10 Most Iconic Songs in Final Fantasy

There are a lot of elements that help make Final Fantasy iconic as a series, from boss fights and stories to the music that plays as you experience the journey of these characters. The teams that have been in charge of the music for FF throughout the years have always done an incredible job creating songs that stick in your mind long after the game is over, including tracks that bring back the same surge of emotions that you get when playing the game that features them. With so many options, it’s difficult to pick only ten of the most iconic songs in the franchise.

Thing is, while Final Fantasy is filled with great songs, not all of them are iconic. Those that are iconic tend to be tied to specific characters, moments, or impressively well-made when you consider the technology that the team had to work with at the time, which put some unique limitations on the capabilities of older games. You might have your own list of songs, but this list looks at those that seem to be the most iconic for the FF community of players overall.

10. Dancing Mad

“Dancing Mad” is the final boss theme in Final Fantasy 6, when you finally fight and defeat Kefka. This symphony has four movements, and each one is tied to a different phase of the fight. You can even hear the songs “Omen,” “Catastrophe,” and “Kefka” woven into this massive theme. At roughly 18 minutes in its original version, “Dancing Mad” is the longest boss theme recorded in the franchise, which is impressive when you consider that this song had to rely on the hardware of the Super Nintendo, and it still sounds great despite that limitation.

9. Chocobo Themes

Each game has its own variation of the theme used for riding Chocobos, but that’s partially why the themes are so iconic. These songs are fun and upbeat, offering a bit of levity to games that can feel rather heavy at times when you’re going through the often emotional stories. No matter which Final Fantasy game you’re playing, the Chocobo theme for that game is immediately recognizable, and it feels like it fits even when the song is modified to fit that particular game.

8. Eyes on Me

“Eyes on Me” is the main theme for Final Fantasy 8, and it plays when there’s a romantic scene between Squall and Rinoa happening on screen. The song would win an award at the 14th Annual Japan Gold Disc Awards, becoming the first song from a video game to ever do so. While you might’ve heard the song without playing FF8, going through the game and playing it makes it that much more iconic as you learn the story behind the song through the game and how the romance between Squall and Rinoa is an echo of a previous romance that failed.

7. Roses of May

“Roses of May” is Beatrix’s theme from Final Fantasy 9, which is already an iconic game, helping to boost the songs it includes into the realm of being iconic as well. “Roses of May” and the arrangement of it called “Something to Protect” are both songs that aren’t too intense, but filled with emotion. The way they’re written gives them an almost circular feeling, which makes it easy to get stuck in a loop of humming it after you hear it once. Now, there’s a new arrangement of “Roses of May” that you can listen to during the Zelenia trial in FF14: Dawntrail.

6. To Zanarkand

The main theme of Final Fantasy 10, “To Zanarkand” plays as early as the first cutscene that takes you into the game’s menu. While the song is fitting since Tidus wants to return to Zanarkand, and that happens to be the last stop on Yuna’s pilgrimage, it’s also a somber sounding song from the beginning. Then, you learn more about the world of Spira, the truth of a summoner’s pilgrimage, and Tidus’ unusual situation, and “To Zanarkand” becomes a heartbreaking song that brings back the emotions of this game’s story right to the surface again.

5. One-winged Angel

Considering how iconic Sephiroth from Final Fantasy 7 is, it’s not surprising that his theme, “One-winged Angel,” is also iconic. The song itself feels right for Sephiroth, where it has the intense moments with a few lighter moments mixed in. Sephiroth himself is an interesting blend of qualities, as he has an elegance to him that you can hear in his theme, but he’s also a madman who’s trying to make himself into a god. When you hear this song, it immediately makes you think of Sephiroth. Likewise, seeing Sephiroth can bring this song to mind even if it isn’t playing during that scene.

4. Battle Themes

Similar to the Chocobo themes, the battle themes for each game tend to be iconic in their own ways, and often sound like they’re connected, but modified for that individual game. Part of what makes the battle themes iconic is how often you hear them in each game you play. Aside from boss fights, where a song specific to that boss or point in the story plays, you’re going to hear these battle themes during essentially every other fight, which is a significant portion of most games. At least they tend to be great songs to hear on repeat.

3. Prelude

A recurring song that shows up in every mainline installment in some form, it’s no wonder why “Prelude” is an iconic song for Final Fantasy. It’s also referred to as “Crystal Theme” at times, but it’s the track that you tend to hear when you’re in the selection menu for save files. What’s truly impressive is that adding this song to the first game was a last-minute decision by Nobuo Uematsu, and it took him only 10 minutes to compose it. Now, you hear it in the series’ games even decades later.

2. Terra’s Theme

Terra, like Kefka from the same game, is an iconic character on her own, and “Terra’s Theme” is the overworld song used in FF6, which means you hear it—and variations of it—throughout the entirety of the game. The song itself isn’t too demanding or overbearing, but it’s recognizable and rather fun to listen to. While this song appears in other games, its iconic status comes from its original appearance in FF6, where it’s the theme for who might be one of the strongest Final Fantasy characters.

1. Aerith’s Theme

It’s difficult to not feel sad when you hear “Aerith’s Theme” from Final Fantasy 7. While you might not feel that if you haven’t played the game, the song itself has a soft, melancholic sound to it that encourages that somber feeling. Aerith is a beloved character, and that makes her eventual death at the hands of Sephiroth hit that much harder. Add her theme playing in the background while Cloud lays her to rest in the water, and you have the recipe for what might be the most iconic song in the entire franchise.

Music is a huge part of Final Fantasy, and the soundtracks are beautiful enough to listen to at any time, such as during car rides, while studying or working, and even while just relaxing. The soundtracks of these games have been consistently high quality, so you can always look forward to the new songs that come with every new Final Fantasy game.