Some user on social media said that the title theme contains a hidden "America the beautiful" is that partly true? I have not heard of America the beautiful
Black and White's soundtrack is so good that Charles spent 90% of the video on the intro and trainer battle theme, heard 15 minutes into the game. (which also has the intro motif)
I am BEGGING you to make a part 2 of this, we need to hear about N's farewell and "emotion". This video felt like going to Chateau de Versailles and just staring at the front door the whole day without actually entering
Wow, a Pokemon game with a god-tier OST. Shocker. I think the coolest thing about Pokemon is that the lead composer, Junichi Matsuda, is one of the founders of Game Freak and is an executive at The Pokemon company. He just happens to be a musician and loves creating music more than anything.
@@onezerozeroonethree2369 There's a saying that's usually used negatively, and it goes "When you can't do, teach." I think it has a positive aspect. Matsuda may not make the best music, but he understands the music of Pokémon and understands music theory. That makes him a valuable teacher
He hasnt been the lead composer for quite a while but he pretty much created that "Pokemon style" that newer (even better) composers are building upon in every single new game. Junichi Masuda's work is part of the soul of Pokemon games 😮
One of my favorite parts of BW's music is how interactive it is. Starting on Route 2, when you really start your Journey, the Snare drum plays only while you're walking; the music marches with you! In Battle when your Pokemon enters red health, the music changes and the warning beep is integrated into the new intense theme. There are characters that add instrumentals and vocals if you interact with them in Accumula Town and Village Bridge. When you're near the dancers in Icirrus City clapping is added. There's so many of these tiny details that really make the music move with you. Quite frankly I've yet to see it done this well since. I have a soft spot for Gen 1, but Gen V takes the award for best Score by a mile.
Yeah, I really wish they brought the interactive/reactive music back even just for one more game 😭 It made certain places feel so special, like, these people are here purely for sweeping everyone near enough to hear into their mood. It makes the world feel so welcoming. And nothing matches the intensity of the final pokemon music that kicks in and the low health alert music. I don't know if this is hard to code in the open world games somehow, but I really wish it'd happen
It reminds me of Monkey Island 2. A masterclass in dynamic music, but clearly a lot more effort than they expected because they didn't bring it back later.
@@RainbyFIN At least we have the remakes of Black and White to look forward to! Since we got BDSP they're up next to get the remake treatment, and they'll definitely be revisiting those themes again.
I loved just going through the "Gym Badge Checks" before vistory road because of not only the mini thematic rooms, but also that evolving music. The amount of time I've spent in that game just listening to all the different songs makes such a great part of my childhood.
2 days ago I was rambling to my little brother how much of a banger this soundtrack was. Poor guy's childhood is unmatched without this blasting off the DS speakers.
I remember seeing it on TikTok as a parking lot warm up video, but I didn't realize it was part of their ACTUAL SHOW until I saw it IRL. My mind was BLOWN!
I was waiting for a Pokémon Black and White video for so long. Probably the best soundtrack in the series. I feel like it reached that balance of really Technical and extremely Catchy. All the other games lean more one way or the other. So many absolute bops in the Soundtrack. Pokémon also has it's own iconic sound, and I think this nails that too. The chords and progressions, etc. This soundtrack is just the best in the series, hands down. Also please do a video on why Pokémon music sounds like it does. It really does have it's own vibe/sound that's almost unmatched.
I used to hate music theory so much but after watching your videos a few years ago I can’t get enough of it! I love analysing chord progressions now and I wish I had a fraction of the skill that you have. The way you can listen to anything and play it on command whilst analysing it is so mesmerising to me! I love your content, please never stop posting Charles!!
I think you would also love the channel "Music Theory For Gamers" his live streams are basically extended versions of the kind of stuff Charles does, but he mostly focuses on guitar rather than piano. One of my favorite streamers ever.
Tritones usually sound ominous. But in B/W, they just feel epic as hell. And ofc Unwavering Emotions is a bit overplayed, but for good reason. It's an absolute tear jerker. I've been hooked on Pokemon since Crystal, and it is one of my favorite franchises.
The fact that Gen 5 music has different notes playing after talking to certain NPCs was mind-blowing. I would chill in Accumula Town, listening to the flute and piano combo. That piano piece goes so hard
NO WAY HE ACTUALLY COVERED IT thank you so much charles, these games are incredibly dear to me and have been since childhood, they’re my favorite games of all time
I really like the legendary battle theme. I think its technically black and white 2 but thats close enough. Hype and unease are usually opposing feelings that dont mix well together, but this theme manages to deliver both beautifully with its changing tempo making it feel like you're fighting an intense battle on incredibly shaky ground.
Never get tired of how Charles can just play the tune on the piano and it sounds immediately really cool Edit: Blue Devils would be so fun to see live!
I understand why you didn't cover it because there wouldn't be much to say about it music-theory wise, but the Village Bridge where you go around and talk to each individual musician and their parts are activated and added to the music as it is playing is one of the best use of music in a video game I've ever seen.
Especially the final man who starts to sing. The harmony of all of them in this community creating the theme that plays is really special. This place doesn't have a Pokémon Center because any of the residents in the homes will heal your Pokémon for you just out of kindness. They picked the right community for this because they all represent individuals coming together to create something beautiful.
As someone introduced back in pokemon yellow, gen 5 goes hard. It's one of the best narratives told by pokemon in my opinion. Great way to get introduced into pokemon honestly.
ohhh my god thank you so much for covering this game ;-; ;-; ;-; its a childhood favorite of mine, and I absolutely love the music in it !!! I've never thought so much about why that may have been, and I loved hearing your analysis and breakdown here !
11:43 I'll say my absolute favorite part of the battle music in B/W is the percussion underneath, you just can't help but bop your head as you listen to it!
I can’t believe this has been up for 10 minutes without the Nintendo lawyers attacking. Loving the video and praying it doesn’t get taken down. Keep up the great work!
I think video game music is often generally exempt from youtube copyright since if video game companies are strict about music, nearly every single let's play video would be immediately flagged, which is bad for business. That's why video game music (especially Mario, animal crossing, legend of Zelda, and pokemon music) are used by a lot of streamers and RUclips videos as background music. It's like a loophole of the copyright policy
@@attabooiiNintendo is pretty strict about their property, music included, but I don’t think they would take down a video like this since he is showing gameplay and he is properly citing the composers, not to mention basically advertising to everyone that they should go play this game 😂
@@sarahnavey yeah they are, but if they tried to flag every video that had their music, they would mostly be flagging let's play videos and stream vods. Streamers have even said that they use video game music because it's less like to be DMCA struck. It's not impossible, it's happened before, but it seems like this is the one area that video game companies seem lenient on. Which is nice since instead of hearing only basic, royalty free music on videos, most of the RUclipsrs I watch use pokemon or animal crossing music
This man is a master of maximizing fair use. You have to play longer than something like 30 seconds of a licensed song before lawyers even could take action. The fact that he's playing along further muddies the waters and gets into cover/parody in ways I'm not learned enough to communicate.
One of my favorite themes from this game has to be N’s theme, mostly for the bit of trivia about how mathematically calculated his theme is. If you count from middle C as 1, the first eight notes in his opening arpeggios are the first eight prime numbers (D = 2, E =3, G = 5, etc). So many memories brought back from this soundtrack and I always appreciate your works on the subject! 😊
HGSS is my favorite Pokémon soundtrack purely for nostalgia (Gold was my first Gameboy game period) but man do I love everything that they did with Black and White. Really feels like a high point in the series.
If you want more BW soundtrack breakdowns then you may like to know that Music Theory for Gamers reacted to and broke down the entire soundtrack a few months ago on streams
It’s really cool observing how the scores for the handheld Pokémon games evolve over time as the systems become more capable of mimicking instruments and are able to have more tracks playing at once. On one hand, the limitations force the composers to get really creative and efficient to effectively communicate the tone of the music. On the other hand, they really seem to relish in the new possibilities afforded to them by new hardware.
14:47 HOLY FUCKING HELL that is some control on those brass players! I was able to hear each individual note clearly, meaning not one person slurred or missed a note during that entire clip. And they’re just KIDS. That made me so emotional, coming from a band kid during all of high school.
I don't care what anyone says, coming from a guy who started in Sapphire, gen 5 has peak music. Every town has its own theme, and so many towns have added music due to the npc adding music to it! Doesn't make me happy that they lock the pianists in Accumula town in bw2 to trades...whismer and kricketot...
TEAM PLASMA BATTLE MUSIC! Man by FAR the song that's stuck with me the hardest since playing this game at release. One of my favourite examples to show off how hard this soundtrack goes.
I can't post a RUclips link, but if you haven't already please check out the "Black and White Legendary Theme" The start of the tune with the strange chords is wild, and the change in tempo is crazy, it's a really unique tune.
Accumula town is one of my favorite track from the whole Pokemon series and it's the first damn town in the game (after the starting one) it's also better known as the furret walk
guy with n profile picture: n's theme is my favorite great video! i can't BELIEVE i didn't keep up with dci this year, the blue devils are local to where i grew up and black and white are my favorite games. i freaked out (positive) hearing about it in this video, i can't imagine how i would have reacted finding it out from watching their performance lmao
I think you’ve demonstrated how much this was a soft reset for the series not just in game design (150 new pokemon without any returning ones until post game) but also in the music. LOVE IT
My favorite little music layering thing in Pokemon B/W is the the whole gym badge gate pass check into Victory Road; there's so much that's gone into the music in these games (the clocks/ heartbeat sounds in N's Decisive Battle theme, the charming optional atmospheric instruments and vocals in certain areas in the game; etc.) that I'm glad you took your time looking into some examples from this game. Thank you for this video!
So, actually (no "☝️🤓" here, lol!), it's the original files before they were compressed in less good quality played by the Game Boy, so it's not the Super Music Collection that is not like in the game but in fact the opposite!
We would love (I'm sure we all would) to hear your thoughts about TLoZ: Spirit Tracks OST, it's focus and variety using percussions and the great build up for the final battle theme are delicious... I played that games easily a decade ago and still feels so epic and huge
Undella Town, Nimbassa City, N's Castle and of course the Ending Theme were musts but you didnt include them, just like you didnt include either Cynthia theme in the Diamond and Pearl video. Btw a cool video idea is to take the 2 Cynthia's themes and put them next to Volo's theme from Legends Arceus, which is based on them. Same goes from N's Castle in B&W and B&W2. A good video idea about music referencing the art itself.
Honestly what I wouldn't give for an hour or two long video with just a deepdive into the Black & White (2) ost. From the relaxing Undella Bay (with secret generational trauma) to the mysterious Dragonspiral Tower, from the buildup on Village Bridge to the weird and wacky background music when making a movie in Pokestar Studios, this generation was absolutely full of gems that I still replay on a near weekly basis. They even went as far as to hide the tiniest of details, like on route 12 where drums kick in only when you're walking. The ost of this generation was pure gold!
I remember being an 11yo little musician just appreciating this fantastic game with phenomenal themes. So much memories, thanks Charles, this made my day
You should do some of the Death Note music, especially L’s theme. it is some strange stuff going on in the first section, where it feels like every other phrase is a beat short
To me, it sounds like the first, third and fourth bars are in 7/8, the second bar is in 6/8. So 1st and 3rd bars are identical, the 4th is almost exact same as the 2nd bar except for one extra note
You have to talk about the Victory Road theme from these games. The build up they do where the theme gets built instrument by instrument before you make it there is genius!
pokemon black was my childhood. only game i had period for many years. I probably replayed it more times than I can count and the music was always a huge aspect of the game I liked, even now as an adult hearing that title theme fills me with so much nostalgia. Definitely the best OST out of any pokemon game thats been released.
Black and White's OST is one of my favorite soundtracks of any videogame out there, and is my favorite of the Pokemon franchise. I'm happy I got to play and beat it this year.
I absolutely love the Black/White Kyurem theme, the way it manages to fit a full orchestra battle theme into the small amount of DS soundchips, plus lots of fun tritones and dissonance with everything throughout the entire piece, lots of sixteenth note runs that’s really hard to place out
please PLEASE do part two and three because there are so many masterpieces within these games because these composers arent afraid to experiment and use unconventional ways to better represent or convey the emotions within their pieces.
I'm SO glad you covered some of the music from Pokémon B&W, that's by far the game with my favourite soundtrack. I would love to see you talk about more of the tracks!!
YESSS HE FINALLY DID A VIDEO ON THE GREATEST POKEMON GAME EVER!!! So many incredible songs to do videos on, this game is universally praised for its music, id suggest doing more videos on the many incredible pieces in this game, route 10 and gate theme might be the best in the series imo
I would love to hear some bossa analysis: - Mauville theme from Ruby/Sapphire - The Dreamyard from Black/White. Also, an analysis of the subtle variations of Black/White's Route 2, depending on the seasons.
Skyarrow bridge for sure. That piece makes so so nostalgic, I can vividly remember the time and place where I first crossed the bridge when that game came out in 2011.
I will never ever get enough of your Pokémon music breakdowns!! Finally an explanation (and also facial reenactment in real time) of what happens in my brain when I hear this music. I could watch hours and hours of this.
Nuvema town just has a lot of nostalgia for me, as the starting town for this game but also as a theme a friend and i have listened to countless times together
The key and time signature change for this version is just so brilliant. Familiar but brand new, just like this pokemon generation. Black and White were absolutely my favorite pokemon games and I'm so happy you're covering one of my favorite aspects of them: the music.
The interactive part of Accumula Tow has always been a favorite of mine I also love how there are little things like percussion when you walk Makes the game feel alive
Badge Check Gate/Victory Road is amazing. It starts with just the wind howling, but then you pass through the first gate and you hear the drum with that marching beat, then a bass drum to give emphasis to the beat as you pass through the second gate, each gate after adding another instrument until you get the full song in the Victory Road music.
there are no human words able to describe all the emotional turmoil that listening to the Pokémon White intro makes me feel. it's beautiful. it's so beautiful. thanks for dissecting it so i can appreciate it even more
Another game that has such an amazing OST is Yu-Gi-Oh Forbidden Memories, specially the library theme, there is such a strange descending melody that causes strange feelings of nostalgia. The entire Library theme is amazing, and in terms of composition, its discourse has, in some ways, contemporary trades, temperament and techniques. If you can, check it man, you will love it. Greetings from Brazil.
Good sir please make another Generation 4 Pokemon music video. Even when I was a 12 year old that music was so special to me. I couldnt put my finger on why or how this musik made me happy, sad or even depressed. Hearing someone break down your favorite childhood soundtracks is such a valuable thing to learn
![Twenty One Pilots - “The Line” (from Arcane Season 2) [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/E2Rj2gQAyPA/mqdefault.jpg)
What is your favorite part of this soundtrack that I missed?? ALSO, come join us in the Better Piano community!! betterpiano.com/community
All of BW2. The way they rewrite certain parts of the soundtrack is so beautiful 🙏
Some user on social media said that the title theme contains a hidden "America the beautiful" is that partly true? I have not heard of America the beautiful
Virbank City! Groovy
Could you take a look at the Rain World soundtrack?
@@corinoricen For me, Colress's and Iris's themes are definitely a favorite.
Black and White's soundtrack is so good that Charles spent 90% of the video on the intro and trainer battle theme, heard 15 minutes into the game. (which also has the intro motif)
Hallo Ron, you like Music like i did
It's a shame he got to so few songs of a great soundtrack :P
Perhaps he could make a sequel for the pitch-shift in the sequels' battle theme?
He needs to delve into accumula and driftveil
@@infinitecarzroute 10 and undella as well
Just wait until he discovers dragonspiral tower 👀 dragonspiral tower I doubt needs its own breakdown video😭
I am BEGGING you to make a part 2 of this, we need to hear about N's farewell and "emotion". This video felt like going to Chateau de Versailles and just staring at the front door the whole day without actually entering
We also need "An Unwavering Heart" to get analyzed
@@weretigerrl thats the emotion he mentioned
forget N theme. What about the iconic Elite four battle
Please
Screw at this point just cover the entire OST lol
you do not understand how unbelievably quickly i clicked this notification. you’ve just made my year mr. cornell
OMG SAME
same dude
I think… I understand. I bet you did it very fast.
fr
Too bad he only spend like 5 seconds on the good songs
Wow, a Pokemon game with a god-tier OST. Shocker.
I think the coolest thing about Pokemon is that the lead composer, Junichi Matsuda, is one of the founders of Game Freak and is an executive at The Pokemon company. He just happens to be a musician and loves creating music more than anything.
He's the weakest composer in the franchise, but yeah
@@onezerozeroonethree2369
There's a saying that's usually used negatively, and it goes
"When you can't do, teach."
I think it has a positive aspect.
Matsuda may not make the best music, but he understands the music of Pokémon and understands music theory.
That makes him a valuable teacher
@@onezerozeroonethree2369how
He hasnt been the lead composer for quite a while but he pretty much created that "Pokemon style" that newer (even better) composers are building upon in every single new game. Junichi Masuda's work is part of the soul of Pokemon games 😮
Music Theory for Gamers reacted to and broke down the entire soundtrack a few monts ago on streams
One of my favorite parts of BW's music is how interactive it is. Starting on Route 2, when you really start your Journey, the Snare drum plays only while you're walking; the music marches with you! In Battle when your Pokemon enters red health, the music changes and the warning beep is integrated into the new intense theme. There are characters that add instrumentals and vocals if you interact with them in Accumula Town and Village Bridge. When you're near the dancers in Icirrus City clapping is added. There's so many of these tiny details that really make the music move with you. Quite frankly I've yet to see it done this well since. I have a soft spot for Gen 1, but Gen V takes the award for best Score by a mile.
Yeah, I really wish they brought the interactive/reactive music back even just for one more game 😭 It made certain places feel so special, like, these people are here purely for sweeping everyone near enough to hear into their mood. It makes the world feel so welcoming. And nothing matches the intensity of the final pokemon music that kicks in and the low health alert music. I don't know if this is hard to code in the open world games somehow, but I really wish it'd happen
It reminds me of Monkey Island 2. A masterclass in dynamic music, but clearly a lot more effort than they expected because they didn't bring it back later.
@@RainbyFIN At least we have the remakes of Black and White to look forward to! Since we got BDSP they're up next to get the remake treatment, and they'll definitely be revisiting those themes again.
I loved just going through the "Gym Badge Checks" before vistory road because of not only the mini thematic rooms, but also that evolving music. The amount of time I've spent in that game just listening to all the different songs makes such a great part of my childhood.
The music when you are in a cave also changes. Every time you go down a level the music slows and is pitched down
2 days ago I was rambling to my little brother how much of a banger this soundtrack was. Poor guy's childhood is unmatched without this blasting off the DS speakers.
Should have shown him the way
14:00 I NEVER THOUGHT I'D SEE THE DAY, DCI DESERVES THE LOVE
💙✨
@@thebluedevilsomg hi blue devils 😸
DCI MENTION
You missed the "Emotion" Theme, "Route 10" and "Colress Theme" from B&W2. Theses musics are amazing too.
I think so too
He basically missed everything. how are you gonna do a vid like this and only listen to 2 songs that are basically heard in all the other games too
He could do an entire series on just Pokemon b/w/b2/w2, let's be real.
i wish he talked about the emotion theme, one of my favorite songs to come out of any pokemon game ever
Route 10 is so good
Absolute chills on the Blue Devils rendition of this theme. So good!
i think i watched it like 20 times
I remember seeing it on TikTok as a parking lot warm up video, but I didn't realize it was part of their ACTUAL SHOW until I saw it IRL. My mind was BLOWN!
It blew my mind, so well down
Basically the Hoenn version of the BW theme. Spectacular
💙
17:06 Please do the Legendary theme. The one where the tempo keeps changing. It’s so wild
The channel Music Theory for Gamers reacted to and broke down the entire soundtrack a few months ago on streams
As a former Blue Devil, thank you so much for sharing that clip from this summer's Devs show! Love that you've shared DCI with over a million people!
I was waiting for a Pokémon Black and White video for so long. Probably the best soundtrack in the series. I feel like it reached that balance of really Technical and extremely Catchy. All the other games lean more one way or the other. So many absolute bops in the Soundtrack. Pokémon also has it's own iconic sound, and I think this nails that too. The chords and progressions, etc. This soundtrack is just the best in the series, hands down.
Also please do a video on why Pokémon music sounds like it does. It really does have it's own vibe/sound that's almost unmatched.
I used to hate music theory so much but after watching your videos a few years ago I can’t get enough of it! I love analysing chord progressions now and I wish I had a fraction of the skill that you have. The way you can listen to anything and play it on command whilst analysing it is so mesmerising to me! I love your content, please never stop posting Charles!!
I think you would also love the channel "Music Theory For Gamers" his live streams are basically extended versions of the kind of stuff Charles does, but he mostly focuses on guitar rather than piano. One of my favorite streamers ever.
@@FSAPOJake 8 bit music theory has great stuff as well
Scruffy is another amazing channel
Almost criminal to not mention the insane and creative speed and pitch changes in the legendary battle theme. Such a banger!
one of my favorites was always Undella town from black and white, fits the theme so well but is at such a different pace. Perfect spot to end the game
*Chomp's Etude in B minor intensifies*
Tritones usually sound ominous. But in B/W, they just feel epic as hell. And ofc Unwavering Emotions is a bit overplayed, but for good reason. It's an absolute tear jerker.
I've been hooked on Pokemon since Crystal, and it is one of my favorite franchises.
Well the beginning with the tritone always sounded ominous to me
The fact that Gen 5 music has different notes playing after talking to certain NPCs was mind-blowing. I would chill in Accumula Town, listening to the flute and piano combo. That piano piece goes so hard
NO WAY HE ACTUALLY COVERED IT
thank you so much charles, these games are incredibly dear to me and have been since childhood, they’re my favorite games of all time
The channel Music Theory for Gamers reacted to and broke down the entire soundtrack a few monts ago on streams, you'll enjoy it as I did!
I really like the legendary battle theme. I think its technically black and white 2 but thats close enough. Hype and unease are usually opposing feelings that dont mix well together, but this theme manages to deliver both beautifully with its changing tempo making it feel like you're fighting an intense battle on incredibly shaky ground.
No, it's in BW1 as well
Bridge village theme all the way! There were musicians scattered around the place and you would build up the theme by finding them one by one
Never get tired of how Charles can just play the tune on the piano and it sounds immediately really cool Edit: Blue Devils would be so fun to see live!
Come and see us next season!
I got to see them live at dci southwest and they’re loud ash (in a good way)
@@thebluedevils 💖
Great video and thank you for the kind words!!!
Across this game and its sequel is arguably the best Pokémon soundtracks have ever been, so glad to see you cover this!
I understand why you didn't cover it because there wouldn't be much to say about it music-theory wise, but the Village Bridge where you go around and talk to each individual musician and their parts are activated and added to the music as it is playing is one of the best use of music in a video game I've ever seen.
Especially the final man who starts to sing. The harmony of all of them in this community creating the theme that plays is really special. This place doesn't have a Pokémon Center because any of the residents in the homes will heal your Pokémon for you just out of kindness. They picked the right community for this because they all represent individuals coming together to create something beautiful.
Deagonspiral tower has my heart for the song that made me stop walking around and exploring and just taking in the moment. Song is so cool.
Aww Black and White my favorite Pokémon game even tho I only played v2
It introduced me to Pokémon games :)
As someone introduced back in pokemon yellow, gen 5 goes hard. It's one of the best narratives told by pokemon in my opinion.
Great way to get introduced into pokemon honestly.
@@DrMario3077low HP sound goes hard in black and white
BW2 is much better than BW. You didn't miss much. Nostalgia asside, I'd argue BW2 was the apex of the series.
ohhh my god thank you so much for covering this game ;-; ;-; ;-;
its a childhood favorite of mine, and I absolutely love the music in it !!!
I've never thought so much about why that may have been, and I loved hearing your analysis and breakdown here !
Thinking about it, I'm not surprised you watch Charles! Cool seeing you here, Azali ^-^
Then you'll love the streams Music Theory for Gamers did reacting to and breaking down the entire soundtrack a few months ago
youre a wizard man, hope youre doing well :D glad we can all appreciate this masterpiece!
11:43 I'll say my absolute favorite part of the battle music in B/W is the percussion underneath, you just can't help but bop your head as you listen to it!
please please please do a full like 3 hour deep dive like this for the whole soundtrack 😭😭
You know, Music Theory for Gamers reacted to and broke down the entire soundtrack a few months ago on streams 👀 enjoy!
@@OshawottLuke I see, I even see your comment at the top, lol. Thanks man!
Not Black & White like you asked but the Area Zero theme from ScarVi is my favorite Pokémon song ever. So mesmerizing!
I think we need more of an opera singers' opinion on that one. XD
👍Also mesmerising is the Area Zero cover by The Consouls!
I can’t believe this has been up for 10 minutes without the Nintendo lawyers attacking. Loving the video and praying it doesn’t get taken down. Keep up the great work!
I think video game music is often generally exempt from youtube copyright since if video game companies are strict about music, nearly every single let's play video would be immediately flagged, which is bad for business. That's why video game music (especially Mario, animal crossing, legend of Zelda, and pokemon music) are used by a lot of streamers and RUclips videos as background music. It's like a loophole of the copyright policy
@@attabooiiNintendo is pretty strict about their property, music included, but I don’t think they would take down a video like this since he is showing gameplay and he is properly citing the composers, not to mention basically advertising to everyone that they should go play this game 😂
@@sarahnavey yeah they are, but if they tried to flag every video that had their music, they would mostly be flagging let's play videos and stream vods. Streamers have even said that they use video game music because it's less like to be DMCA struck. It's not impossible, it's happened before, but it seems like this is the one area that video game companies seem lenient on. Which is nice since instead of hearing only basic, royalty free music on videos, most of the RUclipsrs I watch use pokemon or animal crossing music
What I find hilarious, is after reading this comment, the next video to pop up was Pokémon fan games vs nintendo
lawyers
This man is a master of maximizing fair use. You have to play longer than something like 30 seconds of a licensed song before lawyers even could take action.
The fact that he's playing along further muddies the waters and gets into cover/parody in ways I'm not learned enough to communicate.
One of my favorite themes from this game has to be N’s theme, mostly for the bit of trivia about how mathematically calculated his theme is. If you count from middle C as 1, the first eight notes in his opening arpeggios are the first eight prime numbers (D = 2, E =3, G = 5, etc). So many memories brought back from this soundtrack and I always appreciate your works on the subject! 😊
Absolutely! W&B was experimental is not just pokemon, but music, art design and all sorts of things. And it was wonderful
Heart Gold/Soul Silver have easily my favorite Pokémon soundtracks period, and B&W are amazing too, definitely worth more videos!!
HGSS is my favorite Pokémon soundtrack purely for nostalgia (Gold was my first Gameboy game period) but man do I love everything that they did with Black and White. Really feels like a high point in the series.
If you want more BW soundtrack breakdowns then you may like to know that Music Theory for Gamers reacted to and broke down the entire soundtrack a few months ago on streams
It’s really cool observing how the scores for the handheld Pokémon games evolve over time as the systems become more capable of mimicking instruments and are able to have more tracks playing at once. On one hand, the limitations force the composers to get really creative and efficient to effectively communicate the tone of the music. On the other hand, they really seem to relish in the new possibilities afforded to them by new hardware.
I have been in awe of how clever the older OSTs are since finding The Consouls and their jazz covers which really bring out the potential of the vgm
14:47 HOLY FUCKING HELL that is some control on those brass players! I was able to hear each individual note clearly, meaning not one person slurred or missed a note during that entire clip. And they’re just KIDS. That made me so emotional, coming from a band kid during all of high school.
I don't care what anyone says, coming from a guy who started in Sapphire, gen 5 has peak music. Every town has its own theme, and so many towns have added music due to the npc adding music to it! Doesn't make me happy that they lock the pianists in Accumula town in bw2 to trades...whismer and kricketot...
Pokemon Ruby Sapphire and Emerald have the best music. Check them out.
Pokemon typically has great music but gen 5 really was something special. Everything including the music was top tier.
TEAM PLASMA BATTLE MUSIC! Man by FAR the song that's stuck with me the hardest since playing this game at release. One of my favourite examples to show off how hard this soundtrack goes.
And on my birthday too! What a fantastic coincidence. Love gen5 music. 4 is outstanding too.
Love Pokémon, love drum corps. Wish BD did more with the battle theme. So glad I was there to see it in person, amazing music, played amazingly.
I can't post a RUclips link, but if you haven't already please check out the "Black and White Legendary Theme"
The start of the tune with the strange chords is wild, and the change in tempo is crazy, it's a really unique tune.
The low health music, dreamyard/pinwheel forest, elite four theme, and N’s theme all definitely need to be covered!!!
Accumula town is one of my favorite track from the whole Pokemon series and it's the first damn town in the game (after the starting one) it's also better known as the furret walk
Accumula Town when you add the drums and piano is amazing 😍
Driftveil city is the one theme in any Pokémon game that I come back to regularly, so glad you covered it 😁
Have been waiting on this one ever since your first Pokémon reaction.
LETS GOOOOO My favorite generation of the series. The music is one of the best as one of my favorites, thanks for covering this
guy with n profile picture: n's theme is my favorite
great video! i can't BELIEVE i didn't keep up with dci this year, the blue devils are local to where i grew up and black and white are my favorite games. i freaked out (positive) hearing about it in this video, i can't imagine how i would have reacted finding it out from watching their performance lmao
The Black and White games are probably in my top 3 most favorite Pokémon games, the whole OST is straight 🔥too.
I think you’ve demonstrated how much this was a soft reset for the series not just in game design (150 new pokemon without any returning ones until post game) but also in the music. LOVE IT
My favorite little music layering thing in Pokemon B/W is the the whole gym badge gate pass check into Victory Road; there's so much that's gone into the music in these games (the clocks/ heartbeat sounds in N's Decisive Battle theme, the charming optional atmospheric instruments and vocals in certain areas in the game; etc.) that I'm glad you took your time looking into some examples from this game. Thank you for this video!
15:07 She Blinded Me With Science!
PLEASE PLEASE do a part 2 for the rest of the game's awesome music pieces!! 😭😭
I got this notification as I'm playing Pokémon Black for the first time. Amazing.
hope you have fun with the game
PLEASE DO A PART 2 PLEASE!!!! There are so many good tracks in this game that we need to see broken down
i need a part 2 just to get the pinwheel forest/dreamyard theme
So glad you mentioned the dci influence and the blue devils would love to see more content about the intricacies of dci music from you
0:25 - That rEvErB~
It still confuses me to this day why the OGen 1 music gets uploaded like “that”-
its because for some reason thats how it was on the official sound release CDs. no idea why that was the case though lol
So, actually (no "☝️🤓" here, lol!), it's the original files before they were compressed in less good quality played by the Game Boy, so it's not the Super Music Collection that is not like in the game but in fact the opposite!
We would love (I'm sure we all would) to hear your thoughts about TLoZ: Spirit Tracks OST, it's focus and variety using percussions and the great build up for the final battle theme are delicious... I played that games easily a decade ago and still feels so epic and huge
Undella Town, Nimbassa City, N's Castle and of course the Ending Theme were musts but you didnt include them, just like you didnt include either Cynthia theme in the Diamond and Pearl video.
Btw a cool video idea is to take the 2 Cynthia's themes and put them next to Volo's theme from Legends Arceus, which is based on them.
Same goes from N's Castle in B&W and B&W2. A good video idea about music referencing the art itself.
Honestly what I wouldn't give for an hour or two long video with just a deepdive into the Black & White (2) ost. From the relaxing Undella Bay (with secret generational trauma) to the mysterious Dragonspiral Tower, from the buildup on Village Bridge to the weird and wacky background music when making a movie in Pokestar Studios, this generation was absolutely full of gems that I still replay on a near weekly basis. They even went as far as to hide the tiniest of details, like on route 12 where drums kick in only when you're walking. The ost of this generation was pure gold!
hoping to see a Made in Abyss video soon. VOH is still on repeat
Seconded
I remember being an 11yo little musician just appreciating this fantastic game with phenomenal themes. So much memories, thanks Charles, this made my day
You should do some of the Death Note music, especially L’s theme. it is some strange stuff going on in the first section, where it feels like every other phrase is a beat short
To me, it sounds like the first, third and fourth bars are in 7/8, the second bar is in 6/8. So 1st and 3rd bars are identical, the 4th is almost exact same as the 2nd bar except for one extra note
You have to talk about the Victory Road theme from these games. The build up they do where the theme gets built instrument by instrument before you make it there is genius!
all of the ds pokemon music is making unbelievable sounding melodies with all the samples used, very nostalgic, I love them
That last song you look at sounds like a Yellow Magic Orchestra song Tong Poo. Ymo heavily influenced game music so it wouldn't surprise me at all.
You might wanna take a look at Pokémon Sun/Moon regarding themes ;)
vast poni canyon >>>>
pokemon black was my childhood. only game i had period for many years. I probably replayed it more times than I can count and the music was always a huge aspect of the game I liked, even now as an adult hearing that title theme fills me with so much nostalgia. Definitely the best OST out of any pokemon game thats been released.
0:55 uh bro you're not listening to Black and White
Uh bro did you even watch the video
Black and White's OST is one of my favorite soundtracks of any videogame out there, and is my favorite of the Pokemon franchise. I'm happy I got to play and beat it this year.
More than anything, I just love how continuously fascinated you are with music in general. Always a breath of fresh air.
I wait for these Pokemon breakdowns! Keep up the great work
I absolutely love the Black/White Kyurem theme, the way it manages to fit a full orchestra battle theme into the small amount of DS soundchips, plus lots of fun tritones and dissonance with everything throughout the entire piece, lots of sixteenth note runs that’s really hard to place out
please PLEASE do part two and three because there are so many masterpieces within these games because these composers arent afraid to experiment and use unconventional ways to better represent or convey the emotions within their pieces.
I'm SO glad you covered some of the music from Pokémon B&W, that's by far the game with my favourite soundtrack. I would love to see you talk about more of the tracks!!
Charles, buddy, you gotta bring back the “5 versions” series!!! It’s been 5 years and I miss Jimmy.
YESSS HE FINALLY DID A VIDEO ON THE GREATEST POKEMON GAME EVER!!! So many incredible songs to do videos on, this game is universally praised for its music, id suggest doing more videos on the many incredible pieces in this game, route 10 and gate theme might be the best in the series imo
I would love to hear some bossa analysis:
- Mauville theme from Ruby/Sapphire
- The Dreamyard from Black/White.
Also, an analysis of the subtle variations of Black/White's Route 2, depending on the seasons.
Skyarrow bridge for sure. That piece makes so so nostalgic, I can vividly remember the time and place where I first crossed the bridge when that game came out in 2011.
Champion N and Victory Right Before You Eyes goes really hard
I will never ever get enough of your Pokémon music breakdowns!! Finally an explanation (and also facial reenactment in real time) of what happens in my brain when I hear this music. I could watch hours and hours of this.
dude the fact you brought up dci made my day like i dream to march somewhere so seeing this was awesomee
Nuvema town just has a lot of nostalgia for me, as the starting town for this game but also as a theme a friend and i have listened to countless times together
The key and time signature change for this version is just so brilliant. Familiar but brand new, just like this pokemon generation. Black and White were absolutely my favorite pokemon games and I'm so happy you're covering one of my favorite aspects of them: the music.
Parts of the title music reminds me of Back to the Future.
The interactive part of Accumula Tow has always been a favorite of mine
I also love how there are little things like percussion when you walk
Makes the game feel alive
The ending theme to this game is by far my favorite in the entire pokemon franchise. Its such a banger! All the music in bw and bw2 are sooo good!
The Elite Four battle music and Gym Leader music is absolutely insane. Love those themes
Badge Check Gate/Victory Road is amazing. It starts with just the wind howling, but then you pass through the first gate and you hear the drum with that marching beat, then a bass drum to give emphasis to the beat as you pass through the second gate, each gate after adding another instrument until you get the full song in the Victory Road music.
there are no human words able to describe all the emotional turmoil that listening to the Pokémon White intro makes me feel. it's beautiful. it's so beautiful. thanks for dissecting it so i can appreciate it even more
"so much going on in there" is practically the slogan of the ost for this gen, i love it
Another game that has such an amazing OST is Yu-Gi-Oh Forbidden Memories, specially the library theme, there is such a strange descending melody that causes strange feelings of nostalgia. The entire Library theme is amazing, and in terms of composition, its discourse has, in some ways, contemporary trades, temperament and techniques. If you can, check it man, you will love it. Greetings from Brazil.
Good sir please make another Generation 4 Pokemon music video. Even when I was a 12 year old that music was so special to me. I couldnt put my finger on why or how this musik made me happy, sad or even depressed. Hearing someone break down your favorite childhood soundtracks is such a valuable thing to learn
13:40 i was so giddy when i saw where this was going, i clicked on this video because of this dci moment and I'm so happy that it was included.
Every Pokemon game has great music. Every. Single. One.
I hope one day you'll cover the Mount Coronet theme from Diamond and Pearl Pokémon games cause it's just out of this world