Last Battle (Final Fantasy III)

"Last Battle" , also known as "This is the Last Battle", "The Final Battle", "Battle to the Death", or "Cloud of Darkness" is the final boss theme of Final Fantasy III. It was composed by Nobuo Uematsu in 1990.
"Last Battle" is the first true final boss theme in the series, as the original Final Fantasy only used a regular random encounter theme for Chaos, and the original Final Fantasy II used the regular boss theme for the Emperor. Ports of Final Fantasy gave Chaos his own final boss theme, whereas Final Fantasy II had new boss themes and established the boss theme used in the original as the Emperor's final boss theme.
==Game appearances==
===Final Fantasy III===
"This is the Last Battle" plays during the two encounters with Cloud of Darkness. This theme was released in the Original Sound Version album as the 43rd track.
"This is the Last Battle" was arranged for the 3D remakes by Tsuyoshi Sekito and Keiji Kawamori and released as "Last Battle" (known as "The Final Battle" in the game's Gallery). However, two versions of the theme's intro were added to be used in cutscenes featuring the Cloud of Darkness, while "Last Battle -3-" is the theme used in the battle against the entity. "Last Battle -1-" to "Last Battle -3-" are the 54th to 56th tracks of the original soundtrack.
===Final Fantasy XIV===
A rearranged version of "Last Battle" titled "The Reach of Darkness" plays during the battle against the Cloud of Darkness as she appears as the final boss of the Crystal Tower storyline. It was arranged by Yoshitaka Suzuki and Masayoshi Soken.
"Hunger" is an arrangement of the introduction of "Last Battle" arranged by Soken.
"Hunger" and "The Reach of Darkness" are the 55th and 56th tracks in Before the Fall: Final Fantasy XIV Original Soundtrack.
===Final Fantasy XV===
"This Is the Last Battle -arrange- (from FINAL FANTASY III)" appears in the Final Fantasy XV music player as part of the Memories of DISSIDIA FF album bought from Old Lestallum for 500 gil.
===Dissidia Final Fantasy (2008)===
"This Is the Last Battle -arrange- from FINAL FANTASY III" is in arrangement of "Battle to the Death" by Tsuyoshi Sekito. It is the sixteenth track of the first disc soundtrack.
The theme can be used as a battle background theme, and can be selected automatically for battles taking place at the World of Darkness, or including Onion Knight or Cloud of Darkness.
====Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy====
"This Is the Last Battle -arrange- from FINAL FANTASY III" appears as a battle theme. It can be selected automatically for battles taking place at the World of Darkness and the new Crystal Tower arena, or including Onion Knight or Cloud of Darkness.
====Dissidia Final Fantasy NT====
The Dissidia Final Fantasy-arranged track and the original NES version can be bought from the shop for 3,600 gil.
===Theatrhythm Final Fantasy===
"This Is the Last Battle" is a bonus Battle Music Sequence available as downloadable content. It was released in North America on August 9.
====Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call====
"This Is the Last Battle" is a BMS track and is available in the base game.
====Theatrhythm Final Fantasy All-Star Carnival====
"This Is the Last Battle" is a playable Battle Music Sequence. It can be bought in the song store for 5 sound medals.
Difficulty	 	 	 	
Beginner 	Basic	Expert	Ultimate	Transcendent
N/A 	3 	5 	10 	N/A
===Chocobo Racing===
The Fantasia Track uses a version of "Last Battle" as its theme music, named "Illusion World." It is the twenty-fifth track of the original soundtrack.
==Arrangement album appearances==
===Final Fantasy III: Eternal Legend of the Wind===
In this studio album, the "Last Battle" was rearranged by Nobuo Uematsu into a medley, and renamed "The Dark Cloud." It is the last track of the album.
===The Black Mages III: Darkness and Starlight===
The theme was also included in their third studio album The Black Mages III: Darkness and Starlight. This version was retitled "KURAYAMINOKUMO" ("The Cloud of Darkness") and featured an extended guitar and keyboard solo by performed by Michio Okamiya, Kenichiro Fukui, and Tsuyoshi Sekito. It is the fifth track of the album.
This track was included in the Final Fantasy III: Original Soundtrack album.
===Piano Opera Final Fantasy I/II/III===
A piano arranged version of the theme appears on this album. It was arranged by Hiroyuki Nakayama, and is the final track of the album.
==Compilation album appearances==
===Square Enix Battle Tracks V.1===
This theme was included in this compilation of Square Enix battle themes from Nintendo-console titles released between 1985 and 1996. It is the fifth track of the album.
===Final Fantasy Vinyls===
"This is the Last Battle" is included on the fifth disc of this collector's edition set.
==See also==
*Final boss theme
it:Battle to the Death (Final Fantasy III)
Category:Battle themes from Final Fantasy III
Category:Battle themes from Final Fantasy XIV
Category:Battle themes from Dissidia Final Fantasy (2008)
Category:Battle themes from Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
Category:Battle themes from Theatrhythm Final Fantasy
Category:Battle themes from Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call
Category:Musical themes from Chocobo Racing