Final Fantasy IX
After the sci-fi and politics dominated plots of Final Fantasies VII and VIII, Square went back to their roots with Final Fantasy IX, creating a game with an old school fantasy feel. Though a radical departure from their two biggest successes, it worked, with the result being a game crammed to the rafters with a highly enjoyable storyline and cast of characters. They are led by Zidane, a thief whose participation in a plot to kidnap a princess escalates first into a conflict between nations and then into a quest to save the world from the destructive Kuja. Like the other PS1 entries in the series, the music is exemplary, and the soundtrack entries not featured below should by no means be ignored.
You're Not Alone The defining moment of Final Fantasy IX is undoubtedly when lead character Zidane has a crisis of identity and abandons his friends, only for them to come to his aid one by one in a series of battle sequences. This piece plays throughout, and it's hard to think of anything that would be more suiting. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uClMyknwUE
Kuja's Theme Kuja is severely underrated as a villain. Highly flamboyant, much like Kefka, his character is a complex one that is more than adequately served by this leitmotif, which is both mysterious and theatrical. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHDXeQrU5mk
Dark Messenger The game's final showdown with Kuja is scored by this heavy piece, which conveys his descent into insanity (through the chilling organ music) and the increasing desperation of those that oppose him (the latter half of the track). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tj9XLBz4E3s
Feel My Blade The game begins with Zidane's band of thieves masquerading as theatre actors, and one of their stage battles is scored by this piece, which is both regal and dramatic enough to befit a performance before royalty. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lM6dwYyF5A
The Place I'll Return To Someday Actually the first piece of music heard in the game (on the main menu), this is remixed in several compositions across four discs of gameplay, none of which top this in terms of tranquility. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW3QK6CTg2g