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Favorite / Least Favorite Final Boss Themes

YuyuFumo

Silly Ghost Princess
Have recently been trying to rank all the final boss themes from the mainline Touhou games for an upcoming project, figure it'd be interesting to ask folks here for their opinions. Can be based on the composition, vibe of the song, how well it fits the character, memorability, etc.

Least Favorite: Swordsman of a Distant Star, Konngara's Theme from Highly Responsive to Prayer. A forgettable tune with a very weird tonal shift in the middle of the song that doesn't jive with me. There's not much else I can say, but I suppose it's low-hanging fruit since it was ZUN's first game.
In terms of Windows games, I'd say that Gensokyo Millennium ~ History of the Moon (Eirin's theme from Imperishable Night) is far better in quality but suffers from the same problem of simply not being very memorable in my eyes. Likely because it's overshadowed by Lunatic Princess, which I find to be a much more enjoyable listen.

Favorite: Kobito of the Shining Needle ~ Little Princess, Shinmyoumaru's Theme from Double Dealing Character. Feels the most like a 'final boss' theme and really gives a sense of it being Shinmy's last stand against the heroines. The backing guitar for the track is really fun at the beginning, and the blaring horns throughout the song give it this really grandiose feel, leading up to a climax that gives the feeling of both parties fighting with every last ounce of will they have.
Close contenders for the spot also include Eastern Judgement in the Sixtieth Year ~ Fate of Sixty Years (Eiki Shiki's theme from Phantasmagoria of Flower View) and Bloom Nobly, Ink-Black Cherry Blossom ~ Border of Life (Yuyuko's Theme from Perfect Cherry Blossom). Both also do a very good job of portraying strong emotions respective to their character, but I think Little Princess just barely eeks them out.
 
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My Favorite final boss theme? Probably Pure furies - Whereabouts of the heart. It's just something about that leadup with the stage theme that flows so well along with the unique sci-fi flow unique to LoLK that I just love, and just the epic feeling altogether just makes for an emotionally epic song. It helps even more with how it fits in with Junko's lore and feelings. Obviously "Pure furies" referring to Junko's emotional state but also "Whereabouts of the heart" hints to something deeper with Junko. I know this technically doesn't count but props to The sea where one's home planet reflects providing some interesting implications for Junko since Stage 6 takes place in the sea of Tranquility.

Least Favorite? I don't know much with the PC-98 era so I'll stick with windows, and it would probably have to be IN's final boss theme. Idk, I just find it forgettable. (Edit: after some consideration I would have to say Edge of life would have to be the worst. It's not bad, but it just fails to be more than "Generically epic.")
 
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Well my favourites are strawberry crisis and the venerable ancient battlefield xd
I think my least favourite of all bosses themes is where is that bustling marketplace now XD
Also, my favourite boss theme in general isn't a final boss theme. I often prefer those more than final bosses themes. Idk if it's just a thing of mine, but for a strange reason final boss themes don't sound as epic as I could imagine when playing the games. Aaaaannd I think that PC-98's themes are better than Windows'. I've found them much more accurate to my thoughts and I think they fit better xdd
 
Emotional Skyscraper ~ Cosmic Mind is my absolute favorite theme in all of touhou and is my favorite final boss theme. But for my least favorite I gotta go with The Last One Left is Used to it~ Stone Goddess.
 
I've always considered History of the Moon my favorite Final Boss Themes, and I've explained the reasons in another post.

As for my least favorite, I'd choose Stone Goddess. I'm not one to easily discard old material, but I still can't accept TH20's music, perhaps because it lacks an SD-90 source. But maybe in a few years I'll have a more updated opinion, just like my previous opinion on Immemorial Marketer.
 
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