~ohnoes, another 'favorite' topic~

[Satoren]

Bosses. They are a blessing and a curse. A blessing that demonstrates your prowess and what you have learned over the course of your video game journey; and a curse that lingers as you restart your game over and over just to beat their cheap pixelated posteriors. We, as gamers battle all sorts of bosses from the adorable, to the nightmarish, to the downright absurd. Indeed there are many a boss character in this world, and with each comes a unique musical arrangement that reflects them.

Boss characters for the most part, have a unique theme to them. It's to show that they're special, possibly something to be intimidated by, and also sometimes, they're so deliciously awesome to hear that you can't help but prolong the battle just a little bit so you can hear their themes. So, What is your favorite musical theme for a video game boss?

Recently, I've come across two tracks that I absolutely adore~ (okay, fine, I have a lot of tracks that I adore)

Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep- Vanitas' Sentiment

fffff yes, I'm a total KH geek. If not for the character designs, I love the game for its musical score. There are plenty a boss theme I adore in the kh games, but this has to be my favorite. The boss in question is hard as hell to beat, but listening to this makes it a less tormenting experience.

Blazblue Continuum Shift: Sword of Doom~Mu-12's theme

Amusingly, these two themes have a somewhat similar formula: starting off all solemn and suspenseful, then quickening their pace and becoming upbeat and fun. In any case, I love them both, and they make their respective boss matches positively smexy.

*eherm* Now that I've spilled my beans, what's your favorite video game boss theme?

 

[Carmen Lopez]

By popular demand (and by that I mean RX made me ahem). I haven't played many games outside Pokemon, so that's where two of my choices will be coming from.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwlRy5K3azY

Ho-Oh's battle theme. I think my bottom jaw hit the floor when I heard this and fell in love with it instantly. Apparently a lot of people did because if you do side by side comparison of Lugia's battle theme vs Ho-Oh's battle theme on youtube (make sure they're by the same person), the number of views are nearly all 2 to 1 in Ho-Oh's favor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whX6TVUDF-E

Next up is Cynthia's theme from Diamond and Pearl (not Platinum, I like the D/P version better). In my opinion, her theme is by far the best Champion theme; it absolutely destroys every other so far. It really gets my heart pounding when I'm battling her. The purists can say Lance's theme is better; they can have it. I'll take Cynthia's theme any day ♥

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObBwgjg3kEU

Lastly, we have Oliver's Theme from Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (I think it was in Path of Radiance as well). Called Oliver's Fall in the original game and Power Hungry Fool in Super Smash Brothers Brawl, it's probably some of my favorite boss music. Actually I'm not sure what Oliver did to get such awesome theme seeing as he is far from awesome. It's so beautiful and elegant. Seriously, this is one of the biggest reasons I even recruit Oliver in the first place. Harpsichord ftw!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMSKYa71pMk

Oh, what the heck. Let's take it old school. This needs no introduction. XD They should've remixed this for Brawl.

 

[Chadwyck]

(RX, Birth By Sleep is out already? Japanese version?)

Ahem, anyway I've got a few favorites that just stuck with me when playing the game that I was playing... at.... the... time. That was lacking eloquence. ANYWAY, here goes.

Shadow Queen Theme: Paper Mario and the Thousand Year Door

This fight was one of the longest and most epic fights I have ever played, and while I admit that this game wasn't as good as the first, and that that game wasn't as good as Super Mario RPG, this fight just made it all seem worth while. Especially the different tunes that begin to play as each new part of the battle begin. Class.

The Extreme: Final Fantasy VIII

This is my favorite of the FF series, if you haven't heard me say it before I'm honestly surprised, and while the final boss fight was a pain, the musical score in the background made sure that I felt pumped up through it all.

Demise of the Ritual: Shadow of the Colossus

This song is just appropriate, when you see the massive colossus standing at the other end of the field, looming before you like a horrible tower of death, this song is just ominous and beautiful enough to just paint the picture of the determination Wander faces to save ole whatsherface.

Divine Spirit of Language: Star Ocean: Till the End of Time

Not a "Final Boss" theme, but the theme that plays during the fight with my favorite character and/or party member, Albel Nox. It's just so high energy, I love it.

 

[Shocari]

Dynasty Warriors 4: Lu Bu's Theme/Dynasty Warriors 6: Lu Bu's Theme
I couldn't really pick which version of it I liked moar :V Anyway, Dynasty Warriors doesn't have fixed 'bosses', because you just slaughter hordes of troops and finally the enemy commander(if he/she counts as a boss). And Lu Bu, while not being a ruler of a kingdom(at least, not at first), does make his mark as being the 'strongest' in all of China, a feat not so easily given(he usually murders you in a few hits, even if you're overleveled/powered, and this is without him being powered up.) Lu Bu inevitably shows up during every story mode, during which you have to kill him by yourself because everyone is fleeing and peeing their pants.

YGO: Duelist of the Roses-Vs Yugi/YGO: Duelist of the Roses-Vs Kaiba
If anything, it's this game's music that keeps bringing me back to it(I also couldn't choose here :V). Both of these fights can get particularly nasty real fast if your deck isn't up to snuff, or if you aren't very talented at fusions. Kaiba, while having a much easier field to fight on, has much stronger cards than Yugi, and a particularly evil strategy that some people have to use against him in order to even attempt at standing a chance. Yugi's field is insanely random, and while his cards can't completely kill you in an unreasonably fast amount of time, he can decimate you without a though once he gets the right cards on the field.

Basically, I reeeeeeeaaalllllyyyy enjoy the soundtracks for both of these games, and I'm going to go listen to their OSTs on youtube nao ♥

 

[Tangrow]

Ah, ahahahahah! By reading this, you are about to be assaulted by a bunch of Touhou Boss themes! Which are all wonderful, obviously.

Touhou 12.8 Fairy Wars ~ Magus Night

This game came out recently - A few days ago, to be exact! I haven't made it all the way to the extra stage boss, but from hearing this, I am certainly motivated too! This is Marisa Kirisame's theme, normally a playable character, but it seems she has flipped sides! She has these lovely demotivational lasers, which sounds so silly that I just love the fight already! She's just an Ordinary Witch, and I think this theme gives a bit of magic with a light feeling once the main music comes in! I simply cannot wait to freeze her-I mean, play with her ♥


Touhou 11 Subterranean Animism ~ Hartmann's Youkai Girl

This is Koishi Komeiji's theme song. Her spells use hearts ♥ Yet another Extra Stage Boss theme, the beginning isn't particularly remarkable, but once you reach the piano-like part, the song is beautiful ♥ The boss herself is rather carefree, a girl who can read your subconscious. She's the sister to an earlier boss who can read your, well, conscious! She's all about DNA and Freudian stuff, as shown from her theme name including Hartmann in it ♥ She's actually quite rage inducing, especially when she has this nice strand of DNA in the form of bullets chasing you as you hope to heavens that you don't get murdered by her before time runs out ♥

Touhou 12 UFO ~ Heian Alien

Another Extra Boss theme. Golly I love Extra Bosses! This is Nue Houjuu's theme. She's a, er, nue. It's pretty much an unidentified creature, and she shows up earlier in the game as an unidentifiable ball. Her theme is sort of creepy, in that makes you jump if something comes out kind of way, but as it reaches the piano melody, it becomes very soft and lovely, if only for a moment. Even then, you can hear the undertones. She was actually the first Extra Stage Boss I beat, and it was quite a fun battle! She summons bunches of UFOs to attack you, and one of her spells says Rainbow in it so it's so much fun ♥

Touhou 7 Perfect Cherry Blossom ~ Phantom Ensemble

Not an Extra Boss Stage theme! This is the theme of Shiny, Shado, and Jenova I mean the Prismriver sisters! The theme meshes really well, and sounds as if it is played by three people, cause it's meant for a trio! This is one of the few boss battles with multiple people, as in most of the spells, you fight all three Prismrivers at once. This makes it very hard to keep track of which bullets are where, and everything gets very frantic as the music does. Each sister fights you too, depending on your character and who you hit the most. Luckily, they all share a Health Gauge, so it doesn't get smack your keyboard on the ground crazy!

Touhou 10 Mountain of Faith ~ Faith is for the Transient People

The Stage 5 Boss theme for Sanae Kochiya, a wind priestess with the ability to cause miracles. She serves two gods; Kanako and Suwako. They each grant her abilities in games after this one. Regardless, I just like the rock-like tune for this theme, despite it not being rock. It's very catchy nonetheless. Her actual boss fight can cause quite a few accidental deaths, which is detrimental when you're right before the final boss. Of note is her spell card which references splitting a sea, in which she summons a sea of lasers on both sides of you and then shoots aimed knives at you. WHILE she runs around. It's an exciting spell, but gosh it is so hard to hit her in most cases!

Touhou 11 Subterranean Animism ~ A Sake-Studded Flower Dish on Mt. Ooe

The Stage 3 Boss Theme of the game for Yuugi Hoshiguma, an oni who is known for being notoriously hard for a midway boss. Personally, I am in love with this theme! It's very light and playful, especially with the fluttering flute noises ou hear in the background. It's like a playfight between kittens, althjough that's more on Yuugi's end. She never drops her sake. Ever. For the most part, she actually is just testing you! Her spells are quite fun in my opinion, although before I found her to be like, evil incarnate. I have just recently come to appreciate her song as I finally figured out her final spell, Knockout in Three Steps. Which is pretty much what it says, you will usually lose a life after the three steps, especially on Lunatic Mode, in which she WILL spawn bullets on you. And you WILL die. I do love it though, so regardless, it's fun!

That's enough from me for now, I don't wanna fill this post with like 10 more songs. You may be surprised that Tenshi's theme song wasn't on here as my favorite. To be truthful, I'm losing interest in the song (Though I still love her as a character), so I may switch to one of these five people in the future!

 

[KoL]

This'll be fun:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAbiHW3TbzE - Mega Man ZX Boss Theme

This has to be one of the most catchy tracks in the entire Mega Man series. Much like ZX itself, it manages to blend an ominous and serious theme with a casual, upbeat and laid-back one in a way that works very well. Probably the best track I've ever heard come out of my DS's speakers, and I could listen to it all day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcvJ8nzxH8c - Mother Brain Theme, Super Metroid

You crack Mother Brain's casing open, pump missiles into her and she drops limply to the floor, seemingly dead. You think you have won...until the brain rises up with a gigantic, monstrous body attached to it, and this starts playing as Mother Brain prepares to annihilate you herself. Out of all the boss themes I've ever heard, none of them have given as powerful a message to me as this one, and the message comes in three simple words: YOU ARE SCREWED!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWE0nlhpdq8 - Seymour Omnis Theme, Final Fantasy X

We've had a catchy one, a chilling, ominous and poweful one...and now this. Seymour makes a pain out of himself on multiple occasions throughout Final Fantasy X, and when I met him inside Sin I knew I was approaching the final battle with this bastard...he transforms into his gigantic, final form, and then it starts playing this...safe to say, it was jaw-dropping hearing this the first time, and it still sounds phenomenal 8 years later.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fyJ05-kaAY - Those Who Fight Further, Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core

At first, I didn't think much of this theme when I took on the first boss in the game...and then the guitar kicked in. This also stands out from the three before in that it's little more than a theme I'd love to murder a boss along to, and that's exactly what Crisis Core lets you do with it. It's just an energetic, powerful track that fits the theme of the boss fight perfectly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKcWLX_mBBQ - Disciple of Darkness, Jade Cocoon 2

This one is the "obscure" one of the lot here (yeah, I'm making categories) and...well, it's hard to describe why I like this one really - it just sounds pretty cool. I remember this track standing out in my mind when I first heard it, and even though I never really was head-over-heels for this game, I never forgot about it, and this track alone is the reason why. I don't know why I like this tune, all I know is that it kicks ass.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9KNs7SXfMI - Giratina, Pokemon Platinum

To round it all off, the Pokemon track. It was a tough three-way tie between Ho-Oh, Giratina and the Hoenn champion theme, but Giratina came out on top in the end for me. It adds a rather dark and ominous touch to a series that's mostly devoid of that sort of thing, and combined with Giratina being a horrible bastard to catch unless you're extremely lucky or just Master Balled him, this theme is exceptionally fitting for a tough battle against a Pokemon who, unlike most of the others you meet, seems extremely pissed off when you meet him.

 

[Denvari]

My favorite boss theme would have to be the Primal Dialga theme from PMD explorers of time/darkness/sky.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61oFE03Z ... ure=search
I love the flute in this. It's the most epic flute solo I've ever heard, so far. Best pokemon boss music in my opinion. Not sure why exactly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNehkloi ... ure=search: You Can't Escape, You Know. >=D
When you hear this track, the first thing that hits you is "Oh nonononononono! I'm gonna die! :O" The pressure of the music and the time limit together make one strong point as the green gas starts pouring into the room: You have six miutes to live, and you'd better not waste them.

 

[Toastie]

Interesting topic idea ^^

In terms of Pokemon, I have five - three for legendaries, two for trainers:

Frontier Brain Battle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjRhEYU8wXc

This is a pretty intense theme, and I think it fits the frontier brains perfectly. I slightly prefer the HGSS version because it has a slightly more epic feel.

Red/Lance Battle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCCxZ9SMABs

This is basically the definitive Pokemon Series music. It has such a champion-y sort of feel to it.

Dialga/Palkia Battle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=642AIUwadk8

This just makes me think of time and space, so I guess it works. It's...I dunno. It just really seems to suit Dialga and Palkia.

Arceus Battle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6z_1cCvVjA

Very minimalist, and you can't exactly dance to it or anything, but it is really chilling, and is very atmospheric.

Groudon/Kyogre/Rayquaza Battle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdwsmF5qOlo

Really intense theme. Also, it really feels 'ancient' and fits the Pokemon well.

Bowser Jr.'s Fiery Flotilla Theme
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y_C7Qunbj0

An epic theme, yet it really fits Bowser Jr.'s mischievousness.

Zelda: Ocarina of Time Music - Last Battle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLKARuRwrsE

The quick drum beat added with the deep singing makes this theme really chilling and is suited to the last battle.

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

Whoooooboy. There's a LOT of those.

Two of my favorites were already mentioned: The Extreme (FF an the Primal Dialga battle from PMD2 (Which is so effing Chrono Trigger @_@).

Here's a bunch of other themes that are awesome. Starting with a few Wild ARMs final battles:

Vs. Zeik Tuvai - Wild ARMs 1

The final battle of the first game. It's pretty damn awesome.

Vs. Lord Blazer - Wild ARMs 2nd Ignition

Actually a remix of the game's main theme, You'll Never Be Alone - which fits the nature of this battle SO well.

Windward Birds - Wild ARMs - Alter Code: F

I hate Alter Code: F. I think it completely ruined the game it was trying to remake and I will never forgive what they did to a few of the characters. But... I'll be lying if I said I didn't really love this game's final battle theme - Even though it replaced the original Zeik Tuvai battle theme. It's just one of the few-and-far-between-things that Alter Code: F did RIGHT. The lyrics actually add to the experience rather than detract from it, giving the whole battle a bit more of an anime-y feeling. Likewise, WA4 and WA5's final battles were set to the game's main theme, complete with lyrics and everything - which gave the whole thing a very anime-y feeling.

Hunting - Comrades - Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga

This game's ENTIRE SOUNDTRACK is made of win and bloody awesome. This theme plays when you're battling any of the rival clan leaders in Asura form.

Hari-Hara and Hari-Hara (Second Movement) - Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga

Moar DDSy goodness - this time it's the Final Boss theme, which has two movements. The first is very much in the spirit of the rest of the game's music and the second is kinda church-organ-ful and quite insane-epic-ominous.

Laughter - Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millenium

One of many Boss fight themes in Phantasy Star IV and probably my favorite one in it, this one plays during the battles against Zio and Lashiec.

Rival Battle - Keitai Denjuu Telefang 2

Ahh, Telefang. Obscure Japan-exclusive series of monster-raising RPGs. Telefang 2 had some really awesome music. This is my personal favorite boss theme from it.

That's what I can think of now. I'll post more if I can remember any.

 

[KillerSynth]

I dont have a link to it, (Im just being lazy), but I have the old Super Mario Bros. 3 Bowser theme in my head. I think he was in this game? I dunno, I was real young when I used to play this, (Yah, I was always Luigi!) anywho I remember his theme to be pretty epic...!