Before we start this we must define what "epic" means.
1. Noting or pertaining to a long poetic composition, usually centered upon a hero, in which a series or events is narrated in an elevated style.
2. Resembling or suggesting poetry
3. Heroic; majestic; impressively great.
4. Of unusually great size and extent
- Source: Dictionary.com
Also, considering that epics were a form of Greek poetry, it is safe to say that something epic must also resemble an archaic or ancient style.
So with that established here are two examples.
Sephiroth's theme is epic, because it is poetic and describes Sephiroth in an elevated, and majestic way.
Sora's theme however is not epic, while it is heroic, it does not resemble a poetic style.
Now that we got that out of the way, it is time to list the top 5. most epic video game themes.
Number 5: Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 Theme
This song is fantastic. Upbeat, dramatic and has a poetic structure. The Soviet March truly captures how the Soviet Union thought of themselves as well as humorously tying in Western stereotypes in the song with lines such as "for soviets, vodka, and the russian bear".
The song doesn't go much hire than this because it's quite repetitive and the Russian is very broken, a non speaker would find it fine but anyone who looks up the translation will shudder to see how messed up and somewhat nonsensical the lyrics are. For that it remains at number 5.
Number 4: Bastion Theme
The Bastion Theme is truly wonderful, though this is more of the End them it makes the list anyway. It tells of the hero's return home, pretty standard for an epic, in fact Homer's "The Odyssey" is specifically about the return of a hero.
It doesn't place any higher than 4th place however as the scale of the piece is not large enough to gain any more ground. It sounds great but doesn't have the grand style of an epic song.
Number 3: Kingdom Hearts Theme
I truly enjoy the Kingdom Hearts theme, grand, poetic as well as heroic. It captures the majesty of the many worlds you explore in Kingdom Hearts.
It ranks number 3 because I honestly feel that, while the original lyrics are good, the piece without the lyrics is better. Maybe it's the pop style that always shows up and that just turns off the epic meter. But I digress, It stays at number three.
First off, we have Latin. That alone gets it pretty high on the list, second there is a full choir and orchestra playing this tune. It truly captures the essence of a group of heros, going into a final battle against evil which is essentially what Brawl is all about.
It seems to be sung from the view of someone who served along side the hero in the song. It would be foolish to assume one character is the subject of the song. I always thought that it was simply one member of the Brawl crew describing the others. But the song is quite amazing and the grander of it is a sight to hear.
It comes short of the number one spot because it suffers the same problems that the Red Alert 3 Theme suffered. The Latin lyrics were written by someone who isn't a fluent speaker in Latin so the actual translation is confusing at some parts.
And the number one spot goes to...
The Skyrim Theme
How could this NOT get first place! First off, an entirely new language (dragon tongue) was created for this game. No, it's not gibberish, there is an alphabet and rules for proper sentence structure which culminated into this song. Best part is that when translated to English, everything is perfectly coherent.
The song tells of the return of Dovahkiin or Dragonborn, the one who will vanquish the dragons and restore peace and order the land of Skyrim. It follows a perfect poetic structure, almost mimicking how a Greek poet would write it.
The song also seems to go with anything really. It seems to perfectly match a battle with a dragon (as seen in the trailer) but I could find anything, put this song on it and make it 20% cooler. It's like the new guile theme!
Point is the song is truly a masterpiece and is definitely one of the best tracks in a game. It's not the hype thats making me put this song as number 1 also, it truly speaks out to me. This song could be the theme for a Dragon taking a shit, it would still be awesome.
Before we start this we must define what "epic" means.
- Source: Dictionary.comAlso, considering that epics were a form of Greek poetry, it is safe to say that something epic must also resemble an archaic or ancient style.
So with that established here are two examples.
Sephiroth's theme is epic, because it is poetic and describes Sephiroth in an elevated, and majestic way.
Sora's theme however is not epic, while it is heroic, it does not resemble a poetic style.
Now that we got that out of the way, it is time to list the top 5. most epic video game themes.
Number 5: Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 Theme
This song is fantastic. Upbeat, dramatic and has a poetic structure. The Soviet March truly captures how the Soviet Union thought of themselves as well as humorously tying in Western stereotypes in the song with lines such as "for soviets, vodka, and the russian bear".
The song doesn't go much hire than this because it's quite repetitive and the Russian is very broken, a non speaker would find it fine but anyone who looks up the translation will shudder to see how messed up and somewhat nonsensical the lyrics are. For that it remains at number 5.
Number 4: Bastion Theme
The Bastion Theme is truly wonderful, though this is more of the End them it makes the list anyway. It tells of the hero's return home, pretty standard for an epic, in fact Homer's "The Odyssey" is specifically about the return of a hero.
It doesn't place any higher than 4th place however as the scale of the piece is not large enough to gain any more ground. It sounds great but doesn't have the grand style of an epic song.
Number 3: Kingdom Hearts Theme
I truly enjoy the Kingdom Hearts theme, grand, poetic as well as heroic. It captures the majesty of the many worlds you explore in Kingdom Hearts.
It ranks number 3 because I honestly feel that, while the original lyrics are good, the piece without the lyrics is better. Maybe it's the pop style that always shows up and that just turns off the epic meter. But I digress, It stays at number three.
Number 2: Super Smash Brothers Brawl Theme.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYitYCOYK1Y
First off, we have Latin. That alone gets it pretty high on the list, second there is a full choir and orchestra playing this tune. It truly captures the essence of a group of heros, going into a final battle against evil which is essentially what Brawl is all about.
It seems to be sung from the view of someone who served along side the hero in the song. It would be foolish to assume one character is the subject of the song. I always thought that it was simply one member of the Brawl crew describing the others. But the song is quite amazing and the grander of it is a sight to hear.
It comes short of the number one spot because it suffers the same problems that the Red Alert 3 Theme suffered. The Latin lyrics were written by someone who isn't a fluent speaker in Latin so the actual translation is confusing at some parts.
And the number one spot goes to...
The Skyrim Theme
How could this NOT get first place! First off, an entirely new language (dragon tongue) was created for this game. No, it's not gibberish, there is an alphabet and rules for proper sentence structure which culminated into this song. Best part is that when translated to English, everything is perfectly coherent.
The song tells of the return of Dovahkiin or Dragonborn, the one who will vanquish the dragons and restore peace and order the land of Skyrim. It follows a perfect poetic structure, almost mimicking how a Greek poet would write it.
The song also seems to go with anything really. It seems to perfectly match a battle with a dragon (as seen in the trailer) but I could find anything, put this song on it and make it 20% cooler. It's like the new guile theme!
Point is the song is truly a masterpiece and is definitely one of the best tracks in a game. It's not the hype thats making me put this song as number 1 also, it truly speaks out to me. This song could be the theme for a Dragon taking a shit, it would still be awesome.