Favorite Final Fantasy Music - FFXI: Wings of the Goddess

Expansion #4, the time travel one baby!!!!! The story for this one is neat, as it brings back what the base game had of choosing a nation and having missions based off that nation specifically, but also having a lot more of a unified storyline. You get to meet a lot of familiar NPCs from the past, but also get to revisit the base world, with slight changes. The entire world is at war, and all of the cities you’re in are more like military forts. It’s all very cool.

The official soundtrack for this is weird; cause it includes Iron Colossus and Ragnarok, which are Aht Urhgan songs (Ragnarok being the final boss of that expansion (also fucked up that Odin is Iron Colossus and Alexander is Ragnarok)), but doesn’t include its actual final boss theme, cause that was put in a different soundtrack later. I am not 1-to-1 following the official soundtrack for this list for this exception (spoilers whooaaaaaaaaa)

5. Snowdrift Waltz

What if we made a song using the sound of throwing a rock against a very very large landmass of ice? That’s this song. Which works! Cause it plays in a frozen tundra. I really feel like the title of this song fits it in particular, a lot more than a lot of songs; cause that’s literally just what it is! It’s a nice waltz that sounds like snowdrift. I don’t have much to say other than it’s a really good melody with a very unique sound in the back, perfectly fitting its purpose.

4. Run Maggot, Run!

We’ve done a lot of parts for one game. The pro of this is I get to share a lot more songs that I enjoy because the game is so big. The cons of this though, are a few of the songs are just going to fall under the same general reasoning for why I enjoy them, because XI has that XI sound that I really like. This is ultimately, another XI battle song that kinda fits that same mold previous entries have, so I won’t go too in depth other than I love the cool pan flute, the more intense than usual percussion, and the melody when the muted cymbal and starry noise come in.

3. Under a Clouded Moon

This song was a lot like Tough Battle #2, where I hated it at first because of the really weird rhythm it had; but then I started really listening to it and I was able to find where the song was (does that make sense?). I love the strangely buzzy echo the song goes into when giving the main hits a break, especially when it adds the artificial choir sound on the second go. Finally, the part that plays right before that repeat reminds me of Dragon Quest IX’s grottos, which makes me really happy cause I love that game.

2. Goddess Divine

Hey remember when I made a whole paragraph saying that the actual final boss theme wasn’t in the soundtrack? Here’s that theme now! I feel like it’s been a minute since I’ve put an actual final boss theme in the lists; RotZ’s was good, but the first half is a little repetitive. And I never really cared for CoP’s or ToAU’s. But this one felt different. It’s a lot more subdued than the previous examples. I love the choir in the start, giving you that same heavenly vibe that part 4 of Dancing Mad does, fitting the fight. The melody is beautiful, yet I wanna say the minor key it’s in (I might be wrong on this) and the heavy strings/percussion bring in that sense of sorrow and tension that really reminds you 1) this is a fight for your timeline but also 2) this is essentially a fight against your friend. The final part of the song brings back that heavenly sound with the XI flair, and making the bells/glockenspiel an actually tolerable instrument! (middle school band has left scars on my heart) I also really liked the Dissidia NT version of this song, giving it a very techno feel.

1. Wings of the Goddess

It’s been a minute since I’ve used a final boss theme, and it’s also been a minute since I’ve used a title screen theme. Other than Vana'diel March, Wings of the Goddess is my second favorite title theme. Whenever one of them starts playing as I boot up the game, I get nothing but a big smile on my face. While it has very similar percussion to a lot of the game, something about the snare in this one gives me more of that drummer boy to battle vibe than Vana'diel March had, befitting this expansion taking place during a war, but still giving you that hopefulness, that freedom, and that happiness in its main melody getting you ready for this open world. My favorite part is the final part of the song, with the horn solo playing off, and the flute repeating itself almost like it’s fading away the song, telling you to start the game up already! It’s a really nice composition that I love for a lot of the same reasons as Vana'diel March, but making it different enough to give its own story.