#yes technically for aos and dos i should have put chaotic realm and the abyss

[beevean]

Favourite final stage themes in Castlevania?

Oh ho :D

10) Out of Time (C1): I feel Heart of Fire overshadows this one. I liked it ever since I played the game! It fits the clockwork stage and it also feels appropriate for the final level, it screams "this is the homestretch, give it the best you got!"

9) Pinnacle (DoS): I can't really explain why I like it, but I do. It just sounds appropriately climatic.

8) The Colossus (OoE): strangely upbeat for a final level, especially compared to An Empty Tome and Ebony Wings, but how could I not appreciate that organ and especially those strings? <3

7) Calling from Heaven (CB): from the last "final level" Yamane has composed to the first one lmao. Dat Genesis twang <3 it feels heavy, somehow.

6) Den (RoB): just a banger through and through. Shred that guitar!

5) Demonic Castle (HoD): yeah, you hear it first as the fourth zone of the game, but you also go through the same area before the final boss so there. One of the best pieces in the OST, dissonance on point, quite menacing and confusing.

4) Top Floor (AoS): why is the theme of the hardest area in the game such a danceable bop?

3) Gaze up at The Darkness (PoR): super duper underrated as the theme of the menacing castle keep. This one is straight up intense, with the strings and the driving drums.

2) Dracula’s Castle (CoD): apparently not many people like this one? And good luck finding covers when it shares a name with the far more famous SoTN theme. Personally, I love it. Yes, the harp intro goes on for a little too long (1:20 is more than enough), but after that, the strings and the guitars just feel like anxiety incarnate, this constant buildup that makes you feel like something horrible will happen if you don't hurry up.

1) Leon’s Theme (LoI): one of the absolute best pieces Yamane-san has ever composed. What a genius move to leave Leon's theme for the ending, after he lost everything he held dear! Because the tragedy that he suffered is what shaped him and the Belmont clan as a whole. And this is just a beautiful, raw classical piece that conveys Leon's sorrow and determination to kick Walter's ass in the most elegant way <3

Honorable mention to The Tragic Prince, which is only the "final level" theme of the normal castle and it's an optional area to boot, but how could I miss on this iconic masterpiece with an out of tune guitar that still somehow fits.