How to EARN a Musical Climax | Leitmotif Buildup & Payoff

[@Dorked]

This video covers a topic and several games I've wanted to discuss. Special thanks to @SurrealCrab for bringing up some of the SA2 examples! Please consider supporting on Patreon if you like what I do at patreon.com/dorked, and if you missed my recent Undertale Newsletter video, it's here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fWbdoIV5Zteters If you're in the Paper Mario mood after TYD, consider checking out my PM64 intro analysis: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bWrTqpJ4eppjaNE I also did an analysis on SatAM's version of Sonic: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fp69Y2CvdpaUe6M Stream Channel: www.youtube.com/@DorkedStreams My Twitch Account: twitch.tv/derpisms My Undertale Webcomic: invertedfate.com/chapters Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 1:11 - Undertale 10:56 - Sonic Adventure 2 (Live & Learn) 18:50 - Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers (Time Gear) 38:04 - Closing Thoughts & New Channel!

[@tr_aux]

🕴️

[@SurrealCrab]

Honestly getting a shout-out has made my day, thanks!!

[@maldonadoluis3458]

So, i know this is out of left field, but do you perhaps know if the ost at the end of Chapter 59 will be out? (The video on page 325.)

[@qzimyion]

As a person who's getting into video game development stuff it kind of surprise me how people don't pay as much attention to video game music and sound design as compared to art direction and gameplay when it's probably one of the most crucial part of what makes a good video game as a good soundtrack often leaves a long lasting impression on the player.

[@Dorked]

Music can be so important for gaming as a full experience. Even if the art is a bit jank, a solid score can help draw players in. I think that's one way Undertale excels.

[@kep2869]

Yes! This! Indie game dev here. Music is super important to the emotion and feel of a moment. I often design a lot of things around the music for my project and even use the time position of the track to influence certain things about the moment such as lighting, stage hazards, ai changes, etc

[@losharikoved]

Well, that's one of reasons why Sonic survived mid 2000s

[@poppyfrancis7338]

Music is what I tend to focus on after a game ends, because the soundtrack carries the emotions I felt at those pivotal moments. Its kind of why before I even start making a project, I want there to be musical themes to apply to characters and ideas to evolve as it grows.

[@cs82271]

Not even joking when I say video game ost is my autistic special interest, so a good ost always plays a crucial role in whether a game is make or break for me. For example, Terraria is a fine game. But the Calamity mod ost boosts it to one of my top games of all time. And with already great games, like Final Fantasy VII, imagine the scene in the mansion basement flashback without Sephiroth's theme. It's already a great moment, but the haunting melody kicking in as Sephiroth says, "I'm going to see my mother..." makes it a masterpiece.

[@lasagna3289]

My jaw actually dropped when you showed that Undertale has Bergentrückung at the end. It was like I was hearing the dong for the first time.

[@Dorked]

It was something I only learned recently, while watching Shayy's tierlist stream. It was absolutely mind blowing and cool. :O

[@Syger]

I respect undertale a TON but it is both a masterclass of leitmotif but also like a very blatant way to just kind of make people aware of the concept of leitmotifs? That sounds mean/gatekeepy af and I don’t mean it that way at all. I adore how blatant UT was with it because it drew my attention to the music and made me pay attention as I was paying through it and also made me appreciate just how well it was being executed with the game. Say whatever you will about the story or art or whatever but homeboy absolutely CRUSHED it with the sound design.

[@notTLWO]

I think Undertale's heavy use of leitmotifs make the No mercy hit harder, "Battle against a true hero" and "Power of NEO" sharing a leitmotif as the last breath of a deteriorating story, while "megalovania" having no leitmotif since the game's story the leitmotifs were meant to serve died a long time ago. it really makes a fucked up route even more fucked up.

[@Dorked]

These are good observations, too! The no mercy run doesn't use a ton of leitmotifs, but the ones it does use do evoke very specific feelings.

[@TheOneWhoCares.]

Clearly you didn't compare megalovania to Once upon a time buddy pal

[@fabiosonhandogrande1697]

​@@TheOneWhoCares. I will not count three notes as that. Gaster's theme motifs are more obvious than this could ever be

[@SylviaGrome]

HOW MANY LAYERS DO THESE SONGS HAVE?

[@efad3215]

​@@SylviaGromeYes.

[@Clevernamegoeshere]

honestly one of my favorite trends in the undertale community is when people make fansongs and then people use motifs from those fansongs in their own fansongs

[@Dorked]

It's a really interesting way to see the kind of community collaboration in full effect! O:

[@joshshrum2764]

Yeah or they just use the Megalovania, motif in every song lol.

[@usermcskull4713]

Tuffer Upper from TS!UNDERSWAP my beloved

[@magnusm4]

Normally you'd call that either lazy or plagiarism. But for Undertale that's an homage to the structure of the game's soundtrack.

[@monky4640]

FALLEN STARS - OUR BROKEN CONSTELLATIONS

[@ChristopherMoom]

As someone who isn't too familiar with Sonic or Pokemon, I think you did a really nice job making these musical observations clear and easy to follow along with for the viewers! I'd love more of these musical observations with other games in the future If I may throw my hat in the ring, one of my favorite examples of motifs in gaming is "Road to Victory" from Kirby's Return to Dream Land, because of how far it can be abstracted while still being recognizable: Road to Victory's melody begins with (Dashes mean quarter notes, equal signs mean sixteenth notes) "D-G- A-D- G=A=D- G-A-", and shockingly enough, this first measure is really all you need. In a different song, called "Each to His Own World", Road to Victory is cut down into "D-G-A-", just repeating three quarter notes playing "1-4-5" over and over. Going even further, in a song called "Let Me Explain Everything", Road to Victory is cut down into "C-G-C-", repeating exactly like in Each to His Own World (The second C is an octave above the first.) The "1-5-8" sequence here barely resembles Road to Victory by this point, but the rhythm is what maintains its identity. (I recommend looking up the songs cause I'm not too sure how to convey this through text 😅) The Kirby's Return to Dream Land OST in general is surprisingly intricate, and I'd love to ramble about it more; unfortunately, I can't easily describe it via only text (At least, in a way where people unfamiliar with the game can follow along), and YT doesn't like it when comments have links attached, so timestamping songs is out of the question 😞

[@Dorked]

More Kirby love! :O Y'all are making me wanna check out the games. Maybe I'll put Superstar on my DS flash cart or stream it at some point. I feel like I'm missing out on a lot of really classical gaming nostalgia, since I didn't have the finances to get a lot of games as a kid.

[@ChristopherMoom]

​@@Dorked That'd be really sick to see! A brief thing to note if you're interested in the music is that Kirby music wasn't consistently the most motif heavy until Return to Dream Land. One of the few classic Kirby games to heavily use motifs is Kirby Super Star, which is actually really convenient anyway, since Super Star is what influenced Kirby gameplay starting with Return to Dream Land!

[@Greggorto]

wait is this the real undertale equivalent of justin y here?? in this comment section??

[@countjoelcula]

Oh yea! Return to Dream Land has one of my favourite final boss themes in the form of CROWNED, but I really oughta check out the rest of the OST!

[@countjoelcula]

The SA2 section of this video reminded me of Kirby Planet Robobot, which uses a remix of the title screen music for its final boss to great effect.

[@Ammiteur9]

You know the video will be great when it starts with _the_ Pokémon mystery dungeon theme

[@NightKeo]

Since Pokémon (especially Mystery Dungeon) and Sonic have both been some of my biggest hyperfixations along Undertale, I’m happy to see you cover them :D

[@Dorked]

Eyyy, thanks! :D Hope you enjoy the video.

[@Vsmovies100]

6:36 That Froggit impression caught me off guard

[@Dorked]

Haha, I can do really high pitches voices and I kinda just did it on a whim.

[@Ralseithefloofy]

lol yeah it was like a jumpscare.

[@dieg7749]

Haven’t finished the video yet but yes I in fact was one of the people who learned what a leitmotif was from undertale. Months later I’ve actually started getting into the Kirby series myself and noticed a lot of the modern entries also had repeating leitmotif’s exclusive to each game which made me excited, I was like “Oh! Kirby is doing the undertale thing!”

[@Dorked]

KJHKjh THE UNDERTALE THING... xD It definitely does feel that way in the sense that UT spread awareness of motifs.

[@dieg7749]

@@Dorked yeah that’s true- also because I was young at the time so undertale was what really introduced me to the concept and made me have an ear out for repeated themes in media

[@joshshrum2764]

Yeah it kinda did, though i kind of knew of reoccurring themes in final fantasy games, and Zelda, and Kirby, plus of course the main theme of Sonic adventure two being live, and learn, i didn’t really know supporting me had the letimof of live, and learn.

[@apupthatdraws1001]

I heard it in Undertale, but I started watching Scruffy shortly after. He does a great job explaining leitmotifs as well as other sound design like artificial Doppler and fluid music. If you are interested in complex vg sound design from an expert musician and/or really like pikmin, I recommend him!

[@declanthomas7159]

I for one would definitely love a deep dive into the music of Explorers

[@ScarletPhoenix0]

Same here!

[@Dorked]

I definitely have a lot of thoughts! The Grovyle episode in particular is just such an impeccable use of taking the game's most basic leitmotif and developing it.

[@SuperMarioSwagger]

I also really likes how the Live and Learn motif reappaears in Shadow The Hedgehog in the final story when he transform. Always found that to be a cool callback. Great video btw, really interesting!

[@yosefabbas8438]

Undertale yellows justice and enemy retreating motifs are my favorites, because of how they culminate in the final bosses of both their respective routes.

[@Dorked]

Oh yeah, UTY definitely understands the principles of utilizing leitmotifs to their fullest potential in its OST. It feels very true to the spirit of UT.

[@Smoldragoncat]

The song has a certain mood after you drink acid (in game)

[@usermcskull4713]

I really like how the Justice leitmotif is absent from the end of the neutral route and almost all the leitmotifs that plays from the rooftop onwards are Flowey adjacent. Feels like he's literally taking over the narrative

[@D_YellowMadness]

The only use of leitmotif I didn't like in Undertale Yellow was the Hopes and Dreams one. It was bizarre to me how completely unearned it felt. But the whole premise of that fight felt unearned so I guess it makes that if there were a misused leitmotif, it would probably be in that fight.

[@jacktoonlink3415]

Something else about SA2's soundtrack a appreciate is the way that certain characters are tied to certain musical genres and instrumentations for their levels. Sonic and Tails have upbeat rock. I'm probably reaching but I see it as them sharing a musical style because the two are a duo, but I also noticed that Tails' levels emphasize percussion more than Sonics (not sure why but something I noticed). Knuckles and Rouge are pretty obvious in how they relate to their character. Knuckles has hip hop because he's rough, tough, and isn't fancy. Rouge has jazz because she's elegant and mysterious. Eggman's stages use electronic instruments as that and electronics is what he specializes in.(Sidenote: I also like how in Iron Gate, there's a brief call back to E.G.G.M.A.N). Shadow meanwhile has rock as well, but his music is feel distorted. A nod to his dark past and how he's Sonic's opposite.

[@Dorked]

Yeah, both Sonic Adventure games do a great job using musical genres to convey character. Tails' themes in general tend to be fairly upbeat in terms of melodies. Mission Street immediately comes to mind, because it's in a major key and is just a really pleasant and cozy song to... shoot military robots to. xD Meanwhile, Eggman's stage themes tend to be a bit more metal and sinister in their tone. All in all, great observations!

[@KOTEBANAROT]

My favorite part of that is the fact that there's no "prison level theme" or "pyramid level theme" or "jungle level theme". Shadow is running through the jungle, but the level music has no reference to the fact that it is indeed a jungle he's in, but instead, is all about his conflicting feelings about saving Rouge (very hard to hear, but the vocals are arguing with each other). Same with Rouge in prison island, its a cold dark level but her music is instead very upbeat and excited, because she's doing a very fun and dangerous challenge, shes just that kind of a girlboss. The music is all about character's state of mind, basically.

[@Sing_LoveWRS]

Shadow's main genre is techno to represent his artificial origins and how chaotic his thoughts are beneath his icy exterior, the lyrics in his music are often hard to hear to show this further, the Biolizard's boss theme "Supporting Me" has very clear and easy to hear lyrics because Shadow's mind has similarly become clear of doubt.

[@Vieislost]

I know everyone has already been telling you about kirby, but id like to say how much green greens has been used make it feel like kirby's theme. Almost every final boss fight since return to dream land (excluding forgotten land which uses the main theme of that game, called welcome to the new world which works due to it being the new theme showing how the franchice has evolved.) Paticularly Star aliies final boss, Void Termina. Every version of his theme has at least one bit of green greens showing that this really is the end of the direction of where kirby was going at the time, part of green greens is even reversed for a bit to mimic what void termina really is, you. Void Termina is the exact opposite of kirby, bent on destruction made of negative energy, while kirby is made of positive energy and bent on love, all wrapping up with a desperate struggle to redeem void termina. Its really something you have to play to feel and enjoy, but it makes star allies ending feel much more distinct than the rest of the game.

[@Dorked]

You know, that's really interesting how recurring Green Greens is. I knew it was one of the big Kirby motifs, but it's interesting to hear about it in more depth, and that's a cool discussion about what its presence might mean.

[@Joe-yx1gq]

​Another Kirby motif I really like is Magalor theme in the lor starcutter in Kirby Return to Dreamland and how it leads up up to the final boss theme C.R.O.W.N.E.D and Magalor Epilogue in return to Dreamland Deluxe and it final boss with team Kirby clash ordeal boss battle theme

[@joshtato5456]

THANK YOU for drawing attention to the fact that Supporting Me has the Live and Learn motif. It gives me chills everytime I hear it, I'm glad someone else does

[@Dorked]

I'm happy to share that knowledge around! It's one of the coolest uses of the motif in SA2 by far.

[@XCATX25]

As a game developer, I can tell you, there is a technical reason for leitmotifs in the first place: often composers create what's basically a master track, from which they cut down, edit and rearrange the songs. It makes the songs belong to the same game, and not feel disconnected. But it also involuntarily creates the leitmotifs even when not intended, so sometimes it's not necessarily something designed from the ground up, but an happy coincidence. Like, I really don't think Gaster and Muffet have anything to do with each other, but they have the same leitmotif, and I think it's just for this technical reason, or just because Toby liked that chara to have that song and no other design choice

[@Dorked]

It's always interesting to get information from a developer's standpoint. I do think that it's not *just* down to technical needs, because in many cases, the use of a leitmotif leads to unique arrangements of songs that happen to use the same melody. Leitmotif is used in film scores as well, for instance. Track reuse and subtle modifications to save space/minimize labor definitely is a factor as well, but I think it's a little of both.

[@XCATX25]

@@Dorked Yes, I didn't mean to imply that it's always unwanted, of course often it is desired and made on purpose, but sometimes no

[@Orng9987]

Recently I realized that Miitopia does this as well with The Great Sage theme, then The Darker Lord theme, and THEN the final boss theme, all three of them have the same intro.

[@ScarletPhoenix0]

PMD is my absolute favorite media ever. I'd love to see more of it!

[@Dorked]

I definitely wouldn't mind discussing it more in the future!

[@droycon]

Hell yes

[@imanoffice641]

My music special interest brain is going to have the time of its life watching this video

[@Dorked]

:D I hope you'll enjoy it!

[@BeeLy1011]

Leitmotif hyperfixation my beloved

[@duykhangtran4406]

Let's goooo Pokemon Mystery Dungeon is one of my favorite game of all time. I'm so glad you're covering it

[@Dorked]

It's one of those series I have very deep fondness for. Always happy to ramble about it. xD

[@Magic_Ice]

The Kirby series uses this so often. From the main themes in each game, to Kirby’s Triumphant return being used in different ways, and how masterfully Star Dream, Void Termina, and the Master Crown reference other games musically to form a connection makes me fall in love with these amazing finales even more.

[@Dorked]

This just reminds me that I really gotta try more Kirby games at some point. I have so little experience with it, but I keep hearing great things.

[@Magic_Ice]

@@Dorked I’d highly recommend starting with Super Star Ultra and then playing other games from there because it introduces many of the common elements seen in the series. I feel like it’s a series you would really enjoy as it has a very similar vibe to games like Undertale.

[@countjoelcula]

@@Magic_Ice I really oughts try Super Star Ultra sometime.

[@ultimateaura7629]

God the Explorers music is so good. It still gets me crying every time. I'm convinced that that game made me numb to almost anything else emotional because of just how much it affected me

[@Yuti640]

I love that the main Reuinited motif is a completely new motif, representing the new world ahead of the monsters

[@Dorked]

You could also see it as a melody representing Frisk, since it only plays after their name reveal. Either way, it's a cool addition.

[@countjoelcula]

Oh heck yes! When it comes to video game music, I've always had a soft spot for final boss themes. Kid me just enjoyed hearing a thrilling climactic final battle theme, but as I've grown older and learned about leitmotifs, I began noticing familiar melodies (usually the main theme) in some final boss themes, so seeing an analysis on them makes me a very happy chappy! I like how you used your own personal experiences in this video to demonstrate the impact this musical buildup had on you as a kid.

[@Dorked]

Yeah, I think some of the most memorable final boss themes act as playoff to earlier tracks. It can help bring things full circle.

[@Wolfy10720]

IS THAT WHY “Fly Octo Fly ~ Ebb and Flow Octo” IS MY FAVORITE FINAL BOSS THEME EVEN THOUGH I HAVEN’T PLAYED OCTO EXPANSION AT ALL!?

[@Chestnutshepson]

Hollow Knight's OST is another great example of leitmotif usage. While this game may not have bits and pieces of a much larger leitmotif scattered throughout the game, culminating into a fully finished melody, there are several special leitmotifs that are present in several songs played during pivotal moments and areas. (I *_will_* be covering a major boss that is a HUGE spoiler, so don't read further if you plan on playing this work of art >w>) Hollow Knight has quite a few key leitmotifs throughout the game, but I wish to focus on the main theme. The song, while simple, is very effective at setting the tone right off the bat. Fitting for the title screen, as well as the intro cutscene. The melody is mainly associated with both the Protagonist, and their entire species, the *_Vessels._* We first hear it on the title screen, and then shortly after in the intro cutscene where the Protagonist, (who I will simply refer to as "the Knight" going forward), returns to Hallownest, it's home, after an unknown amount of time. This establishes a link between the main leitmotif of the game, and the Knight. The melody is then heard in a few songs that don't necessarily have much significance to the plot. Such as the battle theme heard during the first major boss of the game, False Knight. (This song is also used for a much later boss in the game, the Watcher Knights.) As well as the area theme of the Fungal Wastes. However, one of the strongest uses of the main leitmotif is in the *_Broken Vessel_* fight. This boss stands out from most of the other main bosses. So much emotion and story is conveyed with zero words whatsoever in this fight, mostly thanks to it's beautifully dramatic theme. Several bosses in this game share battle OSTs, but Broken Vessel is one of the few non-final/super bosses to have it's own unique song. And OH MAN does it go crazy hard! It takes the main leitmotif of the game, and _twists it_ in such a dramatic and impactful way. Canonically, Broken Vessel is the *_second_* deceased brethren the Knight has come across in it's journey. However, instead of it *_JUST_* being a dead corpse, the horrid Infection created and controlled by the main villain of the game *_reanimates the corpse of the Knight's dead sibling to do battle with them._* This says a _TON_ about the main villain's character *_long before the player is even supposed to learn of her existence!_* Since she controls all who fall to her infection like puppets, her reanimating the corpse of one of the Knight's siblings into a zombie-like state through her pestilence could be seen as a tactic of psychological warfare employed upon the Knight. Albeit a failed attempt at psychological warfare, as the Knight cannot feel emotion, and is essentially a hollow shell. Since the main theme of the game is also associated with the Knight and their fellow Vessel siblings, this brilliant perversion of the leitmotif fits perfectly with the Knight fighting the dead, reanimated corpse of their fallen kin. While the Knight may be emotionless and therefor cannot feel any sorrow, fear, or pain in fighting the carcass of their sibling, *_WE_* the player, can. The song takes the Knight's leitmotif, and perverts it. Twists it. When the main melody kicks in at the start, it sounds almost ghastly, almost as if the song itself is wailing and pleading to be put back to rest. Then it transitions into a couple of repeating, startling notes. Like the Broken Vessel is doing the last thing it ever did before death, *_fighting._* Fighting over and over again until it's body finally breaks apart once again, so it can rest in piece once more. All culminating into the climax where the main melody repeats, again and again. Each time getting more and more intense and dramatic until it ends. Like the pain building and building inside the Broken Vessel as you land slash after slash upon it's body, until the sweet release of a second death. Both this song and fight hit even _harder_ in the feels when you know the lore behind the Vessels. Just incase someone reading this ignored my spoiler warning but still wants to play Hollow Knight, I won't go into anymore spoilers in this already long enough comment, but I will talk briefly about the normal final boss. Emphasis on _briefly_ so as to not spoil too much. But the main leitmotif of the game *_also_* is present in the regular final boss's theme, more specifically the end of the song. Slowly transitioning from the leitmotif of the final boss, into the Knight's leitmotif. Fitting for what the Knight has to do to the regular final boss in the normal ending. Hollow Knight's OST holds a very special place in my heart, and I adore it's usage of leitmotifs just as much as the likes of Undertale. I feel like there aren't nearly as many leitmotifs in HK compared to UT, but the themes it does have, are EXTREMELY impactful! I highly recommend giving the OST a listen, even if you're not interested in playing the game!

[@Dorked]

Thanks for sharing such thorough thoughts! Hollow Knight is definitely on my list of games I need to experience at some point, though I know it's infamously hard.

[@steampunkWizardStudios]

A good soundtrack is the first thing players are going to notice after the art style, it's super important as a hook too!

[@Dorked]

Oh, definitely. I think that's one reason themes like the Mario theme are so long lasting. The melodies were so memorable that they stuck with folks.

[@Slimeonian]

One of my favourite things with Sonic games from 06, to Unleashed, to Colours and even Frontiers, is that they’ll take the main theme, which the player constantly hears over and over again throughout the game, and turn it into an awesome orchestral rendition for the games final boss theme. As for Pokemon, you know Scarlet and Violet? Well Toby Fox was heavily involved in that game’s ost, and there’s leitmotif’s everywhere. The Tera Raid battles, the general Paldea theme, the Area Zero Theme etc…. And it all culminates in the Final Boss theme. It’s so damn good. If you haven’t played Scarlet and Violet, or listened to the ost, I’d highly recommend it :)

[@Dorked]

Yeah, the orchestral finales were a pretty iconic aspect of the modern era. I think they kinda stopped being a thing as of Generations, which is rather a shame. Generations' final boss music was pretty forgettable. At least Frontiers had some awesome boss themes.

[@Sing_LoveWRS]

​@@DorkedI'm With You might be one of the best songs in the franchise tbh

[@Xman34washere]

Toby Fox uses of lietmotifs my beloved(Hopes and Dreams and Battle! Zero Lab in particular are amazing uses of older lietmotifs)

[@Dorked]

I've heard very good things about the Area Zero and related themes. That's very Toby of him to hit hard with the leitmotifs.

[@BJGvideos]

Oh god the Zero Lab battle is heartbreaking and exhilarating all at once. Big spoilers for Pokémon SV! It's like the sensation that the AI, who's been completely dominated by the security program, is still cheering for your success under it all.

[@Slenderquil]

The SA2 example makes me think of an album named after its final track. "Crush 40 presents their new album, Live and Learn!" It's ja really cool way to deal with the climax of the soundtrack.

[@Dorked]

Oh yeah, absolutely. I think it's one thing that the modern Sonic games haven't quite replicated since. Frontiers comes close, and the other modern games do have the orchestral reprises for their final bosses, but the clever use of Live and Learn in the menus just sticks with me all these years later.

[@wildberrysherbert3803]

@@Dorked 06 also comes quite close, but considering how 06 is well... 06 it doesn't work as well.

[@Sing_LoveWRS]

​@@wildberrysherbert3803explain?

[@wildberrysherbert3803]

@@Sing_LoveWRS It's because Solaris Phase 2 is an orchestral version of His World, a song that you hear a lot in the game.

[@Sing_LoveWRS]

@@wildberrysherbert3803 that doesn't really explain why 06 wasn't as good with leitmotifs though? And also His World is by far not the only leitmotif in that game

[@beheeyemite]

I think a lot of undertale fans dont know how common leitmotifs have been in video games long before undertale, so it makes me happy to see an ut creator showcasing some great examples of what other games have done. also, recognizing pmd2 as a legitimately great game and not just some old pokemon spinoff! id definitely love to see another video about it, its got one of my all time favourite game osts (but my fav game for leitmotif is mother 3!)

[@RiskOfJeffy2]

Hollow knight does leitmotifs more subtly. The Sealed Vessel motif appears a few times throughout the game, usually with bosses, specifically ones that are "hollow(empty and controlled by someone else" like False Knight and Broken Vessel, before culminating in the Final Boss theme, and the ending themes, though the awesome part is it DOESN'T appear in the Dream No More final boss theme, because it doesn't fit with how the theme is used elsewhere, it's not someone being controlled by someone else, it IS the one controlling almost every enemy and boss other than a select few.

[@Idkpleasejustletmechangeit]

In order to understand what a Leitmotif is, we first need to go to the start. CHAPTER 1: The Dawn Of Humanity CHAPTER 2: The Indo-European Language Family CHAPTER 3: The Evolution Of German CHAPTER 4: The Middle Ages CHAPTER 5: The Dawn Of Capitalism And The Industrial Revolution CHAPTER 6: The Era Of Two Wars: WWI And WWII CHAPTER 7: The Post-War Era CHAPTER 8: What Does This Have To Do With Undertale? Conclusion: "Leitmotif" is a German word consisting of the words "leiten" (to lead) and "motif" (pattern). It's the leading pattern. Thanks for watching!

[@FestiveAngel06]

Leitmotifs are awesome and a pivotal part of pretty much any media that has music. Undertale and Deltarune especially are definitely a lot of people's introductions to ddiving deeper into leitmotifs. Anyway, great work as always! (I say, in advance)

[@Dorked]

Yeah, UTDR opened a lot of eyes to leitmotifs, but I hope I can share some appreciation for other games, too. O:

[@abaddon1503]

An interesting leitmotif I’ve always taken interest in is the opening theme for the original Persona 1. This theme is officially named “Persona.” It shows up in various places around the franchise. It gets a full on remix in Persona 3 FES, plays for the first few seconds in the official arrange for “Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There” for Persona 5, and it’s the first thing you’ll hear in Persona Q2. This leitmotif is especially apparent in its home game. You’ll hear it in the various dungeon themes. It’s also the final boss theme “Transitory Butterfly,” the themes that plays for SEBEC’s labs and all of Kandori’s themes. PSP Persona 1 did away with a lot of the old tracks but remixed a few so the leitmotif still kiiinda hangs in there by technicality. This last point’s probably a stretch by me but I swear I can hear it in every Velvet Room theme as well especially for the oldest games. Leitmotifs go crazy.

[@TheFlyfly]

yep. it's thanks to UT/DR that i learnt about leitmotifs and got a rough idea of how to use them. Without those soundtracks, i never would've considered the idea of using recurring motifs in my own music to bring meaning and storytelling aspects to it, and i never would've been able to use motifs with any real intention.

[@Scerttle]

I love how each section of this video could very well stand alone as its own video, but comes together to really drive the point home. Well done!

[@KhepriProd]

shoutout to penumbra phantasm being hidden in hopes and dreams I just learned that today what are you cooking Toby

[@F1areon]

The first Smithy boss theme from SMRPG starts w/ the leitmotif from his minions' boss theme.

[@Dorked]

Yesss, it does. It also is the melody used for when towns are taken over by the Smithy Gang.

[@F1areon]

@@Dorked There's also a recurring tune that plays in Pokemon Colosseum and XD when you fight the various Cipher grunts and admins

[@olivierdubreuil-gagnon2201]

So maybe this comment will sound stupid or irrelevant to most, but I’d like to speak from a personal point of view. When I was younger, I didn’t speak English. Like, at all. I thought “of course” meant something to do with racing. During those times, I played Pokémon in English. I couldn’t read anything happening and I didn’t understand what was happening, but I had fun regardless! Then I played Explorers. Again, I didn’t know the story, only could gleaned information haphazardly. But that soundtrack… It pulled me in. I didn’t know WHAT I was playing, but I knew it was special. I didn’t know what was happening, but it moved me. Made me laugh, made me angry, made me bawl my eyes out. That game… Made me a gamer. And I will forever hold that game as something truly special.

[@Irina-lv5bd]

SA2 was my introduction to leitmotifs, and it changed my life forever. It's also why I love Supporting Me the most out of the entire soundtrack. I feel like it's the perfect culmination of Shadow's story arc so when you hear Live and Learn in full in the final boss it hits so hard.

[@Borgar-qf5dj]

Sa2’s buildup to the main theme in the final boss was a genuinely insane experience when I was younger, they tease you over and over for so long, it feels extraordinary

[@Dorked]

YEAH. The teasing is just so mind blowing. And it being through the menus is great because you'll hear them every time you open the game. The game conditions you to recognize this melody and it registers as Important.

[@Borgar-qf5dj]

@@Dorkedfrontiers also KINDA does it but it’s less impactful because I’m here isn’t as amazing as live and learn lmao, still thought it was cool af tho

[@Borgar-qf5dj]

Another added layer is that unlike sa1 they don’t have live and learn in the sound test either, there’s no way to hear the song until the end boss

[@invinciblemikey]

The Nier series makes amazing use of leitmotifs in a series whose ost is already phenomenally beautiful!

[@FirstLast-mn4re]

A leitmotif is such a simple technique that can do so much heavy lifting to make a game and its story feel so much greater than the sum of its parts. Another series of games that I think use Leitmotif really well is the Trails in the Sky trilogy, the rest of the Trails series makes pretty good use as well, but I think Trails in the Sky in particular makes excellent use of leitmotif to enhance its story and journey for the characters. Looking up at the Sky, kind of encompassing the the adventure as a whole and Whereabouts of the Stars being specifically for Estelle and Joshua's relationship. Phenomenal JRPG trillogy that I'd reccomend even if you don't plan on playing the entirety of the larger "Trails"/Kiseki series.

[@Dorked]

Oh, I've heard a little about Trails, though not a ton. I just know they're very beloved RPGs with a TON of meat to them. So much so that they took a very long time to be localized because there is SO much dialogue and content to them.

[@jocosejpeg]

16:01 blew my mind, and 16:32 blew it again. I already adore Supporting Me, but this fact just made me like the song even more. It's crazy to me how Live & Learn is just... in there, and it's BEEN in there for decades, yet this is the first time I've seen anybody call attention to it. This video has made me so paranoid about hidden reoccuring chords/melodies in other game OSTs apart from UT/DR's LMAO (in a good way)

[@Dorked]

YEAH, I FEEL THAT. The Supporting Me example blew my mind when I was first told about it and it made me really appreciate the ways SA2 builds up to the full use of Live and Learn.

[@thestickopia4619]

I listened to temporal tower’s theme way before actually playing the game since I liked the song but the game never interested me. But then I decided, ya I want to play this, I want to know why everyone loves this game so much I always heard people talk about the ending. I didn’t know any of the actual story beats but I knew that was notable. I think I’m actually glad I didn’t play the game till I was actually an adult cus I doubt kid me would’ve fully appreciated the story. Given I listened to temporal tower’s theme anytime a motif from that song played I picked up on it immediately. But then I did finish the game and got to the end. Hearing what would happen once you win gave me a sinking feeling. Then temporal tower. I did crank the volume up since this was one of the reasons I wanted to play the game in the first place but with my new added context what was a pretty epic song that I knew had some faint tinge of melancholy basically had a total 180. I felt more of the sadness but the epic was still there. And then I got to the ending. And ya, this game has accomplished something no other piece of media has ever done. It managed to make me cry. And now I actually can’t listen to don’t ever forget without getting at least close to the verge of tearing up. This game so quickly became a game I have a lot of attachment to and in terms of story likely surpassed the black and white games as my favorite Pokémon story and like I said, I’m pretty sure if I had the game as a kid I couldn’t have appreciated it nearly as much as I do as an adult

[@Smoldragoncat]

The Inverted Fate leitmotifs are fun, sometimes I assemble puzzles while I listen to it then realize Your Best Friend and Megalovania go very well together

[@Dorked]

I have a lot of fun using leitmotifs in the IF OST. Lots and lots of thought goes into that.

[@neonotterpop2528]

24:46 HOLY SHIT. *HOLY* SHIT. IS THIS WHERE YOU GOT THE HOLY LETMOTIF FROM TOBY!?!?! WHAT!?!?! (listen to the synth in the background!!!)

[@Dorked]

You know, that's actually entirely possible. :O Damn. Toby does tend to get musical inspiration from some very interesting places.

[@neonotterpop2528]

​​​@@DorkedOkay Something else I noticed. The timestamp I already mentioned initially starts off at a higher tone, but at 25:11 goes into a lower tone. while the letmotif is different than THE HOLY, The unused fountain theme has that exact same tone shift. EDIT: Doesn't the lake spout look like a fountain a little bit? actually no, scratch that, that IS straight up a fountain. oh my god

[@epicness877]

Nice to see someone concurring that the slow accumulation, climb, and compounding of passages, themes and ideas burst the most bombastically in PMD2's pinnacle. All these titles are incredibly supreme at having a journey through musical suite alone, awesome to see this attacked.

[@lwfawn]

You’re incredibly nerdy, and I love it. Great video!

[@t0nyxaka90]

I'm honestly glad to see such bigger videos becoming more often on the channel. The Alphys Analysis video was a pretty fantastic watch, and so was this one. My hat goes off to your feet once again, Dorked! Great job. :]

[@Dorked]

Thanks! :D I like to do long videos on occasion. They just take a lot more time and energy. I may end up doing a shorter video later this month involving my Deltarune speculation post-mini newsletter, and I definitely wanna get back to work on the Ventus analysis and maybe plan for an Akechi vid. Maybe a video on the power of 4th wall/metanarrative in gaming stories.

[@UltraAryan10]

Music is definitely a big part of why PMD Explorers is one of the best in the Pokemon series.

[@CaptainUnown]

One of my favorite theme build ups is from Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling. The main theme is used at the title screen and the intro, but almost entirely disappears until the final chapter of the game, only being used for innocuous things such as resting. This makes its prominence in the game’s finale even stronger in my opinion, as it is a theme that you have heard enough to recognize, but it’s not so overly used as to hit you in the face.

[@ShockMicro]

Hey, a fellow Bug Fables enjoyer!

[@lewis9s]

Here’s the obligatory Bravely Default comment. I know I’m 100% biased but it’s leitmotifs are the reason it my favourite OST of all time. It has one central motif used all over in the game, in the title, the over world and even the boss battles as well as special themes for each character. And during the final boss *spoiler warning for the musical pay off* A LOT of the music is combined into one epic song called Serpent Devouring the Horizon. At as the fight goes on all 4 of the characters themes play directly followed by the main theme’s leitmotif. I don’t even need to listen to it to get goosebumps just thinking about how fantastic of a score it was. Every entry in the series so far (BD, BS, BDII) have ALL KEPT THIS, so even if you start with the second game you’ll still get the same experience. Revo is probably my favourite VG composer ever.

[@infiniteoctopaw]

The thumbnail being my top 3 favorite games!

[@sanctifiedfracture4579]

I find it really interesting how Supporting Me has a darker tone compared to the other songs in SA2, and then when the Live and Learn leitmotif shows up in the chorus, it just hits even harder, especially when you consider the lyrics “To the pressure, everything’s like an illusion, I’ll be losing you before long” to be buildup of Shadow throwing away his assumption of vengeance for his late friend to instead fight to give humanity a chance to be happy once he learns what his friend’s true wish was.

[@thegreatestegg6303]

So I've never played Mystery Dungeon, but I do know one thing from it- Dialga's Fight to the Finish, from a lyrical cover of it. So when I heard Time Gear's part B it //immediately// hit me and I felt a literal shiver down my spine. So you know, pretty good leitmotif that I ironically worked backwards for

[@Nachiebree]

YES a PMD breakdown would be amazing

[@zigazav1]

So, I've noticed some of the musical connections of songs in Explorers, but I didn't know it was this present throughout the story. Nor did I know it was connected to the Time Gear theme. The only connections I made in the multiple times I played through Explorers of Sky and the one time I played through Explorers of Time when it comes to music connections, was Temporal Tower with Dialga's Fight To The Finish. I learned allot from this video, good work! And thankyou

[@Dorked]

Happy to share! I have an ear trained for this as a composer, so I think that makes it easier to talk about, and it's fun to go into depth about this because it appeals to a very specific nerdy interest.

[@noitsjustcody]

Jeez all three of these games had such an influence on me, and I've regularly found myself just going back and listening to these OSTs time and time again.

[@scribblekitteh43]

portal 2 has a great use of leitmotifs as well, im especially fond of the repeated usage of the cara mia addio melody throughout the game to help build up the finale as well as to illustrate how much glados's feelings permeate all of aperture -- even before she actually states her fondness for chell (however strained it may be) near the climax of the game

[@magnusm4]

I like Psychonauts 2's use of the villain's leitmotif throughout the soundtrack at points where people talk about them or their influence shows. Showing they're always a threat and doesn't have to be there to cause discomfort. A great use I think, would be in a longer running series. Imagine Purple Guy from Fnaf. He dies in the third game. Now imagine if he had a leitmotif. Three games later. You hear it again in another track in the background. You'd think "Oh no, not him again". Or you wouldn't notice.

[@Squabsss]

leitmotifs!!! one of my favorite games, rain world, does this as well, though to a down-low degree. the main menu theme’s melody (sundown) is present throughout the game, but its often distorted or pretty subtle. its really cool how it seems to represent the world of the game itself in the context of how its used. my favorite example is “random gods”. this song distorts and gives this sort of messed up power to the theme is perfect for the strange climax of the game. it comes after a difficult and arduous journey that takes many hours on a first playthrough. it also makes a lot of sense in context (though thats definitely spoilers) and gives a lot of insight into where it plays!

[@Dorked]

It's really fun when leitmotifs are used subtly and you don't notice them until you revisit tracks. It can make for a really fun surprise. Like hey, wait. That song was used THERE? Having main themes be present but also not in your face is definitely a super valid approach when scoring a game.

[@My2CentsOpinion]

Another example of leitmotif is in Super Paper Mario, throughout the game there are several versions of a memory theme. The lead villan Count Bleck's theme is the memory leitmotif sped up. What makes this interesting is the fact that the memories cover the orgin of Count Bleck, but that is only revealed near the end of the game.

[@jawadbenbrahim5933]

I also love the BotW/TotK Dark Beast Ganon / Demon Dragon themes. They both are 'remixes' of their respective game's main theme, but with added leitmotivs that you encountered on your journey, that add up to an extremely emotional ending.

[@ratz059]

as someone who grew up with sonic adventure 2, it's still one of my favorite games of all time (not the best obviously but my fav) I've never noticed how many motifs were in it until this video, and while watching it was all clicking into place! Amazing observations and video, keep up the good work!

[@Risusan]

thankyouthankyouthankyou so, so much for covering PMD. It's by far one of my favorite series for the music alone (it helps that the story and gameplay are very good, too). Thank you for giving it some love.

[@oathkeeperofoblivion972]

I feel like my first introduction to leitmotifs was the kingdom hearts series, which makes heavy use of them, but i feel like undertale was definitely my first time noticing them.

[@Dorked]

Green Requiem's Music of Kingdom Hearts series is so great for going into the motifs and leitmotifs the KH series uses. They're criminally underrated.

[@oathkeeperofoblivion972]

I'll certainly have to look into those my favorite character is roxas, btw, and i actually loved your videos on the characters, and I'm sad they underperformed

[@2011supergamer]

This is a great video, but i feel like not mentioning any Kirby game is a massive oversight. All the main games since Return to Dreamland do the same main motif progression into the final boss theme and they all nail it. C.R.O.W.N.E.D. for instance, contains the motifs of both the games main theme, and the magolor spaceship theme. And the way it uses the Magolor's spaceship theme is almost mocking, like an evil take on a theme that was previously associated with comfort and playfulness, almost to mock Kirby for trusting him. It also contains the Kirbys Triumphant Return motif, which is used throughout most of the series's final boss/ending themes since Super Star, which serves to depict Kirby's hope and determination in the face of true evil and betrayal. Moonstruck Blossom, Mind in a PROGRAM, Void Termina, and Two Planets Approaching The Roche Limit are pretty damn good as well. Void termina uses Green Greens, which is essentially the theme of the entire Kirby series, and therefore Kirby himself.

[@Dorked]

It's mostly just because I don't have enough familiarity with the Kirby series to talk about it, tbh. I stuck to games I have a connection with since I'd be speaking more from a personal place.

[@2011supergamer]

@@Dorked Fair Enough, but CROWNED is what it ignited my love of leitmotifs before Undertale.

[@wiss_yt]

An OST i hear no one talking about is Minecraft Dungeons: It's great, especially the boss themes in which a lot of them share the same motif. And the fact that the intro theme has also this motif. Now that I think about it that sounds pretty similar to undertale lol.

[@Dorked]

Admittedly, I'm not super familiar with Minecraft and its various spinoffs, but it's always cool to hear about other titles and how they use these principles. c:

[@thegreatteaman]

I'm not even going to lie, throughout the entire Undertale section I was getting hit with an absolute gut punch of nostalgia, especially once it reached the memory leitmotif. Fantastic and interesting video.

[@ScarletPhoenix0]

Something I just thought of yesterday is that In the Hands Of Fate connects 3 things together. Emotion(or Hope), Fate, and Time. the song plays during heavily emotional moments and also times you and the partner need to build determination for what comes ahead. it hass the time gear lemotif through it's entirety, and well. it is literally named *in the hands of fate*. Emotion/Hope, Determination, Fate and Time are the most common themes throughout the entirety of explorers AND the other PMD games. So in essence, In the hands of fate can be seen as the "thesis" of PMD itself!

[@KOINOYOKUSHIRYOKU]

Persona does something similar where they have the credit's leitmotifs constant in nearly every track. I believe it started with Persona 2's theme Next to You, which is a very beautiful song. Speaking of 2, the leitmotifs of the opening track (In the original PSX release) is used in the final boss themes, as well as Knights of the Holy Lance. What I love about Persona 2's soundtrack is that they call back to Maya Amano's theme in multiple other tracks across the franchise (Abyss of Time, Never More, Swear to my Bones/Hoshi to Bokura to.)

[@timothywashburn8218]

As a music nerd, I appreciate you going into the detail about these games. I picked up on some of them for the games I've played and watched, but you found and were shown connections I didn't realize. Thank you.

[@Andrew7923]

Adventure 2 is already one of my favorite videogame soundtracks, but you've made me appreciate it even more.

[@gsgoat8033]

Sonic Adventure 1 has a little bit of leitmotif usage too, most notably with Gamma's theme.

[@woag4974]

Way to make me love SA2 even more. Jun Senoue's guitar shines the BEST in this ost imo. An underrated track I always loved as a kid was Keys the Ruin (the pyramid cave track), the bridge in that song has been an earworm for over a decade now

[@hope7317]

i am BEGGING you to make videos about the explorers series theyre SO GOOD and as someone who played the game as a young kid, i’d love to hear an in depth analysis of it

[@olivedog]

fantastic video! ive always felt pokemon mystery dungeon explorers deserved a spot in the conversation of best video game soundtracks, but i could never explain why. now with this analysis i finally can! and id absolutely love to see you go into further detail in future videos

[@Daxatina]

Further note with the Time Gear theme - that four-note pattern it uses is also derived from the first four notes of the Westminster chime sequences, used by clock towers and grandfather clocks all over. So if you thought it sounded like a time song and weren't sure why....

[@SwordMaster3000]

We saw Live and Learn as the song the story was building up to. This dude saw it as the song the GAME (or music but either way) was building up to. That is genius

[@funeralcatering3683]

What a cool breakdown! I’d never noticed how some of the melodies combined in the track Undertale, and I’m excited to see your next video about motifs in PMD!

[@oliveguard8517]

If Sonic Chronicles has a million fans, then I am one of them. If Sonic Chronicles has ten fans, then I am one of them. If Sonic Chronicles has only one fan then that is me. If Sonic Chronicles has no fans, then that means I am no longer on earth. If the world is against Sonic Chronicles, then I am against the world.

[@acacacacacacaccaca7666]

my introduction of motif were the rare games for nintendo 64 but mostly runescape, i still remember hering fanfare when entering falador

[@bugcatx]

i wanted to mention it here, as i know you didn’t cover it in this video, as you had other games to cover, but i know you have discussed Kingdom Hearts before, and that game does WONDERFULLY with leitmotifs- the always on my mind motif from the ending of the first game becoming a really important part of every other dearly beloved after 1 comes to mind, as well as most of the games having a pretty well put together list of motifs (like the destati/darkness motif being important to the series as well). there are so many other examples but i just wanted to put this game forward as having a VERY STRONG musical identity

[@Mitzrz]

the B section of the time gear theme makes me cry. If you play the game, you know why.

[@phantom9831]

The ost in a game is so important, like, I really love Mario & Luigi games in themselves, their concept and histories are fantastic, but I don't think they would have the same taste without that excellent ost that fits so well in this world, and magnifies it. For example, Dream Team Bros, with every area having a real world, and a dream world theme, with their slight difference creating a difference that make you feel like you're really in a dream (or in a nightmare for the neobowserium's theme). Or for example the theme of the Eldre Shroob princess, that encapsulates perfectly this feeling of apocalyptic invasion, that feeling that it's the end, the brothers being the last hope of the planet, this music sand which yet, motivates you to finally defeat her, and her subjects. I don't think I would remember that much of these games without their incredible music.

[@laughingfurry]

You definitely nailed it. Great analysis of the music leading up to the climax of each games' story. If there's an ost that I think rates as high, it's Chrono Trigger's. Each part that makes up World Revolution in particular makes great use of the motifs heard throughout the game. From my interpretation, World Revolution is the audio representation of the clash between those who try to defend the world and that which is destroying the world. To Far Away Times also makes for a great finish in two of the endings.

[@jerisgreene6636]

YAYYY I'm so excited for this video!!! I've honestly really been looking forward to it ☺️

[@Dorked]

I'm glad there's been excitement for it! :) It took a lot of work, but I'm glad I got it done.

[@jerisgreene6636]

@@Dorked I believe it!!

[@tpfoxCastro]

0:12 No idea of what you mean. Sonic Chronicles OST (and sound design) is perfect

[@sonicmeerkat]

i'll admit i've kinda overlooked the significance of live and learn mostly from taking it as the face value 3D sonic game using the menu theme as the final boss, mostly due to focusing on how every character has their own genre of music as their own motief. the game i mostly noticed the motief in was actually unleashed where the cutscenes heavily draw upon the main theme to signify triumph and progress within the adventure, and i love that in that game they hold back until the final phase to play the orcestral version of the theme, it's a great signifier of the true end of your journey and is such a powerful climax. i genuinly wish more people gave the "dark age" era a fair shake because that was such a great time for the series story telling both through the actual stories (though not without hiccups admittedly) but the music and set pieces. people say sonic is a bad series held up by good music bot fronteirs use of only 4 stage pallets prove that no, the levels themselves need to be memorable for the music that accompanies to stick and shows you can't have one without the other.

[@Psithyruswraith]

Absolutely amazing video! Another work that uses leitmotifs to a degree that it's kind of intimidating is Homestuck, with the Skaia motif repeated throughout a lot of the most impactful parts of the story! (Toby worked on the soundtrack a lot though, so that's no surprise though, lol.)

[@bluekirby_64]

I had never noticed the similarities between Time Restored and Hidden Land, nor the Time Gear references in Planet's Paralysis, but hearing the songs one after another it makes perfect sense. God, I love the Explorers soundtrack so much.

[@Solibrae]

That's a great analysis of a topic I don't see discussed often, I hadn't noticed just how much SA2 uses the "Live and Learn" leitmotif in tracks other than the obvious ones like the intro and menu themes before! I usually enjoy this kind of leitmotif re-use; good examples from other video games I've played are Bravely Default & Bravely Second, Dark Souls III, the Kirby series, the Monster Hunter series, plus how Super Mario World and 64 have soundtracks filled with remixes of one tune each, which still all somehow manage to sound unique and fitting for the part of the game they play in.

[@Dorked]

THE BRAVELY SERIES, yesssss. Serpent Eating the Ground is a really good example in the way it forms a really powerful medley of the different themes throughout the OST (especially the party member theme songs). Love that stuff. Battle of Providence Phase 2 as well... chills.

[@Solibrae]

@@Dorked Yes, they make for perfect finale songs!

[@louckykoneko]

great video! I have never played the Explorers games but still instantly recognized the theme from a 'best of pmd' compilation I used to listen to all the time. now I'll have to pay attention and try to catch the leitmotifs when I'm getting through more of the story in Rescue Team DX, I never really noticed them in Blue Rescue Team but I was also way less leitmotif-savvy back then

[@ShadowSkryba]

I will gladly devour any Mystery Dungeons content coming from you. Anyway, one of my fav motif uses has to be in Hollow Knight, it's main theme. 8-Bit Music Theory has a great video on it and I couldn't possibly do it more Justice than he does. But in short it ranges from melancholic musing, pompous marches, awesome wonder to absolutely heart-eviscerating tragedy.

[@projectTyrasa]

I'd say you did a Marvelous job explaining the power and Range of Leitmotifs, Great examples seriously those 3 games in particular had me chokin up just reliving their big pay pff moments from when I first played through them further lending merit to the explanation of their build ups and impacts. And all told with Excellent articulation, Consider a New Subscriber Earned. úwù

[@tangosteen]

A video on Two of my favorite games and a runner up, and its talking about one of my favorite aspects of them? SIGN ME UP As soon as i saw sonic adventure 2 and undertale in the same video i knew i had to watch it, I've enjoyed it so far!

[@Ender0214]

I randomly found your channel the other day and really liked your content. But i was surprised to realize i had just stumbled across the creator of my favorite UT AU. So cool to see you still active after several years and doing cool work still!

[@gallantblade1825]

Perhaps not in the traditional sense, but Pokemon Sun and Moon’s Champion theme and Pokemon Sword and Shield’s Champion Theme vs Leon. Both themes are triumphant reprisals of, respectively, the main theme and the Hall of Fame theme. Both have narrative significance. Your character becomes Alola’s first champion, and your character dethrones Leon, a long-reigning champion. But there’s also a meta significance. If you’ve played the games since the beginning, or at least for a long time, both themes hit you with the nostalgia, as a celebration of Pokemon and of the longtime fan, a “look how far you’ve come” type of song in two different flavors. You’ve become champion to multiple regions, have met so many people and Pokemon, ans saved the world many times too, so celebrate your accomplishments and your journey!

[@nightenobsidian825]

A series that i love to my heart is the Mega Man series and it uses leitmotifs alot. My favortie tracks that uses them are Holy Land, Esperanto, Straight Ahead, Ragnarok, Falling Down, and Freesia from Mega Man Zero 4 and they all referance the past Mega Man X series. Holy Land has the same meledy of Iris theme who was Zero's lover that sadly died in X4. Esperanto has the meledy of X5's credits and you can even see the Eurasia foreshadowing that is the end of Zero's journey and life. At the beginning of Straight Ahead there are two pinao notes that were also used in the first Sigma stage in the first X game. Ragnarok has this haunting meledy telling this is the end of everything. Also when remacting and defeating the bosses in the game with the boss rush at the end they say this is the end and nothing can stop Ragnarok. Falling Down shares the same Meledy from Ragnarok and with this, this track became my favortie music of ALL TIME! Zero's speech, the taughting of the evil and vile Dr Weil, and the fact that the boss is on a 120 secound timer. Freesia the ending theme for the game showing Zero's death. Dr Wily's greatest creation that was made for destruction ended up saving everyone ended up saving everyone and finally bring peace to Reploids and Humans, that wish that Dr. Light dreamed would come true. Anyway sorry for all that rambling, great video. But i sadly couldnt watch the part of the video because im planning to play the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games. Other then that i hope that you will have a great day.

[@Dorked]

This is all really interesting! Definitely no need to apologize for rambling. I invited people to share their experiences in the comments, after all. c: