Games. Most games have music to set the mood, empower a scene, or simply to keep us entertained as we slog through the LAVA DUNGEON OF DOOM. Of the goals present in videogames, a long since industry standard has been to place a challenge before the player that sets themselves apart from the previous obstacles: the Boss.

A boss encounter will almost always have a change-up in the music to present the increased importance of this bout. A quicker pace, booming horns, the bass gets turned up to 11, etc.
As story and narrative has become a bigger part of games, we not only see the change in music during battle, but different characters, including the "big bad" or his subordinates will have their own pieces of music for use in the narrative sequences, reflecting their personalities, beliefs, and struggles.
Yeah, Sephiroth has that booming Latin chorus for the final battle, but in the 40 or so hours before that, there's the much more eerie, villainous theme that accents his placement in a given scene.

Everyone has their favourite tunes from an unforgettable moment of triumph and aching thumbs in their personal history of gaming. Agatio & Karst's theme from Golden Sun: The Lost Age (a true nostalgic treat for the ears from a time when I first started playing RPGs that weren't Pokemon), the unforgettable duel with Asch in Tales of the Abyss set to "The Meaning of Birth", or the dizzying clash with the final boss in Bayonetta.

This article delves into a few examples of boss themes and musical pieces in games. Some are my all time favourites, and several examples stand out in very unique ways, which I will point out.




*Please note I'm only going by games I have actually played. I'd love to take examples from other games, especially games that have thematic bases built on music, like Ar Tonelico, Rez, and (I think) Eternal Sonata. But I wouldn't be doing those games justice unless I experience them firsthand.









The Boss - Metal Gear Solid 3




In the waning moments of MGS3, Naked Snake was forced to confront his former mentor, The Boss, one last time. She had shown her superiority time and again throughout the game, but this time she wouldn't just dismantle his firearm and let him walk away. It was kill or be killed. The Boss also reveals that a pair of Russian MiG s will bomb the surrounding area in 10 minutes, so Snake is not only forced to fight this emotional battle with the one person he ever looked up to, but end it fast so he can escape with EVA.

The 10 minute time limit is where the interesting point of the accompanying music comes in. The music is, appropriately, "Snake Eater", the opening theme of the game. As the battle begins, an instrumental version plays, the smooth string sections complimenting the dizzying field of flowers as you look for signs of The Boss waiting to ambush you (sucks to be you if you don't have batteries for the thermal goggles). Those who have mastered the CQC system can likely end the battle relatively quickly, but I had not, so I had to rely on sniping her from afar.
Now, there is no onscreen timer for this fight, so your only cues to how much time you have left are when The Boss says "five minutes" or "three minutes".
Now, as The Boss says you have 5 minutes remaining, the lyrics appear in the song, adding even more emotion to the scene. The very end of the song also marks where the time limit ends, which I thought was cool, though I didn't know it would actually end in my defeat the first time I played through on Normal difficulty, though!













Second Encounter with Jenova (end of Disc 1) - Final Fantasy VII



Well, if you've been living under a rock for the last decade and know nothing about the plot of FF7 or the twists at the end of Disc 1, I count you as a truly lucky individual (should you ever decide to play it, you can have a nice, clean experience).

Everyone else, you've probably heard about *mumblemumble* getting *mumblemumble*d a few hundred times, and the people weeping over said scene. Well, since I had been told of this scene quite a few times before, it didn't have a very strong effect on me, rather I like it more because Cloud finally shows some testicular fortitude around Sephiroth, even telling him to shut up while he's in the middle of one of his triumphant villain speeches.

Oh right, this is about music. Well, when the aforementioned scene occurs, the now well known "Aerith's theme" plays, not only during the aftermath of the FMV, but also into the fight with Jenova. Even though I already knew what was going to happen, I liked the fact that the music carries over into the boss fight, making you ponder how the party must feel when they're forced to fight for their lives in lieu of the immediate events. It was a nice touch, and complimented the scene very well, better than if we just heard "Jenova's theme" again (and that's saying something, cause I LOVE Jenova's theme).

Speaking of Final Fantasy, there was also that opera scene from FF6, but unfortunately, I only just started playing it (I just recruited Gar/Gaul/that wolf kid you find on the plains), so I can't write about it properly.













Ascending Ganon's Keep - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time



While the previous two examples have been where music compliments a powerful emotional scene, this is one example where the music in a game becomes not only a part of the background, but a physical part of the game itself. Whether or not you find it a "serious" use is up to you.

The puzzles solved in Ganon's castle, Link ascends the keep, fighting enemies all the way as the eerie pipe organ music accents the final leg of his journey. Link finally reaches the last, ornate door, leading to the room where Zelda lies captive, and Ganondorf waits to finish him. As Link draws open the door, a very interesting sight is seen: there's Zelda, trapped in that translucent pink crystal, and next to her is Ganondorf...on a pipe organ. The camera even cuts to his hands, as he tickles the ivorys. This was such an odd thing to me the first time I saw it, I mean, the big bad plays his own theme music?! Unthinkable! He was responsible for that music the entire time Link slogged through this damn castle?!
Maybe he took a liking to music when he took over Hyrule castle, maybe he was trying to instill fear in Link as he maneuvered the castle to make him less effective in the fight (he has a reason to fear the Master Sword after all), but whatever his reason, it was an interesting sight.

There was a good parody of this scene in Adamwestslapdog's "Zelda Abridged" on YouTube, so go check that out if you have the chance.

Now, while we're on this subject, there's another, very similar scene...













The Absorption Gate - Tales of the Abyss



After having your party split into 3 groups, solving several puzzles and finally being reunited, Luke and co. descend the final elevator to the lowest chamber of the Absorption Gate, and confront Van. In a scene that may very well be a tribute to the previously posted scene, Van is playing an organ when the group enters. Unlike with Ganondorf, where the BGM actually does stop when he stops playing, with Van, the music does carry on without him seated and playing. He does make a shrill sounding chord on the organ to punctuate a point in his speech, which goes on top of the BGM.













Sloprano - Conker's Bad Fur Day


Image actually from Conker: Live & Reloaded

Now, CBFD was a unique game in itself, especially for an N64 platformer. You'd think there's no other way you could be surprised by a game that features a squirrel lush, a sunflower with G-cups, fat exploding rats, using a bull to kill diarrhea afflicted cows, movie parodies galore, and plenty of cussing. Well, after defeating the Bull and getting a ball of crap from a dung beetle, you use it to crash through the door to a cave. Inside is a large, brown chamber, with pieces of corn with eyeballs hopping about. A booming voice tells you "bring me sweet corn!". After tossing a couple of those poor buggers into the fecal abyss, a truly unforgettable moment in the history of gaming begins.



Opera music begins playing as a giant monster rises from the cesspool in the centre of the area, he himself made of feces. Even more surprising, he's a singer! The entire background music to this fight is intertwined with his singing between stages of the fight, and his attack and movement patterns during the fight are timed with the music. As his lyrics go, he is The Great Mighty Poo, and he's going to throw his shit at you. Defeating him entails dodging his lumps of doodoo, and waiting for him to start singing again ("aaaaaaAaAaA!") so you can chuck a roll of toilet paper into his mouth. Each new stage of the fight picks up the tempo, too. The third stage of the fight is where it gets even more interesting, as Conker himself adds to the song.

GMP: When I've knocked you out with all my bab, I'm going to take your head and ram it up my butt!
Conker: Your butt?
GMP: My butt!
Conker: Your butt?!
GMP: That's right, my butt! (Errr...) My butt! (Errr!) MY BUUUUUUUUUUUT!!!

The last leg of the fight is tricky, but once you finally get that last roll into his mouth, he lets out one resounding high note that shatters a mirror at the back end of the chamber, revealing a chain. Grabbing it causes, appropriately, a toilet to flush, taking the Great Mighty Poo down the drain. He won't be forgotten.














Everything Ends... - Metal Gear Solid 4



It would take me a long time to write about the significance of the final battle of this epic conclusion to the Metal Gear series, but there are much better write-ups out there of this amazing section of the game. Suffice to say, Snake has gone to hell and back to stop Liquid's plan, and all that remains atop Liquid's battleship are Snake, Liquid himself, and their fists. The battle has 4 parts, each representing a different game in the "Solid" series. Not only does the music change to a signature song from each game, but the HUD also changes to match each game represented. Starting off with MGS1, and the infiltration theme, then into MGS2's tanker theme, and my favourite, MGS3's "Snake Eater", Liquid even starts using CQC at this point of the fight.

The final segment has "Old Snake" which also plays at the main menu. The heightened tension and fast action of the fight gives way to showing the exhaustion of the two fighters, struggling to shuffle forward and land even one more blow. One of the most wonderful and memorable moments in any game I have ever played. Beautiful.














Dr. Peace - No More Heroes




The first that we learn of Dr. Peace (who isn't a doctor by the way) is that he is a crooked private investigator. After battling his way through Destroy Stadium, Travis stumbles upon "the good doctor" giving a rousing vocal performance of a song that has a really long title (see the above image). Dr. Peace also reveals some details about the UAA and his own backstory, including his not so good relationship with his daughter, before fighting Travis.

Naturally, Travis bests him, and before the final blow is dealt, Dr. Peace says he wishes he could sing for his estranged daughter one last time.
Those who view the "false" ending of the game are also treated to the full version of his song.

"Better practice my rap..."

















The Grand Fonic Hymn - Tales of the Abyss


This image is actually from the TotA anime, not the game. It was the best I could get with Google image.

This one doesn't really fit in with the theme of most of the previous posts, since the music is only a part of the final section of the boss battle, but it plays a crucial role in the battle, more so than the previous entries.

Without spoiling the final events of Tales of the Abyss, I will explain that each of the fonic hymns that Tear sings have a different effect to them once she learns the words and the meaning behind them, and when all the hymns are sung in succession, it makes "The Grand Fonic Hymn", which does important things o_0 vagueness for the win

Its interesting that when used in battle, you can tell what spell the AI is making Tear cast by what Hymn she sings (that is, assuming she is using one of the hymns, such as Judgment).
In the final battle, the music eventually changes to an orchestral (MIDI) version of the grand hymn, and then, in the awesome (and un-losable) final FINAL section, Tear sings the entire hymn herself, as the previous, cloudy view of the surrounding ruins gives way to a cosmic, psychedelic blue nebula.
The lovely hymn is also heard at the end of the credits following the finale.

















Usurping the Demon King - Sengoku BASARA 2: Heroes




In the last stage of Oichi's story mode, you soldier on alone through Honnouji to reach your brother, Oda Nobunaga (< getting used to Eastern name order now). As you step into the temple, seemingly flooded with flames, Oichi and Nobunaga exchange rousing, maniacal laughter, driving the point home that Oichi has lost what remained of her sanity, and she is now as cruel and dangerous as her brother, the "Demon King of the Sixth Heaven".

The song that begins playing during this scene is "Nemure, Hi no Hana" (I think it means "Sleep, Burning Flower") which is sung by Oichi's voice actress, Mamiko Noto, making it all the more fitting and personal.

Once the battle is over, the song continues still (well, it starts from the beginning), Oichi lets out one final burst of triumphant laughter, before raising her hands upward and begins to cry, for everything that led her up to this point, all the people she slew, including her own brother. She weeps with her head buried in her hands, as the burning temple begins to crumble around her, and the credits begin to roll. She is the only character in SB2H to have a unique credit sequence, and a true wonder it was.

I would go into more detail ("What? There's more?!?!), but I think it would merit its own article.
Suffice to say it still is my favourite ending, heck, my favourite storyline of all from the BASARA games.








What are some of your favourite uses of music in videogames?