"90% of the songs in Xenoblade 3 sound like someone told the composer this might be the last song they ever make. Like, damn. All I did was open the map. Why are you playing these angelic-ass chords?"
— @jiikae on Twitter
As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.
- "A Life Sent On", the game's main theme, is a simple yet beautiful and serene song played on flute.YouTube Comment: I want this playing at my funeral or otherwise I'm not dying.
- "Tactical Action" is a blood-pumping song to start the game, and it's just the song for the tutorial and certain quest battles (and the Archsage's Gauntlet battles), signaling that this game's soundtrack is not holding back. Becomes a Book Ends when a remix appears for The Very Definitely Final Dungeon, "Origin Battle", which now plays with a sense of finality to the grand adventure you've been on.
- "Keves Battle" is a fun and peppy song reminiscent of the similarly catchy battle theme from Future Connected.
- "Agnus Battle" recalls 2's "Death Match With Torna" but with more bombast and dramatic flutes.
- The Unique Monster battle theme, "You Will Know Our Names - Finale", is an epic piece that calls back to the theme from the first game and the regular battle theme from the second game with its own original flair. It's even a Variable Mix, going into a Truck Driver's Gear Change capped off with an awesome guitar riff if you get the Unique Monster below half health. While it unfortunately doesn't play during any story boss battles in the base game like its predecessors, Future Redeemed has it play during the very difficult Shulk and Rex Dual Boss, making an epic (if frustrating) battle against two of the series' veteran heroes even more memorable.
- "Immediate Threat", the epic regular boss battle theme, is an intense theme that calls back to "An Obstacle in Our Path" from the first game.
- Similar to "Engage the Enemy and "Counterattack" from the previous games, "Carrying the Weight of Life" plays during very important and emotionally resonant cutscenes where the heroes overcome a great obstacle to defeat their current enemy.
- Fitting for the two returning heroes from previous Xenoblade entries, both Melia and Nia come packed with tight remixes of select songs from their respective games when they're part of the active party in the Post Endgame Content. Nia comes with "Kaleidoscopic Core", a tight instrumental battle-ready remix of "Drifting Soul", whereas Melia takes a page from Future Connected with "Brilliant Wings", a remix of the Bionis' Shoulder battle theme, "Time to Fight!", which sounds like it got ripped out from Mario Kart 8.
- Joining "Zanza the Divine/The God-Slaying Sword" and "After Despair and Hope" in the realm of Final Boss themes is the two part "Showdown With Z". The first act of the movement is a quiet orchestral section that plays during the part of the fight against Z in the Amphitheater, whereas the second act becomes a symphonic rock piece that plays after Z transforms into Z∞ while Ouroboros, their Hero allies, and the two Queens fight against Z on top of Origin, while all the Colonies fire at it as all of Aionios unites to put an end to Z. It's an epic, sweeping score with an air of finality to round out not only the long journey across Aionios to defeat Z and the Moebius, but also the Klaus saga as a whole.
- The Chain Attack theme is sure to get the adrenaline going as you lay a beatdown on your enemies.
- The themes for liberated Keves (daytime, nighttime and Agnus (daytime, nighttime) colonies are peaceful, filled with soft flutes, piano, and strings, and absolutely beautiful.
- Every battle with Moebius/the Consuls is accompanied by Ominous Latin Chanting in the form of "Moebius Battle" or the upgraded version, "Battle! Moebius Battle 2". It really brings across the idea that you're fighting something that's beyond this world, like you're fighting a god... and after seeing what Moebius can do on the battlefield, you really might as well be. Consul M's two themes have a flute prominently layered over the usual melody just to drive it home to the player exactly who and what it is they're fighting. The original soundtrack's version is a medley of the different phases and they all go so smoothly together.
- "The False Queens" is a fittingly operatic theme for the Climax Bosses that are, well, the false Queens, and has some melodic similarities to the Star Trek theme. It really makes you think you're facing an apocalyptic threat and that the end of the world is imminent, even if the story context reveals otherwise. It even plays in the Archsage's Gauntlet when Fake!Melia joins Crys in the Round 120 Dual Boss fight.
- When you enter Elaice Highway, instead of themes mixed from both games, you are greeted with a straight-up somber remix of a previous theme: the Hidden Machina Village. Climb the Distant Fingertip for full nostalgia effect.
- "Great Cotte Falls (Day)" is a beautiful theme that calls back to Makna Forest (Day), Satorl Marsh (Night) and Lower Gormott.
- "Great Sword's Base (Day)" is a serene fusion of both the themes of Leftheria and Sword Valley. It's also rather poetic in the latter's case as Sword Valley, once a major stronghold for the Mechon, has now become a refuge and a symbol of hope.
- Erythia Sea is a fusion of Eryth Sea and Leftheria, and its theme incorporates the feel of both: the vastness and otherwordly feeling of the former, the hopeful and uplifting mood of the latter with an added motif of a mysterious abandoned location.
- The Cadensia Region's exclusive music for battles in water, Battle On The Seas. What begins in a worthy homage to "He's a Pirate" or "Destroy The Colossus" travels through a triumphant reprise of "Eryth Sea" to reach a sudden and gloriously dramatic choir. Then the strings carry a melody (which includes Eryth Sea's motif in the second half) over a march before allowing the choir to drift back in and back out. Then that same melody in an even more bombastic form and a pleasing resolution. The theme returns to the gloriously dramatic choir, masquerading as a loop back to the start, before the main melody jumps back in a more stripped back, quieter way. Another instrument gets added, before the choir returns, this time bringing a horn with them. They repeat the main melody before returning finally to the beginning. The transition back into the gloriously dramatic choir is seamless. More than any other in the game, this theme makes you wish Aionios' monsters had more HP.
- Li Garte Prison Camp manages to be so many things simultaneously. Tense and calming, emotional and impersonal, fast and measured. The main piano motif sounds like it's going somewhere before jumping down and continuing in a slightly less hopeful direction. Perfect for a location that you almost, but not quite, escape. Then later on, the strings slowly drift into the foreground for an emotional climax, before seamlessly looping, except this time with an added, mysterious sound effect that otherwise appears only in the intro. The acoustic guitar only appears when it needs to.
- "Noah and N" is a two-phase battle theme that accompanies the climactic fight with N in Origin. The first phase is a battle remix of the main Moebius leitmotif that captures both the danger and sorrow of N, but the second phase captures the same air of sorrow along with another air of hope by mixing in a One-Woman Wail version of the Ouroboros leitmotif and non-flute orchestral rendition of "A Life Sent On".
- "Ultimate Enemy", Seraphic Ceratinia's unique battle music. Nothing like epic symphonic Autobots, Rock Out! for fighting the strongest superboss in the game.
- "Where We Belong", the ending theme for the game. The melancholic melody and lyrics fits extremely well with the bittersweet feeling of the ending.
- "Ultimate Boat Vessel" Yes, it's just a vehicle theme, but it was epic enough to be used as the background music during the Direct Teaser Trailer.
