Top 10 FF Character Themes #3, Laguna

I’m now going to bow to popular opinion. You may recall with my first song, Bartz's theme, I received numerous comments for not going with Gilgamesh's piece, Battle on the Big Bridge. I put forward the view that it was more a battle song than a character song. Well, okay, I'll give you what you want. And I guess the title of this song, The Man With the Machine Gun, can refer to only one man.


That opening little beat. I don't know about you, reader, but that's all I need to hear before my foot is tapping without me having any say in it. The beat and indeed the entire song are so vibrant and fast-paced, providing a really sharp contrast to the last two songs I chose.

The main melody then kicks in. I think this melody is actually rather great, because it has to do two things at once. First, it has to build the tension and get the blood pumping for the battle ahead. Does it do that? I'll say. There's a real intensity to it, and a sense of something that I've been struggling to put a word to for the past five minutes. The best I can do is "challenge".

Before I talk about the next task this song has to perform, I just want to quickly show you the Distant Worlds version.


I'll be honest, I don't know if this song is perfectly suited to an orchestra, but they simply had to do it, didn't they? It works too. It doesn't have the same feel as the original, but it certainly has more of what I can only describe as a heroic swagger to it.

The second thing it has to do is show you Laguna as a character. Now, I'm going to clarify before I go into this. I'm sure those of us who went to school, which I assume is most of us, had to analyse poetry at some point. I always felt like we were trying to read to much into the choice of words. Perhaps the poet just thought they flowed well. So with this in mind, I am just going to post how the music makes me feel rather than trying to attribute this to Uematsu.

Notice how the main melody is comprised of several smaller ones with different instruments? When I listen to them, each one makes me think of a different side of him. I think it starts really bold, brash, cocky and strong, before transitioning into something a bit more serious and grim. It then moves more into something that would go well with giving a cheesy grin after making an equally cheesy joke.

I haven't posted a Black Mages version of a song in this series of articles, so let's change that.


Even more hi-octane than the original, as I'm sure you'll agree. I know it's a different title, but I reckon this song would be incredible in the FFVII motorbike chase leading out from Midgar.

Laguna is a character that I think the majority of us FF players can relate to. He's an absolutely massive dork like us, but he has an incredibly big heart. I'm sure we've all had that special girl or boy who we've been too afraid to actually talk to... although I'm not quite sure if any of us have developed an unfortunate case of leg cramp.

When you first play through FFVIII there is certainly a large air of mystery about Laguna and friends. I couldn't help but find myself agreeing with Selphie's belief that Sir Laguna is just so damned cool. Cooler than Squall and friends, that's for sure, and having his own top notch battle music certainly helped.


So come on then folks, hit me. Did I get it wrong? Are there people out there who actually do not like The Man with the Machine Gun? Which of the three versions do you like best? Leave a comment, they're always read and appreciated!

10. Bartz
9. Snow
8. Beatrix
7. Hilda
6. Rydia
5. Auron
4. Cyan
3. Laguna