"It's alright. You can stop now. Xion." Instantly made me teary eyed, despite knowing it was coming. Such a powerful moment. Names have power. Take away someone's name, their identity, their reputation, and you take away them as a person. Acknowledging Xion by name gave her the power to overcome and fight back.
That line is in Jesse McCartney's voice too instead of Haley Joel Osment, that's why it gets me every time. The voice acting there is another huge part of what gives that scene its emotional weight.
@@BenjaminRodriguezReyes Most people don't get it on their first watch, which kinda proves there's a tonal similarity in that anime boi voice, but also because the tone is so similar at that point in the scene lol.
I very explicitly remember the first time a video game made me cry was the final xion scene when I was maybe 12. I was on my DS on a car ride and it was hella awkward. Regardless that Ice Cream line do be hitting different with proper context
I was 18 and In college. Right before I went to class at alike 8 in the morning. I seen the video for the first time and I was sad all day. This was in 2009.
Same here! I think I was 13 or 14 at the time, but I'm not quite sure anymore - what I remember most clearly is that it was very late at night, and I had to try and force myself to be quiet as to not wake up my family.
I was crying like a baby when I heard Xion's theme in KH3, followed by seeing the Sea Salt Trio reuniting together, I just bawled out like crazy for about 6 minutes. 358/2 Days was my first KH game (not a good first game, I know), and I grew so close to Roxas, Axel, and Xion despite my annoyances with the game. I saw myself in all of them and the rest of O13, and I genuinely didn't want to fight Xion in the fight against her. I get why people think Kingdom Hearts is cringe. It can be dumb, inconsistent, and all around confusing. But beneath all of that, it's a genuinely emotional series that doesn't hold back when it's about to throw hands at your heart. So thank you, Jon. Thanks for helping me keep this series, and especially Xion, memorized.
There's something that's never brought up in the video but it's something I've never been able to stop thinking of ever since I first noticed it. The first half of the block denoted in red is actually used in another song in Days, it's the glockenspiel of "At Dusk, I Will Think of You" and it goes for THE ENTIRETY of the song. If you take this part as being from "Dusk" and not "Xion" (because of how ever present it is) it's like her theme is calling back to those afternoons sitting on the clocktower with Axel and Roxas, a testament to why she Is. And if you take the alternative, it's like even when she's gone she's always there with Roxas on the tower. At dusk, I will think of you.
The biggest cruelty of this piece, I think, is how difficult it is for me to remember it, despite loving it so much. I can remember Sora's theme, I can remember Roxas' theme, but I can't remember how Xion's theme goes without outside help, yet every time I remember it, I cry as though I'm hearing it for the first time. There's a strange, beautiful, sad sense of irony to that, I think.
Might be because it's sad but not alerting. Human brain usually tries to forget or repress sad memories that serve no warning purpose for eventual future situations. It also doesn't evoke feelings of familiarity. Xion's fate was unavoidable, she was out of place and the track represents that well.
What makes Shimomura's work, and honestly just music in general, so incredible to me is that you can understand the meaning and emotion in the music without understanding music theory. You can *feel* it. And understanding the musical theory behind a piece doesn't ruin the magic at all it just makes you appreciate the intent and composer's artistry even more. You explain music theory better than any other music theory content creator I've watched, and you inject so much emotion in the explanation itself that it really makes watching you break down these pieces of music such a joy to watch!
Shimomura is a master of musical expression, imo. Every time I play a game she's composed for, I get so incredibly attached to the world, story, and characters, and the music has a lot to do with that. The first game I played with her music was Legend of Mana, and tracks like Places of Soul and City of Flickering Destruction still bring out a ton of emotions in me; I didn't even know she composed for KH until maybe after KH2 when I started watching the credits, but now I can hear her distinct musical touch in soundtracks. If you want to hear more of her work, her "Best of" albums are "Drammatica" and "memoria!".
Thank you so much! It made me smile to read this because that's one of the main things I want to convey with each video - music theory just gives us a convoluted, imperfect vocabulary for stuff we mostly already know.
I notice this in a lot of video game music that I have grown to love over the years. They just...make you feel something. Kingdom Hearts is great for this. Dearly Beloved is an amazing sample of this. You hear it for the first time on bootup of each KH game and...something just clicks deep down. If the creator of this video happens to see this I would LOVE a deep dive on Dearly Beloved from each KH game.
@@caldw615 Hi! While I do think that topic is worthy and interesting, I'm worried it would be a very repetitive video, and the last thing I want is to make people tired of hearing Dearly Beloved. Still, I'm writing it down!
@@JonathanBarouch Oh I get that but I do feel it could be interesting, maybe even as a more general "theme of the game" since the feel of Dearly Beloved tends to pair with other tracks in each game that fit the overall vibe. KH1 is a lot more upbeat like a lot of the tracks such as the Destiny Island and Traverse Town's combat theme. Gives a sense of adventure. Where as KH2's is slower to fit the more sombre tone of the inclusion of Nobodies, The Organisation etc, likely reflective of Sora growing up a little too.
And then in the KH3 version of Vector to the Heavens there is percussion and the tone of the song shifts as a result, showing just how much of a difference it made.
i'd like to think the kh3 version-with its full orchestra, wild percussion, swing rhythm, electric guitar, and synths-represents xion no longer holding back. after all, it is called the "limitcut episode" for a reason. because the xion we fight is merely data, there are no emotional stakes. it's just an intense battle against a powerful keyblade wielder.
@@tsunderecat413 I find it much more happier, as the sadness that lasted 10 years is replaced with joy since Roxas, Axel and Xion have all reunited. I once used it as a victory track
Just wanted to say that using the title of the Xion’s theme as a quick gag at the beginning of the video and then hitting us at the end with the emotional punch of what the theme actually means is actually genius scriptwriting
I still remember that I cried so bitterly over this fight and the end of the game that my mom asked me if something happened and if I'm alright, cause I looked like someone died
I asked the same thing when Jonathan and his sister ended this game. I didn’t understand why a video game could evoke such strong emotions but I get it now. -Jonathan’s mom
You know they did a great job when they can make someone cry that hard. I'm so sad I missed out on experiencing this because I didn't finish 358/2 Days.
No, what you know is that people cried and that's it. I didn't cry, does it mean they did a bad job then? Don't be silly, your or my emotional response has no bearing on the quality of this game which frankly was awful.
@@pascalsimioli6777Nobody said anything about the quality of the game. You are getting the wrong idea and making this into something much bigger than it is sir.
I was an adult when the very first Kingdom Hearts game was released. I remember the first time playing it and the game made me feel like a kid, evoking so many feelings and memories watching these Disney properties and playing the Final Fantasy games growing up. I definitely know what you mean about the songs evoking such childhood wonder and emotions. I always laugh when people say they grew up with the series; the rare times I feel old.
That's awesome! I hear from a lot of people who pick up KH as adults that it doesn't do anything for them, and frankly I get it. I'm glad that it was still able to work as a time capsule for you, that rocks.
"Okay so let's check out where this shows up in the track- OH MY GOD!" Alright, that got more laughs out of me than it had any right to. Comedy aside, Vector to the heavens is a core memory of mine as my first KH game was 358/2 days and good lord, Xion's death inflicted a good scar on my emotions when I completed that game. So, when I saw that she returns in 3, it was an emotional roller coaster all over again. This game has a way of crushing your feelings into a fine dust, only to somehow mend them again ready for the next pulverizing crush. And the music in the series in itself is an odyssey in and of itself. Major props to the game developers who gave rise to this amazing series!
“The fight is not the focus of this track” Hits the nail RIGHT on the head. It’s that feeling that you’re almost watching a scene in a movie, even though you’re literally fighting an end game boss. I love when games do this, and that statement is exactly how I want to describe it
I found this channel randomly listening to KH music, and Vector to the Heavens was always a strong and deep song close to me. Instant new suscriber, the passion for music mixed with GAMING music is amazing
Jonathan, this one made me tear up. Your editing here was phenomenal, and you made the whole thing easy to follow. What a wonderful work. This song has always been incredibly important to me, and looking at it through this analysis brought it even closer to my heart. I can't believe you mentioned Against all odds at 8:58. I heard it so many times and I KNEW that those progressions were familiar, but I could never pinpoint why! In some way I too was emotionally linked to Xion, but ultimately forgot her, just like Roxas. Vector to the heavens has always been a slap to my face. You're so right in saying it makes us reluctant to approach the fight, because whenever I got to that point in game it always felt like I was punching with my right fist, then punching myself with the left for daring to do such a thing to our best, most precious friend in game. It was a slow, painful fight, with an overwhelming music surrounding us screaming at us "Is this what you want to do? Do you *really* want to go on, and attack and kill your best friend?" She was unrecognisable and distorted, but undeniably it was still *her*. It all happens so fast, while you remember all the beautiful times you spent together in that location. I think that's still one of the most impactful scenes I played in games as a whole. The way you explained leitmotifs was incredible too: I never before realized that they weren't linked to notes but to intervals, and that makes them beautifully versatile in musical composition. It's always there, recognisable and familiar, even when used in different contexts. In my musical ignorance I always pictured leitmotifs as a smooth, short dance move. The piece is a choreography, it rises and lowers in tension and pathos, but you can alway slide in a more familiar move to link everything together Also, I had never seen that KH3 scene before! Thanks for the free feels :) Overall I am SO happy to see new works from you. You've been going for a year strong, and I'm really proud of how your content has organically evolved in its presentation the more you explored it. Every new video from yours is unique, perfectly tailored for the track you want to tackle, and that grants special insights in the most meaningful tassels that build the music we all cherish and love. Thank you so, so much for your hard work, every video of your truly helps us appreciate the tracks most close to us even more :)
I read this before, but now I'll give it a proper response! I know you were looking forward to this one and so I'm happy it lived up to your expectations. I wish I had played Days when it came out. I think it would have messed me up. But like, in a fun way. If I could change one thing about the way people talk about music, it would be that intervals should be common knowledge instead of notes! Notes matter for musicians, scholars, and folks who like this kind of content, but not casual listeners. I can't wait to make even more stuff!
I'm going through a tough time personally and remembered this was on my watch later list, and man did I actually tear up and cry multiple times watching this! I know a little bit of music theory, but you always present it in such an approachable way. Super entertaining and informative, amazing work! :^)
Today I learned what a motif is. It's really interesting how 4 notes is all you need to invoke the feeling of a character. Music is so powerful. Thanks for this video!
She may not have supposed to exist, but as she’s easily my character in my favourite series of all time, I’m really glad she does. Her reunion in KH 3 and Data Boss fight are just the Cherry on top of the delicious cake that is Xion.
I never picked up on those subtleties, but I felt them all the same. So much attention to detail, details that will go overlooked yet subconsciously root themselves and bring forth emotions, and only through deeper knowledge can they be brought to consciousness and show the greatness of their composers, tugging at our strings, true Poets of the Heart. Truly, thank you so, so much. I am French. English isn't my first, natural language. I am not sure the words I write are the correct ones to convey my meanings. Communication is hard, way too many ways to be misunderstood. And those composers communicate at a level of skill worthy of admiration.
Excellent, just excellent. The jokes, the clear visuals, the pathos. Even disregarding how invested I am in the topic (Vector to the Heavens is one of my favorite pieces to play), you make engaging soundtrack analysis seem so effortless.
@@JonathanBarouch I feel like that's a music reference that I don't understand. I second what monoverantus said. I wish I could play an instrument, but alas I can't multitask at all, and my memory has gotten real bad on top of that.
what gets me about xion’s theme is how it’s both so simple and yet so complex… it’s got multiple of those blocks as you called them, several different parts that can be played around with and overlapped, which is more than can be said for most character themes in this series. each part of the song strikes me as the main melody- it’s like a round. they’re all equally iconic to the listener. and yet each individual part is so simple… it’s really effective and memorable. xion’s theme and all variations of it are my favorite piece of music from this series, hands down. and the kh3 scene… that’s long been one of my fav scenes in the series and i’m so happy seeing someone analyze the music in it (and by happy i mean i just cried watching this). amazing vid!
I've lost count the number of times I've listened to Musique and Vector but watching this felt like I was hearing again for the first time. And I'm not too proud to admit I teared up multiple times watching this
For me my 3 most favorite soundtracks are dearly beloved, xions theme and heavens vector. I played the games while i was a teenager almost a young adult, so it was not my "childhood" feelings which filled me while playing the games, but my feelings of "wishing for love" that were harder at the time. So i connected harder with the subtle love story told by the games, which ended up getting me hit harder by those 3 songs. For me they are the embodiment of love: - The Longing for Love (Dearly beloved) - The Sadness of Love (Xions Theme) - The Tragedy in Love (Heavens Vector) Thanks a lot for such great video.
I keep coming back to this video. I love it so much. You did a wonderful job and leitmotifs being explained to me like this is honestly so fun. Keep up the great work.
I've watched a lot of musical theory videos with this strange sense of wonder, and never been able to understand or articulate why until you explained it here: it's breaking down into technical almost-jargon why we feel what we feel, reducing something intuitively understood and felt into building blocks, and I find it utterly fascinating. The emotion of this song, built to be such a gut punch with such exquisite precision, and your beautiful explanation that "we know this intuitively; we feel it, but this is why we do so mechanically" has finally laid out, explicitly, why I have been and continue to be so enamored by musical theory videos like this. As a deeply emotional person who still has not recovered from what this game did to me, thank you for explanations. Amazing content, I am an instant fan. I want to also share the reason why I thought Xion's Theme was sad, way back when I first played it: I thought it was meant to illicit the sounds of a music box, a lullaby you play to a sleeping child. And considering Xion was barely "a year" old, playing a lullaby for her death felt so tragically poignant. We play lullabies to lull a fresh life to sleep, to bring them to tomorrow; here, decidedly and almost cruelly so, it was not. Because as the title says, her days were numbered from the moment she was created.
nah man i watched this again and im in TEARS. this track never fails to give me chills..... i'd love to learn this on piano one day, but i have mostly forgotten how to read sheet music, but oh this video really really makes me want to try...
the way you were literally explaining how the song works to make you emotional, the way i was fully prepared to hear the cutscenes, the way i still teared up nonetheless
I was literally searching for "why does vector to the heavens make me cry music theory analysis" months ago. Thank you for answering my prayers with exactly what I wanted
I grew up with Kingdom Hearts, Xion's theme still makes me pretty sad, but not enough to cry like the Nier soundtracks. I never knew the full name of Xion's theme, but hearing it literally made me break down in tears, even knowing what happens in KH3. Please keep making videos! Basically every video you've released has made me cry. Crying isn't bad, in fact, it is actually good for your health to cry every once in a while.
Me too! I never knew the actual name of the soundtrack. And sure didn't understand the french name mentioned at the beginning of the video. So when the names is said st the end of the video.... i couldn't stop the tear falling from my eye.
Indeed. Cying is natural and it's good to cry to get those emotions out. Let this be a lesson to people that crying is okay and there's nothing wrong with it. That's a powerful message in the Inside Out movie.
@@IllyasArt I can't play NieR: Automata anymore. I've been through my first playthrough, I've thoroughly researched the underlying messages and lessons, and I can't bring myself to repeat "the never-ending cycle of life and death" again. I love NieR: Automata to bits. I sing its praises. I recommend it to every person I can. No hyperbole here, it became the catalyst to bring me out of depression. But I can't play it again. I just want those fictional characters to be left alone. They've been through so, so much. They don't deserve anything, they don't exist, I know that, yet, I want them to be happy on their own, in our collective imagination of them. It hurts me emotionally hitting the "New game" menu option. Two years later, hearing "Weight of the World" brings a swelling in my throat, tears ready to flow should I try following along the lyrics. Not because of the song itself, but what it's been tied to, this feeling that I'm not alone, we're all here suffering and we can make it easier on ourselves, together, and all it takes is reaching a hand. I've reached people, and I take a level of pride in believing I have tilted the scales of a few people against deciding to take their own lives and having given themselves another chance. I'm not sure I did, the fact they are still alive and kicking gets me to believe I did. Truly, crystalizing the idea that "A future is not given to you, it is something you must take for yourself" has been a salvation on my life, and I try to take it to as many people as possible. I can't thank Yoko Taro and his team and partners enough, ever.
finally. years at the (music) academic were NOT wasted!!! but really. understanding how heart wrenching the music is through music theory just makes sense. i've always loved the kh ost for reasons i couldnt describe but!!! this does it!!! im crying during the video!! i wanna play days again!!!
It feels like a failure -- Sora's failure, Roxas's failure, Axel's failure, my failure -- that her existence turned out that way. 358/2 Days doesn't get enough love, but the story was definitely worth playing, for better or worse. I both love and hate whenever Xion gets mentioned or shown off in any way... Mostly because it worked. That final fight? Oh, that caused so much pain, and it WAS very much a "why did it have to turn out this way" situation. Xion and Xion's music make me feel so much sadness.
This honestly sums up why I didn't like Sora pre DDD and why the scene with Roxas meant so much to me. Sora just didn't know the consequences of his own actions. He didn't know that he was causing all of that pain just by existing. And when he finds out, he gets mad, for Roxas. It's a really respectable scene. He throws it in Xemnas and Xigbar's face. He's willing to carry the weight his Other can't anymore and it was such a powerful moment for me.
The editing on this video is stellar!! I'm able to follow your explanation perfectly despite not knowing how to read music myself! Breaking down Xion's theme is great as well because so many people focus exclusively on primary characters. Please keep doing this so long as you enjoy it!
2:46 Why did it only take two notes on the bells for my eyes to start moistening up GOD DAMMIT SHIMOMURA 4:53 I DID NOT NEED WET EYES TODAY 12:00 NO THAT'S IT I'M GONE GOODBYE Excellent analysis. Xion's theme has always been one of my favourite tracks in all of KH and now I have a better understanding of exactly why it's so good. I also love the point about overusing motifs as it's a real beef I have with Final Fantasy X, where it feels like half the soundtrack is just arrangements of Zanarkand and Suteki da ne. I know it's actually not quite that much of the soundtrack, but the fact that it _feels_ like it is always struck me as not a great sign.
One of my favorite themes in 358/2 Days (aside from Roxas' and Xion's themes) is its version of Dearly Beloved. Simply by fading the piano to the background and bringing forward the melancholic strings, Shimomura was able to repurpose a very familiar theme into something wistful, nostalgic, and sad. Great job on this video, I loved every minute!
Days' Dearly Beloved is great because it essentially flips what part of the song stands out. Which makes a lot of sense for the game where you're essentially playing the 'bad guy side'
358/2 Days was the first KH game I ever owned. I played 1 and 2 in parts because others owned the game and I could play with it, but 358/2 was the one I truly got to play. It was a simple game, and objectively not that great. Yet I adored the game so much and saw Roxas growing little by little alongside Xion. As the story went on, and the conspiracy was unraveling, where Xion began to understand her existence and role, I began to get scared, remembering that KH2 never had Xion be mentioned, which made me realize that Xion was doomed. Yet it was learning that Xion would not even be remembered that truly broke my heart. And every time I heard that theme, I felt so much sadness as the memories I had of that game would surface and I just hoped that Xion could one day come back, someway, somehow. I got my wish over a decade later.
So glad someone analyzed this great theme, and the relation it has to other themes that accompany it! It gives even more depth to her character than before
This and Vector to teh Heavens are my favorite tracks in KH canon. There are songs that go harder where I'm 99% certain multiple violins and pianos were burned to ash by the sheer intensity, but these songs have the right quality to draw out that feeling of "I don't want to do this, but I must." It encapsulates the core of KH from Sora and Kairi and ties it in perfectly with who Xion is and i tjust keeps on paying dividends. Great video as always, I alwasy love hearing these kinds of technical breakdowns of some awesomely crafted music.
You just managed to explain why genshin's music reminds me so much of kingdom hearts, something I've been wondering about for years. And you also made me sad about xion all over again. A+++++
I've never played kingdom hearts, but this song hits in all the feels. It's got that melancholic, notalgic and sorrowful power that makes you think back on life's decisions.
wonderful video. Vector to the Heavens is one of the few pieces of music in all of media that makes me cry almost every time I hear it. the first time I heard it I was a blubbering mess, and I barely cried back then. its power over my emotions is like, profound. I've also learned that it has that power even with people who are unfamiliar with the context.. it's just an incredible piece of music I think.
Thanku for this vid man, really made my day. My first ever kh game was days and i was in a very down mood around that time. I love the sea salt trio to death and roxas as much as the next guy, but i felt this complete connection with Xion especifically. Her journey and emmotions, how she was relevant at the start and end but completely absent in the middle parts of the story, i felt just like her. Always wanting to find my own Roxas to feel like i deserve to feel and exist, even though deep down you just feel like you dont belong anywere because you werent even ment to be someone in the first place. Im just glad my girl gets some appretiation every once in a while, ao truly, thanku 🥰🥰
I love the kingdom hearts music. Thank you for giving an analysis of several of its songs! As someone who knows next to nothing about music composition or study, it’s cool to see them broken down like this
Thank you for these incredible video game music "deep-dives"! They're genuinely so interesting (and heartbreaking sometimes...) to watch and definitely very helpful for me, who'd like to make music for video games
What a massive video. And one where you put so much work and effort into. Thank you so much, Jonathan. I know this took a lot out of you, but I appreciate your analysis and your education. I learned so much from what you have described for the Leitmotifs. I didn't realize how many were in the music and you highlighted just how masterful a composer Yoko Shimomura is. Your description of Dearly Beloved also made me cry, as it instantly brought back the memories from when I was a child and played my first PS2 game called Kingdom Hearts, and that was the first song I heard. Thank you for that moment. Also, I will note: Roxas's theme is also hinted at here. The first 2 notes from the violin part (perhaps one of the saddest parts of the song), are similar to the first two notes from the main sequence of Roxa's theme. The last second 2 notes are variations of the second 2 notes of Roxas's theme, making it Xion's. But the listener automatically hears Roxas in the theme. I always associated Xion's theme to be a combination of Roxas and Kairi. Thanks again for this, brother. You have touched our hearts-- Jonathan.
Thank you so much!! The "oh my god" moment when I show all the places the motif shows up was based off my actual reaction as I was researching for the video. I never noticed either. It's so subtle even though it's EVERYWHERE. Ah, damn, you're right that violin solo IS a reference to Roxas! I wish I'd caught that. Oh well. I can't expect to catch every Shimomura Easter egg
i really love the kingdom hearts soundtracks and you've done such a great job explaining the technicalities behind it all. Yoko Shimomura really is a genius!
I would love to hear your thoughts about how KH3 managed to merge Roxas' (sad theme) with Xion's theme (sad theme) and completely turned them into one of the most triumphant sounding songs in the series Also how the Data battle turned Xions theme into a heavy action rock version
Thank you for putting words and helping us understand what makes KH music so good and so emotional. Xion theme will always make me cry, and now I finally truly know Why and that has brought me peace so thank you
Kingdom Hearts 3 is the first and only game to make me cry. When Xion and Roxas returned.. it was perfect. I was in my college dorm crying like a baby. Glad my roommate wasn't home.
This was such an incredible video. Both your script/humour, the editing and the clarity at which you explain these big concepts in music theory. Really happy to have discovered this channel. Your Jarilo VI was the first video I saw. Got tricked into learning music theory with anime and waifus but stayed for your amazing teaching skills
One nice little detail about the piano motif explained at the beginning of the video, is that the last compass also plays briefly in Aqua's boss fight in the realm on darkness from KH3. The way I see it is that that particular section of the motif represents being forgotten or the fear of being forgotten. The former is what happened to Xion, and the latter is what Aqua was feeling, which is why she fell to Darkness.
To this day, I’m still in awe at how Vector to the Heavens manages to sound ASTOUNDING on the DS sound system. I’m not a music theory nor hardware specialist, but the slight - I’ll call it “crispness” - the forcefulness of the piano playing has on the DS’s sound system makes it sound slightly different than it does in 358’s “movie compilation”. I acknowledge that I do have slight hearing oddities because of eczema in my ears, but the way that Vector to the Heaven’s intensity nearly crackles on the DS makes it INSANELY emotional. It is pushing the sound chip’s encoding to the limit, which is PROFOUND in and of itself.
WAKE UP BABE THERES A NEW JONATHAN BAROUCH VIDEO!! in all seriousness though, this is absolutely gorgeously made as always. keep up the amazing work man, you just made my day
God Xion is easily my favourite character in the series. Short lived, almost no screen time outside of 358/2 but god damn she’s left the biggest mark on me from this series. No others stories from this series make me as emotional. Stereotypical man here but I don’t find myself tearing up much in games outside of emotional endings. But Xion’s theme/vector and dearly beloved. Those two songs always make me emotional. I physically can’t get through this video without crying a bit. Xions story is fucking tragic and idk something about it really stood out to me and she will be my favourite character for a long ass while. Even her short appearance in KH 3 made me bawl my eyes out. As many issues as I have with 3 and it’s ending. They did xions character perfect there and seeing Roxana tak through sora and say “Xion”. Never fails to get me. I even got a poster of Xion for my room and it’s the only KH merch I have lmao. I really need to replay this series.
By the time KH3 came out I really didn't care for any of the stories and figured that when I played the game it would be purely for the gameplay. But when the Xion moment happened and music came in I teared up for all the reasons you outlined. The immense musical nostalgia and the conclusion to easily the most engaging story thread of the series (even if it didn't make much sense) produced such a well of emotion. Thanks for allowing me to relive that moment!
this is a fantastic video and I love it, but also I'm like 4 minutes in and already sobbing at just the thought of Vector to the Heavens (a song that you haven't even directly mentioned yet lmao) in other words, I've instantly subscribed
I feel like xion's theme and Vector to the heavens are both pieces about memory itself, particulary in contrast to kairi's theme. Xion's theme is slow, crystaline, searching for itself and constantmy repeating it's motif. I've never knew what to think of it before learning the presence of kairi's theme inside both songs, which makes the whole point of xion's theme pieceing her history back, as much as she can. I also feel that it's why there is this feeling of emptiness, or rather the lack of an ending in this theme. Vector to the heavens feels like the culmination of this storm made of confusion. The theme tries to stay in the hands of xion, but it's too late. Kairi's motive begins to be the focus point, after which dearly beloved tries to complete itself but fails, sending xion back into the storm. Because at this point, the truth is written: xion has decided to confront her origin, and to seek what's right, even if leaving the storm means to stop existing. It's particularly true for vector's first iteration, which really feels like xion's theme going faster, harsher, maybe until it completly breaks, only leaving kairi's motive. I don't even know what to say. This battle's so sad the mysic itself brings this impression of us murdering someone because it has already been decided.
This video came up in my feed and I had to click it. I really love how you are able to break down such technical terms in layman terms. It was something I could understand not ever knowing music theory and really made me appreciate the music on a deeper level in how well you explain it so thank you. Lastly, I’d love to see a video on why Roxas and Aqua’s theme are so similar yet different.
Goddamn the second you played the violin part for the first time I fully burst into tears. These songs are so powerfully emotional. Thanks for breaking them down! It's really neat to see what makes them tick.
One thing I love about dearly beloved is that whenever I hear it I feel not necessarily nostalgia but more like reminiscence at the end of a journey. A glimpse at every hardship, victory, bond, and climax that led to its point. And the fact that dearly beloved pops up in vector to the heavens at the end of the game really solidifies that for me. Dearly beloved is always what I hear at the beginning but when I finish the game when I return to the title screen and I hear it it takes me back. Then Kingdom hearts 3 however dearly beloved holds a little bit of a different feel to it when you first listen to it and what I love about it is that I feel like it kind of foreshadows what's coming next. Dearly beloved sounds like a much more uplifting tune because you the idea of things coming together and being put into place and towards the end of the loop that is really beloved where you hear that piano I play notes rapidly end up weird it gives me a sense of moving forward, pressing onward, rushing to what comes next to see what awaits. And Kingdom hearts 3 certainly does leave us there doesn't it. Leaving us desiring to rush on to what happens next on the journey.
Just a perfect video as always. I didn't listen to these tracks in years but, damn, it's so sad the story of Xion and it's even more painfull with the impact of your words about. Awesome job
Im so happy videos like this exist, ive wanted to see breakdowns of shimomura's work in kh for forever and vector to the heavens is one of my favorite tracks
Aaaaaand now i'm in tears. wow, absolutely incredible video. informative, hilarious, emotional. I just had to run a become a patreon subscriber after this! I can't say thank you enough for this!!
![Seungmin "그렇게, 천천히, 우리(As we are)" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kAzmhLHePqU/mqdefault.jpg)
"It's alright. You can stop now. Xion." Instantly made me teary eyed, despite knowing it was coming. Such a powerful moment.
Names have power. Take away someone's name, their identity, their reputation, and you take away them as a person. Acknowledging Xion by name gave her the power to overcome and fight back.
it gets me every time too
That line is in Jesse McCartney's voice too instead of Haley Joel Osment, that's why it gets me every time. The voice acting there is another huge part of what gives that scene its emotional weight.
It got me too fam
@@BenjaminRodriguezReyes
Most people don't get it on their first watch, which kinda proves there's a tonal similarity in that anime boi voice, but also because the tone is so similar at that point in the scene lol.
I got chills and teary eyed as well, say what you will about kingdom hearts 3 but that ending section was peak
“We’ll call it BB-- We’ll call it block based composition” I burst out laughing good lord 😂
He realy dodged a nuke on that one xDDD
That was too good lmao
I don’t get it
@@drdca8263hahahaha.
@@drdca8263 u will in a few years :D
"Roxas showed her how to feel, and to care, and they both paid the price." is so heart-crushing, well put.
I very explicitly remember the first time a video game made me cry was the final xion scene when I was maybe 12. I was on my DS on a car ride and it was hella awkward. Regardless that Ice Cream line do be hitting different with proper context
Fr. I was disappointed when I heard people meme the shit outta that line.
I was 18 and In college. Right before I went to class at alike 8 in the morning. I seen the video for the first time and I was sad all day. This was in 2009.
@@DiZphunxright? I go feral when people make fun of that scene
I has pretty much the exact same experience 😅
Same here! I think I was 13 or 14 at the time, but I'm not quite sure anymore - what I remember most clearly is that it was very late at night, and I had to try and force myself to be quiet as to not wake up my family.
I was crying like a baby when I heard Xion's theme in KH3, followed by seeing the Sea Salt Trio reuniting together, I just bawled out like crazy for about 6 minutes. 358/2 Days was my first KH game (not a good first game, I know), and I grew so close to Roxas, Axel, and Xion despite my annoyances with the game. I saw myself in all of them and the rest of O13, and I genuinely didn't want to fight Xion in the fight against her.
I get why people think Kingdom Hearts is cringe. It can be dumb, inconsistent, and all around confusing. But beneath all of that, it's a genuinely emotional series that doesn't hold back when it's about to throw hands at your heart. So thank you, Jon. Thanks for helping me keep this series, and especially Xion, memorized.
There's something that's never brought up in the video but it's something I've never been able to stop thinking of ever since I first noticed it.
The first half of the block denoted in red is actually used in another song in Days, it's the glockenspiel of "At Dusk, I Will Think of You" and it goes for THE ENTIRETY of the song.
If you take this part as being from "Dusk" and not "Xion" (because of how ever present it is) it's like her theme is calling back to those afternoons sitting on the clocktower with Axel and Roxas, a testament to why she Is.
And if you take the alternative, it's like even when she's gone she's always there with Roxas on the tower. At dusk, I will think of you.
...How did I miss that
@@JonathanBarouch Because you saw everything else
The biggest cruelty of this piece, I think, is how difficult it is for me to remember it, despite loving it so much. I can remember Sora's theme, I can remember Roxas' theme, but I can't remember how Xion's theme goes without outside help, yet every time I remember it, I cry as though I'm hearing it for the first time. There's a strange, beautiful, sad sense of irony to that, I think.
Might be because it's sad but not alerting. Human brain usually tries to forget or repress sad memories that serve no warning purpose for eventual future situations. It also doesn't evoke feelings of familiarity. Xion's fate was unavoidable, she was out of place and the track represents that well.
Cause she doesn't exist
Guess Nomura did really made a well written character
Cause she is forgotten
Who? @@johanseth3277
What makes Shimomura's work, and honestly just music in general, so incredible to me is that you can understand the meaning and emotion in the music without understanding music theory. You can *feel* it. And understanding the musical theory behind a piece doesn't ruin the magic at all it just makes you appreciate the intent and composer's artistry even more. You explain music theory better than any other music theory content creator I've watched, and you inject so much emotion in the explanation itself that it really makes watching you break down these pieces of music such a joy to watch!
Shimomura is a master of musical expression, imo. Every time I play a game she's composed for, I get so incredibly attached to the world, story, and characters, and the music has a lot to do with that. The first game I played with her music was Legend of Mana, and tracks like Places of Soul and City of Flickering Destruction still bring out a ton of emotions in me; I didn't even know she composed for KH until maybe after KH2 when I started watching the credits, but now I can hear her distinct musical touch in soundtracks. If you want to hear more of her work, her "Best of" albums are "Drammatica" and "memoria!".
Thank you so much! It made me smile to read this because that's one of the main things I want to convey with each video - music theory just gives us a convoluted, imperfect vocabulary for stuff we mostly already know.
I notice this in a lot of video game music that I have grown to love over the years. They just...make you feel something.
Kingdom Hearts is great for this. Dearly Beloved is an amazing sample of this. You hear it for the first time on bootup of each KH game and...something just clicks deep down.
If the creator of this video happens to see this I would LOVE a deep dive on Dearly Beloved from each KH game.
@@caldw615 Hi! While I do think that topic is worthy and interesting, I'm worried it would be a very repetitive video, and the last thing I want is to make people tired of hearing Dearly Beloved. Still, I'm writing it down!
@@JonathanBarouch Oh I get that but I do feel it could be interesting, maybe even as a more general "theme of the game" since the feel of Dearly Beloved tends to pair with other tracks in each game that fit the overall vibe. KH1 is a lot more upbeat like a lot of the tracks such as the Destiny Island and Traverse Town's combat theme. Gives a sense of adventure. Where as KH2's is slower to fit the more sombre tone of the inclusion of Nobodies, The Organisation etc, likely reflective of Sora growing up a little too.
And then in the KH3 version of Vector to the Heavens there is percussion and the tone of the song shifts as a result, showing just how much of a difference it made.
i'd like to think the kh3 version-with its full orchestra, wild percussion, swing rhythm, electric guitar, and synths-represents xion no longer holding back. after all, it is called the "limitcut episode" for a reason. because the xion we fight is merely data, there are no emotional stakes. it's just an intense battle against a powerful keyblade wielder.
@@tsunderecat413Then in the main game, you get Vector to the Heaven cross with Roxas’s theme, to make something truly beautiful and epic
@@jembozaba4864 ah yes, "hearts as one." a fantastic arrangement, if i do say so myself.
@@tsunderecat413 I find it much more happier, as the sadness that lasted 10 years is replaced with joy since Roxas, Axel and Xion have all reunited. I once used it as a victory track
@@tsunderecat413So do I. The perfect theme for you to just sit back and watch Roxas and Xion go to town on Saix.
Just wanted to say that using the title of the Xion’s theme as a quick gag at the beginning of the video and then hitting us at the end with the emotional punch of what the theme actually means is actually genius scriptwriting
I still remember that I cried so bitterly over this fight and the end of the game that my mom asked me if something happened and if I'm alright, cause I looked like someone died
I asked the same thing when Jonathan and his sister ended this game. I didn’t understand why a video game could evoke such strong emotions but I get it now. -Jonathan’s mom
You know they did a great job when they can make someone cry that hard. I'm so sad I missed out on experiencing this because I didn't finish 358/2 Days.
No, what you know is that people cried and that's it. I didn't cry, does it mean they did a bad job then? Don't be silly, your or my emotional response has no bearing on the quality of this game which frankly was awful.
@@amysgrrl Your heart be blessed for digging deeper into your children's video games.
@@pascalsimioli6777Nobody said anything about the quality of the game. You are getting the wrong idea and making this into something much bigger than it is sir.
Xion, the girl who never was, who just wanted friends. She is honestly my favourite character, not just in kingdom hearts, but period.
358/2 days is peak KH.
I was an adult when the very first Kingdom Hearts game was released. I remember the first time playing it and the game made me feel like a kid, evoking so many feelings and memories watching these Disney properties and playing the Final Fantasy games growing up. I definitely know what you mean about the songs evoking such childhood wonder and emotions. I always laugh when people say they grew up with the series; the rare times I feel old.
That's awesome! I hear from a lot of people who pick up KH as adults that it doesn't do anything for them, and frankly I get it. I'm glad that it was still able to work as a time capsule for you, that rocks.
I grew up with the series and was a kid, and I feel old when I think about how old the series is now!
This video reminded me what was so great about 358/2 days. The little snippet of Dearly Beloved in there made me gasp.
"Okay so let's check out where this shows up in the track- OH MY GOD!"
Alright, that got more laughs out of me than it had any right to. Comedy aside, Vector to the heavens is a core memory of mine as my first KH game was 358/2 days and good lord, Xion's death inflicted a good scar on my emotions when I completed that game. So, when I saw that she returns in 3, it was an emotional roller coaster all over again. This game has a way of crushing your feelings into a fine dust, only to somehow mend them again ready for the next pulverizing crush. And the music in the series in itself is an odyssey in and of itself. Major props to the game developers who gave rise to this amazing series!
The VA and voicle lines during the boss fight make the music even better
“The fight is not the focus of this track”
Hits the nail RIGHT on the head. It’s that feeling that you’re almost watching a scene in a movie, even though you’re literally fighting an end game boss. I love when games do this, and that statement is exactly how I want to describe it
Ive cried to this song before and thought I was over it, but the speech in the last 2 minutes of the video made me lose it.
I found this channel randomly listening to KH music, and Vector to the Heavens was always a strong and deep song close to me.
Instant new suscriber, the passion for music mixed with GAMING music is amazing
I love the detail you go into.
It really adds to the experience, especially when you explain the various segments.
I always new this was a masterpiece. Just didn't realize the extent of the expertise in it
I would literally watch an entire series of the musical breakdowns of all the KH themes
We're getting there, inch by painful inch
Jonathan, this one made me tear up. Your editing here was phenomenal, and you made the whole thing easy to follow. What a wonderful work. This song has always been incredibly important to me, and looking at it through this analysis brought it even closer to my heart.
I can't believe you mentioned Against all odds at 8:58. I heard it so many times and I KNEW that those progressions were familiar, but I could never pinpoint why! In some way I too was emotionally linked to Xion, but ultimately forgot her, just like Roxas.
Vector to the heavens has always been a slap to my face. You're so right in saying it makes us reluctant to approach the fight, because whenever I got to that point in game it always felt like I was punching with my right fist, then punching myself with the left for daring to do such a thing to our best, most precious friend in game. It was a slow, painful fight, with an overwhelming music surrounding us screaming at us "Is this what you want to do? Do you *really* want to go on, and attack and kill your best friend?"
She was unrecognisable and distorted, but undeniably it was still *her*. It all happens so fast, while you remember all the beautiful times you spent together in that location. I think that's still one of the most impactful scenes I played in games as a whole.
The way you explained leitmotifs was incredible too: I never before realized that they weren't linked to notes but to intervals, and that makes them beautifully versatile in musical composition. It's always there, recognisable and familiar, even when used in different contexts. In my musical ignorance I always pictured leitmotifs as a smooth, short dance move. The piece is a choreography, it rises and lowers in tension and pathos, but you can alway slide in a more familiar move to link everything together
Also, I had never seen that KH3 scene before! Thanks for the free feels :)
Overall I am SO happy to see new works from you. You've been going for a year strong, and I'm really proud of how your content has organically evolved in its presentation the more you explored it. Every new video from yours is unique, perfectly tailored for the track you want to tackle, and that grants special insights in the most meaningful tassels that build the music we all cherish and love. Thank you so, so much for your hard work, every video of your truly helps us appreciate the tracks most close to us even more :)
I read this before, but now I'll give it a proper response! I know you were looking forward to this one and so I'm happy it lived up to your expectations. I wish I had played Days when it came out. I think it would have messed me up. But like, in a fun way.
If I could change one thing about the way people talk about music, it would be that intervals should be common knowledge instead of notes! Notes matter for musicians, scholars, and folks who like this kind of content, but not casual listeners. I can't wait to make even more stuff!
I'm going through a tough time personally and remembered this was on my watch later list, and man did I actually tear up and cry multiple times watching this! I know a little bit of music theory, but you always present it in such an approachable way. Super entertaining and informative, amazing work! :^)
Today I learned what a motif is. It's really interesting how 4 notes is all you need to invoke the feeling of a character. Music is so powerful. Thanks for this video!
laughing within the first minute to damn near crying in the last minute. what a fuckin rollercoaster. this is top tier production bud
I just watched 20 minutes of music theory without getting bored for a single second, amazing video
She may not have supposed to exist, but as she’s easily my character in my favourite series of all time, I’m really glad she does. Her reunion in KH 3 and Data Boss fight are just the Cherry on top of the delicious cake that is Xion.
I never picked up on those subtleties, but I felt them all the same. So much attention to detail, details that will go overlooked yet subconsciously root themselves and bring forth emotions, and only through deeper knowledge can they be brought to consciousness and show the greatness of their composers, tugging at our strings, true Poets of the Heart. Truly, thank you so, so much.
I am French. English isn't my first, natural language. I am not sure the words I write are the correct ones to convey my meanings. Communication is hard, way too many ways to be misunderstood. And those composers communicate at a level of skill worthy of admiration.
Excellent, just excellent. The jokes, the clear visuals, the pathos. Even disregarding how invested I am in the topic (Vector to the Heavens is one of my favorite pieces to play), you make engaging soundtrack analysis seem so effortless.
That's wonderful to hear because it's n Ot
@@JonathanBarouch I feel like that's a music reference that I don't understand. I second what monoverantus said. I wish I could play an instrument, but alas I can't multitask at all, and my memory has gotten real bad on top of that.
“Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all” WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME 😭😭😭
what gets me about xion’s theme is how it’s both so simple and yet so complex… it’s got multiple of those blocks as you called them, several different parts that can be played around with and overlapped, which is more than can be said for most character themes in this series. each part of the song strikes me as the main melody- it’s like a round. they’re all equally iconic to the listener. and yet each individual part is so simple… it’s really effective and memorable. xion’s theme and all variations of it are my favorite piece of music from this series, hands down. and the kh3 scene… that’s long been one of my fav scenes in the series and i’m so happy seeing someone analyze the music in it (and by happy i mean i just cried watching this). amazing vid!
I've lost count the number of times I've listened to Musique and Vector but watching this felt like I was hearing again for the first time. And I'm not too proud to admit I teared up multiple times watching this
That's always my goal! Thrilled to hear it worked for you :)
For me my 3 most favorite soundtracks are dearly beloved, xions theme and heavens vector.
I played the games while i was a teenager almost a young adult, so it was not my "childhood" feelings which filled me while playing the games, but my feelings of "wishing for love" that were harder at the time.
So i connected harder with the subtle love story told by the games, which ended up getting me hit harder by those 3 songs. For me they are the embodiment of love:
- The Longing for Love (Dearly beloved)
- The Sadness of Love (Xions Theme)
- The Tragedy in Love (Heavens Vector)
Thanks a lot for such great video.
I keep coming back to this video. I love it so much. You did a wonderful job and leitmotifs being explained to me like this is honestly so fun. Keep up the great work.
I've watched a lot of musical theory videos with this strange sense of wonder, and never been able to understand or articulate why until you explained it here: it's breaking down into technical almost-jargon why we feel what we feel, reducing something intuitively understood and felt into building blocks, and I find it utterly fascinating.
The emotion of this song, built to be such a gut punch with such exquisite precision, and your beautiful explanation that "we know this intuitively; we feel it, but this is why we do so mechanically" has finally laid out, explicitly, why I have been and continue to be so enamored by musical theory videos like this.
As a deeply emotional person who still has not recovered from what this game did to me, thank you for explanations. Amazing content, I am an instant fan.
I want to also share the reason why I thought Xion's Theme was sad, way back when I first played it: I thought it was meant to illicit the sounds of a music box, a lullaby you play to a sleeping child. And considering Xion was barely "a year" old, playing a lullaby for her death felt so tragically poignant. We play lullabies to lull a fresh life to sleep, to bring them to tomorrow; here, decidedly and almost cruelly so, it was not. Because as the title says, her days were numbered from the moment she was created.
nah man i watched this again and im in TEARS. this track never fails to give me chills..... i'd love to learn this on piano one day, but i have mostly forgotten how to read sheet music, but oh this video really really makes me want to try...
Your scriptwriting is awesome. You rule of three’d us with the title of Xion’s theme and genuinely made me cry. That was excellent setup and payoff
You just put the feelings i held for this song into word i could never truly express.
Thank you
the way you were literally explaining how the song works to make you emotional, the way i was fully prepared to hear the cutscenes, the way i still teared up nonetheless
I was literally searching for "why does vector to the heavens make me cry music theory analysis" months ago. Thank you for answering my prayers with exactly what I wanted
I grew up with Kingdom Hearts, Xion's theme still makes me pretty sad, but not enough to cry like the Nier soundtracks. I never knew the full name of Xion's theme, but hearing it literally made me break down in tears, even knowing what happens in KH3. Please keep making videos! Basically every video you've released has made me cry. Crying isn't bad, in fact, it is actually good for your health to cry every once in a while.
I frikkin LOVE crying
@@JonathanBarouch Same! I replay Nier Replicant and Automata every few months just so they can destroy me all over again. :D
Me too! I never knew the actual name of the soundtrack. And sure didn't understand the french name mentioned at the beginning of the video.
So when the names is said st the end of the video.... i couldn't stop the tear falling from my eye.
Indeed. Cying is natural and it's good to cry to get those emotions out. Let this be a lesson to people that crying is okay and there's nothing wrong with it. That's a powerful message in the Inside Out movie.
@@IllyasArt I can't play NieR: Automata anymore. I've been through my first playthrough, I've thoroughly researched the underlying messages and lessons, and I can't bring myself to repeat "the never-ending cycle of life and death" again. I love NieR: Automata to bits. I sing its praises. I recommend it to every person I can. No hyperbole here, it became the catalyst to bring me out of depression. But I can't play it again. I just want those fictional characters to be left alone. They've been through so, so much. They don't deserve anything, they don't exist, I know that, yet, I want them to be happy on their own, in our collective imagination of them. It hurts me emotionally hitting the "New game" menu option. Two years later, hearing "Weight of the World" brings a swelling in my throat, tears ready to flow should I try following along the lyrics. Not because of the song itself, but what it's been tied to, this feeling that I'm not alone, we're all here suffering and we can make it easier on ourselves, together, and all it takes is reaching a hand. I've reached people, and I take a level of pride in believing I have tilted the scales of a few people against deciding to take their own lives and having given themselves another chance. I'm not sure I did, the fact they are still alive and kicking gets me to believe I did.
Truly, crystalizing the idea that "A future is not given to you, it is something you must take for yourself" has been a salvation on my life, and I try to take it to as many people as possible. I can't thank Yoko Taro and his team and partners enough, ever.
the way that some of the placements of xions motif repeating it self once or twice make it sound like "hey remember that? ya lets reminis about it"
finally. years at the (music) academic were NOT wasted!!!
but really. understanding how heart wrenching the music is through music theory just makes sense. i've always loved the kh ost for reasons i couldnt describe but!!! this does it!!! im crying during the video!! i wanna play days again!!!
It feels like a failure -- Sora's failure, Roxas's failure, Axel's failure, my failure -- that her existence turned out that way. 358/2 Days doesn't get enough love, but the story was definitely worth playing, for better or worse. I both love and hate whenever Xion gets mentioned or shown off in any way... Mostly because it worked. That final fight? Oh, that caused so much pain, and it WAS very much a "why did it have to turn out this way" situation. Xion and Xion's music make me feel so much sadness.
This honestly sums up why I didn't like Sora pre DDD and why the scene with Roxas meant so much to me. Sora just didn't know the consequences of his own actions. He didn't know that he was causing all of that pain just by existing. And when he finds out, he gets mad, for Roxas. It's a really respectable scene. He throws it in Xemnas and Xigbar's face. He's willing to carry the weight his Other can't anymore and it was such a powerful moment for me.
The editing on this video is stellar!!
I'm able to follow your explanation perfectly despite not knowing how to read music myself!
Breaking down Xion's theme is great as well because so many people focus exclusively on primary characters.
Please keep doing this so long as you enjoy it!
Thank you so much, I will!
2:46 Why did it only take two notes on the bells for my eyes to start moistening up GOD DAMMIT SHIMOMURA
4:53 I DID NOT NEED WET EYES TODAY
12:00 NO THAT'S IT I'M GONE GOODBYE
Excellent analysis. Xion's theme has always been one of my favourite tracks in all of KH and now I have a better understanding of exactly why it's so good.
I also love the point about overusing motifs as it's a real beef I have with Final Fantasy X, where it feels like half the soundtrack is just arrangements of Zanarkand and Suteki da ne. I know it's actually not quite that much of the soundtrack, but the fact that it _feels_ like it is always struck me as not a great sign.
As someone who played "Vector to the Heavens" when i was in middle school- i really appreciate this video essay breaking it down
One of my favorite themes in 358/2 Days (aside from Roxas' and Xion's themes) is its version of Dearly Beloved. Simply by fading the piano to the background and bringing forward the melancholic strings, Shimomura was able to repurpose a very familiar theme into something wistful, nostalgic, and sad.
Great job on this video, I loved every minute!
Days' Dearly Beloved is great because it essentially flips what part of the song stands out. Which makes a lot of sense for the game where you're essentially playing the 'bad guy side'
358/2 Days was the first KH game I ever owned. I played 1 and 2 in parts because others owned the game and I could play with it, but 358/2 was the one I truly got to play. It was a simple game, and objectively not that great. Yet I adored the game so much and saw Roxas growing little by little alongside Xion.
As the story went on, and the conspiracy was unraveling, where Xion began to understand her existence and role, I began to get scared, remembering that KH2 never had Xion be mentioned, which made me realize that Xion was doomed. Yet it was learning that Xion would not even be remembered that truly broke my heart.
And every time I heard that theme, I felt so much sadness as the memories I had of that game would surface and I just hoped that Xion could one day come back, someway, somehow. I got my wish over a decade later.
You brought back to many memories I didn't need right now 😭😭😭
Well time to binge listen to Kingdom Hearts music and sob on the floor for two hours straight you did this
So glad someone analyzed this great theme, and the relation it has to other themes that accompany it! It gives even more depth to her character than before
Man, Im crying all over again at the end of this.
This is the most accessible and understandable musical breakdown of this kind that I’ve ever seen. Well done!
This and Vector to teh Heavens are my favorite tracks in KH canon. There are songs that go harder where I'm 99% certain multiple violins and pianos were burned to ash by the sheer intensity, but these songs have the right quality to draw out that feeling of "I don't want to do this, but I must." It encapsulates the core of KH from Sora and Kairi and ties it in perfectly with who Xion is and i tjust keeps on paying dividends.
Great video as always, I alwasy love hearing these kinds of technical breakdowns of some awesomely crafted music.
You just managed to explain why genshin's music reminds me so much of kingdom hearts, something I've been wondering about for years. And you also made me sad about xion all over again. A+++++
I've never played kingdom hearts, but this song hits in all the feels. It's got that melancholic, notalgic and sorrowful power that makes you think back on life's decisions.
Yoko Shimomura is a genius. This theme always makes me tear up.
wonderful video. Vector to the Heavens is one of the few pieces of music in all of media that makes me cry almost every time I hear it. the first time I heard it I was a blubbering mess, and I barely cried back then. its power over my emotions is like, profound. I've also learned that it has that power even with people who are unfamiliar with the context.. it's just an incredible piece of music I think.
I cannot count the amount of times I’ve listened to this and the 13th struggle video, I will PAY you to make another 😭
Thanku for this vid man, really made my day. My first ever kh game was days and i was in a very down mood around that time. I love the sea salt trio to death and roxas as much as the next guy, but i felt this complete connection with Xion especifically.
Her journey and emmotions, how she was relevant at the start and end but completely absent in the middle parts of the story, i felt just like her. Always wanting to find my own Roxas to feel like i deserve to feel and exist, even though deep down you just feel like you dont belong anywere because you werent even ment to be someone in the first place.
Im just glad my girl gets some appretiation every once in a while, ao truly, thanku 🥰🥰
Probably one of my favorite pieces of video game music. Thank you for teaching me to appreciate it more.
I love the kingdom hearts music. Thank you for giving an analysis of several of its songs! As someone who knows next to nothing about music composition or study, it’s cool to see them broken down like this
Just to tell you, I fucking LOVE these videos and they're so fun and I will watch all of them that you make
Thank you for these incredible video game music "deep-dives"! They're genuinely so interesting (and heartbreaking sometimes...) to watch and definitely very helpful for me, who'd like to make music for video games
What a massive video. And one where you put so much work and effort into. Thank you so much, Jonathan. I know this took a lot out of you, but I appreciate your analysis and your education. I learned so much from what you have described for the Leitmotifs. I didn't realize how many were in the music and you highlighted just how masterful a composer Yoko Shimomura is. Your description of Dearly Beloved also made me cry, as it instantly brought back the memories from when I was a child and played my first PS2 game called Kingdom Hearts, and that was the first song I heard. Thank you for that moment.
Also, I will note: Roxas's theme is also hinted at here. The first 2 notes from the violin part (perhaps one of the saddest parts of the song), are similar to the first two notes from the main sequence of Roxa's theme. The last second 2 notes are variations of the second 2 notes of Roxas's theme, making it Xion's. But the listener automatically hears Roxas in the theme. I always associated Xion's theme to be a combination of Roxas and Kairi.
Thanks again for this, brother. You have touched our hearts-- Jonathan.
Thank you so much!! The "oh my god" moment when I show all the places the motif shows up was based off my actual reaction as I was researching for the video. I never noticed either. It's so subtle even though it's EVERYWHERE.
Ah, damn, you're right that violin solo IS a reference to Roxas! I wish I'd caught that. Oh well. I can't expect to catch every Shimomura Easter egg
@@JonathanBarouch I know. She put so much thought, love, and care into her craft. She surprised in ways we never knew we could be surprised.
I like watching you describe KH music.
i really love the kingdom hearts soundtracks and you've done such a great job explaining the technicalities behind it all. Yoko Shimomura really is a genius!
I'm not a massive KH fan, but this video was very easy to follow, both from a music theory and narrative perspective, I appreciate it a lot
Listening to a game soundtrack breakdown at work and tearing up at the end of it. Wonderful work, thank you.
I would love to hear your thoughts about how KH3 managed to merge Roxas' (sad theme) with Xion's theme (sad theme) and completely turned them into one of the most triumphant sounding songs in the series
Also how the Data battle turned Xions theme into a heavy action rock version
Thank you for putting words and helping us understand what makes KH music so good and so emotional.
Xion theme will always make me cry, and now I finally truly know Why and that has brought me peace so thank you
Kingdom Hearts 3 is the first and only game to make me cry. When Xion and Roxas returned.. it was perfect. I was in my college dorm crying like a baby. Glad my roommate wasn't home.
This was such an incredible video. Both your script/humour, the editing and the clarity at which you explain these big concepts in music theory. Really happy to have discovered this channel. Your Jarilo VI was the first video I saw. Got tricked into learning music theory with anime and waifus but stayed for your amazing teaching skills
One nice little detail about the piano motif explained at the beginning of the video, is that the last compass also plays briefly in Aqua's boss fight in the realm on darkness from KH3.
The way I see it is that that particular section of the motif represents being forgotten or the fear of being forgotten. The former is what happened to Xion, and the latter is what Aqua was feeling, which is why she fell to Darkness.
To this day, I’m still in awe at how Vector to the Heavens manages to sound ASTOUNDING on the DS sound system. I’m not a music theory nor hardware specialist, but the slight - I’ll call it “crispness” - the forcefulness of the piano playing has on the DS’s sound system makes it sound slightly different than it does in 358’s “movie compilation”.
I acknowledge that I do have slight hearing oddities because of eczema in my ears, but the way that Vector to the Heaven’s intensity nearly crackles on the DS makes it INSANELY emotional. It is pushing the sound chip’s encoding to the limit, which is PROFOUND in and of itself.
WAKE UP BABE THERES A NEW JONATHAN BAROUCH VIDEO!!
in all seriousness though, this is absolutely gorgeously made as always. keep up the amazing work man, you just made my day
God Xion is easily my favourite character in the series. Short lived, almost no screen time outside of 358/2 but god damn she’s left the biggest mark on me from this series. No others stories from this series make me as emotional.
Stereotypical man here but I don’t find myself tearing up much in games outside of emotional endings.
But Xion’s theme/vector and dearly beloved. Those two songs always make me emotional. I physically can’t get through this video without crying a bit.
Xions story is fucking tragic and idk something about it really stood out to me and she will be my favourite character for a long ass while.
Even her short appearance in KH 3 made me bawl my eyes out. As many issues as I have with 3 and it’s ending. They did xions character perfect there and seeing Roxana tak through sora and say “Xion”. Never fails to get me.
I even got a poster of Xion for my room and it’s the only KH merch I have lmao.
I really need to replay this series.
Oh i legit cryed, i love this song so very much, and your analysis was perfect
Xions theme….man when 358/2 came out I had no idea that it would affect my life in a bittersweet way
Thank you for making this video
Learned a lot
This was an insane breakdown of Xions theme, thank you for an awesome video!
When I was younger and playing days.. when I got to the xion fight I didn’t want to win. That was the first and only game to make me feel that way.
By the time KH3 came out I really didn't care for any of the stories and figured that when I played the game it would be purely for the gameplay. But when the Xion moment happened and music came in I teared up for all the reasons you outlined. The immense musical nostalgia and the conclusion to easily the most engaging story thread of the series (even if it didn't make much sense) produced such a well of emotion. Thanks for allowing me to relive that moment!
I could listen to you talking about KH music for hours upon hours upon hours
The last thing I expected was to start tearing up during the kh3 part. Kudos and fantastic analysis. Xion best girl forever.
Surprised it only took me until 5:50 to start crying. Amazing analysis of this incredible piece 🩵
Bro keep making these videos. I will watch every one of them. Straight GAS
this is a fantastic video and I love it, but also I'm like 4 minutes in and already sobbing at just the thought of Vector to the Heavens (a song that you haven't even directly mentioned yet lmao)
in other words, I've instantly subscribed
I feel like xion's theme and Vector to the heavens are both pieces about memory itself, particulary in contrast to kairi's theme.
Xion's theme is slow, crystaline, searching for itself and constantmy repeating it's motif. I've never knew what to think of it before learning the presence of kairi's theme inside both songs, which makes the whole point of xion's theme pieceing her history back, as much as she can. I also feel that it's why there is this feeling of emptiness, or rather the lack of an ending in this theme.
Vector to the heavens feels like the culmination of this storm made of confusion. The theme tries to stay in the hands of xion, but it's too late. Kairi's motive begins to be the focus point, after which dearly beloved tries to complete itself but fails, sending xion back into the storm. Because at this point, the truth is written: xion has decided to confront her origin, and to seek what's right, even if leaving the storm means to stop existing. It's particularly true for vector's first iteration, which really feels like xion's theme going faster, harsher, maybe until it completly breaks, only leaving kairi's motive.
I don't even know what to say. This battle's so sad the mysic itself brings this impression of us murdering someone because it has already been decided.
This video came up in my feed and I had to click it. I really love how you are able to break down such technical terms in layman terms. It was something I could understand not ever knowing music theory and really made me appreciate the music on a deeper level in how well you explain it so thank you. Lastly, I’d love to see a video on why Roxas and Aqua’s theme are so similar yet different.
I'm actually not familiar with Aqua's theme, but I definitely plan to talk about Roxas's. I'll take a closer listen!
Goddamn the second you played the violin part for the first time I fully burst into tears. These songs are so powerfully emotional. Thanks for breaking them down! It's really neat to see what makes them tick.
I was so excited when I saw a new video by you in my feed, especially on one of my (many) favorite Kingdom Hearts characters! Love your work!
One thing I love about dearly beloved is that whenever I hear it I feel not necessarily nostalgia but more like reminiscence at the end of a journey. A glimpse at every hardship, victory, bond, and climax that led to its point. And the fact that dearly beloved pops up in vector to the heavens at the end of the game really solidifies that for me. Dearly beloved is always what I hear at the beginning but when I finish the game when I return to the title screen and I hear it it takes me back.
Then Kingdom hearts 3 however dearly beloved holds a little bit of a different feel to it when you first listen to it and what I love about it is that I feel like it kind of foreshadows what's coming next. Dearly beloved sounds like a much more uplifting tune because you the idea of things coming together and being put into place and towards the end of the loop that is really beloved where you hear that piano I play notes rapidly end up weird it gives me a sense of moving forward, pressing onward, rushing to what comes next to see what awaits. And Kingdom hearts 3 certainly does leave us there doesn't it. Leaving us desiring to rush on to what happens next on the journey.
Xion's theme never fails to make me cry. Great job breaking this down for us!
Just a perfect video as always. I didn't listen to these tracks in years but, damn, it's so sad the story of Xion and it's even more painfull with the impact of your words about. Awesome job
What an awesome video! You've translated the feeling of this music in the most beautiful way. Thank you!
I always loved Xion. But it's only in recent years that I'm remembering just how much. Thank you for this.
Im so happy videos like this exist, ive wanted to see breakdowns of shimomura's work in kh for forever and vector to the heavens is one of my favorite tracks
Aaaaaand now i'm in tears. wow, absolutely incredible video. informative, hilarious, emotional. I just had to run a become a patreon subscriber after this! I can't say thank you enough for this!!