Board 8 > Who would you say is the most recent truly iconic piece of video game music?

(+) Yeah! (+)

UshiromiyaEva posted...

The FF Main Theme and Victory Jingle are both absolutely way more well known to the average person than OWA, what the hell are people smoking lol.

Do not conflate what to gamers know with what does the average Joe potentially know.

why would the average joe know the main theme of any of the games. owa at least shows up in memes and shit

If we're not requiring them to actually know what they're listening to and just acknowledge "I have heard this before", then I don't think it's even comparable.

Of course the actual topic is asking about how iconic something is, and if they can't even name where it's from then obviously that doesn't meet the criteria, so it's kind of a moot point.

By raw numbers of who has heard this song I think OWA would trail hard behind the other 2, though, real hard.

UshiromiyaEva posted...

If we're not requiring them to actually know what they're listening to and just acknowledge "I have heard this before", then I don't think it's even comparable.

Of course the actual topic is asking about how iconic something is, and if they can't even name where it's from then obviously that doesn't meet the criteria, so it's kind of a moot point.

By raw numbers of who has heard this song I think OWA would trail hard behind the other 2, though, real hard.

Knowing where it's from doesn't have much to do with it. The vast majority of people who know Megalovania have never played Undertale.

I think Megalovania is probably iconic, but I consider it a Homestuck song, so it's in a nebulous place for me personally. I literally only played Undertale because I found out Megalovania was in it, I had completely ignored the game as a fad otherwise.

I freely admit people know it for the game, though. Maybe if I had been willing to actually do the route where you hear it I may have changed my tune.

MacArrowny posted...

Knowing where it's from doesn't have much to do with it. The vast majority of people who know Megalovania have never played Undertale.

I'd go a step further and say most of those who played Undertale never heard Megalovania in their own playthrough.

The average person doesn't know the FF main theme.

The average person doesn't know any FF music, but if they do know any, the Victory Fanfare is by far the most likely of all the options.

If a person knows any FF music, OWA is up there. But To Zanarkand and Aerith's theme are also among that number.

So you're just sticking with raw listening numbers when defining something iconic, good to know

Speaking strictly for myself, the Outer Wilds theme has stuck with me in a way that other recent games haven't.

I only know Megalovania because bout 3 years ago I said "Hey Google, Play Videogame music", and it was part of the playlist. Now it's part of my kids Jazz Band concert this spring.

PIayer_0 posted...

Speaking strictly for myself, the Outer Wilds theme has stuck with me in a way that other recent games haven't.

Same here

In fact, I would argue most average FF players don't know the main theme.

If someone played like, from 7 on, they might not actively pick up on it until FF12 (though I don't have 8 or 9 experience so if it's more utilized there then oops)

LightningStrikes posted...

they play every time you boot FFXIV

But first they hear "Tales of loss and fire and faith"

WhiteLens posted...

But first they hear "Tales of loss and fire and faith"

This variation in "what plays first when you boot" is what seperates the people who fully logout of the application like good little boys and girls whenever they're done playing, and those who leave the game executable open in the background like a rebel.

I certainly dont agree with that, the main theme is everywhere. There was a period they didnt use it as much but that period passed. They picked it over OWA at the Tokyo Olympics opening for a reason!

It fits an opening ceremony better than OWA does

LightningStrikes posted...

I certainly dont agree with that, the main theme is everywhere. There was a period they didnt use it as much but that period passed. They picked it over OWA at the Tokyo Olympics opening for a reason!

It's like, only used in the credits most of the time.

If anybody got their FF started 7-10, then the Main Theme isn't really quite as much on the radar.

Besides, most average gamers people probably think Prelude is the actual Main Theme of FF anyway.

And I would say the Prelude is far more iconic.

Leonhart4 posted...

It fits an opening ceremony better than OWA does

Imagine if they did Gold Saucer tho

I was a fan of Final Fantasy for 5 years before I even knew what the FF main theme was, and even now I couldn't tell you when or if it plays in any of the games other than the credits of FF9.

There have been some good guesses in here so far. I'll go for Megalovania out of these due to it going from Toby's fingertips to the Pope's ears. I haven't played or watched The Last of Us yet though.

One that has not been named yet for consideration: Portal - Still Alive

Also don't think this one should count, but Guitar Hero 3 made Through the Fire and Flames big enough to be worth a side-mention.

I was actually thinking of Through the Fire and Flames myself. Weird case but I'd say it represents the genre best, aside from like, idk, caramelldansen

pyresword posted...

I was a fan of Final Fantasy for 5 years before I even knew what the FF main theme was, and even now I couldn't tell you when or if it plays in any of the games other than the credits of FF9.

Yeah, if you started the series with the PS1, that song doesn't have as much significance to you because it's not even used or it's slipped into the ending credits briefly for FFVII-FFX.

Last Surprise is also up there, methinks. Technically wasn't Megalovania in Homestuck first?

I think an "iconic piece" should be something that is both known and recognized even if you haven't played the game that it's from. So I find it funny that some of the suggestions in here are things that I, presumably above the proposed tier of "midcore gamer", have not heard simply because they're in genres of games that I don't play/follow. If they were truly iconic then they would have reached me, not even outside the sphere of gaming but merely in a different part of it.

Isquen posted...

Last Surprise is also up there, methinks. Technically wasn't Megalovania in Homestuck first?

Tony Fox' Halloween Hack of Earthbound.

https://youtu.be/iIowwZThIXM

Obellisk posted...

Now it's part of my kids Jazz Band concert this spring.

lolwut

HanOfTheNekos posted...

I was actually thinking of Through the Fire and Flames myself. Weird case but I'd say it represents the genre best, aside from like, idk, caramelldansen

What does caramelldansen represent beyond 15-year-old meme videos?

Oh wait a minute I forgot.

Megalovania is indeed the best answer to this question.

https://youtu.be/FnKpL_sv2PI

azuarc posted...

lolwut

Thats what I said.

Her part sounds great, she's really good. Add in another 25 kids though, its going to be a total shitshow. But good for the 4th Grade Band Director to give it a go.

Obellisk posted...

Thats what I said.

Her part sounds great, she's really good. Add in another 25 kids though, its going to be a total shitshow. But good for the 4th Grade Band Director to give it a go.

You better have a recording of this after it's over.

The OWA erasure in this topic is insane. It doesn't win the question but you don't need to have played FF7 to recognize it.

UshiromiyaEva posted...

Oh wait a minute I forgot.

Megalovania is indeed the best answer to this question.

https://youtu.be/FnKpL_sv2PI

bruh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_WNaso8A_w

Kenny Omega may have used both, but only one has been performed for the Pope

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Q4dpSYvhE0

Pope Tiebreaker

OWA is iconic but not as iconic as the Prelude, which is up there with the dragon quest fanfare as being emblematic of all RPGs. Both are much more famous than the final fantasy main theme tho, regardless.

Honestly when I was saying FF Main Theme I meant Prelude, lol.

OWA is iconic in that it is so very unlike most of the rest of video game soundtracks to that point. And it probably is the best example of "final boss music" in a game.

azuarc posted...

What does caramelldansen represent beyond 15-year-old meme videos?

DDR? Or am I thinking Stepmania... never was big into either.

UshiromiyaEva posted...

Honestly when I was saying FF Main Theme I meant Prelude, lol.

Different conversation! Lol

Yeah my mixup.

I honestly don't even associate the FF Main Theme proper with anything BUT XIV anymore.

HanOfTheNekos posted...

OWA is iconic in that it is so very unlike most of the rest of video game soundtracks to that point. And it probably is the best example of "final boss music" in a game.

I would contend that it's not even the best FF example to that point, it has to be Dancing Mad

The issue is just Dancing Mad is a 16 minute monsterpiece (no typo) that weaves in like six different themes and an untrained ear isn't going to recognize that it's bringing back Omen from literally the opening credits to do something unbelievable before reaching the super memorable final movement, just as one example

OWA is a lot more 'digestible', for lack of a better term. Which I don't mean as a diss to be clear, it picks a style and does it incredibly well and you don't need to even pay any attention to the details at all to be grabbed and instantly know what it's doing. Dancing Mad, by contrast, tackles just about every style of final boss theme at once, from sad and mournful to orchestral bombing to spooky to all out rock and rolling. The former is a synthesis and the latter is a paradigm unto itself, kinda.

On that note though, can we just talk about how FF5 to FF8 all had absolutely out of this world final boss themes? Nobuo Uematsu really just could not miss in his first prime. Neo Exdeath, Dancing Mad, One Winged Angel and The Extreme are all doing something utterly unbelievable and they're all completely valid and correct choices for 'peak final boss music'. What a privilege to have grown up hearing them, truly.

KanzarisKelshen posted...

The issue is just Dancing Mad is a 16 minute monsterpiece (no typo) that weaves in like six different themes and an untrained ear isn't going to recognize that it's bringing back Omen from literally the opening credits to do something unbelievable before reaching the super memorable final movement

Honestly this is why I've always had a bit of an axe to grind against OWA.

It's a great song, but it comes out of nowhere. It doesn't build off of any type of leitmotif in the game.

People complain about the liberal use of cords from it in Remake, but honestly I love that it sets some groundwork.

KanzarisKelshen posted...

On that note though, can we just talk about how FF5 to FF8 all had absolutely out of this world final boss themes? Nobuo Uematsu really just could not miss in his first prime. Neo Exdeath, Dancing Mad, One Winged Angel and The Extreme are all doing something utterly unbelievable and they're all completely valid and correct choices for 'peak final boss music'. What a privilege to have grown up hearing them, truly.

No doubt...

But I'd take Answers over all of these <_<

UshiromiyaEva posted...

Honestly this is why I've always had a bit of an axe to grind against OWA.

It's a great song, but it comes out of nowhere. It doesn't build off of any type of leitmotif in the game.

People complain about the liberal use of cords from it in Remake, but honestly I love that it sets some groundwork.

I agree and I feel OWA Remake (and actually JENOVA Quickening too) is straight superior to the original version

Which, to be fair, I would say the exact same about Dancing Mad Pixel Remastered! The instrumentational upgrade it got was otherworldly. It's the exact same song but it reached its final boss form, haw haw haw

No doubt...

But I'd take Answers over all of these <_<

Answers is an unbelievable track and so are Shadowbringers and Endwalker, so I'd concur there. If I was ranking the final boss themes it'd be something like Endwalker>Shadowbringers>Answers>The Extreme>One Winged Angel>Dancing Mad>Neo Exdeath, they're all so far beyond 'normal' boss themes that I can recognize it's just pure taste which is your fave IMO.

I've never cared for OWA. Is it iconic? Eh, maybe. But for all the music I've been exposed to through VGMC and the like, it doesn't even move the needle for me.

Did Uematsu work on Shadowbringers and Endwalker? I assumed that was all Soken.

Oh I guess you just mean FF final boss themes, for which I guess Answers....kiiiiinda counts for CoB?

Leonhart4 posted...

It fits an opening ceremony better than OWA does

I don't man imagine there was, like, an evil country or something

UshiromiyaEva posted...

Of course the actual topic is asking about how iconic something is, and if they can't even name where it's from then obviously that doesn't meet the criteria, so it's kind of a moot point.

I guess old mcdonald is not an iconic song because I don't know who created it

pjbasis posted...

I guess old mcdonald is not an iconic song because I don't know who created it

The Animals.

UshiromiyaEva posted...

Did Uematsu work on Shadowbringers and Endwalker? I assumed that was all Soken.

Oh I guess you just mean FF final boss themes, for which I guess Answers....kiiiiinda counts for CoB?

They were Soken yup

Uematsu did Answers by contrast (and it's easy to tell because it very much has his style)

IIRC they both had tracks in each expac til shadowbringers, which was Soken's big breakthrough

hilarious that a topic about "recent" video game music devolved into an argument about FF7

never change gamefaqs

HeroDelTiempo17 posted...

hilarious that a topic about "recent" video game music devolved into an argument about FF7

never change gamefaqs

The topic was successfully answered on Post #2, what else we gonna talk about