10 Best Town Themes In RPGs

Summary

• Town themes in RPGs provide a sense of safety and familiarity, evoking simpler times and joyful days.
• The music of RPG towns can capture the essence of the location's people, culture, and historical significance.
• Iconic RPG town themes establish a sense of place and are beloved by both fans of the game and RPG enthusiasts.

Towns and cities can be some of the most interesting locations in an RPG. They are where major story events happen, where you can find new side quests and gear, and where you can enjoy a break after braving the dangers of the fields and dungeons.

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And, of course, it’s hard to talk about any RPG town without mentioning the music that plays during your visit. Town themes run the gamut from evoking a sense of calm and relaxation to being a musical embodiment of the location’s people, culture, and historical significance within the game’s world.

10 Welcome To Our Town! – Final Fantasy 4

There’s No Place Like Home

Final Fantasy town music is often the warm, cosy blanket that greets you after a hard day battling monsters in the field. These themes offer a sense of safety and familiarity through evoking simpler times and joyful days.

While there are plenty of great Final Fantasy town themes to choose from, Welcome to Our Town! from the fourth game perfectly exemplifies this spirit. It is at once whimsical and mellow, hopeful and longing, and is always a welcome listen once you enter a town in Final Fantasy 4.

9 Rose Town – Super Mario RPG

Ring A Ring O’ Rosies

The Rose Town theme in Super Mario RPG is a full-on assault of pure, unbridled fun. Its bouncy rhythm and joyous horns invite you to a party filled with happy, unfrozen Mushroom People and Link from The Legend of Zelda having a quick snooze at the inn.

While the theme of Rose Town was already a fan favourite in the original Super Nintendo game, it was given even more life and buoyancy in the Switch remake. Some pieces of music give you no choice but to smile when listening to them. The Rose Town theme is definitely one of those compositions.

8 Violet City / Olivine City – Pokemon Gold / Silver / Crystal

Tugs Right At The Heartstrings

As soon as you hear those opening notes of the Violet City/Olivine City theme, you are taken straight back to childhood. It instantly evokes memories of being curled up with your Game Boy Color or Nintendo DS, embarking on a grand adventure across the Johto region.

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Even if you didn’t play Pokemon Gold, Silver, or Crystal as a child, this theme can still be appreciated for its sense of innocence and undeniably catchy melody. The Pokemon games scored the childhood for many gamers, and the Violet City/Olivine City theme will forever be etched into the memories of those who played these games back in the 2000s.

7 Alcamoth, Imperial Capital – Xenoblade Chronicles

A Gift From The High Entia

For the largest city on Bionis, one that is home of the mighty High Entia and which literally floats in the sky, it’s appropriate that the Alcamoth theme is simultaneously grandiose and ethereal. The theme glides between a sweeping string section and some truly beautiful vocals, capturing the might and the majesty of both the city and the people who live there.

Alcamoth, Imperial City hits the mark with both its day and night variants. While the day version connects with the imposing scale of the city, the night version highlights its almost heavenly presence sitting above the waters of the Eryth Sea.

6 Black Mage Village – Final Fantasy 9

The March Of The Mage

While a standard Final Fantasy town theme will typically sound homely and soothing, the series is also known for having music that expresses the stories, culture, and history of the town it represents. Case in point: the Black Mage Village theme from Final Fantasy 9.

This theme mixes electronic and acoustic instruments to reflect the strange half-lives that are lived by the Black Mages in this world. While its main tune is endlessly catchy, this theme also hides an undercurrent of dread and anxiety, emblematic of the constant fear of a premature ending faced by the village’s residents.

5 Factory City Of Zeiss – The Legend Of Heroes: Trails In The Sky

Time To Party On The Factory (Dance)Floor

Any good RPG setting will have a theme that vibes perfectly with the energy of its location, and Factory City of Zeiss from the Trails in the Sky games does exactly that. Zeiss is a technologically advanced city in the Kingdom of Liberl, and its theme buzzes along with a chill electronic beat that instantly puts you in a good mood.

Grounding the theme is a piano melody line that is so smooth, it could grease the entirety of Central Factory on its own. While the Trails series is no stranger to fantastic town and city themes, Zeiss takes the cake.

4 The Metropolis Of Fourside – Earthbound

The City That Never Sleeps

For a city that is clearly a parody of New York City, it’s only right that Fourside’s theme sounds like it could be the title sequence track of a '70s cop show based in the Big Apple. The Metropolis of Fourside features a confident melody over a buoyant bossa nova beat that all adds up into a theme that has become synonymous with the entire sound of Earthbound.

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It exemplifies the hustle and bustle of living in a big city, while holding onto the playfulness that permeates throughout much of the game’s soundtrack. While Earthbound is no stranger to great town themes — with Boy Meets Girl Twoson being another highlight — Fourside’s stands above the rest.

3 When The Moons Reaches For The Stars – Persona 3

The Perfect Soundtrack For A Demon-Slaying Teenager

Some songs just never get old, no matter how many times you hear them. In any given playthrough of Persona 3, it’s highly likely that you will spend hours listening to When The Moon Reaches For The Stars as you explore Tatsumi Port Island, yet every second of it will be a pure blast.

This slick, jazzy song will be a constant companion for your ears across the dozens of hours spent playing Persona 3, and there can hardly be a better piece of music up to the task. Hum the melody, sing along to the lyrics, and just let this brilliant example of songwriting and composition take you for a ride.

2 Celacan – Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom

Calling Back To The Past

Like the music for The Godfather movies, what makes Celacan so powerful is that it captures the tragedy at the heart of Hydropolis. This once-great city now exists under strict laws that prohibit anyone from falling in love, enforced by a Queen who knows this harsh existence is the only way to keep the city she loves from being lost forever.

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That’s a lot of complex emotions to represent in one piece of music, so it’s fortunate that the task was given to Joe Hisashi, one of the most emotionally rich composers in film — and now gaming — history. Celacan slowly washes over you with a sense of gravitas and oncoming dread, while fleeting moments of hope and levity still manage to break through.

1 Traverse Town – Kingdom Hearts

Will Always Have A Place In Our Hearts

Iconic RPG town themes work because of how well they establish a sense of place through their music. Traverse Town works because it achieves that so well, while also being close to a perfect piece of music.

With a whimsical melody that floats along as if it were drifting across the universe, this theme is beloved by both Kingdom Hearts and RPG fans alike. It is endlessly hummable and encapsulates the beauty and hopefulness that you feel whenever you return to this destination.

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