boss music I've ever heard. I just can't have enough of it.

what a tough question dude!
let me see

FFVIII The Extreme
FFVII One winged Angel
FFIV Zeromus
FFVII Those who fight futher

Another one I like is "Fighting of the Spirit" by Motoi Sakuraba, for Tales of Phantasia. I've never played the game, but I assume it's a boss theme. It's so good that Sakuraba himself encored it in Tales of Symphonia :D

- First Boss music of Thunder Force IV
- Boss Theme of Wonderboy III
- Festival of Servants in Castlevania SOTN
- Streets of Rage Last boss (Mr. X)

"Fighting of the Spirit" is by Shinji Tamura and is a summon battle theme (no idea if one should consider it as boss music).

Ah, good to know. Well, whatever it was used for, I love that track :D

I'm a big fan of battle themes (from RPGs particularly). Not much of a surprise but my favourite boss battle music is the excellent "Summoned Beast Battle" from FF10. I've always liked the intensity and energy of the track, as well as the great build-up.

Coming a close second would be "Femmes Fatales" and "UB" from Parasite Eve (tied). Wonderful electronica by Shimomura on these two tracks with her usual touch of sophistication and elegance. "Someone Calls Me" is also pretty high on my list though it's a kind of unconventional for a boss theme. Love the piano (and the "Eve vocals" :P).

Other notable boss battle tracks include:

1) "Premonition" and "The Extreme" from FF8 - Very cool and satisfying. Always thought "Premonition's" rendition of "Liberi Fatali" was one of the better versions on the soundtrack.

2) "China Ogre," "Hardcore to the Brain," "Astaroth" (the arranged version is also very neat), "Glint of Light" and "Light Crossing Boder" from various Shadow Hearts games. They're all pretty creative and refeshing as far as boss themes go. My favourite has got to be "Light Crossing Boder"; it's incredibly catchy and has a great sense of urgency to it.

3) "Unite, Descent" from FF: Crystal Chronicles. A lot of people don't really appreciate the FF:CC soundtrack but I like it enough. And this boss theme is fantastic. Very rhythmic and percussive, with a great ominous atmosphere to complete the package.

4) "Fight, Chocobo!" from Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon. Very spunky and catchy, this short track captures much of what I adore in boss themes.

5) "Battle with the Devil" from Tsugunai. A lot of Mitsuda's pieces from this era sound fairly similar but one that kind of stood out was this boss theme. In some ways, it feels like an extension of "China Ogre" thanks to the percussion line.

6) "Point of No Return" from Sailing to the World. The game this track came from (The Seventh Seal) was very mediocre but there were some excellent pieces of music like this one. This boss theme uses a similar vocal sample as "Astaroth" but the track as a whole is tighter and more exciting. Pity the track plays only once, and in an optional boss battle at that.

7) "Boss F," "Fight02" and "Boss Z2" from various Sword of Xuan Yuan games. My fascination with Taiwanese wuxia games has led me to some great game music finds. Of which, the aforementioned boss themes are terrific, with very nice oriental touches. Some of you might remember the "chaotic" (and thus unlistenable :P) "Boss F" from SotW and "Fight02" from the BSC 2006 preliminaries. "Boss Z2" comes in two flavours, a rock-like final boss theme and a more conventional RPG-esque boss battle track.

8) "DA Boss 1 Modern" and "DA Boss 2" from Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption. A lot of the boss themes from this game are very nice and both of these tracks are among my favourites. They're very high on the gothic factor and have ominous choral work to boot. :P

Could go on even more but I guess I'll just stop now.

"Final Destination" - Tales Of Symphonia; suited the final boss extremely well as it was a composition of a good deal of the chracter (and his home terotroy's) themes

"forze de male" - Kingdom hearts; Epic put into music form.

I really like some of the tracks on the Kameo: Elements of Power soundtrack. Steve Burke did it and I believe the last track "Danger in the Sky" is the final boss music. :) I do recommend it.

Hmm, can anyone post the correct composition notes? I'd like to fix up my tags.

As for boss battle themes...

1. "Battle With Specter" (Ape Escape 2) - Pretty funky with a touch of rock

2. "Monkey Yellow Face Off!" (Ape Escape 3) - Nice ninja-esque sound

3. "godsibb" (Xenosaga III) - The vocals intertiwne really well with the background melody

4. "The Chase" (Suikoden II) - The nostalgia factor majorly effects this one

5. "Gothic Neclord" (Suikoden II) - Damn, call me a fanboy but I really love this song

6. "Clean Hit" (Breath of Fire II) - I'm surprised this one's in here...for some reason as soon as I heard it first I was captivated =/. Are there any remixes of this song out there..?

7. "Force Your Way" (Final Fantasy VIII) - The essence of Uematsu, IMO (overstatement)

8. "Premonition" (Final Fantasy VIII) - An awesome song for an awesome fight (I hope The Black Mages arrange this on their next album...)

9. "Seymour Battle" (Final Fantasy X) - Damn good song, I like The Black Mages' version more than the original

10. "Dancing Mad" (Final Fantasy VI) - The awesome thing about "Dancing Mad" is it goes for so long, which just prolongs the great aural experience

I couldn't have had my list without any FF...by the way, this is in no order and may not even be my favourites, just some that came to mind as I was writing this.

Phantasy Star IV: Laughter
Shining Force: Darksol (extra goodness for those who've played Shining in the Darkness to completion)
Digital Devil Saga: Hari-Hara 1&2, Brahman
Nocturne: Dante Battle
War of Genesis: The Devil's Rhapsody

Anything that has an aggressive pace, good instrumentation, and a nice, dark sound (by which I mean a song that's definitely for the villain and not for the hero) is generally enough to win me over. However, there was one "heroic" battle theme that made my jaw drop.

Wild Arms 2nd Ignition: Battle with Lord Blazer.

Main theme rearrange comin liek WUT. Short and repetitive as is Naruke's style, but still fucking amazing.