I love how it feels like Sephiroth himself highjacked the song. Like the song is trying desperately to stay on track but he keeps reshaping it the way he wants until he finally gets his desired result. I feel this version is blatantly telling you what Sephiroth is scheming. He'll keep altering what we all know and love until he gets his way, as many times as it takes
That's kinda why the "remake" title is misleading in a good way. It's not a revamped play by play of the events from FF7, it's Sephiroth's remake of FF7. His will in the lifestream is causing these fate apparitions to act strangely out of turn, and letting events happen when they shouldn't. I always thought this intentional misleading was genius.
Good point!! That's exactly what we're seeing in the remake. It's a new time line because of him! Is he trying to rewrite the story? They said the first FF7 is still canon so...this REMAKE is something post FFVII AC, I think. Just a theory but... 👀
@@ArlenneLuna 100% what is happening here, basically confirmed by the short stories Lifestream Black and Lifestream White. I'm excited to see where they go with this.
@@KharaChmiel He is taking your measure, as he is aware of the other timeline. He wants you to be at your strongest. At your best. To be someone who can beat him without that heroic resolve and simple luck and a stubborn refusal to die. He wants someone who is truly able to challenge him, is able to beat him. Is able to fight him at his best, where he is in full control of his faculties, not blinded by madness and arrogance. He knows you have the potential, the power, you just need to bring it out.
The main reason why i like this track over the original is because it messes with our head. At this point in the game we arent supposed to face him yet, so we are confused. Just as we are getting confused, the choir comes in and screams into our face with their angry voices. Thus, we start to panic. The music quickens.... etc. Hands down for the remixer. He knew what he was doing.
What I love is that the entire soundtrack is composed like this, it gives you hints of something familiar, then when it's about to give it to you it snatches it away for later. One Winged Angel is the biggest example of this, the entire game has the section leading up to the Sephiroth choir part sprinkled in other songs, and then phase one of his fight teases you the entire time with it, until you finally hear it in phase 2.
I understand the ideia of the Remix but i prefer the original much much much more The song is slower Sephiroth owns the show he isnt worried he is stronger than everyone and he knows The remixes feels like it would be better on a timed battle
The best part about this particular track is that One Winged Angel was already kinda nutty in terms of musical composition. Uematsu literally took several short compositions and put them together like fitting puzzle pieces together. This piece then shatters the puzzle only to put it back together in a whole different way.
I agree that this is very effective at doing what it set out to do, but i'd argue that it is lacking out of it's original context. It's written to be unsatisfying, chaotic and misleading, which is perfect for the feelings it's trying to invoke, but it makes it much harder to listen to without at least in my opinion. And i think regardless of opinion you can't fully understand this track without knowing the original, which i find to be overall more satisfying to listen to.
To hear that theme as he launches an attack that destroys the entire solar system 🤨 😳😬🤯 That first time is unlike anything I had ever experienced up to that moment.
A lot of people mention how this song feels like it's been overtaken or corrupted, shuffled into exactly what Sephiroth wants it to be, an example, but the one part I think everybody scans over is that almost no section is allowed to have a proper ending, really get to its finale before mutating again with all the false stops and starts, showing that just whenever we feel that we've discovered something, it's already out of our reach, that he's always a step ahead, putting a constant turn in everything to confuse us. Sephiroth is a bad dream, a traumatic memory, and a shocking reality simultaneously, that we will remember walking down the street randomly. He doesn't need to win to win. Even if he loses, we'll always be in the palm of his hand. Very few will reach a level of writing as sinisterly good as Sephiroth.
such a masterpiece! i noticed that no matter how long fighting him took you they seamlessly and beautifully integrated the song into the fights and it's like pieces of the song patchworked together. i feel like the way they arranged this is partially to do with being able to make it work with the fights in an incredibly flexible way that still delivers all the emotion it is meant to. it's super freaking impressive
To this day I'm still programmed to enter the gamer version of fight or flight the second I hear those opening notes XD "Ohshitohfuckohjesuslordhelpme!"
The Advent Children version of One Winged Angel is still my favorite version of this song, but this one and the original both are definitely right up there with it.
I have my issues with the remake (mostly due to the changes made), but I will admit that this theme does reflect the changes nicely. Still it feels a bit all-over-the place, whereas the Advent Children version was just plain badass. But my favourite? That has to be the original - either performed by an orchestra, or - which in a way hammers home the theme even more: played on a pipe organ! Both newer versions, Advent Children and this piece here have a rapid succession of hits hammering home just how ominous/dangerous Sephiroth is. But on an organ? The sheer power of that one instrument takes the original to another level and (for me) even surpasses the well-known passage of Bach's Toccata & Fuge in conveying a sense of dread.
That version is counterpart from ff og, from the song itself you can feel how Sephiroth back, this remake version is more like fan made, what a wasted opportunity, Airbuster theme is badass though it got upgraded.
I never played final fantasy but I did encounter a rendition of this music in kingdom hearts when I was little. That boss still scares me to this day… so many health bars
"That last flicker of light is always the hardest to snuff out." So menacing in KH2. I played FF7, and loved how he was portrayed in KH1 and 2 - always looking for Cloud so that he could finally finish him off.
This theme was my alarm for years it's the one thing that would reliably wake me up no matter how tired I was or what time it was I needed to be up. The opening lines are borderline horror movie sounds.
I like how they added a very loud "A" choir with vibrato right at the beginning, as if even the orchestra was horrified of what's coming, it gives yet even more sense of urgency, like a calamity about to arrive, announced by a running and screaming crowd.
I think the reason for all the false starts that give that chopped up feel is because this version is meant to dynamically transition throughout the different phases and intermediary cutscences in the battle. It gives this effect that it's always building up to something, getting more and more tense as stakes rise higher
This version of One Winged Angel is just a perfect musical manifestation of Sephiroth, further emphasising the vibe the entire time that he's messing with us and won't stop, just persisting like a bad dream, its perfect.
if you played the original game, the moment it switched from regular game music to the orchastral song, you knew you just entered a new level of gaming. this song is like a giant power up/ evolution of that song.
Hearing this at the final fantasy concert in London was epic AF, especially when Nobuo himself was there and he got on the mic to sing one winged angel for us. I got goosebumps alone from the drums at the start of the song.
The thing that always gets me about this song is that it so encompasses that feeling of despair when there’s something so overwhelmingly terrifying before you and you realize you have to not only meet it but somehow overcome it. I’ve literally never experienced anything like it in real life but I know this is the song that I’ll hear if I ever do
This song basically embodies the game. Sephiroth appearing in act 1 of the story in the remake and all over the place, is paralleled in the music, taking the original theme and jumbling it up all over the place. No actually, it embodies Sephiroth throughout the franchise. Every time you think you have beaten him, he keeps coming back. Cloud thinks he has escaped to Smash Bros, and Sephiroth comes right over.
For me as a gamer since ‘89 this is the RPG Imperial March. Just as Vader’s theme comes with all the emotion and power behind it, even many gamers who have not played original FF7 still know this song. Sephiroth is such a beloved villain, it’s great when Cloud tells him in Advent Children, “Stay where you belong, in my memories” because all FF7 fans will in fact always remember him. Hard to forget such an icon. Just had to give my two copper and pay homage to such brilliant writing and music.
The amount of work they put into one villain for this piece is astronomical. It just goes to show how powerful and godly sephiroth is considered in the final fantasy universe. It's like his entire backstory is laid out in this piece for you to feel his anger and betrayal for the world that lied to him.
I love this version much more, because is chaotic, confusing and hell even annoying xD. I think it fits much better Sephiroth whole, not just character but concept! He is the personification of anger, emptiness, chaos, destruction what we, as mortals, can perceive as pure evil (as much as I would argue on this huh). It's not just epic, but rather a mix of so many things, just what Sephiroth probably is. And I think it fits also his disturbing and out of our minds true power, and the cinematic of "7 seconds" for me at least push more my beliefs about this song being underrated to be honest. I don't think people is truly understanding everything about this song, like most stay with the "epic", with the lyrics alone. But I think this song is meant as a whole, multiple branches together telling you that Sephiroth is the most dangerous, powerful, chaotic and destructive existence to be ever conceive! Edit: my mom distracted me! And i forgot to finish my point xD. Here I go. So as much as the song is chaotic snd even obnoxious I dare to say, if u listen carefully trough all the song there is always melodies and repeating "structures" that for me talks about Sephiroth being still very smart and conscious. I would go deeper but for that I will have to write and essay xD peace out
Something I have realized over time is the many fasle starts and stops in this version of the track represents how the entire fight Sephiroth is toying with you.
I think it’s so cool how the composer made this song paint a perfect feeling of what it would be like to have Sephiroth haunting your mind. almost like you can’t hold on a stable sense of reality.
as someone who played ff7 when it first came out, when I first played the remake and got to the end heard this song, I was like WTF I don't like it, but thinking back I think it's genius, this song makes the fight so stressful cuz you're waiting for that theme drop from the original but it keeps pulling you back, again and again, and you know this fight is epic... cuz if you're an ff7 fan you know anything with "SEPHIROTH!" ... it's gonna be EPIC!
I remember what uematsu said during his interview on all of his composition what song is his favorites and he answered the interviewer is the one wing angel cause this is what he said "anyone can create their own variation of this song and it is still amazing".
This song is actually in some ways terrifying which is definitely the point, trying to make you feel the despair of fighting him before you should be, which messes with your head and lets you know that now that destiny can change, that includes the fate of everyone, and means anyone can die, which leads to a feelimg of pure dread
i like the original version, but this one is just so much more nuanced and fitting to the character of Sephiroth. The classic one was a full frontal assault, you just needed to take good cover, but this version can and will jump at you from any direction, make you lower your guard, bait you, punish you... It's way more dynamic while keeping his nihilistic rage, and it makes sense that "empty" and "monster" can be synonims of nihilism and rage, so even the lyrics agree XD.
Solid stuff man. Love hearing you geek out over good music. Can’t wait to hear more from games I haven’t played yet. This will make me just want to play them more.
This fight, and this track, were the culmination of FFVII Remake as a whole: It starts off recognizable enough, but immediately after the intro section we're introduced to new elements, the experience getting through it is more like a remix of the very best parts of what we got through back in 1997 that "starts" many times over, to the point that we cannot quite tell where the fake-out beginnings end, but there's definitely a core we still recognize weaving its way through the entire experience, and it all ends upon an all new extension of the original that brings everything to its absolute edge and just bombards you with its hectic tempo and twists... No, I'm not entirely sure if I'm talking about the fight against Sephiroth, this music track or the entire game as a whole juxtaposed against what the 1997 game brought us right now, I just know that whatever I just wrote is not a dump of pretentious gibberish but rather makes a scary amount of sense that just leaves me wondering "What does the future have in store for us?"
This song gave me chills throughout the boss fight, it actually made it more difficult because the music was throwing me off from the unexpected changes, I restarted so many times because of it. When the music is so good it makes gameplay hit different you know it’s a good track
The arrangement for this is absolutely insane. Part of me misses the old build-up of the vocal line that's a bit more straight to the point, but this is objectively a much more impressive song overall. Really lifted the fight to a whole other level.
I love how it pushes and pushes and pushes throughout the entire fight. It's just so intense. You know it's coming too, which makes the anticipation almost anxiety inducing.
Talk about intense.. try the original played on a pipe organ.. No frills or embellishments needed. Just the raw power of the instrument combined with that amazing theme...
It's amazing just how much edging this song does to a listener who's familiar with the original piece. They spend five minutes denying you from the sheer nostalgic pleasure of hearing that one, word/name that triggers universal feelings of respect, awe, and fear in an entire generation of gamers. It takes over half the track before you finally hear the word "Sephiroth" for the first time, and boy does it deliver when they finally hit you with it.
I love how it just keeps going and going and going. How it teases you, plays with you for a good 5 1/2 minutes before the main theme finally kicks in for real and bulldozes right over you, overwhelms you. How, when you think you've almost made it, it comes back stronger and more unhinged. You are exhausted, you are disoriented, you are hanging on by a thread and the music makes you feel every second of it. Pure insanity, I love it so much
9:56 I thought I was the only ear that had noticed the mix of the battle theme with Sephiroth, it's exciting to hear this part when you're about to beat him.
The perfect antagonist comes back through resurrection, time travel/manipulation, also nearly breaks the fourth wall to mess with the person experiencing the story.
The way One Winged Angel starts properly about 4 or 5 minutes in with the drums is so powerful. It was the first time I realized what the purpose of classical music is. After the intro hits and those drums start pounding, it recreates the sound of what an angel with one wing would sound like. And then the way the violins descend after those hits. The sound of something falling out of the sky. It's perfect
F I N A L L Y i played The Remake and man, i am stoked by the quality of this game. Advent Children came right thru me as the final battle begins. One of the best games that i played till now.
It is relentless... it doesn't let you breathe. The few times the flute comes in, you think its over and then BAM! You are drowning and being tossed over and over and over... and then you open your eyes and are sweating cold sweat. And its JUST THE INTRO OMG! hahaha such a masterpiece.
Dude. I just realized your only at 2k subs. Take my like and my sub. You deserve all the love man keep making content like this. I love seeing someone react to the music I love with the same (sometimes even more) emotion than I have
I like how the music is basicly saying "This May be Sephiroth, But its not the Sephiroth you once knew, something has changed. And you are no where near ready to face it.
This is one of those pieces that kind of makes me want to pick up my trumpet again. Songs like this with so much unrestrained brassy energy were so much fun to play back in my high school band days.
I remember when Sephiroth was introduced in Smash Bros. and everybody lost their collective shit. I think Maximilian Dood said it best when he said that Smash and by extension Nintendo IP's have never truly had a "bad guy" in their games, they've all either been the misunderstood loner, or the rejected lover, etc., etc.. Sephiroth is the only character in Smash that is truly, 100% evil, and wants nothing more than to kill everybody in Smash, and more than that, wants to watch them break as their friends die around them.
When I first listened to this, I was in total panic ! As the music gets into climax, it shifts to something else, then it's the climax again, then shifts again...it's toying with my panic as I was fighting Sephiroth. The roller coaster ride of emotion is intense, it feels like it's a never ending battle, and that's why I love this remix. The real climax of the music is when it finally chant Sephiroth's name, that's the time you feel real scared too because the boss just entered a new phase with more aggressive attacks.
You don't have to imagine, it's called the Final Fantasy VII Remake - Orchestral Arrangement Album and the version on there is GLORIOUS! (granted, it's also just a little bit over 5 minutes long, but still)
The soundtrack is like it’s screaming he’s here and he’s definitely coming for you. Then the whole song just kept repeating some part and restarting like it’s signifying the mess and the madness that is Sephiroth. Absolute bone chilling.
Just to note about some of the false starts. This was put together into a single track for the soundtrack release but it's really 4 different themes for the same boss fight. Some of those "false start" shifts mark the points where you move from one boss stage to the next and the music dynamically follows the progress. While you stay inside a stage the music for that part will just keep on repeating.
Never played the original game but grew up hearing about it, only after the remake came out did i see people playing it and immediately connected with the characters and music.
Favorite. Piece. Of. Music. EVER. Not a day goes by that I don't listen to this track. You should hear it live with the chorus and symphony. Everyone was on their feet because you just cannot sit down due to the outright ferocity of this piece.
Trust me Sephiroth himself is almost as insane as his theme to fight he is definitely one of the tougher bosses in a new game barring Elden Ring which for some reason has managed to maintain having evil enemies! Sephiroth's level of style is unmatched by any boss I know of he's ridiculously overpowered on that quality! I mean I fought Sephiroth multiple times lost and then eventually beat him on almost no health I can confirm this though I can't say for sure he's the TOUGHEST boss of all time because I've fought bosses harder than him and won but almost ALL of them are in VERY old games some of these games were released in the early 90s before I was alive (I was born in 1994)
Sephiroth should have been a secret boss in Elden Ring. I would imagine he would eventually find himself in that universe with all his surfing the cosmos that he likes to do.
@@omnimatt2239 I mean...there is SOME homage to Sephiroth in Elden Ring with Melania given the fact she fights a lot like him and is in some ways actually an even HARDER boss.
"Fate Monstrous and Empty", if that isn't a perfect description I don't know what is. Five minutes of frantic build up, only to realise we're just getting started, so epic.
I can only imagine the energy in the room after finishing playing this. The entire orchestra must've feel absolutely euphoric and the room filled with strangling static energy almost like stepping down from the most crazy rollercoaster, sweating and hot. It has to be one of the most extreme feelings you can feel as a musician, is incredible.
I first discovered your channel through your reaction to Twilight of the Gods, and after loving seeing your fresh perspective, it made me say, "Man, I wanna have a blind reaction to an orchestral arrangement!"... and then I discovered this! I'm utterly mind-blown by how many times the song tricks you into thinking it's over, and then it just keeps going! I haven't even played Final Fantasy 7 or the Remake, and yet I would *still* agree with you that One-Winged Angel is the best villain theme in gaming history!
I feel like even Advent Children doesn't come that close to how amazing this, yes Advent Children was amazing in all it's glory and unholyness, but this just takes the cake.
Not going to lie, the first time that I heard the song I was kind of annoyed. I wasn't too happy with the fact we are already facing a man who should be able to beat us by just breathing at this point in the story. Then you take decades of hearing the song a certain way just ingrained into one's psyche. Listening to it now, I rather dig it. Not to mention that it works thematically. Sephiroth is trying to shake things up this time around and this song is the embodiment of it. Listening to it you think you know where these familiar beats are leading to, only to suddenly go to another direction all together. Wish it didn't take me so long for me to warm up to this song.
Man, Nobuo was a genius even when all he had was an eight-bit sound chip to write for. Now he has modern technology and you're surprised? All of us who played FF from the door KNEW. We knew since the Battle Theme. Since North Bridge. Since Zeromus and Golbez and the Battle withe the Four Fiends. Since the Veldt and Spinach Rag and the Opera and Dancing Mad. OWA ALWAYS sounded this good in our teenage heads. Nobuo is a savage like John Williams and you're going to feel it when he's gone. Y'all PS5 kids can just hear the music in your ears now, but we heard it in our souls.
You should definitely check out The Black Mages version of Dancing Mad. You seem like a big fan, so you probably already know this, but if anyone else reads the comment, The Black Mages is a band Nobuo Uematsu put together to play music from Squaresoft RPGs/Games. He actually plays keyboard in the band. The original Dancing Mad is a masterpiece, but hearing it played on actual instruments is another level.
@@MarcoMeatball Dancing Mad being Kefka's theme from FF3/6. It's like 10 minutes long, but the Black Mages version is absolutely epic. BRB going to listen to it now. Also, subbed.
The vibe I get from Sephiroth in the remake is that he's kinda like the dungeon master in a D&D session. I mean he keeps reshaping things and also keeps giving Cloud openings to succeed, like he wants the players in his game to beat him while still challenging them. This is just one big game to him if you look at it and he is very much the master.
God I love how every time you think the song is back on track and you feel that odd comfort of being in known territory, it suddenly pulls something different that just keep you on edge.
I KNEW there was a connection to Carmina Burana! First thing I thought of when I first heard this back in 97, since I had just performed Carmina Burana in an All-State high school choir like a year earlier.
I cant say i will listen to this a lot, but it is impressive, holy shit levels of intensity. Unpredictible. I really like it. I was afraid i will want to play it if i listen to it, my fears were well founded.
I feel like this song (and FF7R as a whole) are a lot more impactful if you've played the original game because the entire premise is about subverting your expectations. Structurally, this song is all over the place, but if you know how the original OWA goes, the chaos with all the false-starts, etc. makes a lot of sense. The game as a whole is all about, "You *think* you know how things are going to go, but you're not prepared at all!"
Your comment about how it takes the original and twists it (I forget your exact wording) is basically what the Remake is about. It starts off looking like the original in shiny new skin, then swiftly twists into something new with the same ingredients. Also, commenting on the brass reminds of me of Sideways' videos and how he explains that brass usually equals hero, and Sephiroth is a fallen hero.
The first time I heard this song was near the end of my dnd campaign and we were one fight away from the bbeg. This accompanied two ancient dragons that almost tpk the table. I’ll never forget that fight
I am starting to understand this song the way its composed this time round, every moment of change or highjack as its been pointed out, the moment you hear the Aerith tune, it immediately feels like a chase almost like a murderer waiting to finish off where he wanted to finish, the moment it feels like we have a escape immediate music change back to almost knife chase type music its insanely well written, I love it ! :D
When I running in circle try to heal and stay alive these epic choir certainly makes the fight super epic and panic and chaotic and plus everything lol
I had no words when I first heard this come on. It literally is One Winged Angel Out of order. (With extra stuff too) But Just as The story(what we are familiar with) is out of order, so too is the song(we are oh so already familiar with, but not anymore.) That, and we don’t get the proper lyric of “SEPHIROTH” until well into the middle or further in the song. Which is because, I believe in the game, once he reveals his One Wing, the classic Purple Haze inspired insidious part plays, which is our treatment to the real song since he is now actually the One Winged Angel visibly. it really is genius and made extremely well. I actually think I like it more than the original first orchestration(after the OG game version) I’ve been listening to Rebirth multiple times per week since it came out lmao One Winged Angel is probably my favorite piece of music. Destati from Kingdom Hearts ties for 1st place or is at least 2nd place. Haha
I admit it, when I played FFVIIR I didn't heard this theme because I was trying not to get my a## beaten by this monstruous and magnifecent villain. One of the best battles of my life!
I love how it feels like Sephiroth himself highjacked the song. Like the song is trying desperately to stay on track but he keeps reshaping it the way he wants until he finally gets his desired result.
I feel this version is blatantly telling you what Sephiroth is scheming. He'll keep altering what we all know and love until he gets his way, as many times as it takes
That's kinda why the "remake" title is misleading in a good way. It's not a revamped play by play of the events from FF7, it's Sephiroth's remake of FF7. His will in the lifestream is causing these fate apparitions to act strangely out of turn, and letting events happen when they shouldn't. I always thought this intentional misleading was genius.
Good point!! That's exactly what we're seeing in the remake. It's a new time line because of him! Is he trying to rewrite the story? They said the first FF7 is still canon so...this REMAKE is something post FFVII AC, I think.
Just a theory but... 👀
@CrownedElm 2247 me too 👀
@CrownedElm2247 Such a cool and brave idea
@@ArlenneLuna 100% what is happening here, basically confirmed by the short stories Lifestream Black and Lifestream White. I'm excited to see where they go with this.
I love how the remake version is like 90% intro and outro and 10% actual One Winged Angel.
Lol that’s accurate
And even makes sense, since you're not truly fighting against Sephiroth, he was just toying around in this fight, what makes him even more fearsome
I'm sure u will fight him in the finale of the trilogy but might even be more epic than this version
@@gamemaster1608 Yeah he 100% wants you to win the battle, which is INSANE to think about, especially the implications moving forward.
@@KharaChmiel He is taking your measure, as he is aware of the other timeline. He wants you to be at your strongest. At your best. To be someone who can beat him without that heroic resolve and simple luck and a stubborn refusal to die. He wants someone who is truly able to challenge him, is able to beat him. Is able to fight him at his best, where he is in full control of his faculties, not blinded by madness and arrogance. He knows you have the potential, the power, you just need to bring it out.
@8:55 the song refuses to end. It pushes through were it was MEANT to end, it grows more violent, more chaotic, it REFUSES to end. GAHHHH
I will never be....a memory.
Thats literally Sephiroth in a nutshell. Too angry to stay dead.
The main reason why i like this track over the original is because it messes with our head. At this point in the game we arent supposed to face him yet, so we are confused. Just as we are getting confused, the choir comes in and screams into our face with their angry voices. Thus, we start to panic. The music quickens.... etc.
Hands down for the remixer. He knew what he was doing.
What I love is that the entire soundtrack is composed like this, it gives you hints of something familiar, then when it's about to give it to you it snatches it away for later.
One Winged Angel is the biggest example of this, the entire game has the section leading up to the Sephiroth choir part sprinkled in other songs, and then phase one of his fight teases you the entire time with it, until you finally hear it in phase 2.
I understand the ideia of the Remix but i prefer the original much much much more
The song is slower Sephiroth owns the show he isnt worried he is stronger than everyone and he knows
The remixes feels like it would be better on a timed battle
@@felipebisi4145 actually, its sort of timed. If you arent fast enough, he throws supernova on your ass and its game over.
The best part about this particular track is that One Winged Angel was already kinda nutty in terms of musical composition. Uematsu literally took several short compositions and put them together like fitting puzzle pieces together.
This piece then shatters the puzzle only to put it back together in a whole different way.
I agree that this is very effective at doing what it set out to do, but i'd argue that it is lacking out of it's original context. It's written to be unsatisfying, chaotic and misleading, which is perfect for the feelings it's trying to invoke, but it makes it much harder to listen to without at least in my opinion. And i think regardless of opinion you can't fully understand this track without knowing the original, which i find to be overall more satisfying to listen to.
It is almost impossible to explain to today's children the weight of this music and this game for our generation. I had to hold myself not to cry.
OMG so true
You've said it brother.
There are a few video game tracks that bring back childhood memories and bring a tear to my eye. One Winged Angel is one of them.
To hear that theme as he launches an attack that destroys the entire solar system 🤨 😳😬🤯 That first time is unlike anything I had ever experienced up to that moment.
Lol almost impossible to today's children? Older generation would have a much harder time to understand, and even then they'd somewhat get it.
A lot of people mention how this song feels like it's been overtaken or corrupted, shuffled into exactly what Sephiroth wants it to be, an example, but the one part I think everybody scans over is that almost no section is allowed to have a proper ending, really get to its finale before mutating again with all the false stops and starts, showing that just whenever we feel that we've discovered something, it's already out of our reach, that he's always a step ahead, putting a constant turn in everything to confuse us. Sephiroth is a bad dream, a traumatic memory, and a shocking reality simultaneously, that we will remember walking down the street randomly. He doesn't need to win to win. Even if he loses, we'll always be in the palm of his hand. Very few will reach a level of writing as sinisterly good as Sephiroth.
such a masterpiece! i noticed that no matter how long fighting him took you they seamlessly and beautifully integrated the song into the fights and it's like pieces of the song patchworked together. i feel like the way they arranged this is partially to do with being able to make it work with the fights in an incredibly flexible way that still delivers all the emotion it is meant to. it's super freaking impressive
This song is, "Oh my God I'm So Fucking Dead - The Theme."
To this day I'm still programmed to enter the gamer version of fight or flight the second I hear those opening notes XD
"Ohshitohfuckohjesuslordhelpme!"
The Advent Children version of One Winged Angel is still my favorite version of this song, but this one and the original both are definitely right up there with it.
My favorite is still The PC midi version. It's just so... different sounding. It boggles my mind.
@@SkippytWalrus Just went and listened to it. Very interesting!
I have my issues with the remake (mostly due to the changes made), but I will admit that this theme does reflect the changes nicely. Still it feels a bit all-over-the place, whereas the Advent Children version was just plain badass.
But my favourite? That has to be the original - either performed by an orchestra, or - which in a way hammers home the theme even more: played on a pipe organ! Both newer versions, Advent Children and this piece here have a rapid succession of hits hammering home just how ominous/dangerous Sephiroth is.
But on an organ? The sheer power of that one instrument takes the original to another level and (for me) even surpasses the well-known passage of Bach's Toccata & Fuge in conveying a sense of dread.
That version is counterpart from ff og, from the song itself you can feel how Sephiroth back, this remake version is more like fan made, what a wasted opportunity, Airbuster theme is badass though it got upgraded.
I agree. The Advent Children version was more focused and harmonious. This one is trying too hard to surprise you.
I never played final fantasy but I did encounter a rendition of this music in kingdom hearts when I was little. That boss still scares me to this day… so many health bars
Lol ikr
@Isrel156 lol
"That last flicker of light is always the hardest to snuff out."
So menacing in KH2. I played FF7, and loved how he was portrayed in KH1 and 2 - always looking for Cloud so that he could finally finish him off.
This theme was my alarm for years it's the one thing that would reliably wake me up no matter how tired I was or what time it was I needed to be up. The opening lines are borderline horror movie sounds.
You’re thinking Psycho
You are a genius! Imma going to do that too!
Fear is a good emotion to start the day with 😂
I like how they added a very loud "A" choir with vibrato right at the beginning, as if even the orchestra was horrified of what's coming, it gives yet even more sense of urgency, like a calamity about to arrive, announced by a running and screaming crowd.
"I had a full blown panic attack facing sephiroth"
**first 10 seconds of music**
me: yup.... this will definitely cause panic while being attacked
Lololololol but for real I did. 🤣
I think the reason for all the false starts that give that chopped up feel is because this version is meant to dynamically transition throughout the different phases and intermediary cutscences in the battle. It gives this effect that it's always building up to something, getting more and more tense as stakes rise higher
This version of One Winged Angel is just a perfect musical manifestation of Sephiroth, further emphasising the vibe the entire time that he's messing with us and won't stop, just persisting like a bad dream, its perfect.
if you played the original game, the moment it switched from regular game music to the orchastral song, you knew you just entered a new level of gaming. this song is like a giant power up/ evolution of that song.
Hearing this at the final fantasy concert in London was epic AF, especially when Nobuo himself was there and he got on the mic to sing one winged angel for us. I got goosebumps alone from the drums at the start of the song.
The thing that always gets me about this song is that it so encompasses that feeling of despair when there’s something so overwhelmingly terrifying before you and you realize you have to not only meet it but somehow overcome it. I’ve literally never experienced anything like it in real life but I know this is the song that I’ll hear if I ever do
This song basically embodies the game.
Sephiroth appearing in act 1 of the story in the remake and all over the place, is paralleled in the music, taking the original theme and jumbling it up all over the place.
No actually, it embodies Sephiroth throughout the franchise.
Every time you think you have beaten him, he keeps coming back.
Cloud thinks he has escaped to Smash Bros, and Sephiroth comes right over.
For me as a gamer since ‘89 this is the RPG Imperial March. Just as Vader’s theme comes with all the emotion and power behind it, even many gamers who have not played original FF7 still know this song. Sephiroth is such a beloved villain, it’s great when Cloud tells him in Advent Children, “Stay where you belong, in my memories” because all FF7 fans will in fact always remember him. Hard to forget such an icon. Just had to give my two copper and pay homage to such brilliant writing and music.
The amount of work they put into one villain for this piece is astronomical. It just goes to show how powerful and godly sephiroth is considered in the final fantasy universe. It's like his entire backstory is laid out in this piece for you to feel his anger and betrayal for the world that lied to him.
Sephiroth is basically Final Fantasy's Darth Vader in terms of gravitas.
@@adcon00Exactly.
10:02 is still my favorite part. Just LOVE when the whisper theme kicks in. It works so well and makes so much sense storywise
I love this version much more, because is chaotic, confusing and hell even annoying xD. I think it fits much better Sephiroth whole, not just character but concept! He is the personification of anger, emptiness, chaos, destruction what we, as mortals, can perceive as pure evil (as much as I would argue on this huh). It's not just epic, but rather a mix of so many things, just what Sephiroth probably is. And I think it fits also his disturbing and out of our minds true power, and the cinematic of "7 seconds" for me at least push more my beliefs about this song being underrated to be honest. I don't think people is truly understanding everything about this song, like most stay with the "epic", with the lyrics alone. But I think this song is meant as a whole, multiple branches together telling you that Sephiroth is the most dangerous, powerful, chaotic and destructive existence to be ever conceive!
Edit: my mom distracted me! And i forgot to finish my point xD. Here I go.
So as much as the song is chaotic snd even obnoxious I dare to say, if u listen carefully trough all the song there is always melodies and repeating "structures" that for me talks about Sephiroth being still very smart and conscious. I would go deeper but for that I will have to write and essay xD peace out
Something I have realized over time is the many fasle starts and stops in this version of the track represents how the entire fight Sephiroth is toying with you.
In other words: "You are 110 Percent Doomed and Dead" - The Theme. :'D
My husband and I joke that this is the "No Chill Remix" of OWA because it just never seems to slow down or give up.
I get chills when I listen to One Winged Angel, every time.
I think it’s so cool how the composer made this song paint a perfect feeling of what it would be like to have Sephiroth haunting your mind. almost like you can’t hold on a stable sense of reality.
as someone who played ff7 when it first came out, when I first played the remake and got to the end heard this song, I was like WTF I don't like it, but thinking back I think it's genius, this song makes the fight so stressful cuz you're waiting for that theme drop from the original but it keeps pulling you back, again and again, and you know this fight is epic... cuz if you're an ff7 fan you know anything with "SEPHIROTH!" ... it's gonna be EPIC!
I remember what uematsu said during his interview on all of his composition what song is his favorites and he answered the interviewer is the one wing angel cause this is what he said "anyone can create their own variation of this song and it is still amazing".
This song is actually in some ways terrifying which is definitely the point, trying to make you feel the despair of fighting him before you should be, which messes with your head and lets you know that now that destiny can change, that includes the fate of everyone, and means anyone can die, which leads to a feelimg of pure dread
i like the original version, but this one is just so much more nuanced and fitting to the character of Sephiroth. The classic one was a full frontal assault, you just needed to take good cover, but this version can and will jump at you from any direction, make you lower your guard, bait you, punish you... It's way more dynamic while keeping his nihilistic rage, and it makes sense that "empty" and "monster" can be synonims of nihilism and rage, so even the lyrics agree XD.
Solid stuff man. Love hearing you geek out over good music. Can’t wait to hear more from games I haven’t played yet. This will make me just want to play them more.
Thank you so much buddy!
This fight, and this track, were the culmination of FFVII Remake as a whole: It starts off recognizable enough, but immediately after the intro section we're introduced to new elements, the experience getting through it is more like a remix of the very best parts of what we got through back in 1997 that "starts" many times over, to the point that we cannot quite tell where the fake-out beginnings end, but there's definitely a core we still recognize weaving its way through the entire experience, and it all ends upon an all new extension of the original that brings everything to its absolute edge and just bombards you with its hectic tempo and twists...
No, I'm not entirely sure if I'm talking about the fight against Sephiroth, this music track or the entire game as a whole juxtaposed against what the 1997 game brought us right now, I just know that whatever I just wrote is not a dump of pretentious gibberish but rather makes a scary amount of sense that just leaves me wondering "What does the future have in store for us?"
This song gave me chills throughout the boss fight, it actually made it more difficult because the music was throwing me off from the unexpected changes, I restarted so many times because of it. When the music is so good it makes gameplay hit different you know it’s a good track
The arrangement for this is absolutely insane. Part of me misses the old build-up of the vocal line that's a bit more straight to the point, but this is objectively a much more impressive song overall. Really lifted the fight to a whole other level.
I love how it pushes and pushes and pushes throughout the entire fight. It's just so intense. You know it's coming too, which makes the anticipation almost anxiety inducing.
Talk about intense.. try the original played on a pipe organ.. No frills or embellishments needed. Just the raw power of the instrument combined with that amazing theme...
It's amazing just how much edging this song does to a listener who's familiar with the original piece. They spend five minutes denying you from the sheer nostalgic pleasure of hearing that one, word/name that triggers universal feelings of respect, awe, and fear in an entire generation of gamers. It takes over half the track before you finally hear the word "Sephiroth" for the first time, and boy does it deliver when they finally hit you with it.
I love how it just keeps going and going and going. How it teases you, plays with you for a good 5 1/2 minutes before the main theme finally kicks in for real and bulldozes right over you, overwhelms you. How, when you think you've almost made it, it comes back stronger and more unhinged. You are exhausted, you are disoriented, you are hanging on by a thread and the music makes you feel every second of it. Pure insanity, I love it so much
* Aerith has left the Chat...very, very quickly *
Man, must be hard surpress the feeling to shout SEPHIROTH after 09:28, it keeps trying to make you yell and the 11:34 it finally came
That intro, those first few notes are so iconic, you just know everyone's fave mama's boy is here the moment those notes play.
9:56 I thought I was the only ear that had noticed the mix of the battle theme with Sephiroth, it's exciting to hear this part when you're about to beat him.
This, to me, is the most chaotic version of One-Winged Angel to date
Though nothing beats the Advent Children version. It's so good that the Smash reveal uses it and the Advent children version of Cloud and Sepheroth.
The perfect antagonist comes back through resurrection, time travel/manipulation, also nearly breaks the fourth wall to mess with the person experiencing the story.
The way One Winged Angel starts properly about 4 or 5 minutes in with the drums is so powerful. It was the first time I realized what the purpose of classical music is. After the intro hits and those drums start pounding, it recreates the sound of what an angel with one wing would sound like. And then the way the violins descend after those hits. The sound of something falling out of the sky. It's perfect
F I N A L L Y i played The Remake and man, i am stoked by the quality of this game. Advent Children came right thru me as the final battle begins. One of the best games that i played till now.
This piece of music is such an eargasm with no comprehending whatsoever, simply amazing
It is relentless... it doesn't let you breathe. The few times the flute comes in, you think its over and then BAM! You are drowning and being tossed over and over and over... and then you open your eyes and are sweating cold sweat. And its JUST THE INTRO OMG! hahaha such a masterpiece.
Dude. I just realized your only at 2k subs. Take my like and my sub. You deserve all the love man keep making content like this. I love seeing someone react to the music I love with the same (sometimes even more) emotion than I have
Aw thank you Lok!
I like how the music is basicly saying "This May be Sephiroth, But its not the Sephiroth you once knew, something has changed. And you are no where near ready to face it.
wow! great point!!!!
This is one of those pieces that kind of makes me want to pick up my trumpet again. Songs like this with so much unrestrained brassy energy were so much fun to play back in my high school band days.
love that part where the original theme was suppose to end... but it just keeps going like sephiroth saying "nah... you won't escape this time"
I remember when Sephiroth was introduced in Smash Bros. and everybody lost their collective shit. I think Maximilian Dood said it best when he said that Smash and by extension Nintendo IP's have never truly had a "bad guy" in their games, they've all either been the misunderstood loner, or the rejected lover, etc., etc.. Sephiroth is the only character in Smash that is truly, 100% evil, and wants nothing more than to kill everybody in Smash, and more than that, wants to watch them break as their friends die around them.
Ridley?
Nah Ghetsis had NO redeeming qualities
When I first listened to this, I was in total panic ! As the music gets into climax, it shifts to something else, then it's the climax again, then shifts again...it's toying with my panic as I was fighting Sephiroth. The roller coaster ride of emotion is intense, it feels like it's a never ending battle, and that's why I love this remix. The real climax of the music is when it finally chant Sephiroth's name, that's the time you feel real scared too because the boss just entered a new phase with more aggressive attacks.
Can you imagine an orchestra and choir doing this, they'd be broken by the end of it!
You don't have to imagine, it's called the Final Fantasy VII Remake - Orchestral Arrangement Album and the version on there is GLORIOUS! (granted, it's also just a little bit over 5 minutes long, but still)
The soundtrack is like it’s screaming he’s here and he’s definitely coming for you. Then the whole song just kept repeating some part and restarting like it’s signifying the mess and the madness that is Sephiroth. Absolute bone chilling.
Just to note about some of the false starts. This was put together into a single track for the soundtrack release but it's really 4 different themes for the same boss fight. Some of those "false start" shifts mark the points where you move from one boss stage to the next and the music dynamically follows the progress. While you stay inside a stage the music for that part will just keep on repeating.
If that is not one of the greatest songs in video game history, I don't know what is. I've seen it live in London, amazing!
Never played the original game but grew up hearing about it, only after the remake came out did i see people playing it and immediately connected with the characters and music.
Favorite. Piece. Of. Music. EVER. Not a day goes by that I don't listen to this track. You should hear it live with the chorus and symphony. Everyone was on their feet because you just cannot sit down due to the outright ferocity of this piece.
This theme is forever be ''Bells, frogs, big cherries. Peter Pan, ham and cheese'' to me.
Perfect
DAMN YOU 😂
Trust me Sephiroth himself is almost as insane as his theme to fight he is definitely one of the tougher bosses in a new game barring Elden Ring which for some reason has managed to maintain having evil enemies!
Sephiroth's level of style is unmatched by any boss I know of he's ridiculously overpowered on that quality!
I mean I fought Sephiroth multiple times lost and then eventually beat him on almost no health I can confirm this though I can't say for sure he's the TOUGHEST boss of all time because I've fought bosses harder than him and won but almost ALL of them are in VERY old games some of these games were released in the early 90s before I was alive (I was born in 1994)
Sephiroth should have been a secret boss in Elden Ring. I would imagine he would eventually find himself in that universe with all his surfing the cosmos that he likes to do.
@@omnimatt2239 I mean...there is SOME homage to Sephiroth in Elden Ring with Melania given the fact she fights a lot like him and is in some ways actually an even HARDER boss.
Your voice is so soothing
Thank you!!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
"Fate Monstrous and Empty", if that isn't a perfect description I don't know what is.
Five minutes of frantic build up, only to realise we're just getting started, so epic.
The final SEPHIROTH brings so much catharsis after 11 minutes of false stops
First played this game in 1998 as a 11 year old, and it's music still has a special effect on me everytime I hear it.
I can only imagine the energy in the room after finishing playing this. The entire orchestra must've feel absolutely euphoric and the room filled with strangling static energy almost like stepping down from the most crazy rollercoaster, sweating and hot.
It has to be one of the most extreme feelings you can feel as a musician, is incredible.
I first discovered your channel through your reaction to Twilight of the Gods, and after loving seeing your fresh perspective, it made me say, "Man, I wanna have a blind reaction to an orchestral arrangement!"... and then I discovered this! I'm utterly mind-blown by how many times the song tricks you into thinking it's over, and then it just keeps going! I haven't even played Final Fantasy 7 or the Remake, and yet I would *still* agree with you that One-Winged Angel is the best villain theme in gaming history!
Its the best huh! 🕹❤️
I feel like even Advent Children doesn't come that close to how amazing this, yes Advent Children was amazing in all it's glory and unholyness, but this just takes the cake.
The way the beat changes up at 9:27 💥
I love the music alternating between the root and the tritone at the beginning
It has always, ALWAYS been my dream to sing this with an orchestra. God, I love One-Winged Angel so much. ❤️
The intro of One Winged Angel always causes a feeling of dread and an instinctive urge to look up the sky to confirm if something is there.
Not going to lie, the first time that I heard the song I was kind of annoyed. I wasn't too happy with the fact we are already facing a man who should be able to beat us by just breathing at this point in the story. Then you take decades of hearing the song a certain way just ingrained into one's psyche. Listening to it now, I rather dig it. Not to mention that it works thematically. Sephiroth is trying to shake things up this time around and this song is the embodiment of it. Listening to it you think you know where these familiar beats are leading to, only to suddenly go to another direction all together. Wish it didn't take me so long for me to warm up to this song.
Man, Nobuo was a genius even when all he had was an eight-bit sound chip to write for. Now he has modern technology and you're surprised? All of us who played FF from the door KNEW. We knew since the Battle Theme. Since North Bridge. Since Zeromus and Golbez and the Battle withe the Four Fiends. Since the Veldt and Spinach Rag and the Opera and Dancing Mad. OWA ALWAYS sounded this good in our teenage heads. Nobuo is a savage like John Williams and you're going to feel it when he's gone. Y'all PS5 kids can just hear the music in your ears now, but we heard it in our souls.
You should definitely check out The Black Mages version of Dancing Mad. You seem like a big fan, so you probably already know this, but if anyone else reads the comment, The Black Mages is a band Nobuo Uematsu put together to play music from Squaresoft RPGs/Games. He actually plays keyboard in the band. The original Dancing Mad is a masterpiece, but hearing it played on actual instruments is another level.
I loveeeee the black mages
@@MarcoMeatball Dancing Mad being Kefka's theme from FF3/6. It's like 10 minutes long, but the Black Mages version is absolutely epic. BRB going to listen to it now.
Also, subbed.
I love how the chant sounds like it is introducing a king/god to those beneath him.
The vibe I get from Sephiroth in the remake is that he's kinda like the dungeon master in a D&D session. I mean he keeps reshaping things and also keeps giving Cloud openings to succeed, like he wants the players in his game to beat him while still challenging them. This is just one big game to him if you look at it and he is very much the master.
God I love how every time you think the song is back on track and you feel that odd comfort of being in known territory, it suddenly pulls something different that just keep you on edge.
This is my first time listening to this version. I'm 9 1/2 minutes in and feeling ridiculously stressed out
I KNEW there was a connection to Carmina Burana! First thing I thought of when I first heard this back in 97, since I had just performed Carmina Burana in an All-State high school choir like a year earlier.
I cant say i will listen to this a lot, but it is impressive, holy shit levels of intensity. Unpredictible. I really like it. I was afraid i will want to play it if i listen to it, my fears were well founded.
No one should listen to it a lot 🤣🤣
Haha damn I really went through your channel for an FFVII reaction. Awesome more please!
I can't stop jamming to this
I feel like this song (and FF7R as a whole) are a lot more impactful if you've played the original game because the entire premise is about subverting your expectations. Structurally, this song is all over the place, but if you know how the original OWA goes, the chaos with all the false-starts, etc. makes a lot of sense. The game as a whole is all about, "You *think* you know how things are going to go, but you're not prepared at all!"
I suggest if you havent seen the video of Nobuo Uematsu where he talks about how he made the music, its short but amazing!
you can feel the battle between light and dark in the music.
Your comment about how it takes the original and twists it (I forget your exact wording) is basically what the Remake is about. It starts off looking like the original in shiny new skin, then swiftly twists into something new with the same ingredients.
Also, commenting on the brass reminds of me of Sideways' videos and how he explains that brass usually equals hero, and Sephiroth is a fallen hero.
when sometimes i got certain meaning or mood when i heard songs,but when i hear this i only got ''danger'' and ''twisted'' feeling. like a warning.
The first time I heard this song was near the end of my dnd campaign and we were one fight away from the bbeg. This accompanied two ancient dragons that almost tpk the table. I’ll never forget that fight
I am starting to understand this song the way its composed this time round, every moment of change or highjack as its been pointed out, the moment you hear the Aerith tune, it immediately feels like a chase almost like a murderer waiting to finish off where he wanted to finish, the moment it feels like we have a escape immediate music change back to almost knife chase type music its insanely well written, I love it ! :D
When I running in circle try to heal and stay alive these epic choir certainly makes the fight super epic and panic and chaotic and plus everything lol
0:07 - 0:29 this has been my wake up alarm for 4 months now. It works pretty well.
This can never be as good as the one wing angel but it never starts video.
Now that is true chaos.
The funniest summary I've heard for this piece:
"And He's Stronger Too,
So He's Back Just For You!"
-DK Rap
I had no words when I first heard this come on. It literally is One Winged Angel Out of order. (With extra stuff too)
But Just as The story(what we are familiar with) is out of order, so too is the song(we are oh so already familiar with, but not anymore.) That, and we don’t get the proper lyric of “SEPHIROTH” until well into the middle or further in the song. Which is because, I believe in the game, once he reveals his One Wing, the classic Purple Haze inspired insidious part plays, which is our treatment to the real song since he is now actually the One Winged Angel visibly. it really is genius and made extremely well.
I actually think I like it more than the original first orchestration(after the OG game version)
I’ve been listening to Rebirth multiple times per week since it came out lmao
One Winged Angel is probably my favorite piece of music. Destati from Kingdom Hearts ties for 1st place or is at least 2nd place. Haha
If the first version didn't let your bodyhair shiver in panic this one will. Instant goosebumps.
The whole sequence was amazing.
"There is no greater villain theme than One Winged Angel"
Kefka's Dancing Mad: Am I a Joke to you?
I admit it, when I played FFVIIR I didn't heard this theme because I was trying not to get my a## beaten by this monstruous and magnifecent villain. One of the best battles of my life!