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This continues the article series on my Top 70! Here's a small recap of what I'm doing:

Let's go!

Now that we're hitting the top 10, I'm sure many people will start hating me for my organization of these. :p But I simply went with instinct.

#10
No More Heroes 2: Desparate Struggle – Philistine (vs. Margaret Moonlight)

SPOILERS
The world of NMH is one of assassins who fight in one-on-one battles to the death to become the #1 ranked in the association. They all have distinct personalities and backgrounds that make them very interesting opponents. Margaret Moonlight is one that particularly stands out to me. She has one particular tune that she likes to sing. When her targets hear this theme, it is the end for them. That's right, she actually sings this theme while trying to kill Travis. But he doesn't die. Since killing is her art, she calls him a philistine for failing to die. Then, when Travis beats her, she asks him if he remembered her song. He can later be heard humming her tune.

It's very unique and I'm in love with it, even though I didn't notice it on my original playthrough, since Margaret is a bitch to beat and I was concentrating.

#9
Streets of Rage 2 - Never Return Alive (Boss)

This is my fucking shit. I drive down the interstate with this shit blaring and thinking about how I could make an awesome Streets of Rage movie. All the music is there! Make a solid, if throwaway, popcorn plot and it could be awesome.

Anyway, this is crazy awesome boss music. The sirens at the beginning let you know there's danger coming. The beat is intense. Everything about this is epic as hell. Oh yeah.

#8
Donkey Kong Country – Gangplank Galleon (vs. K. Rool)

Starts off as a simple pirate tune. I wasn't too impressed with it at first. But 30 seconds in, hold on to your face. Great, great music.

Did anyone else die when they played the "Kredits"?

#7
Earthbound – Pokey Means Business (.vs Giygas)

A nice NES-styled intro leads into the SNES era. Bigtime. I remember being so nervous about facing Giygas for the first time. And this theme told me that "yes, I've made it and this is it" very loudly. The only problem I have is that the first fight is so short.

#6
Super Metroid – Final Boss

The best way to describe this tune is "oh shit" via instruments. It's a very short theme, but it does its job incredibly well at staking up the stakes. As the giant Mother Brain stretches out her limbs to face you, who is around 1/16 MB's size, it really does send a chill down your spine. War drums and trumpets are the center of attention here.

#5
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 – Final Boss

It's all come down to this. Sonic with 0 Rings. Robotnik in a giant Robotnik suit. The Sonic Team of old knew that if this adventure was going to end up in space that it better damn-well have an epic finale piece to go along with it. This theme screams to me that Sonic is fucked and he's going to have to do everything he can to win. I think that the 0 Rings make everything feel that much more serious and ominous.

#4
Final Fantasy VI - The Decisive Battle (Boss)

I've played this game about 4 times and haven't beaten it once. Every time I try, something happens and I lose my damn save. I know the game by heart up until the latter half of the World of Ruin. My poor saves.

Anyway, to this song, I suplexed a train. Re-read that last sentence. This is part of a soundtrack that's Uematsu's masterpiece. No other FF game captures the pure essence of boss battle like this one does. It makes every boss battle seem like the most important fight on Earth.

#3
Lufia II - Rise of the Sinistrals – Battle Theme #3 (Sinistral Boss)

Legendary theme. I had such a difficult time choosing between Battle Theme #2 (Boss) and this one. They change positions in my head regularly. But since this one is used much less and used for the biggest and most epic of the boss battles, I went with it.

Where can I begin with this music? The whole piece is just ear sex. The buildup with the drums, the main melody that comes in after that's so full of tension and dread at the seriousness of the situation you're in, the bridge that sounds like the heroes making efforts, the final part that sounds like you have a little hope, the cymbol clashes throughout that sound like thunderbolts. Did I mention I liked this song?

#2
Mega Man 9 – Wily Machine (Final Boss)

This is the most awesome Mega Man final boss music EVER. Sure, Mega Man's faced off against Wily 8 other times in the past, but that was practice for this moment. From the get-go, it's red alert, red alert, small buildup and then 100% pure epic all over my face. A 3-part Wily fight helps make this a really memorable fight.

#1
Contra 4 – Tunnel Boss

My #1 pick is from Contra 4. Really, any of the Top 10 could have been my top choice on different days of the week, but they aren't. Why do I like this so much? Because I'm an bare-chested, sweaty, machine gun-toting warrior fighting any time of huge nightmare creature and I'm not breaking a sweat. The strong "HEY YOU'RE FIGHTING A BOSS AND YOU MIGHT NOT MAKE IT" mixed with that melody change-up of "you have a bit of hope!" (I seem to love that in my boss music, it seems) combine to form and Axis of Awesome. PURE BOSS MUSIC.

Note: I was originally thinking about putting down the original, then I remembered that Contra 4 had this theme and then I struggled with OG and NewG.

Here's the OG Contra's theme:


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So that's my Top 70 Favorite Boss Themes of All Time. I'm sure I've missed some boss themes that you guys know and love, but don't get all emo about it. Hell, I missed boss themes from games I'VE played in the past. Plus the organization of them is pretty arbitrary. If you asked me a year from now, even a month from now, they would change. I love videogame music and just made this topic so I could share some of something I love with you guys.

Now that it's over, give me your feedback on the list!