Sonic 3's Flying Battery: Music Theory

[@Cybershell13]

4:14 Ah yes what an interesting theory...

[@thelegendaryjerry1730]

Love your videos cyber

[@YellowYoshi398]

同性愛者

[@qwertyiuwg4uwtwthn]

bruh I think cyber shell is subbed to you dude

[@cutman3931]

yes

[@JavaCake]

Where is the interesting theory DoIlUs ViDeO

[@cliffy9874]

9:05 In Mania, you can actually skip the wait by using Mighty’s ability, but there’s a tradeoff in that you listen to this song for a few seconds less than you would otherwise.

[@sprucebadger8229]

also it only takes 2 parachute bombs

[@josuray]

this part when i was a kid was brutal cuz i literally backtracked so many times like alex said. 11/10 song tho

[@lihzzahrdspeed6631]

Actually in mania the wait is non existent

[@mitchtom1409]

it’s so much shorter anyway that i doubt anyone except speedrunners actually bothers though

[@TheKingofGames1001]

@@sprucebadger8229 5 actually, its shoots 3 at a time.

[@xZippy]

"If you can believe it, is that Tee Lopes snuck in the endless mine rhyth-mic-mot-if-in-here."

[@someobscuremusicchannel]

do-do-do-do---do---do-do--do---do

[@XxROBATOxX]

That same motif is a recurring thing in Sonic Mania. You hear it in the title screen too.

[@RikouHogashi]

I see what Tee did there he took shots at SA2 City Escape's music also being Endless Mine that we didn't discover until Generation's "Classic" version

[@ChaosKnight7000]

And I find this to be amazing because the punch it adds makes a song I didn't think could be surpassed even better.

[@blorglord]

unoriginal comment

[@kangusplaysgames]

I always figured 'flying battery' refered to battery cages, like in egg farms. In act 2, you can see hundreds of the animal prison capsules in the background which sent chills down my spine as a young lad

[@fakeo]

same, except for the chills part

[@matty6878]

glad to see im not the only one who's felt like i was hearing the "bond theme" every time i hear this theme's zone. the arrangement of the levels and music in S&K was it was originally planned always fascinated me. there has to be a mod out there that tried to recreate the intended design

[@skunthundler]

Sonic 3 A.I.R and Sonic 3 Complete have intended zone order options.

[@duffman18]

Yeah, go download the romhack Sonic 3 Complete. It is THE definitive way to play the full game, and has tons and tons of customisation options, including yes the level order. You can make flying battery zone go in the middle of the first half of the game if you want, and it even has custom level transitions between carnival night, flying battery and ice cap, the original intended transitions. So for example, originally in ice cap zone, the snowboard sonic was to have used would have been one of the doors that exploded off of the flying battery. So in this mod, it you turn the level order to match the original like this, they've edited the graphics of the snowboard to look like a door off flying battery That's the kind of insane attention to detail that Sonic 3 Complete has. I never play anything else anymore, like I don't play the original sonic 3&K game anymore, I only play Sonic 3 Complete, because it's so much better. It's the game it was always originally planned to have been, if they hadn't been forced to split the game into 2. It's just about the best and most professional romhack I've ever seen. It was made by the guy who made Sonic Mania, Christian whitehead, so that should tell you how good it is. Go to the Sonic Retro wiki and download Sonic 3 Complete off there. It doesn't require IPS patching or anything like that. Just download it and open it in an emulator. Or if you have a Mega Drive everdrive cartridge, load the ROM onto there and play it on a real mega drive/genesis, cos it works perfectly 9n original hardware

[@MmmMmph1968]

When the Flying Battery carpet-bombs you in Angel Island Zone, it's very clearly dark green. But when you finally get to the Battery, it's all grey and orange. I wonder if they would've repainted it if the original order was used.

[@russellgxy2905]

I never made that connection before now but it makes sense why I felt this theme was sneaky in a way. Frantic sneak, but sneak nonetheless

[@pengil3]

@@MmmMmph1968 the green bomber might be a different warship entirely, but it’s fun to theorize

[@thebeluvdtrex]

As a game developer trying to understand how to compose good music this content is a godsend

[@carpathia808]

I'm quite ridiculously late to the party on this one but I love these videos so much and can't wait until the next one!

[@FanaticChain]

Yo it’s the deconstruction guy!

[@Pandaboss1]

@@FanaticChainI KNOW

[@sonictheflexhog6075]

I’m 2 years late. lmfao

[@Da_Homie_Don]

@@sonictheflexhog6075same

[@ninten5601]

YOOOO

[@mvnkycheez]

This is 100% THE most underrated channel on youtube

[@ΔομαρΤ]

Fax

[@barneyjuniorYT]

I agree

[@chasethemaster3440]

Yep

[@KBMaximus]

I'm late but yeah

[@Dudewas]

Yes agreed!

[@danforce4222]

8:42 You actually said it in the rhythm, you genious

[@cutman3931]

this rythm is starting to become a meme...

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

I am so glad I got recommended this channel. I'm fascinated by music theory, hearing how notes match the visuals is a delight! I'm looking forward to more! _(I'd love to hear your thoughts on how Casino Night and Casino Night 2P both go about their approach to the theme)_

[@saltendo2177]

Casino Night 2P was originally Oil Ocean Zone's theme.

[@Kitty-hf6vq]

I, someone completely illiterate on anything regarding music, can finally put into words why Flying Bathery zone gave a James Bond type of feel, thanks to your video Thanks for the video, i've learned a lot

[@MarsTheMellow]

I look away for five seconds and suddenly we're talking about James Bond. What a world we live in.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Subscribed, am an avid watcher of Sonic music theory now. Thank you!

[@pauiepot]

6:20 That is what we call a Harmonic Scale. Harmonies in minor keys often use this raised seventh tone in order to make the music feel more strongly centered on the tonic.

[@cactusowo1835]

Scale is just a concept of pairing notes/grades in some way or another, isnt it just using accidentals? Instead of switching scales, which may not seem that dynamic

[@LydianMelody]

It was super nice of you to make this channel just for me. PS: Stumbling on Flying Battery Zone’s ascending 5th James Bond-esque motif is what finally hooked me on playing guitar after 6 months of barely touching it. S3&K songs were the first I learned. It’s funny, I was yearning to hear the songs on “real” instruments, but now I love those 16bit tones just as much lol.

[@JahnDavis2734]

This is a great video! Flying Battery is one of my absolute favorite Sonic tracks. That bassline is legendary, and that James Bond chord progression moment always really sells that "infiltrating the enemy base" feel. Absolute a top 5 Sonic track for me, period. Definitely subscribing man, I gotta check out your other stuff.

[@Ghosty_Dosty]

Yeah I remember your FB remix. It was a flawless victory!

[@JojoJere]

I think it's called a "rising ciche chord progression"

[@Illstatefishing]

These songs are timeless, I still play them in my head while I work

[@RedReagle]

I just came here from watching the Mushroom Hill video and I realized just how jarring the difference is between the brutish intro stage song we just got before, the "here we go again familiarity" music, and now we're playing this intense, fast paced thrill song, showing you just how wildly different they can get between one stage and another right at the beginning. It's so awesome, it gets you way more excited for this game, the range it can provide so quickly.

[@stinkyroadhog1347]

The way the intro note climbs back up really quickly into the next hanging note really sounds so badass. Like for a moment, you thought it wasn't gonna be so intimidating or bad but it reassures you, you're in for a hell of a time here!

[@xTheGamingGhostx]

In the opener, that long sustained note followed by the rapid fire notes is subtle brilliance. The long note symbolizes the guns turning to aim at sonic, and the following quick notes symbolize the guns opening fire. The stage theme is literally firing an opening salvo at sonic right as the level starts.

[@formerlyyaboitom10]

4:57 Sky Sanctuary is included but it's only for the boss battle against Super Mecha Sonic.

[@GamingGardevoir]

As far as I’m concerned, that’s just the final ruin

[@metazshanstark91]

It's proper term for it's model is Silver Sonic MK-11 not super Mecha Sonic, Mecha Sonic is the one term named for the Sonic CD revision (s) style generation of the roboticized Sonic . I lnow it doesn't make sense entirely of the model named since this revision isn't silver as Sonic 2's revision of the similar model but more advanced for sure, since this one can harvest the power of the Master emerald, but does kinda since it's similar to the former death egg's revision.

[@samborton6613]

This and the angel islands are my favorite themes in all of sonic. Great job on the video!

[@ages9105]

Oh yea I’ve been waiting for this

[@WildTonyAppears]

I’m blown away. You’ve deconstructed my childhood, analysed it and amplified it in the most incredible way. Thank you!

[@jadendafinger]

getting an upload from you is enough to make a great day even better! Flying Battery is one of my favorite levels in the game. The speedy sections really go well with the music. I wish there were more outdoor sections in the original. didn't catch that first time watching 4:48 Edit: I made my comment less "bot-like" by adding some thoughts relating to the level

[@LewisOlley06]

2:30 This is the exact chord progression of the Mini-Boss for S3&K

[@saradogan2607]

And scrap brain an from sonic 1

[@mazim07]

Genuinely surprised there was no mention of this in the video.

[@RikouHogashi]

Honestly, the Bond theme was quite easy to discover in this song because of how extremely Iconic the theme is

[@sleepverygood]

8:55 Best music transition ive heard

[@GiftzGD]

This song is my all time favorites from the first three sonic games, so ive watched this video multiple times at this point. Music theory has always been fascinating for me

[@Allplussomeminus]

0:02 I thought that was because everything on the ship was electrically charged by a battery. But that makes way more sense.

[@Acechao111]

Blows my mind that people can identify and explain this sort of stuff. Truly incredible, does the amazing compositions justice, keep it up man.

[@Pinkerton221]

Flying vaporwave zone at the end.

[@RadianceMarluxia]

It's a crime how underrated your channel is, I love all these videos even though I have no idea about music theory The use of the endless mine motif in sonic mania absolutely blew my mind. That part of the song always stuck to my brain but I never realised why until now.

[@skakirask]

I never found the parachute bombs thing as bad as the Carnival Night barrel, simply because the game gives you a small hint that the bombs are damaging the floor.

[@cactusowo1835]

4:46 lmao, that part killed me. I absolutelly love the lead melody at the start, it wouldn't just sound the same without the tritone at the end.

[@Kirbsuno]

4:47 that reference to the meme of someone staring at you with a gun XD

[@scrambleavenue3767]

Vibe Check Robotnik

[@cactusowo1835]

@Alts'Alts Ño

[@FieryN8]

LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Easily my favorite zone composition in the entire franchise

[@FieryN8]

@Alts'Alts im a s3&k shill, lol

[@mrbananaman8032]

Same. So much energy and attitude.

[@zomby138]

Just binge watched all these. I would like to request Ice Cap zone please :)

[@thesmilingman7576]

5:34 they did think of it there's code that has the regular side facing Eggrobo sprite in Knuckles's Egg Hanger sprite but due to a bug it still loads the front facing Robotnik sprites

[@Lightning-2153]

Probably my favorite Genesis Sonic song. The use of the Major 7th is amazing

[@seronymus]

This is an awesome, underrated channel. Tight editing, good clean info, no nonsense. God bless you guys

[@spimbles]

these videos got me interested in music theory. its really fun and interesting to hear just how much thought went into the music of the Sonic games. great work man, your effort paid off

[@OrgHedgehog]

So nobody is talking about how smooth the transition was in 8:56?

[@YomiKAyomi]

Well done! Someone is doing a comprehensive music theory on one of the best Sonic Zones ever! I am SO subscribing!

[@YellowYoshi398]

just here waiting for Cybershell to react to being name-dropped in this vid

[@SSF27-1]

Well you've got your wish. He commented here a day ago.

[@rats6136]

my favourite tune from Sonic 3! Great video man

[@smolbrendan5978]

1:48 Correct me if I'm wrong here because I don't study music theory _at all,_ but this pattern of notes made me realize that the Act 1 boss theme for Sonic & Knuckles _also_ has that same progression. That's pretty cool!

[@cutman3931]

Yes

[@saradogan2607]

And in scrap brain

[@arthurvenger]

this is one of my favorite sonic tracks! great video!! rewatching it now with my piano :))

[@Lach1xn]

Amazing comeback after those few months man. I love watching your videos, and I love Flying Battery’s Themes in general.

[@SyntaxTsundere]

YOO YOURE BACK!!!

[@null_state]

Your channel is amazing. Two of my favorite topics brought together. Thank you so much.

[@mjc0961]

1:01 - Crediting background footage we can't even see. Nice. So many people just grab other people's videos with no credit at all.

[@ardic23]

Sonic 3 and Knuckles is a timeless game I'm sure a child who plays the game will really like the game

[@shadow479]

After all these years and most of us despite of enjying so much Sonic's music and yet we never realized how genious they are. Seriously, it blows my mind.

[@TalkingNerdyWithCJ]

I play piano, and once you started with something I can understand, I immediately subscribed. I love how others appreciate the potential of instrumental music!

[@AlexYardZone]

Glad to hear it! Yeah, I think piano works very well as a visual representation of music theory concepts, since it's very spatial and intuitive even for non-piano players. Whereas a Guitar fretboard requires prerequisite info, for example.

[@matheuscastaldi4685]

man you deserve a lot of subscriptions... what a channel!!

[@MowLawner]

This was a very interesting and informative breakdown. The similarities to death egg were something I never noticed. This is great. Hoping you’ll do Hydrocity Zone in the near future- probably my favorite pair of tracks in the whole series.

[@soya_kitchens]

I kept getting you in my recommended list and front page. Apparently, you're actually a very good youtuber! So I am now subscribed.

[@erinspirationxo7764]

It's rare that I comment on videos but I've gotta give you your props. This is amazing I binged watched the whole series. Can't wait for the next one, keep up the good work!

[@duckhuntdawg]

I watched your music theory videos yesterday and now there’s a new one today :D

[@___8241]

Instant sub. The way you explain this stuff is incredible.

[@TimScharinger]

This video is so good! Great music, great visualization of the music, nice comparison with Bond and at last containing some of the best video game music in the 90's! ❤

[@Fluxuation]

I think the reason eggman is in flying battery is not because knuckles wasn’t supposed to go to flying battery, but the fact that flying battery in of itself is an absolutely unfinished mess. There’s 0 knuckles routes, only 1 outside area in act 2, linear, blocky level design, stuff to drag out zone time and weird, unconventional bosses (but this doesn’t make me hate the zone, it’s one of my personal favorites!) More evidence on this, if we look at the sonic 3 prototype, flying battery is still playable, and while it’s graphics and level design are intact, it’s an absolute MESS of unfinished stuff. They had about half the time to develop flying battery then any other zone, and I think they were just too crashed from making another eggrobo sprite, since they already did for the laser trap bods as well.

[@Pickyjonez]

Must have missed this one usual top quality! You had me at the very end, could feel my pulse rising

[@Ryonic217]

I absolutely love hearing about the mistakes that the developers made between Sonic 3 and Sonic and Knuckles, especially the music aspects of it

[@leobaiaeu]

continue with this awesome work bro

[@vaporwaveskeleton9224]

Your content is fantastic, I hope you post more in the future

[@chalkers]

You have no idea how much joy this video gave me. I'm going to subscribe and binge your content.

[@renjigillihan1995]

Dude your channel is GODLY, I'm so glad I've found it

[@christiecat5367]

Just discovered this channel, omg! I adore this geek detail into one of my fav game soundtracks!! As a fellow geek, I adore soundtracks, but I've never came across a channel that explains the sheet music behind it! Subscribed!

[@peppertoni]

Cool video!! It's crazy how intricate these old Sonic songs are compositionally

[@ping2641]

The first level in a video game that made me feel like a badass (S&K was my first Sonic game!)

[@jsels777]

I'm not sure which to be most impressed with: your editing, your knowledgeability of the subject, or your intuitive explanations. Great work here!

[@SonicPAJ]

THANK YOU for pointing out the James Bond progression. It's also used in the mini-boss theme. Another Bond motif is used in the Secret Base zone in Sonic Advance.

[@BraviaGames]

This is the kind of education the gives me pleasure!

[@acuman99.9]

I love your channel so much. As a sonic fan who loves over thinking music this is literally perfect. Thank you for this.

[@WilliamWilliamWilliamWill]

9:04 I'm not the only one then, i see There's also the weird things from mushroom hill zone which you pull down to get up

[@helloofthebeach]

I wouldn't have found this video if I hadn't specifically been studying Flying Battery's music. How many barnyard animals do I gotta sacrifice to make the Algorithm bless you?

[@Dudewas]

This video is fantastic I really appreciate your theme for your channel i’ve been searching for music theory of sonic music and I only had two videos to watch until your champ came out subscribe and I will watch every video that you post Ever great job with everything you are doing Alex!!! You are inspiring me and teaching me exactly what it is that makes me love all of these sonic songs!

[@Dudewas]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJvNYZR3bphmldU This is the one it’s by scruffy I see that you replied Alex but I for some reason can’t see the reply on here only in my notifications hope you can see the link I provided

[@MHzJr]

my day is saved. thank you.

[@alg3898]

9:06 The trick isn't that the floor needs to be hit X amount of times, it's that you need to bait those bombs to land as far right as possible to open the path. The player is constantly shuffling too far to the left here to trigger that corner to open up. Also, even though I too got stuck at Carnival Night's barrel (and subsequently found a way to pass through the wall to beat it as a kid) the truth is that the solution to said barrel puzzle is in the instruction manual. Obviously neither situation is fair or fun, but experimentation and research can show the way sometimes. Such is the way old games work, and why I still remember them so well to this day.

[@cubedtothex]

Excellent analysis! I love these!

[@jerryalexis576]

8:40 Yooo my favorite part of the song has the Endless Mine rhythmic motif!!

[@JSevion]

Thank you for yet another amazing breakdown

[@thefatcowv2.043]

"but you already knew that" Uh no the hell I *did not why didn't I put that together soone-* Jokes aside, I was looking forward to a new upload from you, I never expected someone to dive into music theory of arguably my favourite(2D) Sonic game and I am HERE for it, keep up the great stuff my guy!

[@kitsunnnneee]

Absolutely love your videos man, they’re entirely too interesting

[@skins4thewin]

Dayum! I LOVED the slowed down bit at the end! Sounds SICK when slowed down to a crawl! The freaking Genesis man, amiright?

[@XBret64]

I've been suggested your videos for I forget how long now, so glad I finally clicked!

[@mraltoid19]

I greatly appreciate your videos, thank you for creating them.

[@whiz8569]

I love your segways from the off-topic portion back to the main topic.

[@solidgamer6160]

You deserve so many more subs. I could binge these videos. And I will

[@postplays]

These videos keep getting recommended to me so I finally caved in and clicked on one. I don't regret it. This was super interesting.

[@baconlabs]

_EEEAAARRRGHHH_ I think I've been waiting my whole life for a channel like this! I'm somewhat music-illiterate, so videos like this are a really fun way to review stuff I'm unfamiliar with.

[@MelodiesZone]

This channel is going to blow up, I reckon 100k subs by 2023

[@Ghosty_Dosty]

9:30 Oh so that's the case! I thought it was the console or the emulator slowing down because of the ammount of parashutes

[@SonicPlayer2004]

What?

[@alaididnalid7660]

Good call, could be the reason!

[@TheMiningMeteor]

1:39 I’ve been hearing James Bond in EVERYTHING now! It’s in the s3&k miniboss theme too!!

[@ImNotVatis]

Bro please keep up these awesome videos! I've always been really interested in the sonic 3 and knuckles music, and this just increased my passion for it by a lot! Keep up the great work!

[@czech_ring]

9:39 use 2x speed for the best experience

[@BoxySonic]

Nah, its optimized to be played slowly, if you speed it up it just sounds weird

[@CobaltChono]

0:08 So after ~13 years I **NOW** learn that Flying Battery refers to a kind of artillery unit for the Army.

[@StanDaMan228]

Loved how you break down the Sonic DNA of Sonic the Hedgehog games! I just learned this in grad school!