Awesome Music / Etrian Odyssey

Etrian Odyssey 1/Etrian Odyssey Untold

From the original:

• A Sudden Gust of Wind Before Your Eyes is intense and catchy, the iconic FOE battle theme that would be referenced and updated as the series progressed.
• Dyed In Blood is the game's boss theme, and it carries a sense of hopelessness if you realize you're a bit underprepared.
• Destruction Begets Decay takes over for the 4th and 5th stratum's random encounters. Unlike the first random encounter theme which gets you hyped right out the gate, this theme takes a brief buildup to a more heroic-sounding track.
• The Green Green Woodlands is the first stratum's theme, and sounds suitably peaceful for the game's equivalent of a Green Hill Zone. It's certain to evoke nostalgia for those who followed the game from its very beginning.
• The Withered Forest for the 4th Stratum is quieter than the preceding stratum themes as you traverse its winding paths or cross its vast stretches of empty space.
• 5th Stratum's theme (spoiler in the track title) kicks in the moment the game's Wham Shot settles in, and the main melody carries a sense of melancholy as you can't help but wonder what could have happened that led to this.

• The battle theme of the 6th stratum Ecstasy. Considering that it's the battle music that only plays in the Bonus Dungeon of an already Nintendo Hard game, the only thing matching it's awesomeness is the difficulty.
• Rising Again plays when you face off against a pair of characters who were once friendly throughout your journey in the labyrinth. They won't accept any compromise — this theme tells you to cast aside your doubt and fight as hard as you have.

From Untold: The Millennium Girl:

• In general, the whole game made the music from the original game come alive and it shows.
• Try listening to A Sudden Gust of Wind Before Your Eyes and not feeling tense when you have to fight a F.O.E.
• Red and Black is back and it's sinister as ever.
• Initial Strike, the first battle theme, has that incredible guitar solo.
• Destruction Begets Decay, rocking its new instrumentation, sounds even more heroic than its original.
• Emerald Woodlands is one of those tracks that you wouldn't mind having to listen to for the whole first section of the game.
• The Roadside Trees Outside The Window is a relaxing town music fitting the city at daytime.
• The Lounge Where We Speak of Tomorrow is very funky and fitting the city at night.
• Labyrinth V - The Fallen Capital of Shinjuku takes the theme of the fifth stratum and enriches the instrumentation, making it resound with lost memories of the old world.
• The Withered Forest returns... and the saxophone does wonders to enrich the trek through this melancholy stratum even further than the original ever did.
• Untold doesn't disappoint when it comes to brand new music either; the final boss of the new Gladsheim dungeon gives us the absolutely rocking The End of the World.
• Furnace of War, a more unsettling, darker version of "Initial Strike".
• Towering Pair takes "Rising Again" and makes it even better.
• Originally a composition cut from the original game, Battlefield's Awakening makes its official debut as the theme for the final battle; it is also known as "The Battlefield that Never Sleeps" and "With Much at Stake" across different translations, and it lives up to all of these titles.

Etrian Odyssey 2/Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold

From II: Heroes of Lagaard:

• Ever-Scarlet Forest, for the second stratum, is a significant tonal shift from the first stratum that underlines that the party's entered new territory and must stay on their tones.
• Woodland of Frozen Flowers. There's something in the track that makes you feel like you are trapped in the middle of winter, with all those feelings of dread, loneliness and melancholy that follow.
• Cherry Tree Bridge, for the fourth stratum, has a melody as beautiful as the cherry blossoms that comprise the stratum.
• Heaven's Rock Seat, for the fifth stratum, feels grandiose for the realm of the Final Boss and has a matching sense of finality.
• The FOE theme for this game, A Sudden Wind That Calls For Death, bears vibes similar to the previous game's FOE theme, with a few recognizable recurring riffs but still having enough of an original feel to be its own track.
• The First Campaign fills you with excitement during the random encounters.
• Scarlet Rain is a pumping theme that keeps you hyped during a boss battle.
• Shiver, the random encounter theme for the Bonus Dungeon, breaks the serenity of the stratum theme to remind you just where you are and to warn you to not take the enemies lightly.
• Guardians of the Sorrowful Ice is a tragic piece that plays during the fight with Guild Esbat, conveying a sense of reluctance when you learn their reasons for killing adventurers who try to venture too far.
• Final Battle is used for the first form of the Final Boss, and is about as grandiose as it gets for the battle. When he shifts to his second form, it switches to Heaven's Governor, which sounds like he's brought in a marching band to accompany the fight.

From 2 Untold: The Fafnir Knight:

• The First Campaign, with its new instrumentation, keeps you even more excited during the random encounters.
• The remake's take on the second battle music, Inspecting the Resounding Weapons, might be the smoothest battle music you'll ever hear.
• The new take on A Sudden Wind That Calls For Death is no less intense.
• Woodland of Frozen Flowers makes its return... but in a complete tonal reversal from the original, instead invoking the feeling of walking through a mystical winter wonderland, with the smooth jazzy remix guiding you along, evoking an almost Christmas-like feeling of wander and awe.
• Cherry Tree Bridge is as amazingly dreamy as ever.
• Heaven's Rock Seat, meanwhile, is just as grandiose and epic as before, if not more.
• How do you make battles in The Forbidden Forest more scary? Try Shiver with the heavy metal remix.
• Bloody Fight - Betting It All, the theme that plays when the protagonist transforms. The reprise at the end of the story is likewise amazing. Both of them are heavily based on Reaching Out For Our Future, the vocal theme song for Story Mode.
• The Wind Doesn't Draw Heroes, just about the perfect evening theme before you tuck in.
• Shadows of Death Over There, the Ginnungagap boss theme, busts out electric guitars to make a badass theme. A shame it only plays a total of three times per playthrough.

Etrian Odyssey Mobile

The few tracks available from the lost mobile game are a quite an aural pleasure. It makes one wonder how the rest of the soundtrack sounded. Curiously, it was the only game that wasn't scored by Koshiro, but by an unknown member of the music company SuperSweep.

• The first stratum's theme really captures a sense of adventure, while sounding calm at the same time.
• The battle theme is a kickass and catchy track.
• This is the only game in the franchise that gives us a completely different victory fanfare, yet it's still awesome.
• The boss theme sounds ominous and depressing, as if your party is fated to get a Game Over, and nothing can be done about it.

Etrian Odyssey 3

• Is that blood thine or the enemy's? Well, given how difficult FOEs are, probably yours...
• The First Campaign, the random encounter theme, gets you pumped with its intro and maintains it with a catchy melody.
• Those that Slay and Fall's drums are metaphorically intoxicating...
• Waterfall Woodlands, the theme of the first stratum, instils a sense of wonder as you set foot into the labyrinth.
• The Blue Sea Temple of Ritual from the fourth stratum manages to mix a melancholy tune with a catchy percussion.
• Chalky Woods from the fifth stratum opens with a few pristine notes, before the main melody kicks in, sounding fittingly dramatic no matter what route you've picked for your party.
• Between these Azure Skies and Seas is just the kind of music needed when going about in town.
• Hoist the Sword with Pride in the Heart, the boss theme, uses its drums to great effect. Rather than instil a sense of dread, it gets the player pumped for a difficult fight ahead.
• Great Voyage, the sailing theme, is a relaxing piece that captures the feeling of adventure when you sail the seas around Armoroad in search of new lands and treasure.
• Their Own Brand of Justice not only manages to be an awesome Final Battle theme, but it's also a symbolically fitting one, as no matter which of the three final bosses you face, its always someone who genuinely believed they were doing the right thing.
• The Vengeful God in the Great Ocean Abyss / Cyclopean Haunt is the theme for the Bonus Dungeon, and it creates an oppressive atmosphere that befits the lair of the "ultimate evil".
• So you're fighting the Abyssal God, whose health seems to have taken quite a hit due to your killing its tentacles throughout the final floor. You land the killing blow...and then the screen pans up to reveal the rest of the Superboss as Calling That Detestable Name begins to play. That is when you realize that the real battle begins now...
• This fanmade medley is a celebration of all the seagoing soundtracks, rendered in glorious NES style.
• The HD remaster adds a new battle theme, "Perish like the Dew", that plays during the Bonus Dungeon random encounters in place of "Those that Slay and Fall". This new theme is fast-paced and chaotic to show the real dangers lurking in the labyrinth's depths.

Etrian Odyssey 4

In general, thanks to the live orchestration, it's a little tempting to link the whole thing. Yuzo Koshiro really blew it out of the park this time.

• Battlefield - Storm is the normal fight music for the early dungeons. And when that's just the normal fight music...
• The second battle music, Battlefield - Faith is my Pillar is even better, with a great mixture of moods interwoven with incredible composition that makes the piece tireless to listen to.
• The Burning Crimson Sword Dances has a slow buildup, but when its main melody kicks in, it's a constant, frantic theme that keeps the adrenaline going, especially if you just lost a party member to the boss's attack.
• Windy Plains is fantastic as music for the first overworld area; you've got an AIRSHIP! And you're going on ADVENTURES! And then you get punched by a kangaroo.
• All of the music in the Scarlet Pillars land is great; The Red Stone Forest lets you know you aren't dinking around in kiddie land anymore, Led Astray In The Lost Woods is suitably grim-sounding for places like the poison-filled first cave where you must find the fuel to make the skyship go higher, and The Misty Ravine, the dungeon version of the aforementioned cave theme, balances the mystery, wonder and danger of the second dungeon perfectly, with a heavy dosage of oriental instrumentation added in.
• The fourth dungeon theme, Library of Puppets, is an extraordinary piece that opens with a synth line before introducing a hard rocking guitar melody as the synth fades into the background, then the guitar is replaced by a saxophone before the synth comes back into prominence. It's fitting accompaniment to the raised stakes of the story's penultimate dungeon.
• The Legend's Successor, the theme for the Final Boss, has a slow startup as you behold its massive size, but engages Orchestral Bombing to confirm that you are indeed staring down the titular Titan.
• What better way to introduce players to the Difficulty Spike of the Bonus Dungeon than With Eyes Blazing as the normal battle music?
• The frantic pace of The Fall of The Final Enemy, especially in the opening, perfectly sums up what it feels like to run afoul of a FOE.

Etrian Odyssey 5

If you missed the FM synth soundtracks of the DS games, fret not; in addition to the live-instrument soundtrack, there's DLC that allows you to switch it out with FM arranges.

• The daytime town theme is incredibly relaxing. FM version.
• The first battle theme, Battlefield - Activation, sets a high-energy and optimistic tone for going on an adventure. FM version.
• The second battle theme, Battlefield - Life or Death Struggle to Seize the Future, evokes an atmosphere similar to "Faith Is My Pillar" from the fourth game.
• Critical Situation (FM Version) is the current-generation FOE theme, and it is wonderfully frantic.
• The third stratum theme is a soft rock piece that reminds you that the Fetid Necropolis was once the site of a massive war. The FM version is noticeably different in tone with less echo and is more evocative of the graves that line the place.
• The fifth stratum theme opens with an ambient intro that is reminiscent of "Corridors of Time" from Chrono Trigger.
• The sixth stratum theme uses minimal instrumentation to evoke the emptiness of outer space and the sense of dread associated with it. Its FM version doubles down on the minimalism to make it sound more alien.
• Unrest - Empty Ringing, The Earth Splits (FM version) is suitably dramatic and fits the Stratum Boss Battles perfectly.
• Ordeal of Stars is used for the game's Final Boss, overflowing with Ominous Latin Chanting befitting a Sealed Evil in a Can, with a long buildup that finishes in triumphant guitar to keep you motivated as you approach the end of the fight.
• Shining Dagger, Shadow Blade, the battle theme of the 6th stratum. It's a bizarre, Uncommon Time rocking piece that tells you you've come to a wrong place.
• Lord of the Beyond, used for the ultimate Superboss, starts ominous and grandiose like the final boss theme above, but never lets up while you fight an incredibly powerful extraterrestrial abomination that eats stars.

Etrian Odyssey Nexus

As the game features returning dungeons and themes, a fair amount of its soundtrack is reused from 3DS versions of the games. That said, several tracks stand out, including tracks from the third game which never had a 3DS remake.

• The game's own battle theme is as great as the other random encounter themes from the rest of the series.
• The game's own boss theme, playing as early as the end of the first floor, demonstrates that it's not going to go easy on you.
• The 3DS rendition of The First Campaign busts out the guitars to get you hyped, plays a clear FM-style melody, and then blends the guitars into said melody to enhance it. It's certainly captured the hearts of those who enjoyed the third game when they heard it during the trailers.
• The Nexus version of Hoist the Sword with Pride in the Heart adds guitars to make the theme more awesome.
• The peaceful Shrine theme, which plays at 1st Stratum, and then later remixed with ethereal Cherubic Choir for 13th Stratum. In addition, diehard fans have been known to Squee when remembering that this was an unused track from the first game.
• Twilight of All Life, the final boss theme, is an amazing send-off for the series' final entry on a handheld console. It starts off somber, but then the rocking comes to motivate you to finish the adventure once and for all.

Etrian Mystery Dungeon

This game takes several of the best tracks of the previous games, and gives them awesome rearranges. Special mention to The Drowned City, which didn't even have an Untold remake announced.

• A Sudden Gust of Wind Before Your Eyes is normally a pumping FOE theme tune, but here they rework it into an ominous, intense, and legitimately spooky BGM track for the lategame dungeons.
• Hoist the Sword and Pride in the Heart just rocks.

• Chalky Woods is just beautiful, yet never loses steam.
• Faith Is My Pillar is more subdued that the original, but since it's not a battle theme anymore, it's perfect for exploring dangerous dungeons.
• What better theme for the Superboss than Calling That Detestable Name?

Multiple Games

• "Scatter About", the game's Superboss theme, that really captures the mood (in particular, sheer panic; there's a reason for that title). Roughly speaking, there are three versions:
  • Before EO3: The original fast-paced, blood-pumping version.
  • Around EO3: A slight remix from the original, and no less awesome.
  • From EO4 onwards: Guitars join in the fun- er, fright.
• End of the Raging Waves, originally the sea battle theme in the third game, combines the midi synth with a bassline and drums to make a rocking boss theme. It's such a great song that it's been carried forth into the other games.
  • The 4th game brings this track back as End of the Raging Winds, and its use of guitar — especially the added solo in the middle — really enhances the track to fit an epic fight. It makes you think you're already confronting the first labyrinth's end boss when you're actually just facing a midboss.
  • Etrian Mystery Dungeon's take on it makes it into a complex, layered piece more suited to exploration than dramatic battle, with a flute thrown in to boot.
  • Then the 5th game's version not only pumps up the instrumentation with violins, but adds chanting; the FM arrange version retains the gorgeous tunes and hearkens back to the original.
  • Combine IV and V like this and the guitar plus ominous chanting combined for the intro section gets intense.
  • Combining the FM version of V with III like this layers the delicious square waves in a way that would actually be impossible on a single synth, but it works.
  • Ayahuasca's take is based on the original Waves version, and it rocks hard.
  • Stardust from Horoscopic Combat is another arrangement of Waves and goes in a different direction that is just as enthralling.
  • L&S have their own take on "Waves" which is wonderfully layered with some sweet instrumentation.
  • A Super arrange version of IV's Winds version puts its own spin on things.
  • "Tumult - Crest of a Violent Wave (Arranged Ver.)" is an arrange of V's version of Waves that renders the music with crystal-clear instrumentation.

Arrange Albums

• Taken from the 'Live Music by Piano and Strings: Sekaiju no Meikyu I & II Super Arrange Version' album, we have excellent remixes of Cherry Tree Bridge and Blue and White.
• The Super Arrange of the first game's 5th Stratum theme opens with piano notes to capture the initial Wham Shot of discovering its name, and the rest of the melody uses strings to create the atmosphere of wonder and melancholy in understanding how things came to be.
• Battlefield - The First Campaign from the Super Arrange Version of the third game takes the first random battle theme and makes it more energetic with its use of violin.
• The Super Arrange of the Porcelain Forest theme is gorgeous, adding flute and violin to make it more mystical and dramatic.
• This Super Arrange starts with the third game's Cyclopean Haunt theme and makes it more mysterious and adventurous. At the midway point, it transitions to "Calling that Detestable Name" and rocks out incredibly hard!
• The arranged version of The Legend's Successor takes an already powerful final battle theme and injects it with a liberal dose of Dies Irae.
• Would you go to a bar that plays "The Wind Doesn't Draw Heroes" in the background?
• Did you recover from the previous end of raging winds back in EO4? Good. Because now, here's the arranged version.
• Heroes of Lagaard's Super Arrange version of Scarlet Rain, especially that intro before the Orchestral Bombing sets in.

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