Jazzy Boss Music Rocks | Saber's Edge || FF13 Music Analysis

I genuinely am sort of meh on this track but then all of a sudden it switches and it literally feels like we're going to the stars. It's funny how it oscillates to sort of boring and repetitive to insanely stunning and moving, and I love it for that. Hamauzu strikes again.
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/ marcomeatball
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| Who am I? |
Hi, I'm Marco Meatball, a former pro opera singer, turned voice actor, turned KZbinr. I grew up loving video games and video game music after first discovering them when I was 7 years old. Since then, I have lived and breathed all things video games. This channel is all about video game music and the beauty of modern composition, how it allows us to connect more deeply with the games we love, and how we can better learn to understand ourselves through it and the experiences it provides.
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[@MarcoMeatball]

I've since bounced off of my playthrough of FF13 due to reasons but man - the soundtrack for these games goes insanely hard. Some of my favorite songs from the series are in this trilogy now.

[@Ztsakkeus]

Shame, but such is life.

[@justinleach4775]

Hey, it’s my personal experience - neat

[@groudonvert7286]

Can I suggest to react to Born Anew from FF13 (Orphan's first battle theme) ? It's a really unique Theme in Final Fantasy Franchise (and in case of FF13, it's the most epique Battle Theme in FF13).

[@Tolly7249]

Oh hey, it me. The gameplay and dragging plot of the series really put me off, but damn the music goes hard.

[@Omegaroth666]

Seeing as some of your favorite songs are from these games, the fact that you stopped playing it is fascinating to me. Is it possible that there's a synergy to other Final Fantasy soundtracks that's not present in 13? Maybe comparable to dubbing over a show or movie, how the mouths moving and words we hear don't match up?

[@simeonwashington9995]

Saber's Edge man. Every boss fight was hype. When the music starts, I just start bopping my head along, drumming along to the beat with my hands. I can see the Aster Protoflorian smacking me out of the air lmao. Such a fun track. Never considered it froma jazz perspective, so really enjoyed the video!

[@z0tw]

That boss was super fun to play against. The gamelan against it was pretty bland but tmit makes up for being such a unique creature.

[@Zaque-TV]

Its like whimsical dissonance with the harp piano part. The jazz runs are an accurate description because jazz is huge on tension and resolution where it can run around anywhere it wants and then land back in scale, becoming tense and percussive.

[@JordiRSamano]

FFXIII was my first Final Fantasy, so I didn't have any expectation of what a FF game should be. I just loved it.

[@z0tw]

Same here. Got it back in 2011. Was super awesome. Didn't play my next ff game until the 7 remake and haven't played another one yet.

[@ArinJager1]

it broke my PS3 >.> (still like the game, but am affraid to play it, in case it'd break this PS3, too)

[@alvinnarciso6130]

If XIII was your first, it might be difficult to play the turn based ones

[@halomasta21]

Oh man, I’m so happy to see you going over XIII’s music, it’s all so wonderful and fun and gorgeous and just aaaahhhhh this makes me want to go play the games again haha! Snow’s Theme, Serah’s Theme, Blinded by Light, Lightning’s Theme, Caius’ Theme, and of course Sunleth Waterscape, Archlyte Steppe, Fang’s theme, god I could list every song, it’s all brilliant! I hope you at least make a video on Sunleth Waterscape, and thank you so much for introducing this game’s gorgeous soundtrack to more people!

[@externalgills6886]

Yeah ff13 has some great music. Dust to Dust is my favorite: slow, haunting and beautiful.

[@rainichan]

god Dust to Dust is my favourite track in 13, hands down. it's so pretty.

[@ArinJager1]

dust to dust is a good one, but I really like... you're gonna laugh, but... Yaschas Massif aka the FF13 elevator music ^^

[@ypto82]

​@@ArinJager1that's also my favorite lol

[@eduardovelazquez1354]

Yes! More and more 13! lol I hope this leads up to Bhunivelze's theme!

[@ReneeSitra]

It's nice to see you give so much attention to a track you don't even care for You're greatly appreciated for that It would be fantastic if you reacted to knight of the goddess from XIII-2

[@KyleBrown-xn1dn]

This is actually one of my more liked boss themes, it just has a unique melody that I love so much, and it fits for ffxiii's battles quite well. Battles in ffxiii have high points, with staggers and big damage, and low points, when you're getting hit and you have to switch to a defensive paradigm. battles constantly shift between these high points and low points, just like this music constantly shifts between high points and low points. Something else to note is that it quickly transitions from a low point to a high point, which slowly gets higher, just like how it quickly shifts in battle when the enemy gets staggered, and then the chain bonus keeps increasing. The music then very quickly shifts back to that low point, just like how it happens when the stagger ends

[@algd26]

Great analysis! I freaking love this battle theme, so epic... I'm glad they went with Hamauzu and the same kind of vibes in a number of FF7R tracks!

[@oshaapproved7612]

I love the music in ff13 and it's absolutely the games strongsuit. It's gameplay is a bit of a departure from what mainline FFs were at the time and what people were expecting of it, but it has some very good character writing and themes. I really enjoy it.

[@Heavyweapop]

To me what you call jazz is simply a distortion of the orchestra to represent the chaos of a boss battle. Thats how ive always seen it.

[@c.a.honeycutt5046]

Yeah, I get the jazz, but really what happens in a lot of these boss themes throughout the FFXIII trilogy is distortion or discord. It’s supposed to be chaotic and unsettling. It culminates in the ultimate discord boss theme at the end of Lightning Returns.

[@blackpow3r]

Distortion and Chaos. What two perfect words for the FFXIII Trilogy! Lol

[@saitoXamaterasu]

After this opinion I am really interesting to hear your take on FF13-2 music because oh boy , you are going to freak out , not because is bad , you need to hear that , when I played FF13-2 I was very impresive and became one of my favorite OST in the entire videogames

[@DCTRZoom]

Nice analysis! I've always vibed with Saber's Edge, but never looked at it this way. You shoudl check out Oerba Village Theme, also from XIII. It's not boss music, but it's so beautiful!

[@TsukiAnimeGirl]

Saber's Edge is very special to me, it's different from other boss tracks from FF, I don't know if it's because it sounds cinematic, but not exactly in a Holywood way. Also, would love to see more FF13 playthroughs, it was super fun to see your progress. :D

[@Barthandelus-ep4tp]

Improvisatory? Maybe, but I just love, as a composer myself, the slow melodies accompanied by the fast staccatos done by strings and piano during the high point parts. This one right here is one of my favourite battle themes to listen to. Unike most boss themes, this one gives you the feeling of futility and a sense on why do we fight, is it worth it? But at the very end you think it is but once the repeat happens, you still question it. My two cents.

[@emmanueljimenez6525]

The boss theme absolutely fits the gameplay of FFXIII which is fast paced and epic.

[@ArinJager1]

I absolutely adore the fact that you (general you, me included) can tell who the composer is just from the unique style they have (you can tell it's Masashi Hamauzu... I mean, I can, can you? lol! I can identify Nobuo Uematsu, I can identify Hitoshi Sakimoto, Yasunori Mitsuda - can't forget him, and Motoi Sakuraba,... etc. etc.)... and like, Hamauzu co-created the soundtrack for FF10, that was like the first time they had another composer besides just Uematsu for a mainline/numbered final fantasy game... and then they let Hamauzu compose the whole FF13 soundtract (after Uematsu left squeenix, I think, Sakimoto did 12 before that, too), which is an evolution from the FF10 tracks he did (similar "themes" - saber's edge here is like an action version of the FF10 airship theme, especially the piano parts, well, duh, I mean, yeah, of course, he's a pianist, originally, not sure if a jazz pianist, though... The soundtrack fits the FF13 world perfectly, I like that)

[@ocarinalover1214]

I think that this theme is so dependent on the tension in boss fights. It definitely grew on me! Also, a lot of these fights where the theme shows up are pretty emotional

[@Fourtune1]

What the dog doin 4:44

[@eccochan]

I think you have a new fan in my kitten.. put this video on and he woke up from his nap, watched and listened intently and then tried to lick your face 😂❤

[@Farron6]

FF13 kept me playing just for the music and set pieces

[@z0tw]

Finally marco reacts to this song im pleased

[@TheTruestZero]

If it ever goes on your radar, you should give a listen to Delita's Hyral theme from Final Fantasy Tactics. It's quite the tune that sums up the entire character post chapter 1 to a T.

[@JinTekyta]

Still waiting for Saber's Edge to make it into FFXIV to be honest.

[@someonefromcanada2668]

"It's really rare to have a jazzy battle theme" Persona5 be like : "Hey look at me! Look at me!"

[@lollydolly1340]

I would really love to see some no straight roads ost reactions like vs SAYU

[@games4us132]

have you reviewed "Deus Ex - Icarus Theme"? Didn't found it on your channel, it is from a cult classic game with really good OST.

[@Zaque-TV]

Your dogs so funny lookin out the window 😂

[@justinleach4775]

I always feel like I’m shoehorning meaning into pieces when I try to figure out what they make me feel, but this theme 100% feels like “we are making this up as we go”. Big fight, no plans, we’ll figure something out (probably)! The improv piano/harp licks are that moment of finding your footing, trying anything to stay in it, and then when the melody kicks in you get a sense of executing something resembling a plan (but when you listen down to the piano fighting against it, there’s an undercurrent of panic that your plan isn’t good enough or that you need more). The short loop drives this home for me, since this game felt like “The Unprepared Party” more than maybe any other FF - just when you think you’ve made progress, you’re back to the drawing board.

[@ElliesCousin]

I agree so wholeheartedly with this!! ❤❤ I did not like FF13 upon its release. I was a part of the "I hate Final Fantasy XIII because everyone else hates it," contingent of gamers. A few years later, I randomly started listening to the game's music and fell in love with it. Saber's Edge, in particular, LITERALLY made me want to play this game. ^__^

[@samsolitaryroll]

Funny thing, this battle theme lul me to sleep in one boss battle

[@bub777]

I have much to say about Saber's Edge too. As one that only played the beginning of the game, I really liked the piece in general. I never thought of it as "jazzy", but I can totally understand where you're coming from. There's an older version of it called "M3 No.4 BossA α Version" from the FFXIII Plus soundtrack, to get an idea as to what it USED to sound like (supposedly either that version or one of the other non-final cuts of Saber's Edge was glitchy with the gameplay, which is what lead to changes heard in the finished product). one cool thing to check out: I dunno if you've ever played Hybrid Heaven, but despite that game being composed by someone completely different, I found it fascinating that the boss music has not only a similar feel to Masashi Hamauzu's style, but an ending section that sounds like it inspired the ending part of Saber's Edge.

[@AnOriginalName500]

This is seriously one of my favorite themes to ever come out of a video game. The game itself may be subpar, but it has arguably one of the best OSTs imo

[@Art36839]

Have you done any with FF8 music aside from the intro? The Ultimecia boss theme is so epic and I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[@Tolly7249]

The horn line merging into the mixed brass is the best part of this track for sure.

[@Dullahaun]

I think you would love the final boss "Grigori's" Theme from dragon's dogma

[@joshuejimenez2275]

i never considered this jazzy i considered it discordant and unpredictable.

[@barrybend7189]

More Bravely series please. 2/3 of the soundtrack was done by Revo.

[@charstar2808]

Maybe I'm digging too deep here, but to me the discordance with the piano represents the cie'th: they are unnatural and jarring. During the party's grand journey, there is always the reminder of what is at stake.

[@elementalchevalier]

Sorry, got distracted by the dog in the background. What did you say?

[@MyranSSB]

Hoping to see some Kingdom Hearts music broken down sometime. Love the videos either way!

[@icoruujai7740]

Hey Marco, listen to the OST of the game Metal Hellsinger, there are 12 songs of pure heavy metal. Maybe you like it.

[@Marilopes1002]

Vindo do futuro para recomendar "Historia Crux" de FFXIII-2

[@jamieholland3380]

Could you listen to the main theme of Wild Hearts if you ever get a chance? It has a surprisingly good soundtrack.

[@garm352]

I love the video but I keep getting distracted by the dog in the background EDIT: not a complaint, doggo is life

[@Iago.Carvalho]

6:55 ou should DEFINELY play it for your self.

[@ramasama]

Did you change the title of the video to something with less "edge"? xD

[@MarcoMeatball]

Yes lmao

[@Sider_al]

There's a new ultrakill wip OST posted :D You should check it out

[@hugomendoza5665]

I liked the ff13 trilogy, but I do agree it kinda pales compared to the better titles in the series. But the music definitely matches the caliber of the series.

[@neezduts69420]

Will you still be doing the soundtrack if not the game?

[@MarcoMeatball]

Yup !

[@vaulthunterfromterra4053]

For gameplay I prefer 13-2. 13-1 feels like it wasn’t play tested that well. Considering the first Gestalt fight just straight up expects you to be lvl30 & anyone that’s played 13, that takes an absolute eternity.

[@vaulthunterfromterra4053]

Music is good though

[@Chrira235]

AAAUGGGGGGHHHHH

[@Its-DeiTy]

13 was a trash game, but this track is easily in my top 5 fo FF music. I absolutely loved facing bosses to this music

[@Fourtune1]

Trash is an exaggeration

[@Its-DeiTy]

@Fourtune1 No, no, it's not. I'm a final fantasy enthusiast. It's my favorite series of games of all times. I'm in every possible type of discord, FB Group, and reddit you could think of. I play ALL the games. And i mean all of them. Even the obscure side games people in the West haven't heard about. I fkn love this series. I've never, not even ONCE, heard a single person say this was their favorite game. This games only redeeming quality was the music.

[@dweblinveltz5035]

The boss or battle music in FF13 trilogy isn't really my favorite. The zone themes are where it's at, not to mention the vocal tracks.

[@z0tw]

The sad thing about ff13 is that the gameplay was meh, the story was very i guess you could say basic and not overly complicated but the characters werent that bad. Vanille wasnt very interesting neither was hope. Snow was your typical jarhead. Sazh scenes were quite awkward and didnt feel right. Lightning stole the show completely. Fang was also quite cool.

[@jeofthevirtuoussand]

ost is amazing , the game is meh