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.

#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