Have u listened to the acthal orchestral version of Dancing Mad? It's absolute banger masterpiece. The best boss music ever made. Better than even One Winged Angel
Terra: Kefka, I'm afraid you've gone mad with power. Kefka: Of course I have, y'ever tried going mad without power? It's boring, no one listens to you.
@@HenSt-gz7qj I am pretty sure the guy who voices him in Dissidia took his inspiration from that honestly. Pretty spot on too if that is what he was going for.
I'm sure someone mentioned it already, but I didn't see in my run of the comments. So, this song was truly an experiment for it's time. The idea was to have a multi-phase fight, but each phase gets its own musical section. Because of this, each section of the music was designed so that it could loop until the player cleared that phase of the final boss. For its time, this was innovation.
To also add some context, in the story Kefka Absorbs the power of these three statues called the Warring Triad: the demon, the fiend and the goddess. Each section of the song corresponds to each one with Kefka as the final section.
I was looking for this myself. It truly is a orchestral symphony with each movement representing the boss you're fighting then somehow they made it viable to loop and transition flawlessly.
My favorite part about Dancing Mad is that he never really intended for it to be this long. He just sort of started writing it and couldn't really stop, it just kept pouring out until he ended up with this, his greatest song.
The organ not being Uematsu's favourite instrument and still sounding this godly, evil, chaotic and great says a lot about this piece. The whole sequence is so masterfully done. The 4th part feeling so disconnected from the previous 3 speaks volumes of the twisted nature of Kefka. His holiness, his power, madness and sadness.
I love the way Dancing Mad references Dante's Divine Comedy: Tier 1 is Inferno/Hell (You face a giant demonic version of Kefka, like how in Dante's Inferno, the devil is an ugly giant stuck waist-deep in ice), Tier 2 is Purgatorio (You fight a messy crowd of Kefkas, like the souls in purgatory), Tier 3 is Paradiso (You fight a Kefka version of the Pietà + the church-themed melody), and Finally, Tier 4 is the ending of Paradiso where Dante meets God and God tells Dante the meaning of life (But instead, God!Kefka tells you life is meaningless, and that he will destroy everything that makes life worth living)
One of my favorite quoted descriptions for Dancing Mad is: "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like an artist using Crayola crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel."
The final movement, to my mind, is indeed Kefka's inner monolog - in three parts. Chaotic Part: "I'm not dying here, I'll destroy everything, _everything,_ I won't die, I _won't_ die...!!" Tragic Part: "... I am... I really _am_ dying... this is the end..." The Laugh: "... but even _that's_ hilarious if you think about it...!!"
I feel bad for Kefka. His actions seemed insane and without purpose, but he really is depressed and sad inside, knowing he can't be like other people, so be it, he chooses to destroy them instead. Maybe then he won't feel the pain.
@@FluffySylveonBoi Kefka was a true nihilist in the end. He became a god, thinking that would perhaps bring some deeper meaning or amusement or whatever his reason for seeking power was.. But after only a year as a god, his ultimate answer was "this is all still pointless, why do you bother even now? I'm just going to smash reality and nip this boring reality in the bud."
@@Terralventhe His way of thinking is still flawed in the end. Even if he survives destroying all reality as he knows it, staring out into the infinite expanse of nothingness will become boring after a while.
The final part of Dancing Mad genuinely DOES sound like Kefka thinking "Oh, alas, this is the end. I have been slain by the valiant heroes"... but then his laugh interrupts it, and it loops back into the faster part. As if to say "Just kidding."
Kefka: I am in pain, I know I can't ever be like these people. But maybe if I kill them all, I won't feel so bad. But if I die instead, then it is hilarious.
@@BJGvideos One of a VERY small list of Final Fantasy villains and JRPG big bads as a whole who actually did what they set out to do. In a way, he did win. He does eventually die, but he did win. The world is still messed up because of him and he ruled it for longer than most.
Dancing Mad is...hard to fully describe other than saying it's the theme song of a man that's gone absolutely mad with absolute power. The second half of FF6 is nuts, completely and utterly nuts. Kefka may look like a clown and in some games act like a clown but make no mistake, the man WILL kill you in the most sadistic way imaginable. Also glad to see Dissidia footage, honestly that game captured Kefka's more playful personality perfectly.
***spoiler*** absolutely. And he is arguably the only FF villain who succeeded. Yes, he was defeated in the end, but he actually did more damage to the world than any other FF villain.
This is why Kefka will probably always be my favorite FF villain. He doesn't have a particularly interesting background and you can find examples of other villains who do just about everything better than he does. But in his way he has the potential to be the scariest of them all. Most villains have plans that, though twisted, have some sense of logic behind them. But Kefka just likes watching things burn and hearing people scream. There's really no limit to what he would be willing to do and thus you can't easily predict what his next action will be. You only know it's going to be terrible.
@@SoloIori True! I guess I should've thought harder ha ha I was counting myself and when I hit FFXIV I was like okay, that was it. Thanks for reminding!
Love Dancing Mad, but in my opinion, Uematsu's TRUE masterpiece is the song that comes after this one, the one you listen to as you watch the finale. Weaving together 16 disparate themes into one song as each character gets their curtain call, it's absolutely mindblowing
That one is absolute CLASSIC, it still bought tear to my eye seeing all the FF6 characters run thu the ending definitely my favorite final fantasy game. Long end of journey, comrades, new hope and new beginning and brighter future.
One of my absolute favorite parts in the song is how, in the third movement, you have this beautiful, major key organ piece that wouldn’t feel out of place in a church setting… And then at 16:11, you can hear Kefka’s clownish theme sneak in on the bass part, and that turns the whole section chaotic and dissonant from that point on. Absolutely great how Nobuo Uematsu reuses a musical motif from earlier in the game in that way
I love how every so often the left hand on the organ will remind you what you're listening to, and who the song is about. It keeps the theme going strong throughout, I think!
What I find even more interesting is that the first iteration of Kefka’s theme is modulated to a Major key, but then just when you think something might have changed, it is immediately restated in the minor key which is instantly recognizable because you have heard it the entire game, and you remember that it’s still Kefka underneath it all.
I love the way 8-bit Music Theory describes it: Kefka is so evil, so toxic, that the mere presence of the motif from his theme poisons (heh) the entire piece, dragging that section down to a minor key
Also, so the story goes, Dancing Mad wasn't planned. Uematsu has stated in interviews that when writing Dancing Mad he just kept getting ideas and inspiration as he was writing it. He didn't intend for it to be a 10-minute long Boss music, he basically improvised it.
It's interesting because you're hearing Kefka's theme in every movement. Sometimes it's not obvious. But even in the classical church sounding part. It's always there.
This is the part that always fascinated me. Whenever I listen I hunt for Kefka’s theme, because it’s in every section. Although sometime in such a variation as to be almost unrecognizable, it’s there if you know where to look. I honestly wish I could see the score.
The FF6 soundtrack has been one of my favorites since 1994. Beyond actually just being good, it always blows my mind how much they were able to do with so little. These days games often have entire orchestras and they're often not nearly as memorable as what Uematsu did for FF6.
There is a concept that gets passed around of limitations or restrictions breed creativity, and this track is certainly an example of that in full force
The strength of a lot of later-era SNES games, is that you had composers who were experienced with the tools and limitations of the system and could squeeze every bit out of it, and that's why so many memorable tracks came out of that era.
The fun thing is that parts of this really hits me back to Chrono Trigger as well, especially the rapid beats remind me of the battle themes there. Another game with great music tbf.
The second phase always gives me the image of Kefka dancing, twirling around the battlefield laughing, in a way that’s off, unnatural, but not in a crazed way so much as a mechanical way. A soulless puppet controlled by his own insanity, a mockery of life itself and the heroes’ determination to fight for it.
I think the section that’s just gorgeous organ church-y music that as it goes along slowly gets… *poisoned* by Kefka’s theme, mirroring Kefka’s poisoning of the concept of divinity, is just genius
I like how you phrased this, because there is even more of that motif going on in how he poisoned Doma. There's this insidious about everything Kefka does. He's such a complete antagonist, complex, chaotic, an almost primeval force.
I once read something somewhere on the internet that points out that there is a major key statement of Kefka's theme at 14:20 and then immediately restated it in its original minor form at 14:32. And the article/dissertation/doctorate thesis calls it exactly that. Kefka's own will poisoning the music. The same thing I read also pointed out that the KEY that any given song on the soundtrack was in pointed towards if it was related to Kefka. He said that Bb was more or less RESERVED for Kefka.
This song is the musical equivalent of painting the Sistine Chapel using rope and crayons. The amount of effort and creativity to make this using the SNES sound chip is just incredible.
It's interesting. When I first heard the transition from holy music to Kefka's theme, my mind imagined it was him dropping the facade of godliness. The church music was very much "look at me and how godlike I am! You should fear me because I'm like a god!" Then it moves onto Kefka's theme Like "okay we both know I'm not some divine benevolent God, I just want to play with you. You should fear me because im Kefka." and moves to this very personal slip of the mask where he just wants to antagonize and misuse his power for fun. But I also have no idea who Kefka is or anything about the game, though now I really wish to play it! Amazing video!
You're not wrong, it is very much Kefka cloaking himself in the trappings of divinity and church and such, and then deciding he likes being Kefka more.
Since Uematsu is self-taught, my guess is probably! To me it is amazing and just reveals such staggering talent that he did this without formal training.
This is just my opinion, so if you you that reads this comment do no agree with me, it's fine. Everything that's artistic, like drawning, painting, music etc.. Of course you can teach it, to a certain extent, there is thing you can learn from other people on these subjects, but there are things that can't be learned and taught. Roughly put it's "Talent" something that some people have. When people are so surprised that some musician is "self taught" it always kind of bother me, even if it doesn't really. Being self taught as a musician isn't that important if the person is talented and hard working. Obviously i'm not dissing on anyone here. Anyways, I kinda went off track. Yes, Uematsu is really talent and his works are beautiful :D
@Lpebony I am happy to bother you. Talent is innate, teaching brings it out. Most people who are talented still NEED to be taught to fully use their talent. Most talented self-taught musicians would have benefited from some amount of formal training if nothing else it would have speeded up the process of learning to use their talent. Only the true top level elites wouldn't have benefited from formal training at all ever.
@@specialnewb9821 It's like the beauty of an unpolished natural gem vs the gem after it's polished. Both have their beauty, but the polished gem shines more easily in the light.
@@lpebony3323 Self-taught musicians can play scales just as well as trained people - but the trained people should be able to tell you the name and key of the scale they're playing. Self-taught musicians just feel it but don't know what it's called necessarily. (Some people research them so they do know.)
If you get the chance to listen, the FFXIV rendition of Dancing Mad is a masterpiece. I love how they were able to incorporate him into the narrative of XIV, and the irony of him merely being a memory contained within Omega is delicious; like Sephiroth's "I will never be a memory," it would surely piss the real Kefka off to no end that all that remains of him is a digital illusion. A god like him was never meant to end!! :D I love comparing this to Kuja's theme, the Dark Messenger (from FF IX). Both characters are "entertainers," both of them known for their flair for the dramatic, but their themes are utterly different. Where Kefka really believes himself divine and neverending, Kuja's theme reveals something opposite this: he is fully aware of his own inevitable demise and would love nothing but to tear down the world with him. Also, the prog rock vibe rules. Mr. Uematsu is a legend in his thematic reach.
Final Fantasy VI is one of the reasons I appreciate orchestral, classical, baroque and other types of music so much. Bach, Tchaikovsky, Bizet, Vivaldi, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner, etc. I had listened to plenty of the works of great composers in my childhood because of my parents, but videogames are what made the connection for me. The inspiration Nobuo Uematsu got for THIS particular game soundtrack is what finally connected both worlds for me. And that link has only become much stronger thanks to modern technology allowing us to hear full orchestras in videogames. I know other games had that orchestral thing going as well, but for me it was Final Fantasy VI.
same here! I heard classical growing up a lot due to family. and while I loved it, I didn’t have much of a connection it was an “old people” style music. it wasn’t until I played and beat ff3 (snes) back in the day -I was a teenager. the music connected and soothed and wowed my soul. now I seek out musical soundtracks to most of the games I play, listing to the music even when i’m not playing the actual game. it’s refreshing! Nobuo was a genius!
There are actually four phases to the battle with Kefka. The first three are against the parts of a living 'tower', representing hell, earth and heaven. Only the final phase is against Kefka himself, in a heavenly vista, as a god. The movements of the song basically correspond to these phases, so the last one, which includes Kefka's theme, is the one for when you're actually fighting him. Trust me, it works even better in context
The final fight is such a trip. Visually and sonically stunning as it shows the journey Kefka went through trying to ascend to godhood. Each phase showing a different part of the process. The triad are basically his guardians now, but they also help paint a picture of the things he attempted to cast off and part with in order to become a true deity as you rise up to his level to confront one last time. His struggles in the 1st movement with his rage from the Magitek experiments that succeeded in giving him power but living with the terrible cost of twisting his mind. The 2nd movement where he unleashes that rage and ravages the land around him with his nefarious deeds in service of the Empire all the way up to when he succeeds in destroying the world of Balance. The 3rd movement (Where it's shown the last member of the Triad holding him posing as the Pieta) is always so striking on how it portrays just how close he came to godliness. The beautiful melodies paint a marvelous picture and you can almost see Kefka reaching up to the heavens thinking he's just a touch away; But then you hear the dissonance of his theme creep in and corrupt everything around it and you know his transformation will never fully succeed because he can't escape his own desires for destruction. And then the 4th movement where he comes back down and accepts his failure and decides to take everything and everyone with him because truly nothing matters now. Nothing holds value in his eyes. Not even his own life. Kefka is the Frenzied flame of FF6. May chaos take the world. It just didn't take an Outer god to create it this time.
I'm so glad someone brought this sequence up. Because this is also such a *grueling* fight too. You have 4 characters on the field, you have up to 16 to slug it thorugh... and you know, that this fight is not going to be easy. Especially with each stage having it's own struggles and flows you have to face and best. Stage 1 is just raw power. The power that came from his being toyed with in the Magitech Knight program... But the next is the maniacal and devious plotting of his fighting the entire world in his own way. suddenly it isn't just pure raw strength you must overcome, but a man who despite his madness, is fully in control and aware of what he's doing and how to bring about the most damage possible. The third stage is when you feel like you have reached the point just after he destroyed the world with the displacing the Warring Triad, and has gained all the power with which he'd done all these things for... And yet, it wasn't enough. He still wants *more*. Which is when we finally, painfully, ascend to the final stage of the fight, where he's ceased limiting himself, and has deigned to take everyone and everything down with him, and uses all the power that he has gain and absorbed in his madness as a would-be god... You are now facing the threat which has tormented the world, and that you, by challenging, are finally unleashing into it's entirety. Worse, even should you succeed in defeating him... The world is still ruined. The damage Kefka has done is irrepairable. You've merely delayed the end of the world that was already rushing forward under Kefka's holding the reins. The world of FFVI, is doomed even if you succeed, *because* of Kefka. The only FF villain to truly succeed in his goal of ending the world.
It is AMAZING how he captured the spirit of the pipe organ so perfectly with the limitations he had on the SNES. I'd totally recommend you listen to the Grissini Project pipe organ rendition, I can only imagine how it would feel to have been there in person to hear it.
At last!!! This battle is the culmination of everything you’ve experienced through Final Fantasy VI. You know what’s at stake…. The world in ruins, friends lost along the way…. And your scrappy crew with one chance to defeat an evil god no one took seriously early on. Kefka is a great villain, and Uematsu is bold to try and simulate opera in a 16-bit game…. Both will forever be seared in my memory. Thank you for reacting to this one.
For someone to write something so eclectic without being classically trained, they must have such a natural and clear internal ear for music. I have this image of Nobuo staying up all night drinking about 50 coffees and going off into some sort of absolute mania, coming out of his stupor three days later with a folder full manucripts with 'dancing mad' written on the front in blood.
Kefka is one those villains memorable because he succeeds. He ascends into godhood and the only reason his victory isn't complete is because he dwells in a JRPG and it becomes the duty of the characters to put him down like the rabid beast he's always been.
He succeeds because in a lot of ways, he's the main character of the game. The entire storyline is about him, dictated by his moves, the various characters are brought together because of him, and he ultimately grows the most out of all of them, going from a court jester in the desert with 2 lackeys to becoming the god of magic. Kefka IS Final Fantasy 6; it's his game, and everyone else is just there to be his supporting cast.
Kefka is deeper than most people think. His actions aren't senseless. He sees life itself as a parody, can't comprehend its value. He rather kills everyone who has hopes and dreams so that he doesn't have to think about them, being different from him an his suffering. He knows he can't be like others. He is also content with his own death. No matter that he gained godhood, he wants to see for himself if these people with hopes and dreams can succeed so if he dies, he only laughs and finds it hilarious, not understanding why hopes and dreams are important to people. His sadness is boundless.
Not only that but even when the heroes win it is a shallow victory. The world is messed up and badly damaged and there is NO MAGIC to help fix things since when Kefka became the god of magic it all disappears with him forever.
Hearing the Stockholm symphonic orchestra play this while Nobue Uematsu sits in the audience was an unforgettable experience. Just like the finale with One-winged Angel where Ueamatsu joins the choir.
I just love how Uematsu first builds up this glorious symphonic piece and the final movement is a Emerson, Lake and Palmer-style progressive rock piece
I saw a theory that each of the phases represents a different aspect of Kefka's mind. 1) His ruthlessness and rage (the angry muscley dude part) 2) His madness (the part with a bunch of different figures, mechanical components, and a tiger head) 3) His ego and ambition (a lounging figure with a goddess-like being behind him) 4) The final fight with Kefka himself. 1) 0:11 - This feels like it could be the prelude to the dread one would expect to feel if you were discovering what Kefka would do if you got in his way. (Like, say... finding your entire kingdom and family dead.) 1:02 - This feels more geared toward the fight itself since you're on the top of an absolutely *MASSIVE* tower, so the sound of wind being in the soundtrack feels like it's grounding the listener in the present fight. 2) 9:32 - To me, this sounds like something that would precede a flashback when Kefka was part of the first experiments by Cid, the moments before his mind shattered to pieces and whoever he used to be was lost. It's worth noting that there's basically *NOTHING* that's known about Kefka before the experiment that drove him insane. It kind of feels like a cosmic sense of guilt that the individual lives of man are so insignificant and only once he started wreaking havoc did people start to take notice. 10:53 in particular sounds like the moment when the Kefka we know is born and the rest of the song is just him flaunting his new persona. 3) 13:18 - Sounds like his ambition to become a God. Not merely command power, but ascend to a state of being that rises above human mortality. 15:14 - Sounds like the turning point where Kefka takes control of the Warring Triad, ruins the world, and gains absolute power. Previously, he'd had a sense of superiority and exerted power over others, but now he truly *WAS* a God for all intents and purposes. 19:38 - Kefka's theme plays in the base notes of the 3rd movement here too: 14:21 18:48 - To my mind, this is where the title of "Dancing Mad" truly comes into play (pun unintended). All the other forms that had been destroyed up until now were just manifestations, extensions; disconnected things that were merely preludes to what was to come. _This_ is the main event, and Kefka's so egotistical and powerful that he laughs and dances throughout because he sees the protagonists as so hopelessly outclassed by him that he doesn't _have_ to care. Whether it's destroying the entire world or wiping the Self-Help-Line-quoting little twerps off his tower, they're both equally meaningless and beneath him. 21:16 - This feels more like Kefka seeing that toying with the protagonists isn't working as well as he thought and has to call on the more ancient and powerful tools at his disposal that one would never expect would have to be used on mortals. The kind of epic clash that warrants a more grandiose tone. 21:49 - The protagonists are at a low point reeling from the tremendous power they have to contend with but striving to fight on even in the face of the impossible. 23:22 - And this loops back around to Kefka's sense of nihilism. That even when he throws everything at the protagonists and they still keep fighting, rather than quoting every JRPG bad guy and going "I... IMPOSSIBURU!!!" for the ten-millionth time, the laughs in the face of their tenacity. He finds their unwavering resolve to save a dying world to be just as, if not *MORE,* insane than they believe _HIM_ to be. In the end, perhaps he doesn't even care if he loses here, perhaps what the emperor said (something to the effect of "well, I it's rather fitting if you go out laughing I suppose..."), was foreshadowing. Maybe in the end he saw the protagonists going through so much pain and hardship to stop Kefka and rebuild the world only to inevitably lose everything and die was too hysterical to care if he lost. After all, when Kefka finally succumbs, (26:30) it's worth noting that while we don't hear him laugh, the sprite never changes; he's still got that grin he had from the very beginning...
Not to mention, that Kefka's so far gone, that his first movement is to Fallen Angel on your party before you can begin. Sets your hp to 1. To Critical State. He forces you to kneel in his presence.
My understanding is that Uematsu is not classically trained in the conservatory sense. However, the man's profound talent allows him to grasp the essential components of whatever genre he attempts to compose in. In the broader Final Fantasy series the man has done Classical, Opera, Ragtime, Funk, Disco, Abstract, so many Waltzes, Heavy Metal, and more. To say he has talent is to engage in Olympic-level understatement.
"For a musician, using the Super Nintendo sound chip is like an artist using Crayola crayons. Uematsu used those Crayola crayons to draw the Sistine Chapel."
In context, this whole song takes you through the 4 phases in the final boss battle. In the first 3 it's a climb of the Statue of the Gods, a tower full of depictions of deities and holy symbols twisted to resemble Kefka (there is a theory about the tower being a reference to the Divine Comedy, climbing from Hell to Purgatory and all the way up to Heaven); and in the last one is the fight against Kefka proper. Also the intro theme and the title screen theme are present in this song.
With so many entries in the Final Fantasy franchise, each trying to achieve the best it can do with the medium and predecessor. Final Fantasy 6 showcases the mastery over the medium and hardware. It took the system to it's fullest and Dancing Mad is a testament to the Dev's success.
Glad to finally see you talk about the original Dancing Mad. I always loved this boss theme, but I find myself appreciating it more the older I got. The theme is practically Kefka's final words to the heroes as we fight. I definitely consider this Uematsu's magnum opus. And then we have the Black Mages version, especially the fourth movement. That GLORIOUS fourth movement.
Out of all the soundtrack FF franchise has produced, this right here is my top favorite. It’s a journey into madness from start to finish and given that it’s from the SNES day, this is pushing the hardware’s capabilities up there to produce it. Chef’s kiss to Nobuo for creating and inspiring one of the best pieces of music in video gaming in my opinion. Nearly three decades later and it’s still a masterpiece. Giving you props to explaining the meaning behind the character of Kefka through this composition. More kefka inner monologue! Now I wanna scope out more reaction videos to this.
14:20 If you listen closely to the background / bass, you can ominously hear in a low tone, Kefka's theme. You're right that in context, we know Kefka is dangerous, and in this peaceful part of the song, realizing the dark undertone is present, sends chills down my spine.
I have been playing this game since its original release, and I was today years old when that connection was made. Thank you, kind internet denizen. I tip my digital hat to you.
I think your interpretation for the final part is so interesting. You used the word desperation a few times, but for me the keyword was duality. I'm a jester. I'm a God. I'm a clown. I'm Almighty. I am a man. I destroyed the world. This is who I am. That's what I always felt the play between the holy bit and high energy bit was highlighting. Especially how they incorporated his laugh when it switches from holy slow organ to frantic and frenetic.
The fourth movement, which starts after Kefka reveals himself in his ultimate winged form, always hits me a bit different. The tribal drums roll in, a call to action that lights an energy in me, and I lower my center of gravity and lean forward a few degrees, like a boxer readying himself in his corner before the bell rings. There he finally is, after a twisted tower of unholy manifestations, and like the music I cast aside all noble pretense. I'm there to do one thing with laser focus: kill a god. The music leaves behind all glory and elegance and reminds me that this cruel, cruel, CRUEL man has stolen and ruined and murdered, and all that's left is to bury my sword in his empty heart. This is a hit.
The crazy thing is, Kefka was a 4 phase fight. Everytime the music changes, it represents the next phase of the fight. That Godflike form isn't until the very end.
I personally love watching these vids of Marco reviewing music from various properties. His review of Genshin Music is when I first started watching and I loved the depth he brought to most of the musical context. Please keep doing these and if the vid is longer that just means we get to learn more!
This is the video I've wanted since I started watching you so long ago. While there have been others that have done it, this is one of the songs well worth getting multiple perspectives from, especially from someone who has been in opera. Thank you for finally tackling this true, real masterpiece. Really hope to see you tackle more retro games. Many of Squares' games have OSTs containing tracks that are second to none. Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 6, Final Fantasy Tactics, Secret of Mana, and Secret of Evermore are just a few such games containing masterpieces. NIS is much more esoteric but has it's own share of masterpieces. Of course there is Ar Tonelico (Of which more recently it has come out that Ar Tonelico probably inspired the music of Nier to some degree, which is covered in a Noisypixel article called "NieR Staff Discusses Music Creation; Ar Tonelico Even Mentioned") with a myriad of them, but Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al Revis is another great example that I hope you will get to (Particularly: STIGMATA[A song Noriko Mitose still nails to this day], Crystalized, and Nefertiti.).
FF6 is my favorite entry in the series. I've always described it as "what if the Joker got ahold of nukes", because Kefka is so clearly inspired by the Killing Joke's "psychologically tortured reject becomes maniacal dissociative sadist" version of that villain. But more than that, in terms of its art and music, aside from a handful of oddballs (Ultros, Umaro, most of the random encounter monsters), FF6 also features easily the most stylistically coherent worldbuilding in any video game up to that point: Pipe organ, opera, steam engines, airships, Imperialism... it condenses 500 years of European cultural history from the Gothic to the Baroque to the Age of Sail to WWI. Under the fantasy veneer, this is a story about Modernism. Specifically, how the unchecked drive to "civilize" the world would directly lead to the capacity to destroy ourselves. It's a very "man was not meant to meddle" kind of story, where Kefka is like that poor Lovecraftian soul who peered too deeply into the unfathomable and the absurdity of human insignificance just kind of... broke him. And that gets to why Dancing Mad, the symphonic tale of a mad god about to meet his end, is so fantastic. Apotheosis is a perennial trope of video game villains, but in Kefka, I really think it's one of the few places it truly makes sense. Kefka wants to prove the world is devoid of purpose and meaning. What better way than to become some twisted, perverse reflection of the ultimate symbol of the sacred and divine, with no greater power able to stop him? And what more fitting ending to all the grandiosity and desperation than solemn acceptance? FF6 is such a great tale of the blind foolishness of arrogance (Gestahl), how cruelty begets cruelty (Kefka), the courage of emotional vulnerability (Terra and Celes), and persevering through despair (basically the entire primary cast of heroes). FF7 may have been the most popular, but dare I say it owes a massive debt to its predecessor.
First part of Dancing Mad: Kefka assumes a form akin to what's found in the 7th pit in Dante's Inferno. Part 2: the party ascends to find a connected form depicting purgatory like in Catholicism. Part 3: the next form is basically heaven with a resting form and even a Mary insert caring for him. Part 4: the final form descends from on high to smite his enemies.
This is one piece that is in my rotation all the time. I still can't believe this was a video game music of the '90s. Have you heard the Distant World orchestra version of it? It's MADNESS.
You should listen to the Distant Worlds arrangement of this! It’s a full symphonic orchestra and choir, and it’s so powerful to hear. The composer, Nobuo Uematsu, attends many of their concerts so he definitely seems to approve :)
THANK YOU for covering the full symphony. The last movement always gets love but there's so much more there when you have the context of the entire piece.
Let’s not forget when this was made and the restriction they had to convey the emotion. This game is by far one of my top games. The emotion and adventure you go on is real and amazing.
The very last phase of Dancing Mad, what's so interesting is that part begins to play after he uses his most powerful attack... and the heroes survive, thus begins his realization that his end is near. Such genius.
I refer to Nobuo Uematsu as the John Williams of video game music as both have composed iconic music for their respective genres and Final Fantasy 6 was my first FF game back when it was known as FF3 for the SNES and Kefka is the best FF antagonist
Dancing Mad's a song laiden with leitmotifs, a lot of it from it's own game, and another dose of it from other sources. The song itself uses and manipulates leitmotifs as a means to tell a story. For example, Celes’ theme (Final Fantasy 4) the variation of “Aria de Mezzo Carattere”, a song she performs during an opera sequence and its not a simple reference or coincidence; it's a representation to her growth from an icy Empire general to embracing her love for Locke in the second half of the game, giving her the strength to continue living her life, pretty similar to Maria did in the opera scene.
The 4 movements really shine when they're woven together into one piece. Both the Distant Worlds version and the Black Mages version are fantastic. The final, high shriek of defeat in the Black Mages guitar solo is one of the best moments in VG music.
If you haven't heard it yet, then you really ought to check out the Different Worlds version of Dancing Mad (I think "Different Worlds" is the name of the series of albums with orchestral arrangements of FF-music. Dancing Mad is on the second album, followed fittingly by "Victory Fanfare"). It is played by a real orchestra, and removes the repetitions, so the transitions between each section becomes smoother. It's honestly one of the most enjoyable versions of this song that I've ever heard.
I also recommend the Black Mages (Uematsu's in-house rock band) version as well. The last few minutes of their arrangement is one of the craziest things my ears have ever heard.
It's Distant Worlds. Came from the concert series that is still on til this day! As a matter of fact, got tickets for the April show coming up. It's my 4th (or 5th... can't remember) time going to it! It's an experience I thoroughly enjoy. I don't go to many concerts, but I flew to Chicago just to see this one at 25th Anniversary.
There's usually that one comment on every Dancing Mad video that says *"Uematsu creating this masterpiece on the SNES is like if Michaelangelo created the Sistine Chapel using only crayons"* Or something to that effect.
YES, YES! You do not know how loudly I yelled "Yes!" when I saw this video just pop up in my feed. This is a masterpiece of composing, and the different versions that exist are equally wonderful. I highly, absolutely, with the most enthusiasm I can muster, recommend the version of Dancing Mad performed by Nobuo Uematsu's former rock band, The Black Mages. I absolutely guarantee you will love it.
The 4th movement is a great piece of prog rock, and it reminds me a lot of Emerson, Lake, & Palmer's Tarkus, particularly the chaotic drum/organ parts. Banger of a piece if you've never heard it.
Dancing Mad is probably one of the pieces that hooked me to Final Fantasy music and I never get tired of it. Whether it's a reaction video or on your own time, I strongly recommend checking out the symphonic arrangement done by a fan.
When, heavens forbid, Nobuo Uematsu passes, my childhood will have truly ended. Words arent enough to describe how his music has shaped my being as a person. Edit: Hes the reason for my love of classical music.
I missed the boat on VI, and when I tried to go back and play it I found it to be hard to get into. But the music then was just as smartly written as in future iterations, and that’s the part that stuck with me, that really drove me to keep playing. I think this is a great piece in a game that actually has plenty of keen writing, and I’m glad to see it continues to receive high marks by today’s listeners.
I kinda had a hard time getting over the ATB system in the beginning. Then I got over it and fell in love immediately. In fact I finished this game yesterday. Now I’m gonna play FF3 on DS! Then FF4 on DS!
Back in 1996 when I was playing this, the slower melodic part of the final movement *frequently* lined up with Kefka casting "Fallen One," which dropped the party to 1 HP. As such, I always viewed it as a moment of desperation for the party (rather than Kefka), and as that section resolves the party is reaching into the reserves of their sheer will to fight on to bring an end to Kefka's tyranny.
The thing I personally find most impressive about Dancing Mad is how long of a piece it is for a SNES game. Sure, in the code of the game it is likely split into four parts, but that's still a lot of room that could've been utilised for more songs in exchange for a shorter Dancing Mad.
Every time, and i mean Every Time i get into this song, I am moved, like you, and have to move, whenever or wherever I am. One Winged Angel may have the glory, but this song is the one that is a masterpiece.
Oh, I have this FF in nearly every version and on every platform since my brother and me played it as kids. It was the reason I wanted to get better at English and I started reading more fantasy.
One thing to note about the four stages of the piece, they match the phases of the battle. To become a god Kefka enslaved the three goddesses of magic and creation. The first three stages are you destroying the twisted statues that contain their essence and destroying the goddesses but releasing them from their torment from Kefka. The fourth phase is what is shown in the clips the editor put in and this is when you fight Kefka directly and are exposed to his full madness that he suffers. The other thing to note is Kefka is also suffering from the madness, his madness was forced upon him from magical experimentation done to him without his consent, corrupting his mind and soul. So in defeating him you are also saving the normal man that he was before his initial transformation (into the mad jester that you meet earlier in the game.)
I highly recommend listening to the version by Nobuo Uematsu’s band The Black Mages, which cuts out the loops and replaces them with something… special. On a related note, it’s interesting what perspectives people see in tracks like these that are associated with a certain character. This is a Kefka-related theme, but it’s also a theme of the heroes fighting AGAINST Kefka, and it’s also a theme of hitting the ultimate climax of the story. I’ve seen a lot of people interpreting that more emotional part of the final phase as Kefka feeling regret or similar, but I’m not sure he’s even capable of that anymore. I would personally see it as more of a comment from the narrative itself on the tragedy of what happened - of a human being twisted into a machine of war, laying waste to all enemies of their creator, and ultimately to that same creator and to everything else. A monument to the devaluation of human life itself.
love how in movement three kefka's full theme is stated in the bassline and it still fits in with the counterpoint. I really want to now what is study style was to get that down since uematsu didnt study this composition style formally.
For me, Kefka Palazzo has always been and will probably always be the greatest villain in any video game. He somehow managed to surpass true evil, taking the form of godhood, twisting, contorting, and inverting it altogether. He reached the ultimate endpoint of any nihilistic philosophy, so staunchly adherent to it that nothing can sway him from his path. He is the Ultimate Villain in that he perfects everything a true villain stands for. He stands in direct opposition to the heroes physically, mentally, and ideologically to the maximum amount, mirroring their journey and pushing them and the world past the breaking point just to do it again and again. And even in the end, with his ideology crushed, his mind shattered, his body broken, and his war lost, he still gets the last laugh. Perfection. To be honest, there are so many things I can say about this character than can fit into a single comment on RUclips, easily enough to fit into an hour long video. Kefka embodies what it means to be a villain and I'm so glad people are still talking about him to this day.
I really appreciate being able to experience this musical piece with you. You obviously know way more about musical composition than I do so I learned some things I didn't know. Fortunately I was born in the 80s so I was able to ply both the original FF and FF 3(VI). The original is fun to play but the story was forgettable. But FF VI with all the characters is one of the best pieces of video game story ever. Every single character is memorable and you know why they are fighting. Not to mention essentially having to restart after Kefka becomes a god and destroys most of the world. The music was a huge part of the memorable themes. Everyone had pain they had to fight through to confront Kefka. Such a master piece.
If you're interested in more regarding Dancing Mad, there's a 4 piece suite remix called Cantata for Dancing on RUclips. You also mention how the organ is usually associated with religious and holiness and that this use of it is more like an inversion. I remember reading that the entire final boss fight is thematically similar to the Divine Comedy. You have four parts with the first three representing the Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso (the Paradiso part even has a Pieta reference) and then the final part is ascending into the highest realm and from the heavens descends God. It just happens to be a twisted God of Magic
I remember the first time I listened to this and it was before I played the game. It was on youtube, I started listening to it, noticed it was 10 minutes long, and got the hell out of there. Then I played through the game and reached the last boss... I didn't want it to end. It was amazing they were able to pull off that orchestral theme the way that they did. You could practically hear the vocals as if they were actual vocals, which feels weird to say. This track was way before its time. I also highly recommend checking out Distant Worlds II's Dancing Mad. Distant Worlds is just a collection Final Fantasy music played with an actual orchestra. Dancing Mad was definitely the perfect pick to play in an orchestra. It made me go all "One Winged What? Dancing Mad, dude. That is where it is at".
It's definitely the best music I've heard for a final boss in Final Fantasy. Outside of final bosses, Jenova's boss fight music is also one of my favorites.
LOVE seeing you just bop to it. Also: Kefka is only there at the very last "song" in the suite. Everything else is a horrifying mash of esper nightmares that you see more and more of as you beat each "part" like a huge tower. It's horrifying. The bg is dark, too, the colours only become so "heavenly" and bright once you reach the top, where Kefka DESCENDS from the heavens as a God. Basically, the prior rest of the fight is a build-up to getting to him at the end.
I don't know if it's already been brought up, but I'm impressed by the fact that the music ushering in the final form of Kefka are the first musical notes heard in the game from the beginning. It almost creates, to me, the impression that the characters in the game were born for the purpose of killing this psychopath. I really wonder how the people who made this game were able to come up with such fascinating characters and psychological concepts we would be talking about decades down the road.
that slow, beautiful breakdown of kefkas theme just after the frantic and overloaded version of it reminds me of one of kefkas most impactful quotes "Why do people insist on creating things that will inevitably be destroyed? Why do people cling to life, knowing that they must someday die? ...Knowing that none of it will have meant anything once they do?" i think he's having a moment of acceptance, of realization that even in godhood he cant outpace mortality, he cant escape his erasure. for a moment there is a quiet, contemplative peace and then his unfathomable rage and despair reignite, he simply cannot bare the thought of his death, and the song speeds back up suddenly
a comment on dancing mad posted here that i think fits it pretty well is that making dancing mad (considering the hardware the SNES had) would be like having crayons and using them to make the sistine chapel
Honestly, while I can remember liking a lot of video game music as a kind of guilty pleasure when I was a kid, Dancing Mad was the first time it occured to me that game music was, itself, as much of an art form as any other kind.
In the third movement, when the bassline plays Kefka's theme, it plays in the key of the original theme. Then, in the very next phrase, the entire piece shifts into the key, as if by being reminded of his true nature, that holiness and righteousness from before has been poisoned.
Good job at explaining the context. I think that is important to appreciate the beauty of this song. It perfectly resembles the character and the phases of the final boss fight.
Dang, this analysis is exactly what this masterpiece deserves. I love it! This piece is so grand, holy, devilish and playful at the same time... Of course, pure madness is very well reflected in this song! I find very interesting your point of the music reflecting the inner monologue Kefka is having. I think it does make a lot of sense with how his character unfolds thorough the game. It makes me think of his final laugh in the song as he throwing away any sanity he has left and "ascending" into complete madness to defeat you.
"I played this game way too much in my childhood, when it was still a new release. I think that when everyone closes their eyes to a song, they tend to create a 'music video.' When I listened to this song, I saw tidal waves, earthquakes, volcanoes erupting with lava, storms... While Kefka attacked and the music went 'ohhhh ohhhhh,' people clung to trees in incredible gales. Kefka is synonymous with the end of the world, the apocalypse, extinction... That was the music video my mind put together while listening to this song with my eyes closed.
21:15 This part of Dancing Mad has always struck me as though this desperate battle with the Heroes, this is a moment where through all his madness Kefka has a moment of lucidity where all the tragedy that is his life hits him, he is least we forget a man that has been subjected to all sorts of horrific and inhumane experiments. It feels like, to build on what you said he WILL not go back to being a mere tool he has finally achieve godhood he WILL be his own man now.Which is why that part of the piece feels so sombre in my opinion.
I love this battle/theme, they are the definition of "Do what you must, i have already won" Kefka did something pretty unique by the time, he won, he changed the world, played with our heroes and destroyed them internally, played the main antagonist, got his Godhood and played like a malevolent child with creation, he played the Ultimate Joke on humanity and got them on their knees, nothing would be the same ever again an that it's what makes Kefka my favorite villain in FF history, along with this play being one of the most iconic in the Saga, well played Uematsu, well played... 👏
I took me years to "get" Dancing Mad. Decades even. Its one of those things that I first heard when I was really young and internalized as being the norm. It was badguy music. It i'snt something I was able to truly appreciate until playing more and more games and listening to more and more music because I lacked the perspective needed to see just how special it was.
Timestamps because this is a beast of a video
It's here!
You should also check the FF14 version of this classic.
It is a beast of a song, thing is really long, pretty sure it may still be their longest song for a FF game.
Have u listened to the acthal orchestral version of Dancing Mad? It's absolute banger masterpiece. The best boss music ever made. Better than even One Winged Angel
Terra: Kefka, I'm afraid you've gone mad with power.
Kefka: Of course I have, y'ever tried going mad without power? It's boring, no one listens to you.
Imagining Mark Hamill voicing Kefka
That's something I can totally see House saying as well
@@HenSt-gz7qj with ai it's impossible 😅
Classic quotes 101
@@HenSt-gz7qj I am pretty sure the guy who voices him in Dissidia took his inspiration from that honestly. Pretty spot on too if that is what he was going for.
I'm sure someone mentioned it already, but I didn't see in my run of the comments. So, this song was truly an experiment for it's time. The idea was to have a multi-phase fight, but each phase gets its own musical section. Because of this, each section of the music was designed so that it could loop until the player cleared that phase of the final boss. For its time, this was innovation.
To also add some context, in the story Kefka Absorbs the power of these three statues called the Warring Triad: the demon, the fiend and the goddess. Each section of the song corresponds to each one with Kefka as the final section.
SOOOO much planning has to go into proper use of video game music... they are masters of it.
@@yesroom6578 It was inspired by the Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. The first phase is Inferno, the next being Purgatorio, and the last Paradiso.
I was looking for this myself.
It truly is a orchestral symphony with each movement representing the boss you're fighting then somehow they made it viable to loop and transition flawlessly.
Yup. And I heard some of those multiple times with blistered fingers.
As I've always said, while One-Winged Angel may be his most popular piece, Dancing Mad is truly Uematsu's magnum opus.
true of the games as a whole too tbh
He also loved performing Dancing Mad. Have you seen his Earthbound Papas performance?
My favorite part about Dancing Mad is that he never really intended for it to be this long. He just sort of started writing it and couldn't really stop, it just kept pouring out until he ended up with this, his greatest song.
@@artemi7 hehe Kefka had him enthralled in his Madness
The organ not being Uematsu's favourite instrument and still sounding this godly, evil, chaotic and great says a lot about this piece. The whole sequence is so masterfully done. The 4th part feeling so disconnected from the previous 3 speaks volumes of the twisted nature of Kefka. His holiness, his power, madness and sadness.
I love the way Dancing Mad references Dante's Divine Comedy: Tier 1 is Inferno/Hell (You face a giant demonic version of Kefka, like how in Dante's Inferno, the devil is an ugly giant stuck waist-deep in ice), Tier 2 is Purgatorio (You fight a messy crowd of Kefkas, like the souls in purgatory), Tier 3 is Paradiso (You fight a Kefka version of the Pietà + the church-themed melody), and Finally, Tier 4 is the ending of Paradiso where Dante meets God and God tells Dante the meaning of life (But instead, God!Kefka tells you life is meaningless, and that he will destroy everything that makes life worth living)
Sir, what do you do in life that you have these wonderful thoughts in your brain. We must be friends
I love how Dancing Mad is basically a whole movement themed around the Divine Comedy.
One of my favorite quoted descriptions for Dancing Mad is: "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like an artist using Crayola crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel."
I was dissapointed that cool lady. Never reacted to the song .
How many times are we gonna recycle this quote
You npcs just say the same thing on every video
Its a stupid phrase
@@larrote6467 Silly as it is, the phrase does illustrate Noubu Uemastu's skill with SNES sound engine.
The final movement, to my mind, is indeed Kefka's inner monolog - in three parts.
Chaotic Part: "I'm not dying here, I'll destroy everything, _everything,_ I won't die, I _won't_ die...!!"
Tragic Part: "... I am... I really _am_ dying... this is the end..."
The Laugh: "... but even _that's_ hilarious if you think about it...!!"
He died laughing, just as Gestahl said he would.
I feel bad for Kefka. His actions seemed insane and without purpose, but he really is depressed and sad inside, knowing he can't be like other people, so be it, he chooses to destroy them instead. Maybe then he won't feel the pain.
@@FluffySylveonBoi Kefka was a true nihilist in the end. He became a god, thinking that would perhaps bring some deeper meaning or amusement or whatever his reason for seeking power was.. But after only a year as a god, his ultimate answer was "this is all still pointless, why do you bother even now? I'm just going to smash reality and nip this boring reality in the bud."
@@Terralventhe His way of thinking is still flawed in the end. Even if he survives destroying all reality as he knows it, staring out into the infinite expanse of nothingness will become boring after a while.
@@exxor9108 It would become boring to a sane and rational person. Not as likely to be the case for a psychotic nihilist.
The final part of Dancing Mad genuinely DOES sound like Kefka thinking "Oh, alas, this is the end. I have been slain by the valiant heroes"... but then his laugh interrupts it, and it loops back into the faster part. As if to say "Just kidding."
A mix of "just kidding" and "I genuinely do not care what happens after this because I've already won"
I imagine Kefka more like "Fk it, hahahahha 😢 I guess I'll die then."
Kefka: I am in pain, I know I can't ever be like these people. But maybe if I kill them all, I won't feel so bad. But if I die instead, then it is hilarious.
@@BJGvideos One of a VERY small list of Final Fantasy villains and JRPG big bads as a whole who actually did what they set out to do. In a way, he did win. He does eventually die, but he did win. The world is still messed up because of him and he ruled it for longer than most.
@@kiracaroso Oh I know
Dancing Mad is...hard to fully describe other than saying it's the theme song of a man that's gone absolutely mad with absolute power. The second half of FF6 is nuts, completely and utterly nuts. Kefka may look like a clown and in some games act like a clown but make no mistake, the man WILL kill you in the most sadistic way imaginable. Also glad to see Dissidia footage, honestly that game captured Kefka's more playful personality perfectly.
Also a cannibal
***spoiler*** absolutely. And he is arguably the only FF villain who succeeded. Yes, he was defeated in the end, but he actually did more damage to the world than any other FF villain.
@@buddhafied didn't Ardyn do the same thing but for longer. He even got his ultimate goal of ending the bloodline of the royals
This is why Kefka will probably always be my favorite FF villain. He doesn't have a particularly interesting background and you can find examples of other villains who do just about everything better than he does. But in his way he has the potential to be the scariest of them all. Most villains have plans that, though twisted, have some sense of logic behind them. But Kefka just likes watching things burn and hearing people scream. There's really no limit to what he would be willing to do and thus you can't easily predict what his next action will be. You only know it's going to be terrible.
@@SoloIori True! I guess I should've thought harder ha ha I was counting myself and when I hit FFXIV I was like okay, that was it. Thanks for reminding!
Love Dancing Mad, but in my opinion, Uematsu's TRUE masterpiece is the song that comes after this one, the one you listen to as you watch the finale. Weaving together 16 disparate themes into one song as each character gets their curtain call, it's absolutely mindblowing
The ending epilogue is criminally underrated! I listened to it a ton as a kid. Such a good medley.
That one is absolute CLASSIC, it still bought tear to my eye seeing all the FF6 characters run thu the ending definitely my favorite final fantasy game.
Long end of journey, comrades, new hope and new beginning and brighter future.
Sure but as a song that stands on its own. I'd say dancing mad does it all on its own compared to that beautiful epilogue.
@@mickbotcast I get chills just remembering this as you describe it!
Nah, while that is definitely top tier, Dancing Mad is in a league of its own. It's a masterpiece in every sense of the word.
One of my absolute favorite parts in the song is how, in the third movement, you have this beautiful, major key organ piece that wouldn’t feel out of place in a church setting…
And then at 16:11, you can hear Kefka’s clownish theme sneak in on the bass part, and that turns the whole section chaotic and dissonant from that point on. Absolutely great how Nobuo Uematsu reuses a musical motif from earlier in the game in that way
absolutely
I love how every so often the left hand on the organ will remind you what you're listening to, and who the song is about. It keeps the theme going strong throughout, I think!
What I find even more interesting is that the first iteration of Kefka’s theme is modulated to a Major key, but then just when you think something might have changed, it is immediately restated in the minor key which is instantly recognizable because you have heard it the entire game, and you remember that it’s still Kefka underneath it all.
My favorite phrasing of that part is that Kefka’s influence seeps into the song and poisons it.
I love the way 8-bit Music Theory describes it: Kefka is so evil, so toxic, that the mere presence of the motif from his theme poisons (heh) the entire piece, dragging that section down to a minor key
Also, so the story goes, Dancing Mad wasn't planned.
Uematsu has stated in interviews that when writing Dancing Mad he just kept getting ideas and inspiration as he was writing it. He didn't intend for it to be a 10-minute long Boss music, he basically improvised it.
He was visited by a goddess of the arts, a muse!
It's interesting because you're hearing Kefka's theme in every movement. Sometimes it's not obvious. But even in the classical church sounding part. It's always there.
This is the part that always fascinated me. Whenever I listen I hunt for Kefka’s theme, because it’s in every section. Although sometime in such a variation as to be almost unrecognizable, it’s there if you know where to look. I honestly wish I could see the score.
@@kratsatlu I've seen piano scores of the song. It might help, and there are some easily accessable and free piano sheet music you could find online.
The FF6 soundtrack has been one of my favorites since 1994. Beyond actually just being good, it always blows my mind how much they were able to do with so little. These days games often have entire orchestras and they're often not nearly as memorable as what Uematsu did for FF6.
I agree
There is a concept that gets passed around of limitations or restrictions breed creativity, and this track is certainly an example of that in full force
The strength of a lot of later-era SNES games, is that you had composers who were experienced with the tools and limitations of the system and could squeeze every bit out of it, and that's why so many memorable tracks came out of that era.
The fun thing is that parts of this really hits me back to Chrono Trigger as well, especially the rapid beats remind me of the battle themes there. Another game with great music tbf.
So true, this and Maria and Draco, and many many songs... so ambitious for its time to have them in a game!
The second phase always gives me the image of Kefka dancing, twirling around the battlefield laughing, in a way that’s off, unnatural, but not in a crazed way so much as a mechanical way. A soulless puppet controlled by his own insanity, a mockery of life itself and the heroes’ determination to fight for it.
I think the section that’s just gorgeous organ church-y music that as it goes along slowly gets… *poisoned* by Kefka’s theme, mirroring Kefka’s poisoning of the concept of divinity, is just genius
It's an interesting note, before FF6 you had never fought a god in an FF game. It was always some kind of demon or devil.
I like how you phrased this, because there is even more of that motif going on in how he poisoned Doma. There's this insidious about everything Kefka does. He's such a complete antagonist, complex, chaotic, an almost primeval force.
Just like he poisoned Doma!
I once read something somewhere on the internet that points out that there is a major key statement of Kefka's theme at 14:20 and then immediately restated it in its original minor form at 14:32. And the article/dissertation/doctorate thesis calls it exactly that. Kefka's own will poisoning the music. The same thing I read also pointed out that the KEY that any given song on the soundtrack was in pointed towards if it was related to Kefka. He said that Bb was more or less RESERVED for Kefka.
This song is the musical equivalent of painting the Sistine Chapel using rope and crayons.
The amount of effort and creativity to make this using the SNES sound chip is just incredible.
But then, Uematsu not only paints the chapel, he also makes it sing a choir ^^
If you lock yourself in the bathroom and say “Crayons” into the mirror three times, it summons Yoshitaka Amano.
It's interesting. When I first heard the transition from holy music to Kefka's theme, my mind imagined it was him dropping the facade of godliness. The church music was very much "look at me and how godlike I am! You should fear me because I'm like a god!"
Then it moves onto Kefka's theme Like "okay we both know I'm not some divine benevolent God, I just want to play with you. You should fear me because im Kefka." and moves to this very personal slip of the mask where he just wants to antagonize and misuse his power for fun.
But I also have no idea who Kefka is or anything about the game, though now I really wish to play it! Amazing video!
You're not wrong, it is very much Kefka cloaking himself in the trappings of divinity and church and such, and then deciding he likes being Kefka more.
"You should fear me because I'm Kefka" nails it!
Since Uematsu is self-taught, my guess is probably! To me it is amazing and just reveals such staggering talent that he did this without formal training.
This is just my opinion, so if you you that reads this comment do no agree with me, it's fine. Everything that's artistic, like drawning, painting, music etc.. Of course you can teach it, to a certain extent, there is thing you can learn from other people on these subjects, but there are things that can't be learned and taught. Roughly put it's "Talent" something that some people have.
When people are so surprised that some musician is "self taught" it always kind of bother me, even if it doesn't really. Being self taught as a musician isn't that important if the person is talented and hard working. Obviously i'm not dissing on anyone here.
Anyways, I kinda went off track. Yes, Uematsu is really talent and his works are beautiful :D
@Lpebony I am happy to bother you.
Talent is innate, teaching brings it out. Most people who are talented still NEED to be taught to fully use their talent. Most talented self-taught musicians would have benefited from some amount of formal training if nothing else it would have speeded up the process of learning to use their talent. Only the true top level elites wouldn't have benefited from formal training at all ever.
@@specialnewb9821 It's like the beauty of an unpolished natural gem vs the gem after it's polished. Both have their beauty, but the polished gem shines more easily in the light.
@@lpebony3323 Self-taught musicians can play scales just as well as trained people - but the trained people should be able to tell you the name and key of the scale they're playing. Self-taught musicians just feel it but don't know what it's called necessarily. (Some people research them so they do know.)
If you get the chance to listen, the FFXIV rendition of Dancing Mad is a masterpiece. I love how they were able to incorporate him into the narrative of XIV, and the irony of him merely being a memory contained within Omega is delicious; like Sephiroth's "I will never be a memory," it would surely piss the real Kefka off to no end that all that remains of him is a digital illusion. A god like him was never meant to end!! :D
I love comparing this to Kuja's theme, the Dark Messenger (from FF IX). Both characters are "entertainers," both of them known for their flair for the dramatic, but their themes are utterly different. Where Kefka really believes himself divine and neverending, Kuja's theme reveals something opposite this: he is fully aware of his own inevitable demise and would love nothing but to tear down the world with him. Also, the prog rock vibe rules. Mr. Uematsu is a legend in his thematic reach.
Final Fantasy VI is one of the reasons I appreciate orchestral, classical, baroque and other types of music so much. Bach, Tchaikovsky, Bizet, Vivaldi, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner, etc. I had listened to plenty of the works of great composers in my childhood because of my parents, but videogames are what made the connection for me. The inspiration Nobuo Uematsu got for THIS particular game soundtrack is what finally connected both worlds for me. And that link has only become much stronger thanks to modern technology allowing us to hear full orchestras in videogames. I know other games had that orchestral thing going as well, but for me it was Final Fantasy VI.
same here! I heard classical growing up a lot due to family. and while I loved it, I didn’t have much of a connection it was an “old people” style music. it wasn’t until I played and beat ff3 (snes) back in the day -I was a teenager. the music connected and soothed and wowed my soul. now I seek out musical soundtracks to most of the games I play, listing to the music even when i’m not playing the actual game. it’s refreshing! Nobuo was a genius!
There are actually four phases to the battle with Kefka. The first three are against the parts of a living 'tower', representing hell, earth and heaven. Only the final phase is against Kefka himself, in a heavenly vista, as a god.
The movements of the song basically correspond to these phases, so the last one, which includes Kefka's theme, is the one for when you're actually fighting him.
Trust me, it works even better in context
Yes, the context is deep though. Kefka really is a tragic clown. Erasing hopes and dreams to cope with his own lonely and twisted existence.
To be clear, Kefka’s final form doesn’t represent god, rather Lucifer the fallen angel, who wanted to be God.
The final fight is such a trip. Visually and sonically stunning as it shows the journey Kefka went through trying to ascend to godhood. Each phase showing a different part of the process. The triad are basically his guardians now, but they also help paint a picture of the things he attempted to cast off and part with in order to become a true deity as you rise up to his level to confront one last time.
His struggles in the 1st movement with his rage from the Magitek experiments that succeeded in giving him power but living with the terrible cost of twisting his mind.
The 2nd movement where he unleashes that rage and ravages the land around him with his nefarious deeds in service of the Empire all the way up to when he succeeds in destroying the world of Balance.
The 3rd movement (Where it's shown the last member of the Triad holding him posing as the Pieta) is always so striking on how it portrays just how close he came to godliness. The beautiful melodies paint a marvelous picture and you can almost see Kefka reaching up to the heavens thinking he's just a touch away; But then you hear the dissonance of his theme creep in and corrupt everything around it and you know his transformation will never fully succeed because he can't escape his own desires for destruction.
And then the 4th movement where he comes back down and accepts his failure and decides to take everything and everyone with him because truly nothing matters now. Nothing holds value in his eyes. Not even his own life. Kefka is the Frenzied flame of FF6. May chaos take the world. It just didn't take an Outer god to create it this time.
I'm so glad someone brought this sequence up. Because this is also such a *grueling* fight too. You have 4 characters on the field, you have up to 16 to slug it thorugh... and you know, that this fight is not going to be easy. Especially with each stage having it's own struggles and flows you have to face and best. Stage 1 is just raw power. The power that came from his being toyed with in the Magitech Knight program... But the next is the maniacal and devious plotting of his fighting the entire world in his own way. suddenly it isn't just pure raw strength you must overcome, but a man who despite his madness, is fully in control and aware of what he's doing and how to bring about the most damage possible. The third stage is when you feel like you have reached the point just after he destroyed the world with the displacing the Warring Triad, and has gained all the power with which he'd done all these things for... And yet, it wasn't enough. He still wants *more*. Which is when we finally, painfully, ascend to the final stage of the fight, where he's ceased limiting himself, and has deigned to take everyone and everything down with him, and uses all the power that he has gain and absorbed in his madness as a would-be god... You are now facing the threat which has tormented the world, and that you, by challenging, are finally unleashing into it's entirety.
Worse, even should you succeed in defeating him... The world is still ruined. The damage Kefka has done is irrepairable. You've merely delayed the end of the world that was already rushing forward under Kefka's holding the reins. The world of FFVI, is doomed even if you succeed, *because* of Kefka. The only FF villain to truly succeed in his goal of ending the world.
It is AMAZING how he captured the spirit of the pipe organ so perfectly with the limitations he had on the SNES. I'd totally recommend you listen to the Grissini Project pipe organ rendition, I can only imagine how it would feel to have been there in person to hear it.
At last!!! This battle is the culmination of everything you’ve experienced through Final Fantasy VI. You know what’s at stake…. The world in ruins, friends lost along the way…. And your scrappy crew with one chance to defeat an evil god no one took seriously early on. Kefka is a great villain, and Uematsu is bold to try and simulate opera in a 16-bit game…. Both will forever be seared in my memory. Thank you for reacting to this one.
For someone to write something so eclectic without being classically trained, they must have such a natural and clear internal ear for music. I have this image of Nobuo staying up all night drinking about 50 coffees and going off into some sort of absolute mania, coming out of his stupor three days later with a folder full manucripts with 'dancing mad' written on the front in blood.
Kefka is one those villains memorable because he succeeds. He ascends into godhood and the only reason his victory isn't complete is because he dwells in a JRPG and it becomes the duty of the characters to put him down like the rabid beast he's always been.
One day we will have a JRPG where the villain truly wins.
He succeeds because in a lot of ways, he's the main character of the game. The entire storyline is about him, dictated by his moves, the various characters are brought together because of him, and he ultimately grows the most out of all of them, going from a court jester in the desert with 2 lackeys to becoming the god of magic. Kefka IS Final Fantasy 6; it's his game, and everyone else is just there to be his supporting cast.
Kefka is deeper than most people think. His actions aren't senseless. He sees life itself as a parody, can't comprehend its value. He rather kills everyone who has hopes and dreams so that he doesn't have to think about them, being different from him an his suffering. He knows he can't be like others. He is also content with his own death. No matter that he gained godhood, he wants to see for himself if these people with hopes and dreams can succeed so if he dies, he only laughs and finds it hilarious, not understanding why hopes and dreams are important to people. His sadness is boundless.
Not only that but even when the heroes win it is a shallow victory. The world is messed up and badly damaged and there is NO MAGIC to help fix things since when Kefka became the god of magic it all disappears with him forever.
Hearing the Stockholm symphonic orchestra play this while Nobue Uematsu sits in the audience was an unforgettable experience. Just like the finale with One-winged Angel where Ueamatsu joins the choir.
I was at that concert as well, me and my brother sat a bit behind the Japanese delegation, being starstruck. It was a magical evening!
I just love how Uematsu first builds up this glorious symphonic piece and the final movement is a Emerson, Lake and Palmer-style progressive rock piece
Been looking forward to you tackling this behemoth. To me it's one of the all time greatest video game songs, and very deserving of the praise.
I saw a theory that each of the phases represents a different aspect of Kefka's mind.
1) His ruthlessness and rage (the angry muscley dude part)
2) His madness (the part with a bunch of different figures, mechanical components, and a tiger head)
3) His ego and ambition (a lounging figure with a goddess-like being behind him)
4) The final fight with Kefka himself.
1) 0:11 - This feels like it could be the prelude to the dread one would expect to feel if you were discovering what Kefka would do if you got in his way. (Like, say... finding your entire kingdom and family dead.)
1:02 - This feels more geared toward the fight itself since you're on the top of an absolutely *MASSIVE* tower, so the sound of wind being in the soundtrack feels like it's grounding the listener in the present fight.
2) 9:32 - To me, this sounds like something that would precede a flashback when Kefka was part of the first experiments by Cid, the moments before his mind shattered to pieces and whoever he used to be was lost. It's worth noting that there's basically *NOTHING* that's known about Kefka before the experiment that drove him insane. It kind of feels like a cosmic sense of guilt that the individual lives of man are so insignificant and only once he started wreaking havoc did people start to take notice.
10:53 in particular sounds like the moment when the Kefka we know is born and the rest of the song is just him flaunting his new persona.
3) 13:18 - Sounds like his ambition to become a God. Not merely command power, but ascend to a state of being that rises above human mortality.
15:14 - Sounds like the turning point where Kefka takes control of the Warring Triad, ruins the world, and gains absolute power. Previously, he'd had a sense of superiority and exerted power over others, but now he truly *WAS* a God for all intents and purposes.
19:38 - Kefka's theme plays in the base notes of the 3rd movement here too: 14:21
18:48 - To my mind, this is where the title of "Dancing Mad" truly comes into play (pun unintended). All the other forms that had been destroyed up until now were just manifestations, extensions; disconnected things that were merely preludes to what was to come. _This_ is the main event, and Kefka's so egotistical and powerful that he laughs and dances throughout because he sees the protagonists as so hopelessly outclassed by him that he doesn't _have_ to care. Whether it's destroying the entire world or wiping the Self-Help-Line-quoting little twerps off his tower, they're both equally meaningless and beneath him.
21:16 - This feels more like Kefka seeing that toying with the protagonists isn't working as well as he thought and has to call on the more ancient and powerful tools at his disposal that one would never expect would have to be used on mortals. The kind of epic clash that warrants a more grandiose tone.
21:49 - The protagonists are at a low point reeling from the tremendous power they have to contend with but striving to fight on even in the face of the impossible.
23:22 - And this loops back around to Kefka's sense of nihilism. That even when he throws everything at the protagonists and they still keep fighting, rather than quoting every JRPG bad guy and going "I... IMPOSSIBURU!!!" for the ten-millionth time, the laughs in the face of their tenacity. He finds their unwavering resolve to save a dying world to be just as, if not *MORE,* insane than they believe _HIM_ to be. In the end, perhaps he doesn't even care if he loses here, perhaps what the emperor said (something to the effect of "well, I it's rather fitting if you go out laughing I suppose..."), was foreshadowing. Maybe in the end he saw the protagonists going through so much pain and hardship to stop Kefka and rebuild the world only to inevitably lose everything and die was too hysterical to care if he lost. After all, when Kefka finally succumbs, (26:30) it's worth noting that while we don't hear him laugh, the sprite never changes; he's still got that grin he had from the very beginning...
Not to mention, that Kefka's so far gone, that his first movement is to Fallen Angel on your party before you can begin. Sets your hp to 1.
To Critical State.
He forces you to kneel in his presence.
My understanding is that Uematsu is not classically trained in the conservatory sense.
However, the man's profound talent allows him to grasp the essential components of whatever genre he attempts to compose in.
In the broader Final Fantasy series the man has done Classical, Opera, Ragtime, Funk, Disco, Abstract, so many Waltzes, Heavy Metal, and more. To say he has talent is to engage in Olympic-level understatement.
"For a musician, using the Super Nintendo sound chip is like an artist using Crayola crayons. Uematsu used those Crayola crayons to draw the Sistine Chapel."
In context, this whole song takes you through the 4 phases in the final boss battle. In the first 3 it's a climb of the Statue of the Gods, a tower full of depictions of deities and holy symbols twisted to resemble Kefka (there is a theory about the tower being a reference to the Divine Comedy, climbing from Hell to Purgatory and all the way up to Heaven); and in the last one is the fight against Kefka proper.
Also the intro theme and the title screen theme are present in this song.
With so many entries in the Final Fantasy franchise, each trying to achieve the best it can do with the medium and predecessor. Final Fantasy 6 showcases the mastery over the medium and hardware. It took the system to it's fullest and Dancing Mad is a testament to the Dev's success.
Glad to finally see you talk about the original Dancing Mad. I always loved this boss theme, but I find myself appreciating it more the older I got. The theme is practically Kefka's final words to the heroes as we fight. I definitely consider this Uematsu's magnum opus.
And then we have the Black Mages version, especially the fourth movement. That GLORIOUS fourth movement.
Out of all the soundtrack FF franchise has produced, this right here is my top favorite. It’s a journey into madness from start to finish and given that it’s from the SNES day, this is pushing the hardware’s capabilities up there to produce it. Chef’s kiss to Nobuo for creating and inspiring one of the best pieces of music in video gaming in my opinion. Nearly three decades later and it’s still a masterpiece. Giving you props to explaining the meaning behind the character of Kefka through this composition. More kefka inner monologue! Now I wanna scope out more reaction videos to this.
14:20 If you listen closely to the background / bass, you can ominously hear in a low tone, Kefka's theme. You're right that in context, we know Kefka is dangerous, and in this peaceful part of the song, realizing the dark undertone is present, sends chills down my spine.
You don't need to hear it closely. It's literally right there in full focus.
I never noticed that before. I played the gba version so maybe thats why
I have been playing this game since its original release, and I was today years old when that connection was made.
Thank you, kind internet denizen. I tip my digital hat to you.
I think your interpretation for the final part is so interesting. You used the word desperation a few times, but for me the keyword was duality. I'm a jester. I'm a God. I'm a clown. I'm Almighty. I am a man. I destroyed the world. This is who I am. That's what I always felt the play between the holy bit and high energy bit was highlighting. Especially how they incorporated his laugh when it switches from holy slow organ to frantic and frenetic.
The fourth movement, which starts after Kefka reveals himself in his ultimate winged form, always hits me a bit different. The tribal drums roll in, a call to action that lights an energy in me, and I lower my center of gravity and lean forward a few degrees, like a boxer readying himself in his corner before the bell rings. There he finally is, after a twisted tower of unholy manifestations, and like the music I cast aside all noble pretense. I'm there to do one thing with laser focus: kill a god. The music leaves behind all glory and elegance and reminds me that this cruel, cruel, CRUEL man has stolen and ruined and murdered, and all that's left is to bury my sword in his empty heart. This is a hit.
The crazy thing is, Kefka was a 4 phase fight. Everytime the music changes, it represents the next phase of the fight. That Godflike form isn't until the very end.
I've played very little of FFVI, but this song alone tells me everything I need to know about Kefka's entire story, his rise and fall
In fact, Kefka's appearance begins at 18:15. Before, you climb the tower fighting eldrich abominations full of symbolism. 😅
I personally love watching these vids of Marco reviewing music from various properties. His review of Genshin Music is when I first started watching and I loved the depth he brought to most of the musical context. Please keep doing these and if the vid is longer that just means we get to learn more!
This is the video I've wanted since I started watching you so long ago. While there have been others that have done it, this is one of the songs well worth getting multiple perspectives from, especially from someone who has been in opera. Thank you for finally tackling this true, real masterpiece.
Really hope to see you tackle more retro games. Many of Squares' games have OSTs containing tracks that are second to none. Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 6, Final Fantasy Tactics, Secret of Mana, and Secret of Evermore are just a few such games containing masterpieces.
NIS is much more esoteric but has it's own share of masterpieces. Of course there is Ar Tonelico (Of which more recently it has come out that Ar Tonelico probably inspired the music of Nier to some degree, which is covered in a Noisypixel article called "NieR Staff Discusses Music Creation; Ar Tonelico Even Mentioned") with a myriad of them, but Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al Revis is another great example that I hope you will get to (Particularly: STIGMATA[A song Noriko Mitose still nails to this day], Crystalized, and Nefertiti.).
FF6 is my favorite entry in the series. I've always described it as "what if the Joker got ahold of nukes", because Kefka is so clearly inspired by the Killing Joke's "psychologically tortured reject becomes maniacal dissociative sadist" version of that villain. But more than that, in terms of its art and music, aside from a handful of oddballs (Ultros, Umaro, most of the random encounter monsters), FF6 also features easily the most stylistically coherent worldbuilding in any video game up to that point:
Pipe organ, opera, steam engines, airships, Imperialism... it condenses 500 years of European cultural history from the Gothic to the Baroque to the Age of Sail to WWI. Under the fantasy veneer, this is a story about Modernism. Specifically, how the unchecked drive to "civilize" the world would directly lead to the capacity to destroy ourselves. It's a very "man was not meant to meddle" kind of story, where Kefka is like that poor Lovecraftian soul who peered too deeply into the unfathomable and the absurdity of human insignificance just kind of... broke him.
And that gets to why Dancing Mad, the symphonic tale of a mad god about to meet his end, is so fantastic. Apotheosis is a perennial trope of video game villains, but in Kefka, I really think it's one of the few places it truly makes sense. Kefka wants to prove the world is devoid of purpose and meaning. What better way than to become some twisted, perverse reflection of the ultimate symbol of the sacred and divine, with no greater power able to stop him? And what more fitting ending to all the grandiosity and desperation than solemn acceptance?
FF6 is such a great tale of the blind foolishness of arrogance (Gestahl), how cruelty begets cruelty (Kefka), the courage of emotional vulnerability (Terra and Celes), and persevering through despair (basically the entire primary cast of heroes). FF7 may have been the most popular, but dare I say it owes a massive debt to its predecessor.
First part of Dancing Mad: Kefka assumes a form akin to what's found in the 7th pit in Dante's Inferno. Part 2: the party ascends to find a connected form depicting purgatory like in Catholicism. Part 3: the next form is basically heaven with a resting form and even a Mary insert caring for him. Part 4: the final form descends from on high to smite his enemies.
Demon
Fiend
Martyr
God
This is one piece that is in my rotation all the time. I still can't believe this was a video game music of the '90s. Have you heard the Distant World orchestra version of it? It's MADNESS.
You should listen to the Distant Worlds arrangement of this! It’s a full symphonic orchestra and choir, and it’s so powerful to hear. The composer, Nobuo Uematsu, attends many of their concerts so he definitely seems to approve :)
THANK YOU for covering the full symphony. The last movement always gets love but there's so much more there when you have the context of the entire piece.
Let’s not forget when this was made and the restriction they had to convey the emotion. This game is by far one of my top games. The emotion and adventure you go on is real and amazing.
The very last phase of Dancing Mad, what's so interesting is that part begins to play after he uses his most powerful attack... and the heroes survive, thus begins his realization that his end is near. Such genius.
I refer to Nobuo Uematsu as the John Williams of video game music as both have composed iconic music for their respective genres and Final Fantasy 6 was my first FF game back when it was known as FF3 for the SNES and Kefka is the best FF antagonist
Dancing Mad's a song laiden with leitmotifs, a lot of it from it's own game, and another dose of it from other sources. The song itself uses and manipulates leitmotifs as a means to tell a story. For example, Celes’ theme (Final Fantasy 4) the variation of “Aria de Mezzo Carattere”, a song she performs during an opera sequence and its not a simple reference or coincidence; it's a representation to her growth from an icy Empire general to embracing her love for Locke in the second half of the game, giving her the strength to continue living her life, pretty similar to Maria did in the opera scene.
The 4 movements really shine when they're woven together into one piece. Both the Distant Worlds version and the Black Mages version are fantastic.
The final, high shriek of defeat in the Black Mages guitar solo is one of the best moments in VG music.
If you haven't heard it yet, then you really ought to check out the Different Worlds version of Dancing Mad (I think "Different Worlds" is the name of the series of albums with orchestral arrangements of FF-music. Dancing Mad is on the second album, followed fittingly by "Victory Fanfare"). It is played by a real orchestra, and removes the repetitions, so the transitions between each section becomes smoother. It's honestly one of the most enjoyable versions of this song that I've ever heard.
I also recommend the Black Mages (Uematsu's in-house rock band) version as well. The last few minutes of their arrangement is one of the craziest things my ears have ever heard.
It's Distant Worlds. Came from the concert series that is still on til this day! As a matter of fact, got tickets for the April show coming up. It's my 4th (or 5th... can't remember) time going to it! It's an experience I thoroughly enjoy. I don't go to many concerts, but I flew to Chicago just to see this one at 25th Anniversary.
@@umbramuninn The Black Mages version is the quintessential Dancing Mad experience to me.
Distant worlds, also that version has a latin chorus:
Diem Terrore
Diem Magnae
@@Xanatrix cover by GaMetal also incredible.
The entire soundtrack of FFVI is so emotional. Every track totally evokes the story beat that coincides with the area it appears in.
There's usually that one comment on every Dancing Mad video that says
*"Uematsu creating this masterpiece on the SNES is like if Michaelangelo created the Sistine Chapel using only crayons"*
Or something to that effect.
YES, YES!
You do not know how loudly I yelled "Yes!" when I saw this video just pop up in my feed. This is a masterpiece of composing, and the different versions that exist are equally wonderful.
I highly, absolutely, with the most enthusiasm I can muster, recommend the version of Dancing Mad performed by Nobuo Uematsu's former rock band, The Black Mages. I absolutely guarantee you will love it.
The 4th movement is a great piece of prog rock, and it reminds me a lot of Emerson, Lake, & Palmer's Tarkus, particularly the chaotic drum/organ parts. Banger of a piece if you've never heard it.
Dancing Mad is probably one of the pieces that hooked me to Final Fantasy music and I never get tired of it.
Whether it's a reaction video or on your own time, I strongly recommend checking out the symphonic arrangement done by a fan.
Still blows my mind the kind of music/scores they were able to put into 16-32 bit games
When, heavens forbid, Nobuo Uematsu passes, my childhood will have truly ended. Words arent enough to describe how his music has shaped my being as a person.
Edit: Hes the reason for my love of classical music.
The faces you were making were quite entertaining. It almost looked like you enjoyed the music too much. Very emotive.
Glad you enjoyed it
I missed the boat on VI, and when I tried to go back and play it I found it to be hard to get into. But the music then was just as smartly written as in future iterations, and that’s the part that stuck with me, that really drove me to keep playing.
I think this is a great piece in a game that actually has plenty of keen writing, and I’m glad to see it continues to receive high marks by today’s listeners.
I kinda had a hard time getting over the ATB system in the beginning. Then I got over it and fell in love immediately. In fact I finished this game yesterday. Now I’m gonna play FF3 on DS! Then FF4 on DS!
Back in 1996 when I was playing this, the slower melodic part of the final movement *frequently* lined up with Kefka casting "Fallen One," which dropped the party to 1 HP. As such, I always viewed it as a moment of desperation for the party (rather than Kefka), and as that section resolves the party is reaching into the reserves of their sheer will to fight on to bring an end to Kefka's tyranny.
The thing I personally find most impressive about Dancing Mad is how long of a piece it is for a SNES game. Sure, in the code of the game it is likely split into four parts, but that's still a lot of room that could've been utilised for more songs in exchange for a shorter Dancing Mad.
Every time, and i mean Every Time i get into this song, I am moved, like you, and have to move, whenever or wherever I am. One Winged Angel may have the glory, but this song is the one that is a masterpiece.
Oh, I have this FF in nearly every version and on every platform since my brother and me played it as kids. It was the reason I wanted to get better at English and I started reading more fantasy.
One thing to note about the four stages of the piece, they match the phases of the battle. To become a god Kefka enslaved the three goddesses of magic and creation. The first three stages are you destroying the twisted statues that contain their essence and destroying the goddesses but releasing them from their torment from Kefka. The fourth phase is what is shown in the clips the editor put in and this is when you fight Kefka directly and are exposed to his full madness that he suffers. The other thing to note is Kefka is also suffering from the madness, his madness was forced upon him from magical experimentation done to him without his consent, corrupting his mind and soul. So in defeating him you are also saving the normal man that he was before his initial transformation (into the mad jester that you meet earlier in the game.)
I highly recommend listening to the version by Nobuo Uematsu’s band The Black Mages, which cuts out the loops and replaces them with something… special.
On a related note, it’s interesting what perspectives people see in tracks like these that are associated with a certain character. This is a Kefka-related theme, but it’s also a theme of the heroes fighting AGAINST Kefka, and it’s also a theme of hitting the ultimate climax of the story. I’ve seen a lot of people interpreting that more emotional part of the final phase as Kefka feeling regret or similar, but I’m not sure he’s even capable of that anymore. I would personally see it as more of a comment from the narrative itself on the tragedy of what happened - of a human being twisted into a machine of war, laying waste to all enemies of their creator, and ultimately to that same creator and to everything else. A monument to the devaluation of human life itself.
Distant Worlds is the best way to listen to Dancing Mad. Uematsu shows up to many of their performances worldwide, so he definitely agrees.
The orchastrated version from the "Distant Worlds II" made me realised how big the 16 bit music from the early Final Fantasy were.
I think it is. Still one of the most epic and atmosphere-fitting soundtracks.
love how in movement three kefka's full theme is stated in the bassline and it still fits in with the counterpoint. I really want to now what is study style was to get that down since uematsu didnt study this composition style formally.
For me, Kefka Palazzo has always been and will probably always be the greatest villain in any video game. He somehow managed to surpass true evil, taking the form of godhood, twisting, contorting, and inverting it altogether. He reached the ultimate endpoint of any nihilistic philosophy, so staunchly adherent to it that nothing can sway him from his path. He is the Ultimate Villain in that he perfects everything a true villain stands for. He stands in direct opposition to the heroes physically, mentally, and ideologically to the maximum amount, mirroring their journey and pushing them and the world past the breaking point just to do it again and again. And even in the end, with his ideology crushed, his mind shattered, his body broken, and his war lost, he still gets the last laugh.
Perfection.
To be honest, there are so many things I can say about this character than can fit into a single comment on RUclips, easily enough to fit into an hour long video. Kefka embodies what it means to be a villain and I'm so glad people are still talking about him to this day.
I really appreciate being able to experience this musical piece with you. You obviously know way more about musical composition than I do so I learned some things I didn't know. Fortunately I was born in the 80s so I was able to ply both the original FF and FF 3(VI). The original is fun to play but the story was forgettable. But FF VI with all the characters is one of the best pieces of video game story ever. Every single character is memorable and you know why they are fighting. Not to mention essentially having to restart after Kefka becomes a god and destroys most of the world. The music was a huge part of the memorable themes. Everyone had pain they had to fight through to confront Kefka. Such a master piece.
I'm glad you appreciated it. I wish i had known about six when it came out
18:48 my favorite part. It's kefka fully showing himself a "behold I am death" moment for kefka and the heroes.
If you're interested in more regarding Dancing Mad, there's a 4 piece suite remix called Cantata for Dancing on RUclips.
You also mention how the organ is usually associated with religious and holiness and that this use of it is more like an inversion. I remember reading that the entire final boss fight is thematically similar to the Divine Comedy. You have four parts with the first three representing the Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso (the Paradiso part even has a Pieta reference) and then the final part is ascending into the highest realm and from the heavens descends God. It just happens to be a twisted God of Magic
I noticed the circus there on the tier 2 battle but never thought of the “hoo hoo hoo” to be laughter. Wow! Now I can’t unhear it
I remember the first time I listened to this and it was before I played the game. It was on youtube, I started listening to it, noticed it was 10 minutes long, and got the hell out of there. Then I played through the game and reached the last boss... I didn't want it to end. It was amazing they were able to pull off that orchestral theme the way that they did. You could practically hear the vocals as if they were actual vocals, which feels weird to say. This track was way before its time. I also highly recommend checking out Distant Worlds II's Dancing Mad. Distant Worlds is just a collection Final Fantasy music played with an actual orchestra. Dancing Mad was definitely the perfect pick to play in an orchestra. It made me go all "One Winged What? Dancing Mad, dude. That is where it is at".
I feel like One Winged Angel couldn't exist if Dancing Mad didn't exist
heck to add to that, I remember thinking Aerith's theme had shades of Celes' theme in it too
It's definitely the best music I've heard for a final boss in Final Fantasy. Outside of final bosses, Jenova's boss fight music is also one of my favorites.
LOVE seeing you just bop to it. Also: Kefka is only there at the very last "song" in the suite. Everything else is a horrifying mash of esper nightmares that you see more and more of as you beat each "part" like a huge tower. It's horrifying. The bg is dark, too, the colours only become so "heavenly" and bright once you reach the top, where Kefka DESCENDS from the heavens as a God. Basically, the prior rest of the fight is a build-up to getting to him at the end.
Waaait i cant even remember when I first saw Dancing Mad recommended to You :D
I don't know if it's already been brought up, but I'm impressed by the fact that the music ushering in the final form of Kefka are the first musical notes heard in the game from the beginning. It almost creates, to me, the impression that the characters in the game were born for the purpose of killing this psychopath.
I really wonder how the people who made this game were able to come up with such fascinating characters and psychological concepts we would be talking about decades down the road.
that slow, beautiful breakdown of kefkas theme just after the frantic and overloaded version of it reminds me of one of kefkas most impactful quotes "Why do people insist on creating things that will inevitably be destroyed? Why do people cling to life, knowing that they must someday die? ...Knowing that none of it will have meant anything once they do?" i think he's having a moment of acceptance, of realization that even in godhood he cant outpace mortality, he cant escape his erasure. for a moment there is a quiet, contemplative peace and then his unfathomable rage and despair reignite, he simply cannot bare the thought of his death, and the song speeds back up suddenly
a comment on dancing mad posted here that i think fits it pretty well is that making dancing mad (considering the hardware the SNES had) would be like having crayons and using them to make the sistine chapel
Anyone who loves Dancing Mad should also check out Grissini Project's cover of it, played entirely on an actual big ol' church organ. Chills.
Honestly, while I can remember liking a lot of video game music as a kind of guilty pleasure when I was a kid, Dancing Mad was the first time it occured to me that game music was, itself, as much of an art form as any other kind.
Why guilty pleasure?
clicked on this vid because i love dancing mad, subscribe because of your presence.... and your facial expressions!
There's an opera proper version with lyrics of this song... its awe inspiring.
is it the distant worlds one? it's so good
@@red-cr9so Dancing Mad: Vito Ad Mortem
In the third movement, when the bassline plays Kefka's theme, it plays in the key of the original theme. Then, in the very next phrase, the entire piece shifts into the key, as if by being reminded of his true nature, that holiness and righteousness from before has been poisoned.
Good job at explaining the context. I think that is important to appreciate the beauty of this song. It perfectly resembles the character and the phases of the final boss fight.
Dang, this analysis is exactly what this masterpiece deserves. I love it! This piece is so grand, holy, devilish and playful at the same time... Of course, pure madness is very well reflected in this song!
I find very interesting your point of the music reflecting the inner monologue Kefka is having. I think it does make a lot of sense with how his character unfolds thorough the game. It makes me think of his final laugh in the song as he throwing away any sanity he has left and "ascending" into complete madness to defeat you.
Even if you're not a fan of metal, I highly recommend listening to the Black Mages version of Dancing Mad because the last part is just incredible.
"I played this game way too much in my childhood, when it was still a new release. I think that when everyone closes their eyes to a song, they tend to create a 'music video.' When I listened to this song, I saw tidal waves, earthquakes, volcanoes erupting with lava, storms... While Kefka attacked and the music went 'ohhhh ohhhhh,' people clung to trees in incredible gales. Kefka is synonymous with the end of the world, the apocalypse, extinction... That was the music video my mind put together while listening to this song with my eyes closed.
FF6の妖星乱舞(Dancing Mad)を取り上げて下さってありがとうございます！
私がクラシックミュージックに興味を持ったのが、このFF6の音楽のおかげでした。
21:15 This part of Dancing Mad has always struck me as though this desperate battle with the Heroes, this is a moment where through all his madness Kefka has a moment of lucidity where all the tragedy that is his life hits him, he is least we forget a man that has been subjected to all sorts of horrific and inhumane experiments. It feels like, to build on what you said he WILL not go back to being a mere tool he has finally achieve godhood he WILL be his own man now.Which is why that part of the piece feels so sombre in my opinion.
I love this battle/theme, they are the definition of "Do what you must, i have already won" Kefka did something pretty unique by the time, he won, he changed the world, played with our heroes and destroyed them internally, played the main antagonist, got his Godhood and played like a malevolent child with creation, he played the Ultimate Joke on humanity and got them on their knees, nothing would be the same ever again an that it's what makes Kefka my favorite villain in FF history, along with this play being one of the most iconic in the Saga, well played Uematsu, well played... 👏
I took me years to "get" Dancing Mad. Decades even. Its one of those things that I first heard when I was really young and internalized as being the norm. It was badguy music. It i'snt something I was able to truly appreciate until playing more and more games and listening to more and more music because I lacked the perspective needed to see just how special it was.