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

#4

Maybe this section of Final Fantasy VI‘s lengthy ending sequence stands out to me because I like Shadow. The smooth transition between these two characters’ themes and the way they blend together perfectly is only finally revealed in immediate juxtaposition in the ending. The beauty is that these have been the characters’ themes throughout the game, but you don’t get to hear them together until now. Shadow’s theme is normally quiet, spare, and measured in pace, so rearranging it as a swelling string crescendo gives it a real emotional gut-punch. I hope Interceptor’s going to be OK.

Track: “End Theme (Relm & Shadow) ” (YouTube Link)
Game: Final Fantasy VI (SNES, 1994)
Composer: Nobuo Uematsu

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

#7

VVVVVV hinted at the next game featured here: Final Fantasy V, Nobuo Uematsu’s penultimate game on the list (what will the Final one be?).

“Clash on the Big Bridge” might be the pinnacle of RPG battle music—so much so that they turned Gilgamesh into a recurring character just so they could keep using it. It’s got a wicked double-kick intro that builds into the main horn & bass section followed by a more traditional Final Fantasy battle melody. It almost sounds like it’s inspired by Rush. Epic tune.

Track: “Clash on the Big Bridge” (YouTube Link)
Game: Final Fantasy V (SFC, 1992)
Composer: Nobuo Uematsu

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.

#27

Uematsu does a great job of evoking classic spaghetti westerns with his arrangement for Shadow’s theme in Final Fantasy VI. The only way to make a cowboy ninja with a Doberman sidekick even cooler was with a great tune that captures the mystery and sadness of the character.

Track: “Shadow” (YouTube Link)
Game: Final Fantasy VI (SNES, 1994)
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

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

#35

The second track in Final Fantasy theme week is the tune that plays in the Temple of Fiends. You get to hear this song early in the game, and then it pops up again later. It has a similar structure to “Matoya’s Cavern” from earlier this week, with a soaring melody accompanied by an upbeat rhythm.

Even though there are a couple more great songs in the game, this is going to be the last we’ll see of Final Fantasy in this list. Fortunately, there are a lot of entries in the series I haven’t mentioned yet…

Track: “Chaos Temple” (YouTube Link)
Game: Final Fantasy (NES, 1987)
Composer: Nobuo Uematsu

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

#36

Final Fantasy sets the pace for the rest of the series by having a bunch of great tunes on the soundtrack. This isn’t quite the best song in the batch, but it’s a memorable one, and a solid example of Uematsu’s approach on this whole game; it’s got a strong main melody supported by a bubbly rhythm track.

I’m going to have to make this a theme week and put up another Final Fantasy track to compare and contrast on Thursday. Happy winter holiday, everyone!

Track: “Matoya’s Cavern” (YouTube Link)
Game: Final Fantasy (NES, 1987)
Composer: Nobuo Uematsu

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

#42

One of the most climactic moments in an already quite dramatic game. The whole Final Fantasy VI soundtrack is phenomenal as it is, but this track somehow takes it up a notch. I can’t really say much more about this one without writing a book.

Track: “The Fierce Battle” (YouTube Link)
Game: Final Fantasy VI (SNES, 1994)
Composer: Nobuo Uematsu

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

#58

“Wait, JC, did you accidentally leave Nobuo Uematsu’s name there from last time?”

Nope. Square released Rad Racer on the Nintendo Entertainment System four months before Final Fantasy made them a household name. The whole soundtrack is pretty good, but this tune sounds like it would have been right at home in a Final Fantasy game while still managing to evoke the feeling of cruising along a coastline at sunset… IN 3D! Yes, the game came with those classic red-and-blue 3D glasses, and they were awesome.

This is one of the first games I remember my dad beating. He was great at all the NES games we had.

Track: “Sunset Coastline” (YouTube Link)
Game: Rad Racer (NES, 1987)
Composer: Nobuo Uematsu

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

#59

Final Fantasy VIII is a strange game. It features dream-like flashback sequences where the player controls a completely different set of characters, led by Laguna, a man with a machine gun. “The Man with the Machine Gun” is his theme song.

It was interesting for a Final Fantasy game at the time to play a unique battle theme when controlling a different character. I like that the music conveys something of the dreamlike quality and mystery that the player faces as they struggle to understand how these intermissions fit into the rest of the story.

Track: “The Man with the Machine Gun” (YouTube Link)
Game: Final Fantasy VIII (PS1, 1999)
Composer: Nobuo Uematsu