Thanks Big Hank! Song mentioned in this video! Ape Escape - Crumbling Castle (BIG recommend) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-5UktXBWSU4k.html By Soichi Terada
"I am Ultimecia. Time shall compress. All existance denied." No maniacal laughter. No rambling justification for her actions. Just a sorceress who sees you as the final barrier to her planned genocide of all space and time. Then this banger theme kicks in. If you win, you will have preserved life . If you lose, you die with the knowledge that you directly helped her carry out her planned extermination of all existance. Gave me chills as a kid.
Genius. The typical Bassline from the other games’ battle themes is suspiciously missing from the whole of this game until the final battle and it’s such a moment of intensity. Uematsu once said that he imagined this as the last battle theme he would ever write. Though IX was already in production of some sort he was unsure if he was going to score IX because he was starting to experience a bit of burnout from years of writing these soundtracks (he would then go on a very long vacation to Europe to take in gothic castles in order to get the feel back) so this to him, at least at the time, was intended to be the very end of his battle theme journey and you can feel it!
Ooh I hope someone requested the intro sequence (with the video and everything). That was my first exposure to Final Fantasy/Square Enix and it absolutely blew me away. Life changing moment for me!
I remember playing FFVIII when it first came out....I was maybe 12-13. I felt sick all the way through this whole boss battle section as there are 3 stages? I think 3 stages to it. My hands were shaking, I was sweating, my heart was racing. I had to win! The music in FFVIII still holds up so well today. I love it!
There's something about this track that makes me go back and forth losing myself in every individual melody of the song, and I can't help but bounce between paying attention to each of them and I dont know which I want to stay on................. and then still, I'll jump back to paying attention to the whole, only to feel that it's greater than it's parts. It's incredibly climactic to me. FF VIII is filled with tracks that make you "feel" something without a single word. One of the tracks that absolutely makes me lose myself feeling something I can't explain is "Silence and Motion". And I don't know what I feel, but I know I lose myself in it. It's not a very good one for a video though. I wholeheartedly believe FF VIII is peak Uematsu. And if there's one man and a soundtrack that, without exaggeration, makes me feel sad - for not having any musical training - it is this guy and this OST.
ALL of the games that Uematsu worked on have _amazing_ soundtracks. Everything from FFI through FFX (as well as a number of other games from this era) are absolutely phenomenal, although obviously the early games were extremely limited on the actual quality of the tracks due to hardware limitations. Uematsu definitely used that to his advantage, working with and around the limitations to produce some absolutely masterful tracks, not just in spite of them, but _because_ of having to do so.
Holy smokes that crumbling Castle song is awesome and your connection to this song is so on point. I hope you remember this connection when you play it. Lol such good musical theming.
I had played other FF games, Grandia and Chrono Cross... but this was the one I owned first. All the others were from my cousins who lended me their stuff. This was mine. And when I hit the end... I was like .... FF7 Barret and Cid going "$%#@" my dad came over and got mad at me for swearing in middle school. I was "dad, I died, sit with me and let me explain" which I did and he understood and said "don't cuss, damnit, no matter how bad it gets" .... and so I made my Junction changes... and then retried a third time, with success. This end run was harsh for someone hot off of ff7 and how easy it was with Fury on everyone at level 75
Oh, FF8. The game I supposedly hate, but I can replay at any time and enjoy it, while the ones I "love" I can't stand playing again (sorry FF9, once was enough). Such a weird game, so controversial, so all over the place. But god damn is it crazy fun.
I fully believe the games weird levelling system where the enemies level with you has to be a factor. The game used so many unique features that makes it bizarrely balanced in a 'you are rarely too strong or too weak' sort of way. Enemy levelling, stat modification through junction, only acquiring money through pay-checks. And while odd as heck and filled with weird holes the story isn't bad. Kinda fun to be honest. Heck, the mini game with the cards and the ability to incorporate the cards into your power-ups is great. Then all those weird secrets like chasing aliens to try and spawn the mother ship or the secret Tonberry king battle in Odin's tower, the secret self summoning GF's and the ability to obtain Gilgamesh as a self summoning GF. For what is considered the worst mainline FF title it had so much stuff in it and is very easy to replay due to the amount of content and high level of customisation the game gives you for each character. Out of all the replays of FF titles it's the only one where I've played to completion a ridiculous amounts of times. To the point that disk 4 of my original copy on the ps1 stopped working, lol.
In the main FF series, this is by far my favorite song The Extreme has this "pulsating bump" that makes my heart go faster And the part where this song plays, it's just a perfect music (Final phase of the final boss) This song embrace the never-ending hatred and denial of this world in a futuristic and gothic theme "Perfekt for her" FF VIII ❤
Omg Ape Escape OST yesss so good! Glad to see recs :D. This entry into final fantasy had a very machine/space/gothic theme and I feel it really reflects in the music. A mix of many genres indeed.
Try the black mages version for the full metal live rendition. FF14/Soken also did a relatively recent one for this song, keeping the original feel but bringing more modern synth and instruments. This is actually the final phase of the final boss. That whole final boss fight is one of the few FF final boss themes that was so long and full of tension because it's split in rather long, multiple phases with music theme changes every time (FF6 dancing mad also comes close to that). It's literally a journey on its own. (goes "Premonition" > "The Legendary Beast" > "Maybe I'm a Lion" > "The Extreme")
I'm loving your choices to react, as a suggestion to keep on going with the FFVIII trend, I highly recommend "Premonition". It is my favourite track of the game.
One song I'd like someone to recommend to him would be Star Ocean 2 - Dynamite. Such a short and easy song to do a reaction to, but if you want something that'll get your heart racing... well there you go. Either that or Ultimate Being from Parasite Eve.
Yesss, so good. FF8 is my favorite in the series other than 14. It's kind of an underdog and more of a love it or hate it game, but the soundtrack is a banger.
Last boss of FF8, Ultimecia. This track plays during the apex of "time compression" which the last boss is nearly completing.. as for what THAT is, uhh.. I'm not sure, actually, but I think it's basically condensing all of history into a singular moment in time so everything in spacetime is happening all at once for eternity. Or something. It's weird. What I do know, is without cheesing it, the boss is an absolute *BITCH* of a fight. FF8s battle system did not help; neither did the fact you had to kill three other bosses directly before her with no breaks. It's not bad per se, because it's still very doable; but it's LONG. FF8s strong point is its story, by far; it's a pretty decent RPG. But its gameplay loop... or more accurately your stats and options are.. not great. And I feel like Ultimecia really made that clear.
Fun fact, the Latin sounding chant at the start of the song (1:20) is "Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec". If you rearrange the letters, it is actually an anagram of two key elements of the FFVIII story: "Succession of Witches" and "Love". ...It really feels nice to have somewhere relevant to share this otherwise useless information in my head lol.
Useless information like Ozma in FFIX can be beaten a bit more easily by selecting the actions while the boss is attacking, because doing so while he's waiting fills his turn gauge in an instant
I remember when I found that out back then. If the words aren't in English, then I need to know what it is I'm reading lol. And yeah it makes sense. Edea, Adel, and Ultimecia. Hey useless info is still info lol
FF 8 is my personal favorite of the games, but it's probably not the "best" This game was important in my formative years because I was able to put myself into the protagonists mindset.
This is how I feel about it. I know it's got some rough spots (disc 4 just kinda doesnt feel finished) and it's not as complete a package as some of the other FFs but it's dammit it's still MY favorite.
@@sildrex plus while I thought the junction system was really cool, the fact using magic could make you weaker made it too.... expensive to be valuable.
Final Fantasy 8 was really a melting pot for ideas. They really threw a tonne of ideas into the game and didn't care much about balancing etc. As much as I hate the Junction System, the GF system was great fun, the card game was fantastic, the gameplay satisfying, with some real intense moments. Can't forgive them for the Orphanage story though, that just felt dumb and shoehorned in.
Uematsu waking up in a cold sweat panicking and just mumbling "I need a piano I NEED A PIANO!" damn I can't even imagine the fever dream he had that inspired this I thank that man for all my fortunate days I get to hear that masterpiece
FFVIII was played by both my parents when I was very little, and introduced me to the whole series. The Extreme holds a special place in my heart as it truly peaked my curiosity for videogame music and how good it can be.
I'm not as big on OWA as most people, I might actually vote for "Finish the Promise" from Tales of the Abyss over it. Just my opinion, OFC, but if you haven't heard it, give it a try.
I would agree with Nobuo music. If we add outside music then Yoko Shimomura is a definete contender with "Darkness of the Unknown" lol. Just Nobuo oh yes.....Dancing Mad was like his magnum opus and then nailed it two more times with Final Bosses......though Trance Kefka from 9 is also awesome too.
And in my unpopular opinion, Birth of a God is better than OWA. It feels much more like a Final Fantasy boss theme, the heart of the entire series is in it.
oh man for unique tracks I hope someone requests “Liberi Fatali” from the same game - the MV is a staple of its time and it is SUCH an Experience(tm) FF8 is a weird treasure trove of a game that is just. is. glad you liked the Extreme it’s so good too love your vids as always!
ff8... i cannot stress enough how much this game specifically shaped my taste in music for the rest of my life. uematsu has a streak of being very inspired by prog rock, but the ff8 ost he goes all out. when i was 6 years old and i heard 'force your way' for the first time i think the entire trajectory of my music-listening life was changed. 'the extreme' is now and forever my favorite final boss theme because of the personal effect the music of this game had on my brain. i'm sure you already have a lot of requests for this, but you have to check out 'force your way'. i also highly recommend the slightly underrated 'maybe i'm a lion' also from ff8.
Your vain crusade ends here the price for your meddling is death beyond death your vaunted childhood, your sensations, your words, your emotion time WILL compress all existence, denied
There's a lot of absolute banger tracks in FFVIII, but Fisherman's Horizon has got to get the mention from me. In context for the game, it's exactly what you need given all the crazy things you'd have just been through, and the even crazier things you've yet to do. And the Distant Worlds rendition moves me to tears every time, it's just beautiful.
FF8 was actually the game that got me to love the entire franchise, when I heard this remixed/redone for FFXIV I wanted to cry. I sat there for literal hours watching my dad play this game on the PS1, I can honestly say if it wasn't for all of those hours I may not have become a gamer and now I call Eorzea my home!
This track really hit differently the first time you heard it at the end of FFVIII. The tension at the beginning with the buildup, then that amazing throwback to the SNES era battles with that immediately recognizable motif.
"The Extreme" is the BGM of the final phase of the last boss in FFVIII. FFVIII is a petty high quality game; it have some of the most impressive BGM in the franchise, a deep story and innovative system. Unfortunately is quite underrated just because FF7 setting the expectation too high.
It s not just that. Square didn t know why ff7 was so popular, mostly in the west. So they do the exactly opposite of most key features and make ff8 on it. Chibi characters? No. Only one party member visible on map? Mana point? Now magic is quantified as item. Personalisation based on materia? Now based on association with summons. Monster lvl? Evolve with you. Etc etc. A lot was experiments but the main critics wanted a ff7 follow up or some shit. That s why ff9 is more a return to old style.
Nah. It had mediocre, bland secondary characters and female lead and the junction system was broken: people either destroyed the game by abusing it, or they hate it because they don't understand it.
@@unlimited971, Actually FF9 was originally designed as a numberless installation of Final Fantasy as an side game then later branded as FF9 (similar to how 'FF Versus 13' rather than being a side game to FF13 became FF15.) FF9 is an homage to the classic NES and SNES era of Final Fantasy games that's why it is a return to the fantasy and medieval settings of prior games. This is why all of the other subsequent games followed on from FF8's more realistic art style and direction (No super deformed looking character). The other thing is that it is commonplace for the systems to change dramatically between the games, FF2 had no levelling mechanic instead increasing stats based on usage, FF3 had levelling and a job system, FF4 returned to characters having specific classes, FF5 was similar to FF3 and used a job classes and so on. Even in the PlayStation 2 era and beyond each game has a different system, FF10 had a turn based rather than active timer battle system and learning skills was done on the sphere grid, FF10-2 had a job system and a return of the ATB system from earlier FF games, FF11 was a MMO game a different combat system, FF12 allowed the player to control the characters location in combat but the attacks took place on a timer system, FF13 returns to the classic ATB system and fixed character locations.
Still… FF8 is the best… i was not waiting for a FF7-part 2… i liked FF8 and its exactly how a FF game should be…. Unpopular things always seek above expectations, as you can see in real life “Starbucks/Swift/New York/Twilight…. are one of the most overrated things on earth….
For a couple other FFVIII song recommendations... "Maybe I'm a Lion" and "The Man with the Machine Gun" are both pretty great. Both also have versions from The Black Mages, which was a rock band formed by Nobuo Uemtasu and two other Square Enix composers in 2002 that performed Uematsu's FF songs in a hard rock style. They've since disbanded, but Uematsu has formed a similar band called the Earthbound Papas, still performing rock arrangements of his FF music, while also performing other songs, as well.
You mentioned the tension in this song... is an understatement, if anyone in you group gets KOed in the battle, you have a very small window to get them back, or you watch them get erased and your next party member is forced in to carry on the battle.
The beauty of all of his reaction especially this one is because he listens and explain his thoughts based on his experience as a musician. He didnt play the game yet he nailed it like he said that the bgm gives anxiety as we all felt as gamers as we fight Ultimecia as he uses Hell's Judgement leaving us in 1 hp. Very great reaction! Damn! Oh the wonders of music. It speaks on all of us
It's not quite the original, but FFXIV also used The Extreme in the latest expansion, should totally check it out FFXIV - Oracle of Darkness (The Extreme)
Final Fantasy VIII legit had some of the most amazing music in any video game that I've ever heard. And I laughed out loud when you said "Castlevania!" because I never made that connection but I can totally see some of this piece being inspired by that, especially since This is the final boss theme and before you can face her you have this huge gothic castle to explore with puzzles and minibosses (I also love the castle theme, that one is a banger, too, and for just an area ambient theme is really interesting and complex), but while that sounds like "Yes of course, a castle, it's a fantasy game" it's a TOTAL departure from the theming for all the rest of the game before - where things feel a lot more modern/slightly futuristic. Like before this dungeon, it's all like giant airships, cars, trains, guns, heavy machinery, a city with busy commercial and night life districts with neon lights and jazzy music, even a space station at one point. So the final boss being in a huge ominous castle is actually pretty weird but it works and it's very cool for that turn in the setting. It's hard for me to recommend tracks from 8 because it's one of those OSTs that I just love pretty much from beginning to end. I have like 20+ favorite songs from it, and think everyone should hear all of them even though like many game tracks there are a lot of repeated musical themes and melodies that carry through a lot of them - each version is so unique and cool. Gonna make recs anyway. Though, really I want to say just screw individual tracks and pick up the entire OST and listen to ALL OF IT. I have the very long list below but the tl;dr best tracks period are: Liberi Fatali, Force Your Way, The Man with the Machine Gun, Dance with the Balamb Fish, Eyes on Me, Ride On, Lunatic Pandora, Compression of Time, The Castle, Maybe I'm a Lion, The Extreme Top recognizable/beloved tracks: Force Your Way, The Landing, Waltz for the Moon, Only a Plank Between One and Perdition, THE MAN WITH THE MACHINE GUN
FF8 probably has my personal favorite soundtrack of the whole series (if you don't count XIV. XIV has like 4 games worth of great music in it now). So many of the songs are either absolute bangers or totally transport you into the world.
I agree with you totally on this, before Soken arrived and did what we has done with FFXIV, FFVIII was peak Uematsu. Marc Papeghins Epic FF8 medley really showcases all the different styles he covered in one game
This is the final boss of FF8. If you want more recs.. I know you have a wide taste of things... Maybe... Fields of Blue which is the World map theme. Force your Way is the regular boss theme, and Don't Be Afraid is the regular fight theme... Ummm Waltz For the Moon... And let's say... The Landing. All are different. Like many others here, FF8 is my personal favorite FF game. The events of the game happen AROUND the character's relationships. The main focus is on the relationships between characters mostly told through the point of view and inner-monologue of just one character. It's not for everyone. Either you love it or you hate it. The Completionist has what I would call a MOSTLY fair review. He somewhat acknowledges what I'm saying in his score of "Play It" which means you need to make your own choice on whether you should go through with it and even complete it. The FF Series always tries something new and different with every game. There's certain themes within that tend to show up like the same Summoned Creatures and some basic mechanics... but FF always innovates. Not every game hits with everyone. Which is part of why FF13 (as I mentioned on another video) is one of the only 2 games I wouldn't recommend. It tried to appeal to everyone and in so doing... it failed to capture its core audience.
A lot of fans really give FFVIII some flak, but it honestly imo deserves to be in the JRPG hall of fame. I will NEVER forget the one moment near the end of the game with the two MAIN protagonists, Squall and Rinoa. For not spoiling people who aren't aware of the story, lets just say its one of the most dramatic and tender moments between any characters in an FF game. I love it, I loved the music, I loved the gameplay, and I ESPECIALLY loved the setpieces. Square really took what they did great with FFVII and leveled it up! And I still appreciate that FFIX went back to a more medieval style FF game.
On the other end of the spectrum would be my favorite song from FF8, "Eyes on Me". Such a beautiful piece. Another that is similar is "1000 Words" from FF10-2. One of my favourite songs, but I might be biased as I've played the game and know the context behind it.
I love gushing about this song. Time Compression gives you all the time. All the time you could ever need to do what you need to do....but oh my God you need to hurry about it
Aside from the FFXIV remake of the song, there's a version by The Black Mages, where they redid alot of songs from across final fantasy history with a band, which I believe Nobuo Uematsu was part of.
The Legendary Beast, if you haven't listened to it. Also the FFXIV versions of The Extreme and The Legendary Beast. I think you would love reacting to those! ❤❤
ff8 is a bit of the ugly duck of ff, sadly allot of fans thinks it's one of the worst of the series, i think it's because it came after ff7 and it didn't meet expectations, personally i really love ff8 was my facourite until 14 came to be, for a final fantasy 8 request 'the castle' it's an amazing background theme that is very haunting, it's the final dungeon
FF8 is my first FF and one of my favorite games of all time, and this is one of my favorite songs of all time, I'm always happy to see people's reaction to this 🥺 As for other recommendations honestly it's kinda hard as FF8 has some of the best ones in the whole series imo, so I'll pick a few: "Liberi Fatali", "Premonition", "Maybe I'm a Lion" and "The Castle".
You're not wrong about this being an important song: this is the theme for the final boss of FFVIII, Ultimecia, and if you listen closely you can hear where the melody transitions between phases. While the main villain of FFVIII is not quite as well remembered as, say, Kefka or Sephiroth, this song does a great job of showing just how terrifying Ultimecia is. Now, for a bit more of an off the wall recommendation for music, I'd like to hear your thoughts on some of the music from Crush 40 that has come to define Sonic games over the past couple of decades. I'm talking about stuff like "Live and Learn," "Escape From the City," "I Am (All of Me)" and "Open Your Heart." It's maybe not the technically best music, but stuff I have a strong nostalgia for, and which I admit I can't really evaluate objectively as a result.
You're an Ape Escape fan!!! That games ost changed my life. It completely influenced my taste in music and I always refer back to the songs all the time. Not too many people know about it when I bring it up. Super cool! Glad I've been following you since your first video!
To add another FFVIII suggestion: The Mission. It plays during what is effectively a train heist section and is one of my favourite songs on that soundtracks. I love to try and pick out and keep track of all of the layers as they build up. It doesn't have any massive impact moments, but it just has such great energy.
FF8 is my favorite game of all time. Since you opened the door to FF final boss themes, FF6 Dancing Mad is nutty at a music theory level. I'm sure you'll enjoy it :)
Aaahhhhh, I remember that first time I fought Ultimecia, I was so exited cause it was the first FF I was about to finish ever, I was there entering commands and looking for Ultimecia's attacks so she don't kill My party, and that dramatic, tense and exiting theme in the background, oh my... She killed me 😭, I wasn't expecting that Apocalypse attack of her, and she killed my party. I managed to beat her after some more leveling my party, but yes, the song is so, so exiting.
Found this channel today thanks to the One Winged Angel reaction. Nobuo is my favorite composer and watching people react to his music for the first time is a delight. The gates are open, come on in and enjoy a master making works of art with limited hardware.
@@JessesAuditorium Yesssssss!!!!!! Dancing Mad is siiiiick! Fun fact, Nobuo's favorite song that he composed for a Final Fantasy game is Tina/Terra from the same game (Final Fantasy 6).
The one FFVIII track I cannot get enough of is "Compression of Time". Especially the *Enrico Deiana* remake/remix. In fact, every FF track you've ever listened to, go thru his upload list and listen to his version, he doesn't just remake, he upgrades!
To think this was rendered on a PlayStation 1. My young mind was blown by the epicness of this song. Then Soken went and arranged it for FFXIV and made it even more epic?