OK, its time for me to continue with my look at the Soulsborne games soundtracks and my picks for the best themes from these games and I will conclude it with my look at Dark Souls III, which had a superb soundtrack making this no easy task!
However I will do my best to pick out my favourite tracks from the soundtrack and again I will split the list into two parts.
So, with that said let's take a look at my top 10 list of themes from Dark Souls III...
10. Darkeater Midir
So, at No.10 is the theme for what is arguably the HARDEST boss in the entire Soulsborne series, Darkeater Midir, a ferocious dragon with some absolutely fearsome fire breath and brutal melee and dark magic attacks.
As for Midir's theme, its actually pretty damn good! In fact one of the things I like most about this theme is that it is fairly light hearted in its tone in comparison to alot of the other tracks in the game, which have a very sombre, grim feel to them. However here we almost have what sounds a like bizzarely romantic theme for a giant fire beathing dragon! And it has a nice mix of orchestrations and choral voices (I will be using the words "choral voices" ALOT in this list!) although just perhaps the female opera voice is overdone here a little bit. But what is also great about the theme is it has that element of danger to it thrown into the strings that reminds quickly that you are fighting a truly dangerous enemy.
So, while there are certainly better themes in the game, Darkeater Midir's theme is definitely one of the lighter ones in the game and it certainly is worthy of a place on the list at No.10.
9. Sister Friede
At No.9 is what is most likely a fan favourite of the game, which is the theme for Sister Friede and her theme is certainly an excellent one and well worth a listen in my humble opinion although I would say there are better themes in the game though myself but I don't mean to take away from it of course.
As for the theme itself well what is really good about it is that it has a very beguiling quality to it in that there is that soft piano intro along with the operatic singer but it also has those great off-notes played on the piano that really help make the track. In fact another thing that is really good about this score early on is that you can almost hear the soft sound like whispers in the first part of the theme just like when Sister Friede does her disappearing attack and its a neat inclusion. As for the second phase, the theme becomes a lot more vocal (literally!) as the choir voices really come in along with the very strident sounding strings and it has a pretty powerful impact and builds itself well toward the climax of the track.
So, overall Sister Friede is an excellent theme from the game and its quiet and loud dynamics in the first and second phases work very together to produce a memorable track that certainly deserves its spot on the list.
8. Ancient Wyvern
At No.8 is a dragon theme, the Ancient Wyvern and yeah OK will this boss is easily one of the weakest in the game his theme certainly is anything but and it really has a wonderfully brooding quality and its also scores in being one of the more lighter sounding tracks in the game (well kind of!).
And the theme kicks off very well with the dramatic choral voices and the strings and the thing that is also quite interesting about this theme is that it has the feel of the Dark Souls 2 soundtrack to it and it wouldn't been out of place in it either. And for me I think the choir voices are one of the highlights of the track here and what I would dare say is the chorus section of the theme (no pun intended!) is certainly a highlight in that it adds in an element of surprise as the notes take a different turn although it is kind of hard to explain in words for me but if you listen to it you might get what I mean better.
So, to sum up, the Ancient Wyvern really is a very solid theme from the game and even though it is for a pretty mediocre naff boss, its still an excellent one and it deserves to take its spot on the list here at No.8.
7. Deacons of the Deep
At No.7 is a theme for another boss that is often considered to be one of the weakest in the game but I have to admit its one that I personally rather enjoy and that is the theme for the Deacons of the Deep.
And what is so good about this theme is of course the organ that plays throughout it as it gives the whole track a very sinister foreboding feel to it and again its a great marriage between the organ and the choral section as they both essentially rise together throughout the track. Its a pretty grim and ominous sounding theme throughout but it works very well with the fight itself given all those sinister looking deacons that surround you as try and fight them off! The track was also written by Nobuyoshi Suzuki who composed various tracks for Bloodborne and this track definitely does somewhat echo that score here, which is no bad thing in itself.
So overall I would have to say the Deacons of the Deep theme despite its rather grim tone is still an excellent theme and one of the best in the game and its use of organs, choir voices and of course that memorable chiming bell used throughout all add up to a very sinister and high quality track that deserves to be on the list at No.7.
6. Iudex Gundyr
So, at No.6 is the theme for the opening boss of the game, Iudex Gundyr and by heck its a real cracker of a theme too, which beautifully sets up the tone of the game.
And the theme does have a slightly different sound to it to alot of the other tracks in the game mainly because it was written by a different composer, Tsukasa Saitoh, who also worked on Bloodborne and right off the bat its dramatic opening strings really pull you into the track. The theme also has a very memorable chorus to it with its dramatic and urgent sounding strings that really ring out and if you are familiar with the Souls series you should recognise it when you hear it. The second phase of the track is of course a bit more sinister as ol Gundyr changes his form into an abyssal beast and gets a little faster in tempo as you have to act quickly to take him down.
So, I would have to say overall this really is a very strong theme in the game and its also a great opener to pull the audience in and to kind of give them an idea of what to expect theme wise and for that alone I think it deserves its place here at No.6.
Right, so that's it for my first part of the list and I will be back soon with Part 2.
So, see you soon!
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