I’ll post them here and on Twitter every Tuesday and Thursday using the hashtag #KongsTdayTunes.

#14

This glorious tune is used early in Final Fantasy IV as the Red Wings’ theme in the lengthy semi-playable intro, and pops up several more times throughout the course of the game, usually at dramatic moments. Final Fantasy IV has its weaknesses, but it was one of the first epic story-driven RPGs I ever played, after cutting my teeth on the largely mechanical forerunners in the genre. This song made me feel like my characters were world-famous unstoppable champions. Adrenaline music.

Track: “Lunar Subterrane” (YouTube Link)
Game: Final Fantasy IV (SNES, 1991)
Composer: Nobuo Uematsu

I’ll post them here and on Twitter every Tuesday and Thursday using the hashtag #KongsTdayTunes.

#28

Geez, it’s really hard to believe this isn’t higher on the list. Final Fantasy IV, and this song in particular, define some of the most nostalgic moments of my childhood.

This is a wonderfully dynamic 90-second loop, with an intimidating intro, an almost ominous opening that sets the tone and scale of the battle, a nice little breakdown, and then a full-scale horn & bass section that predicts the lofty heights to which Uematsu would take this kind of arrangement in Final Fantasy V‘s “Clash on the Big Bridge” a year later.

I don’t sing this to my dog, but a smile occasionally comes to my face when I remember Tristan and I defeating Valvalis with Kain as the only survivor at 1 HP.

Track: “The Dreadful Fight” (YouTube Link)
Game: Final Fantasy IV (SNES, 1991)
Composer: Nobuo Uematsu