RPG Airship Themes – Personal Favorites
Music is an integral part of any game. While pieces that truly complement their environment are often capable of stirring emotions and conveying a story without the use of words, dull, uninspiring themes can go completely under the radar.
The list below is a compilation of some of my own personal favorite airship/flying themes in RPGs. I have attempted to provide an eclectic mix of tracks from all sorts of RPGs throughout the years, but I’m sure that I have missed many amazing pieces as a result. But that’s where you come in – be sure to leave your own personal favorites down in the comments below.
Boundless Skies – Ni No Kuni 2
A Ni No Kuni 2 track makes it on the list for the third week in a row, and for good reason. A moving, grandiose piece that easily earns a spot among my personal favorites.
Final Fantasy XI – Airship
Final Fantasy XI players likely have this one embedded in their memory banks. In the olden days of FFXI, airship travel was quite popular, but the process was not “over in a flash” like we’re used to in modern games today. Instead, you were forced to be on an airship for several minutes, somewhat simulating real-life travel but on a much smaller scale, of course. This track helped keep you company on those long rides, for sure.
Bird in the Sky – Wild Arms
Wild Arms is one of the first games I ever owned on the PS1. While I don’t remember much about the game today, I do recall enjoying the refreshing “wild west” aesthetic and this song. While we’re on the subject, I’d love for this series to see a resurgence in the modern era some day.
Flammie’s Flight – Secret of Mana
This piece from the legendary Secret of Mana soundtrack is a great example of building a theme around its subject matter. It plays whenever you take to the skies with Falkor-I mean, Flammie – a majestic white dragon – and I feel it perfectly encapsulates the wonder associated with riding around on a freaking dragon. It is way more fitting than the Neverending Story theme, anyways.
Highwind Takes to the Skies – Final Fantasy VII
No airship song list would be complete without this iconic theme from Final Fantasy VII. To me, this is the pinnacle airship theme from Uematsu’s repertoire, though Final Fantasy VI’s Searching For Friends would also be a worthy adversary if was exclusively used during airship sequences.
That’s it for this list. What did you think about my selection? Stay tuned for more musical spotlights in the future!
