VGChartz's Top 50 Final Fantasy Songs (50 - 41) - Article
by Taneli Palola , posted on 05 October 2016 / 14,858 Views
Hello and welcome to the first installment of a new series of articles counting down the best music the Final Fantasy series has to offer. Over the course of five articles we'll list the top 50 Final Fantasy songs, as decided by votes cast on the VGChartz forums over the last few weeks. If you want to see the criteria used in counting the votes, please check out the first post in the forum thread here.
Now, before we get started, here are a few interesting facts about the votes cast:
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99 different songs from 21 different games received points from the voting process.
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All but one game in the mainline Final Fantasy series got at least one vote. The shunned outcast that received none? Final Fantasy II.
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There were several games which, despite receiving votes, fell short of making it onto the list proper. These games were Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy XI, and Final Fantasy Tactics.
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Final Fantasy VIII had the highest number of individual songs that received votes with 15, followed by VII with 14. However, Final Fantasy X received the highest point total.
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Predictably, Nobuo Uematsu is by far the most represented composer on the list, but a few other composers also received some love for their music. They were Hitoshi Sakimoto, Masayoshi Soken, Yoko Shimomura, Takeharu Ishimoto, and Kumi Tamioka.
One last note about the naming of the songs featured on the list. I used the song names from the official soundtrack releases, which means that there are most likely going to be some songs below that you'll know better by some other name. Final Fantasy IX especially has a lot of songs known by various different names.
50. Battle 2 – Final Fantasy IV
Kicking things off is the boss battle theme from Final Fantasy IV. This is one of the old favourites from the series and is among the more memorable songs from a game that was only the second Final Fantasy title to release in the west. This is also the only song from Final Fantasy IV that made it into the top 50, although the song ranked 51st was also from the game, so only narrowly missed out on a spot on the list.
49. Twilight Over Thanalan – Final Fantasy XIV
The original release of Final Fantasy XIV wasn't exactly a great success for Square Enix; the game was roundly panned by critics and fans alike. However, it did have one notable high point – the soundtrack, which was composed by Nobuo Uematsu, who returned to the series for the first time since Final Fantasy XI. Twilight Over Thanalan is one of three songs from the game that made it into the top 50.
48. Saber's Edge – Final Fantasy XIII
Saying that Final Fantasy XIII was a divisive entry into the long-running series is to put it mildly. Almost everything about the game, from the gameplay to the story and characters, received highly mixed reviews. It has both ardent fans and harsh detractors. The music is one of the aspects of the game that received a positive reception from most. The score was crafted by Masashi Hamauzu, and marked his second time composing music for a mainline Final Fantasy game, after first contributing music to Final Fantasy X.
47. The Darkness of Eternity – Final Fantasy IX
The first of the many final boss themes on the list makes its way in at number 47. Interestingly, while Final Fantasy IX doesn't perhaps have quite as huge a following as some other games in the series, on this list there are more songs from that game than any other (a total of 9). The main reason for this is that votes for FFIX songs spread out quite evenly, while other popular games had a very clear distinction between the few most popular songs and the rest.
46. Assault of the Silver Dragons – Final Fantasy IX
Speaking of Final Fantasy IX, here's another song from the game that made its way into the top 50. Assault of the Silver Dragons is among the more “epic” and bombastic songs from a soundtrack that is generally quite warm and calm. Originally, Final Fantasy IX had an absolutely massive soundtrack, with Uematsu composing 160 songs for the game in less than a year. However, many of them ended up not being used due to size constraints.
45. Aria di Mezzo Carattere – Final Fantasy VI
One of the most memorable and important moments in the entire history of Final Fantasy is the opera scene from FFVI. It broke boundaries on what could be achieved in video games back in the SNES days. Consoles back then were barely able to produce short snippets of mumbled speech, and yet Squaresoft basically created an entire opera within the confines of a 16-bit video game console, and did it believably. The opera was divided into four parts, each with its own mood, setting, and accompanying music. The part that made it into this list is the famous second scene, where Maria sings about her love for Draco. It is one of the most powerful scenes in any SNES game, made even more impressive when one remembers the restrictions the developers had to work within while making it.
44. Love Grows – Final Fantasy VIII
Love Grows is probably not among the most well known tracks from Final Fantasy VIII, but it is definitely a very good song from an overall excellent soundtrack in my opinion. The song uses the same melody as the game's main vocal theme, Eyes On Me, which may or may not appear later on in this countdown. It is often used as the central theme in scenes focusing on Squall and Rinoa, the game's two main protagonists. The entire score has numerous wonderful songs to choose from, and this is certainly one of them.
43. The Birth of God – Final Fantasy VII
The Birth of God is an interesting song to talk about, largely due to how often it is completely forgotten about in conversations discussing the music of Final Fantasy VII, despite it being an excellent track in its own right. It plays during the first phase of the battle against Sephiroth and provides an excellent and memorable background to one of the most remarkable final battles in the entire series. Unfortunately for it, a certain other song that played just after this one went on to become one of the most recognisable pieces of music in the history of video games. Regardless, this is still an excellent piece of music that deserves to be remembered alongside its more famous brethren.
42. Ravana's Theme (The Hand That Gives the Rose / Unbending Steel) – Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward
Following the relaunch of Final Fantasy XIV, the game's music was among the many things that received a near complete overhaul. While some of the tracks composed by Uematsu still remain in the game, most of the music in The Realm Reborn version of the game was created by Masayoshi Soken, including the two songs that make up the battle theme for the Ravana fight, which comes from the game's first big expansion - Heavensward. The first half is known as “The Hand That Gives the Rose”, and the second is “Unbending Steel”, both of which can be heard in the above video (the second part begins at 5:25). The whole battle theme almost feels like a scene from an opera with the singer in the second part and a chanting chorus in the background.
41. The Wavering Blade – Final Fantasy IX
Rounding out the first part of this countdown is another battle theme, this time from Final Fantasy IX. The Wavering Blade plays during each of the battles against the Alexandrian general, Beatrix. The name is one of the hints the game gives towards Beatrix's increasing unease towards the actions of her queen during the war against the neighbouring kingdoms. The song has an unusual, almost sombre tone, which goes against the grain of what is generally expected from RPG battle themes. However, at the same time it still expertly manages to accentuate the threat that Beatrix poses. She is one of the greatest warriors in the game's world, and this song establishes that brilliantly.
That wraps up the bottom ten tracks in this countdown. Stay tuned for part 2, which will be the most varied entry in this article series, featuring 10 unique songs from 10 different games. We'll also be taking a look at some of the songs that just missed the top 50. Until then, thanks for reading.
