I love reading your comments, firstly because they are complimentary and that's good for the ego, but mainly because you don't hesitate to be honest.
The second part is indeed more joyful, and that's a bias I have. Thanks to your comment, I thought about it and asked myself why I imagine a joyful part in boss music. The answer is “Nobuo Uematsu” and his boss music from Final Fantasy. I've listened to his OSTs so much that I've become completely immersed in them. In all of his boss compositions, there's a more uplifting passage, which is a way of representing the heroes' hope in the face of the boss. The boss theme is mixed with the hope that the player will defeat him.
On the contrary, in Koji Kondo's music (which I've listened to a lot), there are no cheerful or hopeful parts.
So there are two types of boss music:
- Classic boss music (just the boss theme)
- Music that represents the battle between the hero and the boss
Thank you for making me realize that!