I remember being terribly disappointed that "Life or Death" was not the boss battle theme in this game and furthermore, there was no boss battle theme at all. There are also I think three interesting things to point out:
1) The similarly-named "Between Life and Death" or "Brink of Death" or "On the Verge of Death" track from Chrono Cross was the boss battle theme for that game.
2) Both songs have a similar feel (e.g. a sense of impending danger, a sense of urgency etc) that would suit a boss battle or indeed... (see point 3)
3) If I remember correctly, both songs are used as a dungeon theme once and only once.
So, basically, the weight of the world lies on the shoulders of the standard battle theme (until the last boss where you finally get to hear something different). Doubly so considering this game was marketed as a cinematic movie experience (and the dual layer DVD to hold all the data) with the "movie music" to match. When there actually is music anyway. The other half is ambient and environmental sounds. And, in the end, "Battle" manages to not outwear its welcome. Well okay, to be fair, it did but it did a damn good admirable job. There's something special about this battle theme for me. In general, I do like the "menacing -> buildup -> uplifting" musical story progression. Not sure if there is a word for this kind of thing.
|