ITT: Stage themes that are better than their boss's theme

[Anonymous No.]

I'll start https://youtu.be/jHbGKNLKr8A
Also, remixes of the stage themes, of course

[Anonymous No.]

Frozen Lunar Capital is miles better than Sagume's own theme as well as severely anxiety-inducing.

https://youtu.be/iG9-MwFYC-o

[Anonymous No.]

I'm gonna say it:
Stage 4 of PCB

The Capital City of Flowers in the Sky is just too good, and I love the way it synchronizes with the stage, including that comically long pause after the final crescendo. The Prismriver's theme is cool, but it's not that good by th7 standards I think.

[Anonymous No.]

>>44196718
EoSD stage four (And three, but that's just because Chinese Tea is top kino)
I tend to mix them up a lot, since they are quite similar but I think I like Voile better than Locked Girl.

[Anonymous No.]

>>44196718
IN Stage 3

[Anonymous No.]

>>44196755
I don't know why but PCB stage themes are incredibly good specifically

[Anonymous No.]

>>44196718
Funny you posted Doremy because I like stage 3's theme more than her boss theme.

[Anonymous No.]

>>44196787
I actually really like Eternal Spring Dream but I gotta admit the stage theme is a banger

[Anonymous No.]

MoF stage 5 over Sanae's theme.

[Anonymous No.]

>>44196779
Because they are lonnnnnng.

Dark Road better than Dark Fate

[Anonymous No.]

>>44196821
I feel like dark road also fits guru guru girl's personality better than dark fate

[Anonymous No.]

>>44196779
I think music in th7 is great overall, but yeah, especially in stages 4 and 5 (those dramatic synth harmonica swells!) the stage themes really overshadow their boss counterparts. However, in case of stage 2 and 3 the most they seem like perfect pairs, two perfectly chosen melodies complementing each other.

[Anonymous No.]

>>44196849
Absolutely love stage 2 and stage 3 themes lol

[Anonymous No.]

>>44196718
SA extra
LoLK stage 5
MS stage 3 and 4
EoSD stage 3
UM stage 3
MoF stage 2
LLS stage 3 and 4 (But I prefer dreamy pilot)

[Anonymous No.]

I personally found over time that most stage themes are better than the boss themes, with the main exception usually being Stage 6, serving as a pre amble to a more grandiose final boss theme, although it can be great on its own too.
The exceptions for me would be Fires of Hokkai and The Sea Where One's Home Planet Reflects, despite their stacked competition. I think what these two say is more compelling & touching than their respective boss themes, which are already successful at what they're setting up. Emotional Skyscraper really feels like a fight against a supernatural magician painted as a benevolent figure, while Pure Furies is a pretty good musical interpretation of pure resentment, although I would argue it is a little limited by ZUN's own music, which is rare enough to note. Fires of Hokkai wonderfully sets up the freeing of the sealed magician and gives off such powerful emotions that you're face to face with the event of a lifetime and a true savior. The Sea Where One's Home Planet Reflects is a magnificent representation of Junko's sadness, hopelessness and rage, further emphasized by the 2nd section of the stage with tear shaped bullets coming your way (Even if it's painfully difficult).

[Anonymous No.]

>>44196913
I just LOVE how her stage theme starts with the sounds of the sea of tranquility

[Anonymous No.]

Nostalgic Blood of the East for sure, I like the start of Plain Asia but it falls off after 20 seconds

[Anonymous No.]

>>44196983
I gotta agree keine has a really generic theme

[Anonymous No.]

>>44196718
Higan retour
The doll maker of bucuresti
Candid friend
Reach for the moon, immortal smoke
Wind god girl

[Anonymous No.]

>>44197133
>Higan retour
What?

[Anonymous No.]

>>44196718
https://youtube.com/watch?v=bnfWnmAfN50&feature=sharec
The fantastic legend of Tohno. It's so good, gives me a sense of peace and melancholy.

[Anonymous No.]

>>44197141
At least look it up before acting incredulous.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZuC4d-AL1U

[Anonymous No.]

>>44196755
Phantom Ensemble is one of my favorites, but it wouldn't have as much impact without the buildup of the stage itself. That transition from darkness to clouds is something else.
>I love the way it synchronizes with the stage
For me PCB has some of the strongest music-stage synchronizations of the entire series, stages 4 and 6 especially.

[Anonymous No.]

Back shrine road in touhou 13 fucking slaps, gives me chills. Way better than Mamizous theme sadly.

[Anonymous No.]

>>44199774
Speaking of extra themes I love A world of nightmares never seen before. Especially the bit before it loops:
https://youtu.be/wc9H-apkH2M?t=179

[Anonymous No.]

Actually all the extra stage themes are stupidly good. Easily my favourite type of song from the games.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMU4asgN9ZY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89rk-niXLi4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGVa7r3nEMs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgt072Jz2gY

[Anonymous No.]

>>44197987
PCB stage 2 is unironically legendary

[Anonymous No.]

Adding onto the PCB train, Charming Domination is better than Necrofantasia and Necro-fantasy, it feels much more balanced than the following boss themes. I feel both of their themes go too hard on the high pitched electronica and zunpets. Regardless, PCB has a killer soundtrack and set a high bar to beat for the rest of the series.

[Anonymous No.]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aca3f9OYcXs
It's even fucking better in game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7wlAEqOu6s
It's bloody close but I think I like the stage theme just a little bit more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIJVo0T676k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNROH6ZQYYE
>>44199774
>>44199800
Love those two as well myself, never fought the bosses enough to compare them to the boss themes though.

[Anonymous No.]

>>44196767
Chinese Tea really is tough to beat.

[Anonymous No.]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV-CxxDpnqA

[Anonymous No.]

>>44196718
That's most of them, honestly. Here's just two from each game:

Blade of Banishment, Eternal Shrine Maiden
World of Fantasies, End of Daylight
Alice Maestra, Bad Apple
Dream Express, Dimension of Reverie
The Maid and the Pocketwatch of Blood, Chinese Tea
Ancient Temple, Deep Mountain
Old World, Kagome-Kagome
Fall of Fall, Tomorrow Will Be Special Yesterday Was Not
Lullaby of Deserted Hell, Walking The Streets Of A Former Hell
At The End of Spring, Rural Makai City Esoteria
Night Sakura of Dead Spirits, Desire Drive
The Shining Needle Castle Sinking in the Air, Mist Lake
A World of Nightmares Never Seen Before, Frozen Lunar Capital
Illusionary White Traveler, Does the Forbidden Door Lead to This World, or the World Beyond?
Beast Metropolis, The Lamentations Known Only By Jizo
The Cliff Hidden in Deep Green, The Long Awaited Oumagatoki

[Anonymous No.]

>>44218449
>Tomorrow Will Be Special Yesterday Was Not
It's a nice theme, but the boss theme shines more.

[Anonymous No.]

>>44218449
>The Lamentations Known Only By Jizo
good choice, unfortunately i still like jelly stone more

[Anonymous No.]

There are more Desire Drive remixes than the rest of Ten Desire's OST combined. Probably because the rest is mediocre and forgettable.

[Anonymous No.]

>>44218449
Eternal Shrine Maiden is so fucking good.

[Anonymous No.]

>>44199800
>>44200872
Dunno why but I somehow end loving every extra strage, but not every extra boss theme, specially the last 4 mainlines

[Anonymous No.]

>>44218449
illusionary white traveler is probably one of my favorite stage themes

[Anonymous No.]

>>44218449
I like Luna Dial a lot, even if it could maybe do with a touch up at the start. tMatPWoB is one of my alltime favourites though, and part of the reason I keep coming back to EoSD.
Bad apple is so-so, maybe a better one would be Break the Sabbath, since Scarlet phoneme is very, very short and repetetive.

[Anonymous No.]

>>44199860
UM extra is underrated. I really like the choirs in it

[Anonymous No.]

>>44196718
Does it get any more tragic than Yachie?

[Anonymous No.]

>>44218449
i fucking love alice maestra

[Anonymous No.]

>>44228334
Honestly I never liked Native Faith much. Its main melody is pretty good, butnit gets repetitive.

>>44232802
Desire Drive is great, but don't you dare desecrate TD's OST like that.

>>44238280
I find Luna Dial to be overly busy and disjointed; quite a few EoSD songs have this problem honestly. I do agree, the stage theme is one of my favorites as well, easily one of the best songs in the game.
I like Bad Apple, it's catchy and pumps you up. I mostly put it there because I don't like Perdition Crisis all that much. You're right in that Scarlet Phoneme is very repetitive, but I didn't choose Break the Sabbath since I like Bad Apple more. Actually, now that I think about it, I would say I like Lotus Love a bit more than Sleeping Terror, so I really should have picked it in the first place.

>>44244668
Great taste. It's my favorite song ZUN has ever composed.

[Anonymous No.]

>>44199860
https://www.youtube.com/live/5sudL-osR2M?feature=share&t=8838
ZUN has good taste.

[Anonymous No.]

>>44196755
I'll always love Capital City of Flowers in the Sky. It was among one of the first Touhou songs I gave a listen to and it sucked me into the series.

[Anonymous No.]

>>44197987
It also helps that chen's theme is shit
The difference between tohno and diao ye zong is so fucking staggering its not even funny

[Anonymous No.]

Fires of hokkai.
Byakuren's theme is fantastic, and one of the best composed by ZUN.
But fires of hokkai... it is an actually perfect song. Its just better... it fits so perfectly... its beautiful, menacing... its fucking perfect..

[Anonymous No.]

Bump

[Anonymous No.]

unrelated but who the hell is princess inada

[Anonymous No.]

>>44266636
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kushinadahime
>inada literally translated means "rice field" or "rice paddy

[Anonymous No.]

>>44244097
There'd be a long list of my favorite stage themes but I'd like to address the issue of stage theme being way more popular than boss theme that you almost can't find the vocal remixes of the latter without being mixed with the former anyway.
Examples are Yachie's and Yuugi's theme.

[Anonymous No.]

>>44266636
apparently a god with higher ranking then Minoriko in universe.

[Anonymous No.]

>>44273567
Can you tell me more

[Anonymous No.]

ok am i seriously the one who doesn't get the love behind UM's stage 5 theme, but feels like stage 4 is among the best things ZUN has ever composed?: https://youtu.be/kXHFsVuwwSM

https://youtu.be/rKKBAVCGrUA especially this arrange in style more akin to Forest of Aokigahara

[Anonymous No.]

>>44278564
I fucking love stage 4 theme of UM

[Anonymous No.]

https://youtu.be/GLbZSIEMXuc

[Anonymous No.]

>>44196718