Best and Worst Overworld map themes.

[Wolf Kanno]

I'm only going to count games with a distinct over world map and not games with a scaled world so only like the first nine FF games would count. What do you consider to be some of the best themes and which are some of the worst?

[I Don't Need A Name]

I'll start with the obvious then:
Final Fantasy VII - I think this is the overworld theme with the most impact thanks to spending so long in Midgar that going out into the outside world is such a huge moment, and the music really fits the world perfectly.

My personal favourite is Final Fantasy IX but with this entry I always felt that I didn't hear the music enough. I always got in a battle too quickly, or to my destination, or onto a Chocobo. And then the bug in the rereleases that makes the song start again after every battle etc means you really don't hear it enough now!

[Fynn]

Well, the worst is obvious. Blue Fields is a mistake.

[Fox]

VII's Main Theme is probably the best, closely followed by Crossing Those Hills and Blue Fields, both of which are very good for different reasons. Oh, and Lost Odyssey's is very good as well. As for worst... I dunno, worst is difficult, Overworld themes tend to be pretty strong. I'd expect it to be from something like FFXII or XIII but the concept of the Overworld map was pretty much dead by then, so I got nothing.

[WarZidane]

Even picking a handful of "best" overworld themes is hard for me.
Including games where you don't actually manually walk on the overworld, but it is a distinct overworld with its own theme (you just select locations instead of walking across them manually)

- Chrono Cross' four overworld themes are all top notch, though my favorite of them is Shore of Dreams (aka Dreams of the Shore Near Another World)
- All the Wild Arms games' overworld themes, hard to say which one among these I like most, probably either 1 or 3.
- Golden Sun 1 and 2, my preference being GS2's second overworld theme (Marching Forward with Determination)
- Ni No Kuni 1 and 2
- All the Ar Tonelico games and Ar nosurge (preference here probably goes to Ar nosurge's "Green Lands for Ar nosurge")
- Legend of Dragoon (second world map theme in particular)
- Lost Oyssey as well, as Fox mentioned.

As for worst..I agree that it's a tough one because overworld themes tend to be good even among otherwise mediocre/bad soundtracks. Like even Dragon Quest 11's world map theme isn't something I'd actually call bad, though it's probably the worst one I can think of right now.

[Del Murder]

- Chrono Cross' four overworld themes are all top notch, though my favorite of them is Shore of Dreams (aka Dreams of the Shore Near Another World)

Yep, one of my favorite tracks ever! I walked down the isle at my wedding to this song.

FFVI's WoB theme is also one of my favorites.

I can't think of any least favorites, probably because they were not memorable enough.

[Lord Golbez]

Best - FFVII world map theme, Terra, Searching for Friends, Suikoden World Map theme (first and second games at least).

Worst - BoF III is some troutty elevator music, but I kind of dig it, so not sure. Actually Dragon Quest is pretty bad, but not sure if that should count because of how old it is. Still, if you compare first FF to first DQ, the difference in music is significant. Honestly, the games with the worst world map music probably just have music that isn't very memorable so I won't think of it unless someone else brings it up maybe.

[Quindiana Jones]

I deeply love Lost Odyssey's. I frequently find myself whistling it.

[Fynn]

Best - FFVII world map theme, Terra, Searching for Friends, Suikoden World Map theme (first and second games at least).

Worst - BoF III is some troutty elevator music, but I kind of dig it, so not sure. Actually Dragon Quest is pretty bad, but not sure if that should count because of how old it is. Still, if you compare first FF to first DQ, the difference in music is significant. Honestly, the games with the worst world map music probably just have music that isn't very memorable so I won't think of it unless someone else brings it up maybe.

Wait, are you saying the FIRST DQ has bad world map music? Or in general?

[Spuuky]

Even DQ1's world map theme is actually quite good

[I Took the Red Pill]

Best: Dragonquest VIII (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cU1OxBdlFdE). This is one of my favorite pieces of video game music. It was an overwhelmingly HUGE world to explore when it came out on PS2 and it blew my mind. And even though it wasn't really what we would call "open world" by modern standards, it felt like it was partially because the music was so dope.

Worst: Dragonquest XI. This might not actually be the worst I've ever experienced, but it's the freshest in my memory. Thankfully you can change out the Overworld theme for DQVIII's I wish they let you do the same with the battle theme.

It's unfortunate that Sugiyama is such a tool. I try to ignore it :/

[Fynn]

Even DQ1's world map theme is actually quite good

I know which is why I asked. It’s hard for me to believe someone could be annoyed with such a relaxing tune, but people have different opinions! Just needed to know if I understood well

[Spuuky]

Worst: Dragonquest XI. This might not actually be the worst I've ever experienced, but it's the freshest in my memory. Thankfully you can change out the Overworld theme for DQVIII's I wish they let you do the same with the battle theme.

It's unfortunate that Sugiyama is such a tool. I try to ignore it :/

The moment in post-game when it switches to the DQ3 overworld rules though

And yeah it sucks that Sugiyama is an absolute trash human being, but so it goes.

[Wolf Kanno]

Best:
Chronomantique ~ Chrono Cross
Fields of Time ~ Chrono Cross
Terra ~ FFVI
Main Theme of FFVII ~ FFVII
Over the Hill ~ FFIX
Memories of Green ~ Chrono Trigger
Yearnings of the Wind ~ Chrono Trigger
Corridors of Time ~ Chrono Trigger
World of Mana ~ Legend of Mana
World Map Last Area ~ Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne
Map II ~ Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
Memories of the City ~ Persona 3



Least Favorite
Blue Fields ~ FFVIII
Four Valiant Hearts ~ FFV
Rhythm of Wind, Sky, and Fire ~ Chrono Trigger
I'm sure there are more...

[Lord Golbez]

Best - FFVII world map theme, Terra, Searching for Friends, Suikoden World Map theme (first and second games at least).

Worst - BoF III is some troutty elevator music, but I kind of dig it, so not sure. Actually Dragon Quest is pretty bad, but not sure if that should count because of how old it is. Still, if you compare first FF to first DQ, the difference in music is significant. Honestly, the games with the worst world map music probably just have music that isn't very memorable so I won't think of it unless someone else brings it up maybe.

Wait, are you saying the FIRST DQ has bad world map music? Or in general?

I was just talking about the first one. As to why, it's pretty monotonous and basic. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's annoying but very lackluster. Even making allowances for the era, there are better overworld theme examples from that generation, like Legend of Zelda and FF.