I love how mystical this song feels. The whole area it plays in is a damp, underground palace/cave combo (I know, it’s in the name), so that initial choir really gives you that ancient deep feel, and then the horns come in for that grandiose nature befitting the actual palace part. The horns are also my favorite part of the song, I love that melody. Bonus points to this song playing in the area with the Mandragoras hunt (I like Mandragoras)

Not gonna lie, it did feel a little dirty putting this song here rather than one of the game’s unique compositions, but I gotta say: this is my favorite version of the chocobo theme. If I wasn’t gonna put a variation of this song on this list, it wasn’t going on any list. I love the ratchet usage, and the really cool wind instrument used for the main melody sounding almost distant in a way? the plucking bum bum bum is incredibly fun and sounds like I’m bouncing along on my horse bird and that makes me smile. Also, shoutouts to the wood block absolutely going ham. This song is like if you took all of the cool instruments in music class that all the kids wanted to play with and you put them together.

There are several songs titled “Imperial Version”, and they all tend to share the same motif (there are other empire themed songs that have that motif as well), but this version is my favorite. The loud, threatening nature of the song perfectly in my mind pictures the judges, who are essentially the biggest antagonistic force in the entire game (and also this is their boss theme so it better fit them). I love the bass drum accenting the notes perfectly in the start; and that sort of horror-like string segment to start off the song, filling you with terror. The deeper horns throughout are absolutely incredible, and I love how that main empire motif sounds with this instrumentation.

This is like, the first open world area in the game. And I think this song really prepares you for how the world is going to feel. This song is GRAND. This song is EPIC and BIG. Pretty much every overworld song is! And I think that’s really cool and part of XII’s soundtrack’s charm. I think this song is a pretty good summary of the sounds that this game uses; a lot of heavy horns, big strings and drums, but with that slight bit of light nature in the little flute. As usual, I love the melody; there’s not a single song on here I don’t love the melody of; but my absolute favorite part of the song is the I wanna say third section of it, before it loops; right after the song plays a little flute trilling, the melody gets longer and drawn out, and it really feels like an adventure. The chimes bring a whimsical vibe to it too; which I think is perfect for the first zone in the game.

Yessssssssssssss this song is so cool. This is the song that plays as you’re battling the espers (the summons). The whole song has a very heavy beat constantly playing in the back, like a heartbeat, which is so fun to listen to. The choir builds up the start, perfect for these weird, ancient monstrosities you’re fighting, but instead of just being buildup, it’s there throughout the entire song. It’s in the melody, it takes a back seat, but it is always there, it is always menacing, and it’s always awesome. I love when the choir matches with the heartbeat too. As usual, the XII brass squadron makes an appearance, although a more minor one compared to some songs, and as usual, they’re amazing; but the string section is really the other main highlight of this song. The Dissidia version proves that this song is already perfect by just adding extra percussion and calling it a fucking day.

We’re also cheating and throwing a mention to The Esper, which is technically a different song, being where you actually summon the thing and control it instead, but it uses a lot of the same sounds, the same choir, and the same melody. This version is a lot more fast paced, has the percussion mainly replaced with a shaker and some big beats instead of the heartbeat, and has this really cool string section where they just go fucking HAM. I didn’t want to give this it’s own place, because it is essentially a byproduct of Battle with an Esper, but I couldn’t just throw it in honorable mentions either.