Square – JC Cawley

Kong’s T’day Tune #26

J.C. Cawley — Tue, 29 Jan 2019 15:01:35 +0000

I’ve put together a list of 60 tunes that have stuck with me through the years, inspired by Jeffrey Canam (@GrahfMetal)’s Twitter rundown of his top 100 favourite video game tracks. I’ve attempted to limit myself to a couple songs per game, but there are exceptions.

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

#26

This song is so good. It’s pretty much the definitive ’90s rock battle theme: fast-paced, hard-rocking, with a soaring epic melody. Mystic Quest‘s intentional break from series traditions allowed great work like this to shine, and it would be a worthy entry in the retro pantheon for that reason alone if it weren’t also a fun little RPG on its own merits.

Track: “Boss Theme” (YouTube Link)
Game: Final Fantasy Mystic Quest (SNES, 1992)
Composer: Ryuji Sasai

Kong’s T’day Tune #27

J.C. Cawley — Thu, 24 Jan 2019 15:42:50 +0000

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

Kong’s T’day Tune #28

J.C. Cawley — Tue, 22 Jan 2019 14:53:24 +0000

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

Kong’s T’day Tune #35

J.C. Cawley — Thu, 27 Dec 2018 16:19:38 +0000

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