Non-Gamer Hears Video Game Music for THE FIRST TIME

I invited my former boss and general director of Arizona Opera to listen to video game music for the first time: He loved it!
#videogamemusic
If you love video game music and how it helps us more deeply connect to the games we love, consider subscribing and/or joining my Patreon, let's discuss and uncover the beauty of VGM together!
/ marcomeatball
#music
| Who am I? |
Hi, I'm Marco Meatball, a former pro opera singer, turned voice actor, turned KZbinr. I grew up loving video games and video game music after first discovering them when I was 7 years old. Since then, I have lived and breathed all things video games. This channel is all about video game music and the beauty of modern composition, how it allows us to connect more deeply with the games we love, and how we can better learn to understand ourselves through it and the experiences it provides.
Find me here:
linktr.ee/marcodmeatball
Chapters:
00:00 JOE is in the house
01:02 The only thing they fear is you - Doom
05:45 - Battle on the Big Bridge - Final Fantasy 5
08:28 Everhood Eternity Edition
10:10 Titan Lost - Final Fantasy XVI
12:25 Fertile Rondo - Bayonetta 3
15:43 Lord of a Dead Empire: Fire Emblem Echoes
17:23 Sie Liebten Sich beide - Punishing: Gray Raven
21:11 Last Surprise - Persona 5
22:48 Safi'Jiva - Monster Hunter World
28:48 Invincible - World of Warcraft
30:27 Anything you loved the most?
#videogames
Games you will find in the channel:
Final Fantasy, The Last of Us, League of Legends, Genshin Impact, Devil May Cry (DMC), Elden Ring, Dark Souls, Ultrakill, Terraria, Undertale, World of Warcraft, Monster Hunter, Warhammer, Honkai Impact, Honkai Star Rail, Bloodborne, Ace Combat, Doom, Warframe, Arknights, Nier, Guilty Gear, Risk of Rain, Armored Core, Destiny and much, much more!
#games
#videogameost

[@MarcoMeatball]

unedited video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/in3MgKSDipprgZI and if you want to check out more about Everhood: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bZLJc6SmhtKbhKM

[@shadixyt]

I adore his concern for Doom Guy, sitting here wishing I could tell him "Don't worry he's a professional, he has standards."

[@DissedRedEngie]

he killed himself in the dlc. dude has some issues.

[@tusken9669]

He's polite, efficient and has a plan to kill everyone he meets?

[@shadixyt]

Polite (No harsh language and is to the point) to those who aren't in his way, efficient at acquiring tools to accomplish his goals and also at accomplishing said goals as well, and has a plan to rip and tear anyone that dares to oppose him or even just step in his way.@@tusken9669

[@Slayer-cr7gi]

​@@tusken9669 ( tf2 jingle )

[@havtor007]

​@@DissedRedEngieWell the demons did kill his bunny afterall.

[@clericneokun]

Joe: "What if we put videogame footage on existing classical music?" Me: "You'd get Kafka murdering a bunch of soldiers over Vivaldi's Winter." Also, now I'll never be able to watch that Titan fight again without thinking of moisturizer. 😂

[@puglife658]

You’d get hollow knight

[@howitzer551]

Simple, Marco does a guest video, I watch, I enjoy, and my day is better. Great video as always Marco!

[@Rtrbr.Realism]

I love it when people who are experienced in music, reacting to modern types of music or pretty niche genres, their reactions for the very first doom clip was intresting and intriguing in how the way two experts in their field think

[@brendanrisney2449]

I feel like I learn as much from your guests on this series as they do and I love it every time. Keep talking technical stuff with each other, it's so interesting to learn from an adjacent perspective

[@MarcoMeatball]

[@kingjamos2422]

These are always fun to watch. I especially love when your guests seem to be having such a good time of it. Joe looked like he was really enjoying himself there. That energy is infectious.

[@BooksToAshes]

I was just watching your videos after playing some MH:Rise. I just beat the Allmother yesterday and literally cried from the music alone. Gaming music will never cease to amaze me ❤

[@mrrey3481]

Actually, speaking of "each song represents a stage in the game"it actually has already been done recently. Well, kinda. There are these 2 games that are based around the idea of rhythm game: Hi-Fi Rush and Metal:Hellsinger. Both are absolutely stuning, and the OST is just amazing, especially for the Hellsinger, both games are absolute bangers.

[@havtor007]

Thank you had forgotten the name of them.

[@KoeiNL]

Crypt of the Necrodancer is also a game based around music that is worth checking out.

[@KoeiNL]

That game has some catchy beats!

[@newsheo5822]

Came for the insight. Stayed for Joe's comedy. Also that's got to be one of the coolest last names ever

[@MarcoMeatball]

[@dubstripsquads]

I found this channel recently and the content has been very interesting, in particular the discourse with other music industry professionals. In this episode in particular I found the question of "Does context matter?" to be really interesting because there are definitely some tracks in games that I would listen to outside of those games and really enjoy. There are other tracks however I feel I can't enjoy properly without the context in which they take place. As an example I picked up Ace Combat 7 a game in a series I have never played after hearing the music in this channel and I feel the track of Daredevil is elevated by the experience in the mission that it is a part of. The track and the gameplay itself are at least in my mind linked and while they can be separated from one another they aren't quite the sum of their parts any more. Another example is the Mythic Power track from Owlcat's Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous game, something I hope you cover in the future as I would love to hear your thoughts. The track plays at key moments of the story and while the track elevates the moment in that story the story itself is making the track something more in my mind.

[@IvoryMadness.]

That was a great video! I'm gonna watch the vod, too!

[@jonasquinn7977]

I love these videos, it’s so interesting to hear people’s thoughts on these songs

[@seph-xe8up]

i like this series, thank you marco !! always love the reaction and insight from first timer

[@lucasricardo1992]

Always love this kind of videos, thanks Marco!

[@mrrey3481]

Love these series. Always a whole lot of fun to listen to different people's perspective.

[@hlonghi]

You should have him more times in the videos! He really seems to understand how Videogame music is composed. You should totally also show him "Divine Damsel of Devastation" from Genshin just to see how he would react to Chinese opera.

[@Blerghaa]

Another great vid, I have started to look forward to these.

[@Sometuy11A]

This was amazing; thank you!

[@hijodelsoldeoriente]

I really love these series. It's informative entertainment. Best of both worlds.

[@seanrowland3620]

I really liked Joe, thanks for coming on.

[@ShiroNekoDen]

Clash on the big bridge has so many versions throughout all the series.

[@pipkin5287]

Giving this a like purely for the fact that you let him listen to Last Surprise! All of the Persona tracks are such unreasonable bangers.

[@ArnoModelstate]

After that he was already thinking like the music for games but then how to ingrate games footage into an opera .... so great !

[@cyrius2636]

great video as always ! Love seeing some Persona 5 soundtrack, easily my favourite Video Game OSTs ^^

[@lukespetschanel]

I love joe guess we have have his personality to you have a good term in you and love with the flow of the music became plus he want you to descripe him is so wholesome experience love it hope you can invited him in near future

[@endless2239]

an unexpected way to react to Fertile Rondo, a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one, you should check the context of that song (is basically a minigame) bayo 3 had a ton of references to different stuff, including MJ Thriller XD

[@chaoswraith]

he was fantastic, should have him on more

[@ryanmacpherson722]

Woot! Joe is amazing. A real trailblazer in the industry!

[@MarcoMeatball]

hi hiiii

[@ShidouK]

Have you ever heard the actual-opera version of Maria and Draco from FF6? Of course the original is a chiptune but it's been performed with live orchestra and opera singers several times. Would love to hear your thoughts on it.

[@FuegodeInfierno]

The best part about fertile rondo is that its segment is basically a rhytm game

[@Paul_Herrera]

surprised the dark souls 3 main theme hasnt appeared in one of the videos. but this js still really cool

[@AcaciaAvenue]

Why is it that I cry everytime I listen to Invincible (or Arthas my son)? I was there playing WoW for the full WOTLK expansion but it was many years ago. Yet the emotional impact is still too great.

[@marabu78]

Pieces from WoW are just so astonishing.

[@pook9352]

Titan lost gives me goosebumps everytime he first shows up and when the music swaps up DMC style. Easily the coolest fight in the game. Sad to not hear the music change in this video

[@jeremylackey6587]

The brass section on battle on the big bridge gonna shake the whole ass bridge down.

[@BaraBoopa]

Omg why didnt they have the scene with bayo 3??? It makes it so hype especially with the little demon hands raving hahah mini concert!!! Would've been more fun to see and hear the first time 🎉

[@blazingmonolith4323]

I'm so glad he picked Invincible 😭 that song gets me in the feels everytime.

[@touhoufever2499]

Listening to that Punishing Gray Raven track, I’d love to see what you make of music from the Ar tonelico games, something like To The Songless Hill would be a great listen

[@rolandsteiner5064]

Good stuff. I recommend you look up Michael McCann for future research. He is a very talented video game composer with some crazy good music.

[@jonnevitu4979]

I recommend listening to the lobby theme for the Arknights event called "a walk in the dust", its very short but it would be cool to see what you think about it on a technical lvl since, at least imo, its better than it should lol, it was suppose to be just the background song of a random event but its sooo good man...

[@the_babbleboom]

4:20 my favourite game(s DLC) is "laws of war" story is civilians trapped between local military and rebels stuck between nato an "csat" (iran, china, belarus), and the aftermath of the conflict with flashback stories of what went down told from a mine specialist clearing out the town.. it's eerie without music, but the OST carries the scenes very well and after some years hearing only the music it brings back the whole experience.

[@the_babbleboom]

music can wrap up an experience and put a neat tie on it and when you listen to it again, opening that box, it brings the story back as if playing it alongside the music. it probably sounds good by itself too but it doesn't bring you to that place you haven't been at.

[@lieutenantmeatball5590]

I would absolutely love it if you could do an entire video on Kirby music, starting off with Green Greens and ending it all off with The Star Conquering Traveller.

[@MarcoMeatball]

That sounds fun!

[@lieutenantmeatball5590]

@@MarcoMeatball I’ve been noticed! 🙌🎉 Dinner Desert theme from Planet Robobot and Mountains in an Angry Sky from Triple Deluxe, for example goes hard, and also from Triple deluxe, there’s the cheerful Floral Fields. I love Kirby music so much.

[@huggelion]

invincible still gives me shivers

[@NameIsDoc]

There was an attempt to make an opera video game on based on Der Ring des Nibelungen and was...kinda bad but got 2 sequels that gradually got better but they were adventure games in the Era of adventure game moon logic and ps1 graphics and there are a few "musical" video games like Billie Bust Up which will come out soon

[@TheDarkChaplain]

Oh god, I recall those now, and I'm not sure that's a good thing :')

[@NameIsDoc]

@@TheDarkChaplain you gotta admit the dwarf insulting all the water nymphs and surfing away was hilarious

[@Pooky1991]

I would love to hear thoughts on the more out there or stranger video game music like the Crash Bandicoot soundtracks or The games from the 90s like Ape Escape that used alot of Drum and Base. Maybe some of the soundtracks from horror games like Silent Hill (one song in that game was literally a drill going off). Maybe through in some Rhythm Games.

[@hijackdallas6052]

I´m kind of interested to see a reaction from the game "They are Billions", espacially to the final wave and it´s build up. So the order is the "Final Wave build up" first and after that the "Final Wave".

[@Gladiatorat]

Glad that Joe picked Invincible!

[@DistortedEmerald]

Yeah, the Bayonetta 3 song is based on the Fifth Element. It's a boss fight in which the gameplay changes completely and a demon in shape of an Opera singer fights by singing. She also dances like in the Fifth Element, it was clearly paying homage to that movie. Bayonetta has a lot of bangers in its trilogy, you should check it out!

[@JacobSprenger]

As far as the question of whether a piece of music works without context, I always think of an example from the world of movie soundtracks: To me, the works of composers such as John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith do work without context. I can listen to their soundtracks without getting bored, having them evoke images in my mind that don't even necessarily have to be from the respective movie, but the vibe is the same. That doesn't happen with someone like Hans Zimmer. To me, Zimmer isn't an artist, but a craftsman, constructing soundscapes to fit their respective scenes perfectly - so much so, that they can't stand on their own.

[@barrybend7189]

Have him react to the Bravely Default soundtrack. That person's name is, Prailine's songs Love in the Crossfire and Huge ships of Prailine Ala Mode( and Captain Barbarossa's version. Bravely Second's Battle of Oblivion, Ba'al Battle theme. Bravely Default 2 has its Asterisk battle themes.

[@quill9648]

Hey Marco, i have a suggestion i was holding onto for a while. You should react to Battlefield I music, especially the End of Round themes for different DLC. If i may drop in a request - They Shall Not Pass has some of the best ones. DLC is about battles in France - Somme, Verdun, Fort Vaux.

[@arapaimagold8088]

Ah Safi, the simple gentle sailor

[@PlumPoko]

If I ever see "Virgil" the Musical, Imma' blame you. 😂

[@Caiowars20]

Hey Marco. Im trying to find your disco elysium video. For any chance, the video is not listed, or something like that?

[@TheGimpster101]

Could I request for your next guest on here for you to show the Fatalis or Brachydios?

[@Malphas_styx]

I wish you showed the actual clip of fondo from bayonetta 3 it literally was the same like the movie

[@carson3888]

There is a video game based on an opera. Ring: The Legend of the Nibelungen is a 1998 point and click adventure game that reinterprets the Ring cycle to be sort of sci-fi fantasy. The gods and stuff are beings with immense technological prowess and the more mortal characters exist in a more fantasy oriented space with hints of sci-fi. Its an interesting game to look at both in terms of art direction and also becase the game is a car crash in motion. It did not review well, it has not been remembered well, and its very hard to play now. MandaloreGaming has a review on both Ring: The Legend of the Nibelungen and its sequel and that's probably the best way to interact with this game.

[@1wayroad935]

Wish you could have had him listen to Zero. He might have gotten a kick with that.

[@blushingralseiuwu2222]

I wonder when you will react to Touhou music. Its one of Tobyfox biggest inspiration when he was making Undertale to the point they actually become friend and now making collabs together. "Pure Furies" and "Idolatrize World" are fantastic

[@thekeeper1287]

I really hope you show some of them the blasphemous 1 and 2 soundtrack. Especially the crown of towers theme.

[@Reragi]

cant wait until you get into the Yakuza/Judgment series, some of the most beautiful OST that hits harder with context, and thats with the more traditional ones alone (Two Dragons, For Who's Sake, Outlaw's Lullaby (both versions), A Scattered Eternal Moment, Destiny, Penumbra, Viper, Unwavering Belief, amongst mountains of others I probably missed) there are MOUNTAINS of gems in the series' OST and some of them are reserved for the wackiest side content

[@alphakowaclips]

Yesss, i kneeew you'd show him monster hunter music, world is the most orchestral MH ever got with its music so I knew it'd be here

[@user-ye1gf5vb8x]

I waiting for Code Vein osts reaction

[@brianna2352]

Persona 5 music always makes me jam out lmao

[@davisbenecke3623]

Awesome video! I eat these things up. Although I’m devastated that there was no Hoyo-mix music in this episode🥲

[@anmoldembla4743]

Correct me if I am wrong but this is the first time we see Persona music on Marco's channel, right ?

[@MarcoMeatball]

Persona 5 at least.. another to come next week

[@anmoldembla4743]

@@MarcoMeatball Looking fowrard to it

[@AegisKHAOS]

1:41 And now I wonder how many people were expecting a drop like Joe did while listening to that l part of the song. 🤣 And, hey, a man who played on the Atari and C64! I like him already. :)

[@mr.stuffdoer8483]

Wait when did this dude learn about Lord of a Dead Empire!?

[@All4TheKing7]

Look. I’ve watched this whole playlist of videos on videogame music, but I haven’t seen ONE TRACK from God of War/GOW:Ragnarok, Ghost of Tsushima, etc and I am disappointed. If you haven’t heard/played those they are FANTASTIC!! Please check them out 😄

[@MarcoMeatball]

Ghost of Tsushima is in my favorite games list! However you have to understand that Sony is hyper rough with claims so it’s hard to swing.

[@All4TheKing7]

@@MarcoMeatball ayyy haha and I had no idea! Thanks for the info! That is always a shame…free marketing for them but nooo

[@datatravelleri]

What's with him and moisturizer? 😂

[@Patcheresu]

That was not "Titan Lost" That was "Do or Die".

[@ajohndoe17]

I’m gonna need some more bloodborne representation in these videos 😂

[@thatnohrianscum6475]

Love this series :D

[@thomas00129]

hmm im sad the safi jiva theme is only like the middle part

[@ShiroKage009]

Final Fantasy battle music representation should almost always be FF6 or FF13.

[@bclap06able]

Hey doom guy hates demons passionately lol

[@daydr3amer120]

Kinda sad there isnt any guilty gear in here but we got doom and monhun

[@amingameplayer9711]

I'd like my favorite game have in to. Its GOD EATER 3 the title is "TIED TO TOMORROW", prhapse my wish its to high. Thankyou

[@PunishedDad]

this is the one you should have pulled out great mighty poo for

[@peterboros-major8722]

Demons killed Doom Guy rabbit, thats why he kill demons. So basically Doom guy is the original John Wick XDDD. Btw thx Marco the video :).

[@gauravmaharjan894]

no genshin? (insert megamind)

[@SIP100Ka]

CHAINSAWS !!!!!!!

[@hellschatt]

Noo, choosing the banger was the wrong FF16 choice.

[@TransfatylvaniaFilms]

Opera director and you don’t have him react to the great mighty poo???

[@MarcoMeatball]

no that song is shit

[@gdvelasquez2570]

Well that will be interesting.

[@TransfatylvaniaFilms]

On my list or all time game operas its most certainly number 2! @@MarcoMeatball

[@2dat115]

No elden ring a shame

[@haydencarn8737]

...Why the pronoun? We can all see what he is... Come on man, have some sense.

[@40letranhuutin68]

No more armored core 6 ost ? 😢

[@MarcoMeatball]

kind of mid but ill do some eventually.