I’m a big RPG battle music enjoyer, so today was tough. Fortunately I managed to slot the other major contenders in for other days, and I’m happy with the result. Anyone who’s at all familiar with SNES chiptunes won’t be surprised, but hey, I gotta give it to the GOAT.
- Day 10: RPG Battle Music
- Game: Final Fantasy VI
- Track: The Decisive Battle
The Decisive Battle is essentially my “standard” for RPG battle music. It’s easy to use as a point of comparison and it sets the bar high. I think
First let’s talk instrumentation. Chiptune organ lead backed by strings, bass, guitar and drums. It might not be the craziest idea out there, combining the “old” organ and strings with the “new” rock instruments. But it’s nonetheless a good recipe.
As for the actual melodies, the organ is the obvious star, bringing the energy and reminding you you’re fighting evil! And the bass – I always enjoy basslines that rise above the simple level 1 bassline. Almost like the bass is expressing its curiosity.
But I have to mention the drums, which have a level of detail you barely ever encounter in chiptunes. As a long-time drum nerd, the drums are what set this track apart.
This song is popular enough that there are a decent number of covers, including drum covers. Yes, I have watched many of them, but… I don’t really like any of them!
Well, let me step that back. I deeply appreciate all of them and applaud all the creators for their dedication. And I would never choose to remove them from YouTube if given the choice. But despite all that, I prefer the original.
You see, I’m a purist when it comes to covers, especially VGM covers. Many cover artists like to inject their personality into songs by adding in extra drums, changing up a melody to better suit their genre, etc. But I usually find that their changes are uninspired. For example I’m almost never blown away by a “metal cover” of VGM.
Anyway, while I did play FF6 after hearing this track the first time, I never did beat it. I’ve gotten about one third through the game on two separate occasions, but kept getting distracted. . Reminds me of FFXIV, where I’m currently halfway through Stormblood. I hope to complete both of these games eventually, but these days it seems like my life only gets busier.