1001 Boss Themes (That Are Not One Winged Angel)

[Leliel]

Anyway, many of you know that I have a prediliction to playing music to set the mood at a table, particularly during "Boss" fights.

Since I don't want to completely annoy you, I've decided to set up a thread where you cast out your ideas for themes to play when a suitably epic battle comes along.

Rules of Engagement:

1. Besides the music itself, put a context where you think it would be best used (ie, against what kind of opponent, and/or in what kind of battlefield).

2. It cannot be One Winged Angel. Anyone who puts this up will be eaten by tribbles.

Now, to break the ice:

1. Red Lucifer Rising (Demons/devils)

2. Champion Cynthia (evil magician)

3. Zero Gravity (Angel, Primordial)

[Assassin89]

4. Dreadful Fight (Elementals)

5. Clash on the Big Bridge (On a bridge)

[Kyouhen]

6 Trolls In The Dark (Anything where you have x rounds before things go SNAFU)

[Prime32]

I got a lot of them which I was planning to use in an Age of Worms campaign but they aren't all battle themes, so I won't bother numbering them.

Spoiler

Show

Fire Emblem (GBA)
Rise to the Challenge: Battle
Distant Travels: Dungeon theme
Distant Utopia: A character's theme
Black Fang: Kyuss

Fire Emblem: The Sealed Sword
Shaman in the Dark: Spawn of Kyuss battle

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Unavoidable Destiny: Duel for prince's honour in epilogue.

Chrono Trigger Symphonic
Darkness Duelling: Battle with the Wind Warriors

Treasure of the Rudras
Battle of the Last Enemy – Damned: Kyuss battle

David John (NWN composer)
Infinite Dungeons: Icosciol's tomb
Arena: Arena/The party has been given a great quest
The Last Stand: Dragotha battle
Dwarven Mines: The Whispering Cairn
Tourney: A city
Prelude: Flashback
Escape from Castle Black: Knights of Kyuss battle
Away Team: Prelude to Kyuss
Point of No Return: Dragotha/Kyuss dungeon

David Orr (Newgrounds)
Second Thoughts: You stand before Dragotha...

[Zaq]

I'm just going to copy and paste my "Boss Battle Collection" playlists. There's a single mention of your banned song in there, but I hope that the volume of good stuff I have will outweigh that.

Boss Battle Collection

Fight!! v.I (Grandia II)
Chrono Trigger Boss 1 (Chrono Trigger)
Wind Waker Miniboss (Zelda: Wind Waker)
The Decisive Battle (Final Fantasy VI)
Final Fantasy IV Boss (Final Fantasy IV)
Fight!! v.III (Grandia II)
Chrono Trigger Boss 2 (Chrono Trigger)
Bombardment (Skies of Arcadia)
Ridley (Super Metroid)
Meta Ridley (Metroid Prime)
Showdown with Magus (Chrono Trigger)
Ultros (Final Fantasy VI)
Purification of Darkness (Grandia II)
The Dreadful Fight (Final Fantasy IV)
The Fierce Battle (Final Fantasy VI)
Molgera (Zelda: Wind Waker)
Battle on the Big Bridge (Final Fantasy V)
Fight!! v.IV (Grandia II)
Battle with Zeromus (Final Fantasy IV)
Kefka's Theme (Final Fantasy VI)
Dancing Mad (Final Fantasy VI)
Victory (Final Fantasy VI)

Boss Battle Collection 2nd Mix

Dangerous Zone (Grandia II)
What I'm Made Of (Sonic Heroes)
Hive Totem (Metroid Prime)
Purification of Darkness (Grandia II)
Those Who Fight Further (The Black Mages - FF7)
Culex (Super Mario RPG)
Neo Ridley (Metroid Fusion) 1
X vs. Zero (Megaman X4... or was it X5? I can't recall.)
Metroid Prime (Metroid Prime)
Live and Learn (Sonic Adventure 2)
J-E-N-O-V-A (The Black Mages - FF7)
Open Your Heart (Sonic Adventure)
World Revolution (Chrono Trigger)
One Winged Angel (Orchestral Version - FF7)
The Decisive Battle (The Black Mages - FF6)
Fight Against Smithy, Who Likes Transforming (Super Mario RPG)
Dancing Mad (The Black Mages - FF6)

Boss Battle Collection 3rd Mix

Audi Famam Illius (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)
Fight Against a Somewhat Stronger Enemy (Super Mario RPG)
Force Your Way (The Black Mages - FF8)
The Watchdog of Hell (SSH - Original?)
Purification of Darkness (Grandia II)
The True Mirror (Guitar Version) (Baten Kaitos)
Battle with the Four Fiends (The Black Mages - FF4)
King Dedede (Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Kirby)
King Bone (Super Mario Galaxy)
Pokey (Super Smash Bros. Brawl - EarthBound/Mother)
Fighting of the Spirit (SSH - Tales of X?)
Fight Against an Armed Boss (Super Mario RPG)
Kirby Boss Medley (Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Kirby)
Final Fantasy IV Boss (SSH - FF4)
Nemesis King Koopa (Super Mario Galaxy)
KURAYAMINOKUMO (The Black Mages - FF3)
Star Wolf (Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Star Fox)
Final Destination (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)

Interesting to see how the lists evolved over time. I made the first one, man, must have been six years ago? Seven? Something like that. The second one was a couple years after that, and the third one was last year. Man, how time flies.

Anyway, you can see why I didn't bother to link to these, but you're smart people, you can find them if you need to. Oh, and yeah, there's some repetition, but you can deal. (Yes, Purification of Darkness really is just that good.)

[Andras]

Kotowari Boss Battle (Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fylg8zp4Pzo

Used in a few of the battles near the end of the game. It's pretty awesome.

[Revlid]

Back to numbering!

7. The Kraken

[valadil]

This is the best boss theme I ever used:
8. Dvorak - New World Symphony - 4th Movement

I may not have linked to the right video as I don't have sound at work. Anyway, this is big, powerful, and ominous. I especially enjoyed it because there are other variations of the song that can be used throughout the game (yay recurring villains). Blind Guardian's The Gates of Moria is a straightfoward heavy metal version of this song. Rhapsody's The Wizard's Last Rhyme (I think) also borrows heavily, but devaites a littlem ore than BG. I've encountered the song in techno too, but can't remember where at the moment.

[d13]

09. Haggard - The Sleeping Child

Chasing that BBEG, horseback ~

[Archpaladin Zousha]

10. In the Dark of the Night

Against a lich boss, who took the Nightmare Spinner PRC, and relies primarily on spells that require will saves.

[FatR]

11. Minotaur Boss Battle. - Music for most of the boss enemies in my current Rise of the Runelords campaign.
12. Revenge: Freedom Defeated. - Solar battles music for my Exalted games.
13. colony ~ crisis. - For battles with countdown to activation of some doomsday device/activation of some doomsday device in the background.

[Zhalath]

I'm not numbering, because by the time this post is up, someone will have already beaten my numbers.

I can't link to it, because it wasn't recorded, but a bunch of people in my orchestra class arranged Britney Spears' Toxic for strings, and it sounded like it could be a boss theme. It sounded like a theme for fighting some sort of undead or unnatural creature.

Threnody to The Victims of Hiroshima by Krzysztof Penderecki (WARNING: Do not have speakers on at high volume!) sounds like a battle against an abomination, or something that violates reality with its existence, like some sort of Great Old One; or taking place on some sort of nightmare realm, like the Far Realm, or some layer of the Abyss. It's utterly terrifying and unnerving.

Technical Difficulties, by Julien-K, is my boss theme for fast-paced fights, especially against constructs (heh, oxymoron).

Banquet of Madness, from Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, is good for battles against the BBEG, or any other suitable high-caliber fight.

Despite the oxymoronic title, Order of the Demon, from Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, sounds fitting for powerful devils.

This. The all-out, no-holding-back, give-everything-because-everything's-on-the-line final battle. Fate of the world, and all that jazz.

Navras, by Juno Reactor, for confrontational battles, like against BBEG. Use sparingly.

Shostakovich, Symphony No. 5 Mvt. 4, for The War Sequence.

If There Were Any Other Way, for tragic battles, like against an enemy that was a friend, or something like that.

[The Tygre]

14. Dies Irae - For the battle against Hookface in Cauldron.

[Enlong]

15. Danger. Especially nice for battles against overwhelming force.

16. The Oracle. I would say this is nice for deeply unsettling foes. The boss who got this theme was an ancient, demonic, soul-stealing lich. Occult beasts and evil, cultish wizards fit the bill nicely. It could also be used for a wizard's duel of some sort.

17. Meridian Dance. A very good tune to get the heart racing. Best played, I think, in fights where everything is on the line. It could also suit an epic dual between evenly matched warriors.

[Assassin89]

18. Birth of a God. Specifically against an enemy who is attempting to ascend to godhood.

19. The Encounter. It fits in well with first time enemies.

20. The 13th Dilemma Against members of an organization.

[Agrippa]

21. Gimme the Prize Also for when fighting against a power crazed nutter aiming for godhood. The Kurgan would approve.

[Mando Knight]

You could number these, but I don't see the point given that it's messed up so far anyway.

Scrambled Eggman, the Project Chaos remix of the Sonic 3 & Knux Boss theme.
Malicious Fingers, the remix of S3&K's (not quite-) final boss music.
Or The Doomsday, the Chaos remix of the Doomsday Zone theme.

The Black Knight, theme and variations from FE 9 & 10 (and one variation used for Brawl)
To Challenge Ashnard, parts A and B; from FE 9.

[Zarah]

I love these threads. I discover so much great music every time they pop up.

22. Prelude to War (Useful to play when preparing for an epic battle where there is a lot on the line. Probably more useful when there's more of a military-ish overtone to the whole situation, like if two armies were battling it out.)

23. Storming New Caprica (It takes a little while to get going, but it's definitely a song that puts you in a mood to do something epic. I'd probably use this for an important battle, either the final confrontation, or a definite hinging point in the story.)

24. Fight Night (Not really a song to play for an epic confrontation, but it's something that works for an earlier encounter, when the story is starting to pick up.)

25. Mandala in the Clouds (Again, it takes a bit to get to the good parts, but it's definitely a song that should play during an important battle.)

[Thane of Fife]

26: Lufia's Fortress of Doom: Last Duel
This seems like it would work well for when the PCs are fighting something which terribly outclasses them.

26b: Same song, different style.
This one has a more epic build-up quality to it.

[Xallace]

27. Mitternacht- Maybe not so much for playing, but getting into the mood.
28. Anything from Nox Arcana. For the creepier bosses.

[ZeroNumerous]

I like Street Fighter(War) for the point where words are worthless and the only thing that matters anymore are swords(or your weapon of choice, whatever it may be).

[Oracle_Hunter]

Ode to Joy (or, you know, this) for any being with pretensions of divinity - firebrand clerics, deluded messiahs, god-killing wizards, and the like.

A general good (and, it seems, unexpected) substitute for The Song That Must Not Be Named

EDIT:

Oh! And a personal favorite of mine - Inner Light for fast-paced battles with Worthy Opponent-style enemies, particularly the more martial and hot-blooded of them.

[AslanCross]

32. Queen of the Dark Horizons by Rhapsody of Fire

33. Non Ho Sonno Remix by Rhapsody of Fire

34. ZEST SEVEN from Super Robot Wars Alpha 3.

35. Septette for a Dead Princess (Rock remix) from Touhou.

[Da'Shain]

For a Star Wars D20 running battle in which we were commanding a fleet in an attempt to destroy a killer satellite over Coruscant:

36. Electric Eye by Judas Priest. Rarely has a space battle felt so damn epic.

[horngeek]

All Bleach OST. Some may only really seem like boss battle music if you have watched Bleach.

37.Invasion

38. Quincy's Craft

39. La Distancia Para Un Duelo

40. Encirclement Battle

41. Breakthrough Even and the version without orchestration, HOLLOWED

42. Fight to the Death

43. Showing Off

44. Attack on the Beat

and for the final few rounds/when the Chosen One to defeat the boss is revealed mid-battle/somone does an epicly awesome, do-or-die ability

45. Destiny Awaits

[Mikeavelli]

46. A Band of evil Bards have assembled by the Lake, armed with an ancient book of Necronomic spells. The party rushes to stop them before they can use that book and awaken foul things from the watery depths. As the Party approaches, horrible, thrasihing music is heard in the background, and a gravelly voice calls out, "Awaken, MustaKrakish"

[Calinero]

I can't believe no one has named this one yet.

47. Night on Bald Mountain

[Calinero]

One Winged Angel (Orchestral Version - FF7)

The tribbles shall feast well tonight.