Favorite Town themes

[Zeratul]

One of the things I often enjoy most in RPGs and other games are the town and city themes because they often have a lot of diversity to reflect the different locations of the world. So, what are your favorites?

Mine are:

Lunar 2: EBC - Behind Pentagulia - Organ themes often get immediate praise from me because they're kind of rare in VGM, so naturally the first note of this song hooked me instantly. The almost religious tone, climactic composition, and mysterious feel makes this song yet another great example of Noriyuki Iwadare's musical expertise.

Breath of Fire 4 - . . . And Yet the Merchants Will Go - This folksy song often became one of the only reasons I'd go back to visit Synesta in this game because it was so good. It has an incredible, light-hearted melody that makes exploring one of BoF4's best cities a joy. Yoshino Aoki has outdone herself with this song.

Eternal Arcadia - Kingdom of Nasrad - Another great mideastern theme, this song's cello and sitar melody captivates me everytime I hear it.

FFVIII - Silence & Motion - Whenever a composer takes a risks and experiments he or she often succeeds in making me recognize their skill and talent even moreso than I did before. This odd city theme, with its bells, whistles, and machinery like sounds demonstrated just how creative Nobuo Uematsu can get and why I'd like to hear him compose another OST on his own again so long as Square doesn't overwork him like they did before.

Shadow Hearts - Swindler -Shanghai Noon- - This song is a great, peaceful oriental theme that I always look forward to on the OST. When I first heard it in the game it made the town come alive.

Shadow Hearts - City -Prague- - Another song from the Shadow Hearts OST, this songs peaceful yet eerie organ and flute melody conveyed the mood of the game and the city very well. It's easily one of the most creative town themes I've heard.

Saga Frontier 2 - Heimatlose - Though short, this light hearted piano theme conveys the romantic time period of many of the cities without ever overdoing it. It's rhythm hooks me while the melody carries me away.

Xenogears - Dazil - Another nice mideastern theme, the sitar melody alone makes this song a song worth many listens, but the singing elevates this to a level of perfection.

Front Mission 3 - City (Japan) - A nice technoish theme that conveys the feel booming city life in post-modern Japan.

So, what are yours?

[fresh]

I like the Aruni Village themes from Chrono Cross

[aeristerra]

Wow zeratul, I have yet to see/hear most of those games^^;;;;

I'd have to say most of the town themes in Xenogears are top notch.

EDIT: might add on to this later after I think a bit more ^^;

[Adaman]

Aye, so many good town themes, i'll see what i can come up with...

FFVI: Kids Run Through the City Corner

FFVII: Slums, Costa Del Sol, Cosmo Canyon, Parochial Town

Super Mario RPG: Nimbus Land, Hello Happy Kingdom, Rose Town, My Paradise -Monstro Town

Actraiser: Birth of the People

Zelda (LTTP and OoT): Kakariko Village

Well, i'm sure there are a lot more i like, but that's what i have for now.

[Ian Gillseed]

I've always loved the Dragon Quest town themes.

[Rince]

Tsugunai - Morning Fog in the Village

Such tranquility!

In fact, all the Village / Town themes from Mitsuda (and Tsuguna ones in special) bear high quality and somehow are getting the idea of a town over in their melody.

Nubuo Uematso did his best ones in the older Final Fantasies, I think.

"Kids run through the City" or "Welcome to our Town!" are very good ones. "My Home, Sweet Home" will always stay my favorite though.

[Zeratul]

Aeristerra, you'd probably really like those songs if you checked them out. Most people haven't heard of them because they aren't Final Fantasy related, so I expected them to be somewhat unknown. The "Behind Pentagulia" song comes from the Lunar 2: EBC sound test game rip, so even if you have the official OST you still wouldn't have that awesome song.

I've finally checked out some of the Genso Suikoden OST and I can already tell it will have great town themes with "Beautiful Golden City".

[yamiyo]

I ahve about the same tastes as you zerutal. But one of my new favorites is from KH. You know the one in traverse town. Ive been humming that one since the day I bought Kh:p

[ReclusiveWriter]

hehe Well at least I don't have to worry about being unique. The best town theme ever in my opinion:

Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest - "The Silence of Daylight"

Perhaps it's nostalgia alone, but I can listen to this song endlessly and still adore it. I've heard a dozen remixes and loved them all... My personal favorite :).

[Naka]

Xenogears - Shevat. Damn what an awesome song!! Probably one of my favorites in the whole game. Well, hmm thats hard to say really, since I love the whole thing. But definately up there. It has such a nice sound to it.

Zelda 3 - Kakariko Village. Probably just for the Nostalgia factor really. Always a classic.

[Zeratul]

Yeah, Traverse Town was such a great song. Only Agrabah and Hollow Bastion can match it in KH.

[Sausageboots]

Final fantasy 9 - Frontier village Dali, the traditional type of village tune, slow with soft instruments, it has a very nice melody and is of decent length too.

Secret of Evermore - Marketplace, there were very few tracks that appealed to me in Secret of evermore, however this classical guitar tune was a refreshing change from most of the ambient sounds that replaced any flowing music for most of the game.

Chrono Cross - Home (I think) Termina, has a strange Scottish feel to it due to the constant bag pipe drone in the back ground, now although that sounds bad, it is actually a really upbeat and tuneful theme which imitates the busy atmosphere of the town.

[Killraven]

Uh, it's not technically a town theme as Chrono Trigger doesn't have many of those, but "Memories of Green" which plays when you walk around Melchior's house, has always been my favorite. "Kids Run Through The City Corner" is a close second.

[JumboMaverick]

Animal Village from LoZ:LA
Gerudo Valley from LoZ:OoT

[Linear Helix]

The theme for Venezzia in Tales of Phantasia ("Hydropolis") is pretty good. I also like the Winhill theme from Final Fantasy 8... music box music always makes me weepy. :crying:

[Rune Walsh]

My favorite town theme would have to be the town of Jeremi, in Legend of Legaia. The track was called "Light of the Town". Such a beautiful melody... :)

[Yushiro]

Skies of Arcadia - Air Pirate Secret Base, Kingdom of Ixataka, Headquarters, Remote Town, and Great Silver Temple

Xenogears - Dazil ~ City of Burning Sands, Aveh ~ Ancient Dance, Thames ~ The Men of the Sea, Shevat ~ The Wind is Calling, Tears of the Stars ~ Hearts of the People (I'm pretty sure this was a town's alternate theme), and Solaris ~ Eden of Heaven (Fun!)

Parasite Eve - Out of Phase (closest thing to a "town")

Chrono Cross - Another Arni Village, Another Termina, Another Guldov, Home Guldov, and Zelbess

Chrono Trigger - People Who Threw Away the Will to Live, and Corridors of Time (was this a town theme?)

Final Fantasy 10 - Besaid Island, and Luca

Final Fantasy 9 - Frontier Village Dali, Sleepless City Treno, Conde Petie ~ Village Where the Mountains Blow, Black Mage Village, Ruins of Madain Sari, and Bran Bal ~ The Village Without Souls

Final Fantasy 8 - Balamb Garden, Breezy, Dance With the Balamb-Fish, Silence and Motion, Under Her Control, Fisherman's Horizon,

Final Fantasy 7 - Tifa's Theme, Opressed People, Ahead on Our Way, Costa del Sol, The Gold Saucer, The Sandy Badlands, Valley of the Fallen Star, A Full Scale Attack, Rufus' Welcoming Ceremony, Parochial Town, and Off the Edge of Despair

Final Fantasy 6 - Mines of Narshe, Under Martial Law, and Slam Shuffle

Grandia 2 - Village of Carbo ~ Pious Adepts, Nightmare Village Milm ~ A Good, Unknown Anxiety (o_O), Saint Heim ~ The Country of Laws, and The Town of Nanan ~ Overwhelming Nature

Legend of Mana - If I knew which tracks were town themes, I'd probably have quite a few listed.

Super Mario RPG - Grandpa and the Delightful Tadpoles, Rose Town, Welcome to Yo'ster Isle, The Merry Marry Bell Rings, Going Shopping in Ripple Town, My Paradise Monstro Town, and Let's Do the Fooka-Fooka


That's all I've got on mp3 on my laptop right now.

[Zeratul]

I've finally beaten Legaia 2: Duel Saga and Wild Arms 3, so I have some new favorites. The town themes in them are some of the best I've heard in any new RPGs lately.

Legaia 2: Dule Saga - Wasteland to Faraway Places, and Karavaia - Both of these themes fit the mood of the game perfectly with their peaceful melodies. The first one conveys the feeling of a hometown very well with its nostalgic flute and piano melody while the other is perfect for a trade town with its energetic flute melody. Yasunori Mitsuda and Hitoshi Sakimoto did excellent jobs on these.

Wild Arms 3 - Bad Guys in Bad Land - This one reminds me of the Damzen City theme from WA2. The flute and guitar form a very nice melody that fits an outlaw town very well, and certainly shows how Michiru Naruke's style has matured since the previous game.

Long Days of Rest - Another peaceful theme, it's melacholic tone created by the flute duet and muted horn overflows with the feeling of nostalgia, which is only enhanced by the guitar in the background.

[Maximus Asmadi]

All of the Super Mario RPG town themes are great, but I love Rose Town. It always makes me feel like I am going off on a great adventure, perfect for the first town in any game. Yoko Shimomura is a great composer, and this shows the ability is there. I also tend to listen to Traverse Town's song from Kingdom Hearts. Chrono Cross also had some good town theme songs.

[niki]

Among all those named here I'd like to add the Earthbound town themes which are fantastic.

[VinylFantasy]

All time favorites would have to be LoZ:OoT - Kakariko Village and Costa de Sol from FF7. A lot of the Chrono Trigger ones are great too but I forget the names. Town themes rock!

[Sylvan Sorrow]

FFVI, kids running through a city corner. I used to be able to play it on piano too. Actually played it at one of my recitals before.