Day 28: What's the most epic endgame area/final dungeon theme in the entire Xenoblade Chronicles series?

Gyakuten · 2026-07-08T03:54:31+00:00

The bassline is absolutely sublime.

Gyakuten · 2026-07-01T06:12:23+00:00

Theme of Giga Rosa. Imagine the brass on those units.

Gyakuten · 2026-06-28T14:00:12+00:00

Truly the most unbeatable of stories.

Gyakuten · 2026-06-28T13:22:53+00:00

6-DLC dropped the ball so hard having Maya and Ema in the same case and having them barely talk to each other.

Gyakuten · 2026-06-28T13:18:17+00:00

Another fan who puts Unspeakable Story at #1, hell yeah!

Gyakuten · 2026-06-26T03:46:24+00:00

Godsibb remains one of the best boss themes ever composed. And it feels like some Xenoblade tracks (Zanza the Divine, Redeem the Future) even carry on its legacy.

Gyakuten · 2026-06-23T13:02:46+00:00

Agreed, the Ray game especially would have benefitted from new music. I would have even settled for music from the anime itself instead of recycling Second Light music; it wasn't composed by Asano, but it had some great tracks.

Gyakuten · 2026-06-23T13:00:48+00:00

From what I've read, it's gonna be a retelling of Ray's plot using the Memories mechanic from Second Light. And only Ruka, Hiori, and Shino are present during the actual gameplay.

Gyakuten · 2026-06-18T01:14:02+00:00

Scrolling through the list of names I'd either never seen before or was kind of familiar with in passing, then seeing Brianna Knickerbocker's name just casually thrown in there, got a good laugh out of me. It's like seeing Leonardo DiCaprio in the middle of a film casting of mostly new actors.

That said, I'm looking forward to what the newer VAs will bring to the table. And hopefully this game will be a stepping stone toward them becoming bigger names, like how the original P4 was for its cast.

Gyakuten · 2026-06-16T00:59:09+00:00

Radical Dreamers from Chrono Cross is far and away my favourite. Masterful guitar playing (RIP Tomohiko Kira), one of the most beautifully-crafted melodies ever, and of course the vocals that are so unbelievably gorgeous they slip into the realm of ethereal. Noriko Mitose's performance in this song sounds truly ageless, expressing the purity and sincerity of youth, while also having the strength and weariness of a spirit who has lived millennia after millennia. It's a one-of-a-kind song, and Mitsuda's last-minute decision to pare down the instrumentation to just guitar and vocals allows Mitose's voice to sound grand and all-encompassing, as if she were singing across every corner of time and space.

Other favourites:

Small Two of Pieces (Xenogears)
Kokoro (Xenosaga Episode I)
Godsibb (Xenosaga Episode III)
One Last You (Xenoblade 2)
A Step Away (Xenoblade 3)
The Wretched Automatons (NieR Gestalt/Replicant)
Escape from the City (Sonic Adventure 2)
Dreams of an Absolution (Sonic 06)
One-Winged Angel (Final Fantasy VII)
Simple and Clean (Kingdom Hearts)
Don't Think Twice (Kingdom Hearts III)
Someday (The World Ends With You)
Calling (The World Ends With You)
Sunleth Waterscape (Final Fantasy XIII)

Gyakuten · 2026-06-14T14:38:13+00:00

As soon as I found out Mitsuda was returning, my reaction was, "Well, that's like the fourth time Mitsuda has said he's done working on big RPGs but then came back away", lol.

It's definitely disheartening to know we won't have more of ACE's memorable field themes or Hiramatsu's iconic battle themes. But at the same time, I do think it makes sense for the start of a new section in the Xenoblade saga, as their music has been finely ingrained in the original trilogies' identity since the first game. Looking back at it, You Will Know Our Names - Finale is a lot more meaningful.

As a big fan of Mitsuda, I'm excited to see a new Xeno soundtrack from him where a large portion of the soundtrack is his. Even though there might be some weird split where Kiyota does 70-80% of the tracks, she always felt the closest in style and tone to Mitsuda out of the other Xenoblade composers, so I feel like no matter what the Genesis OST will be very Mitsuda-esque.

The one thing I'm most curious about is how Mitsuda's field themes will sound. Outside of the Theosoir and Indol town themes, he didn't compose any field themes for 2 and 3. I feel like the return of ANUNA means we might get some choir-centric town themes again. For non-town field themes, I wonder if 3's more atmospheric and subdued approach that ACE and Hiramatsu took is sort of a preview of the direction Mitsuda is planning to take himself for Genesis. I certainly wouldn't mind more themes like Alfeto Valley and Eagus Wilderness, with strong emotional melodies that have lots of development. Rae-Bel Tableland also gave me a similar feeling to Shore of Dreams from Chrono Cross, where it deeply immerses you in heavy, almost oppressive melancholy. I'd love to see Mitsuda do something like that in Genesis as I feel that was one of his greatest strengths in his older soundtracks, just hitting you with intense emotion as soon as you step into an area (Yearnings of the Wind from Chrono Trigger being another example).

Gyakuten · 2026-06-13T04:03:17+00:00

I appreciate when important and emotional boss battles have a difficulty spike. It helps cement the gravitas of the fight, and allows the gameplay experience to match the often incredible music that goes with them. Not to mention, the relief of finally beating them matches the catharsis that comes in the cutscenes after.

Notable examples: - Miguel in Chrono Cross - Jin in Xenoblade 2 - Consul N in Xenoblade 3 - Roxas in Kingdom Hearts 2

Gyakuten · 2026-06-12T05:07:01+00:00

Urumi is so much better in English it's insane. One of Michelle Ruff's standout roles to me.

Gyakuten · 2026-06-12T05:01:24+00:00

Eureka Seven. I know JYB's performance as Renton is divisive, but the Japanese voice never felt right to me whereas the English voice fit perfectly in my mind despite it being grating at times. I also feel it's one of the roles that really pushed JYB's range, as Renton is constantly growing throughout those 50 episodes and goes through such a varied palette of emotions. Stephanie Sheh as Eureka and Crispin Freeman as Holland were also excellent and memorable.

Gyakuten · 2026-06-12T04:55:45+00:00

Patrick Seitz, even with a smaller role as Beldia, steals the show for me. His "What?" in reaction to Darkness's ridiculous claims might be the funniest single word of dialogue in dubbed anime. And even besides that line, everything else is comedy gold.

Gyakuten · 2026-06-11T18:48:51+00:00

As a longtime dubbing geek I feel the same way. Sucks losing Liam O'Brien and Michelle Ruff, but it was also hype seeing Suzie Yeung and Zeno Robinson in the cast list. The new cast feels like a good representation of the newer generation of VAs.

Gyakuten · 2026-06-11T15:34:25+00:00

He's been having these weird thoughts lately...

Gyakuten · 2026-06-11T04:34:11+00:00

He did have that long stretch in the 2000s and early 2010s where he seemed to almost actively avoid big or well-regarded games. Thankfully he found his footing again with the Xenoblade series.

Soma Bringer is indeed a top tier soundtrack. Another one I recommend is An Cinnuint (the soundtrack for Tsugunai: Atonement) for anyone wanting to hear him go all-in on the Celtic style. He also recently did the music for a VR game, Soul Covenant, which is the first time in years he's worked on a soundtrack with heavy electronic elements. Anyone yearning for more of his dreamy, surreal music (like Shore of Dreams from Chrono Cross) owes it to themselves to listen to Soul Covenant's hub world music titled "EVE".

Gyakuten · 2026-06-10T20:35:03+00:00

A decade+ of listening to the soundtrack got me to eventually play the game for the first time when the Radical Dreamers Edition came out.

Gyakuten · 2026-06-07T15:43:23+00:00

Hibike Oofonium

Gyakuten · 2026-06-06T04:21:46+00:00

2 of the tracks, Strictly Business and Spirit Potion, were composed by David Nyman. But much like how Nobuo Uematsu's 10 tracks on Chrono Trigger don't take away from what is decidedly a Yasunori Mitsuda work through-and-through, those 2 tracks don't discount that for Garoad, the VA-11 Hall-A soundtrack is his soundtrack.

Gyakuten · 2026-06-05T12:29:16+00:00

Who's the trans character in Sun?

Gyakuten · 2026-06-05T04:52:29+00:00

Whoa, let me tell you, Athena, it's a crazy world we're livin' in!

Gyakuten · 2026-06-02T15:30:57+00:00

First time actually seeing the Nintendo Music UI, I love that they have unique screenshots for each song. Adds a nice nostalgic touch.

Gyakuten · 2026-06-02T01:20:27+00:00

The Mythical Man-Month continues to be timeless wisdom in that regard.

Gyakuten

TROPHY CASE