#9 - The Oracle (Dark Lich) - Secret of Mana

[Batmaaaan23]

Sad that there are apparently problems with #10...

[Batmaaaan23]

This song was different than the general theme of the rest of the Secret of Mana songs. But damn, it's great!

[Zeemis]

SNES Dubstep anyone?

[GenkiTsukino]

I hate this!

[JabTomcat]

@GenkiTsukino Why you no like?

[thefidlerontheroof]

@hehfilms oi, oi, oi. What's your bloody problem, ay?!

[dissident93]

@hehfilms Ve limpiar te la concha y vete a la chingada, pendejo.

[EvilLordBob]

Two things: First off great boss music, gives a nice frantic feel to the fight in my opinion...Second how is the sprite and the girl both welding the whip at the same time?

[dissident93]

@hehfilms Who said I was? I simply suggested it. Looking at your channel comments, seems like you are disliked. Were you not loved as a child, and are taking out that frustration upon others? jajaja

Chinga tu madre, odioso pedazo de mierda.

[dissident93]

@hehfilms My inability? hahaha How do you even know how I act? I could be trolling.

[dissident93]

@hehfilms HA! Just because I use terms that you had to Google, doesn't label me with Asperger's.

[dissident93]

@hehfilms blah blah blah

What joke? Are you resorting to using ad hominem because I simply corrected you? Sheesh

[dissident93]

@hehfilms The SPC700 did not synthesize, it used ADPCM samples.

[Hugemetallfan]

0:38 Here we go again :) Love that sound...

[deathbyvamp]

just randomly got the urge to pull up this song for some reason...remember years back when the game was still new..this was the first of 2 boss battle songe in any game to catch my attention so much i forgot i was fighting and got killed lol

[PURPLEMILKSHAKES]

badass



[Ui2019]

1:10 this is the part that makes it for me..

[DFLOODyeaa]

Badass theme for a pussyass boss lolz.

[ntwynn]

I remember experiencing genuine fear during this encounter. Then again I was like 8... and then AGAIN Thanatos was one SCARY ASS MOFO. Remember what he did to Dyluck? And how many times did he reincarnate that poor motor cycle riding bastard? This dude is as evil as they come.

[dilps]

The dark side of RPG's unleashed, anyone else enjoying it as much as I am? :)

[donut33333]

Most horrifying rpg track ever

[hotboxingisfun]

Man I really need to play SoM again. I don't think I ever made it this far. But I fought the Mana Beast once on a friend's saved game, and called it good.

[ScratchyKay]

I kinda remember hiding under the couch when first coming across Thanatos in that form.. the music didn't help!! But yeah, it's one of the most freaky and epic scores ever!

[Onslaught808]

Everytime I listen to this, I wanna get all hyphy n' shit!

[06hatter]

Listen to the last part of "Goodbye Sober Day" by Mr. Bungle and tell me that parts of this don't remind you of the chanting.

[hanna456]

lol, i'm 15 and im loving the SNES games and music (more than the games of today...minus Kingdom hearts). Is that strange? :O

[dissident93]

@hanna456 Why does age matter when choosing to like a certain era? I like classical, ragtime, and jazz. I'm 18. haha

[hanna456]

@dissident93 idk i was just wonderin :))

[dissident93]

Sounds like that part in Goodbye Sober Day.

Anyone else hear it?

[Loftusboi]

playing this when i was around 7 or 8, this was really scary! The music suited the boss so perfectly, really dark tune.

[OmegaPirate]

It's definitely different from mostly all the songs in the game, and so you've been playing it for ages and thenwhen you hear it it's like oh WOW THAT'S DIFFERENT!

[TangFiend]

13 People never learned to dance with this bad motherfucker!

[ty2]

Oh Crap! *pause* Lemme go to the bathroom, sit up and wipe the sweat off of my hands cause this is serious. NOW I think I am ready. *takes deep breath and unpauses* Hear we go . . .

[ralfnummelin]

This is hands down the best game ever made

[sephrinx]

@ralfnummelin Honestly, i would have to agree... i still play it. Still. My SNES is 20 Years old and it hasn't crapped out Once.

[horncomposer]

lol.....it's not really gamelan, though it does use some balinese instruments. its more reminiscent of kecak, which uses interlocking voices creating a really cool texture. there are lots of performances on youtube; i believe one is a "suggestion" by youtube too lol

[SumeaBizarro]

TSEK TSEK TSEK

HEKEHEKEHEKEHEKEHEKEHEKEHEKEHE­KEHEKEHEKEHEKEHEKEHEKEHEKEHEKE­HEKEHEKEHEKEHEKEHEKEHEKEHEKEHE­KEHEKEHEKE

TSEK HEK HUMM

[earthboundPSI]

this aint bad , but for it to be in the top ten is a disgrace

[OrcishSlacker]

The best part about the Dark Lich's theme is that it's so far from the style of music that you'd expect in a fantasy based game yet it works so well.

[dardo1790]

this song is freaking awesome, when i was child i listened to it like nine times for day, now i know why i'm so psycho

[thevoiceofdissent]

This is quite possibly the most badass use of any Gamelan music. EVER. 

[indowill]

bet you hiroki kikuta was vacationing in Bali and saw a kecak dance performance, which inspires this song.

[MengoMango]

Oh god i hate those bells. When everyone started turning creepy in that game and those bells started working their way into the music I was creeped out.

[fmthebaron]

Part of this music is in Snoop Dog's song Sweat.

[bvveen]

Such a good song wowww.

[AvlidaPower]

Seriously i just cant get enough of this track!!!

[m00ra]

Amazing Song, but i'm surprised you chose this instead of Meridian Dance

[digitalshower]

Just an amazing tune from my childhood.

[Akil12480]

One of the best songs ever!!!!!!

[PaganPoet]

What? Thrash metal? Hip hop? Industrial? All of you are WRONG, this is 100% Balinese Gamelan Orchestra!  Search "Gamelan Orchestra," watch the first video you find and then try to tell me that isn't the sound the composer was going for.

[SirBeanTheJust]

@PaganPoet I think you may be onto something here... The second video under that search reminded me of Ceremony, the theme for the South Ruins. Which I guess is appropriate since the two themes are related to the same character. ;o

Good find!

[DaJaeff]

@PaganPoet

haha pretty funny i just commented a gamelan video and I wrote that it totally reminded me of this song^^

[Sahuagin]

@PaganPoet yeah, I think you're right; that's the exact style of music in all of the dark ruins areas as well

[clerk123]

Wow....this is fucking sick.

[davehead3]

I loved this song and fight as a kid. It was my parents who were afraid of it.

[Blade2xtremeFTW]

I remember I used to have a save (then of course go through the Mana Fortress again) just to hear this theme. I would leave the wheel menu up just to listen to it forever!

[CetranRage]

this is more front 242 type industrial than any other genre, if one was trying to compare, but it is perfect the way it is.

[MonsterMan1]

Love working out to this song.

[ensanguined2]

@Lrdvltr stfu your gay you honestly got no childhood

[Lrdvltr]

@ensanguined2 Settle down there son.

[shadix365]

all I can hear when I listen to this song is a black guy say booty over and over again.

[lazomaniac]

my hair is a demon

[XFFGSephiroth]

Thanatos vs Bieber.........

FIGHT!

thanatos wins....*BOING*.........

flawless victory.....

FATALITY !

[jonrwert]

it has Indonesian elements, the melody on the bells/gongs sound and the vocals

[Crossroadsinc]

The problem with most remixes is the suffer a critical flaw:

Most remixes try to "orchestrate" older game music. which 90% of the time is a good thing. most RPG game music, especially SoM, sounds AMAZING played from a full orchestral. "Dark Lich" however is, lets face it, one step away from head-banging 'Thrash Music'

it is almost impossible to DO a remake of this other then adding in Rock music or Heavy Metal.

[genericsavings]

@Crossroadsinc See, I have a problem with rock/heavy metal remixes... not that there's anything wrong with the genre of music, but I feel once you take it out of it's element, the remix comes off as "soul-less". Most of the time, I can respect the composers craft and appreciate the music/composition regardless of the fact that it's not "HD-ified". The SNES sound chip was no slacker... and neither was the composer.

It's perfect the way it is. =D

[shadix365]

@Crossroadsinc Dude this is gangsta hip hop I dunno what your talking about. Thats the other misconception that vgm is supposed to be played with LOL GUITARS AND METAL.

[LoneWolff82]

Could you imagine playing Friday the 13th to this song. And it would play everytime Jason showed up...holy shit!!!!

[LoneWolff82]

I have not ever played this game and listening to this song...makes me feel like a mediocre snes fan. Ima find this game!!!

[mopbrothers]

Is Thanatoss suppose to be Lich? If so, why does the game call him Lich and not Thanatoss?

[kryenarl]

@mopbrothers Thanatos is his name, but a Lich is what he is. I believe a Lich is a very powerful, evil spirit.

[morgasaurus]

@kryenarl A lich is an intelligent, willful undead being who has his soul bound to a physical object so that even if he loses his body, he can return via a different body.

[SuperHushPuppy]

@morgasaurus Yup. That's death for ya. He sure likes to have fun around the wicked beings in this world.

[mistaphill]

I never made it this far in the game, but this track is intense..especially when a lot of the music in the game is very calming.

[cauthan]

Secret of Mana is my favorite game of all time. And this is my favorite theme from a video game.

[jarannalli]

Holy piss. Listen to this song with head phones on. I didn't realize that it jumps back and forth through speakers like that. lol

[galenloire]

You know, every time I hear this I imagine the main character in the middle of a deserted city, with a swarm of skeletons coming at him with everything they got from every house, street, and sewer entrance. Bad ass.

[theevilone1992]

how do you get this song i want it on my laptop



[RhetteLawe]

heh... i always find it interesting to see what people think of different music arrangements. 16 bit stuff usually gets looked down on, but this particular song is a good example of a person can really do with a 16 bit sound system. If this was done accoustically, it'd take 3-4 seperate musicians, 2 of which would be work percussion instruments, and that's as a minimum.

[Sabrina902]

The Dark Lich was always fun to fight

[majicodemejico]

Just a bit of info for those who care:

The poly-rhythmic chanting comes from a Balinese spiritual chant called the 'Ramayana monkey chant'. I suggest you search for it if you want to hear where Hiroki Kikuta got his sample from.

[MrFunnyCloud]

i cryied at the end... and it still makes me sad just thinking about it... i had a wonderfull childhood 'cause of this game!

[IsilionNELE]

@MrFunnyCloud you're not the only one. this game made me cry too. ;_;

[liltina106]

I loved this music

[btnheazy03]

fcuking scary, man

[kabookiejoe]

im so glad u can download this game to the wii.

[CreationProblematic]

This is the ABSOLUTELY THE MOST EPICALEST WIN OF ALL 16BIT MUSIC COMPOSERS!!!

[Alexx1083]

Speaking of Gamlans: I remember first hearing Gamlans in a music class, and I thought "THAT'S what they used in that SoM song!!" I was so excited that it was a real instrument that I asked the teacher after class for the song she played for us. Anyway, I've LOVED this song from the first time I heard it. It's like the scary Temple music pumped up with METAL.

[wilsonelmalo]

this boss and music gave me nightmares as a little kid

[theadventuresofmary]

I'm fifteen and my little brother plays this game religiously. This song still scares the shit out of me.

[scottw182]

Best boss battle theme of all time...OF ALL TIME!

[RaDiCaLRyAn69]

This is so weird... I like it lol

[singedrac]

This is indonesian gamelan music. People, seriously, check out some examples of gamelan music. This is a great song but the composer didn't come up with it from scratch. It's a musical style that's been around for generations in southeast asia.

[damnittwice]

I never get tired of hearing this.

[FuNSizE4LifE1253]

beast song and i agree I would fight him again and again just to hear it too bad you can't save right before him...

[Suomimaster]

Yes, this is totally one of the most badass boss theme. It's a shame that video game industry doesn't put so much effort in to the music anymore.

[Stradivarius8457]

God damn this is a sweet song.

[Kalingrato]

OMG!! run!!! We need more music like this. Now all games sound pretty much similar :( I remember this, I played this game with my sister back in the days. Awesome multiplayer :)

[sephrinx]

Note that both the Sprite and The Girl are equipped with the Whip. This happened to me once with her having the sword, along with the hero... idk how it happened but it was cool!

[kakurion]

i loved that song as a 10 year old kid, and now i even love it more than back =) good memories

[upland54321]

this beat is sick so ahead of its time ...i wish the crookers remixed this...

[Cardensha]

if people who made music back when had everything to work with they would today, it would be amazing.

[TylerNessss]

awesome game! awesome techno sort of track..

great effort

you dont see these kinda riscy tracks in games anymore

[mrcuda]

@TylerNessss

OH GOD THE MEMORIES, THEY HAUNT ME!

CHARGE DEM WEAPONS, USE DEM ELEMENTS! Dat silly tree n all. LoL. Good game.

[PaperMario15]

Very unique song...You can tell the music composer was feeling creative when they made this.

[TenouHaruka0]

I smell an acid trip! Hehehe, but a very good one to come up with something like this.

[singedrac]

@PaperMario15 This game had awesome composers, but this music is in the gamelan style (It's good too). Check out some other examples of gamelan if you like this. :)

[dissident93]

@singedrac This game only had one composer, Hiroki Kikuta.

[singedrac]

@dissident93

Okay then this game had an awesome composer. Happy now?

[dissident93]

@singedrac My bad, I didn't mean to come across as an asshole.

[singedrac]

@dissident93

Sorry, I was just a bit touchy yesterday. Happens.

[dissident93]

@singedrac Yep.

[dissident93]

@singedrac And I mean no offense by that.

[Jaegerjaques92]

@PaperMario15 its like a japanese-industrial-ish music:d

yeah too bad there aint any good remix or smth

[BradZorZZZ]

i LOVE this game

[guaranimex]

Desquiciable y agadable a la vez.

[iMacxXuserXx485]

This is super epic sauce? Well your so right about this song.

[PhDMegaManX]

if you like this track play the game all the way through and then beat this boss. and while youre at it pplay the original megaman X , X2 and X3 they had some of the most bad ass metal and dance i'd heard at the time, i mean shit comparable to opeth and darude. snes had the best BGM for the games

[yurakuklipsch]

epic. ^^

[Crossroadsinc]

*HEADBANGS* Dude I would fight that Lich over and over and OVER JUST to hear this theme, BEST Boss fight theme of any 16bit old school games!!!

Its a freaking Shame there are NO good remixes of it!!!

[MewEcks]

There is one orchestra version of it.

[Crossroadsinc]

Never heard it before, know where I could find it?

[MewEcks]

etm28Ubj_-o

I hope you know where this goes.

[Drakerrr]

@Crossroadsinc I've searched for a long time now, but no remix was as good as the original... That's interesting, considering it's a snes game :D... I love it

[musicftwh1]

@Crossroadsinc i agree. i still like "danger" though

[juxtapositioning]

@Crossroadsinc I have done the same thing too. This is how I stumbled upon the 9th power orbs ^_^

[Drakerrr]

@Crossroadsinc It's impossible to create a remix that represents this pure pressure (and probably memory ;)

[byebyebrain138]

@Crossroadsinc i used to download this song (among others) just to keep hearing them over and over. this game brings back so many good memories and is my fav snes. omg this song is good!!

[unbornsonic0]

@Crossroadsinc lol man i think everyone did , or walked around like an idiot turning into a barrol, a midget or whatever that other thing was

[Blues2Dark]

@Crossroadsinc You got that right!

[LastL33T]

@Crossroadsinc

I completely agree - approx. 50 fights against Lich just because of this theme. :D

[Koitaaaa]

I still have nightmares with this music, i think i was a 6 year little girl when i played this game. Lucky my father played this game with me lol

[enetick]

well i used to play this as a REALLY LITTLE kid like before i could read like u know 4 5 and 6 so i played alone skipped through text and made it here and nearly crapped myself when this thing came up behind me lol

[aznluvr7]

This could actually make a decent dance track.

[golbezchaoslord]

thanatos is a undead warlock from the underworld. he is seeks more power and a new body. so yes he makes allys but in the end he ends up killing them.

[DarienFithos]

yeah the first time i fought him i was alone at night in the dark. i FREAKED. this music still scares me sometimes.

[rashreflection]

why doesn't this track get more love from square nerds

[LoZTwilight]

when i was six ore seven and i met thanatopsis and fought him, i almost crap my pants when this tune started, i rememer putting the tv one mute every time, good old times =D

[mopbrothers]

why does the game call this guy Dark Lich? It's Thanatopsis Morons!

[ouroborosi]

a lich is a necromancer/mage who turned himself into an undead to life forever that is what thanatos is.

So before you call people morons you better work on your fantasy knowledge

[CayanMagusson]

Also, Thanatos is the name of the ancient Greek God of Death, not to be confused with Hades, God of the Dead. The Dark Lich appears in other Seiken Densetsu games, most notably as one of the final bosses in Seiken Densetsu 3, which was never released officially in the US.

What I don't understand is why a couple people are calling him "Thanatopsis." I'll google it...

[dreamstone14]

I recall nostalgic every day...

[ibeatpudding]

Really, I consider Thanatos the final boss because to me, the mana beast was too easy! This song rocks!

[naynay101hotdog]

dooo dooo doooo doooo do do do

[Karldaj]

Jepp, in the german he was called Tantalus (like the FF IX Organisation) and not  Thanatos. Sigmund Freund describes Thantos as the "Todestrieb"

[kauyun]

when I was litle, and I battled this boss the first time, I almost pissed my pans!^^

The music and Tantalus (that was his name in germany) were just to creepy! I think I even got nightmares because of him!^^ now these are fond memorys... strange isn't it?^^

[KhagarBalugrak]

Actually, this song isn't that scary at all. There's not much to it, really.

[dinosaur5oup]

That electric saw sound in the latter half creeps the crap out me! Not to mention the rest of the song sounds like a saw too...a hand saw...LOL...

[mistaphill]

killer boss track, especially when a lot of this game had such calming melodies in it

[blacksaboth6]

dude, this is my favorite song in the whole game, great pick! i remember facing him. sometimes id just go through the last level just to fight him, then id press Y and listen to it for a good 10 min.

[Arkhigoul]

Ai ai ai ai ai ai!!!

[poltergeistx]

OMG what I would give to hear this song played live!

[naynay101hotdog]

... It was made with a computer program, not a sampler.

[poltergeistx]

sincerely, I don't get the point of your comment :S

[naynay101hotdog]

It wasn't made with a mixer, sampler, or sound board.

It was made with a computer program, such as FL Studio's, a beat program.

[poltergeistx]

ok, but what is the relevance? if you mean that because this song was made with a computer program it cannot be played live is (and i'm sorry, I mean no offense). That is what arrangements are for.

[DarkPhoenixRising]

It was played live at Symphonic Fantasies yesterday and will be played live today again in Cologne.

It sounded way better than this version with a real orchestra, still I don't like that song much.

[poltergeistx]

point proven, thanx dark :P