Opera Singer Reacts to: Wings Of Liberty || Starcraft 2 OST

[@viniciusmachado1348]

In the piano part: "Dearest Helena: By now, the news of our defeat has reached the Earth. The creatures we were sent here to tame are un-tamable, and the colonies we were sent to reclaim have proven to be stronger than we anticipated. Whatever you may hear about what has happened out here, know this: Alexei did not die gloriously in battle. I killed him. My pride killed him. And now my pride has consumed me as well. You will never see me again, Helena. Tell our children that I love them, and that their father died in defense of their future. Au revoir." ~ Gerard DuGalle's final message to his wife, Helena

[@Sarah-Caito]

Wonderful reference!

[@hewasnumb3r1]

You left out the part where he commits suicide immediately after finishing the monologue

[@mumblecake251]

@@hewasnumb3r1 And that the message never reached earth as Kerrigan caught up with them before hands

[@RikouHogashi]

@@mumblecake251 hence Alexi's Infestation with his will intact to finish the fight he and DuGalle got swept in to in Heart of the Swarm alongside Kerrigan against the Dominion

[@HenryMC2000]

​@@mumblecake251Puede que haya una posibilidad de que el mensaje llegó. Sería un buen enganche con un nuevo juego donde el DUT regrese de nuevo, retomando al de uno de los hijos de Gerard.

[@Shortyland05]

as an Opera Singer, you HAVE to listen to the track 'I, Mengsk' from the same game! There is an operatic piece in there that just sounds amazing

[@BaronVonDergner]

I absolutely agree, but give Brood War the credit for the OG "Morituri, Te Salutant", Valerian just got the hand-me-down version lol

[@MythrilZenith]

The Wings of Liberty main theme is more of a summation of the important story beats that came before, echoing both through subtle reuse of themes from starcraft 1 (the protoss theme and the death of the Overmind theme) and general emotional themes (the terror of the Zerg in the strings and female voice solo, the somber piano referencing the defeat of the UED fleet, the heavy brass of the Terran dominion). For not having any knowledge of the game, the music still masterfully expressed those themes to you. It's a fantastic work that didn't get nearly enough credit.

[@akiyamach]

Great comment. Honestly it's this. All the callbacks to previous story in SC1 and BW, and then part of the music emanating what we should expect for the story of this new sequel. I especially love the piano referencing the defeat of the UED Expeditionary Fleet. The story of Brood War was truly a well-written tragedy.

[@Bottle5354]

Absolutely right. Marco talks about how the composition changes so much from section to section, and it's because it's a combination of all the various story elements told in StarCraft 1. The first time I heard the main theme in full, over a decade since I'd played the original game, I instantly felt at home with the nostalgic feelings of "I know elements of this piece already" and really got me hyped up for the game. Breaking down some of the video: 0:28 StarCraft 1 main menu theme. Immediate blast of nostalgia for fans of the original game. 2:18 Around this time the original theme merges into the StarCraft 2 main theme which takes its premise from the first campaign of the first game, where a rebel faction of the Terrans are fighting a war against a ruthless government and two new and terrifying alien species. Marco says it perfectly when he says this is bonding, safety, unity and strength in the face of adversity, which is exactly what the first campaign was about. 4:45 This theme is taken from the second campaign which tells the story of a Terran that was captured by one of the alien races (the Zerg) and transformed by its Overmind into a monster to fight for them. It's more of a sad theme because the Terran that was taken (Sarah Kerrigan) was the love interest of the primary protagonist (Jim Raynor) of the first campaign. This campaign also tells the story of the fall of the home planet of the second alien species (the Protoss) to the Zerg, leading into the third campaign as they fight back to try to defeat this invading force. 6:57 Absolutely nailed it! This is exactly that, a recap of what occurred in the previous game. Some sections of it are adapted from the original game's music and some are lifted directly, such as... 7:49 The death of the Overmind, the climatic ending of the first game at the end of the third campaign, where a great warrior from the Protoss faction sacrifices himself to deal a crippling blow to the Zerg by guiding his capital ship into the Overmind and channelling dark powers to destroy it (the exact opposite of 8:10 a rocket ship taking off, ironically!) but all he succeeds in doing is releasing its control over Kerrigan, and she takes over the reins, leading into StarCraft 1's expansion and the 4th campaign... 8:13 Where the Protoss survivors struggle to find a new home and are tricked by Kerrigan into achieving her aims of overcoming an invading fleet from the Earth that has come to try and take control of the Zerg (of which some are feral and some are under Kerrigan's control). The space battles mentioned by Marco involves the remaining Protoss fleet fleeing to another planet and encountering their long lost brethren, who they once cast into exile, and now have to seek refuge with. The music tries to convey the sense of tension between the two Protoss factions as they have to unite to survive. 9:26 Nailed it once again! The invading Earth fleet are not the good guys here for once! In fact nobody is ever really the "good guys" in StarCraft 1, as each faction have their own equally valid motivations and aims, and you control every one of them at one point or another. The "big bad" of the game is probably Kerrigan, but in the context of this part of the story, it's the massive Earth fleet come to take control of the sector and subjugate the Zerg. This story is told in the 5th campaign. 9:58 This section is taken directly from another climatic cinematic, at the end of the 6th campaign, the final mission of which tells the story of the Earth fleet that tries and fails to take control of the feral Zerg. After the final battle they are forced to flee and are given a "head start" on their way back to Earth by Kerrigan but are quickly caught up with and destroyed by Kerrigan's Zerg. This music plays in the background as the general of the Earth fleet sends a goodbye letter to his wife before committing suicide shortly before his fleet is utterly destroyed. 12:25 At the end of the 6th and final campaign you guide Kerrigan to reign supreme over the remainder of the other factions... and then she disappears into the shadows. In the power vacuum rises the Terran Dominion, and the storyline of StarCraft 2 Wings of Liberty tells of how Jim Raynor fights against this corrupt Dominion (in a callback to how the 1st campaign happened, and it's no coincidence that this is the point at which that theme of bonding and unity in the face of adversity comes back in). This final section is the introduction to the storyline of StarCraft 2 Wings of Liberty, the previous sections having told "the story so far".

[@hugomendoza5665]

Never sat down with this entire theme before. Never stuck around the main menu long enough to hear all of it. Really sitting down and listening to the whole thing and concentrating on it, it's actually truly amazing how epic and grand it sounds and feels.

[@booom775]

I would often hear the whole theme while I was waiting for players to join an arcade game like direct strike. One of my favorite pieces of music.

[@CaptainJoystick]

When Wings first came out this played during the (obnoxiously long) install process.

[@banonKING]

Hah, you missed out! The second I booted that thing up back in the day, I listened to that whole thing. It was a celebration of the return to Starcraft with some Brood War in there too.

[@dasiyzootyrer3300]

Автор, на 16:13 это вообще-то музыка из С&С4..... 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

[@BK557SC]

There are 3 soundtracks for starcraft 2's 3 expansions I really hope you make it to the other two. Starcraft 2 has been my favorite game of all time for 5 years at this point since I first played it.

[@BorisKashirin]

Note that it is SC2, so this theme has strong connection to "StarCraft - Terran Theme 1" and that is one of main things you listen while playing SC1, for hundred of hours! It feels so nostalgic.

[@iruga7379]

This music can be described in 3 segments: 1 - The start of the journey into space. 2 - The calvary arrives. 3 - The afterbattle, falled comrads and "somethings are worth fighting for".

[@shinigamimiroku3723]

My best friend was HUGE into RTS games like Starcraft... me, on the other hand, I can't even get past the first level because I get lost so easily... XD Anyway, Starcraft actually has a really interesting story, although I'd be hard-pressed to recall it because it's been forever since I last saw someone play it.

[@friskydrinklunkybank1108]

I agree the story is nice. Even though there have been mixed reviews on starcraft 2's story, including me I wasnt the biggest fan, but I would still recommend it to people regardless. It's not like it was the worst story ever. Besides, the game is fun and the mission objectives as the story unfolds in sc2 is much better than sc1 where you have to go to beacons to destroy everything

[@AegisKHAOS]

The first game most definitely had an interesting story. Even after the story dipped in Brood War, it still maintained that character depth and political intrigue started in the base game. The problem with the second game was it lost all that depth and turned SC into a more happy generic story. They even ruined the Overmind. It was practically two different universes.

[@Trygorn]

SC1 story was like a collection of the different views of people and groups trying to get by in a rather hostile universe, some of the characters were also kinda interesting. SC2 story on the other hand decided to go the route of "good guys stop the evil bad guy" and many of the characters felt "weaker" while others were almost a day night difference from their SC1 version.

[@Jukantos]

Starcraft has an amazing saga of Betrayal, retribution, sacrifice and vengeance. And manages to offer three incredibly distrinct races to play with, all perfectly fitting their identity of the high-tech low-numbers arrogant psychic race (Protoss) and just the raw monster swarm, complete with sliming all over planets and devouring everything (Zerg)

[@Vorpalus]

Absolutely loved hearing you break down this piece! I believe the piano section that starts at 10:00 is a callback to StarCraft: Brood War, the track was called "Dearest Helena" which pretty much marked the end of the final cinematic from that game. It might come a little bit out of left field in this opening piece but at the time SC2 really owed a lot of its legacy to the path that Brood War had carved nearly 13 years before the game released.

[@AegisKHAOS]

And now, I want him to listen to the Brood War Aria. That intro between Dugalle and Stukov and the ending with 'Dearest Helena' in the background gives me chills even to this day.

[@Trygorn]

this music is pretty reflective of that old Blizzard touch when you could feel the attention and care put into every part of the game be it music, sound design, gameplay, visual ascetic and especially the little things like the hidden bits in unit voice lines or random trivial details in the mission hubs.

[@DarkmegaGaming]

ahh. the dearest helena part always brings me back... I remember I always get really annoyed when someone distracts or otherwise stops me from listening and feeling that bit... :< since a lot of the time when I listen to music I'm also humming along or singing it also myself.

[@LordSevarg]

Unless I'm wrong, this "Main" Theme only plays on the Main Menu and as the first song in the credits, fitting with what Marco said about the post-production music for musicals.

[@jayvee3165]

Got into Starcraft because of Warhammer and ended up loving how connected both can be musically. Warhammer games have some great OSTs you could take a look at too Marco! Mainly the Mechanicus game; Noosphere and Children of the Omnissiah are my favs. Pretty different from Starcraft's OST but amazing in their own right I'd love it if you could take a look at 86's OST. Shin is one of my favorite tracks in recent memory; just an incredible amount of emotion and thought put into it

[@justaguywhocandraw1793]

this is my favorite music from Starcraft overall, followed by the tracks called "The Stars Our Home", "Golden Armada" and "Holding Up The Sky" from Legacy of the Void. the thing about this track, Wings of Liberty main theme, is that it never got an actual scene (which is a shame in my opinion), and it's a mix of multiple different tracks from Starcraft 1 and 2. the very start with the guitars and stuff, is the main theme of Starcraft 1. the shift to the heroic/Star Wars style is the actual Wings of Liberty theme, or a theme for the ship called Hyperion maybe, because there is a version called "Hyperion Overture". after that, the calm part which you compared to the Force theme from Star Wars, is actually the character theme of Jim Raynor, at least we can hear the same melody during Starcraft 2 when he's around and in center of attention of a cutscene. then the tense-action-space battle part is from the trailer of Starcraft Ghost, a game that never got released. after that comes a kinda sad toned piano-violin part, that is from a cutscene from Starcraft 1 Brood War's ending. then it shifts back to the Hyperion Overture/actual Wings of Liberty theme, for which when i first heard it, i imagined an epic battle on a snowy planet, Terran troops pushing through a canyon filled with Zerg swarms, or whatever, this was just created by my imagination at the moment, a space battle would be just as fitting, but sadly no, the only place where we can hear this music is only the main menu and the end credits. in my honest opinion, this track makes you expect Starcraft 2 and it's story to be far better than what it is. and i'm saying this as a person, who's favorite sci-fi is Starcraft. story wise, Starcraft 1 and it's expansion called Brood War have better stories than Starcraft 2, where they focused more on gameplay than story

[@王征服]

Well now I have to replay all of my SC2 campaigns. Well done, picking on all the right nostalgia buttons lately.

[@mordador2702]

Raiders roll!

[@tiemindbreaker]

Same, donwloading it right now

[@emmanuelrojas154]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHJ NEED TO REPLAY THIS NOW!!!!!!!

[@MarcoMeatball]

I also downloaded it 🥹😅

[@王征服]

@@MarcoMeatball WE REQUIRE A PLAYTHROUGH STREAM

[@great_hedgehog8199]

6:50 and on It is quite telling that as soon as he mentions putting one's life on the line, the piece switches to the motif from The Death of the Overmind, a story of Tassadar's ultimate sacrifice. This part never fails to evoke emotion in me

[@travismann3266]

The reason the song takes so many twists and turns is because during this time period the "main theme" or menu music for pretty much all of Blizzards games were medleys. This song does have it's own theming unique to Starcraft 2. The bombastic "BA BAAA BABABA BUMMM" line, but those swings in tone and style go to melodies from iconic moments from Starcraft 1 and its expansion. With so much buildup to Starcraft 2, opening the game finally and getting hit with all that nostalgia was really powerful. Still is!

[@Lighthammer18]

You can really see the similarities between this theme and the Cataclysm theme. Blizzard went full on grand orchestra for a few years. Beautiful stuff!

[@AegisKHAOS]

I will start by saying the first game will always hold more fond memories than the second game ever will. Between the LAN parties, the custom maps and campaigns, and the community back then, there was no comparison. Also, there's nothing like the classic Terran themes especially with the addition of the Brood War melody for the UED, or entrring the cheat code for Radio Free Zerg and listening to the Overmind rap, telling us to 'serve the hive'. I will also say, however, that the wait for SC2 back in the day was killing so many of us fans. I think it was a 12 year gap or so before the game was even announced, and that announcement happened to appropriately be in Korea. Watching that trailer with the space marine armor being welded onto that man, who we now know is Tychus, and the single line uttered in the end, 'Damn. It's about time.' Then the SC2 logo appeared and you can hear millions of manly tears being cried that day. Thank you for putting this reaction up. You have exposed my age. :p

[@MarcoMeatball]

😂 listen me too okay. Shit. 😂😂

[@legendaryeiyuu]

I still go back to SC2's campaigns from time to time. Amazing music and I love the lore. I personally love "Unity" from Legacy of the Void out of all the themes(I love the Protoss altogether), hope you can also react to the other ones after this!

[@andresabourin2423]

frick yes!! if you're feeling retro, the starcraft 1 terran music is a gaming classic.

[@flibbernodgets7018]

I grew up playing Brood War, and I used to love listening to the Terran music as I watched my SCVs build. Later when I worked on airplanes whenever we did major work in a hangar I would imagine the Terran theme playing in the background. It just seemed to fit the huge scale and industriousness very well.

[@fluffyninjamenace4661]

Man, it's been so long since I heard this song and I have forgotten how magnificent this piece.

[@PapaDeusVult]

Hey there, Marco. Saw this upload and felt I just HAD to have a look-see since it's been a good minute since I interacted with anything Starcraft-related. Especially not since the third of the trilogy ended the narrative they were building since the original Starcraft (and its Brood War expansion). Suffice it to say, I enjoyed the overall narrative of it, up until it felt short for me at the end. Your breakdown of the themes within were pretty spot-on for someone who hasn't played any of it, and-if nothing else-is quite a pleasant surprise in that the music department at Blizzard is absolutely exceptional at conveying these things not just in the feelings their pieces are meant to invoke, but as a sort of coded message to people like yourself who can pretty much decipher the language of music, as it were. Without going into much of the detail and spoilers if you ever intended to explore it, what you described in your breakdown is pretty much the premise of the narrative in the Wings of Liberty base game for Starcraft 2. It pretty much follows a handful of years after Starcraft: Brood War, which ended in a spot where the three main factions are in a sort of "regrouping" phase, or at least a preparation and hunkering down, of sorts. In Wings of Liberty, you're basically going through the story as "Jim" Raynor, an experienced commander of sorts who once belonged to the current human faction which is a newly-established empire intended to unite humanity. Jim went rogue early in the Starcraft campaign, as he-along with the few others that went with him-was privy to an act perpetrated by the emperor which constituted as both a heinous war crime and personal betrayal to Jim-which was what helped him to establish the empire in the first place. Worse yet, there's no proof that the act was of the emperor's doing. Jim was also a major part of the old guard, and beloved character of the series-so the hype was very real for a lot of players. It's funny that the language of the music overall conveys themes of unity, coming together, and help arriving, because that's precisely the crux of a lot of missions you go through in the game. The concept of which is that the territories in danger of invasion by the xenomorph/alien horde faction are considered non-essential by the empire, because they're on the fringes and aren't nearly as useful or known supporters of the emperor-and thus are better off dead as traitors and potential rebels. Lo and behold, the help arriving is you and your rogue faction-again and again-and bringing a small semblance of unity with each territory/potential ally saved, as you prepare for an inevitable clash with that same alien swarm due to an old score to settle. To add context, Jim's faction is largely made up of a rag-tag crew of woefully underequipped, outgunned and outnumbered rebels and outlaws. So, you can probably appreciate what a fool's errand it seems for them to help these beleaguered territories on their own-but they do it anyway. As a final note, the leitmotif played in some of the quieter moments of the Wings of Liberty piece are tied to Jim Raynor in some ways within the narrative. It might even be fair to say it's his theme, personally. Anyway, that was a bit of a ramble. Thanks for checking this piece out, and hope to see you do more

[@MarcoMeatball]

Thanks for this!!!

[@knicklichtjedi]

Starcraft 2 has a few awesome soundtracks! The Heart of the Swarm Opening Cinematic has a banger song (and visuals)! I highly recommend it!

[@MythrilZenith]

StarCraft music is fantastic. From the OG soundtrack to the more space-opera feel of SC2, the music never fails to bring at least a smile to my face. (Also totally not just because StarCraft Wings of Liberty was basically my life during high school)

[@popeneiad7968]

Starcraft is one of my favourite games of all time, I’ve grown up with it since childhood and this deep analysis of the theme really brought a tear to my eye. The plot of Starcraft 2 (SC2) follows James Raynor and his motley crew of outlaws as they travel the stars in order to “liberate” pieces of an ancient artifact from the hands of the oppressive Terran Dominion and the domineering alien race of Protoss in order to defeat an even bigger threat posed by the Queen of Blades and her Zerg Swarm. Raynor’s Raiders are equal parts hero, saviors and liberators as they gain more allies and liberate colonies and people from the clutch of the dominion and being a small symbol of hope for the oppressed people… this theme and analysis captured that perfectly

[@calethos]

I feel like you would really enjoy the operatic from the opening cinematic for Starcraft: Brood War. It's short, but impactful when you consider the story that was told in the original Starcraft and going into Brood War. "Those about to die salute you by way of the sun." I received the collector's edition box of Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty for my birthday when it released and I had the soundtrack disc on repeat in my car for a couple months. It was very fun to listen to, waking me up and getting my blood pumping. I haven't played Blizzard games for a while now because as a customer I haven't been happy with them, but I can look back and feel fondly about the entertainment I had because of them. Thank you for your reaction to this piece. You've brought me momentarily back to happiness.

[@CircuitBoardcokr]

I heard the music for the first time in olympic stadium, korea, in 2007, as their first release of the game was in there. everybody yelled when they saw the title, and it was one of the greatest moment in my early age.

[@ChaDMan97]

Wow I wish I was there! I can imagine it now, as a long time brood war fan, I would have been hype!

[@jpjfrey5673]

There's an amazing piece called Firstborn, from Wings of Liberty as well Highly recommend checking out Legacy of the Void and generally Protoss themes, they're amazing

[@friskydrinklunkybank1108]

As much as I am a Zerg main at heart, the Terran themes will always be the best no matter the game. It just emanates pure space cowboy energy to me and how these people are just humans struggling / surviving in the harsh elements on outerspace or being stationed in a backwater planet, compared to Protoss' high-tech, hierarchal society, and Zerg being one huge hive mind. I recommend listening to both the starcraft 1 and 2 main themes on the races, I feel all of their tracks do a great job portraying at what the race is like. Also since you said national anthem, I'd say Terran 2 in starcraft 1 and Terran 1 im Starcraft 2 is the national anthem for all of the players out there :P

[@hifty7779]

You need to listen to the StarCraft brood war’s aria, it is super up your ally, it’s got classical singing!

[@hifty7779]

you need to hear all the other songs, not just from starcraft 2 also from starcraft 1 and brood war (expansion for sc1)

[@angelopincheira3068]

in the mid section, it seams like only 1 marine left alive in the battleground, arounded for a big numbers of creatures and then.... the all reinforcments army arrive just before he is lost all hope

[@sakarrasunshine9945]

Oh My God From all the variety I've never expected StarCraft music on your channel! That game has lots of cool pieces of music! The Unity, Fall of Shakuras, We Stand Ready, main theme of Heart of the Swarm and many more others... I am so happy that you just pierced the whole plot through the Main theme

[@t.k.5088]

StarCraft! That reminds me of when I was in college... I used to play the first game's campaign on my laptop instead of taking notes during History classes because it was the only way I could stay awake 🤣 That was years ago and I never got around to playing SC II. The fanfare feel of that song is a classic Blizzard signature, I think... Some of the first game's osts had synths in them, but Blizzard really do like their orchestra and I'm all here for it.

[@JimbeansBeans]

4:29 My god... now you gotta give an analysis on the OG Dawn Of War Space Marine theme... So epic and EXACTLY what you described there.

[@NoweSredniowiecze]

09:45 spot on! we are facing Kerrigan, leader of the insect-like swarm faction. This is her Brood War theme from the Starcraft 1. I am amazed, well done Mr Marco!

[@BaronVonDergner]

Starcraft (both I and II) have such amazing soundtracks and make me very happy that Texan Space Opera is recognized a real solid genre

[@XerrolAvengerII]

the main theme pulls on the lietmotifs of the different factions which is one reason it changes in such dramatic ways

[@Dainurian]

StarCraft 2 is my most beloved game of all time, and imo the best pieces from the soundtrack are the Terran themes; you just have to listen to them! Terran 3 in particular hits in all the right ways, I swear my APM doubles when the violin starts. It's much less grandiose than this main theme, but to me the Terran themes are somehow even more iconic.

[@Frostfirefall]

One of the kings of RTS. So many feelings from this soundtrack!

[@altharianfatalist1723]

Also check the StarCraft Brood war song called Aria, it's pretty short(approximately 2 minutes with 28 seconds) but is one of the best and iconic song of the whole series

[@michaellewis1545]

I had forgotten just how good the OST for Star Craft is.

[@cmsIGaufFahrgestellPanze-pq4gz]

the main segment of this peice always reminds me of a battleship coming out of the fog. unleashing broadside after broadside, coming to save the day from a tyrant threat.

[@hijodelsoldeoriente]

This video reminds me that I should probably continue Kerrigan's campaign. Being said, one RTS game with great music is Age of Empires II, III. I heard AoE 4 also have phenomenal music.

[@nikolasrhine3252]

This StarCraft II Menu track is more of a medley than a thesis statement. You should watch the cutscenes some time, they have phenomenal scoring and synchronized action.

[@redangel6217]

You should see their trailer too afterwards, it really fits with your predictions and they highlight some parts of their themes ^^

[@OtherHarmony]

You should absolutely listen to terran in-game themes as well! The guitar comes back with a punch!

[@maximad5997]

I recommend you listening too Brood War Aria whenever you get the chance from Starcraft 1, it's basically entirely of Opera and even been used in Starcraft 2 with the Male version.

[@BladeatronGaming]

Hell Yeah! I grew up playing Starcraft 2 throughout all it's expansions! I'm so glad you reacted to and enjoyed the OST for the Base Game! You should react to the expansions OST's as well, Heart of the Swarm, and Legacy of the Void!!! Another great video!

[@anabsentprofessor6120]

Fun fact: the piece you played at the end, Mars, actually IS in a video game. The soundtrack of Stellaris includes it along with many other orchestral pieces.

[@MarcoMeatball]

Oh wow

[@princedragon8019]

If you can, I recommend checking out the other 2 soundtracks for Starcraft 2 as well as the soundtracks for Starcraft 1 and Starcraft Brood War. They are all great and have many fan favorite songs. I also recommend checking out the story of the Starcraft universe if you have the chance

[@Prism988]

Oh wow Starcraft is a treat to hear you comment on. I recommend checking out some of the Legacy of the Void OST - for ex. The Stars Our Home - it's so grandiose and motivating since it's the culmination of the series.

[@jufokgun]

I think this theme is like well made mixture of previous themes. I can recognize sc 1 menu + sc 1 protoss victory + sc ghost trailer + broodwar aria from end

[@AlmostJordan]

I’ve picked this game up semi recently. And I’ve had it playing in the background so much I know it beat for beat. I didn’t ever notice how deep it goes with transitions and the overall grandeur

[@ScapyMaki]

The music from starcraft and warcraft aren't really talked about alot but they feel so nostalgic to me who grew up with those games. IMO they are some of the best video game music I've heard

[@Mhorton32]

I always felt like the Wings of Liberty theme was sort of an encapsulation of the whole story of the first third of starcraft 2, basically the Terran portion of the game. You have the theme of humanity, very space marines and "for the empire", then comes the tension and terror of masses of zerg invading with their terrifying queen of blades... who is in fact Kerrigan from the first game, the love interest who is betrayed by her leadership and left to die. The theme moves into a touching sad but beautiful piano moment reflecting of the tragedy that is Kerrigan, but ultimately returns to humanity unconquerable and resurgent to defeat her queen of blades incarnation.

[@FOXHOUND1871]

It truly is a real overture following in the steps of actual classical overtures in a lot of ways which is rather rare in vidya to follow traditional form. A lot of the themes are from the original Starcraft and the rest help represent the events in Wings of Liberty. For example, the choral parts that sound sort of ethereal represent the involvement of the Protoss in the story.

[@Gnurklesquimp]

Just wanted to say I immediately thought of you upon hearing a VERY epic track that's coming in a certain battle in the next Genshin update, no spoilers, of course. All I will say is it's a very simple melody that rises in pitch and intensity, and the vocals sound so rich it gives me chills every time. (Reminded me of some of the chants and choirs in iirc Fable 2, that series is a goldmine, especially the 1st one imo)

[@Elizabeth-Jade]

Would love to see you react to the Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void themes too. Each song is such a great representation of not only their respective storylines, but also their race. The newly space-faring Terrans and their civil war, The gnashing teeth of the Zerg hivemind and Kerrigan's drive for revenge, The technologically unmatched Protoss' struggle to maintain their unity in the face of an existential threat.

[@Dizzifying1]

When I think of SC2, I think of the fight cutscene between Artanis and Zeratul. I won't spoil it for you, but it that scene might be one of the most emotionally impactful scenes in any medium that I've ever witnessed. A heroic leader who has lost the faculty of his mind, and a blasphemous outcast who was willing to do anything to save the people he cut himself off from... people who view him as a pariah and want nothing more than him and his order dead. I can't hear "My life for Aiur..." without tearing up still.

[@DTdu92]

This brings so much nostalgia ! It was my favorite game back in the days

[@Truck_Kun_Driver]

Oooooh boi, the Legacy of the Void music is gonna go HARD with him. Or even better. DIABLO 2 MUSIC!!!!! Let's make this happen guys!

[@lb9641]

14:50 The music has been used in the intro of the game named "Epic" published in 1992 on Atari ST. The intro on the Amiga version didn't use it :)

[@GRODON7]

This really makes me excited for you to listen to the part of the swarm and Legacy of the Void soundtracks. When you get to Legacy of the Void the golden Armada is my favorite

[@ethanfrench9111]

If you liked this, I would suggest Lost Planet 2’s Main Theme. It is one of my favorite games still and its music rocks.

[@The_Kingmaker]

Lucas was originally going to use Holst’s music for Star Wars until he discovered he’d have to pay royalties to Holst’s estate.

[@ІванГнатенко-с2ю]

Well that’s was unexpected😅. Starcraft II is one of my favorite games and soundtrack is also very good, so I recommend more tracks from this game. “Heaven’s Devil’s” in my opinion is the best characteristic of Terrans (human’s) fraction. Thanks for reaction on this song.

[@egoalter1276]

You are correct in that it tells a story, but not one that is to happen, rather one that serves at the setup for this game.

[@kfusei]

I only ever played the original Starcraft, but there are some callbacks to the soundtrack of the original. On top of my head: 0:38 is the menu theme 9:58 is from the final cinematic of the brood wars addon

[@ruipinho619]

Marco you should react one day to Lord Inquisitor soundtrack, it is a small video on youtube, fan made about warhammer 40k, with an amazing song about 5-7 minutes long. I think you would love it! Not to mention Jeremy Soule's Dawn of War 1 songs!

[@princedragon8019]

I'm pretty sure you can play the Starcraft games now Marco. I've got a computer that's a few years old and they run fine on it. As Genshin Impact has higher requirements than Starcraft, if your PC can run Genshin it can run all the Starcraft games

[@Brainwashed101]

I have an entire "space opera" playlist on KZbin that include tracks from sci-fi video games, movies, etc. SC2 features heavily, not surprisingly. Most of the tracks could definitely be featured on a concert program!

[@amdreallyfast]

I get the impression that the menu theme for StarCraft 2 Wings of Liberty was basically a love letter to many great space sci-fi musical themes. There's a portion of a cutscene later in the game where Captain Jim Raynor goes full Mel on a mutinying crew member, and the music that plays when he wins the fight is copy pasted from the show Firefly. Excellent soundtrack.

[@NotShalune]

Would love to see you cover Homeworld's soundtrack some day. The most space music to ever space music, but in a very unique way. Also has a beautiful mix of things like choirs and traditional instruments from around the world to depict its space opera and the vast emptiness it takes place in.

[@SneccTheSnake]

As someone who's grown up playing stracraft 1 and 2, the StarCraft 2 menu music does absolutely promise me safety and security

[@hamzabro2667]

Loved this game since i was in school. Even at university i still love this music. Playing it at the moment.

[@corlunae]

Blizzard in general loves to make the Main theme of their games into a medley of the primary musical pieces of that particular game, they do the same with World of Warcraft for example. In this they took pieces from Starcraft 1 and in a kind remastered them into this theme.

[@perrer5434]

Have you ever heard about octopath-traveller? You might find it interesting to analyse and try to see how much of each character's stories and traits you can understand from their themes. Kind of how you do with league's characters in your videos... which are extremely entertaining to watch and listen along :)

[@dumodshorts9766]

This is my favorite reaction so far! I grew up with StarCraft!

[@MarcoMeatball]

!!!

[@vladitsvar]

I love starcraft as a game and I love its music too. My favourites come from the Zerg and the protoss though, but this is still fire! Now that I hear it with you, I notice that this sounds like a mix of Starwars and Star Gate OSTs. It's a "Star" trio!

[@Restryouis]

StarCraft? A surprise sure, but a welcomed one.

[@tdust6406]

SC2 is my 2nd fav game of all time, and this reaction was a great surprise, ah the memories. If you're open to listen to ANY kind of video game music, I highly recommend listening to few ost-s of the Heroes of Might and Magic series. My recommendation would be from my fav game: HoMM4, they have some pretty sick opera ost's, especially "Asylum" and "The Haven". But the entire 1 hour long ost is a gift to the ear (despite the dislike the game gets). Thank you for your work Marco, i've learned a lot about music in general from your experience.

[@Trifler500]

There's a video on KZbin of an opera playing Castlevania music. :) I think I saw somewhere that a group of fans actually pooled money to hire the orchestra, but I could be mistaken.

[@themeddler7574]

It's interesting, having both listened to the theme and playing the campaign, but never putting the themes and ideas of the music together with the themes and motifs of the game. its great to get to see your perspective on these kinds of music! I'll try taking a closer listen to whatever game soundtrack I play next lol.

[@CrAzY799999]

my soul died, seeing Starcraft 2 Thank you for reacting to this :')

[@MarcoMeatball]

My pleasure

[@vogan7505]

Wow, that's unexpected. Time to download and replay campaign again... Also, main themes set in main menu (most pages), probably that's explain why it so long and complex, you will listen it long. How interesting.

[@Mysticalsnow9678]

Oh man, I loved this game and it’s lore. Even though I could never wrap my head around it, I loved watching others play it. The cinematics are insane, though there isn’t much music to be dissected from them, you should definitely check them out if you ever get the chance! SC2 was split into three parts, Wings of Liberty, Heart of the Swarm, and Legacy of the Void, each with amazing story and cutscenes

[@SS_BAJA]

I'm sitting here just waiting to see the reaction to my favorite part. It takes inspiration from a track in the first game called Dearest Helena, which played during the ending cutscene of Brood War.

[@supercato9613]

SC2 is one of the games I expected the least on a music reaction channel, and it's a really nice surprise. Legacy of the Void's soundtrack is amazing too, there's some musics you should definitely listen to. Now if only SC2's story was written as well as you describe the music...

[@Jingliu29407]

I never knew you are reacting my childhood favourite game

[@kamicute8435]

Honestly, I'm a fan of this game, but it turns out I've never listened well to its soundtrack. Thank you for rediscovering this game for me. I will be looking forward to your videos.

[@MarcoMeatball]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@markcdiamond]

Epic video man! Loved listening to the whole theme with you. Played it a ton, never listened😢

[@MarcoMeatball]

Thanks buddy. Call me!

[@Berry_Bruiser]

Really enjoyed learning about a song I never gave a chance in a game I really like. There is another song from Wings of Liberty that I would recommend you and that is 'Fire and Fury'. More straight forward and exciting but still worth a listen.

[@sunjian5458]

Well now you HAVE to listen to "Public Enemy" the theme of Wings of Liberty's main character, James "Jim" Raynor!

[@v.emiltheii-nd.8094]

My song suggestions. For Umineko: - Happiness of Marionette - Hello my dream - Birth of a New Witch For Touhou: - Necrofantasia. - U.N. Owen was her? - Bloom Nobly Ink-Black Cherry Blossoms ~ Border of Life

[@v.emiltheii-nd.8094]

*Hello your dream My bad!

[@TenochSekrain]

Oh boy, the Golden Era of Blizzard games and music :3 So, about that compilation of themes you mentioned: These composers do that for each and every single main theme which is also mighty noticable in the World of Warcraft main themes too as they put pieces of the various zones/characters/big moments themes. And always at the end, after a full journey of where we will visit and what we will do, they take us back to the actual main theme which we began with. There is not an exact order in which they do these musical trips (no chronological or of particular story importance), but they always add a more epic or bombastic version of each in these main compositions Honestly if you want to give a try to more stuff from Stafford, Acree, Brower and Duke (yep, most of the time work together) going through the main themes of WoW is a good path (except Shadowlands... that one felt flat compared to all the others but perhaps that is just my personal judgement getting in the way)

[@Stukov961]

Ah starcraft 2, the last gasp of blizzard making good games. RIP

[@soulnik08]

It reminds me of Basil Poledouris' Conan the Barbarian Soundtrack a lot. SC2 is a masterpiece in all levels.

[@khlebnikov97]

Omg, that's so cool you chose Starcraft II music to listen! I hope we'll see your reactions to other Starcraft's themes, they're incredibly glorious, especially those from Legacy of the Void. Thanks for your reaction, it was very interesting to watch! P.S. If I may suggest ost to listen, I'd like to suggest you Disciles II OST - it would be really interesting to see, if you'll do right guesses about game and it's world)

[@bellgems4091]

I recommend hearing out the classic original music is much different as it was now.

[@hxenjwel]

Omg.. i played this game years ago.. this is nostalgic.

[@leventetoth3714]

Good video! Starcraft was and is one of my favourite games of all time. I managed to sunk an ungodly amount of hours into just the first one. Also could I recommend a game that you should look into the in the future? It's called Transistor, and the tracks are: In circles / Paper Boat / We all become Edit: I also forgot to add the last : The Spine

[@MarcoMeatball]

Got some on the way

[@KaiHarper89]

You say these, but not The Spine? Oh come now.

[@leventetoth3714]

@@MarcoMeatball Sorry for replying hurriedly, but I forgot about one more track, The Spine. By the way thank you for the reply!