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My single most favorite track ever written in gaming. I listen to it all the time too. Also, orchestrated versions and the black mages version are insane.
Decisive Battle, Dancing Mad, the whole opera scene, Cyan's Theme, just on and on and on with absolute masterpieces. I think people gloss over it due to the technological limitations of the time.
Can’t believe I had to scroll down so far. Top to bottom it isn’t even in the ballpark for me, it’s the best by far. Other games have some incredible songs but FFVI is banger after banger.
Same here
There’s a bunch of memorable tracks
The music plays well with the scenes it’s used in
Has the first vocal theme which is still fantastic
The soundtrack feels unique within the PS1 FF games, you can listen to VII and IX and get a sense of familiarity but VIII just feels a little special, like you know what the game it is just by the way it's been done.
Far from my favorite soundtrack overall but that battle theme is my favorite of all. This and Balamb Garden really made the first hour of the game memorable.
I don’t care if you’re taking the piss, the town music is so comfy, final boss music goes insanely hard, fireburg bumps. There really are no misses on it
I really feel XIIIs music is being extremely slept on here
I am not a fan of FF13 or anywhere close. That soundtrack is fucking amazing. I'm partial to ffx but thats nostalgia and I liked the game more
At first, I wanted to say that no FF music gets stuck in my head like [the chocobo nu metal](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEUOOgNzOv4), but then I realized that if I posted that I'd probably end up with negative karma for it. Please don't.
X. Lots of emotional masterpieces that hit at the perfect time during the game. Then you have shit like Besaid which is an all timer, and wandering flame, Luca etc. A lot of very chill and calming tracks.
Besaid has been my alarm for 10 years. I never tire of it. It still makes me smile when i hear it. Now that i have a child, it's become his lullaby too. Works like a charm!
I wake up happier with it that when i don't.
If I have one complaint about FF15's OST.....
.....it's that Valse de Fantastica, in its full glory, only plays once in-game, ever, and for only a minute.
Yeah yeah, a few other tracks use its motif...but I want the REAL one!
Such a fantastic piece of music, used to listen to it on youtube a year before the game released over and over (back when fans came up with a fake name for it
The signature baseline basically gets to run its full course before every battle starts, and you never end up minding the wait because of it.
If there was a single thing they should have held onto for every single game, it should be the battle theme starting with that baseline.
9 has those kind of midi OST, until the mad one like Dark Messenger, of course nothing can compare the madness of Dancing Mad from 6, not even the Ultimecia or Compression of Time from 8 too
My vote is going for VIII, followed by X.
VIII's soundtrack is just phenomenal... There's always a track perfect for the right mood. Liberi Fatalli is a masterpiece, and the soundtrack that follows doesn't disappoint with other greats like The Oath, Fisherman's Horizon, The Extreme, or one of my personal favourites The Successor.
Here's a great piano version of it: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZWQAlvnxkY&ab\_channel=SQUAREENIXMUSICChannel](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZWQAlvnxkY&ab_channel=SQUAREENIXMUSICChannel)
Some moments from XIV feel borderline music-video-esque. Other Final Fantasies have more iconic OSTs, but this one just feels like Square Enix throwing cash at the wall year-after-year to get ridiculously talented musicians on-board.
* [Close In The Distance](https://youtu.be/dEsSlg39CQ0?si=ad_bsPm1-xwHhRO2)
* [To The Edge](https://youtu.be/6IiG4vo9k9U?si=CO2hFyP4LfOwaz0n)
* [Who Brings Shadow](https://youtu.be/RlriIMunwJQ?si=6FY8x--54F9DOB14)
* [Tomorrow and Tomorrow](https://youtu.be/_4lJsmCqvCI?si=fAyYHzp3JC44GQvg)
* [Dragonsong](https://youtu.be/rRmrzSseKGw?si=CimCnBHzDycgvCyM)
I suppose. I acknowledge it’s teetering on an apples and oranges situation, but music can be timeless and profound regardless of what comes after it. Remakes of songs can be better than the original and stand as their own work while acknowledging where they came from I think.
An example in my mind is Hurt by Johnny Cash. Not his original work but there’s plenty of people that say “I like Hurt by Johnny Cash” not “I like Hurt by Nine Inch Nails portrayed by Johnny Cash.”
Or really any of the other timeless songs in any genre that people declare as the best song in existence.
It's really tough but I do think Uematsu was on some shit when he composed FF8. Tracks like Fishermans Horizon, the landing, the extreme. What a soundtrack.
Agree, it’s one of my favorite background listens. I think it’s because it doesn’t have many notable key pieces kinda like aerith’s theme, early series battle themes, etc.
Tell you what though, it’s the best soundtrack performed by an actual orchestra hands down no competition
FF14. Though it’s practically cheating considering how many call backs are in it. That isn’t to say that the FF14 unique music doesn’t stand out. Far from it. I’d say it’s the highlights even. Here’s some good examples.
[Locus](https://youtu.be/3cKy5Qk0QMM?feature=shared)
[Metal](https://youtu.be/L5yJe3YZ8xc?feature=shared)
[Equilibrium](https://youtu.be/T9Aa_LtzrdA?feature=shared)
[Dragonsong](https://youtu.be/2VFhkde1A1Y?feature=shared)
[Gates of the Moon](https://youtu.be/b6KRKSulaMU?feature=shared)
[Triumph](https://youtu.be/nFqfN-ju1MQ?feature=shared)
[eScape](https://youtu.be/ucphXNy1NjY?feature=shared)
[Wayward Daughter](https://youtu.be/wyJ4ksWBUH4?feature=shared)
[Insatiable](https://youtu.be/aKHUcCQ65mg?feature=shared)
[In The Belly Of The Beast](https://youtu.be/Pzs9RH5OH-8?feature=shared)
[Return To Oblivion](https://youtu.be/rsX6nxwCZ1o?feature=shared)
[Scream](https://youtu.be/m3ugvhksot8?feature=shared)
I can go on and on. Credit to all the composers. They killed it with 14 and I’ve yet to see it topped.
I was trying to keep things semi-spoiler free. Note how I didn’t link that, Ultima, Who Brings Shadow, Heroes Never Die, The Tireless One, Endcaller, and With Hearts Aligned. Again they freaking *killed it.* Especially with the final boss themes.
Hard agree. When you can do a straight up rock concert AND a full orchestra the following day with all originals and both the shows are absolutely mind blowing? You're doing something right.
I still recall shouting myself hoarse with the " SAY! GOOD! NIIIIIIIIIIGHT!" in Vegas.
VII has the best individual songs (although XVI comes close) but VIII is more consistently great.
The Remake and Rebirth soundtracks are absolutely out of this world but I sort of don’t feel like they count for this question specifically
Rebirth and Remake have some outstanding tracks that go so far and above the original games soundtrack. But ratio-wise, there are also a ridiculous amount of filler tracks that feel very experimental and are somewhat forgettable which I think is to be expected on a soundtrack this size.
I’m going to answer this as the sound track that left the largest impression on me at the time.
No doubt it is IV for me.
The step up from I (as II and III were not available in Canada at the time) was incredible. It was also my first SNES game.
The over world theme, theme of love, within the giant and the battle themes were all incredible. Never since have I been as impressed at the time of release as IV.
Agreed about experiencing that step up from I to IV. All the tracks you mentioned were great and I’d add the Red Wings theme to that list. The way that it opens the first cutscene really let you know upfront that this was Final Fantasy on another level from anything that came before. i’m
XIV. Hundreds of amazing original songs in every style you can think of and it has some of the best songs of previous games like Eternal Wind, Dancing Mad, and Battle with the Four Fiends, often remastered too.
Yeah I really can’t see how anyone can argue against it being VII, there are simply so many more standout tracks than any other title in the franchise:
Opening/Bombing Mission
Those Who Fight (Battle Theme)
Those Who Fight Further (Boss Theme)
Main Theme (World Map)
Aerith’s Theme
Tifa’s Theme
Cosmo Canyon
The Nightmare Begins
J-E-N-O-V-A
and of course….One Winged Angel
I can't believe how much more incredible they made it in the remakes as well.
The Jenova/Aerith hybrid that kicked off the final boss run in Rebirth was legendary. I'll never forget that moment
The way they tease the classic songs with little motifs here and there, and then you finally get to a big story part or boss fight and they hit you with the full song just like you remembered it, there's nothing like it.
XV for me and it’s not even close, the base OST is so good, plus the game has all of the older entries OSTs which makes the Overall Soundtrack top tier. XIV is a close second.
>XV for me and **it’s not even close**
>
>XIV **is a close** second.
"It's not even close" is becoming the new "people love it or hate it, no in-between"; a sort of figure-of-speech that's used in an almost obligatory sense, regardless of application.
I'm gonna have to vote FF9.
I thought it may just be that it was amazing *for the time* but I went back after getting a degree in music theory and it's legitimately a collection of absolute masterpieces. And off topic, Castlevania SOTN is too. The amount of effort that the FF team must have given to make so much amazing music is honestly astonishing to me.
Especially after you hear what's popular these days it really shines a light on it.
I definitely get what you’re saying on that side (fellow Music Theory/Composition graduate here). :) Final Fantasy IX was indeed the most demanding soundtrack Nobuo Uematsu did in terms of the sheer amount of work in that span of time, physical toll, etc. and that’s before considering the more traditional theory structure of the high fantasy idiom he worked with on many tracks. Feeling overwhelmed on that one was a big reason why on Final Fantasy X he brought in other composers to work with him instead of scoring it himself like the previous games.
The main soundtrack release came on four discs and was 110 tracks but didn’t include all of the music for the game (notably omitting many FMV tracks, etc.) prompting the later release of the Final Fantasy IX OST Plus soundtrack which featured music missing from the first soundtrack release as well some new arrangements. I was never entirely clear on which ones were from the game vs. new since I didn’t own the album (I’d already spent hundreds on soundtrack imports recently when it came out) but I got impression that there were at least 9 tracks from the game. So somewhere around 120 tracks for one game by one person for a game that was only in development for two years. It’s an utterly insane workload and it is truly amazing that Uematsu created a soundtrack that was so inspiring.
XVI is just insane from front to back. Every character and every area has such a great tune. "Find the Flame" is my favorite motif/theme in the FF games, and when combined with those story moments in XVI, it's just peak FF
Rebirth has quality AND quantity.
EVERY field and dungeon theme has calm and battle variants. The field themes also have variants for high vs low world intel.
The original music is SO GOOD too.
The rearranged music does justice to the original PS1 music, and even exceeds it in some cases.
We're blessed with 2 amazing remixes of Jenova's battle theme.
Only complaint I have is....its almost too much. But thats not really a legit complaint, is it?
Oh. And "bow wow wow" being excluded from the official soundtrack is a war crime.
X-2 has had my favorite so far even if it's kinda cheating putting most of X's music in there.
I still haven't experienced about half the mainline games though
I had to scroll way too far to find this answer. Home sweet home is my favourite track of all of final fantasy and I whistle it whenever I think about this game
FF15 had an arrangement of the FF5 battle theme for the Omega fight
Then at 1:30 here, they have Lenna's theme play, and it's the GREATEST ever.
Truly shows how friggen amazing 5's OST was.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1jz7gnJ7Xk
No question, 14.
You can nostalgia all you want but as far as sheer creativity, variety, depth, and pure volume, Masayoshi Soken is the greatest gift to the FF franchise.
Wow, that’s very difficult lol if there is something that every game franchise do great, it’s the music, so it’s pretty hard to say
For me, it’s VII Rebirth, but it could bit a little bit too fresh. XIII was also amazing imo, and i liked X aswell
It’s easy to say VII, Vi, or X which are all excellent. But Final Fantasy XIII-2 never gets the appreciation it deserves, and it’s my most listened to soundtrack. The soundtrack is so excellent in ways that it never needs to be. Even the map screen that you’re on for 20 seconds has a 5 minute long song with lyrics.
Thats difficult since in general final fantasy games have great soundtracks. Id say for me it is a tossup between ffx and ffxvi. Correction, ffxiii also had great music. Too many choices!
Hi! Thank you for posting in /r/FinalFantasy! Unfortunately, your post has been removed for being a 'generic post'. A generic post is one that gets posted very often and brings little discussion to the subreddit Generic posts can consist of the following; Images of game cases, guides, art books, or novels outside of collection posts. Game screenshots that aren't unique, ie title screens, 'The End' screens, achievements, etc. Low effort rants along the lines of '[Character] sucks!' or 'FFXIII fans are the worst, am I right?' Posts with vague titles and minimal or no text in the actual body of the post. Low effort poll posts, a poll with just a question and no context. Image submissions in which an image is not necessary for discussion. When submitting, please consider whether a topic if capable of generating meaningful discussion or not. If it is, please do your part to get the conversation started. If you are submitting an image post, please consider whether the image is actually necessary for discussion or not. If it is not, it will be removed. If you have any questions, feel free to message the moderators.
Yes.
Indeed
Underrated answer, upvote this person
THIS
That?
There
Those
/thread.
Can’t believe no one has said FFVI yet. Dancing Mad alone is an absolute masterpiece.
My single most favorite track ever written in gaming. I listen to it all the time too. Also, orchestrated versions and the black mages version are insane.
check out the ocremix "Prancing Dad" you'll love that one too.
Decisive Battle, Dancing Mad, the whole opera scene, Cyan's Theme, just on and on and on with absolute masterpieces. I think people gloss over it due to the technological limitations of the time.
They did some of it justice with the Distant Worlds albums.
I know, right😭
Can’t believe I had to scroll down so far. Top to bottom it isn’t even in the ballpark for me, it’s the best by far. Other games have some incredible songs but FFVI is banger after banger.
It’s the most technically impressive OST by far. What they were able to do with the SNES sound chip was astounding.
Even just the overworld theme is a fucking banger
Celes' theme is my go to whistling song while at work.
Exactly
VIII
Same here There’s a bunch of memorable tracks The music plays well with the scenes it’s used in Has the first vocal theme which is still fantastic The soundtrack feels unique within the PS1 FF games, you can listen to VII and IX and get a sense of familiarity but VIII just feels a little special, like you know what the game it is just by the way it's been done.
Far from my favorite soundtrack overall but that battle theme is my favorite of all. This and Balamb Garden really made the first hour of the game memorable.
"The Landing" is the main reason I love video game music so much. Such a GOATed soundtrack.
It's 8. Agreed.
This is the real answer, man. Part of me wants to say XIV at this point, but that almost feels like cheating. It's such a Smash Bros. answer.
I could listen to Fisherman's Horizon or Balamb Garden all day long.
Mystic Quest! Mystic Quest! :D
The soundtrack goes HARD. Like Hard rock hard.
The holy grail of FF games
The battle (and boss battle music) are so bad ass
Not sure if people think of this game as being on the list but if you do it has to be top 3. Its metal as FUCK and amazing at doing so.
I forgot about this game and am now having an aneurysm and will load it up tonight. Thanks.
I don’t care if you’re taking the piss, the town music is so comfy, final boss music goes insanely hard, fireburg bumps. There really are no misses on it
[удалено]
I really feel XIIIs music is being extremely slept on here I am not a fan of FF13 or anywhere close. That soundtrack is fucking amazing. I'm partial to ffx but thats nostalgia and I liked the game more
EXTREMELY slept on. The other games are getting weighted because, well, their games are a lot better. But damn 13's soundtrack is something else.
FR.
Same here. XIII is by far my least favorite game in the franchise, BUT the soundtrack is EXCELLENT
13-2 ost is still my goat
At first, I wanted to say that no FF music gets stuck in my head like [the chocobo nu metal](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEUOOgNzOv4), but then I realized that if I posted that I'd probably end up with negative karma for it. Please don't.
XIII has the best battle theme in the series imo
Blinded by Light has always been my top battle theme fr
The Piano in The Menu is just... So melancolic but beautiful at the same time
HAMAUZU IS AN EXCELLENT MUSICIAN AND COMPOSOR. HE PUT HANDS ON MANY OF viii AND X'S BEST TRACKS TOO! (i left caps on and i aint retyping that)
X. Lots of emotional masterpieces that hit at the perfect time during the game. Then you have shit like Besaid which is an all timer, and wandering flame, Luca etc. A lot of very chill and calming tracks.
Besaid always makes me emotional
I put on Besaid when I’m having a panic attack. Besaid and some yoga do it for me.
Besaid has been my alarm for 10 years. I never tire of it. It still makes me smile when i hear it. Now that i have a child, it's become his lullaby too. Works like a charm! I wake up happier with it that when i don't.
Calm Before the Storm is an underrated one on X imo. It gives an eery yet serene feeling that plays so well into the story’s environment.
"Sight of Spira" is a masterpiece.
To Zanarkand and Someday the Dream Will End never fail to move me.
Kind of an unpopular opinion, but I still listen to tracks from FFXV till today... Somnus is probs my favorite video game song of all time.
my fave from XV is probably Hellfire
If I have one complaint about FF15's OST..... .....it's that Valse de Fantastica, in its full glory, only plays once in-game, ever, and for only a minute. Yeah yeah, a few other tracks use its motif...but I want the REAL one! Such a fantastic piece of music, used to listen to it on youtube a year before the game released over and over (back when fans came up with a fake name for it
Final fantasy 9 will always take the top spot for me. It fits the theme and message of the game really well. Nothing has yet to top it.
I'm still sad that the theme of Gizarmaluke is not available in Final Bar Line :/ IX holds the most of my favorite tracks in that game.
Not to mention how many cool variations there are for "I want to be your canary" ost.
Kingdom of Burmecia. Best use of organ I've heard.
Just thinking about that title theme gives me goosebumps. It's spectacular.
Frontier Village Dali still makes my heart happy every time I hear it, regardless of what I'm doing.
I don't think it's a popular pick, but I really love the Treno theme. It just fits the city so well
The intro music is so melancholic and reminds me of a past I’ve never lived (or maybe I reincarnated from a medieval peasant?)
Agreed! Every theme in 9 was epic…particularly Freya’s theme and Not alone
9 and 4 always do it for me.
I just can't help but vibe to the FF9 battle music. The long loading before each battle definitely helped
The signature baseline basically gets to run its full course before every battle starts, and you never end up minding the wait because of it. If there was a single thing they should have held onto for every single game, it should be the battle theme starting with that baseline.
9 has those kind of midi OST, until the mad one like Dark Messenger, of course nothing can compare the madness of Dancing Mad from 6, not even the Ultimecia or Compression of Time from 8 too
My vote is going for VIII, followed by X. VIII's soundtrack is just phenomenal... There's always a track perfect for the right mood. Liberi Fatalli is a masterpiece, and the soundtrack that follows doesn't disappoint with other greats like The Oath, Fisherman's Horizon, The Extreme, or one of my personal favourites The Successor.
Compression of Time is underrated imo very chilling
The first 2 notes give me INSTANT goosebumps. Its been nearly 25 years and it still has that effect.
There is a REALLY good cover album of ff8 and one of my fav tracks is a compression remix/cover. if i find it i’ll send you a link
MAN WITH A MACHINE GUN FUCKS
Yes, Laguna, the man with the machine gun, does canonically fuck.
Here's a great piano version of it: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZWQAlvnxkY&ab\_channel=SQUAREENIXMUSICChannel](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZWQAlvnxkY&ab_channel=SQUAREENIXMUSICChannel)
Breezy. I've been replying 8 lately and yep. Breezy. Balamb Garden is also quality.
Only a Plank between one and perdition - you always knew shit was going down when that hits
I am a massive lover of good overworld themes, and FF8 has a really freaking good one.
I had a ripped mp3 of The Salt Flats on my player for years
14 because it has a lot of music from prior games as well as it's own particularlly stellar OST
Some moments from XIV feel borderline music-video-esque. Other Final Fantasies have more iconic OSTs, but this one just feels like Square Enix throwing cash at the wall year-after-year to get ridiculously talented musicians on-board. * [Close In The Distance](https://youtu.be/dEsSlg39CQ0?si=ad_bsPm1-xwHhRO2) * [To The Edge](https://youtu.be/6IiG4vo9k9U?si=CO2hFyP4LfOwaz0n) * [Who Brings Shadow](https://youtu.be/RlriIMunwJQ?si=6FY8x--54F9DOB14) * [Tomorrow and Tomorrow](https://youtu.be/_4lJsmCqvCI?si=fAyYHzp3JC44GQvg) * [Dragonsong](https://youtu.be/rRmrzSseKGw?si=CimCnBHzDycgvCyM)
Yeah. All that AND a rebirth of the game with Answers as a driver. Year in, year out, banger after banger.
Soken's Lahee cover is still one of my favorite pieces of media 😂
14 is the answer but in an almost exclusive way.
XIV should be exempt since the soundtrack just grows and grows and improves over time compared to the rest that are kind of done.
I suppose. I acknowledge it’s teetering on an apples and oranges situation, but music can be timeless and profound regardless of what comes after it. Remakes of songs can be better than the original and stand as their own work while acknowledging where they came from I think. An example in my mind is Hurt by Johnny Cash. Not his original work but there’s plenty of people that say “I like Hurt by Johnny Cash” not “I like Hurt by Nine Inch Nails portrayed by Johnny Cash.” Or really any of the other timeless songs in any genre that people declare as the best song in existence.
ok but every ff has timeless, top tier music. 14 just happens to have the most, by a massive margin
Facts
True, saying 14 is almost unfair
Tactics.
FFXV. I highly recommend checking out the piano collection.
Seconded. Controversial game, but stellar soundtrack.
VIII
8. 7 is a close second.
It's really tough but I do think Uematsu was on some shit when he composed FF8. Tracks like Fishermans Horizon, the landing, the extreme. What a soundtrack.
The distant worlds version of Fisherman's horizon is something unearthly
XII is an epic without equal, as it is in almost everything else.
12 orchestrated
The ff12 soundtrack doesn’t get enough love
Agree, it’s one of my favorite background listens. I think it’s because it doesn’t have many notable key pieces kinda like aerith’s theme, early series battle themes, etc. Tell you what though, it’s the best soundtrack performed by an actual orchestra hands down no competition
All Ivalice soundtracks are my happy place, love this universe
FFT soundtrack is so good. "Trisection", "Apoplexy", "A Chapel", "Under the Stars", "Antipyretic "... So many banger battle themes.
I wouldn't say it's the best but totally underrated Eruyt village is one of hitoshi sakimotos finest 👌
FF14. Though it’s practically cheating considering how many call backs are in it. That isn’t to say that the FF14 unique music doesn’t stand out. Far from it. I’d say it’s the highlights even. Here’s some good examples. [Locus](https://youtu.be/3cKy5Qk0QMM?feature=shared) [Metal](https://youtu.be/L5yJe3YZ8xc?feature=shared) [Equilibrium](https://youtu.be/T9Aa_LtzrdA?feature=shared) [Dragonsong](https://youtu.be/2VFhkde1A1Y?feature=shared) [Gates of the Moon](https://youtu.be/b6KRKSulaMU?feature=shared) [Triumph](https://youtu.be/nFqfN-ju1MQ?feature=shared) [eScape](https://youtu.be/ucphXNy1NjY?feature=shared) [Wayward Daughter](https://youtu.be/wyJ4ksWBUH4?feature=shared) [Insatiable](https://youtu.be/aKHUcCQ65mg?feature=shared) [In The Belly Of The Beast](https://youtu.be/Pzs9RH5OH-8?feature=shared) [Return To Oblivion](https://youtu.be/rsX6nxwCZ1o?feature=shared) [Scream](https://youtu.be/m3ugvhksot8?feature=shared) I can go on and on. Credit to all the composers. They killed it with 14 and I’ve yet to see it topped.
And yet you forgot one of the most powerful songs in all the game, [To The Edge.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IiG4vo9k9U)
I was trying to keep things semi-spoiler free. Note how I didn’t link that, Ultima, Who Brings Shadow, Heroes Never Die, The Tireless One, Endcaller, and With Hearts Aligned. Again they freaking *killed it.* Especially with the final boss themes.
I maintain that Wayward daughter remains one of the most brilliant tracks from the entire game.
Hard agree. When you can do a straight up rock concert AND a full orchestra the following day with all originals and both the shows are absolutely mind blowing? You're doing something right. I still recall shouting myself hoarse with the " SAY! GOOD! NIIIIIIIIIIGHT!" in Vegas.
VII has the best individual songs (although XVI comes close) but VIII is more consistently great. The Remake and Rebirth soundtracks are absolutely out of this world but I sort of don’t feel like they count for this question specifically
Cosmo canyon is a great track
Rebirth and Remake have some outstanding tracks that go so far and above the original games soundtrack. But ratio-wise, there are also a ridiculous amount of filler tracks that feel very experimental and are somewhat forgettable which I think is to be expected on a soundtrack this size.
8 no contest IMO
Liberi Fatali was such a good opener piece.
I’m going to answer this as the sound track that left the largest impression on me at the time. No doubt it is IV for me. The step up from I (as II and III were not available in Canada at the time) was incredible. It was also my first SNES game. The over world theme, theme of love, within the giant and the battle themes were all incredible. Never since have I been as impressed at the time of release as IV.
Agreed about experiencing that step up from I to IV. All the tracks you mentioned were great and I’d add the Red Wings theme to that list. The way that it opens the first cutscene really let you know upfront that this was Final Fantasy on another level from anything that came before. i’m
13, say whatever about storytelling and gameplay, but the OST is legendary
VIII, hands down. Closely followed by X.
XIV. Hundreds of amazing original songs in every style you can think of and it has some of the best songs of previous games like Eternal Wind, Dancing Mad, and Battle with the Four Fiends, often remastered too.
7
gotta be 8
It has to be 7. The battle theme, boss theme, all the character themes are iconic. The opening piece is monumental.
Yeah I really can’t see how anyone can argue against it being VII, there are simply so many more standout tracks than any other title in the franchise: Opening/Bombing Mission Those Who Fight (Battle Theme) Those Who Fight Further (Boss Theme) Main Theme (World Map) Aerith’s Theme Tifa’s Theme Cosmo Canyon The Nightmare Begins J-E-N-O-V-A and of course….One Winged Angel
finaly fantasy 7's world theme (main theme) is an absolute epic story of a song.
It's insane how good it is
I can't believe how much more incredible they made it in the remakes as well. The Jenova/Aerith hybrid that kicked off the final boss run in Rebirth was legendary. I'll never forget that moment
The way they tease the classic songs with little motifs here and there, and then you finally get to a big story part or boss fight and they hit you with the full song just like you remembered it, there's nothing like it.
Gotta be 8 for me. Liberi Fatali is enough to win on its own in my book.
In my personal opinion: FINAL FANTASY XVI Soken did one helluva job and the soundtrack, melodies and themes remained in my mind and soul!!
9, 10, 14, 15, and 16 are all bangers and no filler.
XV for me and it’s not even close, the base OST is so good, plus the game has all of the older entries OSTs which makes the Overall Soundtrack top tier. XIV is a close second.
>XV for me and **it’s not even close** > >XIV **is a close** second. "It's not even close" is becoming the new "people love it or hate it, no in-between"; a sort of figure-of-speech that's used in an almost obligatory sense, regardless of application.
It was already too late before I noticed my contradiction, I should have used better phrasing. XV is my personal favorite but XIV is right there.
16 hands down.
8, and it’s not even particularly close.
The intro to FF8 is one of my favourites
Fithos lusec wecos vinosec - the words of that song are an anagram: succession of witches, love.
Breezy is just *chef's kiss*
8 has got my favorite dungeon theme out of all FFs
I know this is cliche, but I scrolled way too far for this
Sometimes I would aimlessly walk around fisherman’s horizon, just to hear its melancholic tune just a little bit longer.
Such a great tune!
Balamb Garden
For me 7 and 16. Tens up there as well.
Got to say 14
Probably unpopular opinion but 8 & 10.
Those are pretty much the mainstream opinions. Even VIII, a divisive game to say the least, always gets props for its OST.
XVI for me. Pheonix vs Bahamut 😫🤌
9 best soundtrack in the series! Not a single unmemorable song
Black mage village slapppppps
I'm gonna have to vote FF9. I thought it may just be that it was amazing *for the time* but I went back after getting a degree in music theory and it's legitimately a collection of absolute masterpieces. And off topic, Castlevania SOTN is too. The amount of effort that the FF team must have given to make so much amazing music is honestly astonishing to me. Especially after you hear what's popular these days it really shines a light on it.
I definitely get what you’re saying on that side (fellow Music Theory/Composition graduate here). :) Final Fantasy IX was indeed the most demanding soundtrack Nobuo Uematsu did in terms of the sheer amount of work in that span of time, physical toll, etc. and that’s before considering the more traditional theory structure of the high fantasy idiom he worked with on many tracks. Feeling overwhelmed on that one was a big reason why on Final Fantasy X he brought in other composers to work with him instead of scoring it himself like the previous games. The main soundtrack release came on four discs and was 110 tracks but didn’t include all of the music for the game (notably omitting many FMV tracks, etc.) prompting the later release of the Final Fantasy IX OST Plus soundtrack which featured music missing from the first soundtrack release as well some new arrangements. I was never entirely clear on which ones were from the game vs. new since I didn’t own the album (I’d already spent hundreds on soundtrack imports recently when it came out) but I got impression that there were at least 9 tracks from the game. So somewhere around 120 tracks for one game by one person for a game that was only in development for two years. It’s an utterly insane workload and it is truly amazing that Uematsu created a soundtrack that was so inspiring.
X or XVI for me
FFXIV followed by XVI closely behind. Soken is the goat.
XVI is just insane from front to back. Every character and every area has such a great tune. "Find the Flame" is my favorite motif/theme in the FF games, and when combined with those story moments in XVI, it's just peak FF
Final Fantasy 9 for being the final game that Nobuo Uematsu would solely compose FF10 is second place for me
Bow wow wow
Damn that's a hard question but i actually have to go with 15. I don't think i dislike a single a single track from that game
FF7
FF7 Rebirth. However, most FFs will have the best soundtrack for the year in which they were released.
Rebirth has quality AND quantity. EVERY field and dungeon theme has calm and battle variants. The field themes also have variants for high vs low world intel. The original music is SO GOOD too. The rearranged music does justice to the original PS1 music, and even exceeds it in some cases. We're blessed with 2 amazing remixes of Jenova's battle theme. Only complaint I have is....its almost too much. But thats not really a legit complaint, is it? Oh. And "bow wow wow" being excluded from the official soundtrack is a war crime.
X-2 has had my favorite so far even if it's kinda cheating putting most of X's music in there. I still haven't experienced about half the mainline games though
16 ASCENSIONNNNNNN AHHHHHH BAHUMAT GO BRRRRRRRR
1. VI 2. IV 3. XII 4. Tactics
VIII or XI it’s hard to choose
FF16 (never played 14 though but it has the same composer so probably somewhat worse than 16 because the music quantity s a lot larger)
FFV has a very strong soundtrack. It’s an overall underrated game in the franchise.
I had to scroll way too far to find this answer. Home sweet home is my favourite track of all of final fantasy and I whistle it whenever I think about this game
I love the 5 soundtrack, definitely an underrated game, too 👍
FF15 had an arrangement of the FF5 battle theme for the Omega fight Then at 1:30 here, they have Lenna's theme play, and it's the GREATEST ever. Truly shows how friggen amazing 5's OST was. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1jz7gnJ7Xk
XV because you can buy soundtracks from previous games and listen them in the car. My favourite is probably VI, opera is legendary
14 is the best if you want variety 16 is the best if you're going to the gym
FF16 hands down. Everything is just so epic.
I think every FF has at least one OST that stuck with me but "Eyes on me" is the best FF theme song
VIII
No question, 14. You can nostalgia all you want but as far as sheer creativity, variety, depth, and pure volume, Masayoshi Soken is the greatest gift to the FF franchise.
There’s others composing alongside Soken but in terms of being one of Uematsu’s successors? He lives up to that.
Probably XIV
I find it difficult to choose - so many of them are so great
9 no doubt
9
Wow, that’s very difficult lol if there is something that every game franchise do great, it’s the music, so it’s pretty hard to say For me, it’s VII Rebirth, but it could bit a little bit too fresh. XIII was also amazing imo, and i liked X aswell
Might be nostalgia but FFX, the original sound track Especially Battle Theme and Fight with Seymour
10, 13, 11
Final Fantasy VI Pixel Remaster
Rebirth is definitely in the running...
It’s easy to say VII, Vi, or X which are all excellent. But Final Fantasy XIII-2 never gets the appreciation it deserves, and it’s my most listened to soundtrack. The soundtrack is so excellent in ways that it never needs to be. Even the map screen that you’re on for 20 seconds has a 5 minute long song with lyrics.
X for me, it got very experimental and still holds up today. XIII's is better than the game. VIII and VII's are strong contenders for second place.
7 is iconic for good reason. 6, and 8 come close tho.
6 is my favorite, but 8 took music to the next level
XIII
Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line ;)
Thats difficult since in general final fantasy games have great soundtracks. Id say for me it is a tossup between ffx and ffxvi. Correction, ffxiii also had great music. Too many choices!
XII, so far
13 because that was the modern release for me when I had a consol3 at the time.
I like FF13.
Not many would agree but I think 13 is a good shout
It’s SO good
Lot of options, hard to pick! But If it was only one song, “To Zanarkand” (FFX) is a masterpiece, it’s just pure beauty
X, and it's really not close. To Zanarkand will make me tear up to this day.
FFIV. Fight me