These Are The Ten Best Songs In The Long History Of 'Final Fantasy'

Alright, that headline is a lie. There’s no reasonable way to make a blanket ‘best of’ list about the music of Final Fantasy. Even if you ignore spin-offs, sequels, Disney crossovers, remakes and the occasionally misjudged swing at film and television, there are still 15 core games, totalling around 1000 compositions spanning some of the most iconic songs in gaming. Trying to chip that down to an objective ten or so is madness, especially since people are going to be a pinch biased towards whichever entry they poured endless hours of their teens into.

If you were to try, though, it would probably look something like Distant Worlds: Music From Final Fantasy. The celebrated touring concert series is making its Melbourne debut this month with a new show, featuring a 100-piece orchestra, for a one-off date at Melbourne Arena. Better yet, the performance will feature a special tribute to the original soundtrack of Final Fantasy VII (where endless hours of our own teens went).

In preparation for this historic event, here’s our humble crack at an unreasonable task.

Opening Theme - Final Fantasy I

Back in ’87, four heroes of light set out to vanquish a great evil and restore balance to the four elements – an epic quest that required an epic theme song. This is not that song. Now-legendary composer Nobuo Uematsu originally came up with this piece as the opening music for the title screen, but the cheery call to adventure had such an impact that it’s since been used in almost all of the entries that followed, becoming a kind of unofficial series theme. Uematsu, who single-handedly scored Final Fantasy up until number X, called it "the most important song in terms of everything I’ve ever done”, which is saying something.

Any De Chocobo theme - Final Fantasy II

Much like the beloved canary-coloured critters themselves, the original Chocobo Theme has been popping up regularly since Final Fantasy II back in ’88. Keeping the jaunty central tune, each game usually includes a few new versions that openly pastiche different genres. Mambo De Chocobo (VI) adds chip tune kettle drum, while Electric De Chocobo (IX) probably deserves a co-credit from The Ventures. As well as breaking naming conventions, Bo-Down (XIV) actually sounds a fair bit like the VB jingle. Mods De Chocobo, Ukulele De Chocobo, Techno De Chocobo – pick your poison.

Terra’s Theme - Final Fantasy VI

Final Fantasy soundtracks undoubtedly became more cinematic as the series continued, in part due to the steady progress of the platforms they were on. That being said, songs like Terra’s Theme show that there was always something filmic in the games’ compositions, giving those early worlds much broader horizons than 8- and 16-bit constraints should have really allowed. The track’s strings and marching drum rise to meet a whistling woodwind melody like Ennio Morricone’s Spaghetti Western efforts being pumped through a MIDI.

One-Winged Angel - Final Fantasy VII

Sephiroth is one of modern fiction's supreme villains. He radiates Darth Vader’s overpowered menace, is as relentlessly unkillable as Agent Smith and has Norman Bates-level issues with his mum. Scoring his final confrontation, Uematsu was apparently inspired by three things: Stravinsky, Hendrix, and Hitchcock’s Psycho theme – that last one clear in the track’s hackle-raising violin shrieks. Add steady, resolve-battering percussion and a sinister Latin chorus and you’ve got one of the most dread-inspiring battle tracks in video game history.

Aerith's Theme - Final Fantasy VII

Aerith's Theme might have the most emotional baggage attached of any song in the series. Without giving too much away, Sephiroth murders the character in a shocking moment that has become gaming legend, leaving you, the 'hero', to stew in your complete failure while her theme plays. The song is like a lump in your throat you can never swallow. There are people that tear up at the opening keys the way some people do at La Bohème’s Oh Dio! Mimi! or Imogen Heap covering Hallelujah on The OC.

Continue & The Prelude - Final Fantasy VII

Game over, and the gently infuriating sound of Continue. How much progress did you just lose? How much time did you waste on that fight? Can you even beat Emerald Weapon, or is it all a sick joke? It was almost enough to make you toss a controller through your thicc, fish tank of a ’90s TV. But then The Prelude’s soothing arpeggios would wash over you like a synth-based brain balm and you’d find the strength to go out, grind through another million squirrels or whatever and try again.

Liberi Fatali - Final Fantasy VIII

It’s nothing new to point out Squall Leonhart is an annoying protagonist. He’s angsty, even in a series famous for liking a healthy splash of angst, and, for the most part, he has the charisma of a sullen block of wood. He does have two things going in his favour, however – the coolest weapon ever conceived and a badass introduction. The opening cinematic gunblade duel between Squall and rival Seifer is a wild way to start a game, but it’s Liberi Fatali, which revisits Uematsu’s taste for stressful strings and Latin choruses in a big way, that gives the scene peak levels of drama.

Vamo' Alla Flamenco - Final Fantasy IX & The Oppressed - Final Fantasy IX

These two are sharing an entry because, as well as being smashing songs, they’re both here for the same reason – they’re so wonderfully incongruous. Every now and then Final Fantasy takes a bold step outside of common sense and the music always follows with glee. Why is this vaguely German medieval fantasy setting suddenly full of castanets and Spanish guitar? Because your theatre troupe is kidnapping the princess. Why is this dystopian slum cranking organ-driven reggae with a thick bass line? Shut up and find that wig, you’ve got a crime lord to seduce.

Zanarkand - Final Fantasy X

Finishing a Final Fantasy game sometimes feels a little like being granted a wish by a monkey’s paw. You did it, you saved the world, but you also wiped all knowledge of your deeds from history, or your memories were all a delusion caused by severe trauma, or you were nothing but a dream the whole time. You don’t always get a clean win, basically. Cue Final Fantasy X, a story about sacrifice, loss and hope, and a tragic journey that in hindsight is completely forewarned by the opening song. It’s beautifully solemn, perfectly capturing the regretful but resolute purpose of the characters.

Victory Fanfare - Final Fantasy I

Bah-bah-bah-bah, bah-bah, bah, bah-bah! Classic.

Tickets to Distant Worlds: Music From Final Fantasy are available HERE.

Distant Worlds: Music From Final Fantasy plays 24 Aug at Melbourne Arena.