Deep dive into the best music of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 – Game Music Done Right

MAJOR SPOILERS: the real names of all XC3 tracks that play in this video, with a short description where useful. ... ... 0:00:00 Brilliant Wings (remix of TtF! BS) 0:00:12 Enemies Closing In (XC1) 0:00:31 #51 Battlefield ~ The Scramble for Life 0:01:30 Young Warriors (prologue) 0:01:38 Confronting Our Past (Taion’s ouroboros) 0:01:42 In the Morning Mist (exchanging flutes) 0:01:51 Lost Days of Warmth (babies!) 0:02:01 A Life Woven Together (Vandham’s death) 0:02:07 Life's Fading Flame ~ Holding These Thoughts (attempted heroic sacrifice of vs. N) 0:02:12 That to Which the Defeated Cling (N’s impossible choice) 0:02:15 Congregating Lives (reinforcements against the final boss) 0:02:19 The Two Off-seers (Noah vs. Mio, other times) 0:02:22 Hope for the Future (Mio gets the pendant, Nia tells about infiltrating Origin) 0:02:25 Ferronis 0:02:43 #50 Moebius 0:03:41 #49 Malevolent Hollow (cave) 0:04:02 #48 Ribbi Flats 0:04:20 #47 Origin Ascending (cutscene on the way to the final area) 0:05:02 #46 Urayan Tunnels 0:05:29 #45 Captocorn Peak 0:05:43 #44 Battle on the Seas 0:07:00 #43 Great Sword’s Base 0:07:29 #42 City 0:07:56 Composers 0:10:07 #41a How the Future Endures (end of the final boss) 0:10:21 #41b Something's Beginning to Move (right after) 0:10:34 #40 Agnus Castle 0:11:07 #39 Keves Castle (Battle) 0:11:27 #38 Melia ~ Ancient Memories (but spelled “Meria”) 0:11:41 #37 Elaice Highway 0:12:00 #36 Keves Colony 0:12:53 #35 Soldier’s Paean 0:13:34 #34 Erythia Sea 0:14:36 #33 Iris Network 0:15:27 #32 Off-seer (a very indistinct name for the title screen) 0:16:13 #31 Shining Aspiration ~ Inherited Melody (probably) 0:16:28 Off-seer ~ Miyabi, Crys, Noah, Crys, Miyabi, Mio 0:19:56 #30 The Bereaved and Those Left Behind 0:20:43 #29 Yzana Plain (for Everblight Plain) 0:22:58 #28a Fort O’Virbus/Night 0:24:57 #28b Fort O’Virbus/Day 0:25:18 #27 The False Queens (as spoilers go, probably top 5) 0:26:45 #26 Alfeto Valley 0:27:34 #25 Origin Depths (Section A) — the non-A version is pretty good too in the middle 0:31:04 #24 Ouroboros Awakening 0:33:17 #23 Hostile Colony (Dynamic) 0:35:07 #22 Where We Belong (when the worlds separate in the ending) 0:35:35 #21 Nia ~ Toward the Heavens (starts playing when her hideout appears) 0:36:39 #20 Feelings Risen to the Sky (Mio’s hair has gotten kinda long) 0:38:06 #19 Showdown With Z, Act 2 (Act 1’s fine but lacks guitar) 0:40:13 #18 Eagus Wilderness/Day 0:43:02 Eagus Wilderness/Night 0:43:19 Sailing the Seas (which I didn’t want to spoil) 0:43:51 #17 The Great Sea Stirs 0:45:56 #16 Ultimate Enemy 0:48:03 #15 Agnus Battle 0:50:02 #14 Words That Never Reached You 0:50:50 #13 Milick Meadows 0:51:59 #12 A Step Away 0:53:11 #11 Homecoming (when she dies) 0:55:24 #10 Impending Threat (probably) 0:58:07 #9 Noah and N 1:01:09 #8a Tactical Action (Dynamic) 1:02:02 #8b Origin Battle 1:03:49 #7 Kaleidoscopic Core 1:06:25 Off-seer ~ Noah 1:07:08 The Two Off-seers 1:07:48 #6 A Life Sent On 1:10:16 Off-seer ~ Crys 1:11:28 #5 A Formidable Enemy 1:14:02 #4 Chain Attack! 1:16:24 #3 The Weight of Life (or Carrying the Weight of Life) 1:20:30 #2 Keves Battle 1:23:29 #1 You Will Know Our Names 1:24:27 Moebius Battle 1:27:38 Moebius Interlink Battle 1:29:34 Moebius Interlink Battle ~ Climax 1:30:09 Moebius Interlink Battle ~ End 1:30:34 Moebius Battle/M (multiple phases) 1:31:07 Brilliant Wings × TtF BS (a mashup I made)

How the f**k does this game not win the music award in the Game Awards

As someone wise already mentioned, "90% of the Xenoblade Chronicles 3 OST sounds like they told the composer this could be the last song they can ever make". It's just so good and over the top.

1:25:55 A cool detail in this section of the Moebius Battle theme is that if you're wearing headphones, you can hear the choir looping around you in such a way that it makes the shape of the Moebius/infinity symbol.

i gotta say the line "as is common in this soundtrack, instead of looping it picks up" is unbelievably poignant to the actual plot its insane

I just love how during the "Words That Never Reached You" at 50:00 he ends it by interrupting it with a chain attack...this is 100% proof someone actually played the game.

I like Bear McReary's work a lot, but it breaks my heart that XC3 OST did not won best music at The Game Awards. It is by far the best soundtrack out of all the games released this year in all aspects from composition, to arrangement and recording quality.

Why Game Awards why would you do this to us, you said you’d be by our side! Game Awards all we did we did for you!

I just have to say, if Xenoblade 3 isn't nominated for best music at the game awards, it'll be a crime. It's absurd how incredible this game is, from its music to its performances, and has sky rocketed the series into my all time favorites.

musical taste: check, educational know-how: check, pure passion for the craft: check... but you know what I love most about your videos? the performance, the edit, those solo banters. your sense of comedy has a "sheen" to it!

God of War didn't deserve the award, they stole it from Xenoblade honestly.

Yasunori Mitsuda got robbed again at TGA

I swear if xenoblade 3 doesn't win best music at game awards

Towards the end of the list, I was thinking how weird it was that Vs. Moebius hadn't even been mentioned yet, then 1:24:27 happened. It just came in like the musical equivalent of "It's the big bad boss! Boo!"

I really love all the easter eggs hidden within the dissertation. Yes, Nico is the boss!

1:19:16 I don't think you mentioned it, but the flute here literally plays A Life Sent On, the off-seer's tune. This theme not only represents life itself and the will to move on, but it's like Noah and Mio are off-seeing the enemy in advance. It's so melancholic, yet so badass

I had the same reaction as you when I heard #11. Xenoblade 3 still has one of the best video game soundtrack of all time. All the songs are bangers !!!

The flute addition to the Moebius theme is the best form of musical storytelling I’ve ever seen, those who’ve played that whole sequence will understand

I think that XC3 has the best music direction during cutscenes ive ever seen

Congratulations. This video officially made me cry, specifically during Feelings Risen into the Sky. P.S. I make it a point to whistle the flute part of the Moebius theme whenever listening to any version of it, regardless of if its a version with said flute. It's fun trying to match the song completely by memory without the actual instrument there as a guide.