One of the craziest things about Fortissax is when you dive into his lore you learn that he is a true bro.

To keep it short but understandable: Godwyn was a powerful demigod, the classic Heroic and Beloved God. So Heroic, that he defeated the Dragon Fortissax, so Beloved that after the fight, they became friends. In the day of Godwyn's Death, Fortissax flew to his aid, but couldnt help his friend, and got corrupted by the power of Destined Death. Now, Fortissax "lives" to fight and protect Godwyn's body, using not only his own Red Lightining spells, but Godwyn Golden Lightining Spells, infused with the Death Blight created by his friends fall.

"I'm sure this (fromsoft) boss is at least twice the size of the player". In related news, I'm pretty sure bread is edible.

Fortissax is also the brother of Lansseax, the dragon who ran the church after peace was made between the Ancient Dragons and the Demigods of the Golden Order. Who granted the beloved hero lord Vyke her blessings and hoped he would bring salvation only to watch him fall to the temptation of chaos. Dragons can't catch a break in this world.

This song is impossible to predict holy moly, you think its going one direction and it goes a completely different direction that works more than you expected, very neat song

As a cello player, when that cello kicked in I had goosebumps for like five years afterwards. Also quick edit, it also blows my mind that a human composes these tracks. A human brain.

Elden Ring really delivered on the dragon fights. The OSTs of Lichdragon Fortissax and Dragonlord Placidusax are phenomenal and their fights are so cinematic that dying 30 times to Fortisaxx didn't bother me at all. After completing the story I'm now clearing up all side bosses, collecting every item and have rebirthed myself for PvP as a dragon cultist!

Keep in mind that Fortissax is a hidden optional boss. That means this gem is literally hidden away until a curious soul completes Fia's questline and gets rewarded with this magnificent track.

Fortissax theme is one of my favourites songs of all Soulsborne saga. The organ in this song is on fire haha. I would like to Recomend Godskin Apostle from Elden Ring, my favourite song of the game. I was so sure the songs would be so amazing that I pre-ordered the deluxe edition just to have the album and I wasn't dissapointed at all. :D. LORE CONTENT: Fortissax is a Dragon who was defeated by a demigod, Godwyn, but Godwyn decided to create a friendship after this conflict. Years passed and Godwyn was killed and as desperate try to save his friend's soul from Death's corruption, he, Fortissax, could not resist to it and got corrupted as well, becoming the Lichdragon.

God, Fortissax was such a cinematic fight, but I was so caught up trying to dodge his lightning that I never got to properly hear the track! I think the 'Lich' in his name is pronounced with a hard ch sound though, like chair. At least assuming it carries over from Liches as a class of undead, which would make sense with his character.

Phase 2 is probably my favorite piece of music in the game. Great reaction and thoughts on it!

Fortissax was easily one if my favourite boss fights. When he rears back and summons two ancient lightning spears, it was one of the most terrifying first experiences in the game

I’ll never get over how hard the opening of this OST is. My first time hearing this in the game and seeing Fortissax i immediately got goosebumps. Just an insane spectacle

6:03 is just absolutely brilliant!

I feel like the cello is meant to represent Fortissax's love and respect for Godwyn as well as his grief. The organ underneath to me is the gradual corruption of destined death slowly eating away at the soul of Fortissax while the choir is like his indomitable will that keeps him alive and protecting the corpse of his now long gone friend.

I absolutely LOVE how Fromsoft tells stories through their music. Like, you can just listen to a track, and you can almost exactly guess the type of character that they are in the story. Like how Fortissax has now went a bit mad with the death of his beloved friend, and you can hear that crazy madness to the track. Yet, somewhere in there there's a hint of sadness, of regret that he couldn't save his friend. The best part of all is that this thing is a dragon. And a completely optional one at that. Very very amazing how they gave an optional boss, a dragon nonetheless, a whole character and personality of its own. I say this because I've fought dragons in other games like Skyrim, and even Alduin didn't have this much character to him. I love that Fromsoft just goes in all in, with everything, and even things that the players have like a 90% chance to miss (even Fortissax is tbh, because the fight is part of a pretty complex questline) they just go all in. Which is why I love what Fromsoft does, they never half ass something, not even things they're almost sure the player will miss.

Glad Marco agrees this is the best track in the game. Because it is. Fortissax’s fight is one I wish I could do over and over just so I could keep hearing his theme. The energy of the music flows so well with the combat, especially in that second phase.

Dragonlord Placidusax is another mouthful and also a really good ost - also mohg lord of blood is great

i love how this song sounds so majestic and twisted at the same time because youre fighting a dragon corrupted by undeath, but at the same time has a sorrowful feeling to it. You can only fight this boss by aiding someone who wants Godwyn, Fortissax's close friend, to fully succumb to the curse and become the lord of those who live in death, so in essence you are crushing a worn down, fallen legend who only wants to protect his dear friend from the defilement that was forced on him, even wielding Godwyn's golden lightning that is twisted by the deathblight consuming them both.

Man, this theme was amazing, a big 10/10. By the way, could you react to yet another Elden Ring OST called "God Devouring Serpent"? This piece of music is probably my favourite amongst all of them ^^

God your use of Faust in this reaction was so good 😭

It’s amazing that the boss this soundtrack was used for can be missed very easily lol, totally wasn’t expecting that when I went into Fia’s dream, legendary game.

Wow your channel is very small for how energetic and fantastic you and your content are, keep up the great work!

I think my favorite, by far, is the theme for Maliketh. The second half is just so unbelievably incredible and invokes so many different emotions at once.

Normal person - "you cannot make organ sound metal" Elden ring composers - "hold my beer" By the way, I'm still waiting for your listening of Midir theme from Dark Souls 3 :)

I love this piece. It's surprising to me that they put so much effort into this song when it belongs to what is, overall, one of the more obscure ending path quests.

Honestly, your takes on the songs have made appreciate more gaming music in general! The songs from elden ring that I loved feel more vivid now. So what I want to say is that I love your videos and your takes on the songs. Please don't stop making these! Mohg, Lord of Blood is my favorite track from the game and I would really love have your take on it!

Big agree with everything you’re saying here. A lot of the themes you brought up regarding this track can also be said for the Darkeater Midir boss fight track from Dark Souls 3. Easily one of my favourite boss themes. That “drama” you speak of elicits such an emotional response that makes me hesitate throughout the fight.

the opening with the cello just hits a certain part of my brain and i'm so obsessed with it lmao

This might be the most evocative song in Elden Ring, and it is for an optional boss with way to little health for the level at which most players fight him. Also this dragon starts the fight with dual lightning Lances of Longinus. There is so much hype in this fight, it needs a health buff for no other reason than we need an excuse to hear the full song in battle

Never say you're bad at the game! use all the recourse that the game brings you enjoy the journey, never feel ashamed of asking for help or share for something you don't know, this game is all about community work and help others, I am sure you'll become Elden Lord

i like how, while themes like maliketh's, godfrey's, radahn's, or even godrick's are just so emotional and connected to their respective character, fortissax's theme just goes in guns blazing and slapping yo ass frame one. definitely the craziest theme in this game by far.

God, I have listened to this literally at least a hundred times, and that first chorus swell of the second phase STILL gives me chills. I can not express how exhilerating that progression is to me. it's crazy. His theme and surrounding setting alone place him at the very top of my favorite bosses and characters, let alone the tragic story of his honor leading to his overwhelming corruption.

This music is way to epic for a boss that had barely any buildup, just a few item discriptions " oh they were freinds with Godwyn cool" BAM, giant black dragon that hurls lightning spears

This track is absolutely wild. My second favorite track from the FromSoftware games I've played, behind Elden Beast. I have a hard time comprehending how someone could compose something as crazy as this is.

I get this feeling of a gorgeous, terrifying tradgedy from this song. Which is very emblematic of the character of Fortissax and his fight. I believe he was corrupted in trying to save a friend of his. And now he’s this staggeringly powerful dragon whom you face in an area that looks like a nightmare in of itself. It’s really something to behold. By the way, I think you’d love the music from the Monster Hunter games if you get the chance. Much like Fromsoft titles it’s a series of massive scale dramatic boss battles which an exceptional soundtrack to match its larger than life enemies. Great video!

The second phase just goes nuts, and I love it

this song was composed by yoshimi kudo, this soundtrack being the first souls game that he's composed music for. i'm blown away by how he authentically feels likes been around the games for a long time! i was happy to see a basiscape artist show up on elden ring's staff ... i personally suggest listening to bunwaii desert from caravan stories or - (ISOLEUCINE) - from 13 sentinels aegis rim for some completely different, but still excellent, pieces of work from him.

One of the coolest fights and ost's. Blew me away. Great discussion of the piece, have a good one!

Okay, now that i listened to it properly, this is really badass! Sounds similar to Midir's song from DS3. While i was fighting it, i had to concentrate to avoid death blight, the lightning, the dragon's lightning, the dragon's hits... no time to listen to music 😂

I get chills every time I hear that cello come in at the start of the song

The first part of the song sounds like hope and goodness might just prevail. Then the drop happens and you realize that was just a dream.

Watching you have a literal eargasm during the 2nd part was funny 😅. This is my favorite Elden Ring OST.

I love how easy it is to see that you're REALLY focused and immersed in the songs you listen to, you just go into your own world, and I love it.

Had to take the glasses off for this one 🔥🔥

Alright thats it, i’m subbing Im so glad you’re talking about the music theory behind some of these creative decisions, as a layman its really fascinating to hear! Would love to hear your thoughts on Beast Clergyman and Lord of Blood, they’re propably my favorites from the game!

Warms my heart seeing someone reacting like that to my favourite souls ost lol

Ah, good ol Lichdragon Fortissax. Decent boss, tied to the end of a questline and one that is required for a specific ending in the game. The name kind of gives away part of his lore, he's a LICH dragon, undead essentially. He actually uses the Death status ailment mechanic in his fight, it's terrifying. The use of the organ I think is spot on in your analysis, it's being used to show that this dragon is unholy, similar to Faust. I hope you get to Fortissax yourself, it's accessible even after you beat the last main bosses, but I do recommend a guide on how to access it.

Loved your breakdown on this! I feel like this song really capitalizes on the lore, where you really feel the glory and awe and magnificence of Fortissax mixed with the horror of what has become of a once-noble being. The lore is pretty brief, but the tale of a dragon- one of the previous rulers of the Lands Between- befriending Godwyn the Golden and then fighting the death within his best friend until he himself was corrupted is a really powerful and awe-inspiring story

I think the time has come for you to react to godskin apostles. Hands down the best theme in the game. Also another evil church theme

The cello really conveys so much feeling

quick note; A lich is a common trope in fantasy, usually they're powerful undead humanoids with vast magic power and are infamously hard to kill... and Fortissax is a LICH-DRAGON... the first half of his name alone tells you exactly what you're fighting, a living nightmare

Omg the ost is so good and I missed fighting this optional boss in my first playthrough, god damn top 3 Elden ring track for sure, actually top 3 in all of from software games after listening for a few days

I only got to Fortissax in Elden Ring this month, and your reaction is almost the exact same as mine when that second phase dropped ingame. Although I experienced it while he was slamming lightning on me lmao. By far one of the most epic and incredible OST in the game and I loved your reference to Faust.

This might be my favorite in the game man. It’s such an incredible listen

Love the commentary!

Possibly my favorite Ost to date. The sad part is, (at least by the time I found the boss) he was so easy that I never got to hear his 2nd phase music until like a year later when I stumbled across it on yt.

As a huge gamer who also went to school for flute performance, I am loving your channel! I agree that this is probably the best track in a game full of amazing music. I was stunned when I came across it in the game!

If you haven't already, can you do a reaction to Maiden Astraea's theme from the Demon Souls remake? Would love to hear your thoughts on it, especially since you enjoyed the music for Elden Beast.

Just wow. I've fought him and did not realise how absolutely incredible this track is. Mindblowing.

The organ is going so ham on this piece, i love it! Organ, and strings are such a good combination

I've been playing Souls games since the original Dark Souls, possibly thousands of hours in all the games combined. And I agree with Marco. This is the singular best piece of music in From Software history, if not the best music I've heard in my life. I was so stunned by it that I had a reverse Marco experience: I was too captivated by the music to notice the boss and had no idea how to fight him in the second playthrough.

Literally the best boss fight because of the theme song

I can't wait for the final boss theme react I really love how somber the theme is compared to how pretty chaotic the actual fight it, and it really feels like something like Gwyns fight or it even has abit of plin plin plon

Glad i found your channel.👍👍😁 Its mindblowing how good theese soundtracks are.😍Would really recomend Cleric beast ost from BB,goosebumps guaranteed.

Yeah, this track is up there with Godskin Apostles, Starscourge Radahn and Beast Clergyman in terms of weaving religious motifs into a more traditional sweeping 'epic' soundscape and coming up with something much deeper than the sum of its parts. This soundtrack (I honestly almost feel like calling it a 'score' is merited) really is an embarrassment of riches. I loved your analysis as usual, and watching you trace the lines of the melody in real time (especially those wild scales in the back half) was a treat; the way the composer tied all of those elements together into a satisfying whole is something that might be easy to overlook because of how powerful the music is, but as you said in your analysis, when you break down all the layers of what's going on, it shouldn't work, and yet it does. As to Fortissax's lore, he was at one point an enemy of Queen Marika and her husband Godfrey, the first Elden Lord, but was subdued in battle by Marika and Godfrey's son Godwyn The Golden, after which Fortissax and Godwyn became friends and the kingdom actually started a cult that worshiped dragons in its capitol. After Godwyn was sort-of killed (killed in soul but not in body), Fortissax fought against the corruption that spread through Godwyn as a result, but failed and was in turn also corrupted, turning him from a dragon into a Lich (undead) dragon. As with most things in Elden Ring's lore, it's a case of "things used to be nice and happy, but we can't have that in a FromSoft game, so here's your patina of melancholy over everything" lol. Your Faust comparison was quite apt, in that sense. Have a great weekend, and cheers as always for the content!

Would absolute love to see your reaction to Dragonlord Placidusax from Elden Ring. My absolute favorite boss fight and track from the game!!

what I love about Elden Ringe is how much effort is put into everything, even hidden bosses have the greatest music and visual design.

Fun fact: The Cello is the BEST instrument

Hey man, you should really check out Malenias theme. Keep these coming, love them!

This boss fight is so chaotic that you barely have any time to process the music, but it's still so effective at delivering the necessary emotional impact. The hallmark of a great soundtrack I think.

its funny listening to the music because ive never heard it even though ive played all the bosses multiple times now. 2-8 times and i don’t remember any of the themes or songs. all of them are incredible. you can almost feel the essence of the fight and boss itself reflected into the music. which is incredible. I love this game so much. its just 👌 perfect

0:31 That was exactly my reaction when I heard the menacing organ. I just wanted to run around and avoid his attacks so I could listen to it, but for being such a good fight with an unbelievable theme, it's really short

This one caught me off guard too. Especially the part after the racing organ portion that swells immediately into this heart wrenching chorus filled with duty, respect, but also despair and sadness that emulates Fortissax's own feelings because he couldn't reach his best friend in time to save him. Even in the opening lyric it sounds like "Me Frater/fratello" which is Fortisax calling Godwin his brother. It gives this feeling that we're seeing the Night of the Black Knives (when Godwin got assassinated) from Fortissax's own perspective, him racing to save his friend but inevitably being too late to do so. So Istead Fortissax chose to stay by Godwin's side as the corruption of death slowly consumed him as well. One of the best in the game. Always love your reactions and analysis, thanks for doing this! :)

Looove. Also highly highly recommend checking out Rykard’s theme if you haven’t. Probably my favorite in the soundtrack especially toward the end

1:02 mans was giving in to the darkness for a second

the change from 3/4 to 5/4 then back to 3/4 if absolutely wild in the first section from 1:10 to 1:53 absolutely loved that

Absolutely fantastic content, you're a very charismatic speaker - Obviously you said yourself you haven't fought this boss just yet, but to me it always sounded like a funeral procession, but I was also made aware of the lore through the gameplay. As the story goes, Godwyn conquered the dragons, and Fortissax befriended him during this conflict, they were extremely close friends - so when Godwyn was the first demi-god to die, Fortissax took him and did everything in his power to hold death itself at bay, eventually falling to the corruption of the rune of death himself. So with that information the song always felt like mourning not only for Godwyn, for for his companion that gave everything even beyond his own life to save his friend. A grand farewell to the majesty that once was.

Part 2 of this song is my favorite in this game, so over the top and epic.

Everything about this fight was excellent, from the build up to the music and even the arena was striking. The greatest thing about it is that it's totally optional and even an illusive secret.

Beautiful... The music as well.

The 2nd half Is pure godlike composition for me That choir's constant up&down climax and that organ, they scream DEATH and DAY OF JUDGEMENT with every note. AND I LOVE IT

My favorite theme in the entire game. I could not hear the whole thing but when I listened to all of it, I did not kill him right away in my second run of the game. It was an amazing experience. Would love to see Placidusax theme his theme is also great and fun fact he has the biggest aeo attack in the game that stops the music entirely.

You know it's good when even professional musicians are left speechless through whole sections of the song

For the record, the ch in lichdragon is pronounced like in torch. It’s the concept of a lich applied to a dragon, in the same way that D&D has dracoliches.

I had the same reaction to the second phase. Especially the 3:13 bit. Also, I would REALLY recommend Mohg, Lord of Blood. Spoilers ahead: There is something both noble and tragic to Fortissax. The dragon once fought Godwyn in battle, but lost to the man. Instead of killing the dragon, Godwyn spared him and became close friends with him. After Godwyn was murdered through the curse of death, Fortissax sent his soul into the cursed dream where Godwyn's soul is trapped in an attempt to save his friend. However, even something as mighty as the ancient dragon Fortissax lost to the nightmare and now remains trapped and corrupted forever alongside his old friend.

I hope to see you react to some of the boss music in the Bayonetta games. I'd love to hear your take on "the Greatest Jubilee" and "You May Call Me Father"

Now imagine listening to this with lightning striking all around you and hearing a dragon roaring.

The "short" title of the exaggerated dang for the second half says it all!!

You know it’s amazing when you take your glasses off to hear better

I did NOT know this OST was so damn good. I was busy trying to dodge this bastards lightning lmao

I take the longest time with this boss just to enjoy this absolute amazing song

man i do recommend Mohg, Lord of Blood ost and Godfrey, First Elden Lord ost. love them

Loved the analisis, i really want you to react to mohg's theme. Keep the quality!

Enjoying your Elden Ring music reactions! I recently fought this boss but sadly I was overleveled and made light work of him. :/ I hope you can react to Starscourge Radahn someday!

6:10 "We are the Warriors who built this town?" - feels?

This song gives me chills

I would also recommend the theme from Dragonlord Placidusax also very good

When i fight this dragon (god) i hear the theme and get really excited with a really high fear of this dude but continue to fight because this ost is totally epic