Testament was one of the many children orphaned by the war between humans and Gears. In their case, they were adopted by Kliff Undersn, the leader of the Holy Order, aka humanity's first line of defense against the Gears. Testament was a pacifist, but despite that they wanted to live up to their new dads legacy by joining the Order and protecting humanity, but they were killed during a mission. Their remains were collected by an unknown government and subjected to an experimental Gear conversion procedure which brought them back to life, and then they were sent to fight against their former Order allies as a test of their new powers, but shortly after, like (almost) all Gears, their mind was overtaken by the will of the command class Gear, Justice. They eventually met Kliff on the battlefield where he defeated them, but somehow Testament survived, and years after Justice was sealed away, still under Justices control, they staged a tournament to find a blood sacrifice to break the seal, but used their own blood instead when Sol won the tournament and then defeated them, and then he defeated the freed Justice. Testament somehow survived AGAIN, and now, free from Justices control was racked with guilt for everything they did, and grieving the loss of Kliff who passed away shortly after the tournament. They ended up being one of the first to discover Dizzy, who is the 2nd command class Gear, and daughter of Justice. When the world found out about Dizzy, everyone was understandably filled with fear and anger, and a bounty was quickly placed for her death. Dizzy isn't a killer like her mother though, all she longs for is contact, so Testament vowed to protect her. When Sol made it to Dizzy, he was going to kill her, but in the moment where he hesitated Ky stepped in between them and defended Dizzy. Words that Justice had said to Ky back during the tournament had resonated in him ever since which motivated him to vouch for Dizzy's peacefulness, which Sol accepted, and Dizzy went on to live secretly with the Jellyfish pirates, and then with Ky, which led to them falling in love. As for Testament, they're now much happier. They view Dizzy as the bridge that will link human and Gear coexistence. They've been spending their recent years just making the most of their immortality, picking up all types of hobbies and occupations. They simply exist and persist, like a weed, naturally, as a matter of course. By the way the crow and the succubi are different entities, one doesn't turn into the other, and in gameplay they both do seperate things
1. The vocal style in this song calls to my mind Megadeth's "Symphony of Destruction," so it's interesting you made the "gentle tiger = scorpion" connection to Megadeth, also. 2. Re: the pronouns, I do think the way to interpret that is just that they're alternating to reflect Testament's non-binary identity. 3. And finally: so many people hate on the title of this song, but I think it's great. It seems to reflect the way Testament thinks and speaks. "He just wants to be there like a weed, naturally, as a matter of course" = they don't want it to be such a big deal when they show up. Testament's arcade mode story is literally them just trying to go for a walk and being confronted over and over again as if they're up to no good; they'd much prefer if people would react like "oh hey look, Testament is here. Of course they are; that's totally normal and expected."
The running meme is that: the title of Testament's theme was created way before the lyrics. That's why it does feel a little cheesy and shoehorned into the song
appreciate analyzing the lyrics and their meaning. there is creator's intent behind all art, but whatever you personally derive from the lyrics and interpret the art is valid and cool. look into the character and lore to see how the artistic and lyrical choices apply therein, but anything you take away personally is great. true with all art.
i owned ogre battle 64. i had the werwolf, i loved the knights of dinaka (sp, it's been years) and hawk men units and the game ruled. i sold it to gamestop for nothing close to what it was worth before i knew any better. :(
Ughhhh I'm sorry. If it makes you feel any better, my mom sold my NES and all my games for like 20 bucks when I was staying at a friend's place one time. "You haven't used it in a long time." 😅
Smell of the Game ✔ Find Your One Way ❌ The Roar of the Spark ❌ The Disaster of Passion ❌ Out of the Box ❌ Play the Hero ❌ Armor-clad Faith ❌ Alone Infection ❌ Love the Subhuman Self ❌ Let Me Carve Your Way ❌ Necessary Discrepancy ✔ Hellfire ❌ What do you fight for ❌ Trigger ❌ Rock Parade ❌ Requiem ✔ Crawl ❌ The Kiss of Death ❌ Perfection Can't Please Me ❌ Drift ✔ Mirror of the World ✔ Like a Weed, Naturally, as a Matter of Course ✔ The Town Inside Me ❌ The Hourglass ❌ The Circle ❌ The Gravity ❌ Just Lean ❌ Extras ✔ Symphony ❌ Ups and Downs ✔ The Name of Heaven ❌ Talk About You ❌ Rock and Roll, Rock Hard Maniac ❌
Personally one of my favorite theme in the game it just hits the spot for me and I don't know why oh and I like how the pronounce keep changing in the song
On the he/she thing in the lyrics, I think it's "just" to reflect Testament being non-binary- note that Japanese lacks gender-neutral pronouns (as we understand them) and this song IS made with that audience in mind, too. At the same time, the actual Japanese creators of GG have clarified that usually you'd use they/them for Testament in English ^^ Also yes, the crow turning into a pretty lady (succubus, actually) was a thing in the older GG titles, too! As for story, you got kinda close with Testament not really wanting to be a focal point, but- rather than just wanting to observe, Testament more wants to just be seen and accepted as completely normal, so to speak. Here's a brief overview of Testament's background, if you're curious (spoilers?): Testament was originally a human, who was orphaned during the Crusades (war between humans and Gears). They were adopted by the most distinguished knight among the human forces- and eventually started fighting in the war as well, to impress their adopted father. However, they were KIA after less than a year, and their body was experimented on and transformed into a Gear by the government of a certain nation. As a Gear, they fell under the Gear forces' mind control for decades until some time after the war was over. From that point on, Testament struggled with their will to live, both feeling guilt for what they had been made to do under the Gear mind control, as well as being unable to trust humans after what they had done to them, too. In Strive, we see Testament again for the first time in years (in-universe, too) and see how they've been able to find joy in their life once more.
🎉 Not my favorite song of the ost but definetly a banger. I am one of the few that appreciate that wierd ass title as it truly encapsulates Testament. They just want to exist. Like a weed, meaning that they don't care if people would consider her a weed/annoying. They will just continue to endure for as long as they can.
I always got confused in the og games of guilty gear, testaments voice(JP) was a mans, but strive, the jp is like a woman, and the en is a male. I prefer the male voice, but the woman voice sounds good too. After watching this, it makes sense now.
@@RightManWrongPlace I've really enjoyed what I've played of it so far. I can't speak on its comparison to Ogre Battle but reviews I've seen seem to compare them favorably.
Considering that Testament was a man killed and resurrected by being implanted with a gear, what essentially amounts to a separate, conscious and sentient entity that now shares his body, and that gears tend to be female - the one within Testament appears to be so, in any case - I see the he/she switching in this song to be reflective of Testament coming to terms with functionally waking up one day to find that he's no longer alone in his head, the "he" reflective of Testament himself and the "she" reflective of the gear. But then I do not have any sympathy for the modern sex cult that birthed the idea of non-binarity. Unlike the people propagating this idea, Testament actually fits the bill since there isn't any place for a human-gear amalgam within the two biological sexes.
This isn’t accurate to the lore of testament or guilty gear in general at all, there isn’t a single word in this comment that doesn’t make you sound insane. You don’t know what you’re talking about on any front here. Gear conversion involves the implantation of gear cells, cells modified with magic. There is no “separate entity” within testament. That just isn’t how gears work. Also, do gears really tend to be female? Theres justice and dizzy, a few more obscure characters, but thats not even half of the playable gears. If testament’s gender hinged solely on them being a gear, why wouldn’t this apply to the rest of the humanoid gears? Testament is testament, it shouldn’t be too difficult for someone who is able and willing to try to understand. Don’t talk out of your ass just to have an excuse to be a bigot, you look ridiculous to anyone who actually cares about the series.
If my original comment was manually deleted, i honestly would like to know why correcting verifiable misinformation about video game lore of all things was considered worse than reducing a minority group to a “sex cult”. Disturbing.
Testament was one of the many children orphaned by the war between humans and Gears. In their case, they were adopted by Kliff Undersn, the leader of the Holy Order, aka humanity's first line of defense against the Gears. Testament was a pacifist, but despite that they wanted to live up to their new dads legacy by joining the Order and protecting humanity, but they were killed during a mission. Their remains were collected by an unknown government and subjected to an experimental Gear conversion procedure which brought them back to life, and then they were sent to fight against their former Order allies as a test of their new powers, but shortly after, like (almost) all Gears, their mind was overtaken by the will of the command class Gear, Justice. They eventually met Kliff on the battlefield where he defeated them, but somehow Testament survived, and years after Justice was sealed away, still under Justices control, they staged a tournament to find a blood sacrifice to break the seal, but used their own blood instead when Sol won the tournament and then defeated them, and then he defeated the freed Justice. Testament somehow survived AGAIN, and now, free from Justices control was racked with guilt for everything they did, and grieving the loss of Kliff who passed away shortly after the tournament. They ended up being one of the first to discover Dizzy, who is the 2nd command class Gear, and daughter of Justice. When the world found out about Dizzy, everyone was understandably filled with fear and anger, and a bounty was quickly placed for her death. Dizzy isn't a killer like her mother though, all she longs for is contact, so Testament vowed to protect her. When Sol made it to Dizzy, he was going to kill her, but in the moment where he hesitated Ky stepped in between them and defended Dizzy. Words that Justice had said to Ky back during the tournament had resonated in him ever since which motivated him to vouch for Dizzy's peacefulness, which Sol accepted, and Dizzy went on to live secretly with the Jellyfish pirates, and then with Ky, which led to them falling in love. As for Testament, they're now much happier. They view Dizzy as the bridge that will link human and Gear coexistence. They've been spending their recent years just making the most of their immortality, picking up all types of hobbies and occupations. They simply exist and persist, like a weed, naturally, as a matter of course.
By the way the crow and the succubi are different entities, one doesn't turn into the other, and in gameplay they both do seperate things
Well dang...thank you so much for the lore! That's a lot. 😅
@@RightManWrongPlace Testament definently has one of the lengthiest stories yeah lol. As you can probably tell they're very important to the series
1. The vocal style in this song calls to my mind Megadeth's "Symphony of Destruction," so it's interesting you made the "gentle tiger = scorpion" connection to Megadeth, also.
2. Re: the pronouns, I do think the way to interpret that is just that they're alternating to reflect Testament's non-binary identity.
3. And finally: so many people hate on the title of this song, but I think it's great. It seems to reflect the way Testament thinks and speaks. "He just wants to be there like a weed, naturally, as a matter of course" = they don't want it to be such a big deal when they show up. Testament's arcade mode story is literally them just trying to go for a walk and being confronted over and over again as if they're up to no good; they'd much prefer if people would react like "oh hey look, Testament is here. Of course they are; that's totally normal and expected."
3a. This is, of course, true of most nonbinary people who are 100% human, as well.
Love me some good Megadeth! That makes sense about the title...I like it too!
The running meme is that: the title of Testament's theme was created way before the lyrics. That's why it does feel a little cheesy and shoehorned into the song
Ahhhh I see. It was so long we couldn't fit "Testament" into the video title so that's very apropos.
appreciate analyzing the lyrics and their meaning. there is creator's intent behind all art, but whatever you personally derive from the lyrics and interpret the art is valid and cool. look into the character and lore to see how the artistic and lyrical choices apply therein, but anything you take away personally is great. true with all art.
Thanks!!! I think it's fun trying to derive pieces of the actual backstory though...I'm wrong more than I'm right, but it's fun!
i owned ogre battle 64. i had the werwolf, i loved the knights of dinaka (sp, it's been years) and hawk men units and the game ruled. i sold it to gamestop for nothing close to what it was worth before i knew any better. :(
Ughhhh I'm sorry. If it makes you feel any better, my mom sold my NES and all my games for like 20 bucks when I was staying at a friend's place one time. "You haven't used it in a long time." 😅
That game got absolutely insane especially toward the end though. Like, the back row sword magic your protagonist could do and stuff? Amazing.
Smell of the Game ✔
Find Your One Way ❌
The Roar of the Spark ❌
The Disaster of Passion ❌
Out of the Box ❌
Play the Hero ❌
Armor-clad Faith ❌
Alone Infection ❌
Love the Subhuman Self ❌
Let Me Carve Your Way ❌
Necessary Discrepancy ✔
Hellfire ❌
What do you fight for ❌
Trigger ❌
Rock Parade ❌
Requiem ✔
Crawl ❌
The Kiss of Death ❌
Perfection Can't Please Me ❌
Drift ✔
Mirror of the World ✔
Like a Weed, Naturally, as a Matter of Course ✔
The Town Inside Me ❌
The Hourglass ❌
The Circle ❌
The Gravity ❌
Just Lean ❌
Extras ✔
Symphony ❌
Ups and Downs ✔
The Name of Heaven ❌
Talk About You ❌
Rock and Roll, Rock Hard Maniac ❌
Personally one of my favorite theme in the game it just hits the spot for me and I don't know why oh and I like how the pronounce keep changing in the song
I like it too, but man it catches me off guard sometimes!
@@RightManWrongPlace makes sense
On the he/she thing in the lyrics, I think it's "just" to reflect Testament being non-binary- note that Japanese lacks gender-neutral pronouns (as we understand them) and this song IS made with that audience in mind, too. At the same time, the actual Japanese creators of GG have clarified that usually you'd use they/them for Testament in English ^^
Also yes, the crow turning into a pretty lady (succubus, actually) was a thing in the older GG titles, too!
As for story, you got kinda close with Testament not really wanting to be a focal point, but- rather than just wanting to observe, Testament more wants to just be seen and accepted as completely normal, so to speak.
Here's a brief overview of Testament's background, if you're curious (spoilers?):
Testament was originally a human, who was orphaned during the Crusades (war between humans and Gears). They were adopted by the most distinguished knight among the human forces- and eventually started fighting in the war as well, to impress their adopted father.
However, they were KIA after less than a year, and their body was experimented on and transformed into a Gear by the government of a certain nation.
As a Gear, they fell under the Gear forces' mind control for decades until some time after the war was over.
From that point on, Testament struggled with their will to live, both feeling guilt for what they had been made to do under the Gear mind control, as well as being unable to trust humans after what they had done to them, too.
In Strive, we see Testament again for the first time in years (in-universe, too) and see how they've been able to find joy in their life once more.
Thank you for all of this!!!
🎉
Not my favorite song of the ost but definetly a banger. I am one of the few that appreciate that wierd ass title as it truly encapsulates Testament.
They just want to exist. Like a weed, meaning that they don't care if people would consider her a weed/annoying. They will just continue to endure for as long as they can.
Also, I never actually had it confirmed but is the trees rustling section a refrence to Macbeth?
Hey that's a nice theory! I wonder if it is!
I always got confused in the og games of guilty gear, testaments voice(JP) was a mans, but strive, the jp is like a woman, and the en is a male. I prefer the male voice, but the woman voice sounds good too. After watching this, it makes sense now.
Glad I could help! I'm sure that there's a wiki or something with more info.
The voice for Testament in Strive is actually a woman, her name is kayleigh mckee :)
@@punkrraet I actually heard her real voice, and was so surprised. She got vocal range.
If you want a new Ogre Battle-esque game you should check out Unicorn Overlord.
Is it actually awesome? My heart lifted when I first saw it.
@@RightManWrongPlace I've really enjoyed what I've played of it so far. I can't speak on its comparison to Ogre Battle but reviews I've seen seem to compare them favorably.
Considering that Testament was a man killed and resurrected by being implanted with a gear, what essentially amounts to a separate, conscious and sentient entity that now shares his body, and that gears tend to be female - the one within Testament appears to be so, in any case - I see the he/she switching in this song to be reflective of Testament coming to terms with functionally waking up one day to find that he's no longer alone in his head, the "he" reflective of Testament himself and the "she" reflective of the gear.
But then I do not have any sympathy for the modern sex cult that birthed the idea of non-binarity. Unlike the people propagating this idea, Testament actually fits the bill since there isn't any place for a human-gear amalgam within the two biological sexes.
What I had in my head while reacting was Jung and Xenogears, stuff like that. It sounds like kind of an anima possession story.
This isn’t accurate to the lore of testament or guilty gear in general at all, there isn’t a single word in this comment that doesn’t make you sound insane. You don’t know what you’re talking about on any front here. Gear conversion involves the implantation of gear cells, cells modified with magic. There is no “separate entity” within testament. That just isn’t how gears work. Also, do gears really tend to be female? Theres justice and dizzy, a few more obscure characters, but thats not even half of the playable gears. If testament’s gender hinged solely on them being a gear, why wouldn’t this apply to the rest of the humanoid gears?
Testament is testament, it shouldn’t be too difficult for someone who is able and willing to try to understand. Don’t talk out of your ass just to have an excuse to be a bigot, you look ridiculous to anyone who actually cares about the series.
If my original comment was manually deleted, i honestly would like to know why correcting verifiable misinformation about video game lore of all things was considered worse than reducing a minority group to a “sex cult”. Disturbing.
@@KatQuartz
Seethe some more.
Calling a minority group a "cult" seems a bit unhinged. If you have such hatred for them you should probably reflect on that.