Thank you so much for this video... thank you so much

The background shaker sound groups quavers into 3s, which implies "compound septuple" time, so it probably should just be written in 21/8

10:48 that Cm/Eb says trans rights

this game hurts me

2:04

i’m glad u made the clown association, this piece didn’t remind me of clowns exactly but of a circus mostly cuz i associate circuses with spirals and losing touch esp when we talk about circuses in horror and this piece rly takes u for a spin so to speak

I know I'm late, but I feel like the "S" sound could be like the "hissing" sound someone would make when they're cold. Like that inhale through the teeth before sighing in your hands to warm them up. Could also evoke the frigid wind.

this video was exactly what I was looking for! I subbed and liked thanks for video.

Brother stop, my heart can't handle it.

GREATEST GAME OF ALL TIME

jonathan pls come back :(

I know near nothing about Nier, but my God do I truly mean it when I say that this song makes me come close to tears every time I listen to it. This video was amazingly made and you spoke so beautifully, both in your usage of musical terminology and personal analysis, this being a good time to mention that I also know near nothing about music theory. I really loved your visual aids! I also found myself really drawn towards Kaine, even if her sense of style is incredibly concerning, since I am a sucker for strong, female characters and was so pleasantly surprised by her voice acting! I'm still on the fence about really digging into the actual game but I will continue to explore Nier's beautiful soundtracks.

wow, what an amazing mashup

I loved this! This is one of my favorite games and one of my favorite song in the game. But this is my first time hearing this version of it and its beautiful! Thank you for reintroducing a beloved song to me.😊

I love the sorta Irish folk vibe Devola has. Considering the main percussion is a Bodhrán, Also makes sense they did that as NieR has a-lot of influences from Norse and Irish mythology, so having that show up in the music is nice. Ps. Hollow Dreams is such a chill variant, makes me wanna kick back and drink a Caipirinha.

I can hear Axel say I can make it all stop 😭

The Organization are a bunch of 'sad clowns' in so many ways when you think about it.

Happy birthday (😜) Jonathan!

Bro are you a music teacher?

19:18 xDDD hahahaha got him

The laughing at inappropriate times I always took as a show or demonstration towards trying to pass off their humanity. Like they know people laugh when they find things funny, but their nobody brains can't determine good humor, and instead laugh at weird times. In that way, especially taking into account Roxas' awkward antisocial moments at the beginning of KH2, they seem like a very common expression of psycho/sociopaths that's been played out all over other media. That would explain why they lean into that uncanny valley a little more, given that they look and talk and mostly act the same, but with key notable differences that hammer home that they are most definitely NOT the same. If any references to clowns or circuses are made then, it's likely our own brains repeating the tired trope of crazy clowns.

I did NOT think of the Organization as part of an Evil Circus Troupe... BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT Because you pointing it out... I can actually back you up. 1: The Dusks... if that's not performative dance I don't know WHAT is (And the Reaction Command to them... is them ducking down looking for you... almost like... they're doing a comedy routine.) 2: Axel's little tear drop diamonds under his eyes... very clown-esque. 3: The height of their seats, arranged not entirely sporadically but with very little cohesion. 4: Roxas in general... kid is an absolute clown. 5: Sea Salt Ice Cream... why is it blue? Like... I don't know... Cotton Candy 6: This goes even farther though... and it's because Disney has most of the power... Disney characters OFTEN wear Clown Shoes 7: The Gummi Ship... colorful as shit, and you're basically playing a parlor shooting game. You can find things like that at Carnivals, and Carnivals and Circuses tend to have similar vibes. 8: Tragedy and Comedy... the entire series is dripping with it. 9: The trinity, while very common in many other media as a trope... can also be compared to a 3 Ring Circus... -bonus point here... each performance ring being typically 13 CM in diameter...- (Admittedly that 13 CM ring part is a stretch, that's why it's ONLY a bonus point, but it helps add credence to #9 in the first place) 10: Have you SEEN Castle Oblivion? Or for that matter... all of the 'End game' style stages. 11: Kinda beating a dead horse here a bit... buuut... the ART style is very much adjacent to things like Cirque du Soleil 12: You've already pointed out the music, but aside from the Disney centric tracks, it does have that feeling of getting excited for the daring acts of performance, some dangerous, some just awe-inspiring. And for many first time players/viewers, Kingdom Hearts can be quite awe-inspiring. 13: And I started with the Dusk Nobodies, and I'll end this comment with the Shadow Heartless. Think of Stage Hands wearing all black... they're not there to really be part of the show... they're just there to assist... And I'd say the Shadow Heartless are very good at being 'helpful' to new players. Especially since they like dip back into their shadow form to avoid taking damage... they're just not very good at it. (And yes I wanted to make this list specifically 13 for obvious reasons... buuuuut... I am genuinely siding with the fact that the Organization is absolutely a Circus Performance Troupe.)

Something looking like it will sound amazing isn't enough. Grandma has that operatic quality, its narrative.

All the Shadowlord had to do was use the metal pipe to move the book AWAY from Yonah and all this might not have happened. The entire game is his fault for not moving the damn book away and expecting a dumb sick girl to listen to what he said.

Amazing video. I love the way you deconstruct and show all of the different musical theory components impact our experience with the game. I wish there could be a video like the Wildfire one for the Stormterror’s Lair suite (a storm, a spire, a sanctum; forsaken child of ancient times; and forlorn child of archaic wind). I know you and others are well past it, but just hearing other people as enamored by those three songs makes me feel less alone in how deeply they hit.

Ngl I would pay every penny I ever made in my life to hear a Fleeting Words/Shadowlord mashup. That was a whole entire eargasm, and I need to hear more of it.

I like to think we are hering Anby's Playlist for the different areas we go in the game.

belabog is still my fav section for the music, like liue is in genshin for me as well, a place i can just chill and listen

13:49 CLEAN TRANSITION

2:22 GET BODIED!! **BODYSLAMS A HOLLOW RAIDER**

Still come back to this video. Such an insanely good analysis of how impactful the song made the moment.

It's salt you not snow they go out of the way to explain it

Thank you so much for your awesome work. While I understood how strongly emotional this whole scene and music was when playing the game, listening to and watching someone explains how this masterpiece is beautifully designed bring so much more and stronger emotions. I won't listen to this work of art the same now. Thanks a lot !

still, Xion theme being called Music for Xion's sadness still make me laugh

nice!

Bro did *not* have to hit my feels with the first note from the KH2 rendition of Dearly Beloved. ;-;

11:42 oh my god that cuts deep. for anyone who may not be in the know, lena raine (composer), as well as maddy thorson (lead dev of celeste) are trans, and madeline is implied to be trans as well. this short statement is, well, deeply relatable to those of us who experience gender dysphoria. we look in the mirror and it's just not us

Bro completely, absolutely fucking lost me at 15:47 . Like jesus christ, you immediately strayed so far from the plot that you sound like a (no pun intended) clown. Idek how you came to this conclusion.

Two?!

I remember specifically thinking the roxas vs axel fight reminded me of a circus tent on fire while the acrobats play when I first played it

sus 4th chords

When Madness Combat and Madness Combat music meets Blue Archive: ZZZ ost: *THIS* *Zenless Zone Archive: Eridu City Trouble* *[SOMEWHERE IN ERIDU, KIVOTOS (the day before the incident)]*

Why these OSTs of ZZZ DOES IT SOUNDS AND FEELING LIKE I AM PLAYING SOME MADNESS COMBAT GAMES?????? Like really, i never done playing like Madness Project Nexus… Dx

my favorite song to listen to while fighting bosses in other games...as well as Devourer of Gods from Terraria Calamity

_"Clowns don't own the chromatic scale. 'Entry of the Gladiators' wasn't even written for clowns, they just took it."_ Well yeah. It's not about who owns the chromatic scale composition. It's about having it taken away from you. If I had to guess on the thematic logic, it'd have to do with Organization XIII's members, minus 1 Roxas, being the 12 half-steps of the chromatic scale. 12 incomplete things, almost meaningless on their own, which often clash and create dissonance against one another, yet are still forcibly grouped as 1, working together due to their inherent natural relationships. They're fighting for a resolution to that ambiguity of their (non)existence, which you hold, in the form of Roxas/The Keyblade. Or you could say, "The 13th Struggle" isn't about composition with the chromatic scale. It's about the chromatic scale taking composition away from you.

but where the essay though?

*clank clank CLANK CLANK* GET PARRIED GET PARRIED GET PARRIED GET PARRIED !!!

This song actually is actually quite unsettling For some reason,the video game version is even creepier It might be the clock ticking underneath,but at the beginning it did sound like a song that introduced something grandiose It had a epic-kind of sound The moment I heard it during the end credits,that's how I understood that it was something almost scary Like it's trying to cover something,but you can hear it Like someone trying to change their voice in order to sound less menacing,but ends up creating that strange mixture that makes you say 'hm...that's not normal,there's somwthing underneath' At a certain point it even becomes a lot more noisier,as if it's trying to stun you,just like Penacony is trying to distract you with all it's colorful lights

11:29 this is the theme when you lose in this mode lol

why why does this.. WORK??