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When the music starts playing before the battle begins

Solarc

Solarc

Member
Sep 24, 2018
1,160
Dominican Republic
I love it when games do this, it's such a seemingly insignificant design choice, but I find it works really well, the Trails series likes doing it a lot:

(On mobile so can't easily timestamp, just skip to 11:47)




There are many other instances, with a lot more hype (and spoilers). Got any examples from other games/series?
 
Marble

Marble

Banned
Nov 27, 2017
3,819
I dunno. Sometimes it spoiling. Especially when the music stops when all enemies are defeated.
 
Hella

Hella

Member
Oct 27, 2017
23,405
Purposefully done it can be powerful. But if it's just dynamic music that's out of control it's irritating.

Prey is probably the best example of it being done badly. The enemies can look like anything, and you'll always know they're there because musical stingers give it away long before you are startled by 'em. It's soooo bad, which is a shame because the game itself is soooo good.
 
Luke88

Luke88

One Winged Slayer
Member
Dec 29, 2018
2,560
Italy
So like...Pokémon Battle transitions where there's some flashy animation turning the screen black before the battle begins ?
 

Melody

Member
Oct 28, 2017
800
A moment in Heavensward does this to fantastic effect. I've never been so wowed by a game before, but I'd rather not spoil it since the whole build up is a huge part of the effect.
 
Desma

Desma

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,235
Nah. Was pretty bummed out when Oceanos played completely and even looped before the actual battle in Ys 8
 
OP
OP
Solarc

Solarc

Member
Sep 24, 2018
1,160
Dominican Republic

Melody

Member
Oct 28, 2017
800
BhetjaXIV said:
And Shadowbringers does it brilliantly for its final boss. Not gonna post it because spoilers and it's still fresh but... yeah
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I liked that one too, but SHB was so backloaded that I appreciated the long game of the HW patch boss. I will say that SHB final boss is definitely better than the HW one, so they could still top it with the upcoming patches in my eyes, and they'll surely do the music thing again. Or I hope so.
 
Luke88

Luke88

One Winged Slayer
Member
Dec 29, 2018
2,560
Italy
Solarc said:
Didn't cross my mind at the time, but this is a very good one, yeah.


I guess this counts, but it's kinda annoying instead of hype due to happening for all random encounters instead of just boss fights.
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but "boss battles" do have exclusive animations that make them special on top of different tracks, the musketeers legendaries from Gen V come to mind, plus Pokémon battle music is really good at getting you in the mood for a fight
 

Deleted member 17627

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
5,364
Tales of Legendia takes this another step further and plays a soft, violin version of the boss battle theme before a battle starts and it's sooooo good.

I love this game so much:

 
TheIdiot

TheIdiot

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,729
Back when I would play Oblivion high, with headphones, the battle music with no enemy visible would make me tense up lol. Whenever I turned around and saw a troll running full speed at me, especially in a cave, that scared me senseless.

Also:

 
Monado

Monado

Member
May 30, 2018
245
Joinville, Brazil
Final Fantasy VIII final boss.

One of the best songs of all time, that eerye sound pulsing back and forth through my stereo speakers... I won't be posting because spoilers, of course.

Uematsu genius.
 
Kneefoil

Kneefoil

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,452
Xenoblade has more than a couple of pre-battle tracks. Unfortunately, I don't think any of them actually continue to the battle itself, but I guess they still kind of count? I'll embed these three anyway. First one is only played in a single cutscene for some reason, and the last one's the one that everyone remembers.



 
DNAbro

DNAbro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
25,927
As already posted, FFXIV does this to perfection and the few times it has done it are my favorite moments in the game.
 
Garlador

Garlador

Banned
Oct 30, 2017
14,131
Perhaps not music, per se... but this dialogue got me good.
aB00LEz_460s.jpg
 
OP
OP
Solarc

Solarc

Member
Sep 24, 2018
1,160
Dominican Republic
Magnus

Magnus

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,373
The lead-in to the first major encounter in ZOE2 is a perfect example of this. Gets my blood pumping.
 

Deleted member 33533

Banned
Nov 17, 2017
12,864
Solarc said:
I love it when games do this, it's such a seemingly insignificant design choice, but I find it works really well, the Trails series likes doing it a lot:

(On mobile so can't easily timestamp, just skip to 11:47)




There are many other instances, with a lot more hype (and spoilers). Got any examples from other games/series?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

The intro of the video is Uncontrollable from Xenoblade X which is a completely different type of song that plays before the battle begins. As in, you're probably about to get flattened in 0.5 seconds by a giant monster.

Admiral Woofington said:
I love the "why do I hear boss music" meme because of it
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"Where did the electric guitars come fr-"

*Gigantic gorilla steps on you.
 
AtomicShroom

AtomicShroom

Tools & Automation
Verified
Oct 28, 2017
3,079
Lifeforce on NES must have been the first time I noticed and learned to appreciate this mechanic:



When the standard level music starts fading out, and the boss music kicks in, you know you're coming up against something absolutely bad ass, after which the boss is revealed.

And then they throw a cherry on top by making the HUD disappear, leaving nothing but you and the giant boss on screen. It gives an incredible sense of purpose and epicness to the fight.
 
skLaFarebear

skLaFarebear

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,174
Trails is really fucking good at it.

CS1 Chapter 6




CS2 intermission (major spoilers for CS1)




Arguably the best one in the series - Trails the 3rd



My personal favorite use of this is in Utawarerumono Mask of Truth's final boss fight. The song hitting at that moment right before the fight starts is incredible.
 
The Unsent

The Unsent

Member
Oct 25, 2017
19,438
FF IX, Kuja Trance music beginning like an opera when you're talking to him then transitioning into some techno beats. Really cool bait and switch.
 
Blade24070

Blade24070

Member
Oct 26, 2017
7,003
Too many examples but I like when Yuna's Theme starts playing before the fight against
Bahamut
starts in Final Fantasy X-2.
 
Zhao_Yun

Zhao_Yun

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,928
Germany
antitrop said:
The end of FFXIV: Shadowbringers when it does this is just unbelievably amazing. It's one of the greatest moments of any game I've ever played.

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I am still getting goosebumps from this one.

skLaFarebear said:
Arguably the best one in the series - Trails the 3rd
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When you thought "Silver Will" couldn't become even more epic. Loved that scene.
 
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