You are correct, actually! A very cool thing about the song, is that it's actually segmented by the "phases" of the boss! The shifting, serene tone you mentioned doesn't play until certain tragedy strikes, and then our theme song and the char themes won't play till we make that turn around! The song is more than just music, it's cinematic, a story! REVO Heika actually believes that, "composers of old would have used the sounds of nature in their songs, had they our technology" ...... you know? He believes music should always tell a story; every theme was made with the character in mind, and every final boss theme is always together. In fact, I might recommend something from Revo's original album, MOIRA. It's a story based on greek-themes, but has an original mythology. And, (not spoiling too much) the characters in it, one of the last songs is an epic, final battle, and you can hear the leitmotifs of the characters all over that song; having gone through the entire album, it feels rewarding. The motifs of the goddess Moira, the death god Thanatos, the slave-market Ilion, the hero Elefseus, the prince Leontius-- All of it becomes a hogposh, and basically, when you hear the song for the final clash in MOIRA... you know, for a fact, yes, this was definitely made by "the bravely default guy". xD If you ever do look into it, I would recommend looking up the live action ones, for that cinematic experience! (:
The final boss's name and title is Ouroboros, God of Destruction. The serpent that devours itself but regenerates itself. During the boss fight, Ouroboros uses Total Regeneration every turn, completely healing itself from any damage you do. The theme of cycles repeating is extremely prevalent in the game (going on for millions of years), and that is reflected in the final battle. But, eventually, you break that cycle of regeneration. You overcome this as the Warriors of Light, banding together with your alternate selves in other universes. As you stop Ouroboros from regenerating itself, you also stop it from destroying alternate realities like it has been for millions of years. This is when the character's leitmotifs kick in, which also plays when you use Super Moves. Showing that the characters' power is overcoming the cycle of destruction.
To add to the Character themes that play during the battle, as mentioned above these character themes play when that character executes their Special Move, and despite Bravely Default being a turn based JRPG battle system, the Special moves grant a real time based party wide buff, approximately 90 seconds of buff time for the party which lasts as long as the character's theme is playing. One of the mechanics of the game is that you can extend this party buff time by having another party member execute their Special before the 1st one ends, and so on so forth through the 4 party members for maximum effect, and a total buff time of about 6 minutes. In essence, the final boss' theme actually tells you how to beat it in gameplay, by executing each character's special move and chain it with the other party members specials one after another and when your window of opportunity to use the special moves is.
@@TemjinZero Cool thought, but I have a small correction. The maximum buff time isn’t 6 minutes, it’s possible to keep it going indefinitely as long as you can keep chaining special moves together. So, the way to defeat Ouroborous is to create your own cycle that overpowers his.
@@silvermoon2608god i remember my cheese cycle after a 30 minute slog and only to get one-shot from that one ability Respecced my characters and had tiz casting stillness while agnes was a ninja monk and had first strike spam before the stillness was cast, then ringabel would use black magic or something to regen everyone’s SP so we could keep the cycle going properly Man that was such a good holiday
It’s almost a crime to not listen to wicked battle and especially wicked flight when it comes to this song because those both lead into this as if they were all 1 song
They did a live performance of this song a few years ago, and the person who came out on stage to do the accordion for the Love's Vagrant part was the composer, REVO, himself, dressed a rockstar complete with sunglasses and long black hair. This man's soundtracks are always amazing lol. Also, fun fact, REVO also wrote (and sang iirc) a few of the openings for Attack on Titan - specifically, the first 3, and Season 3's opening - and you can definitely hear the similarities in style between all 4 openings and Serpent Eating the Ground.
Even less well known (probably because Linked Horizon isn't the performer and because it isn't Attack on Titan) is that Revo is also the composer for Moon Pride, the opening theme for the 2014 Sailor Moon reboot, Sailor Moon Crystal. Revo's style is very easy to pick out there, too. (This was something I also didn't realize until I saw his name appear on the title card when it was covered at Aki Rosenthal's 4th anniversary concert.)
I'm still kinda ashamed that it took me so long to realize that the AoT Openings and the Bravely Default OST were done by the same artist. Thugh it was obvious to me when I heard the full version. Especially with the "fairy twinkles" (I really don't know how to describe it, but I think you might know what I mean XD)
Oh wow, this song. Okay, so for those who only know this song from hearing it from the OST or the Live Concert: Serpent Eating the Ground is a song with three movements. Unlike Dancing Mad, which switches to the next movement as you progress on the phases, as you enter new phases against Ouroboros the next movement gets added to the loop (meaning that on Phase 2 the second and first movement take turns looping, and for Phase 3 all three movements are taking turns). This choice is important for the feeling of the fight, because on Phase 1 Ouroboros recovers from all damage on their turn (you still move to Phase 2 after enough damage is dealt though, this is just for dramatic effect), so the relentlessness of Movement 1 makes the battle more despairing. The second movement (7:25) riffs on the game's world map theme (The Horizon: Endless Light and Shadow, definitely worth a listen). Using electric guitars makes it more battleworthy, of course, but notice how near the end of the movement it goes back to the "holy reverence/descending sadness" from the start of the song... because we're looping right back to Movement 1, of course. Why? Oh, Ouroboros eats a parallel world once you deal enough damage to them, healing completely. So even as you're more capable of fighting back, the despair from the first Movement hasn't completely gone away. Just as it starts looking hopeless again (after the boss eats a second parallel world) and the group despairs that they're just dooming more worlds by fighting back? That's when the Warriors of Light from *every other world* appear to also do battle. And that's what leads us to the third movement (9:59), as the setting despair gets replaced with everyone's themes - capped off, naturally, by the second half of the title theme (Onward Into the Light: An Overture). It still has to loop back into the first movement, but we're in the home stretch now - Ouroboros can't eat worlds while fighting on *every front, ever*, after all, so the holy reverence now feels more mocking at the boss.
There is actually a fifth leitmotif here, which is the Asterisk's theme or the fight music for the Class Bosses, and from which you get the different Jobs for your party. Aside from the four character themes, the Asterisk theme is also one of the main songs of the game (which has a banger of a lyrical version, by the way). The Asterisk's theme in the Serpent Eating the Ground is the conclusion of the character themes, and to me feels like it's not just the party fighting the boss, but they were also doing it with all the people they fought and met with along the way, represented by the class skills they now use. The presentation in-game itself is actually greater in scope than all of this, showing that this conflict is of a bigger scale than it actually is.
Don't forget the brief moment at the end where they use the victory theme and blend it into the beginning of the Serpent theme, thus completing the endless loop.
4:50 the music here always hit me as emphasizing how absolutely, staggeringly powerful the boss is. It's like a challenge, right? The guitar riff hits, and it's this spiraling madness that speeds up and up, and just when you think you understand the speed... It hits with twin guitars. It's like the boss saying "Okay, warm-up's over. That was just practice," before the staccato notes that rise, then SLAM down back into the loop from before.
BRAVELY DEFAULT MENTIONED LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ! thank you for Bravely Default mention. Revo does amazing work for his role in Sound Horizon and also as himself writing.
I'm so happy that you made a video on this song!!!! I've been hoping that you would listen to it since it's such a beautifully powerful song with many inferences in the music. Some things I wanted to confirm for you and help you understand some others! You were absolutely right about the main theme when you had mentioned it, it's also the start of the victory theme when you win a battle! It's hugely important after the characters themes because it's telling you "You have the power to defeat this boss, the end is in sight just give it all you have!". The four themes you listened to at the beginning are your main characters' special attack themes for when they're buffed for as long as the song lasts, which is only a minute iirc. Regardless they're all beautiful, empowering, and equally fitting for each character's personality and backstories. I'm happy Ringabel's theme warmed you heart like it does mine X3 Holy reverence and descending sadness are both very good ways to describe the boss. They are a celestial being in this universe and a very BAD one that you had not heard of, so fighting something of this size, magnitude, and importance from what you fought before is a huge step. They are intent of destroying EVERYTHING and they're so close to it and you're the only ones in their way. The first shift is also super importance for "quiet confidence" as you mentioned. A very important someone shows up to lend you their aid (no spoilers on who or how) to hold back the celestial being's power. It's funny how you mention spiraling chaos. There are things that happen in that fight that do spiral out of control and it's very insane and worrying when you first see it happen (once again I won't spoil what happens). I've listened to this song for nearly 10 years now, that feeling of power and courage that I get from this song hasn't gone away one bit. All of the songs in this game are absolutely beautiful and would highly recommend a listen to the OST as well as play the game if you like JRPGs, especially old school Final Fantasy ones! Huge shoutout to Revo, the band that composed and performed all of the Bravely Default and Bravely Default 2 OSTs. Their music made this game shine brilliantly ♥
Fun facts! Like FF6's Dancing Mad, this composition actually has several internal loops: 1 - Initially, the game loops only the first movement by itself. Which is also why you hear this movement played twice before the track proceeds onwards, to establish one full seamless loop. 2 - Once you reach 2nd phase, the game now loops the first _two_ movements (e.g. including the World Map and Main Theme leitmotifs). 3 - Once you reach final phase, the game now loops _all three_ movements (including the Four Heroes leitmotifs). Other people have done a better job explaining what makes this unique looping structure tie in to the battle's narrative. Bravely Default is a great take on the classic JRPG formula for certain, but it is also a very LONG game and its latter half is also _explicitly_ repetitive (which the energy/stakes of the final boss at the end of it doesn't _entirely_ compensate for). I played the game on its "Hard" difficulty (enemies buffed by +25% stats) and by the endgame not only was my team Lv.95+, my team *NEEDED* to be that high level for the final boss. (Normally you can expect the final boss to occur around Lv.60-70, leaving extra room for players who need it to level grind).
Near the beginning of the game, in the intro cinematic, a town gets destroyed. They actually dip into the town's theme when they show the town just before it happens -- this is the only time in the game that this theme is ever played, because, well, the town's gone. I thought that was pretty neat.
Oh! And "that person's name is" from this same soundtrack despite being the primary boss theme for the entire game, has one of the hardest finales I've heard in my entire life
Just FYI, “serpent eating the ground” is a slight mistranslation of the original title which is “serpent that eats the horizon” which is a reference to Ouroboros or Jormangund the world serpent from Norse mythology. Both are a reference to the idea of a cyclical existence without beginning or end. And without giving any spoilers, that is a very thematically appropriate reference for what occurs in this game.
Very cool to see you covering Bravely Default on the channel! I'd be willing to watch more of Bravely Default coverage, the songs are great and that's thanks to Revo!
Ah yes Bravely Default the game that mixes 3 of the most popular bosses in final fantasy into one really awesome boss for 5 stages of final battle. I wish they ported the first two Bravely Default games to the switch.
There is a live version for this that nicely shows many of the things that you mentioned. And it's amazing by the way, who thought that appearing with a accordion on the stage could look so cool.
Talking about Bravely Default is tricky. Due to a few certain game design decisions, a lot of people didn't finish it. But those who did could write whole essays on this song and its place in the game itself and the story. Yes, it is the final boss theme, but when it plays it's not just a fight going on, but intermixed with character reactions and cutscenes as various storybeats come to fruition and conclusion. Let's just say whenever I hear this song and it gets to the point where the character themes kick in, I get goosebumps every time and it is 100% earned.
I finished and man did I had mix feeling. I loved the game, the music was beautiful, gameplay was satisfyingly challenging and the art is beautiful. But man, man oh man was it repetitive. If you know you know. Having to go through all that over and over was mind numbing.
@@night-v5258 I totally get it. BD is one of those games that expects a lot of the player and just asks that you trust it knows what it's doing. I think it is ultimately worth it in the end, but I can't blame anybody for feeling like it was stretched too far to the point of breaking immersion. The game did include features to help with this. It was one of the first RPGs I ever played that let you adjust the encounter rate, even turning it all the way off, but even then that can only help so much.
That bit you suggested as being Bravely Default’s main theme at around 9 minutes, is, I believe derived from “and that person’s name is”, a recurring boss theme through the game for the ‘Asterisk Bearers’, people who you once fought but are now lending their support. This theme is a coming together of the whole world in the game and I love it.
Let's fucking gooooooo! I've been dying for some of the music oriented TH-camrs to look into the more modern and out there square enix titles that I love(the bravely series, octopath series, triangle strategy) and you quickly grew a spot in my heart, so I'm sending this before I even watch, I'm so hyped for it
That closure, it feels just like the fall of the evil serpent. "How could you defeat me? I lived for millions of years! You are insignificant in confront to me!"
So in game, when a character does their "limit break" attack, in addition to the effects of the attack, the character's leitmotif plays for a duration. During that duration, you get buffs until the song ends. However, you can (as the song ends) have another character do their own limit break to have their leitmotif play and not only have its own buffs, you can also continue the buffs from the previous character's limit break. Yes, you can chain leitmotifs in game just like in the song. (The only problem is the boss battle themes are awesome and it's tempting not to do your own limit breaks so you can keep hearing it)
I'm glad you like this song! It's one of the best final boss themes out there. I'd also recommend "Battle of Providence", the final boss theme of Bravely Second, this game's sequel. It also sports the main characters' leit motifs. Also, "That Person's Name Is..." is the theme of the major boss battles in this game, which is one of the greatest boss themes written. Highly recommended.
This boss will forever be my favorite boss experience ever, as long as you don’t cheese it with time mage/dragoon combos… everything from the music, to the way it utilized the 3DS camera to insert the player into their roll in the games story.
This is a song that gets even better once you listen to the rest of the soundtrack and realize just how much of it is referenced in this track. It's brilliant, a perfect capstone to the game. Definitely one of my favorite tracks from any game.
I love this boss theme so much! I think the live version is one of my favorite performances ever since we actually see that accordion get played by Revo himself. I don't think I could ever get tired of listening to this song with how good it is and I'm so happy you've covered it.
Really stoked to see Serpent Eating the Ground on the channel! If you ever do another Bravely Default video it almost has to be the final boss theme from Bravely Default 2, Eyes that Gaze into the Nexus ~ The Ones who Gather Stars in the Night. The solo vocal performance there is NUTS
YES! My favorite game series of all time, and the absolutely incredible final boss theme of its first game. Been waiting for this one for a while, super happy to see it! Now if you REALLY want a leitmotif gauntlet, try Bravely Default 2's final boss theme, Those Who Gather Stars in the Darkness. It has 11 - yes, ELEVEN - leitmotifs :)
FINALLY THIS SONG! I don't even play the game but since I've been listening to the composer's Band (Sound Horizon) beforehand, the game's music immediately caught my attention. So happy you finally react to this! If I may, Sound Horizon and Linked Horizon works are remarkable, especially since Sound Horizon creates storytelling albums (like those of Musicals). If you have time, maybe you can check them out (and get a translated lyrics because it's mostly dialogue and singing).
Had to scroll down a fair bit to find this comment, but yeah -- everybody here needs to look up Revo / Sound Horizon / Linked Horizon. There's a TH-cam channel called AnotherLaurent that has uploads of the live musical concerts, and they are incredible! Revo also did OP/ED songs for Attack on Titan, which I'm sure a lot of people have already heard by now but maybe didn't know who composed them.
This is such a great, great musical piece. I am totally in love with how prog it is and how the character themes are introduced in the song, it makes it more personal to how the player has been experiencing all the history and those characters throughout the game. I totally agree with you it is one of the top final boss themes in videogame history, it is so damn good at so many levels.
A small interesting bit is that if I remember correctly it not only uses the 4 character/special themes it also contains the battle victory theme (it plays directly after the 4 characters themes) signifies that the characters are winning, YOU are winning. There is also the main field theme which plays (I think after the first piano part) kind of symbolizing your journey. Another fun fact is that the whole soundtrack for bravely default and (by extension) bravely default II is made by REVO who also made the 1st and 3rd Attack on Titan Openings and the guy uses leitmotifs A LOT.
You should hear "The Evil Wings", which is the penultimate boss theme, deriving from the leitmotif "The Evil One", also present in "The Evil War" (you encounter the same boss in different forms throughout the game, "The Evil One" plays in their first battle, as well as cutscenes involving them, "The Evil War" plays in the second battle, and "The Evil Wings" plays during their final encounter and is the best of the three).
I just found out that a track from Bravely Default II called "Spurred Into Flight, Drenched and Fallen - The Night Rises" uses part of "The Evil Wings" in it and I immediately loved it for that reason alone.
Anges is actually pronounced On Yes and Eyes That Gaze Into the Nexus from Bravely Default 2 is easily as good as this one, surprisingly. Same stuff, incorporates all of the player themes and boss themes. Highly recommend another video like this for that one. You’d love it
This game is probably my favorite video game soundtrack ever. Revo's use of Leitmotif and theming is incredible. I definitely recommend checking out the Luxendarc Kikou concert for this as well. Many of the game's songs have lyrical versions that Revo also created that only exist in the concert and not in the game itself and it's a treat. Especially with Revo himself singing the lyrics to Love's Vagrant.
Oh man, i completely forgotten how good the character themes are, especially for Edea and Ringabel. If you're looking for anything else, check put "Its name is Ba'al." They're the themes to some, truly twisted looking monstrosities, from a mutated goldfish with a massive maw, to a skeletal dove with a wedding veil.
I love themes that "evolve" as the fight goes on. Like, at the beginning, the song is foreboding and intimidating, as you have no chance of beating this foe. But as the battle progresses and you start gaining the upper hand, it changes to something hopeful and epic. Even better, it incorporates the characters' themes into the song, showing that now, they're the ones in control. The only other song I know that "evolves" as the player slowly starts to gain the upper hand on the final boss would be Jaldabaoth~Our Beginning from Persona 5.
Something I only noticed because you listened to the character themes before is that when the motifs play during this song, the parts of each song that are played are played with different instruments. The bit of Tiz’s theme is normally played with (I believe) bagpipes, but here it is played with the flute, Edea’s part is normally played on the electric guitar, but here it’s played on the saxophone & Ringabel’s part is normally played on string instruments, but here it’s played on the accordion. Only Agnes’s theme sounds like it’s being with the same instrument. What’s interesting is that these instruments are present in their themes, but there they are reserved more for the choruses of their songs. What’s more I’ve seen artwork of the characters (at least Tiz & Agnes) playing these instruments.
Revo is an absolute Genius and linked Horizon is legendary XD It’s wonderful to finally see you listen to this and I hope for a full OST listen because this song gets EVEN better with it XD
I think this honestly one of the best: Final boss themes Video game music compositions Pieces of music in general EVER MADE. And the fact there is a LIVE version of this that is just as good is INSANE.
I'm so happy that you covered this game, thanks Marco! 🙏 (Edit) Bravely default 2 final boss theme did the same blending of the main chars. themes as well, along side with other memorable chars themes.
This song absolutely nails the motifs! The electric guitar will start to play the main theme after the piano solo, and right before and after the character themes the boss fight theme will kick in. So much fun to listen to, and I'm glad you like it!
I loved playing Bravely Default when I was younger! The sheer chaos, epic-ness, beauty and harmony of this final boss theme sums up my whole experience playing this game so well. So glad you reviewed this theme and gave such high praise for it!
"Beating the impossible" - this is what I think about when it comes to jRPG (and most of asian games). I'm absolutely in love with the idea of facing something that seems like a wall, a vertical difficulty spike that forces you to think about your actions and sometimes completely change the strategy. And great music makes that kind of fights quadrillion times better. In last year I've finished "Library of Ruina" and earned an addiction its OST 🌝 I highly recommend to check some songs and battle themes from this game. Here's a list of my favorites: Battle themes: - Roland - Tiphereth (Floor of natural sciences) - Binah (Floor of philosophy) Songs (by Mili): - String Theocracy - Children of City - Gone Angels P.S. Bonus song from Mili's album for Library of Ruina, but not included in OST, BUT hits harder than any other: - Salt, Pepper, Birds and the Thought Police
Thank god I’m not the only Project Moon fan here, he’d have a Field Day with Gone Angels, and PM, both in Ruina and Limbus, has an extremely good track record for music.
Bravely default is such a good game, and the music equally so! The 'winding staircase' vibes is definitely reference to the repetitive nature of the game, a cycle being perpetuated and ofc its the protagonists duty to stop the cycle (without getting into spoilers). Its been a long time since i played but as an ff fan its still a huge favorite since its classic final fantasy in all but name. I think the music is a good example of that!
This game ost is just an incredible journey I never get tired of. There's a bunch of masterpieces but I also really love Wicked battle, wicked flight and baal theme👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻
So cool to finally see you react to this song!! Btw there is a live version done by the band that created this song and its even crazier given how hard it would be to pull off this song! Keep up the awesome reactions Marco! 😊❤
They also have a Live concert for the Bravely Default OST, they have a fun surprise for in store for you when the battle medley is, so you should probably check out the full ost before going there!
REVO did such a good job integrating the music of Bravely Default I was disappointed he didn't do the music of Bravely Second. Was glad to see him back for Bravely Default II (and my favorite theme from that being "A Trial of the Brave") My favorite part of Serpant Eating the ground is that transition from the start of Ringabel's theme into "That person's name is?" because by this point Ring has realized WHO he is. Both his personas combined for his part of the song. I love it.
If you haven't yet, i implore you with all my heart to listen to live version of this song!!! It's amazing and it has the full heart of REVO as he truly shines the best on open stage!!! A lot of the live editions of all the songs I feel like is what REVO wanted to initially to present but was limited for whatever reasons for the final game production. Coming from a Sound Horizon/REVO fan since 2007!!! :]
If you're up for it too, watching his originals of "Moira", "Roman", "Seisen no Iberia", and "Märchen" concerts are absolutely phenomenal, and you would love them as a opera singer yourself!! The singers' talents shine the best when live!! Recordings don't do full justice despite how amazing they still are.
It's my 2nd favorite from Bravely Default. If you can, please check out "Wicked Battle." (There's also Wicked Flight, but I like Wicked Battle much better) It's possibly one of my all-time-favorite boss themes from any geme. I would love to hear your thoughts on it. It's sooo good.
Love this song so much, and it's incredible how the composer effortlessly ties each individual theme back into the heroic section of the final boss battle. It's the most uplifting boss theme I can think of.
OH YAA!!!!!!!!!! This game... it was amazing, to bad the next ones were censored to oblivion... This game was one of the TOP 5 Surprise Betrayals/Hero Manipulation ever.... I was speechless about who turned out to be the main enemy
While I’ve never played Bravely Default, I can certainly say I am a fan of the few songs I’ve heard from its soundtrack. If you are looking for more fantastic RPG music I would personally recommend you try Ys and the Trails series. Falcom has a really good track record of producing-in my opinion anyways-some of the best music you will find in games.
Fun fact: There’s even more motifs in this boss theme than that of the main characters. This theme is a rehash of EVERY motif in the game including but not limited to: The title theme The overworld theme The basic battle/encounter theme Other boss themes It’s a true masterclass of the power of theming and recalling old melodies from prior in our journey. As you so aptly put, this is less of a boss theme, and more of a theme for the entire journey and the game as a whole. This song gets me hyped like no other piece of music can. This is it. Everything the tens of hundreds of hours of gameplay have been leading to is culminating in this one single moment
Marco, I am so happy you decided to review this song. It is one of Revo's more ambitious compositions. I highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend you watch the Luxendarc Kiko live stage musical where Revo plays with his band and an orchestra, collectively called Linked Horizon. It's beautiful and fantastic.
As a fun side note, these four leitmotifs play anytime you use the character's special attack in battle, and so long as the music is playing, additional effects that you have assigned to their special affect the whole party. You can chain specials into each other to keep the effects going as long as possible. Additionally, there is a key instrument to each song, representing each character: Tiz (for your convenience, pronounced the same as "t'is") is represented by the tin whistle found in My Ray of Hope; Agnès (for your convenience, pronounces Ahn-yes) is represented by the violin in Where the Wind Blows; Edea's is the alto sax found in Baby Bird; and Ringabel's is the accordion you love and pointed out in Love's Vagrant.
@@MarcoMeatball Always happy to recommend good music and good performances. I know I probably say this ad infinitum, but I always appreciate that you invite us to go on these musical journeys with you.
A lot of Bravely Default songs go around with fan translated titles. Most of them are pretty good, but a few of them aren't quite right. This song would be better called _Serpent Devouring the Horizon_ - the game's world of Luxendarc is called the _"Horizon of Light and Shadow"_ in the world map theme. Also, the game's OST was provided by Revo's band "Sound Horizon", going by the special name "Linked Horizon" that they use as an alternate imprint when they make music for an existing story (such as the first Attack on Titan OP!) instead of their own rock opera projects... This imprint was first used for Bravely Default itself, and the fact that it's specifically _Linked_ Horizon is a small meta joke about BD's plot!
Octopath Traveler's battle theme (I think it's Battle Theme 1) is one of the most epic fight theme tracks ever. It's on the level of boss battle, and yet it's the song for regular random encounters. Epic!
Nah. Octopath True final boss ost is more hype and more in the league of serpent eating the ground than the other boss themes. But damn they still hit incredible hard.
Say what you will about the game itself, but Revo's scores for BD and BDII are absolutely incredible. I actually listen to it now more than the Final Fantasy tracks that I used to obsess over. 🥰
WOOOOOW! You actually did this one! The OST of Bravely Default is Phenomenal! And this song is the CULMINATION of it all on the Final Battle! I also got a good suggestion! Since you’ve talked about it in the UNDERTALE MEGALOMANIA video, why not analyze the songs of LIVEALIVE!! Specifically the Boss theme, Megalomania, and the final boss, GIGANOMANIA!
Still haven't played the game itself and yet this theme has brought me to literal tears the couple times I've listened to it. It does such an amazing job with carrying the emotions that should come with a final fight in a jrpg style story.
I can't believe I missed out on this video when it was released! I was hoping you'd react to this song and each character's themes!!! I'm so happy!! Out of the character's themes, Tiz's theme is my favorite! Even the live action version of Serpent Eating the Ground is incredible!!
I absolutely adore the character themes, and a lot of the music from the game, it just hits so right. It's a shame I never finished the game, they kinda bungled it right before the end.
I played this game religiously and I listed to this soundtrack over and over while studying in college and still to this day I well up when I hear the 4 heroes themes in this song.
You are correct, actually! A very cool thing about the song, is that it's actually segmented by the "phases" of the boss! The shifting, serene tone you mentioned doesn't play until certain tragedy strikes, and then our theme song and the char themes won't play till we make that turn around! The song is more than just music, it's cinematic, a story! REVO Heika actually believes that, "composers of old would have used the sounds of nature in their songs, had they our technology" ...... you know? He believes music should always tell a story; every theme was made with the character in mind, and every final boss theme is always together.
In fact, I might recommend something from Revo's original album, MOIRA. It's a story based on greek-themes, but has an original mythology. And, (not spoiling too much) the characters in it, one of the last songs is an epic, final battle, and you can hear the leitmotifs of the characters all over that song; having gone through the entire album, it feels rewarding.
The motifs of the goddess Moira, the death god Thanatos, the slave-market Ilion, the hero Elefseus, the prince Leontius--
All of it becomes a hogposh, and basically, when you hear the song for the final clash in MOIRA... you know, for a fact, yes, this was definitely made by "the bravely default guy". xD
If you ever do look into it, I would recommend looking up the live action ones, for that cinematic experience! (:
The final boss's name and title is Ouroboros, God of Destruction. The serpent that devours itself but regenerates itself. During the boss fight, Ouroboros uses Total Regeneration every turn, completely healing itself from any damage you do. The theme of cycles repeating is extremely prevalent in the game (going on for millions of years), and that is reflected in the final battle. But, eventually, you break that cycle of regeneration. You overcome this as the Warriors of Light, banding together with your alternate selves in other universes. As you stop Ouroboros from regenerating itself, you also stop it from destroying alternate realities like it has been for millions of years. This is when the character's leitmotifs kick in, which also plays when you use Super Moves. Showing that the characters' power is overcoming the cycle of destruction.
To add to the Character themes that play during the battle, as mentioned above these character themes play when that character executes their Special Move, and despite Bravely Default being a turn based JRPG battle system, the Special moves grant a real time based party wide buff, approximately 90 seconds of buff time for the party which lasts as long as the character's theme is playing. One of the mechanics of the game is that you can extend this party buff time by having another party member execute their Special before the 1st one ends, and so on so forth through the 4 party members for maximum effect, and a total buff time of about 6 minutes. In essence, the final boss' theme actually tells you how to beat it in gameplay, by executing each character's special move and chain it with the other party members specials one after another and when your window of opportunity to use the special moves is.
@@TemjinZero Cool thought, but I have a small correction. The maximum buff time isn’t 6 minutes, it’s possible to keep it going indefinitely as long as you can keep chaining special moves together. So, the way to defeat Ouroborous is to create your own cycle that overpowers his.
The boss is also a dragon so spot on with the different meanings of serpent. Yes he's weak to fire.
@@silvermoon2608god i remember my cheese cycle after a 30 minute slog and only to get one-shot from that one ability
Respecced my characters and had tiz casting stillness while agnes was a ninja monk and had first strike spam before the stillness was cast, then ringabel would use black magic or something to regen everyone’s SP so we could keep the cycle going properly
Man that was such a good holiday
Easily one of my all time favorite RPG Final Boss fights!!! It feels awesome taking that monstrosity down!!!
This game is worth having a stream listening over. The entire OST is a symphonic masterpiece.
It’s almost a crime to not listen to wicked battle and especially wicked flight when it comes to this song because those both lead into this as if they were all 1 song
I mean it's really just Revo doing Revo things, that man is an unsung GENIUS
Heck yeah!!! One of the greatest soundtracks in RPG history!! That's saying a lot given the fact that I LOVE RPGs!!
Revo is a genius
They did a live performance of this song a few years ago, and the person who came out on stage to do the accordion for the Love's Vagrant part was the composer, REVO, himself, dressed a rockstar complete with sunglasses and long black hair. This man's soundtracks are always amazing lol.
Also, fun fact, REVO also wrote (and sang iirc) a few of the openings for Attack on Titan - specifically, the first 3, and Season 3's opening - and you can definitely hear the similarities in style between all 4 openings and Serpent Eating the Ground.
Even less well known (probably because Linked Horizon isn't the performer and because it isn't Attack on Titan) is that Revo is also the composer for Moon Pride, the opening theme for the 2014 Sailor Moon reboot, Sailor Moon Crystal. Revo's style is very easy to pick out there, too.
(This was something I also didn't realize until I saw his name appear on the title card when it was covered at Aki Rosenthal's 4th anniversary concert.)
This live performance is on another level
@@william_sun Revo do preform all of his AoT songs tho. You can easily hear his voices in all of them.
@@william_sun a fellow Hololive fan, Hello!
I'm still kinda ashamed that it took me so long to realize that the AoT Openings and the Bravely Default OST were done by the same artist. Thugh it was obvious to me when I heard the full version. Especially with the "fairy twinkles" (I really don't know how to describe it, but I think you might know what I mean XD)
Oh wow, this song.
Okay, so for those who only know this song from hearing it from the OST or the Live Concert: Serpent Eating the Ground is a song with three movements. Unlike Dancing Mad, which switches to the next movement as you progress on the phases, as you enter new phases against Ouroboros the next movement gets added to the loop (meaning that on Phase 2 the second and first movement take turns looping, and for Phase 3 all three movements are taking turns). This choice is important for the feeling of the fight, because on Phase 1 Ouroboros recovers from all damage on their turn (you still move to Phase 2 after enough damage is dealt though, this is just for dramatic effect), so the relentlessness of Movement 1 makes the battle more despairing.
The second movement (7:25) riffs on the game's world map theme (The Horizon: Endless Light and Shadow, definitely worth a listen). Using electric guitars makes it more battleworthy, of course, but notice how near the end of the movement it goes back to the "holy reverence/descending sadness" from the start of the song... because we're looping right back to Movement 1, of course. Why? Oh, Ouroboros eats a parallel world once you deal enough damage to them, healing completely. So even as you're more capable of fighting back, the despair from the first Movement hasn't completely gone away.
Just as it starts looking hopeless again (after the boss eats a second parallel world) and the group despairs that they're just dooming more worlds by fighting back? That's when the Warriors of Light from *every other world* appear to also do battle. And that's what leads us to the third movement (9:59), as the setting despair gets replaced with everyone's themes - capped off, naturally, by the second half of the title theme (Onward Into the Light: An Overture). It still has to loop back into the first movement, but we're in the home stretch now - Ouroboros can't eat worlds while fighting on *every front, ever*, after all, so the holy reverence now feels more mocking at the boss.
Basically, it is Canon that everybody's save files are all fighting the final boss all at once.
11 years after playing this game, I still listen to its soundtrack on a regular basis. It's so good 😭thank you for covering this!
In the boss fight, the boss regenerates by eating other worlds. It would use worlds from your friends list 😂
He's basically if Final Fantasy X's Sin, FF6's Kefka and Sepheroth had an orgy.
@@barrybend7189 Add Zanza and Alpha from Xenoblade Chronicles 1 + 3 to that merger :D
There is actually a fifth leitmotif here, which is the Asterisk's theme or the fight music for the Class Bosses, and from which you get the different Jobs for your party. Aside from the four character themes, the Asterisk theme is also one of the main songs of the game (which has a banger of a lyrical version, by the way).
The Asterisk's theme in the Serpent Eating the Ground is the conclusion of the character themes, and to me feels like it's not just the party fighting the boss, but they were also doing it with all the people they fought and met with along the way, represented by the class skills they now use. The presentation in-game itself is actually greater in scope than all of this, showing that this conflict is of a bigger scale than it actually is.
Don't forget the brief moment at the end where they use the victory theme and blend it into the beginning of the Serpent theme, thus completing the endless loop.
4:50 the music here always hit me as emphasizing how absolutely, staggeringly powerful the boss is. It's like a challenge, right? The guitar riff hits, and it's this spiraling madness that speeds up and up, and just when you think you understand the speed...
It hits with twin guitars.
It's like the boss saying "Okay, warm-up's over. That was just practice," before the staccato notes that rise, then SLAM down back into the loop from before.
BRAVELY DEFAULT MENTIONED LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !
thank you for Bravely Default mention. Revo does amazing work for his role in Sound Horizon and also as himself writing.
I'm so happy that you made a video on this song!!!! I've been hoping that you would listen to it since it's such a beautifully powerful song with many inferences in the music.
Some things I wanted to confirm for you and help you understand some others!
You were absolutely right about the main theme when you had mentioned it, it's also the start of the victory theme when you win a battle! It's hugely important after the characters themes because it's telling you "You have the power to defeat this boss, the end is in sight just give it all you have!". The four themes you listened to at the beginning are your main characters' special attack themes for when they're buffed for as long as the song lasts, which is only a minute iirc. Regardless they're all beautiful, empowering, and equally fitting for each character's personality and backstories. I'm happy Ringabel's theme warmed you heart like it does mine X3
Holy reverence and descending sadness are both very good ways to describe the boss. They are a celestial being in this universe and a very BAD one that you had not heard of, so fighting something of this size, magnitude, and importance from what you fought before is a huge step. They are intent of destroying EVERYTHING and they're so close to it and you're the only ones in their way.
The first shift is also super importance for "quiet confidence" as you mentioned. A very important someone shows up to lend you their aid (no spoilers on who or how) to hold back the celestial being's power.
It's funny how you mention spiraling chaos. There are things that happen in that fight that do spiral out of control and it's very insane and worrying when you first see it happen (once again I won't spoil what happens).
I've listened to this song for nearly 10 years now, that feeling of power and courage that I get from this song hasn't gone away one bit. All of the songs in this game are absolutely beautiful and would highly recommend a listen to the OST as well as play the game if you like JRPGs, especially old school Final Fantasy ones! Huge shoutout to Revo, the band that composed and performed all of the Bravely Default and Bravely Default 2 OSTs. Their music made this game shine brilliantly ♥
Commented 1 month ago bro wtf
@@JUjeJUke Maybe it was a hidden patreon perk vid? I don't know, but it looks weird.
@@JUjeJUke Patreon members get early access to videos! :)
Fun facts!
Like FF6's Dancing Mad, this composition actually has several internal loops:
1 - Initially, the game loops only the first movement by itself. Which is also why you hear this movement played twice before the track proceeds onwards, to establish one full seamless loop.
2 - Once you reach 2nd phase, the game now loops the first _two_ movements (e.g. including the World Map and Main Theme leitmotifs).
3 - Once you reach final phase, the game now loops _all three_ movements (including the Four Heroes leitmotifs).
Other people have done a better job explaining what makes this unique looping structure tie in to the battle's narrative.
Bravely Default is a great take on the classic JRPG formula for certain, but it is also a very LONG game and its latter half is also _explicitly_ repetitive (which the energy/stakes of the final boss at the end of it doesn't _entirely_ compensate for).
I played the game on its "Hard" difficulty (enemies buffed by +25% stats) and by the endgame not only was my team Lv.95+, my team *NEEDED* to be that high level for the final boss. (Normally you can expect the final boss to occur around Lv.60-70, leaving extra room for players who need it to level grind).
Near the beginning of the game, in the intro cinematic, a town gets destroyed. They actually dip into the town's theme when they show the town just before it happens -- this is the only time in the game that this theme is ever played, because, well, the town's gone. I thought that was pretty neat.
Oh! And "that person's name is" from this same soundtrack despite being the primary boss theme for the entire game, has one of the hardest finales I've heard in my entire life
Just FYI, “serpent eating the ground” is a slight mistranslation of the original title which is “serpent that eats the horizon” which is a reference to Ouroboros or Jormangund the world serpent from Norse mythology. Both are a reference to the idea of a cyclical existence without beginning or end. And without giving any spoilers, that is a very thematically appropriate reference for what occurs in this game.
Having only heard Serpent Eating the Ground before, it was surreal hearing all the 4 main motifs, because I recognized them INSTANTLY
Its a really treat to watch the live version of this one and watch REVO (the composer) shredd on the accordion.
Something that is not discussed enough in this game is also the evolution of three previous songs "wicked thing", "wicked battle" and "wicked flight"
Very cool to see you covering Bravely Default on the channel! I'd be willing to watch more of Bravely Default coverage, the songs are great and that's thanks to Revo!
Revo is goated.
Ah yes Bravely Default the game that mixes 3 of the most popular bosses in final fantasy into one really awesome boss for 5 stages of final battle. I wish they ported the first two Bravely Default games to the switch.
There is a live version for this that nicely shows many of the things that you mentioned. And it's amazing by the way, who thought that appearing with a accordion on the stage could look so cool.
All of the Bravely games have amazing music. If the boss has an asterisk, the song is going to be a jam
While they are all good, first game's ost is in its own league.
@@patrik3482BD 2 is really good music wise.
Talking about Bravely Default is tricky. Due to a few certain game design decisions, a lot of people didn't finish it. But those who did could write whole essays on this song and its place in the game itself and the story. Yes, it is the final boss theme, but when it plays it's not just a fight going on, but intermixed with character reactions and cutscenes as various storybeats come to fruition and conclusion. Let's just say whenever I hear this song and it gets to the point where the character themes kick in, I get goosebumps every time and it is 100% earned.
I finished and man did I had mix feeling. I loved the game, the music was beautiful, gameplay was satisfyingly challenging and the art is beautiful.
But man, man oh man was it repetitive. If you know you know. Having to go through all that over and over was mind numbing.
@@night-v5258 I totally get it. BD is one of those games that expects a lot of the player and just asks that you trust it knows what it's doing. I think it is ultimately worth it in the end, but I can't blame anybody for feeling like it was stretched too far to the point of breaking immersion. The game did include features to help with this. It was one of the first RPGs I ever played that let you adjust the encounter rate, even turning it all the way off, but even then that can only help so much.
@@ariwl1 yea understandable, fortunately "bells of battle" is a good ost so idm going through the random encounters
That bit you suggested as being Bravely Default’s main theme at around 9 minutes, is, I believe derived from “and that person’s name is”, a recurring boss theme through the game for the ‘Asterisk Bearers’, people who you once fought but are now lending their support. This theme is a coming together of the whole world in the game and I love it.
Let's fucking gooooooo! I've been dying for some of the music oriented TH-camrs to look into the more modern and out there square enix titles that I love(the bravely series, octopath series, triangle strategy) and you quickly grew a spot in my heart, so I'm sending this before I even watch, I'm so hyped for it
I got you :)
That closure, it feels just like the fall of the evil serpent.
"How could you defeat me? I lived for millions of years! You are insignificant in confront to me!"
So in game, when a character does their "limit break" attack, in addition to the effects of the attack, the character's leitmotif plays for a duration. During that duration, you get buffs until the song ends.
However, you can (as the song ends) have another character do their own limit break to have their leitmotif play and not only have its own buffs, you can also continue the buffs from the previous character's limit break.
Yes, you can chain leitmotifs in game just like in the song. (The only problem is the boss battle themes are awesome and it's tempting not to do your own limit breaks so you can keep hearing it)
I'm glad you like this song! It's one of the best final boss themes out there. I'd also recommend "Battle of Providence", the final boss theme of Bravely Second, this game's sequel. It also sports the main characters' leit motifs.
Also, "That Person's Name Is..." is the theme of the major boss battles in this game, which is one of the greatest boss themes written. Highly recommended.
This boss will forever be my favorite boss experience ever, as long as you don’t cheese it with time mage/dragoon combos… everything from the music, to the way it utilized the 3DS camera to insert the player into their roll in the games story.
This is a song that gets even better once you listen to the rest of the soundtrack and realize just how much of it is referenced in this track. It's brilliant, a perfect capstone to the game. Definitely one of my favorite tracks from any game.
I like how it went from you fighting the boss to boss fighting you and even declaring the player's victory over the boss at the end.
I love this boss theme so much! I think the live version is one of my favorite performances ever since we actually see that accordion get played by Revo himself. I don't think I could ever get tired of listening to this song with how good it is and I'm so happy you've covered it.
Really stoked to see Serpent Eating the Ground on the channel! If you ever do another Bravely Default video it almost has to be the final boss theme from Bravely Default 2, Eyes that Gaze into the Nexus ~ The Ones who Gather Stars in the Night. The solo vocal performance there is NUTS
YES! My favorite game series of all time, and the absolutely incredible final boss theme of its first game. Been waiting for this one for a while, super happy to see it! Now if you REALLY want a leitmotif gauntlet, try Bravely Default 2's final boss theme, Those Who Gather Stars in the Darkness. It has 11 - yes, ELEVEN - leitmotifs :)
Yo RNT is here. Bravely default fans unite!
@@corrinfevincenohr howdy
Seconding Those Who Gather Stars in the Darkness. It's tied with Serpent from BD and Demon Tears from Ikenfell as my favorite final boss themes.
Since when were you under the impression that this was the boss's theme?
We have a max level thief. This is OUR theme now!
FINALLY THIS SONG! I don't even play the game but since I've been listening to the composer's Band (Sound Horizon) beforehand, the game's music immediately caught my attention. So happy you finally react to this!
If I may, Sound Horizon and Linked Horizon works are remarkable, especially since Sound Horizon creates storytelling albums (like those of Musicals). If you have time, maybe you can check them out (and get a translated lyrics because it's mostly dialogue and singing).
i find it so funny seeing all the SHK citizens suddenly appear at the mention of anything LH/SH related on youtube lol
omg a fellow Laurant! Glory to the SHK!
Had to scroll down a fair bit to find this comment, but yeah -- everybody here needs to look up Revo / Sound Horizon / Linked Horizon. There's a TH-cam channel called AnotherLaurent that has uploads of the live musical concerts, and they are incredible!
Revo also did OP/ED songs for Attack on Titan, which I'm sure a lot of people have already heard by now but maybe didn't know who composed them.
This is such a great, great musical piece. I am totally in love with how prog it is and how the character themes are introduced in the song, it makes it more personal to how the player has been experiencing all the history and those characters throughout the game. I totally agree with you it is one of the top final boss themes in videogame history, it is so damn good at so many levels.
A small interesting bit is that if I remember correctly it not only uses the 4 character/special themes it also contains the battle victory theme (it plays directly after the 4 characters themes) signifies that the characters are winning, YOU are winning. There is also the main field theme which plays (I think after the first piano part) kind of symbolizing your journey. Another fun fact is that the whole soundtrack for bravely default and (by extension) bravely default II is made by REVO who also made the 1st and 3rd Attack on Titan Openings and the guy uses leitmotifs A LOT.
The composer of this game also made opening of Attack on titan
You should hear "The Evil Wings", which is the penultimate boss theme, deriving from the leitmotif "The Evil One", also present in "The Evil War" (you encounter the same boss in different forms throughout the game, "The Evil One" plays in their first battle, as well as cutscenes involving them, "The Evil War" plays in the second battle, and "The Evil Wings" plays during their final encounter and is the best of the three).
I just found out that a track from Bravely Default II called "Spurred Into Flight, Drenched and Fallen - The Night Rises" uses part of "The Evil Wings" in it and I immediately loved it for that reason alone.
I barely even played the game but I never stopped listening to the OST. Frequently use it as a soundtrack for our D&D campaigns too.
Anges is actually pronounced On Yes and Eyes That Gaze Into the Nexus from Bravely Default 2 is easily as good as this one, surprisingly. Same stuff, incorporates all of the player themes and boss themes. Highly recommend another video like this for that one. You’d love it
This game is probably my favorite video game soundtrack ever. Revo's use of Leitmotif and theming is incredible. I definitely recommend checking out the Luxendarc Kikou concert for this as well. Many of the game's songs have lyrical versions that Revo also created that only exist in the concert and not in the game itself and it's a treat. Especially with Revo himself singing the lyrics to Love's Vagrant.
Oh man, i completely forgotten how good the character themes are, especially for Edea and Ringabel. If you're looking for anything else, check put "Its name is Ba'al." They're the themes to some, truly twisted looking monstrosities, from a mutated goldfish with a massive maw, to a skeletal dove with a wedding veil.
Ba’al Busters is one of the goofiest team names I’ve seen in a game and I can’t help but love it a little
Ringabel's theme is one of my favorite tracks in any game, especially the full vocal version. REVO's live performance of it is legendary.
Let's also not forget the twisted scientist with syringes for fingers and test tube grown fetuses for legs
Bravely Default II (Which is actually the third mainline game, diffrent contentunity.) Also has an amazing final boss theme.
This soundtrack is the reason I want to get into composition cause man is this soundtrack amazing
I love themes that "evolve" as the fight goes on. Like, at the beginning, the song is foreboding and intimidating, as you have no chance of beating this foe. But as the battle progresses and you start gaining the upper hand, it changes to something hopeful and epic. Even better, it incorporates the characters' themes into the song, showing that now, they're the ones in control. The only other song I know that "evolves" as the player slowly starts to gain the upper hand on the final boss would be Jaldabaoth~Our Beginning from Persona 5.
Something I only noticed because you listened to the character themes before is that when the motifs play during this song, the parts of each song that are played are played with different instruments. The bit of Tiz’s theme is normally played with (I believe) bagpipes, but here it is played with the flute, Edea’s part is normally played on the electric guitar, but here it’s played on the saxophone & Ringabel’s part is normally played on string instruments, but here it’s played on the accordion. Only Agnes’s theme sounds like it’s being with the same instrument. What’s interesting is that these instruments are present in their themes, but there they are reserved more for the choruses of their songs. What’s more I’ve seen artwork of the characters (at least Tiz & Agnes) playing these instruments.
Revo is an absolute Genius and linked Horizon is legendary XD
It’s wonderful to finally see you listen to this and I hope for a full OST listen because this song gets EVEN better with it XD
I think this honestly one of the best:
Final boss themes
Video game music compositions
Pieces of music in general
EVER MADE.
And the fact there is a LIVE version of this that is just as good is INSANE.
Oh man, its been so long ago since I've played Bravely Default, I forgot how epic their music is. Thanks for reminding me on this classic masterpiece.
I'm so happy that you covered this game, thanks Marco! 🙏
(Edit) Bravely default 2 final boss theme did the same blending of the main chars. themes as well, along side with other memorable chars themes.
This song absolutely nails the motifs! The electric guitar will start to play the main theme after the piano solo, and right before and after the character themes the boss fight theme will kick in. So much fun to listen to, and I'm glad you like it!
I loved playing Bravely Default when I was younger! The sheer chaos, epic-ness, beauty and harmony of this final boss theme sums up my whole experience playing this game so well. So glad you reviewed this theme and gave such high praise for it!
"Beating the impossible" - this is what I think about when it comes to jRPG (and most of asian games). I'm absolutely in love with the idea of facing something that seems like a wall, a vertical difficulty spike that forces you to think about your actions and sometimes completely change the strategy. And great music makes that kind of fights quadrillion times better.
In last year I've finished "Library of Ruina" and earned an addiction its OST 🌝
I highly recommend to check some songs and battle themes from this game. Here's a list of my favorites:
Battle themes:
- Roland
- Tiphereth (Floor of natural sciences)
- Binah (Floor of philosophy)
Songs (by Mili):
- String Theocracy
- Children of City
- Gone Angels
P.S. Bonus song from Mili's album for Library of Ruina, but not included in OST, BUT hits harder than any other:
- Salt, Pepper, Birds and the Thought Police
Thank god I’m not the only Project Moon fan here, he’d have a Field Day with Gone Angels, and PM, both in Ruina and Limbus, has an extremely good track record for music.
Bravely default is such a good game, and the music equally so! The 'winding staircase' vibes is definitely reference to the repetitive nature of the game, a cycle being perpetuated and ofc its the protagonists duty to stop the cycle (without getting into spoilers). Its been a long time since i played but as an ff fan its still a huge favorite since its classic final fantasy in all but name. I think the music is a good example of that!
This game ost is just an incredible journey I never get tired of. There's a bunch of masterpieces but I also really love Wicked battle, wicked flight and baal theme👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻
God, You Are My Hope coming in like that makes me cry EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Such a good theme!
Now that makes me really want a similar video but with Bravely Default 2's special themes, especially Seth's special theme. Great work as always!
So cool to finally see you react to this song!! Btw there is a live version done by the band that created this song and its even crazier given how hard it would be to pull off this song! Keep up the awesome reactions Marco! 😊❤
I love when our main theme shifts out the bosses theme's. That moment of hope and power
They also have a Live concert for the Bravely Default OST, they have a fun surprise for in store for you when the battle medley is, so you should probably check out the full ost before going there!
REVO did such a good job integrating the music of Bravely Default I was disappointed he didn't do the music of Bravely Second. Was glad to see him back for Bravely Default II (and my favorite theme from that being "A Trial of the Brave")
My favorite part of Serpant Eating the ground is that transition from the start of Ringabel's theme into "That person's name is?" because by this point Ring has realized WHO he is. Both his personas combined for his part of the song. I love it.
Bravely has some phenomenal music. Would love to hear your take on the Asterisk theme "And That Person's Name Is"
If you haven't yet, i implore you with all my heart to listen to live version of this song!!! It's amazing and it has the full heart of REVO as he truly shines the best on open stage!!!
A lot of the live editions of all the songs I feel like is what REVO wanted to initially to present but was limited for whatever reasons for the final game production.
Coming from a Sound Horizon/REVO fan since 2007!!! :]
If you're up for it too, watching his originals of "Moira", "Roman", "Seisen no Iberia", and "Märchen" concerts are absolutely phenomenal, and you would love them as a opera singer yourself!! The singers' talents shine the best when live!! Recordings don't do full justice despite how amazing they still are.
It's my 2nd favorite from Bravely Default. If you can, please check out "Wicked Battle." (There's also Wicked Flight, but I like Wicked Battle much better) It's possibly one of my all-time-favorite boss themes from any geme. I would love to hear your thoughts on it. It's sooo good.
I LOVE THIS SONG SO MUCH I WAS SO SHOCKED WHEN I SAW YOU UPLOAD THIS
"Where the fairy flies" ^^
Love this song so much, and it's incredible how the composer effortlessly ties each individual theme back into the heroic section of the final boss battle. It's the most uplifting boss theme I can think of.
Bravely Default is my all time favorite game, I hope you'll analyze more songs from it's OST
The music is so expressive. It paints the background, the mood, the characters, scale, motion, all of it.
Amazing analysis, what you descrived at the end perfectly capsulates the feeling I had when I thought that boss. Great work
dangit, that game is so cool, and the boss theme is so epic, I cried back when I first played through it and I'm crying again. darn it, Marco!
Its amazing what he can analyze just from hearing the music
OH YAA!!!!!!!!!! This game... it was amazing, to bad the next ones were censored to oblivion... This game was one of the TOP 5 Surprise Betrayals/Hero Manipulation ever.... I was speechless about who turned out to be the main enemy
While I’ve never played Bravely Default, I can certainly say I am a fan of the few songs I’ve heard from its soundtrack. If you are looking for more fantastic RPG music I would personally recommend you try Ys and the Trails series. Falcom has a really good track record of producing-in my opinion anyways-some of the best music you will find in games.
Fun fact:
There’s even more motifs in this boss theme than that of the main characters. This theme is a rehash of EVERY motif in the game including but not limited to:
The title theme
The overworld theme
The basic battle/encounter theme
Other boss themes
It’s a true masterclass of the power of theming and recalling old melodies from prior in our journey. As you so aptly put, this is less of a boss theme, and more of a theme for the entire journey and the game as a whole. This song gets me hyped like no other piece of music can. This is it. Everything the tens of hundreds of hours of gameplay have been leading to is culminating in this one single moment
This song is actually called 'Serpent Eating the Horizon'
OH MY GOD YES !! Bravely Default has some of the BEST music out of all JRPGs !!
I LOVE THIS TRACK SO MUCH. It's pride of place in my Bravely Default playlist along with Ringabel's theme. This game's music is the best.
Marco, I am so happy you decided to review this song. It is one of Revo's more ambitious compositions. I highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend you watch the Luxendarc Kiko live stage musical where Revo plays with his band and an orchestra, collectively called Linked Horizon. It's beautiful and fantastic.
As a fun side note, these four leitmotifs play anytime you use the character's special attack in battle, and so long as the music is playing, additional effects that you have assigned to their special affect the whole party. You can chain specials into each other to keep the effects going as long as possible.
Additionally, there is a key instrument to each song, representing each character: Tiz (for your convenience, pronounced the same as "t'is") is represented by the tin whistle found in My Ray of Hope; Agnès (for your convenience, pronounces Ahn-yes) is represented by the violin in Where the Wind Blows; Edea's is the alto sax found in Baby Bird; and Ringabel's is the accordion you love and pointed out in Love's Vagrant.
Definitely will and thank you so much
@@MarcoMeatball Always happy to recommend good music and good performances. I know I probably say this ad infinitum, but I always appreciate that you invite us to go on these musical journeys with you.
A lot of Bravely Default songs go around with fan translated titles. Most of them are pretty good, but a few of them aren't quite right. This song would be better called _Serpent Devouring the Horizon_ - the game's world of Luxendarc is called the _"Horizon of Light and Shadow"_ in the world map theme.
Also, the game's OST was provided by Revo's band "Sound Horizon", going by the special name "Linked Horizon" that they use as an alternate imprint when they make music for an existing story (such as the first Attack on Titan OP!) instead of their own rock opera projects... This imprint was first used for Bravely Default itself, and the fact that it's specifically _Linked_ Horizon is a small meta joke about BD's plot!
We all glad you did this one and hope it will be a great welcome for you to new musical treasures of bravely default
God I love this game's music, thank you for doing a vid on it Marco ❤️
Octopath Traveler's battle theme (I think it's Battle Theme 1) is one of the most epic fight theme tracks ever. It's on the level of boss battle, and yet it's the song for regular random encounters. Epic!
I think you refer to Decesive Battle II
Nah. Octopath True final boss ost is more hype and more in the league of serpent eating the ground than the other boss themes. But damn they still hit incredible hard.
Say what you will about the game itself, but Revo's scores for BD and BDII are absolutely incredible. I actually listen to it now more than the Final Fantasy tracks that I used to obsess over. 🥰
WOOOOOW! You actually did this one! The OST of Bravely Default is Phenomenal! And this song is the CULMINATION of it all on the Final Battle!
I also got a good suggestion! Since you’ve talked about it in the UNDERTALE MEGALOMANIA video, why not analyze the songs of LIVEALIVE!! Specifically the Boss theme, Megalomania, and the final boss, GIGANOMANIA!
Still haven't played the game itself and yet this theme has brought me to literal tears the couple times I've listened to it. It does such an amazing job with carrying the emotions that should come with a final fight in a jrpg style story.
Honestly this game's music brilliance was LOST on the 3DS, not as many people know about it
Yes. The answer is yes. Especially the way it incorporates all of the main characters' themes.
I can't believe I missed out on this video when it was released! I was hoping you'd react to this song and each character's themes!!! I'm so happy!!
Out of the character's themes, Tiz's theme is my favorite!
Even the live action version of Serpent Eating the Ground is incredible!!
the call at 07:22 and response at 08:03 is so insanely good
i hope you get to listen to the live concert version too! im so happy you're looking at BDFF/LH music!
IM LATE THANK YOU MARCO FOR FINALLY GIVING THIS ONE A LISTEN MY PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED THANK YOU MAN
I absolutely adore the character themes, and a lot of the music from the game, it just hits so right. It's a shame I never finished the game, they kinda bungled it right before the end.
I played this game religiously and I listed to this soundtrack over and over while studying in college and still to this day I well up when I hear the 4 heroes themes in this song.
If this takes a lot of homework, imagine analysing all the themes in BD2's final boss.
Oh dear god
you need to do this with the final boss track for Braverly Default 2 as well!
I am so happy I got to see your reaction to this song.
it's incredible how close your description with how the battle goes