Hey, speaking of battle themes, the soundtrack! The RGG game has a great soundtrack, blah blah blah, I'm sure you're used to this by now. But still, I just feel the need to highlight it. I really like the direction they went with the music here. Yakuza 5's soundtrack centers mostly around hard rock, even compared to the rest of the series. And man, it just delivers with every track. It just might be one of my favorites, and again, that's REALLY saying something considering how amazing the composers at RGG are. The street battle themes are just banger after banger. Isolated Fight delivers on the aforementioned "old man kiryu sick of everything" front, and is just a pretty underrated track in general. Hailstorm fits both Saejima and his city perfectly with some amazing riffs thrown in. Affected Fight 1:17. FUNKASTIC HIT sounds like a baseball stadium organ theme and then hits you with a sick ass guitar solo.
The two generic boss themes, Extermination and Full-scale offensive are both just strong tracks, and I was always excited to hear them (in the game?!?!?!?!??! yakuza 3 referens???!?!?!?!?!). Then there's all the actual boss themes. There's just not a single miss for me.
The place where I used to be is such a badass track that enhances the moment it's played in so much. I beliEVEEEEE IN YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU. Dynamic and Magnificent is a funky fun time, and honestly fits Akiyama way more than Kanai. Another underrated track I just don't see talked about so much. Tag of the man is too, and is a great fit for Shinada. Daigo's western theme 1:07. Collisions of our Souls and The maximum ill luck are just SO heavy, capturing the strength of the men you fight in that guitar and I adore them both for that.
The long battle themes really stick out to me as memorable tracks in a soundtrack full of them. Endless fight is a pretty unique track, giving you a feeling of desperation, yet still needing to press on. Nuisances gives off the same vibes of Isolated Fight, and makes it even heavier. Christmas Night Raid and 36-Strings Nocturne both added so much to the long battle they played in for me, and I really dig the unique instruments they used in both.
Then there's the final boss themes... Alright, fine, I admit I'm just using this whole section as an excuse to talk about the entire soundtrack. No, I'm not sorry. Anyways:
Receive and Slash You is one of my favorite renditions of our favorite one-eyed goober's theme. It perfectly displays the sorrow of this fight, with the piano telling you that there's no Mad Dog in this duel. It's just a man facing his brother, showing the snakes in the corner some fireworks.
The Mutual Fists captures the feelings of both fighters well, with the guitar wail almost sounding like Baba screaming out to the skies. The leading guitar and the riffs do a lot to elevate the theme, and I love how the extra reverb adds to the atmosphere of the stadium.
End of the Rematch exudes Akiyama's animosity towards Kanai in such an amazing way. It sounds exactly like what it's playing for: the making of a legend. He's been waiting some time to kick this dude's face in, and it shows.
And of course... The Battle for the Dream. What can I even say about it? It's just perfect. Excellent song for what might be one of the greatest fights in the series.