So, what's the deal? I thought Sealed Vessel was the final boss track. Is Radiance a secret final boss or something? Anyway, watch my Sealed Vessel theme video if you haven't already: ruclips.net/video/mSlZZAc48BY/видео.html
Radiance is the true final boss (but not the true true final boss) that plays after the Hollow Knight (Sealed Vessel is his theme) if you have a certain charm and do a special thing during the fight
The radiance's theme is so majestic because she's the god of light. She believes that she's above the player and that they have no chance against her, since they're only a tiny little guy. You're trying to save the kingdom from the infection that she's spreading as a sort of revenge against the kingdom. The song is largely a reflection on the radiance herself (that's my personal interpretation at least), which is why it's full of elegance and glory as well as power and grace, but the thing that repeats itself is the feeltof hatred in the song amongst those other motifs.
Id argue that Radiance is actually taking us seriously and is afraid, she knows that youve united the Void against her. Even her dream nail dialogue indicates this.
@@arcanefire7511 I think she knows that you have power, but denies it. I’m pretty sure a bit of her dream nail dialogue is “Ancient enemy” and “Dawn will break”. She recognises you as dangerous, but in a almost crazed manner is saying you can’t defeat her, that she will rise again. Very interesting to see her back story.
I actually think the majestic part is kinda more like an ascension, like you literally climbing through the skies during the fight to rise above a literal god; it is magestic, but I just feel is refering more to the actual action that is happening there than the radiance motifs; although is also kinda both mixed togheter
I fought The Radiance possibly hundreds of times and somehow I never noticed how close that beginning section is to the main theme. It's like an inverse abyss theme, which makes complete sense.
What I really like about Hollow Knight is how it turned the old "white=good, black=evil" trope completely on it's head. The major antagonists, the Radiance and the Pale King are completely white. And the protagonist is closely tied to the void, completely black. Furthermore, light (the Radiance) is the antagonist and darkness (the void) is the protagonist. It completely turns the standard tropes on it's head.
And the best part is that neither one is directly stated to be good or evil by essence, because inherently all Light is considered positive in some way but it gets twisted up in ego politics of the ones in charge of it, and darkness/Void is hinted at being a destructive force quite a bit but as this being the protagonist side and some more deep exploration of the concept follows it, it actually turns out to be more of a neutral idea than anything else. If it isn't disturbed, it's just kind of there and takes small opportunities instead of what most wielders of Light do, which is trying to be the "only Light shining against the dark". And then there's Grimm with the Scarlet Flame, everything in the context of the story screams that this guy is willingly and purposefully evil without the need to be prodded first but he turns out to be just a random ass dude obsessed with theatrics that has a really weird life cycle and doesn't do anything more than dance himself to death so his kid could continue the family business.
Is pale king realy a antagonist? Everything he did was to save his kingdom and people no? Yes he did a lot of horrible things but as he himself says No "cost too great" he believed they were necessary. he even used his own offspring to save his kingdom and people and he was ashamed of these actions we know this thanks to white lady. She even says this to us "don't blame him" I see him as a tragic character who sacrificed so much but was left with nothing in the end except his failure and died alone with a lot of regrets. You can say didn't he caused the problem with radiance at the first place? Not really moth tribe betrayed radiance on their own to follow pale king there is no evidence pale king did anything. And thanks to path of pain we know he at least cared for hollow knight. I see shit ton of buzz saws in white place as a metafor for pale king pain of course this last one just a interpretation but I think it makes sense looking at how path of pain is
@@monokumaay5346 He murdered thousands upon thousands of his own children. He didn't even have the courage to stick around after his plan failed. All he wanted was to be worshipped.
@@seaslug9144 well he was trying to save his kingdom by killing his offspring nearly everybody in the kingdom was dying kingdom he was the king of what was he suppose to do? It was an action taken because of desperation but I agree running away was definitely was a shit move on his part but this still doesn't make him a villain or a antagonist
i think the magestic part of the theme is not only because of the divine nature of radiance , it gives a feeling of hope maybe it s more related to the hollow knights ( the main character+ final boss) and all the siblings helping him to destroy the sh*t out of Radiance responsible of the downfall of hallownest
I like how there is a small window of the boss fight In the corner as a major part of video game music is the setting as it is important for context and association. The use of Joni’s blessing sent me way back to my first play through. Dark times.
Make sure to go over to the original video where that game footage is from and give it a like. The link is in the description. It's some great gameplay.
The reason why this doesnt sound that sad and tragic its because the Radiance is the true antagonist, she is not a victim of that tragic story, she is the cause of all that sadness and tragedy
@@Padre_des_los_penitentes I agree, hollow nest is a destroyed and abandoned kingdom, from the beginning this story is full of long-winded never-ending tragedy.
@@Padre_des_los_penitentesnot really that tragic. She overreacted way too hard. The moth tribe abandoned her for the Pale King. It’s not even said the Pale King was after them they just left the Radiance. What did she do in response? She turned everybody from the bugs the pale king gave a mind to Unn’s little leaf shits into zombies
@@DaviVasc you're doing a great job! i love watching your videos because they're very easy to understand and always make me notice things that i've never noticed before, like the similarity in this theme and the main theme of hollow knight!
The Radiance is tragic, but nowhere near as sympathetic as the other characters. She was abandoned by the people she created who once worshipped her. However, she loses all sympathy when she mind controls and kills nearly everyone in Hollow Knight. She is the cause of most, if not all, of the suffering and sadness in Hollow Knight, which is why the song is so tense and terrifying. Also, for music recommendations, I would like to recommend Rain World. It's a very unique survival game with a unique soundtrack. I have a couple of tracks to suggest depending on what you're looking for: For more chill/ambient music, there's The Wet Moist Floes Lovely Arps The Coast And many more, these were just the ones that came to the top of my head. For more traditional VG music, there's Pictures of the Past Kayava The various threat songs, which follow the naming pattern of "Threat (area)" Sundown (Main Theme 1) Moondown (Main Theme 2) Random Gods (Main Theme 3) And many more
Yess Rain World is amazing! My favorites are Black Moonlight, Raindeer Ride and Garbage Worms, but literally every song is an absolute masterpiece. It is getting a dlc soon too, which will hopefully come with more fantastic music
Hollow Knight does not really have a 1-dimensional "bad guy". Both the Pale King and the Radiance are antagonists, but they have motives that can at least be understood. The struggle between the Radiance and the Pale King is a complicated conflict, with no real good / bad.
The reason this track is so different compared to sealed vessel boils down to the story line: In the sealed vessel fight, the player takes on a sibling, a fellow vessel whom at first seems to act like an enemy which explains the more "violent" nature of the music with the piano at the start until the Hollow Knight begins to stab itself which is when the music takes a dramatic turn. It's to signify to the player that they aren't supposed to be fighting but helping. There is a point of uncertainty where the player is confused: why is the Hollow Knight attacking itself? An enemy who turns on themselves is uncommon to say the least. But that's the thing: it's not your enemy. The Hollow Knight is trying to help the player in taking down the Radiance but in order to do so, it must destroy itself, which queues that tragic tone where the violin and the cello are more dominant and feel calmer in comparison to the piano which felt like the keys were being slammed down. The notes are much lighter yet they carry so much weight on them because of the story. This is where the player attacks the Hollow Knight not because it wishes to kill it but because it wishes to help it, putting it out of its torture and helping it escape the misery and suffering it has endured for so long. And once the fight is over, the music becomes even sadder, underlining the fact that you just killed one of your siblings even if it was for the greater good. That's the nature of the tragedy that is Hollow Knight's story: even in victory, the losses are significant and it never feels like a victory. Now compare this to the soundtrack of the Radiance fight. In this fight, you know exactly who your enemy is and if you payed any attention to the story until this point (which btw you should have, it's amazing), you know that this being is the embodiment of evil: corrupting the minds of the living to serve at its whim and taking over a once peaceful and organised civilisation. This is a classic Mario vs Bowser moment where the player never has doubts as to who is in the right or wrong. It's a white on black contrast, all evidence points to the Radiance as the villain. So naturally the soundtrack reflects this: it feels much more evil, aggressive, and powerful. Never a hint of sadness or loneliness like with the sealed vessel soundtrack. like a classic villain gloating about their unlimited power and control. A David and Goliath fight that never ends ambiguously but always in a clear win/lose fashion. And the choir in the background "voicing" the notes only highlights this. All the notes feel high energy and extremely tense as you slowly but surely claw your way to victory in a seemingly impossible battle. The only noticeable change happens gradually as the player moves on through the different phases (Any Radiance homies, where you at?) that the soundtrack starts to feel less confident, acting in parallel to the Radiance's losing battle. No matter what she throws at you it's never enough and you gradually begin to literally and figuratively climb your way to victory, like a hiker taking on a mountain or David striking Goliath in the head. And as you progress through the fight, slowly dwindling down the Radiance's health, the classic notes of the main Hollow Knight theme song begin to trickle in, like cracks forming along a barrier as it finally begins to weaken. This is only strengthened by the background of the fight: the many shades of your dead siblings rising to help you defeat the one thing they were all made to kill: it doesn't even matter who gets to kill the Radiance so long as she's dead by the end of the fight. And once you finally kill the Radiance it's like all the build-up to this final moment bursts out in a fast but intense flash of completeness. The job is finished, and the vessels have served their purpose. They are no longer needed for the future of Hallownest and all their traces disappear (cut to the player's body draining into the rocks in the final cutscene) The music in Hollow Knight is honestly worthy of so many awards in my humble opinion, it perfectly compliments the story and makes the fights feel so grandiose and important. I would honestly recommend anyone who has a mild interest in music to play Hollow Knight just for how amazing the soundtrack is and how it compliments the gameplay/story Thanks for reading my essay, have a nice day
Basically both this and Sealed Vessel are final boss themes, depending on whether you work out how to get into the Radiance boss fight (which is done while Sealed Vessel is playing). The Radiance is the cause of every obstacle in your way, directly or indirectly, and so I think Christopher Larkin was trying to make this the musical version of a fight with a magnificent eldritch abomination for the fate of the world. When it shifts into the second phase it always seems a bit more desperate to me because of (and kind of in spite of) how there's now a bit of hope since the player is starting to win. It's not defiance now, there's a chance and the player is musically encouraged to press the attack, not giving her a chance to recover in case it all goes wrong. If you want more majesty amongst a tragic setting, I would recommend listening to "For All Mankind" from Battletech (2018). I think you'll like it.
Bad Girl? And I can definitely find someone that isn't a victim either. Zote (not) the Mighty! Nightmare Heart! Souls Twisters with Soul Master on the top.
@@fallen9997 actually the soul sanctum scholars were all victims, bot of the infection and the experiments of the soul master (this seconds case is mostly referred to the errors, i think they're called like these in english)
Hey Davi, I really appreciate your content, keep it up, and by the way "The Radiance" is an optional boss since it's like a second boss after the final boss.
@@joaotribal yeah but in most games the best ending is considered the 'true ending ' (I also just said true final boss not ending! HK is one of those games that any ending could work as true ending.)
I find it kind of awesome how he's able to describe the story and the relation of the characters simply by hearing the music. It goes to show how great he is at "reading" the music, and how great the composer for Hollow Knight was at writing it.
her song truly resembles lots of anger, rage towards her followers who abandoned her, but also desperation leading to madness, she was determined to not be forgotten, to stay alive, no matter the cost. At one point where the majesty and dignity is shown through the song, it shows how majestic she truly is (or was, big radiance fan here haha)
Radiance is often called an evil character but I don't think it's strictly true. It's more like a force of nature. That's why this theme isn't in any way tragic. Radience is just so much beyond any other being. It literally lives in other plain of existance. And it lives only as long as people remember it. It's almost like a personification of an idea. And it doesn't really want to do bad things. It's difficult to even say that it is capable of wanting anything. If anything it wants to reduse life to it's primal form without any higher thought or individuality. It works towards uniting the entire world under one mind in an eternal stagnation
I don't think that's true. Because Radiance only exists in the Dream Realm, her existence requires the bugs to 'remember' her. So she creates the infection to forcefully inject herself into bug's dreams. This causes bugs to reject Pale King, who remember, was the whole reason bugs turned into civilized beings in the first place. I think turning primal is just a side effect of Radiance projecting herself over all bugs, and I think she most definitely knows what she's doing.
The majesty you spotted throughout makes a lot of sense in the story, yeah, as the true final boss is, in her own eyes, only reclaiming the glory that she was deprived of by another character important to the lore. I'd be interested to see you tackle music from Ender Lilies. Its ambiance is very unique. Perhaps the main theme, Harmonious or the intro and outro of Evil? (Boss themes of the game are all divided in an intro for the early fight, and an outro for the final phase, and hearing one after the other could help to judge them)
if you have the time you should play thisa game. This game is one of my favorites of all time for everything in the game making it feel awesome to explore the kingdom of Hallownest from the artwork, characters and to the sound track. This game is a 10/10 in my books. And i recommend listening to Truth, Beauty and Hatred from HollowKnight one of my favorites from the sound track :)
so a couple of things about the lore: (SPOILERS) 1) Surprise surprise! Radiance is a tragic villain. The Radiance is a dream bound god (and might only live in the dream world), which means she is directly tied to her worship. She created the race of moths to worship her, and they did just that... until the pale king showed up. the moths then started worshiping the pale king, which left the Radiance abandoned and forgotten, which cause her to become powerless. One day, some distance in the future, a bug (the residence of Hollow Knight) encountered a statue of her, and the Radiance, who suddenly gain a sliver of power, struck out. She inflicted the bug with an infection, which it then spread throughout the world. She utterly hated the Pale King, and wanted his entire kingdom to suffer in primal agony. The Pale king, not stupid, realized what was happening, and tried to seal the Radiance within a completely-devoid-of-emotion vessel (the sealed vessel, The Hollow Knight). This worked... for a time, but the radiance managed to regain her infection spreading power when the Hollow Knight momentarily felt emotion. THAT is the state of the world when we see it. the Dreamers have failed, the vessels have failed and suffer eternally, and the Pale King has vanished into simple dreams. 2) The Hollow Knight (Sealed Vessel) AND the Radiance are both final bosses. In every ending (bar one with DLC) you must fight the Hollow Knight, but in one ending (which is widely considered the good ending) you enter the Hollow knight's mind mid-battle and fight the infection itself, the Radiance. In the aftermath of this battle, the Knight (player character) and all the failed vessels can finally rest in piece, as their purpose has been fuffilied as the Radiance's infection dies out due her imprisonment within the void TL;DR: The Radiance, one of the final bosses of Hollow Knight, is a tragic villain who acts out of revenge EDIT: please inform me if I made a lore mistake as I'm not well informed about HK lore. I tried to be as accurate as possible but its possible that I claimed a small theory was absolute cannon, which I apologise for
The outlines correct, but as far as I know the details like how the radience got it's infection started, is unknown. You're idea for it here has some good logic and could be right.
As far as I know, the infection spread through dreams of the citizens of Hallownest, not quite through the statue. In one of the quotes from the Pale King, it says "You shall seal the blinding light that plagues their dreams." which I interpret to be more of a mental plague with physical side effects than a physical plague with mental/spiritual side effects. Think like the One Ring from Lord of the Rings, the Radiance promises anything and everything to the bugs she infects. The Hollow Knight (Sealed Vessel) only failed because it was not devoid of a mind to think or a will to break, and so the Radiance broke free of her bindings and reinfected Hallownest. Very good breakdown of her motivations though!
I like how when the void comes up in the first stage and Radiance breaks free, the rocks you fight stage 2 on are black like they weren’t put there by Radiance, but the Void as well as the final climb up.
That part about the Radiance theme and the Main theme fitting together yet sounding disturbing fits really well. 8bitmusictheory (a fantastic channel) proposed in his Hollow Knight videos, that that leitmotif from the Main theme represents the vessels, which is a type of creature that is created by using an ancient substance called "Void". The Void and the Radiance, according to Hollow Knight lore, are ancient enemies, so the player character, one of the vessels, essentially fights for the Void against the Radiance. It fits really well therefor, that the vessels theme and the Radiance's theme sound disturbing together, because they are enemies. Yet another fantastic detail. Thanks Davi!
@@DaviVasc no sé inglés, disculpa, Silksong es como Hollow Knight 2, pero desde el punto de vista de Hornet, uno de los personajes principales de la historia, hermana de nuestro protagonista y con un soundtrack hermoso, uno de mis favoritos. El juego se llama "Silksong" porque ella es una araña y creo que es obvio la referencia. El juego aún no ha salido, pero se ha revelado algunos soundtracks.
You deserve much more subs I watched some music react youtubers and you're one of the fews that explain everything very well without using complicated music specific words that only composers understand. thank you !
That's kind of unbelievable that you take this idea from the game just by listening the music, like, when you were about 9:00 you sad something like: "Looks like a evil thing but also magestyc" and you just got it right, just amazing
BTW, here's a resume about the tragedy of Hallownest: Once there was The Radiance, a higher being, and her people, the moths, as well as all the other lowly bugs and all of them worshiped her. Them comes The Wyrm, another higher being (of a pale nature, I should add), which arrives in this kingdom and leaves behind his former self to become the Pale King. He bestows many gifts to Hallownest and it's inhabitants, such as mind and consciousness, which cause them to abandon their former worship. This causes The Radiance to go nuts and spread the infection, which would find and corrupt everyone who has a mind or feelings or even individuality and turn them into a hivemind under her control. The Pale King then, at no cost to great, devises alongside his wife, the White Lady and Queen of Hallownest (she's also a higher being of pale nature and a tree), a tragic plan to seal The Radiance. First they would need tenths or hundreds of thousands of their offspring to be born as empty carcasses with "No mind to think, No will to break, No voice to cry suffering". Then those eggs or fertilized seeds or whatever would be infused with The Void, an entity (or even a force of nature) older than Hallownest itself, in order to not be affected by the infection and seal away The Radiance. This results in birth of the Hollow Knights, born of God and Void, except most of them are imperfect and not really hollow. From all of those shells, only one passes the trial to become The Hollow Knight, as all the other ones are left to die. The Pale King raises this one and when it comes of age, he uses his dream-world-powers to seal The Radiance inside of it. Except The Hollow Knight was also not perfect, also not truly hollow. They shared a bond with The Pale King and through this, the infection slowly spreads out, even if The Radiance is still contained. That's why Sealed Vessel is so tragic, you're listening to the sadness of a being created to be isolated from the world for the eternity and who is failing in doing so. During the fight, The Hollow Knight harms themselves purposely in order to try and hurt The Radiance and help our protagonist, The Vessel. BTW, The Vessel supposedly also surpassed the trial and is a true hollow knight, which will assume it's siblings place and be the new container for the infection and The Radiance in a few of the endings. The song analyzed in this video, however, refers to the true ending, in which The Vessel manages to use the Dream Nail in a weakened Hollow Knight in order to go inside and kill The Radiance itself. As the fight progresses, all of those lost vessel souls from the abyss, as well as the Hollow Knight's come to join forces with The Vessel to deliver the final blow to Radiance. Anyway, that's how I interpret all the little clues of lore the game gives us. Other players may have a few disagreements, but I believe most of this is somewhat the actual events!
Oh I like your chord breackedowns so much, I recently started studying music theory and these bits are so interesting. Also you're so right on the money with the description of mood of the tracks!
I've been listening to your playlist of Hollow Knight music and I'm so impressed how close you are to what is happening in the game just by interpreting the music ♥ Like here when you said that the music sound evil but like a kind of majestic type of evil. Man, it's like you've been commenting the game ♥
Great work with this, I really enjoyed the video! You where correct with the “majestic” description as radiance is a goddess. I think it’d be interesting to see a video on Pure Vessel’s theme. The Hollow Knight and Pure Vessel are the same person. Pure Vessel is a separate boss fight where you essentially fight The Hollow Knight’s past self before the game takes place, when they were at their most powerful state. I think it’s also worth mentioning that it’s stated in game that they aren’t supposed to think, have a will or even have a voice.
I like that you recognized the majesty of the boss. She’s a forgotten/old god who acts out of bitterness and rage to destroy the kingdom that ended her worship.
I suggest Manus, Father of the Abyss from Dark Souls 1 as it perfectly captures both the rage and sadness humans feel and is an interesting contrast to Gwyn, Lord of Cinder musically.
Hearing the White Palace theme at the end of Radiance, when the shadows are chasing Radiance into the sky to tear it into the void... Wonderful. Hollowknight music is gorgeous, but most of the time, you aren't paying attention to the music, because you're FEELING it.
Another great anlyse that bring back our memories about this game so far and help us to understand more and more the meaning of this ! Really like it continue 👍
Love how you underline mechanical parts of the music and link them directly to the feelings brought by the whole thing, really a super interesting experience
What I love most about the change at 5:50 is that despite the shift to more sinister chords, it still gives a feeling of triumph and a return to comfort since subdued and more "negative" Keys have been the accompanying sound for most of the playthrough (minus the dissonance since you have to keep the tension up somehow). It gives the feeling that you've struck a blow and are starting to pull this opposing force down to your level by forcing them to share the musical limelight. Which makes sense given the context.
I know I keep doing this, but I can't help it. When I hear the music (and really, it's not just here...this happens to me when ANY music starts playing...it's just...there) both my head and heart start comparing it to other songs I've heard (not game music). With this one, there was a lot of comparison going on, but as you got near the end and started talking about the variations that could be occurring with the addition of the triumph, and the question of to whom that might possibly apply, I suddenly KNEW what song I had to go listen to. Of course, it was another one of Dan's songs (that will probably not ALWAYS be the case, but I've been pretty much stuck on Dan's songs since April, so...). The one that hit me over the head, was..."Black Wind, Fire, and Steel!" There is such a major shift at the end of that, with the words being so repetitive and insistent right up to the grand finale. In the game, it's like the "player" is repeating over and over again, what his mission IS, in order to keep up his courage. In Black Wind... it's the "player" psyching himself up by the fact that he KNOWS what he has been born for... - - - - - - - - - - I am an outcast on the path of no return Punisher and swordsman I was born to burn Black Wind always follows Where my black horse rides Fire's in my soul Steel is on my side Born of Black wind fire and steel Born of Black wind fire and steel Born to teach them all to heel Born of Black wind fire and steel................. As he gets to the final utterance of that statement, and you THINK he's going to fall flat on his face from total exhaustion, he surprises everyone by continue carrying out his mission ALMOST to his own finish, BUT... ...as he starts to "fade to black," instead, he gets the salute from "...the maker of the music...". He has DONE what he was born to do. WOW!!! - - - - - - - - - - I was just reading down through the other comments, and see that there seems to be more to this "ending" than meets the eye (which you were also feeling, and hinted). That made me think of what I've been telling NEW reactors to Dan's music. No matter WHAT, if the song starts going into one of his special "outros," do NOT stop reacting! ...ESPECIALLY for "Black Wind, Fire, and Steel!" There's so much more you can learn! I never would have gone and found Louis' and his wife's channel, if I hadn't listened to Dan's speech about them! That would have been very sad! This also makes me think of the final track in the "Chronicles of Ancient Wisdom," which also hints at other things to come... - - - - - - - - - - I was thinking maybe I might check out this game, but after seeing some of the other comments, I'm not sure it's "for me." I think I will check into it, though. Hmmm...
Your videos are always such a treat to watch! Thank you for making them! If you do plan to do more Hollow Knight, the Dung Defender has a great soundtrack!
A part of me wonders if he has knows more about the story and game than he's letting on. The words chosen fit the boss and story so accurately it makes me suspicious. Especially the words put on the thumbnail summarize the characters so precisely. Maybe that or Christopher Larkin just wrote the music so expertly to allow the listener to hear crucial components of the characters. That alone is impressive considering that Larkin didn't write these characters, he wrote the music based off what the writers communicated to him. That suggests a lot of communication lol.
Complementing about the fight, Radiance at the beginning just launches all of its attacks with less precision, but very frequently. In the second half of the fight it becomes more precise and attacks more carefully (as if it now recognizes that it won't be easy). In the last part it launches lightning bolts at you while climbing the platforms to the highest peak of Hallownest. As you get closer it becomes more and more precise. I think it's a good gameplay information and fits perfectly with your analisys.
Its true that hollow knight is not a good guy vs bad guy story in the traditional sense but the radiance is undoubtedly the bad guy(well, in reality is a girl). It makes sense that her theme is so majestic, you have to do some stuff and go out of your way to even fight her and once you can fight her you first have to fight the sealed vessel to get to her, not only that, but when you are fighting the radiance you are fighting a goddess of dreams, the source of the plague infecting the kingdom of hallownest, you are fighting the damn sun, and thats why her theme is so glorious. On other note, may i suggest either the dung defender or the white defender themes for your next hollow kinght video? They are one of my favorite character(s) in the whole game
Would really like to see more of your reactions on Hollow Knight There's a lot more to discuss, cause almost every boss in the game has it's unique music as well as almost all the locations Id suggest listening to Pure Vessel one I you will, consider that Pure Vessel has "no voice to cry suffering" Thank you for your content
This was incredible, watching you go through the various stages of the track and really break it down without any knowledge of who she is before hand! Your analysis of the theme here really highlights how well the music represents the Radiance and her feelings, as well as the player’s terror and building confidence! It goes to show how masterful the composition is, and how good you are at reading these songs… thanks so much for giving it a try!! Edit: my personal take on the theme is that it’s mostly about the Radiance’s feelings. Due to the history of the world of this game, she feels wronged! Righteously furious! She’s being forgotten, and if she’s going down she’s taking everyone else down with her into a sickly dream of death. Then, as you progress past the first stage of the fight, there’s something underneath that age-old blind fury. There’s pride, and hurt, and a building sense of tension because this tiny nuisance is actually hurting her. Her, the glorious goddess of light and dreams! This can’t be happening, but there’s a horror in the fact that it IS, especially when she was so close to escaping her prison and taking back what she thinks of as rightfully hers… Anyway, great analysis, I had a great time with this video :]
one day I'd love to see you review hollow knights Mantis Lords/ Sisters of Battle tracks! your videos have really gotten me to notice game music so much more lately.
Another fantastic video! Having played the game myself, it's really interesting to see you break down the songs and their meanings despite your unfamiliarity with the game's lore (and mine's with music theory). If you do go back to Hollow Knight, I think "Broken Vessel" and "Pure Vessel" could be interesting songs to tackle, but I would also love to see your takes on "Lace", which is a song from the upcoming sequel to Hollow Knight, because so far we know very little about the game's narrative and the song was only uploaded as a sample, so I think it would be interesting to see how different it is from it's future final version (if it ends up being different)
I really love your videos and analysis! I'm a game developer with a love for music especially as it is applied in gaming and you've explained a lot of concepts that were foreign to me, I look forward to studying music theory in the future Hollow Knight is my favorite game and my biggest inspiration for both OSTs and just games in general, it's amazing to see your analysis and reactions to them! I'd love if you could react to Pure Vessel in the future, as it has great lore relevancy and relation to Sealed Vessel just like the name implies and is also my favorite OST in the game outside of Pale Court :)
since i noticed you're not understanding wich is the final boss i want to give you a little explanation of what's going on (there will be a few spoilers ahead): the hollow knight (the boss with the sealed vessel theme) is the final boss, when you first play the game there are "hints on the map" (the location of the dreamers that protect the seal and the location of the hollow knight) that suggest you how to complete the game, basically you need to defeat the hollow knight however the radiance is the one that is intended to be the true final boss in the game lore. in the gameplay she's basically a secret boss (that's why a lot of people in the comments are saying that radiance is an optional boss) that can be reached if you enter the mind of the hollow knight instead of killing him, but in the lore and story of the game she's the real enemy, the foe who started everything that's going on in the game, that's why she's considered the final boss (and you also get 3 other endings if you defeat her, instead you get 2 endings if you defeat the hollow knight) btw great video as usual :D
I love watching this guy articulate the things we players are feeling and the underlying themes Christopher Larkin and Team Cherry are connecting with the music. For example, the references to the main theme combined with majestic overtones tells the player they've ascended to near god-like power. The semi-disturbing undertones tell the player something too. After all, you're playing as the living embodiment of darkness trying to kill an ancient god of light, and for most players this fight is probably not going well the first time. It's such a complex and layered piece, like many others in the soundtrack.
Christopher Larkin is probably one of the best video game composers I've ever heard. I can't wait for his Silksong soundtrack, especially since he now has the budget to get real instruments for the soundtracks.
I've noticed how much the song plays out the story of your fight with the Radiance. The begining makes you understand you are prepping for a fight with a greater being far beyond you have seen. It's very powerful and forceful in that I feel is a way to signify that this is the end of your whole journey, this is your main purpose for creation, this is your finale with a God and you cannot fail. The Maniacal energy the opening paints shows the Radiances full resentment towards us, the Radiance hates us, and lore wise its understandable why. These two masses collide to create the powerful yet chaotic opening we hear. But, as the fight progresses the Knights strength shows, and now the Radiance begins to become desperate. It uses all of its power in an attempt to destroy the Knight, and prevent the void from engulfing the light. The music becomes far more triumphant, it's more on our side now. We've shown our strength and now have a chance to best this God. It's not nearly as chaotic, but more angry, Radiance wont let the light be swallowed. However, try as she might it's still not enough. Now fully desperate to stop the void Radiance retreat's in fear to attack from afar with beams of light in a last ditch effort to stop the Knight. With Radiance weakened we must make our way up toward our goal and kill the God once and for all. The music is closing in to welcome our victory, full of triumph. Climbing closer, and closer, we reach the Radiance and deliver the final blow. The Radiance has been downed and we can fulfill our meaning and rid Hallownest of the light.
I really wish your channel growth! You make amazing content! Really happy to see Hollow Knight videos on your channel but also every new one makes me excited!
Man i have no idea on how you describe music to a game you haven't played so well but i love it. I watched your Bloodborne video The First Hunter and was like. Wow he figured the meaning behind the fight so well by just hearing the music. Thats some amazing talent there. You should hear Soul Sanctum and White Defender from Hollow Knight. Keep up the amazing videos.
At the beginning of the Radience fight there is those loud, angry, punching chords, these chords were also seen in the hollow knight fight, and I think this connection in the music, is also helping to show the connection between the radiance, and the hollow knight’s suffering.
Another Hollow Knight song that I highly recommend you check out is a song in the Gods and Nightmares album, the song is called Truth, Beauty, and Hatred. I am no music analyst myself though I believe you will find it to be very interesting, and the story behind it is filled, with lies, darkness, and love.
I would love to see your analysis on some of the area themes. Such as: Greenpath Fungal Wastes And Kingdom's Edge Just a few of the areas, and each has a different feel, and environment. The music often blends so well with its evironment that I don't even notice it during gameplay despite how much I enjoy each peice.
Love this song. I've gotten to listen to it for over a hundred hours of gameplay. It still holds its intimidating aura and its majestic feeling and never gets old after listening!
I feel like Radiance would make a good Tohou boss. The hundreds of nails, the lazer beams, the glowing sawblades. All they'd have to do is multiply the attack quantities and arrange them accordingly.
i like how when the music is "rising" its moving to the second ish and 3rd stages of the fight and literally you are climbing up. But also, the heroic brass and godly choir both rise together. the godly choir takes over and drowns out the brass the first 2 times but the 3rd time at the end the brass completely takes over, as in the hero is triumphant! very cool.
It’s so amazing that he nails basically the entire thing and knows the feel of each boss just by hearing each song of hollow knight that’s how genius this score and soundtrack is
I always enjoy how you take the time to analyze the individual segments of each song like it is a puzzle. I would also like to recommend the music from the game Blasphemous by Carlos Viola. Cantes de Confesion/Chants of Confession and Entregaras Tu Rostro a La Senora/You will deliver your face to the Lady are my favorites.
Radiance basically hates you because she recognizes her old enemy in you. If you dream-nail radiance during the fight there is a chance you will see a quote "Ancient enemy" which is a reference to The Void God aka God of Gods
Awesome video, once again Davi!! Hey! I've been thinking about what you said during one of the streams that usually you get emotional with art, but not often in real life. I was listening to 'Proof of a Hero' again, and that track always makes my heart race and a couple of tears start to show up, very rarely music does that to me. I have a suggestion, how about you review a track that you know it does that to you in the future? (you've probably done this already, but what about another one?), I can feel that there's a clear difference in your excitement when you're hearing something that messes with your emotions 😆 Anyway, thanks and have a great weekend!!
This is so interesting. I often think of something like this as well. This may not be the subject of what you are talking about, but ‘Proof of a Hero’ is a morale booster for me and every time I listen to it, I become in the same state as you. I always wonder if the reason why this music moves me emotionally in this way, is it not only because of the charm and power of the music itself, but also because of my emotional attachment to the game itself? Probably, it’s both. It’s extremely rare for me to be emotionally moved by music other than game or film music. When I listen to OSTs of the games I haven’t play yet, I find them to be amazing music, but I don’t get intense excitement from them. My friends can work while listening to their God Tier OSTs of the games, but sometimes l can't work, because I'm so emotionally invested in listening to them. Sorry, I must have gotten off track.
In here the song feels like Radiance is caught off guard by the presence of the knight. And as the fight goes on it's almost like she's not had anyone to talk to, so she's communicating to him her story. Like "What is a mere mortal doing here" vibe almost. To the "do you know what happened to me? HE TOOK WHAT WAS RIGHTFULLY MINE." With the rage flaring because of the reminder. But then with the almost sorrowful loss flowing into the majestic part, Radiance had lost her composure and righted herself. Reminding herself she is an actual god. Her mission is not done, there are still those who don't see her worming around. She can't let a little mortal throw off her game.
*Immediately gets PTSD to absolute Radiance* good job you pointed out a lot I didn’t notice. I would love to hear you reacting to “the experience” from CrossCode
The hollow knight (sealed) is final boss and you also before fighting the radiance since the radiance is inside the hollow knight but killing gives you a ending and so does the radiance there is mutilple endings in hollow knight
Interesting track you should react in hollow knight : - white palace -greenpath -mantis lord , there IS two version - daughter of hallownest (godmaster dlc)
@@Oscar97o I'll never forget the moment when I first got the the City of Tears. When I stood in that hall and heard the soundtrack for the first time, accompanied by the muffled sound of rain. This is a video game moment that will always stick with me. I just stood there for 10-15 minutes and listened.
I like how at the start you mentioned at the start that there are layers of sadness and tragedy and how other songs adopt it in relation to their own story. But the Radiance's theme is pure Fury, it's aggressive as you stated, simply because the drive for anguish for this character is used to fuel rage instead. The tension caused by the, for a lack of a better term: " Bum bum bum ", makes this feel like a fight you were destined for, you had this fight coming. Won't spoil to much of the game, but you show up infront of the boss. In almost any other case it's almost a surprise, an ambush on your opponent's end which starts the fight. But in this case you find, fight, and enter the seal which keeps the final boss in shackles, So you essentially show up to the source of Hollownest's issues to take them on personally.
What's so interesting is that a lot of the melodies played in the Radiance Theme can also be heard in the very first boss battle in the game; The False Knight. It comes full circle! Compare 5:54 of this video with 2:34 on the False Knight OST. The same goes also for 8:22 of this video with 0:53 of False Knight. Link to False Knight OST: ruclips.net/video/vKDQNGDOdE4/видео.html
Leitmotifs from the radiance can also be heard in Sealed Vessel and Broken Vessel. Very cool of Larkin to make connections between characters in their themes (You can also hear the Pale King’s theme in all of the vessel themes, pretty cool stuff)
I love radiance theme, she just give you the vibes of fighting an angry imprisoned god who hate the ones that took her place. That 20€ were totally worth the game Hollow Knight is. Also, I love your content
Hey Davi! Thanks for making such awesome and informative videos, I became a fan after watching your one on fatalis and especially love your monster hunter videos! One idea that I think you would break down really well is Miphas Divine Beasts theme in botw! How the theme starts, and slowly progresses with the changing emotions is so beautiful and unsettling at the same time, such an awesome theme Thanks for the amazing work you put into your videos!
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
So, what's the deal? I thought Sealed Vessel was the final boss track. Is Radiance a secret final boss or something?
Anyway, watch my Sealed Vessel theme video if you haven't already: ruclips.net/video/mSlZZAc48BY/видео.html
Radiance is the “true” final boss, giving you a different ending
Radiance is the true final boss (but not the true true final boss) that plays after the Hollow Knight (Sealed Vessel is his theme) if you have a certain charm and do a special thing during the fight
Yes, Radiance is true final boss of Hollow Knight, you would need to do some things in order to unlock this boss.
There are several endings and Radiance is technically the “canon ending” and so the “good ending” :)
Sort of, yes. You get to fight the radiance after you get the void heart charm, which gives you the true ending for beating her.
The radiance's theme is so majestic because she's the god of light. She believes that she's above the player and that they have no chance against her, since they're only a tiny little guy. You're trying to save the kingdom from the infection that she's spreading as a sort of revenge against the kingdom. The song is largely a reflection on the radiance herself (that's my personal interpretation at least), which is why it's full of elegance and glory as well as power and grace, but the thing that repeats itself is the feeltof hatred in the song amongst those other motifs.
*S U N.*
Id argue that Radiance is actually taking us seriously and is afraid, she knows that youve united the Void against her. Even her dream nail dialogue indicates this.
@@arcanefire7511 I think she knows that you have power, but denies it. I’m pretty sure a bit of her dream nail dialogue is “Ancient enemy” and “Dawn will break”. She recognises you as dangerous, but in a almost crazed manner is saying you can’t defeat her, that she will rise again. Very interesting to see her back story.
God of dream actually But yeah
I actually think the majestic part is kinda more like an ascension, like you literally climbing through the skies during the fight to rise above a literal god; it is magestic, but I just feel is refering more to the actual action that is happening there than the radiance motifs; although is also kinda both mixed togheter
"A majestic evil" is exactly how you would describe this boss
I fought The Radiance possibly hundreds of times and somehow I never noticed how close that beginning section is to the main theme.
It's like an inverse abyss theme, which makes complete sense.
What I really like about Hollow Knight is how it turned the old "white=good, black=evil" trope completely on it's head. The major antagonists, the Radiance and the Pale King are completely white. And the protagonist is closely tied to the void, completely black. Furthermore, light (the Radiance) is the antagonist and darkness (the void) is the protagonist. It completely turns the standard tropes on it's head.
And the best part is that neither one is directly stated to be good or evil by essence, because inherently all Light is considered positive in some way but it gets twisted up in ego politics of the ones in charge of it, and darkness/Void is hinted at being a destructive force quite a bit but as this being the protagonist side and some more deep exploration of the concept follows it, it actually turns out to be more of a neutral idea than anything else. If it isn't disturbed, it's just kind of there and takes small opportunities instead of what most wielders of Light do, which is trying to be the "only Light shining against the dark". And then there's Grimm with the Scarlet Flame, everything in the context of the story screams that this guy is willingly and purposefully evil without the need to be prodded first but he turns out to be just a random ass dude obsessed with theatrics that has a really weird life cycle and doesn't do anything more than dance himself to death so his kid could continue the family business.
Is pale king realy a antagonist? Everything he did was to save his kingdom and people no? Yes he did a lot of horrible things but as he himself says No "cost too great" he believed they were necessary. he even used his own offspring to save his kingdom and people and he was ashamed of these actions we know this thanks to white lady. She even says this to us "don't blame him" I see him as a tragic character who sacrificed so much but was left with nothing in the end except his failure and died alone with a lot of regrets. You can say didn't he caused the problem with radiance at the first place? Not really moth tribe betrayed radiance on their own to follow pale king there is no evidence pale king did anything. And thanks to path of pain we know he at least cared for hollow knight. I see shit ton of buzz saws in white place as a metafor for pale king pain of course this last one just a interpretation but I think it makes sense looking at how path of pain is
@@monokumaay5346 He murdered thousands upon thousands of his own children. He didn't even have the courage to stick around after his plan failed. All he wanted was to be worshipped.
@@seaslug9144 well he was trying to save his kingdom by killing his offspring nearly everybody in the kingdom was dying kingdom he was the king of what was he suppose to do? It was an action taken because of desperation but I agree running away was definitely was a shit move on his part but this still doesn't make him a villain or a antagonist
@@veronicawexel1291 wtf I first thought I wrote the comment based on pfp
i think the magestic part of the theme is not only because of the divine nature of radiance , it gives a feeling of hope maybe it s more related to the hollow knights ( the main character+ final boss) and all the siblings helping him to destroy the sh*t out of Radiance responsible of the downfall of hallownest
I like how there is a small window of the boss fight In the corner as a major part of video game music is the setting as it is important for context and association. The use of Joni’s blessing sent me way back to my first play through. Dark times.
Make sure to go over to the original video where that game footage is from and give it a like. The link is in the description. It's some great gameplay.
Oh gosh, a Joni's user, dark times indeed
The reason why this doesnt sound that sad and tragic its because the Radiance is the true antagonist, she is not a victim of that tragic story, she is the cause of all that sadness and tragedy
Aaah makes sense
Well
She is also a tragic villain
The entire game is a very long tragedy
@@Padre_des_los_penitentes I agree, hollow nest is a destroyed and abandoned kingdom, from the beginning this story is full of long-winded never-ending tragedy.
@@Padre_des_los_penitentesnot really that tragic. She overreacted way too hard. The moth tribe abandoned her for the Pale King. It’s not even said the Pale King was after them they just left the Radiance. What did she do in response? She turned everybody from the bugs the pale king gave a mind to Unn’s little leaf shits into zombies
@@nightmarexgaming120just a tinyyy overreaction
Love how you explain things in a very understandable manner. I don't know much about music but can still follow!
Great. That is the idea for the channel. Music can be deeply understood and appreciated by everyone, not just music theory people.
@@DaviVasc you're doing a great job! i love watching your videos because they're very easy to understand and always make me notice things that i've never noticed before, like the similarity in this theme and the main theme of hollow knight!
THE MOTH
LÅMP
The Radiance is tragic, but nowhere near as sympathetic as the other characters. She was abandoned by the people she created who once worshipped her. However, she loses all sympathy when she mind controls and kills nearly everyone in Hollow Knight. She is the cause of most, if not all, of the suffering and sadness in Hollow Knight, which is why the song is so tense and terrifying.
Also, for music recommendations, I would like to recommend Rain World. It's a very unique survival game with a unique soundtrack. I have a couple of tracks to suggest depending on what you're looking for:
For more chill/ambient music, there's
The Wet Moist
Floes
Lovely Arps
The Coast
And many more, these were just the ones that came to the top of my head.
For more traditional VG music, there's
Pictures of the Past
Kayava
The various threat songs, which follow the naming pattern of "Threat (area)"
Sundown (Main Theme 1)
Moondown (Main Theme 2)
Random Gods (Main Theme 3)
And many more
Hell yeah, Rain World is so unique and underrated. Bio engendering and White lizard are also bangers
Yess Rain World is amazing! My favorites are Black Moonlight, Raindeer Ride and Garbage Worms, but literally every song is an absolute masterpiece.
It is getting a dlc soon too, which will hopefully come with more fantastic music
Seconding Rain World. I think one of the main themes might be the best fit for his videos, since they have more story behind them i would guess?
Hollow Knight does not really have a 1-dimensional "bad guy". Both the Pale King and the Radiance are antagonists, but they have motives that can at least be understood. The struggle between the Radiance and the Pale King is a complicated conflict, with no real good / bad.
Glad to see a Rain World enjoyer!
The reason this track is so different compared to sealed vessel boils down to the story line:
In the sealed vessel fight, the player takes on a sibling, a fellow vessel whom at first seems to act like an enemy which explains the more "violent" nature of the music with the piano at the start until the Hollow Knight begins to stab itself which is when the music takes a dramatic turn. It's to signify to the player that they aren't supposed to be fighting but helping. There is a point of uncertainty where the player is confused: why is the Hollow Knight attacking itself? An enemy who turns on themselves is uncommon to say the least. But that's the thing: it's not your enemy. The Hollow Knight is trying to help the player in taking down the Radiance but in order to do so, it must destroy itself, which queues that tragic tone where the violin and the cello are more dominant and feel calmer in comparison to the piano which felt like the keys were being slammed down. The notes are much lighter yet they carry so much weight on them because of the story. This is where the player attacks the Hollow Knight not because it wishes to kill it but because it wishes to help it, putting it out of its torture and helping it escape the misery and suffering it has endured for so long. And once the fight is over, the music becomes even sadder, underlining the fact that you just killed one of your siblings even if it was for the greater good. That's the nature of the tragedy that is Hollow Knight's story: even in victory, the losses are significant and it never feels like a victory.
Now compare this to the soundtrack of the Radiance fight.
In this fight, you know exactly who your enemy is and if you payed any attention to the story until this point (which btw you should have, it's amazing), you know that this being is the embodiment of evil: corrupting the minds of the living to serve at its whim and taking over a once peaceful and organised civilisation. This is a classic Mario vs Bowser moment where the player never has doubts as to who is in the right or wrong. It's a white on black contrast, all evidence points to the Radiance as the villain. So naturally the soundtrack reflects this: it feels much more evil, aggressive, and powerful. Never a hint of sadness or loneliness like with the sealed vessel soundtrack. like a classic villain gloating about their unlimited power and control. A David and Goliath fight that never ends ambiguously but always in a clear win/lose fashion. And the choir in the background "voicing" the notes only highlights this. All the notes feel high energy and extremely tense as you slowly but surely claw your way to victory in a seemingly impossible battle. The only noticeable change happens gradually as the player moves on through the different phases (Any Radiance homies, where you at?) that the soundtrack starts to feel less confident, acting in parallel to the Radiance's losing battle. No matter what she throws at you it's never enough and you gradually begin to literally and figuratively climb your way to victory, like a hiker taking on a mountain or David striking Goliath in the head. And as you progress through the fight, slowly dwindling down the Radiance's health, the classic notes of the main Hollow Knight theme song begin to trickle in, like cracks forming along a barrier as it finally begins to weaken. This is only strengthened by the background of the fight: the many shades of your dead siblings rising to help you defeat the one thing they were all made to kill: it doesn't even matter who gets to kill the Radiance so long as she's dead by the end of the fight. And once you finally kill the Radiance it's like all the build-up to this final moment bursts out in a fast but intense flash of completeness. The job is finished, and the vessels have served their purpose. They are no longer needed for the future of Hallownest and all their traces disappear (cut to the player's body draining into the rocks in the final cutscene)
The music in Hollow Knight is honestly worthy of so many awards in my humble opinion, it perfectly compliments the story and makes the fights feel so grandiose and important. I would honestly recommend anyone who has a mild interest in music to play Hollow Knight just for how amazing the soundtrack is and how it compliments the gameplay/story
Thanks for reading my essay, have a nice day
Dude
Why is this comment isn't more popular
This is true. It's also fitting because unlike almost every other boss Radiance has exactly ZERO chill.
Masterful breakdown of the symbolism and story telling in the song and the game itself. This was a good read^^
This comment is actually underrated.
@@petrhavranek1334 no it isn't
Basically both this and Sealed Vessel are final boss themes, depending on whether you work out how to get into the Radiance boss fight (which is done while Sealed Vessel is playing). The Radiance is the cause of every obstacle in your way, directly or indirectly, and so I think Christopher Larkin was trying to make this the musical version of a fight with a magnificent eldritch abomination for the fate of the world. When it shifts into the second phase it always seems a bit more desperate to me because of (and kind of in spite of) how there's now a bit of hope since the player is starting to win. It's not defiance now, there's a chance and the player is musically encouraged to press the attack, not giving her a chance to recover in case it all goes wrong.
If you want more majesty amongst a tragic setting, I would recommend listening to "For All Mankind" from Battletech (2018). I think you'll like it.
It would not, strictly speaking, be inaccurate to say Everyone In Hollow Knight _Is_ The Victim-- _except Radiance._ Radiance is The Bad Guy here.
Bad Girl?
And I can definitely find someone that isn't a victim either. Zote (not) the Mighty! Nightmare Heart! Souls Twisters with Soul Master on the top.
Radiance was actually a victim that overreacted lol
@@fallen9997 actually the soul sanctum scholars were all victims, bot of the infection and the experiments of the soul master (this seconds case is mostly referred to the errors, i think they're called like these in english)
@@tsarulfhednar5691 They volunteered for the experiments.
@@phantomfire5013 oh, that's right, i forgot that part
Hey Davi, I really appreciate your content, keep it up, and by the way "The Radiance" is an optional boss since it's like a second boss after the final boss.
yes, in theory radiance is an optional boss, but in practice she's the true final boss (the one intended to be the real boss of the game)
Ah, makes sense
It's more the true boss or the true ending boss. It's not required for a run, but it's how the game is meant to truly end.
@@shibadawn all endings are equally “meant” to be true. At least that’s what it’s creators were thinking when making it. They said so
@@joaotribal yeah but in most games the best ending is considered the 'true ending ' (I also just said true final boss not ending! HK is one of those games that any ending could work as true ending.)
I find it kind of awesome how he's able to describe the story and the relation of the characters simply by hearing the music. It goes to show how great he is at "reading" the music, and how great the composer for Hollow Knight was at writing it.
her song truly resembles lots of anger, rage towards her followers who abandoned her, but also desperation leading to madness, she was determined to not be forgotten, to stay alive, no matter the cost. At one point where the majesty and dignity is shown through the song, it shows how majestic she truly is (or was, big radiance fan here haha)
Radiance is often called an evil character but I don't think it's strictly true. It's more like a force of nature. That's why this theme isn't in any way tragic. Radience is just so much beyond any other being. It literally lives in other plain of existance. And it lives only as long as people remember it. It's almost like a personification of an idea. And it doesn't really want to do bad things. It's difficult to even say that it is capable of wanting anything. If anything it wants to reduse life to it's primal form without any higher thought or individuality. It works towards uniting the entire world under one mind in an eternal stagnation
I don't think that's true. Because Radiance only exists in the Dream Realm, her existence requires the bugs to 'remember' her. So she creates the infection to forcefully inject herself into bug's dreams. This causes bugs to reject Pale King, who remember, was the whole reason bugs turned into civilized beings in the first place.
I think turning primal is just a side effect of Radiance projecting herself over all bugs, and I think she most definitely knows what she's doing.
I love how you include little faces to help describe what the chords feel like. >:( For the disturbing chord is my favorite.
The majesty you spotted throughout makes a lot of sense in the story, yeah, as the true final boss is, in her own eyes, only reclaiming the glory that she was deprived of by another character important to the lore.
I'd be interested to see you tackle music from Ender Lilies. Its ambiance is very unique. Perhaps the main theme, Harmonious or the intro and outro of Evil? (Boss themes of the game are all divided in an intro for the early fight, and an outro for the final phase, and hearing one after the other could help to judge them)
if you have the time you should play thisa game. This game is one of my favorites of all time for everything in the game making it feel awesome to explore the kingdom of Hallownest from the artwork, characters and to the sound track. This game is a 10/10 in my books.
And i recommend listening to Truth, Beauty and Hatred from HollowKnight one of my favorites from the sound track :)
I intend to!
@@DaviVasc Epic! That's what I was thinking of suggesting next.
Good game to watch a summary of, bad game to play
@@dazza2350what do you mean?
so a couple of things about the lore: (SPOILERS)
1)
Surprise surprise! Radiance is a tragic villain. The Radiance is a dream bound god (and might only live in the dream world), which means she is directly tied to her worship. She created the race of moths to worship her, and they did just that... until the pale king showed up. the moths then started worshiping the pale king, which left the Radiance abandoned and forgotten, which cause her to become powerless. One day, some distance in the future, a bug (the residence of Hollow Knight) encountered a statue of her, and the Radiance, who suddenly gain a sliver of power, struck out. She inflicted the bug with an infection, which it then spread throughout the world. She utterly hated the Pale King, and wanted his entire kingdom to suffer in primal agony. The Pale king, not stupid, realized what was happening, and tried to seal the Radiance within a completely-devoid-of-emotion vessel (the sealed vessel, The Hollow Knight). This worked... for a time, but the radiance managed to regain her infection spreading power when the Hollow Knight momentarily felt emotion. THAT is the state of the world when we see it. the Dreamers have failed, the vessels have failed and suffer eternally, and the Pale King has vanished into simple dreams.
2)
The Hollow Knight (Sealed Vessel) AND the Radiance are both final bosses. In every ending (bar one with DLC) you must fight the Hollow Knight, but in one ending (which is widely considered the good ending) you enter the Hollow knight's mind mid-battle and fight the infection itself, the Radiance. In the aftermath of this battle, the Knight (player character) and all the failed vessels can finally rest in piece, as their purpose has been fuffilied as the Radiance's infection dies out due her imprisonment within the void
TL;DR: The Radiance, one of the final bosses of Hollow Knight, is a tragic villain who acts out of revenge
EDIT: please inform me if I made a lore mistake as I'm not well informed about HK lore. I tried to be as accurate as possible but its possible that I claimed a small theory was absolute cannon, which I apologise for
The outlines correct, but as far as I know the details like how the radience got it's infection started, is unknown. You're idea for it here has some good logic and could be right.
As far as I know, the infection spread through dreams of the citizens of Hallownest, not quite through the statue. In one of the quotes from the Pale King, it says "You shall seal the blinding light that plagues their dreams." which I interpret to be more of a mental plague with physical side effects than a physical plague with mental/spiritual side effects. Think like the One Ring from Lord of the Rings, the Radiance promises anything and everything to the bugs she infects. The Hollow Knight (Sealed Vessel) only failed because it was not devoid of a mind to think or a will to break, and so the Radiance broke free of her bindings and reinfected Hallownest. Very good breakdown of her motivations though!
@@ACEYGAMES
@@ACEYGAMES ah good to know. I thought the statue bring back the radiance was cannon but I guess I overstepped there. Thank you for the correction!
@@jkt19 yeah I apparently forgot that the Pale King said that. In hindsight I feel really stupid now. Thank you for the addition/correction!
I like how when the void comes up in the first stage and Radiance breaks free, the rocks you fight stage 2 on are black like they weren’t put there by Radiance, but the Void as well as the final climb up.
That part about the Radiance theme and the Main theme fitting together yet sounding disturbing fits really well.
8bitmusictheory (a fantastic channel) proposed in his Hollow Knight videos, that that leitmotif from the Main theme represents the vessels, which is a type of creature that is created by using an ancient substance called "Void".
The Void and the Radiance, according to Hollow Knight lore, are ancient enemies, so the player character, one of the vessels, essentially fights for the Void against the Radiance. It fits really well therefor, that the vessels theme and the Radiance's theme sound disturbing together, because they are enemies.
Yet another fantastic detail. Thanks Davi!
You've gotta listen to Lace, one of two Silksong tracks that have been released as previews. Christopher Larkin really outdid himself with that one
This question will sound stupid to Hollow Knight fans, but what is Silksong?
@@DaviVasc no sé inglés, disculpa, Silksong es como Hollow Knight 2, pero desde el punto de vista de Hornet, uno de los personajes principales de la historia, hermana de nuestro protagonista y con un soundtrack hermoso, uno de mis favoritos. El juego se llama "Silksong" porque ella es una araña y creo que es obvio la referencia. El juego aún no ha salido, pero se ha revelado algunos soundtracks.
@@DaviVasc It's an upcoming sequel to Hollow Knight.
@@DaviVasc The long awaited sequel to Hollow Knight where you play as Hornet, an important character in the first game's story.
@@DaviVasc A game that takes way too long to release but will apparently be even better than Hollow Knight.
You deserve much more subs
I watched some music react youtubers and you're one of the fews that explain everything very well without using complicated music specific words that only composers understand.
thank you !
Making videos just for people that know music theory would be so boring to me. Glad you're enjoying the videos!
That's kind of unbelievable that you take this idea from the game just by listening the music, like, when you were about 9:00 you sad something like: "Looks like a evil thing but also magestyc" and you just got it right, just amazing
I do wonder how would you react to the "nosk" theme, by far the more "terror" one
BTW, here's a resume about the tragedy of Hallownest:
Once there was The Radiance, a higher being, and her people, the moths, as well as all the other lowly bugs and all of them worshiped her. Them comes The Wyrm, another higher being (of a pale nature, I should add), which arrives in this kingdom and leaves behind his former self to become the Pale King. He bestows many gifts to Hallownest and it's inhabitants, such as mind and consciousness, which cause them to abandon their former worship. This causes The Radiance to go nuts and spread the infection, which would find and corrupt everyone who has a mind or feelings or even individuality and turn them into a hivemind under her control.
The Pale King then, at no cost to great, devises alongside his wife, the White Lady and Queen of Hallownest (she's also a higher being of pale nature and a tree), a tragic plan to seal The Radiance. First they would need tenths or hundreds of thousands of their offspring to be born as empty carcasses with "No mind to think, No will to break, No voice to cry suffering". Then those eggs or fertilized seeds or whatever would be infused with The Void, an entity (or even a force of nature) older than Hallownest itself, in order to not be affected by the infection and seal away The Radiance. This results in birth of the Hollow Knights, born of God and Void, except most of them are imperfect and not really hollow. From all of those shells, only one passes the trial to become The Hollow Knight, as all the other ones are left to die. The Pale King raises this one and when it comes of age, he uses his dream-world-powers to seal The Radiance inside of it.
Except The Hollow Knight was also not perfect, also not truly hollow. They shared a bond with The Pale King and through this, the infection slowly spreads out, even if The Radiance is still contained.
That's why Sealed Vessel is so tragic, you're listening to the sadness of a being created to be isolated from the world for the eternity and who is failing in doing so. During the fight, The Hollow Knight harms themselves purposely in order to try and hurt The Radiance and help our protagonist, The Vessel. BTW, The Vessel supposedly also surpassed the trial and is a true hollow knight, which will assume it's siblings place and be the new container for the infection and The Radiance in a few of the endings.
The song analyzed in this video, however, refers to the true ending, in which The Vessel manages to use the Dream Nail in a weakened Hollow Knight in order to go inside and kill The Radiance itself. As the fight progresses, all of those lost vessel souls from the abyss, as well as the Hollow Knight's come to join forces with The Vessel to deliver the final blow to Radiance.
Anyway, that's how I interpret all the little clues of lore the game gives us. Other players may have a few disagreements, but I believe most of this is somewhat the actual events!
Oh I like your chord breackedowns so much, I recently started studying music theory and these bits are so interesting. Also you're so right on the money with the description of mood of the tracks!
I've been listening to your playlist of Hollow Knight music and I'm so impressed how close you are to what is happening in the game just by interpreting the music ♥ Like here when you said that the music sound evil but like a kind of majestic type of evil. Man, it's like you've been commenting the game ♥
watching your content reminds me of what I love about music... so thanks for the videos! I love your enthusiasm!
Dude i just started watching your videos and BAM! A new video 2 minutes ago
Love it
Awesome. Welcome to the channel, my friend!
Great work with this, I really enjoyed the video! You where correct with the “majestic” description as radiance is a goddess. I think it’d be interesting to see a video on Pure Vessel’s theme. The Hollow Knight and Pure Vessel are the same person. Pure Vessel is a separate boss fight where you essentially fight The Hollow Knight’s past self before the game takes place, when they were at their most powerful state. I think it’s also worth mentioning that it’s stated in game that they aren’t supposed to think, have a will or even have a voice.
I like that you recognized the majesty of the boss. She’s a forgotten/old god who acts out of bitterness and rage to destroy the kingdom that ended her worship.
I suggest Manus, Father of the Abyss from Dark Souls 1 as it perfectly captures both the rage and sadness humans feel and is an interesting contrast to Gwyn, Lord of Cinder musically.
Thank you for the suggestion! I've been re-playing DS1 lately but I don't remember Manus. Is he a DLC boss?
@@DaviVasc yeah Manus is the final boss of the dlc in DS1
@@DaviVasc He's the final boss of the DLC, and also my personal favorite boss.
"Evil but Majestic evil"
Yeahhhh that's the Radiance alright..
Hearing the White Palace theme at the end of Radiance, when the shadows are chasing Radiance into the sky to tear it into the void... Wonderful. Hollowknight music is gorgeous, but most of the time, you aren't paying attention to the music, because you're FEELING it.
Another great anlyse that bring back our memories about this game so far and help us to understand more and more the meaning of this ! Really like it continue 👍
Love how you underline mechanical parts of the music and link them directly to the feelings brought by the whole thing, really a super interesting experience
Amazing video, as always! What a gorgeous theme! Radiance is so divine and this theme fits her splendour so perfectly. Thank you for this, Davi!
What I love most about the change at 5:50 is that despite the shift to more sinister chords, it still gives a feeling of triumph and a return to comfort since subdued and more "negative" Keys have been the accompanying sound for most of the playthrough (minus the dissonance since you have to keep the tension up somehow). It gives the feeling that you've struck a blow and are starting to pull this opposing force down to your level by forcing them to share the musical limelight. Which makes sense given the context.
I know I keep doing this, but I can't help it. When I hear the music (and really, it's not just here...this happens to me when ANY music starts playing...it's just...there) both my head and heart start comparing it to other songs I've heard (not game music). With this one, there was a lot of comparison going on, but as you got near the end and started talking about the variations that could be occurring with the addition of the triumph, and the question of to whom that might possibly apply, I suddenly KNEW what song I had to go listen to. Of course, it was another one of Dan's songs (that will probably not ALWAYS be the case, but I've been pretty much stuck on Dan's songs since April, so...).
The one that hit me over the head, was..."Black Wind, Fire, and Steel!" There is such a major shift at the end of that, with the words being so repetitive and insistent right up to the grand finale. In the game, it's like the "player" is repeating over and over again, what his mission IS, in order to keep up his courage. In Black Wind... it's the "player" psyching himself up by the fact that he KNOWS what he has been born for...
- - - - - - - - - -
I am an outcast on the path of no return
Punisher and swordsman
I was born to burn
Black Wind always follows
Where my black horse rides
Fire's in my soul
Steel is on my side
Born of Black wind fire and steel
Born of Black wind fire and steel
Born to teach them all to heel
Born of Black wind fire and steel.................
As he gets to the final utterance of that statement, and you THINK he's going to fall flat on his face from total exhaustion, he surprises everyone by continue carrying out his mission ALMOST to his own finish, BUT...
...as he starts to "fade to black," instead, he gets the salute from "...the maker of the music...". He has DONE what he was born to do. WOW!!!
- - - - - - - - - -
I was just reading down through the other comments, and see that there seems to be more to this "ending" than meets the eye (which you were also feeling, and hinted). That made me think of what I've been telling NEW reactors to Dan's music. No matter WHAT, if the song starts going into one of his special "outros," do NOT stop reacting! ...ESPECIALLY for "Black Wind, Fire, and Steel!" There's so much more you can learn! I never would have gone and found Louis' and his wife's channel, if I hadn't listened to Dan's speech about them! That would have been very sad!
This also makes me think of the final track in the "Chronicles of Ancient Wisdom," which also hints at other things to come...
- - - - - - - - - -
I was thinking maybe I might check out this game, but after seeing some of the other comments, I'm not sure it's "for me." I think I will check into it, though. Hmmm...
Your videos are always such a treat to watch! Thank you for making them!
If you do plan to do more Hollow Knight, the Dung Defender has a great soundtrack!
A part of me wonders if he has knows more about the story and game than he's letting on. The words chosen fit the boss and story so accurately it makes me suspicious. Especially the words put on the thumbnail summarize the characters so precisely. Maybe that or Christopher Larkin just wrote the music so expertly to allow the listener to hear crucial components of the characters. That alone is impressive considering that Larkin didn't write these characters, he wrote the music based off what the writers communicated to him. That suggests a lot of communication lol.
Complementing about the fight, Radiance at the beginning just launches all of its attacks with less precision, but very frequently. In the second half of the fight it becomes more precise and attacks more carefully (as if it now recognizes that it won't be easy). In the last part it launches lightning bolts at you while climbing the platforms to the highest peak of Hallownest. As you get closer it becomes more and more precise.
I think it's a good gameplay information and fits perfectly with your analisys.
Its true that hollow knight is not a good guy vs bad guy story in the traditional sense but the radiance is undoubtedly the bad guy(well, in reality is a girl).
It makes sense that her theme is so majestic, you have to do some stuff and go out of your way to even fight her and once you can fight her you first have to fight the sealed vessel to get to her, not only that, but when you are fighting the radiance you are fighting a goddess of dreams, the source of the plague infecting the kingdom of hallownest, you are fighting the damn sun, and thats why her theme is so glorious.
On other note, may i suggest either the dung defender or the white defender themes for your next hollow kinght video? They are one of my favorite character(s) in the whole game
I love that the end part of the track feels like you're going in for the final blow! I love it!
Would really like to see more of your reactions on Hollow Knight
There's a lot more to discuss, cause almost every boss in the game has it's unique music as well as almost all the locations
Id suggest listening to Pure Vessel one
I you will, consider that Pure Vessel has "no voice to cry suffering"
Thank you for your content
Sounds interesting, thank you for the suggestion!
This was incredible, watching you go through the various stages of the track and really break it down without any knowledge of who she is before hand!
Your analysis of the theme here really highlights how well the music represents the Radiance and her feelings, as well as the player’s terror and building confidence! It goes to show how masterful the composition is, and how good you are at reading these songs… thanks so much for giving it a try!!
Edit: my personal take on the theme is that it’s mostly about the Radiance’s feelings. Due to the history of the world of this game, she feels wronged! Righteously furious! She’s being forgotten, and if she’s going down she’s taking everyone else down with her into a sickly dream of death.
Then, as you progress past the first stage of the fight, there’s something underneath that age-old blind fury. There’s pride, and hurt, and a building sense of tension because this tiny nuisance is actually hurting her. Her, the glorious goddess of light and dreams! This can’t be happening, but there’s a horror in the fact that it IS, especially when she was so close to escaping her prison and taking back what she thinks of as rightfully hers…
Anyway, great analysis, I had a great time with this video :]
I love this theme, because it's a great mix between holy and evil. Larkin got the mood for the Radiance 100% right.
the greater level of appreciation you gave me to this music blows my mind. Incredible analysis
That makes me happy
@@DaviVasc :) thank you for your good work
one day I'd love to see you review hollow knights Mantis Lords/ Sisters of Battle tracks!
your videos have really gotten me to notice game music so much more lately.
I really like that music, i think my favourite oart is at 0:56 it hits pretty hard. And it does fit the boss pretty well
Eu tava olhando o canal pra ver se chegou video e na hora apareceu notificação KKKK
😂
Another fantastic video! Having played the game myself, it's really interesting to see you break down the songs and their meanings despite your unfamiliarity with the game's lore (and mine's with music theory). If you do go back to Hollow Knight, I think "Broken Vessel" and "Pure Vessel" could be interesting songs to tackle, but I would also love to see your takes on "Lace", which is a song from the upcoming sequel to Hollow Knight, because so far we know very little about the game's narrative and the song was only uploaded as a sample, so I think it would be interesting to see how different it is from it's future final version (if it ends up being different)
I really love your videos and analysis! I'm a game developer with a love for music especially as it is applied in gaming and you've explained a lot of concepts that were foreign to me, I look forward to studying music theory in the future
Hollow Knight is my favorite game and my biggest inspiration for both OSTs and just games in general, it's amazing to see your analysis and reactions to them! I'd love if you could react to Pure Vessel in the future, as it has great lore relevancy and relation to Sealed Vessel just like the name implies and is also my favorite OST in the game outside of Pale Court :)
since i noticed you're not understanding wich is the final boss i want to give you a little explanation of what's going on (there will be a few spoilers ahead):
the hollow knight (the boss with the sealed vessel theme) is the final boss, when you first play the game there are "hints on the map" (the location of the dreamers that protect the seal and the location of the hollow knight) that suggest you how to complete the game, basically you need to defeat the hollow knight
however the radiance is the one that is intended to be the true final boss in the game lore. in the gameplay she's basically a secret boss (that's why a lot of people in the comments are saying that radiance is an optional boss) that can be reached if you enter the mind of the hollow knight instead of killing him, but in the lore and story of the game she's the real enemy, the foe who started everything that's going on in the game, that's why she's considered the final boss (and you also get 3 other endings if you defeat her, instead you get 2 endings if you defeat the hollow knight)
btw great video as usual :D
the radiance is the infection itself and the hollow knight was meant to seal it but now the radiance is controling it
I love watching this guy articulate the things we players are feeling and the underlying themes Christopher Larkin and Team Cherry are connecting with the music. For example, the references to the main theme combined with majestic overtones tells the player they've ascended to near god-like power. The semi-disturbing undertones tell the player something too. After all, you're playing as the living embodiment of darkness trying to kill an ancient god of light, and for most players this fight is probably not going well the first time. It's such a complex and layered piece, like many others in the soundtrack.
Christopher Larkin is probably one of the best video game composers I've ever heard. I can't wait for his Silksong soundtrack, especially since he now has the budget to get real instruments for the soundtracks.
My headcannon is that the entire radiance fight takes place in a lamp
I've noticed how much the song plays out the story of your fight with the Radiance.
The begining makes you understand you are prepping for a fight with a greater being far beyond you have seen. It's very powerful and forceful in that I feel is a way to signify that this is the end of your whole journey, this is your main purpose for creation, this is your finale with a God and you cannot fail. The Maniacal energy the opening paints shows the Radiances full resentment towards us, the Radiance hates us, and lore wise its understandable why. These two masses collide to create the powerful yet chaotic opening we hear.
But, as the fight progresses the Knights strength shows, and now the Radiance begins to become desperate. It uses all of its power in an attempt to destroy the Knight, and prevent the void from engulfing the light. The music becomes far more triumphant, it's more on our side now. We've shown our strength and now have a chance to best this God. It's not nearly as chaotic, but more angry, Radiance wont let the light be swallowed.
However, try as she might it's still not enough. Now fully desperate to stop the void Radiance retreat's in fear to attack from afar with beams of light in a last ditch effort to stop the Knight. With Radiance weakened we must make our way up toward our goal and kill the God once and for all. The music is closing in to welcome our victory, full of triumph. Climbing closer, and closer, we reach the Radiance and deliver the final blow. The Radiance has been downed and we can fulfill our meaning and rid Hallownest of the light.
I really wish your channel growth! You make amazing content! Really happy to see Hollow Knight videos on your channel but also every new one makes me excited!
We've been growing a lot thanks to people like you, so thank you!
Man i have no idea on how you describe music to a game you haven't played so well but i love it. I watched your Bloodborne video The First Hunter and was like. Wow he figured the meaning behind the fight so well by just hearing the music. Thats some amazing talent there. You should hear Soul Sanctum and White Defender from Hollow Knight. Keep up the amazing videos.
At the beginning of the Radience fight there is those loud, angry, punching chords, these chords were also seen in the hollow knight fight, and I think this connection in the music, is also helping to show the connection between the radiance, and the hollow knight’s suffering.
Another Hollow Knight song that I highly recommend you check out is a song in the Gods and Nightmares album, the song is called
Truth, Beauty, and Hatred.
I am no music analyst myself though I believe you will find it to be very interesting, and the story behind it is filled, with lies, darkness, and love.
I would love to see your analysis on some of the area themes. Such as:
Greenpath
Fungal Wastes
And Kingdom's Edge
Just a few of the areas, and each has a different feel, and environment. The music often blends so well with its evironment that I don't even notice it during gameplay despite how much I enjoy each peice.
Love this song. I've gotten to listen to it for over a hundred hours of gameplay. It still holds its intimidating aura and its majestic feeling and never gets old after listening!
I feel like Radiance would make a good Tohou boss. The hundreds of nails, the lazer beams, the glowing sawblades. All they'd have to do is multiply the attack quantities and arrange them accordingly.
The way you analyse the hollow knight's soundtrack, you're making me look at the game in a different perspective.
i like how when the music is "rising" its moving to the second ish and 3rd stages of the fight and literally you are climbing up. But also, the heroic brass and godly choir both rise together. the godly choir takes over and drowns out the brass the first 2 times but the 3rd time at the end the brass completely takes over, as in the hero is triumphant! very cool.
It’s so amazing that he nails basically the entire thing and knows the feel of each boss just by hearing each song of hollow knight that’s how genius this score and soundtrack is
I always enjoy how you take the time to analyze the individual segments of each song like it is a puzzle. I would also like to recommend the music from the game Blasphemous by Carlos Viola. Cantes de Confesion/Chants of Confession and Entregaras Tu Rostro a La Senora/You will deliver your face to the Lady are my favorites.
Radiance basically hates you because she recognizes her old enemy in you. If you dream-nail radiance during the fight there is a chance you will see a quote "Ancient enemy" which is a reference to The Void God aka God of Gods
It may be a reference not to the void but simply to the pale king
solo con ver a radiance vemos q ella es lo majestuoso
Awesome video, once again Davi!!
Hey! I've been thinking about what you said during one of the streams that usually you get emotional with art, but not often in real life. I was listening to 'Proof of a Hero' again, and that track always makes my heart race and a couple of tears start to show up, very rarely music does that to me.
I have a suggestion, how about you review a track that you know it does that to you in the future? (you've probably done this already, but what about another one?), I can feel that there's a clear difference in your excitement when you're hearing something that messes with your emotions 😆
Anyway, thanks and have a great weekend!!
This is so interesting. I often think of something like this as well. This may not be the subject of what you are talking about, but ‘Proof of a Hero’ is a morale booster for me and every time I listen to it, I become in the same state as you. I always wonder if the reason why this music moves me emotionally in this way, is it not only because of the charm and power of the music itself, but also because of my emotional attachment to the game itself? Probably, it’s both.
It’s extremely rare for me to be emotionally moved by music other than game or film music. When I listen to OSTs of the games I haven’t play yet, I find them to be amazing music, but I don’t get intense excitement from them. My friends can work while listening to their God Tier OSTs of the games, but sometimes l can't work, because I'm so emotionally invested in listening to them. Sorry, I must have gotten off track.
Great video as always! If you plan on making more hollow knight content, I'd reccomend either False Knight or Hive Knight.
mans using all the lifeblood charms
In here the song feels like Radiance is caught off guard by the presence of the knight. And as the fight goes on it's almost like she's not had anyone to talk to, so she's communicating to him her story. Like "What is a mere mortal doing here" vibe almost. To the "do you know what happened to me? HE TOOK WHAT WAS RIGHTFULLY MINE." With the rage flaring because of the reminder. But then with the almost sorrowful loss flowing into the majestic part, Radiance had lost her composure and righted herself. Reminding herself she is an actual god. Her mission is not done, there are still those who don't see her worming around. She can't let a little mortal throw off her game.
*Immediately gets PTSD to absolute Radiance* good job you pointed out a lot I didn’t notice. I would love to hear you reacting to “the experience” from CrossCode
The hollow knight (sealed) is final boss and you also before fighting the radiance since the radiance is inside the hollow knight but killing gives you a ending and so does the radiance there is mutilple endings in hollow knight
Interesting track you should react in hollow knight :
- white palace
-greenpath
-mantis lord , there IS two version
- daughter of hallownest (godmaster dlc)
Don't forget City of Tears + Soul Sanctum
@~Enderpuff thanks
@@Oscar97o City of tears but soul sanctum not my favorite
@@Oscar97o I'll never forget the moment when I first got the the City of Tears. When I stood in that hall and heard the soundtrack for the first time, accompanied by the muffled sound of rain. This is a video game moment that will always stick with me. I just stood there for 10-15 minutes and listened.
This theme still gives me chills
The Hollow knight is basically a mercy kill, whereas The radiance is an actual fight.
8:40
I Also noticed that this part sounds almost exactly like the final part of the intro of “The Final Countdown” so it probably is a reference
You deserve a lot more of views and subscribers, this is very good content. I love it
The majestic chord really does a good job of releasing tension.
I like how at the start you mentioned at the start that there are layers of sadness and tragedy and how other songs adopt it in relation to their own story.
But the Radiance's theme is pure Fury, it's aggressive as you stated, simply because the drive for anguish for this character is used to fuel rage instead.
The tension caused by the, for a lack of a better term: " Bum bum bum ", makes this feel like a fight you were destined for,
you had this fight coming.
Won't spoil to much of the game, but you show up infront of the boss.
In almost any other case it's almost a surprise, an ambush on your opponent's end which starts the fight.
But in this case you find, fight, and enter the seal which keeps the final boss in shackles,
So you essentially show up to the source of Hollownest's issues to take them on personally.
It actually blew my mind when you showed how the Radiance theme was an inflection of the main theme of the game.
Wow, Davi! Finally we see you playing piano with both hands at the same time! Great video, btw :)
What's so interesting is that a lot of the melodies played in the Radiance Theme can also be heard in the very first boss battle in the game; The False Knight. It comes full circle!
Compare 5:54 of this video with 2:34 on the False Knight OST.
The same goes also for 8:22 of this video with 0:53 of False Knight.
Link to False Knight OST: ruclips.net/video/vKDQNGDOdE4/видео.html
Leitmotifs from the radiance can also be heard in Sealed Vessel and Broken Vessel. Very cool of Larkin to make connections between characters in their themes
(You can also hear the Pale King’s theme in all of the vessel themes, pretty cool stuff)
@@connorselfYou can Hear in the game's main theme too
Why didn't I found this channel sooner.
Subbed.
The best part of Hollow Knight is there are no true villains, only competing goals and the unfortunates caught in the crossfire of gods at war.
next time you do a hollow knight reaction, i would recommend broken vessel. its one of my personal favorite songs amd i hope you enjoy it too :)
The sealed vessel is the final boss, but only for the main story. The radiance is the TRUE final boss
I love radiance theme, she just give you the vibes of fighting an angry imprisoned god who hate the ones that took her place. That 20€ were totally worth the game Hollow Knight is.
Also, I love your content
Hey Davi! Thanks for making such awesome and informative videos, I became a fan after watching your one on fatalis and especially love your monster hunter videos!
One idea that I think you would break down really well is Miphas Divine Beasts theme in botw! How the theme starts, and slowly progresses with the changing emotions is so beautiful and unsettling at the same time, such an awesome theme
Thanks for the amazing work you put into your videos!
For some reason the heavier notes give me a feeling of dread, while the majestic parts gives me hope.
When I play the game I don't give too much attention to the music, and it's an absolute banger