Ranking the Final Fantasy Series | Final Boss Themes

[@wiseguy240Winston]

FF8 The Extreme is the most hype final boss theme in the series. I'll never forget the heart racing and anxiety I had fighting Ultimecia 1st time. The build up of the whole track from mysterious & slowly looming terror to the fast pace part is excellent 😩🎵

[@optimysticquest]

Totally agree with you. The Extreme is so good. Have you heard the version in FFXIV?

[@wiseguy240Winston]

@yunsofprovo Haven't gotten the chance since I don't play mmos, unfortunately buy I'll check it out.

[@ShawnLoftinplus]

It's Dancing Mad for me. The journey through hell to purgatory then to heaven. Only to hear at the end of the Heaven piece a faint playing of Kefka's theme which feels like it reveals the truth that at its core Kefka is still a clown and the heaven piece falls apart and then you get this rock piece that is based solely on Kefka's theme. It was such a good way to tie up the game.

[@optimysticquest]

It’s the most perfectly crafted final boss in video game history. Still can’t believe it was part of a Super Nintendo game.

[@NikeaTiber]

Dancing Mad is the pinnacle, no question about it. It is unreal how the FF6 and Chrono Trigger soundtracks punch so far above the hardware they are on.

[@Dulmari_Games]

15's magna insomnia is one of my favorites

[@optimysticquest]

It’s a great one. The last part with the choir is my favorite.

[@Vayne_Solidor]

My fav FF final boss themes are: Struggle for Freedom (XII TZA), Magna Insomnia (XV), Vermilion Fire (Type 0) and Unseen Abyss (XIII-2) Edit: "Battle Theme 2" from FF2 is such a banger, I only played the Pixel Remaster but this was the best moment of it. And although I don't like The Extreme that much, the beginning and transition is great.

[@chrispysaid]

I don't know if I can forgive you for Dancing Mad at #2 EDIT: Now don't ever say I'm not willing to challenge my biases. I went and gave The Extreme a fair chance, and while it's a solid FF boss track, it stands on the same level as, say, FF3, FF4, FF5. Hearkens back to those halcyon days of straightforward-yet-earwormy battle themes. But in no way, under no circumstances, by no measure does it hold a candle to the utter masterpiece, both in scope and in structure, that is Dancing Mad. You, sir, are the one who is dancing mad for putting such a sincere work of art at 2nd place. Apologize.

[@optimysticquest]

@@chrispysaid Fiiiiiithos Luuuuusec Weeeeecos Viiinooosec

[@chrispysaid]

@@optimysticquest You're grounded.

[@Swinhoegaming]

So happy to see 8 at number 1, my favourite FF mainly due to the music. Props to ‘The Castle’ being the best final dungeon theme as well

[@optimysticquest]

Final dungeon themes will probably be my next ranking.

[@Swinhoegaming]

@@optimysticquest The Castle has to be number 1! Haha well, maybe. I haven’t played all the FF games so I can’t comment on them all

[@athmanemahfouf140]

As I was watching I was like "He didn't even rank The Extreme ?!", then I saw the light. Great video ! Though if we include FF14, I think the final boss theme of Shadowbringers and the phase 2 of Stormblood's final boss are up there too !

[@optimysticquest]

Hey thanks! Yeah I think I may need to make some separate vids covering all the expansions for XI and XIV.

[@KingLeonidas_300]

I feel like Otherworld should represent FFX. I can never consider Yu Yevon the true final boss of that game. It's just a formality like the last sephiroth fight where u cant lose even if u dont omnislash.I remember being so hyped when Jecht arm came out as Braskas Final Aeon as the strong first notes of Otherworld played. Felt cool too that it sounded familiar only to realize it's a callback to the intro of the game. Where would u rank Otherworld if it were included?

[@KingLeonidas_300]

Necron (unfortunately, so random came out of nowhere) is the final boss of 9 but I really enjoyed 'Dark Messenger' from the battle with Trance Kuja. That gets me going everytime

[@optimysticquest]

Yeah I really don’t like when video games make it confusing or even debatable who the final boss or villain is. FFX has a huge problem with this. Ultimately I went with Yu Yevon for a couple of reasons. It is still a fight even though you can’t die. In the case of FF7’s Sephiroth, it is done for the cinematic of Omnislash…there isn’t a fight at all. Another reason is that the Yu Yevon fight theme is actually called “Final Battle”. I felt that I definitely couldn’t exclude a track in this category when it’s literally called that. I also would consider Yu Yevon to be the villain of the game, not Jecht. Again, I hate when Square creates these confusing situations. I have no problem at all with others naming Braska’s Final Aeon as the final boss of FFX though. In terms of my feelings of Otherworld, I think it’s solid. I don’t like it as much as “Final Battle”, so I’d probably have it either ranked the same or lower than the current placement.

[@el_baz00ka10]

@@KingLeonidas_300Dark Messenger absolutely rules. Would be my Nr 1 if included in such List

[@nesoukkefka1741]

I swear the first time I played FFVII, I was never going on Internet so I had 0 spoils, I didn't even know the track One-Winged Angel existed, so when I reach the final boss I was a kid and was really bad at video game, so I struggled on Bizarro Sephiroth, when I finally beat Bizarro Sephiroth I thought that was it, I was starting to relax, posing the controller waiting for what I was expecting to be the cutscene after the Black Screen and then BOOM One Winged Angel started playing, and the black screen fade into the battle scene and I saw the gameplay UI being there and was like "OH Fuck where's my controller.", biggest "OH SHIT !!!" moment ever in a FF game, it's unfortunate this track is so well known by now that even people that never played FFVII knows about it, going fully blind it can really catch you off-guard like that... plus it's such a great song. Btw my ranking (exclude MMo cause I didn't play them) would be : 14 - FFX 13 - FFIII 12 - FFXIII 11 - FFII 10 - FFIX 9 - FFIV 8 - FFV 7 - FFI 6 - FFXVI 5 - FFXV 4 - FFVII 3 - FFXII 2 - FFVI 1 - FFVIII

[@optimysticquest]

Our top 4 and very similar!

[@kickpuncher1892]

This is a really tough list to make

[@itswillyo5]

The extreme is the goat!!! Finally a man with taste

[@optimysticquest]

I’m happy to see others feel the same about it!

[@hexyearhexyear]

love lists like this and love the way you did it!

[@optimysticquest]

Thanks. Means a lot!

[@dinotech3416]

Ff 2 being hi is a banger! I love dawn of souls version oddly

[@rpgranked]

This is like my new favorite channel. Your positivy makes this channel so much more fresh and worth watching. This is what I'm striving to be with my channel. Good luck, you deserve more subs and will get there soon! Don't give up... I genuinely believe you can be one of the greatest FF channels ever if you keep it up!!! PS - Love the endless ff2 praise!

[@optimysticquest]

Wow thank you for that. Even though I try to be positive, I mean everything I say.

[@rpgranked]

@optimysticquest of course! It's really boring to see everyone hate on FF2 FF8, FF13, and FF15 every video I watch even tho they are literally great games

[@desert_sky_guy]

With you on FF IV soundtrack being perfect, though I personally have the OG OST 16-bit chiptune final boss music as my favorite in the series by a wide margin. I think the arranged version really loses that techno punch and sense of urgency. No complaints about your rankings at all, just wanted to say thanks for putting these together. My experience is probably similar to yours, I played FF 1 as a kid, then FF "2" on SNES and of course "3". It wasn't until I found emulation that I stumbled upon FF V, then later played II and III on my phone. There is probably some regular old nostalgia bias in my take, but FF IV truly smashes every track throughout the game and no other soundtrack has felt as complete since.

[@optimysticquest]

I believe a major reason why the 2D soundtracks are so preferable (not only are they incredible and melodic) is they don’t have filler tracks. Many of the later FF’s have just as many great tracks as the old ones but they are loaded with tons of filler. That’s why I often don’t prefer those OST’s as much as the classics.

[@Luzitanium]

FF8 is the most epic FF ever

[@Romangelo]

The best ones are from sequels and spin-off like XIII-2 and Type-0 final boss themes.

[@badmeetsevil6163]

I was hoping Necron’s theme would be higher. 😢 I also really liked Zeromus’ theme. I think Neo Exdeath’s theme is a bit too high. I find it a bit basic.

[@optimysticquest]

Interesting take on FFV. I think it’s stellar. FFIX’s has been creeping up the ranks for a long time for me. I, at one point, thought Necron was a dumb last minute addition, so I didn’t think too much about the theme. I love it way more now than I ever have. It reminds me a lot of 3 and 5.

[@notme8152]

Now THAT is a list.

[@optimysticquest]

Hey thanks!

[@ItsYourPalJacob]

My list wouldn't be that much different! I think I'd switch a few things around in the top 5. My bias for FF7 says that One WInged Angel is #1 haha. I think it's the most iconic final boss theme in video game history. There's a reason it's so overplayed after all! I'd put Dancing Mad at 2, The Extreme at 3, and FFV's final boss theme at 4. Also I'm totally with you with the word "masterpiece!" I don't like words that convey absolutes and often avoid using them.

[@optimysticquest]

Which version of One Winged Angel do you like best? Also I’m curious if you’ve played ff7 remake. I’d love to hear your thoughts in a vid. I feel like you’d do a great analysis of its merits compared to the OG.

[@ItsYourPalJacob]

@@optimysticquest I'm mixed on FF7 Remake. I got to the 2nd to last chapter but I could never bring myself to finish it. I remember really love the gameplay and the love and care they gave to the characters and story, but a lot of the extra content they added felt like padding rather than adding world building. You'd have a great chapter where everything progress naturally and nicely, and then a chapter that felt like it was added to just lengthen the game. It felt like every other chapter was dedicated to just wasting the players time, you know? They'd take small sections from the original game and make entire chapters out of it. I love Cloud and Arieth's interactions while going from the church to Wall Town (it was either chapter 8 or 9) but those interaction weren't really worth the amount of time it takes to get there. Same with chapter 15, it was a fun challenge to go up sector 7, but it just felt like it didn't need to be that long. It seemed like this happened every other chapter, and my breaking point was encountering Sephiroth again just for him to cut the bridge from under you where it felt like it was once again artificially lengthening the game when were so close to making actual progress. I know I was probably affected because I played the original and it's so dear to me, but man playing OG, it felt like everything you did was important. I didn't get that feeling with Remake. But now Rebirth is coming out and looks amazing so I'm going to have to try and finish Remake lol.

[@optimysticquest]

@@ItsYourPalJacob I totally get what you're saying. There was a lot of padding in Remake. I especially remember thinking the second sewer visit was the biggest waste of time and really killed the pacing. Overall, I did like it though. Yeah the new Rebirth info and trailers have made me much more interested. I'll be very impressed if they pull off all they're claiming.

[@ItsYourPalJacob]

Oh! And I like the original version of One Winged Angel the most haha

[@fuyuki90]

iconic doesnt translate as best. it is just that piece is overly promoted, since they milk ff7 for easy money

[@josbar2835]

As much as I have enjoyed Final Fantasy theme music over the years, including the Boss Battle themes, the boss battle theme of Super Metroid (1993) is likely my personal favorite of any boss theme, even beating out the FF IV Boss theme (IMO). This Super Metroid theme perfectly captures the chaos occurring during this epic, unpredictable battle that occurs at the end of Super Metroid (vs. Mother Brain), especially considering this theme is now 30 years old. Give it a listen and let me know what you think: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qGOmg396gtaYias

[@optimysticquest]

I think Super Metroid is a great game. It’s been many years since I played it and would love to eventually do a 100% file. I think final boss themes are an underrated element of storytelling. Wish more talked about it. Thanks for sharing!

[@johnhightshoe996]

Not gonna lie was about to break out the pitch forks because for 13 I always had it in my head that Born Anew was the final boss theme, honestly completely forgot that it didn’t play through Orphan phase 2.

[@SourceoftheOoze]

Why do you say Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix at 18:24? Inside joke?

[@optimysticquest]

Nobuo Uematsu claimed he drew inspiration from Purple Haze for the intro to One Winged Angel.

[@seanyoung9014]

The Extreme and Force Your Way for me.

[@johnnyscifi]

Hot take, I prefer birth of a god to one winged angel...

[@optimysticquest]

Not a bad take. I love Birth of a God.

[@lewis9s]

As a boss theme I absolutely agree.

[@KingKabisi]

I will never understand when a game ends with a more tame version of a previously Epic theme. That's what unfortunately disappointed me about FF16's Final boss theme, soken is capable of such Grand and Epic pieces of music but I think the tone was way too calm for the final part of the fight. Excluding the final moments of the fight imo

[@optimysticquest]

Agreed. That’s exactly what happened with me. Logos was a really fun theme.

[@bobby4tw]

Battle with Gilgamesh is the best battle theme in final fantasy history.

[@IdkAkaIdk]

Ik you said you were kidding but i still need to say it. Ppl don't favour FF7 stuff so much cuz they're ¨normies¨ or generic. It's because it really is the best game in the series.

[@orionpax123]

FF8 is GOAT!!!

[@optimysticquest]

Yes it sure is.

[@seanyoung9014]

Absolutely it is!

[@krubix2871]

Why tf does it say that this video has 197k likes

[@optimysticquest]

I don’t see that on my end lol

[@Storm1Trooper5]

Sometimes KZbin overlays stuff from a previous video you’ve watched and forgets you’re on a new one.

[@adjermany3180]

I feel I am in a minority with my love for Nascant Requiem

[@optimysticquest]

I don’t hate it. I just found it a bizarre choice to follow up “Born Anew”.

[@adjermany3180]

@@optimysticquest I think it works from a narrative perspective, I kinda view it like the metroid post-final-boss countdowns. You've beaten the mastermind, now you just have to survive the threat they brought about y'know?

[@optimysticquest]

@@adjermany3180 I see what you mean. I'll try to think of it that way next playthrough. I'm actually a big FFXIII fan.

[@jaypro6269]

It's one of those battle themes where, It's not a battle that needs to be won, but it's a victory lap. The music is indicating you already won.

[@Touchybanana]

Trash list.