Turn-based JRPG Battle Music Breakdown Sorted by Score

This page is a list of the battle music scores from the “Turn-based JRPG Battle Music Breakdown” series, sorted by rating. See the “Battle Music Breakdown” category page for a list of content by date of publication.

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 $(R_{\text{Final}})$.

Scoring Formula

The methodology above can be distilled into the following formula:

\[\text{Final} \;=\; 20\left[ 0.75\cdot \frac{\displaystyle \sum_{r\in\{N,B,F\}} w_r\,\mathbf{1}_{|T_r|>0}\!\left(\frac{1}{|T_r|}\sum_{t\in T_r}\frac{\mathrm{Hook}_t+\mathrm{Energy}_t+\mathrm{Color}_t+\mathrm{Clarity}_t+\mathrm{Fit}_t}{5}\right)} {\displaystyle \sum_{r\in\{N,B,F\}} w_r\,\mathbf{1}_{|T_r|>0}} \;+\;0.125\,TC \;+\;0.125\,ESC \;+\;0.05\,SC \right]\]

Where

• $r \in {N,B,F}$ are roles: Normal ($N$), Boss (incl. Special; $B$), Final ($F$)
• $T_r$ is the set of tracks for role $r$ and $|T_r|$ is the count
• $\mathbf{1}_{|T_r|>0}$ is an indicator (1 if the role has ≥1 track, else 0) so the $BQ$ denominator uses only roles that exist.
• Track score: $S_t=\dfrac{\mathrm{Hook}_t+\mathrm{Energy}_t+\mathrm{Color}_t+\mathrm{Clarity}_t+\mathrm{Fit}_t}{5}$
• Weights: $w_N=0.45,\; w_B=0.30,\; w_F=0.25$
• ~75% reflects how good the battle tracks sound and function moment-to-moment; the rest rewards cohesion ($TC$), escalation ($ESC$), and meeting the expected suite ($SC$).

Scores

1. 38% Dragon Quest (NES) - 1986