Orchestral Final Boss or Rock?

[TitanWarlord93]

A bit of both. I prefer something like Solaris Phase Two. That's what makes a good final boss track for a Sonic game.

Edited July 25, 2012 by deepbluespeed99

[The Fantastic Mr. Rob]

Hmm, I loved the rock songs, although IGN and Gameinformer always trash talk them as horrible, trashy music. But who cares what they say? For me, I like the rock. And I like the Orchestra. So either really, unless SEGA did something epic like half and half, half the battle is rock, then the other half is the orchestra version of the rock song.

[Aquaslash]

I was just thinking about this today. I'd like more things like Time Eater and Big Arms, that sound foreboding and really confrontational. Those two songs are like Eggman's cutting all the goofy crap and getting straight to the hedgehog killing. The stakes are raised and everything! In that aspect, I would also lump Egg Dragoon and Egg Wyvern into this category as well, as they were much more suitable final boss themes than the ones that were actually in the game.

On thinking about it, I actually don't like the orchestral themes that are remixes of the main themes at all. I seem to usually find the Phase 1 boss musics to be better choices. These other themes don't really have a confrontational feeling to them. They're more like "super (character) is kicking your butt heroically and there's nothing you can do to stop it". Doesn't help that for the three games it applied to, the main theme was kinda crappy.

As for the Butt rock, it depends on the song. I really like Live and Learn and With Me. Seven Rings in Hand actually fit the badassery that was Darkspine Sonic, and I Am made sense for Shadow. The rest I'm iffy on.

Then there's the Rush games. Those two songs were epic, so more like them is a plus too.

TL;DR: More Big Arm, Deep Core, and Time Eater, less Orchestra versions of terrible songs.

EDIT: REALLY don't get the hate on Time Eater's theme. Then again, there's a lot of things in this fandom I don't get so oh well.

Edited July 27, 2012 by Aquaslash

[ZER0]

Ochestral rock is best type of final boss music.

And there is THIS song.

I agree with this guy 100%

Orchestral Rock is a pure syphony of awesome.

[HUNTER297]

Sorry for sudden bump but I've been looking for this

This is it. Original song that mixes orchestra and Rock. That's how I would like Sonic final bosses themes to be.

[Dr. Crusher]

While I do like some of the lyric songs (overrated as they can sometimes be), I don't like them being used for the final boss. Call me cliche, but I prefer the theme to fit the boss rather than the character you're playing as.

I do love the orchestra themes (in fact, I'm a rarity in preferring Solaris Phase 1 to Phase 2), but the problem is that if you use it too much, they might end up sounding the same. So with this in mind... why is rock and orchestra the only kinds of music final bosses have to use? You mean there's no other options?

I tend to hear a lot of comments like, "Time Eater's theme sucked because it wasn't orchestra". Now, thoughts about it's own theme aside (I loved it, and thought it was - for lack of a better term - a change of pace), the impression I sometimes get is that this is the only reason. Which, in my opinion, is a little bit silly. You need variety for your final boss themes, just as you do for any other theme in your Sonic games, let alone any game.

Look at the final boss music in the Mario RPGs for example. Smithy's is fast and to-the-point. Bowser's is a slight touch of rock. Cackletta's is sinister and spooky. The Shadow Queen's is somehow both fast and slow, in a tidy, frightening package. Elder Princess Shroob's is somber. Super Dimentio's sounds like something from a deranged carnival. Dark Bowser's is dark yet triumphant. The point is, all seven have their own individual touches that make them stand out from each other, and that's how it should go for anything, especially Sonic.

So I like the orchestra, but that's not the only thing that should ever be used. There are many ways you can fit music so that the message is "Do not fuck with this guy," Robotnik or otherwise.

Edited August 23, 2012 by Dr. Crusher

[ashthedragon]

I don't think orchestral fits sonic AT ALL, so rock all the way. It makes me feel like kicking that final boss ass, rather than "oh, le fight, like a sir I'll defeat you" of orchestral.

[SilentDoom]

EDIT: REALLY don't get the hate on Time Eater's theme. Then again, there's a lot of things in this fandom I don't get so oh well.

Because it's bland, generic, repetitive and has no sense of real progression at all. As a piece it doesn't go anywhere. It doesn't offer any real sense of impact or oomph. I personally get no sense of "the epic final battle" from this theme at all. The first time I heard it, I honestly thought it was like a "phase 1" theme building up to a proper dynamic climax but I was just left with this disappointing and flat theme.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

I don't think orchestral fits sonic AT ALL, so rock all the way. It makes me feel like kicking that final boss ass, rather than "oh, le fight, like a sir I'll defeat you" of orchestral.

You can not be that ignorant regarding orchestral music...

Tell ya what. I won't humor you with a paragraph explaining how orchestra can be just as badass as rock. Here's 5 tracks from Two Steps from Hell:

Strength of a Thousand Men

Come back later and tell me if this kind of orchestral music isn't badass enough for a final boss. Although, if you do, I'm likely to assume you're trying to troll me...meh.

[Megabox!]

Ehh I don't really like Rock music all that much, I'd rather have something thats just perfect for the mood of the battle. The final boss music for Colors was pretty cool though