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 On 04/10/2014 at 11:21 AM by The Last Ninja See More From This User » |
What's a good villain without a good theme? I mean BAD!
It's been said that a hero is nothing without a good villain. Without the villain, the hero has nothing to fight for. Games have given us some great villains, truly evil characters, some diabolical geniuses, others maniacal dictators. But a truly great villain also needs an awesome theme. The theme goes a long way in making them even more evil. I've chosen seven villain themes from video games which range from "truly evil" to "just awesome" themes. So enjoy. Hopefully your dark inner nature doesn't take over while listening to these wickedly awesome themes.
Lavos' Theme from Chrono Trigger/Composed by Yasunori Mitsuda
Chrono Trigger has one of the best stories of any video game. The villain is Lavos, a dimension-hopping alien thing that plans on destroying the planet in 1999. His theme is creepy and very evil. I love the organ (hands down, the organ is the best instrument for a villain). The second half of the song plays a somber and peaceful melody with voices in the background. Then it all slowly moves back into Lavos' theme again. So good!
Koopa Bros. Keep Cool from Paper Mario/Composed by Yuka Tsujiyoko and Taishi Senda
This one is anything but creepy. In stark contrast to Lavos' theme, the Koopa Bros' theme is very chill and cool. They're supposed to be like the Ninja Turtles, which is a neat parody. Once again, an organ is used, and done masterfully. The overall mood is perfect. Of course, these dudes are just the first boss in the game, so they're pretty easy, but they set you up for more fantastic chapters to come. And their battle theme music is even crazier.
Golbez's Theme from Final Fantasy IV/Composed by Nobuo Uematsu
Here we have a straight-up evil villain theme. Nothing funny here. This song is nothing but organ. It's evil yet beautiful! And Golbez is very intimidating in the game (even though he's a little squat character). The theme matches him perfectly. I need say no more.
Ghirahim's Theme from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword/Composed by Hajime Wakai, Shibo Fujii, Mahito Yokota, Takeshi Hama, and Koji Kondo
Say what you may about Skyward Sword, but you can't deny that Ghirahim is a great villain with awesome music, to boot! His theme is my favorite villain theme from the Zelda series. It's creepy, lingering, and has a psychotic twist to it, which is perfect for this Joker-esque villain. If anything, it was nice to see a compelling villain in a Zelda game that was not Ganon or Ganondorf.
Shelly de Killer from Phoenix Wright: Justice for All/Composed by Akemi Kimura
I really love the Phoenix Wright games! Not only are the stories and characters top-notch, but the music is great as well. One theme that sticks out to me is the theme of the mysterious villain of the final episode in the second game. This dude is a high-class gentleman who's also very smart and creepy (he wears a monocle too!). His theme is calm and classy, and I love it!
King Dedede's Theme from Kirby Superstar/Composed by Jun Ishikawa and Dan Miyakawa
King Dedede is like Bowser: you can't take him seriously. I mean, look at him: he's a fat penguin with a mallet who looks kinda cute. His theme, however, is completely awesome! Its upbeat, exciting, and catchy (which is why it's in a Kirby game). Metaknight, on the other hand, is very dark, mysterious, and cool. So Kirby has two great villains. Personally, I prefer Dedede's theme over Metaknight's, but it's good to have the contrast.
Kefka's Theme from Final Fantasy VI/Composed by Nobuo Uematsu
Kefka is one of gaming's greatest villains, and his theme only helps that status. It starts off slow and creepy, then takes a turn for the worst and becomes hysterical, which fits Kefka perfectly. It's the theme of a madman, calm at times, crazy at others; Kefka will go as far as it takes to accomplish what he wants. Kefka is definitely one of the greatest villains in gaming, but his theme is also one of the best.
Kefka's theme reminds me of another video game song, but I can't place it. Peter Pan on PC, maybe? Great theme, though.
I like Dedede's upbeat theme and the organ-driven RPG villain ones, as well as the suave piano-driven one for the monacled Ace Attorney guy.
However, by far my favorite of these is the one for the Koopa Bros. one. I may be biased, cause it's the only game on this list I've played, but I love their characters and theme.
I'm not sure what my favorite boss theme would be.
Whoa, you haven't played any of the other games on this list? You're missing out, Joe! These are some of the best games out there!
The FFs and Chrono Trigger are outside my wheelhouse, I'm not as big on Kirby games as others, and I don't own a Wii or WiiU to play Skyward Sword on and don't really plan to.
I am playing Miles Edgeworth and dug Paper Mario when I used to rent it, though.
i just beat up on the Koopa Bros in the Glitz Pit with The Great Gonzales (Mario) last weekend in Paper Mario. Love that game and everything in it.
I like that King Dedede theme. It makes me want to run from him immediately. Scary action is coming.
Indeed. Scary. Awesome. Fat. Penguin. Action!
I should really get around to playing all the way through FF VI.
The ending is amazing!
i always liked Kuja's theme from FFIX. too lazy to dig it up now. there's a piano version and kind of a menacing synth version.
Good one. Sinister for sure.
One villain's theme that has stuck with me for years is the theme of Mother Brain in Super Metroid. Very atmospheric and with a sense of dread like no other.
Mother Brain is also one of the creepiest villains in gaming. When MB gets a body in Super Metroid and starts fighting Samus. . . epic!
When I first saw the title of this blog, I thought to myself, "I sure do hope he put Kefka's theme in here." Glad to see it make the cut. Cool thing about Kefka's theme is that when you fight him at the end of the game, the last segment of the Dancing Mad song changes to a intense rock version of Kefka's melody.
I think it's also cool that you did NOT put "One Winged Angel" on your list. As cool as it was to hear that the first time you faced Sephiroth's final form in FF7, the song has gotten way overrated since then.
I think it's cool that you also put King Dedede's theme in here. I loved how they added a lick from Gourmet Race into his theme first in Super Star, and it has permenently stuck in his theme ever since.
Another favorite villian theme of mine is Dr. Wily's stage 1 theme from Mega Man 2.
You're right, One Winged Angel is overrated. However, Kefka's theme (and Dancing Mad for that matter) is not overrated because it's truly incredible. One reason I didn't do OWA is because I'm focusing on villain themes here, and not battle themes.
The Dr. Wily music is awesome! One of the best 8-bit themes for sure!
Love King Dedede's theme, don't think I could ever get tired of it.
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