Favorite final boss theme?

What is your favorite final boss theme? I quite like the FF4 Zeromus theme

always gonna be Kefka's Dancing Mad for me.

Lord of Cinder Gwyn from Dark souls 1

The Extreme from FFVIII

Metal Gear Rising has just such a great capstone moment - between how ridiculous the game is, and what the boss turns out to be - the theme is just perfect

Persona 4 final theme

Do MMOs count? Rise of the White Raven from the original FF XIV was pretty rad.

I mean it's kind of cheating but the last boss of MGS 4 no question.

Can't really decide between Devil May Cry 3 and Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal...

The theme that spawned a billion remixes. It's stuck in my head ever since I started playing the games so many years ago. Septette for the Dead Princess

MGS3 or MGSIV are the ones that come to mind immediately

Abyss Odyssey - Final Confrontation

[Sees thread title]

Oh, that's easy. The boss battle from Final Fantasy IV.

[Opens thread]

Oh, well then. Um.... yes, agreed.

If it's just the song on its own then it's FFVI. However, the way the main theme of FFXIV was synced up with the phases of the final raid boss made that whole encounter so damned memorable.

I still get chills from it.

Gwyn from dark souls 1

@marz said:

I second this!

Kuja- Dark Messanger from Final Fantasy IX.

In all the important ways he's the final boss, and he should've been the actual final boss. Best to pretend Necron didn't exist.

Donkey Kong country returns tropical freeze final boss. I just loved the whole thing though.

There are other good ones but none has stuck with me as much as the Rap-Rock classic "Burn My Dread" from Persona 3. Still vividly think of the ending and that song together.

For those bringing up Dark Souls 1, I have to say Old King Allant from Demon's Souls is better for sure (though I am a big Demon's Souls fan over any other Souls game... everything with the ending to Demon's Souls totally rules when personally I think the back half or so of Dark Souls 1 isn't so hot).

@warlordpayne: Wow ! does it actually change as the fight progresses ?

I heard it in the cinematic but i had no idea it was also a boss theme.

Lord Gwyn dark souls 1 for sure. I even liked it when they used it a second time at the end of dark souls 3.

If I'm being real, it's Dancing Mad every time, but that's already been said by numerous people. As a runner-up, though, here's the main final boss theme from Persona 3:

@cloudymusic: I wanted to point out just that theme. +1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSv1xykar4A

This. What an amazingly absurd surprise song for the final boss of Shadow Warrior 2. You've got the touch, Lo Wang. You've got the POWAH!

Monster Hunter 3 for me

The First Hunter from Bloodborne. I have a different view on this theme than most people though. I don't see this as just being Gehrman's theme (I never really cared for Gehrman as a character tbh), I see this as his theme AND that of your hunter. I think it illustrates very effectively the hardship your character has been through to get to this point.

@toxicfruit: Yeah, the music changes as you progress through the phases of the fight. There is even an attack or two that is timed to hit at certain parts of the song, like the gigaflare/akh morn combo at the climax near the end.

The Seal is Broken from Blue Dragon

Devil Kazuya in Tekken 2.

Or Mr. X in Streets of Rage 2. What a jerk, he shoots his own guys!!

@warlordpayne: That is amazing ! Thanks for sharing that.

Thinking about all the game music I've enjoyed over the years, I can't think of any final boss music that sticks out to me over all the other tracks in any given game. Thinking about all the music I like that happens to be the final boss track, however, leaves me with a tie between. . .

Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow. . .

and Super Mario Galaxy 2.

The theme used in the Galactus fight in Marvel vs. Capcom 3. The fast tempo, triplet string parts, and ominous chorus are pretty fitting for a battle between the guy who eats planets and the three dudes who are Earth's last line of defense.

• There is an argument to be made that stuff like Akuma from Street Fighter II might not count but I feel like it should.
• I heard Krizalid from KOF99's music in Botchamania once and then I was sold.
• Ancient Ogre from Street Fighter X Tekken is pretty goddamned good.
• The first post immediately reminded me of Chaos from the Final Fantasy remakes which is a banger but not my FAVORITE? It's hard to choose a favorite.
• I could go on but I'll stop at Champion Blue from Pokemon FireRed/LeafGreen because it's pretty dang good for a GBA game.

Can I be "that guy" and say

Only because its the only final boss music I still remember so I guess that's my favorite by default.

Maybe we should just give Nobuo Uematsu the lifetime achievement award for final boss themes...

Persona 4 - The Genesis

The whole thing is a musical journey. The foreboding beginning, and the lull in the middle before the main melody from Reach Out to the Truth is just so good. Absolutely pitch perfect for that fight

Runner-up: Persona 3 - Burn My Dread -Last Battle-

Debatable whether you call this or The Battle for Everyone's Souls the boss theme, but this is playing when you "win" so it counts in my book. Not as good as a standalone piece as The Genesis, but is a great way to close out P3.

Honourable Mention: Steins;Gate - スカイクラッドの観測者 [Skyclad Observer]

(AKA an excuse to mention Steins;Gate :p) Not even close to being a boss battle in the traditional video games sense, but the way it is used for when you overcome, essentially, fate itself puts it in vaguely the same realm IMO. END GAME SPOILERS IN LINK - this video shows where it is used in the game, but be warned it literally shows the end of the game and the resolution of the entire narrative. Only linking to that version because how it is used in the game is what elevates it and made it resonate so strongly for me.

Persona 3 Battle for Everyone's Souls.

When it turns into the velvet room song, I explode

@dudeglove: there's nothing quite as butt rock as SA1 perfect chaos