Enter the Game Music Thunderdome

Persona 3, Descent 2

One of the great things about the Persona soundtracks is their tonal consistency across all of the tracks. There are a handful of different genres worked in, but there’s still a similar feel across everything (each of Persona 3-5 is associated with a color and mood, P3 is Blue/Sadness) and There are a lot of fantastic songs on the P3 soundtrack, but I picked When The Moon’s Reaching Out to the Stars because of its catchy little lyrical hook. It’s a song that plays when you’re wandering around the city, and so it gets played a lot and burns itself into your brain. It also should be considered with it’s companion piece, Paulownia Mall, which is a variation on the same melody, a trick I’m particularly fond of when it shows up in pop music (see: Quadrophenia).

Hell March to Zanarkand

Not played Persona 3, Descent 2 or FFX but enjoyed the latter two more. I nearly chose Descent 2 (that industrial sound is great) but I love the Zanarkand piece and the latter half of Hell March sealed the deal.

Red Alert and Descent 2

Command & Conquer: Red Alert and Final Fantasy X.

I dig the other two, and both are excellent games partially because of their soundtracks, but FFX and RA are kinda defined musically by those songs.

Persona 3 and Final Fantasy X.

For once, I’ve actually played most of the games here and only had to listen to one new track, but the two JRPGs made the cut in the end. Incredibly strong round altogether, though!

Command and Conquer: Red Alert: Hell March
Descent 2: Cold Reality

Liked all the ones in this bracket, but I’ll have to go with Persona 3 and Hell March

Group W Results:

Red Alert: 18
Final Fantasy X: 10
Descent 2: 9
Persona 3: 7

Group X:

Featuring nominations from @Thraeg, @DaveLong, @BrianRubin, and @Nesrie.

Group X: Bayonetta (not quite Astrud Gilberto, but not bad) and Fantasy General.

Ys I & II Chronicles and Fantasy General. Bayonetta was close to the second spot, but not quite there.

I think I’m going with Secret of Mana and Fantasy General.

Fun fact! The Dies Irae theme is also used in a bunch of Might & Magic games (I know it from Clash of Heroes). And other video games, too, apparently:

EDIT: Switching my vote from Ys to Secret of Mana!

Yay Fantasy General and Secret of Mana.

OMG I had no idea! I thought it was specific to Fantasy General! I hope that doesn’t disqualify it.

To Make the End of Battle, even though it is just a cutscene’s music, but what a cutscene. It was one of my earlier WTF videogame moments. Now it’d be super standard and unremarkable, I guess. Funnily, Falcom never changed the way they arrange their tracks in over 20 years, stuck in time, prisonners of formulas they are too scared to diverge from — and that’s not affecting only their music. They used to make such novel games.

Bayonetta and Secret of Mana

Ys and Fantasy General

Nah, it’s like 1000 years old and it’s been recycled in Western music ever since.

Bayonetta and Secret of Mana

Hah, I didn’t know that either. First time I heard it was in FG and it just stuck.