Uboaaaa!!!

Why do I keep saving these posts for the last minute?  I'm off school tomorrow, so probably expect something mid-afternoonish.

I just can't bear to get off the Final Fantasy train yet.  I need to think of a bunch of other good games that I can make music for (Final Fantasy just has so many good characters and plot events...)

So I am proud to unveil to you all my first MAIN ANTAGONIST musical idea!

Emperor Mateus [Final Fantasy II]

A lot of you are probably unfamiliar with FF2, so allow me to post a couple source materials.

Here's his picture:

And his final battle music...

Neat, huh?  Emperor Mateus is known for his dealings in the Underworld.  He is able to raise demons from Hell itself to do his bidding for him.  No one quite knows why though; it's never explained.  Sure is cool though, huh?  Mr. Mateus confronts the party in a demonic form, and likely expects them to defeat him, as his death allows him to fully amass himself in the underworld and become the ruler of Hell.  Make sure you take in all the possibilities before you defeat your villain, everyone.  That's the moral here.

Well, let's see.  What does our dear Emperor do next?  He uses his power to raise an otherworldly kingdom from the Earth and use it to rule over humanity.  This castle is known as Pandaemonium, and the music from it was referenced in the post below.

Mateus in a way strikes me as the original Kefka, honestly.  He was a villain who didn't take nothin' from nobody.  He killed people, poisoned towns' water supplies, and became the ruler of Hell, all with a smile on his face.

The song I'd like to pose to you all tonight is the raising of Pandaemonium from the ground.  I'm excited!

Imagine, if you will, the newly defeated Emperor in his demon form.  He falls to the ground, reverts to his human image, and begins to laugh.  Softly at first, getting louder.  I like the idea of an organ being prevalent in this song because both the Pandaemonium Theme and his Final Battle music are somewhat regal and majestic, while dissonant and conflicting.  Anyway, some light organ chords played in the laughter, and then finally, he lifts his head, his eyes glowing red, and he begins to laugh maniacally as the ground begins to shake.  A pinnacle erupts from the ground, the Emperor balancing on its point, and the entire demonic castle Pandemonium begins to rise out of the ground as its surroundings become more and more warped and the music gets more and more crazy.

He begins to sing about the futility of Firion (the hero's) plight, mocking him as the castle turrets erupt and it grows higher and higher.  The music swells and becomes more grandiose as the landscape warps and becomes more and more hellish.  Pandaemonium is a success!  We then have Emperor Mateus, maybe even floating on the zenith of his newly founded castle, the capital of Hell itself risen from the ground, gloating garishly about his victory against a vast, starry night sky, eyes still ablaze.  As he grows madder and madder with power up on his parapet, he claps his hands and the gate to enter the castle opens ominously, and a final verse of the song echoes down to taunt Firion and his crew.  Then the camera returns to Mateus up the highest point of his castle, once again, to finish out his demonic elegy with one final stirring chorus, a high tenor belt note comparable something out of an Andrew Lloyd Webber power ballad, but much darker and much more chilling.  He ends with maniacal, otherworldly laughter over some final organ chords, after which he utters one final taunt, such as "Meet you inside..." or something, and begins to laugh maniacally as the scene slowly fades out into obscurity.

That took longer than I thought.  I really like Mateus though, he was an unexpected find in FF2.