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Turn-based JRPG Battle Music Breakdown

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By Alex Bevilacqua
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Turn-based JRPG Battle Music Breakdown

I’ve been a huge fan of traditional, turn-based Japanese role playing games since I first played Dragon Quest many, many years ago. I started getting back into these 8/16-bit JRPGs when I decided I wanted to do a series of game reviews for that genre, but that effort sort of petered out. During this time though there was something about the grind in these JRPGs that really appealed to me, but the main hook - even on the Nintendo Entertainment System - was the music.

These games all tended to have great intros, overworld themes, dungeon and town themes and varied battle tracks. The latter has always stuck in my head the most, likely since you spent so much time getting into random battles to level your characters up so you’d be presented with the same songs over and over again. When you found your way to a boss and the song changed to something slightly more intense it really got your heart pumping.

Having played through many of these games over the past 30 odd years I can definitely say there’s a bit of a formula to how these songs progress, which I wanted to explore in more detail and try to rank to determine which games have the best battle music. I’m not really musically inclined, so this is really just an exercise in categorization based on some arbitrary aspects of the soundtracks I think sound good.

Turn based JRPGs all tend to follow a similar formula that includes:

  • one to many general battle themes
  • one to many boss battle themes
  • possibly one or more special encounter themes
  • a final battle theme

What I’ll be attempting to do is to break down each game’s tracks from these categories based on the following pseudo-“scientific” methodology.

Scoring Methodology

What I’m going to do is listen to the various battle themes from as a number of turn-based JRPGs and score them as consistently as possible. Since not all games have the same number of songs, and the quality can vary greatly based on what the sound chips of each system were capable of, the scores will largely be based on my opinion of what I think sounds good and why.

What I score (per track)

Each battle track is rated on five simple, listen-first criteria on a scale of 0–5:

  1. Hook & Identity — Is there a memorable idea you can hum?
    0: none • 3: clear hook • 5: unforgettable, with small variations.

  2. Energy & Drive — Does the groove push turns along without clutter?
    0: sluggish • 3: steady • 5: propulsive yet controlled.

  3. Color & Suspense — Do you feel mood shifts and push→release moments?
    0: flat • 3: some ebb/flow • 5: gripping builds and payoffs.

  4. Clarity & Loop — Clean mix, readable parts, invisible loop, low fatigue.
    0: muddy/annoying • 3: fine for a few loops • 5: polished, long, fresh.

  5. Situational Fit — Does it match encounter stakes and turn-based cadence/UI tempo?
    0: mismatch • 3: broadly fits • 5: feels designed for the moment.

Track score: \((S_{\text{track}})\) is the average of those five (0–5).

How multiple tracks are handled

Games can have several Normal and Boss tracks. Some games may have Special encounter tracks, which would be considered as part of the overall Boss score. If the Final battle track has multiple phases, each will be scored as a separate track. Once each track is scored, I’ll then compute a role average:

  • $(R_{\text{Normal}} = \text{mean of all Normal } S_{\text{track}})$
  • $(R_{\text{Boss/Special}} = \text{mean of all Boss/Special } S_{\text{track}})$
  • $(R_{\text{Final}} = \text{mean of all Final } S_{\text{track}})$

This doesn’t penalize games with fewer tracks; quality matters more than quantity.

Suite checks (game-level)

I also score three suite-level items on a 0–5 scale:

  • (TC) Thematic Cohesion (12.5%) — Shared DNA (motif/palette/rhythm) across Normal→Boss/Special→Final.
  • (ESC) Escalation (12.5%) — Clear rise in energy/suspense from Normal→Boss/Special→Final; motif/orchestration grow.
  • (SC) Suite Completeness (5%) — Expectation met: ≥2 battle tracks (Normal+Boss combined) and a Final.
    0 none • 3 one battle + final • 5 ≥2 battle + final.

For SC my expectation is just that there’s enough of a variety to the soundtrack for there to be a bare minimum of 1 normal battle track, 1 boss track and a final battle track.

From tracks to a single game score

First, combine roles into a Battle Quality (BQ) score (0–5) using encounter weights:

  • Weights: Normal 0.45, Boss 0.30, Final 0.25.
  • $( \text{BQ} = \dfrac{0.45 R_N + 0.30 R_B + 0.25 R_F}{\text{sum of weights for roles present}} )$

Then convert to a 100-point scale:

  • Final Score (/100) $(= 20 \times \big(0.75 \cdot \text{BQ} + 0.125 \cdot TC + 0.125 \cdot ESC + 0.05 \cdot SC\big))$

Intuition for weights: ~75% reflects how good the battle tracks sound and function moment-to-moment; the rest rewards cohesion, escalation, and meeting the expected suite.

Consistency notes

  • I normalize playback loudness so volume doesn’t bias “energy.”
  • I use in-game versions (arranges mentioned separately).
  • Older hardware isn’t penalized for fidelity; clarity and function are judged within constraints.
  • When a Final has phases, I score each phase and average them into $(R_{\text{Final}})$.

That’s the whole system: simple per-track ears-on scoring, fair handling of multiple tracks, and a transparent roll-up into one number. Is this over-engineered … maybe (and it was excuse to incorporate MathJax rendering into my blog) … but hopefully it gives me a straightforward enough approach to score some of these games across multiple generations of consoles fairly and consistently.

Games List

To kick things off I started by taking the Traditional Turn-Based JRPGs - Game list from Reddit, turning it into a table and determining I’d use that as my source of truth moving forward.

It’s very likely this is not comprehensive, and I may choose to skip games for any number of reasons - but for now this is what I’m looking to cover. For my Let’s Adventure! A Journey into Adventure Games (1980-1999) series I added a summary like the following, so figured it would be worth doing here as well:

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

{
  "progress": {
    "finished": 1,
     "skipped": 0,
       "total": 301
  },
  "completed": "0.33%"
}

As I work through these I’ll update the list below with links to each game’s battle music breakdown.

GameOriginal SystemReleased
7th DragonDS2009
7th Dragon 2020PSP2011
7th Dragon 2020-IIPSP2013
7th Dragon III Code: VFD3DS2015
7th SagaSNES1993
A Witch’s TaleDS2009
Albert Odyssey: Legend of EldeanSATURN1996
AnachronoxPC2001
Ar NosurgePS32014
Ar Tonelico 2PS22007
Ar Tonelico: Melody of ElemiaPS22006
Arabian Nights: Sabaku no Seirei OuSNES1996
Arc Rise FantasiaWii2009
ArethaSNES1993
Aretha II: Arial’s Wonderful AdventureSNES1994
Asuncia: Matsue no JubakuPS11997
Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of DuskPS32012
Atelier Elie: The Alchemist of Salburg 2PS1/PS21998
Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk SkyPS32013
Atelier Firis: The Alchemist of the Mysterious JourneyPS42016
Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of DestinyPS22005
Atelier Iris 3: Grand PhantasmPS22006
Atelier Iris: Eternal ManaPS22004
Atelier Marie: The Alchemist of SalburgPS1/PS21997
Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of ArlandPS32011
Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of ArlandPS32009
Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk SeaPS32014
Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious BookPS42015
Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of ArlandPS32010
Beyond the BeyondPS11995
Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: Another StorySNES1995
Blade Dancer: Lineage of LightPSP2006
Bloody Warriors: Shan-Go no GyakushuuNES1990
Blue AlmanacMD1991
Blue DragonX3602006
Blue ReflectionPS42017
Brave Story: New TravelerPSP2006
Bravely Default3DS2012
Bravely Second: End Layer3DS2015
Breath of FireSNES1993
Breath of Fire IISNES1994
Breath of Fire IIIPS11997
Breath of Fire IVPS12000
Breath Of Fire: Dragon QuarterPS22002
Chaos WorldNES1991
Choumahou Tairiku WozzSNES1995
Chrono CrossPS11999
Chrono TriggerSNES1995
Cosmic Fantasy 2PCE1992
Cyber KnightPC Engine1990
Cyber Knight IISNES1994
Daikaijuu MonogatariSNES1994
Daikaijyuu Monogatari IISNES1996
Dark HalfSNES1996
Dark Rose ValkyriePS42016
Death end re;QuestPS42018
Defenders of OasisGG1992
Destiny of an EmperorNES1989
Destiny of an Emperor 2NES1991
Double Moon DensetsuNES1992
Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the SaiyansDS2009
Dragon Ball Z: Super Saiya DensetsuSNES1992
Dragon QuestNES1986
Dragon Quest IINES1987
Dragon Quest IIINES1988
Dragon Quest IVNES1990
Dragon Quest V: Tenkuu no HanayomeSNES1992
Dragon Quest VISNES1995
Dragon Quest VIIPS12000
Dragon Quest VIIIPS22004
Dragon Quest XIPS42017
Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies…DS2009
Dragon Slayer: The Legend of HeroesPC-881989
Dragon Star VarnirPS42018
Dragoneer’s AriaPSP2007
Dream MasterNES1992
Dream Maze: Kigurumi DaiboukenSNES1994
Dual Orb 2SNES1994
EarthboundSNES1994
EarthBound BeginningsNES1989
Eien no FilenaSNES1995
Eiyuu Densetsu: Ao no KisekiPSP2011
Eiyuu Densetsu: Zero no KisekiPSP2010
Enchanted ArmsX3602006
Ephemeral FantasiaPS22000
Eternal LegendGG1991
Final FantasyNES1987
Final Fantasy IINES1988
Final Fantasy IIINES1990
Final Fantasy IVSNES1991
Final Fantasy VSNES1992
Final Fantasy VISNES1994
Final Fantasy VIIPS11997
Final Fantasy VIIIPS11999
Final Fantasy IXPS12000
Final Fantasy XPS22001
Final Fantasy X-2PS22003
Final Fantasy XIIIPS32009
Final Fantasy XIII-2PS32011
Final Fantasy LegendGB1989
Final Fantasy Legend IIGB1990
Final Fantasy Legend IIIGB1991
Final Fantasy Mystic QuestSNES1992
Fullmetal Alchemist: Stray RondoGBA2004
G.O.D.: Mezameyo to Yobu Koe ga KikoeSNES1996
Ganbare Goemon Gaiden 2: Tenka no ZaihouNES1992
Ganbare Goemon Gaiden: Kieta Ougon KiseruNES1990
GeGeGe no Kitaro 2NES1987
Ghost LionNES1989
Glory of HeraclesDS2008
God Medicine: Fantasy Sekai no TanjouGB1993
Golden SunGBA2001
Golden Sun: Dark DawnDS2010
Golden Sun: The Lost AgeGBA2002
Grand Knights HistoryPSP2011
GrandiaPS11997
Grandia IIDC/PC2000
Grandia IIIPS22005
Grandia XtremePS22002
Great GreedGB1992
Guardian’s CrusadePS11998
Heracles no Eikou: Tōjin Makyō DenNES1987
Heracles no Eikou II: Titan no MetsuboNES1989
Heracles no Eikou III: Kamigami no ChinmokuSNES1992
Heracles no Eikou IV: Kamigami Kara no OkurimonoSNES1994
Hero Senki - Project OlympusSNES1992
Hexyz ForcePSP2009
Hoshi o Miru HitoNES1987
Hourai Gakuen no Bouken!: Tenkousei ScrambleSNES1996
Hyperdimension NeptuniaPS32010
Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2PS32011
Hyperdimension Neptunia VictoryPS32012
I Am SetsunaPS42016
Indora no HikariNES1987
Inindo: Way of the NinjaSNES1992
JaJaMaru Ninpouchou / Taro’s QuestNES1989
Jojo no Kimyou na BoukenSNES1993
Juvei QuestNES1991
Kaijuu MonogatariNES1988
Kawa no Nushi TsuriNES1990
Kininkou Maroku OniGB1990
Knight Quest JRPGGB1991
KoudelkaPS11999
Kouryuu Densetsu Villgust: Kieta ShoujoSNES1992
Lagrange PointNES1991
Laplace no MaPC-881987
LaSalle Ishii no Child’s QuestNES1989
Last RankerPSP2010
Legaia 2: Duel SagaPS22001
Legend of LegaiaPS11998
Lennus II: Fuuin no ShitoSNES1996
Little Princess: Maru Oukoku no Ningyou Hime 2PS11999
Live a LiveSNES1994
Lost OdysseyX3602007
Lost SphearPS42017
Lucienne’s Quest3DO1995
Lufia & the Fortress of DoomSNES1993
Lufia II: Rise of the SinistralsSNES1995
Lufia: The Legend ReturnsGBA2001
Lufia: The Ruins of LoreGBA2002
Lunar: Dragon SongDS2005
Lunar: Eternal BlueSCD1994
Lunar: Sanposuru GakuenGG1996
Lunar: The Silver StarSCD1992
Madou Monogatari: Hanamaru Daiyouchi EnjiSNES1996
Magic Knight RayearthSNES1995
Magical StarsignDS2006
Magical VacationGBA2001
Magna Braban: Henreki no YuushaSNES1994
Magna Carta: Tears of BloodPS22004
Mahou Kishi RayearthGG1994
Mahou Kishi Rayearth 2nd: The Missing ColorsGG1995
Mana Khemia 2: Fall of AlchemyPS22008
Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-RevisPS22007
Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside StoryDS2009
Mario & Luigi: Dream Team3DS2013
Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam3DS2015
Mario & Luigi: Partners in TimeDS2005
Mario & Luigi: Superstar SagaGBA2003
Megadimension Neptunia VIIPS42015
Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible IIGB1993
Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible SpecialGG1995
Metal MaxNES1991
Metal Max 3DS2010
Metal Max XenoPS42018
Metal SagaPS22005
Miracle Warriors: Seal of the Dark LordPC-881986
Moldorian: Hikari to Yami no SisterGG1994
Momotarou DensetsuNES1987
Mother 3GBA2006
MS Saga: A New DawnPS22005
Musashi no BoukenNES1990
My World My WayDS2008
Mystic ArkSNES1995
Naruto: Path of the Ninja 2DS2006
Nige-Ron-PaNGPC2000
Niji no SilkroadNES1991
Ninjara Hoi!NES1990
NostalgiaDS2008
Nushi Tsuri Adventure: Kite no BoukenGBC2000
Octopath TravelerSwitch2018
Okage: Shadow KingPS22001
Omega QuintetPS42014
OpoonaWii2007
Oriental Blue: Ao no TengaiGBA2003
Paladin’s QuestSNES1992
Panzer Dragoon SagaSATURN1998
Paper MarioN642000
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year DoorGC2004
Persona 2: Eternal PunishmentPS12000
Persona 2: Innocent SinPS11999
Persona 3PS22006
Persona 4PS22008
Persona 5PS42016
Phantasy StarMS1987
Phantasy Star GaidenGG1992
Phantasy Star IIMD1989
Phantasy Star IIIMD1990
Phantasy Star IVMD1993
Princess MinervaSNES1995
Quest 64N641998
Quest: Brian’s JourneyGBC2000
Radiant HistoriaDS2010
Ranma 1/2: Akanekodan Teki HihouSNES1993
Revelations: The Demon SlayerGB1992
Riviera: The Promised LandWSC2002
Romancing SaGaSNES1992
Romancing SaGa 2SNES1993
Romancing SaGa 3SNES1995
Romancing SaGa: Minstrel SongPS22005
Rudra no HihouSNES1996
Ryuuki Heidan: DanzarbSNES1993
SaGa FrontierPS11997
SaGa Frontier 2PS11999
SaGa: Scarlet GraceVita2016
Samsara NagaNES1990
Sands of DestructionDS2008
SD Gundam Gaiden Knight Gundam StoryNES1990
SD Keiji BladerNES1991
SD SnatcherMSX21990
Secret of the StarsSNES1993
Septerra CorePC1999
Shadow HeartsPS22001
Shadow Hearts: CovenantPS22004
Shadow Hearts: From the New WorldPS22005
Shin Megami Tensei IV3DS2013
Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse3DS2016
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil SagaPS22004
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2PS22005
Shin Megami Tensei: NocturnePS22003
Shin Seikoku: La WaresSNES1995
ShinsendenNES1989
Silva SagaNES1992
Silva Saga II: The Legend of Light and DarknessSNES1993
Skies of ArcadiaDC2000
SlayersSNES1994
Sol TriggerPSP2012
Startling Odyssey IIPCE1994
STED: Iseki Wakusei no YabouNES1990
SuikodenPS11995
Suikoden IIPS11998
Suikoden IIIPS22002
Suikoden IVPS22004
Suikoden TierkreisDS2008
Suikoden VPS22006
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven StarsSNES1996
Surging AuraMD1995
Sweet HomeNES1989
TaoNES1989
Tengai Makyou ZeroSNES1995
Tenshi no Present: Marl Oukoku MonogatariPS22000
Tenshi no Uta: Shiroki Tsubasa no InoriSNES1994
The Alliance Alive3DS2017
The Last RemnantX3602008
The Legend of DragoonPS11999
The Legend of Heroes II: Prophecy of the Moonlight WitchPC-981994
The Legend of Heroes III: Song of the OceanPC1999
The Legend of Heroes: A Tear of VermillionPSP1996
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the SkyPC2004
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SCPC2006
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rdPC2007
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold SteelPS32013
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IIPS32014
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IIIPS42017
The Legend of Legacy3DS2015
The Lord of the Rings: The Third AgePS2/Xbox/GC2004
Thousand ArmsPS11998
Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FEWiiU2015
Trinity UniversePS32009
Tsugunai: AtonementPS22001
Unlimited SaGaPS22002
VaySCD1993
Wild ArmsPS11996
Wild Arms 2PS11999
Wild Arms 3PS22002
Wild Arms 4PS22005
Wild Arms 5PS22006
XenogearsPS11998
Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur MachtPS22002
Xenosaga Episode IIPS22004
Xenosaga Episode IIIPS22006
Battle Music Breakdown
series jrpg_music
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