2. Battle Theme - FF1 Already going back to FF1 for the second and last time... I legitimately think it's fucking awesome. Started the iconic bass line intro, but it also clearly reads to me as a metal song. Listen on the NES, chiptune music plays and I hear this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=n81G...
3. Vocal Track - Eyes on Me (FF8) Nobuo Uematsu wrote one of the most perfect love ballads ever, and got the generational talent of Faye Wong to sing it AND it's brilliant lyrically as Julia's song. Her version of The Cranberries' Dreams is at the end of this clip. www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUuu...
4. Overworld Theme - Terra (FF6) Feels a bit unfair to every other Final Fantasy that they used an Ennio Morricone-inspired arrangement of a character theme for the overworld, but that doesn't stop it from being the best. www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUg8...
5. Dungeon Track - Ultimecia's Castle (FF8) I was tempted to put Devil's Lab from FF6 because its industrial funk is great, but have to go with this. Moody, baroque gothic horror, which also reminds me of the third movement of... www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd1a...
6. Final Boss Theme - Dancing Mad (FF6) Bach meets progressive rock. Amazing that this exists at all, much less as the final boss music for an SNES game. God has blessed us, even if God is a clown. www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6Ug...
6.1 Kid playing Dancing Mad on a real organ Just sharing this along the way. He also did a great One Winged Angel, an obvious second choice for this category—also great, more iconic, not quite as mindblowingly amazing and certainly overexposed at this point. www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJ-O...
7. Character Theme - Kefka (FF6) Also reminds me of Bach. Kefka's theme isn't a fugue, but the melody reminds me specifically of Little Fugue, one of Bach's most recognizable songs. Sweet Jesus is FF6 one of the most melodically strong soundtracks in human history. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sxe7...