Unpopular Soundtrack Opinions!

[Fynn]

So we've had a whole lot of unpopular opinion threads in the past, so I thought it would be nice to have one devoted specifically to the music of FF, since many people have ~opinions~ on these!

Here's mine:

- I don't think the IV and VIII have the best soundtracks. I honestly think they're some of the weakest, even though I know a lot of people consider them exceptional. I disagree
- Parts of IX's soundtrack are amazing. Other parts are simply atrocious
- The best parts of X's soundtrack were written by Hamauzu, not Uematsu
- In general, I don't think Uematsu is a better composer than others who have handled the series
- XI had the best Prelude
- XV has the best "Final Fantasy" theme
- II had the best world map theme
- The Balamb Garden theme and Man with the Machine Gun are ludicrously overrated
- One-Winged Angel is nowhere near the best final battle theme in the series
- The Extreme is really good
- Suteki Da Ne is bad
- XIII-2's soundtrack isn't that good. It has its moments, but I still consider it one of the weaker parts of the series, especially coming right after one of the series' best
- XII, XIII, and XV - some of the best soundtracks in the series, IMO, and none of them done by Uematsu

[Fox]

- Hamauzu shouldn't even be in charge of spin-offs, let alone anything from the main series
- Dancing Mad is good in places but drags on too much in others
- Maybe I'm A Lion is just...meh.
- Uematsu may have created most of the best pieces in the series, but he is also responsible for the absolute worst one: Djose Temple.
- Suteki Da Ne is good as long as you don't understand the words. The lyrics, however, are atrocious. Especially in English because it was translated literally. "Wind and my heart swimming in collected words, moved by the wind in through the world. Clouds like the voice that we all recognise, carry the holding future".
- The FFXII soundtrack sounds like the composer threw an orchestra down the stairs.

[Fynn]

I almost forgot!

- FFX's regular battle theme is literally the worst thing to ever happen to an FF soundtrack. And that's counting the overall terrible X-2 soundtrack.

[maybee]

- Prefer The Extreme over OWA and Dancing Mad.

[Psychotic]

I'm not a big fan of Aria di Mezzo Carattere. And I've heard the thing live at Distant Worlds too. Sorry, I want to get it but I just don't. Though with that said I kinda like Celes's Theme itself so I guess I'm weird.

[Karifean]

- Prefer The Extreme over OWA and Dancing Mad.

Same. Also Battle for Freedom from XII ranks among the best final boss themes.

FFV: The Decisive Battle is better than Battle on the Big Bridge.

FFX-2: Eternity -Orchestra Performs- is better than Eternity -Memory of Lightwaves-.

Besides those I think my soundtrack opinions are pretty popular overall.

[Wolf Kanno]

FFIII had the best OST of the NES entries.
VIII, X, and XIII's OSTs are overrated.
Masashi Hamauzu has never made a great soundtrack. Some good pieces certainly, but his soundtracks are always lacking.
Nobuo Uematsu's last great soundtrack was VII, he has been unable to compose a complete OST of it's caliber since.
With the above statement in mind, V, VI, and VII still have their fair share of duds in their respective soundtracks, I'm looking at you Kids Running Through the Streets, Four Heroes, and Fort Condor to name a few.
Final Fantasy needs an expressive, personal soundtrack, not an atmospheric one. It's weakest OSTs are the ones that go for background atmosphere over driving melodies that steal the scene.
Blinded by Light is not the best battle theme in the series.
FFX's battle theme is the worst in the series.
The Extreme is a great track...for the first minute and forty seconds. Once the main theme kicks in it starts to sound like what should have been FFVIII's actual main battle theme since it becomes a bit forgettable but still keeps up energy.
The English version of Melodies of Life is better than the Japanese version.
Melodies of Life should have been the last FF song. X's theme is awful and XII and XIII's were utterly forgettable and never gelled well with the rest of the soundtrack. Even Stand By Me from XV comes across a bit too much like SE trying too hard.
FFX's cast has the worst character themes in the series.
XIII's are surprisingly good if poorly utilized.
VII has the best Normal Boss theme and Fanfare in the series.
The VIII demo has the best Prelude theme.
The Demo version of Raid on Dollet is way better than The Landing.
IX has the best use of the Final Fantasy Theme.
XIV has a better OST than XI. XI's is surprisingly boring.
Most of Yoko Shimomura's best work have been her non-FF/KH work.

[Forsaken Lover]

-Final Fantasy II has the best regular battle theme.
-XII's Battle for Freedom is possibly the best final boss theme in an FF.
-I don't really like J-E-N-O-V-A. It's not bad or anything, just don't think it's special. Remakes like The Black Mages' version have improved it.
-I absolutely love Jenova Absolute (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsrengWxaM8) however and think it's way better than the normal theme.
-VIII's The Legendary Beast is better than the other three final boss themes.
-I don't really like Man with the Machine Gun. I prefer VIII's normal fight theme.
-VIi's Off the Edge of Despair (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oPqxoGzorI&t=92s) might be the single most underrated song in the series.
-To Zanarkand is a boring song that only works in the context of the game. On its own, very uninspired.
-IV has some of the best boss music in the series. I'd place it in Top 3.
-VIII has the worst town themes ever.
-Best vocal songs/ballads in the series are either 1000 Words or Noel's Theme.

[Formalhaut]

- FFX's standard battle theme isn't that bad, just very forgettable and repetitive and worse: you know it is repeating. I'd actually say FFX-2's standard battle theme is worse, but at this point we're splitting hairs.

- Having listened to Forsaken Lover's suggestion of 'Off the Edge of Despair', I actually agree. Maybe not 'the most underrated track in the series', but it is definitely up there, somewhere. That base note gives it a rather creepy sound, while the more 'twinkly' sound provides some dissonance.

- Probably not an unpopular opinion, but I agree with Kanno that FFVII has the best standard boss music. When I think of an FF boss, that is the music that pops into my head.

- I honestly can't decide which version of Eternity from FFX-2 is better. I might give the edge to Memory of Lightwaves, but it is pretty damn close.

- Not a fan of Dancing Mad. It goes on waaaaay too long.

- I smurfing hate Man with the Machine Gun from FFVIII. And that isn't because I cannot play that song on Ultimate difficulty on Theatrhythm.

- Suteki Da Ne is good if you don't know the words, I agree.

- Having just listened to it and remembered what the tune is, I actually rather like Djose Temple's theme. Not sure it fits the area, but the theme by itself is fine.

- Probably my most controversial opinion is that I don't really find the FFXII soundtrack to be that good. It has moments like any OST does, but it clunks, primarily in the overworld themes. It's either too orchestral and bombastic, or too... forgettable. I feel like I have to play the game again to really judge it properly, because I am going on memory, but that's part of the point in itself.

[Fox]

I'm starting to feel that my love of FFX's battle theme is actually the unpopular opinion here xD

[Forsaken Lover]

It's a ddcent enough song. I don't have any problems with it.

[Vermachtnis]

I hate Suteki De Ne.
Mystic Quest has the best Battle Theme, Boss Battle, and Final Boss Theme. Final Dungeon theme is good too.
Maker's Ruin is one of the best pieces from XIV.


I'm starting to feel that my love of FFX's battle theme is actually the unpopular opinion here xD

Right? I love it.

[Mirage]

I love the FF13-2 soundtrack. I listen to it in my car all the time.

[Forsaken Lover]

I love the FF13-2 soundtrack. I listen to it in my car all the time.

This is the correct opinion and most people have it.

[Sephiroth]

While I love One-Winged Angel and have nothing against it being used in other installments I think it gets way too much focus when compared to Those Chosen by the Planet, the actual character theme of Sephiroth, something that many don't even know which is even more proof how criminically underused it is
My Hands is not even close to be a good replacement for Kimi ga iru kara, one of the best things music-wise in Final Fantasy ever
Apparently Legendary Beast and Maybe I'm a Lion are totally popular. Legendary Beast is okay and Maybe I'm a Lion is very cool but nothing compared to other Final Battle themes. Premonition and The Extreme are way better.
X-Death's "Decisive Battle" is a very weird Final Battle Theme. The actual Final Battle Theme of Neo X-Death blows it away with ease.
While Dancing Mad is nice I only really like the final part with Kefka's super form. Not that I dislike the other parts but as with FFVIII, the final part blows the rest away.
The Overworld Theme and Normal and Boss Battle Theme of FFIII are criminally underrated.
Final Fantasy XV has a nice soundtrack but a great deal of it is too subtle for me. The best for me are the battle themes and of course stuff like Stand by Me and Final Fantasy.
The best Prelude is in no Final Fantasy, it is this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4reZp854LZg
Fitting for that the best Prelude in a Final Fantasy itself is either the one from VII or XII
The best Final Fantasy Theme is either from XII or XV ... though it doesn't really matter because I all love them so much
Kimi ga iru kara is the best song for Final Fantasy. One-Winged Angel not counted. Kimi ga iru kara auto-sold FFXIII for me, just as the Prelude and Final Fantasy did for XII. By "sold" of course I mean "I love it already".
Final Fantasy VI's "Decisive Battle" is almost as good as "Those who fight further". Overall VI has an incredible Battle Score only tainted by the normal battle theme. Decisive Battle, Fierce Battle and Dancing Mad though are all godly. Individually they are not unpopular but that entire opinion of them being some of the best I guess is not that common.
I like Fina Fantasy X's battle theme. It reminds me of battles in summer on a beach.
I like Blinded by Light much but even though the XIII trilogy is my rank 2 Final Fantasy it does not come close to a lot of others.
The Last Hunter is one of the best battle themes in Final Fantasy
Caius' Final Battle Theme is nice but not really one of the best. Neo X-Death, Final Kefka, Sepher Sephiroth, True Ultimecia, SSJ4 Kuja, Seymour Omnis/Braska's Final Aeon/Yevon=Ju and Ardyn have better ones.
It kills me to say this but probably FFVII's Main Theme is not my most favourite Overwolrd Theme. It more likely is Terra's Theme. But it is a tough one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75QC59i-dIY Then there is also Over the Hill ...
Forever Rachel is one of the best themes ever written in any video game https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQjA8DWeYDk (yes, that is fan-made but it only makes better what is fantastic anyway).

[Fox]

While I love One-Winged Angel and have nothing against it being used in other installments I think it gets way too much focus when compared to Those Chosen by the Planet, the actual character theme of Sephiroth, something that many don't even know which is even more proof how criminically underused it is



Those Chosen by the Planet really should get more love. It's so simple yet effective, and used in brilliant ways as well. It kinda has two layers, so when you're talking with Sephiroth before he goes full evil it's very understated, just a heartbeat on the drum and some chimes, then he storms out to find JENOVA and tear up Nibelheim and it kicks into the full theme, and it's damn scary.


he best Prelude is in no Final Fantasy, it is this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4reZp854LZg

Actually... yes. It's wonderful. ALSO wonderful from the vocal albums and underappreciated in general is Relm's Theme:

oXkdkMb0FZs

[Sephiroth]

That it was not in Crisis Core is like an extreme betrayal to Sephiroth. Make Chapter 8 the Crisis Core, skip the part where Zack finds Sephiroth and make it a DMW instead, which basically means the beginning of the Crisis Core is not even shown obligatory and then not even play Those Chosen by the Planet. There is a reason it is called "Crisis Core", it leads to and features the Nibelheim Incident.

[Fynn]

- I don't think the lyrics to Suteki Da Ne are that bad. I simply think the song is terrible because the atrocious vocals make my ears bleed.

[Psychotic]

Chiming in on the love for Those Chosen by the Planet to say I completely agree. Both more impressive and intimidating than One Winged Angel. That song made my child self fear Sephiroth.

[Sephiroth]

Chiming in on the love for Those Chosen by the Planet to say I completely agree. Both more impressive and intimidating than One Winged Angel. That song made my child self fear Sephiroth.

It is not that I love it more but for me it just is a must to bring it together with Sephiroth. That Advent Children and Crisis Core didn't have it is beyond me. Advent Children was even taken care of by Uematsu-san. It is obvious that One-Winged Angel has to return for Sephiroth but come on, there is a normal character theme for him as well. This theme just perfectly highlights this superhuman entity that you follow all the time who seems like some sort of ghost and whenever you actually see him, it being in flashbacks or with his reformed body while controlling JENOVA's body or when he makes the characters float in front of himself with them completely helpless ... this is Sephiroth. Not just One-Winged Angel alone. One-Winged Angel is my most favourite song of all time. But never forget Those Chosen by the Planet. Just like just the bells are in the real last battle of Final Fantasy VII-1. Even Birth of God and One-Winged Angel consist of bits of his theme. It being either with slight passages or the bells.

So yeah, it is not totally lost but still. One-Winged Angel is his trademark theme. But please, never forget his normal one.

[Forsaken Lover]

I prefer Beatrix's more ominous villain theme (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBTG6rRaYo4&t=132s) to her far more popular and melancholy piano theme.

[Fynn]

I prefer Beatrix's more ominous villain theme (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBTG6rRaYo4&t=132s) to her far more popular and melancholy piano theme.

Agreed. Uematsu was never good with solo piano tracks.

[Night Fury]

One Winged Angel is good but not great.


OH. AND I'M GOING TO GO THERE.


My Hands is amazing, and is probably my favourite Final Fantasy theme that was sung. It is followed closely by Kiss me Goodbye.

[Fox]

OH. AND I'M GOING TO GO THERE.
My Hands is amazing, and is probably my favourite Final Fantasy theme that was sung. It is followed closely by Kiss me Goodbye.

While I don't have My Hands on my iPod I distinctly remember not hating it like I was expecting to. It suited the scene it was used in fairly well.

I also like Kiss Me Goodbye quite a lot. You know they finally did an orchestral arrangement of that for Distant Worlds. It's good but I prefer Angela Aki's performance to Susan Calloway's (who sings it in concert).

[Fynn]

She does make Suteki Da Ne sound bearable, though

[Fox]

She does make Suteki Da Ne sound bearable, though

I just wish I didn't have to listen to those lyrics. Coherent English, that's all I ask for. Is that so hard?? :lol:

[Sephiroth]

I don't really care for the meaning of the lyrics if I like the melody.

[Fynn]

I don't care about the lyrics if the voice is making me want to rip my ears off

[Galuf]

- FFXII has nice good ost.
-Singing songs suck. With a few exceptions and 1 main exception. Dancing mad owa otherworld. Any choiric based and crazy chocobo. And also Answers but ONLY cos the cutscene the fight and the tune is good. The singing less so.
-ff2 has a funn wee battle theme and I like it.
-the legendary beast is the best battle song in ffviii
-Birth of a god and jenova absolute are awesomely better than their counterparts.
-FF3 actually has better ost than ffiv Imo
-byt ff3 has a terribad final boss theme... thank god for xiv making it good.
- RISE OF THE WHITE RAVEN AND ANSWERS SHOULDNT COS 3 MIL AND 8 MIL GIL ON THE mb OF FFXIV
-ffxiii has a better ost than the 2 sequels.
-oh aye. And why did they choose the phase 2 music of Nael daeus darnus to be available and not the superior phase 1 music. Is crazy.

thats all so far

[Aulayna]

Leona Lewis wasn't a bad choice for FFXIII.

[Jinx]

-Sutaki Da Ne is atrocious in EVERY. Its melody, the lyrics, the vocals.
-Every English version is better than Japanese (but I also think the Japanese language is nails on a chalkboard, so this could be why).
-Aerith's Theme is boring and uninspired.
-Tifa's Theme is WAY better than Aerith's Theme.
-FFXIV Bahamut music is HORRIBLE OMG WHY
-FFXIV Heavensward opening screen song (not sure what it's called) it earbleeding. The song itself is fine, but the vocals are awful. The poor woman who sings it has a lovely voice, but it's WAY too high for her range and she goes sharp multiple times in the song. It's actually painful to listen to.
-Ramuh pony music better than Shiva pony music.

[Forsaken Lover]

real Emotion is a good song.

WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU

[Fynn]

real Emotion is a good song.

WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU

Agreed. It's not that bad.

[Wolf Kanno]

I like real Emotion better than 1000 Words, still can't fathom how people like that song.

[Fynn]

It's not the that I like the song, it's just how effectively it was used. Over a couple of minutes it made me care about Shuyin and Lenne more than I ever did about Tidys and Yuna. Not that it was good by series standards, just much better than what came before.

[Galuf]

I like real Emotion better than 1000 Words, still can't fathom how people like that song.

Aye but real emotion is funny. And also slowed down 75% is even funnier. (Tried emulating it and yeah that happened

Edit: I think they got names mixed up cos 1000 words is the emotional one and the real emotion is the same word repeated 1000 times


-Sutaki Da Ne is atrocious in EVERY. Its melody, the lyrics, the vocals.
-Every English version is better than Japanese (but I also think the Japanese language is nails on a chalkboard, so this could be why).
-Aerith's Theme is boring and uninspired.
-Tifa's Theme is WAY better than Aerith's Theme.
-FFXIV Bahamut music is HORRIBLE OMG WHY
-FFXIV Heavensward opening screen song (not sure what it's called) it earbleeding. The song itself is fine, but the vocals are awful. The poor woman who sings it has a lovely voice, but it's WAY too high for her range and she goes sharp multiple times in the song. It's actually painful to listen to.
-Ramuh pony music better than Shiva pony music.


Leviathan pony music better than ramuh (srs tho who even likes shivas music that much. I actually thought it was cool at first but when I listen to it its really annoying. Idk why. And underthe weight has proven there are good singing songs in the game.)

[Mirage]

i liked the 1000 words scene, but it's not exactly something i listen to outside of the game

[Elly]

i can't stand "Normal Battle" music, none of it... i think it breaks the atmosphere when loud trumpets and whatnot come in and replace the field/dungeon music... i prefer it when the background music does not get interrupted when combat is initiated...

[Fynn]

I got another!

- While I think FFIII has one of the weaker soundtracks of the series, it has probably my favorite boss theme.

- I also really like IX's boss theme.

[MJN SEIFER]

"????" from Final Fantasy VI sounds good.

I don't know if that's an unpopular opinion now, but when I first started looking at Final Fantasy stuff online that piece seemed pretty hated.

[Forsaken Lover]

I remember Zozo's Theme more fondly than the opera music.

[Scruffington]

Birth of a God is better than One Winged Angel.

In fact, it's one of my favorite boss themes in gaming history.

[Sephiroth]

That is not unpopular. Many think Birth of a God is better. Just not the most.

[Fynn]

Since most people think otherwise, it's an unpopular opinion by definition

[Sephiroth]

Since most people think otherwise, it's an unpopular opinion by definition

https://www.google.de/?gws_rd=ssl#q=unpopular+definition

Tell me where there is a mathematical definition that "being unpopular" needs a Group that likes another thing > Group that likes this.

Just because person A, B and C likes me and the same people plus a person D likes a random person called "Justin" more I am the unpopular one? If anything, "less popular".

[Fynn]

If more people think that One Winged Angel is better, that is the popular opinion. This thread is about opinions that aren't that.

[Sephiroth]

If more people think that One Winged Angel is better, that is the popular opinion. This thread is about opinions that aren't that.

I even left you a google link. There is not a single definition I have found that shows that two things cannot be popular at the same time, even if compared. You are taking it to the extreme. It is like saying out of a guy with 1.000.005 $ and one with 1.000.000 $ the one with five dollars less is the poor one. So, One-Winged Angel is generally very, very much liked but Birth of a God is also heavily liked and thought of by many, many people as better than One-Winged Angel.

[Loony BoB]

- XII, XIII, and XV - some of the best soundtracks in the series, IMO, and none of them done by Uematsu
I actually agree on this point. =x Particularly XII & XIII (the full XIII trilogy, really). I've yet to have a real opportunity to evaluate XV's soundtrack. Effectively I think that the soundtracks of I-X are only truly memorable because of how well the music fitted to the game, but when you actually consider just listening to the music for the sake of listening to music, XII and XIII are easily the top dogs. This really got drummed home with FFXV's car radio, in which the modern music was just so much better to listen to.

Also, while XIV has some good stuff and the occasional excellent piece, the vast majority of the music is extremely forgettable. Those pieces that are not forgettable tend to be memorable for the wrong reasons more often than not. Like with the earlier games, if you take the music away from the game, it isn't half as good.

[Scruffington]

I even left you a google link. There is not a single definition I have found that shows that two things cannot be popular at the same time, even if compared. You are taking it to the extreme. It is like saying out of a guy with 1.000.005 $ and one with 1.000.000 $ the one with five dollars less is the poor one. So, One-Winged Angel is generally very, very much liked but Birth of a God is also heavily liked and thought of by many, many people as better than One-Winged Angel.

I think I understand what you're trying to say. You're suggesting that Birth of a God is still popular and therefore can't be an "unpopular" opinion. However if a vast majority of people prefer one thing to another, that becomes the de facto popular opinion. All other opinions become unpopular by default. So even if there are quite a few people that prefer BoaG to OWA, they are outnumbered and their opinion is unpopular.



- XII, XIII, and XV - some of the best soundtracks in the series, IMO, and none of them done by Uematsu
I actually agree on this point. =x Particularly XII & XIII (the full XIII trilogy, really). I've yet to have a real opportunity to evaluate XV's soundtrack. Effectively I think that the soundtracks of I-X are only truly memorable because of how well the music fitted to the game, but when you actually consider just listening to the music for the sake of listening to music, XII and XIII are easily the top dogs. This really got drummed home with FFXV's car radio, in which the modern music was just so much better to listen to.

I definitely agree with your point about XIII's OST. Hamauzu did an unbelievable job with it. I really hope he gets to compose the next mainline FF game.

[Sephiroth]

I think I understand what you're trying to say. You're suggesting that Birth of a God is still popular and therefore can't be an "unpopular" opinion. However if a vast majority of people prefer one thing to another, that becomes the de facto popular opinion. All other opinions become unpopular by default. So even if there are quite a few people that prefer BoaG to OWA, they are outnumbered and their opinion is unpopular.


I never even denied that. My post is there to adress the point that is already contained within your post: The majority is not as vast as you people might think. One-Winged Angel is a lot morer popular. But when it comes to high numbers the difference might just be as significant as with low numbers. Millionare example again - A guy with 50.000.000 obviously has more than a guy with 49.000.000. Obviously a million is a lot of money. But it does not really matter at this point anymore, calling the 49m guy "poor" in comparison is an extreme exaggeration. I would agree if it were a .... 50.000.000. VS ... way less comparison (and even then at this point there is some weird feeling to call the person poor in comparison but whatever, with way less I can agree). There must be a lot more for an "More popular VS less popular" to become a "Popular VS Unpopular". Everything else might result in a very, very extreme way of rating. And that is the same here. I have seen and read of so many people who just think Birth of a God is much better than One-Winged Angel, that it does not matter anymore. It is like people claiming "Uh, FFVI is so underrated and VII is such overrated trout" when in reality this anti-hype hype opinion has been established so much over the last 10 to 15 years that FFVI cannot even be underrated anymore and VII not be overrated.

And yes, I also want Hamauzu-san to come back for some music.

[Skyblade]

Most of the FF spinoffs have better soundtracks than the main games. Bravely Default, the Tactics games, Crystal Chronicles, etcetera...


Not actually sure if it's true or not, was just thinking back on some of the spinoffs and how much I adore some of the tracks there. Too busy/stressed to actually come to a definitive personal opinion on the subject.

[Bubba]

I may be biased being a guitarist... but FFXV has a better soundtrack than any of the main entries by a country mile!!