SURGE OF POWER - The Hype-est track from Mega Man Battle Network

[@avaleeva52]

Fun fact, the main composer for the battle network series (Akari Kaida( also composed Breath of Fire III. Thanks for showing everyone how talented she really is!

[@SeeleSO02]

Such an underrated composer! Akari Kaida was also one of the composers for Mega Man and Bass (Rock Man and Forte.) They have such a distinct style, you can totally tell which tracks they worked on.

[@Jyukenmaster95]

And what do ya know: I grew up loving both games as a kid! :D

[@MechanicalRabbits]

I just looked it up, and Akari Kaida didn't work on this game, she worked on BN5. Yoshino Aoki made the BN6 soundtrack, but both of them worked on Breath of Fire III

[@shalpp]

@@SeeleSO02 iirc Kaida only did the intro stage

[@byg4299]

@@MechanicalRabbits Just to add to this, Akari Kaida did BN1 and BN5. Yoshino Aoki did BN2, BN3 and BN6. BN4 was done by Toshihiko Horiyama (Mega Man X4)

[@mason4882]

Ayeeee, get that sponsorship bread

[@WhitePaintbrush]

Ayeeee

[@jeffcruzmusic]

Just in time for the collection to drop !

[@WhyHandlesIMeanFroggchamp]

Ayyeeeeeeee

[@Kiaulen]

Thisistheway.gif

[@blackcitadel37]

Nice

[@setsers1]

HELL YEAH!! Perfect Sponsor! I'm glad to see Battle Network again

[@Gnurklesquimp2]

A while back I went looking for childhood games that hold up for me today, I ended up settling on the Battle Network series and SSX 3. Then I learned they're remastering MMBN, now there's even this video that made me double take, awesome! Currently on the 4th game in the series, absolutely blasted through the first three before I also remembered SSX 3.

[@nosajsamaniego4512]

​@@Gnurklesquimp2THEY'RE SO GREAT, I'VE EVEN GOT MY SIBLINGS ON THEM NOW; 😍😍😍

[@setsers1]

@@nosajsamaniego4512 Awesome

[@momorarr]

damn capcom recognizing your work congrats!

[@levigr]

Seen Capcom sponsoring this unique content fills me with joy. Let the people know how much effort and creativity is poured into videogames through music besides graphics and gameplay. Also the launch of MMBN Legacy Collection brings me great memories of when I used to play the first two games during the time I was practicing Weber and Stamitz repertoire for clarinet. One more thing... This channel rocks! ❤

[@angelcarrillo980]

I think it's also important to note, from a technical standpoint, the music technicians had no way of using chords (they lacked enough audio channels). The arpeggios and syncopated notes avoiding an overlap was a intentional, clever, and creative way to maximize musical ideas and minimizing musical limitations from the Gameboy's small number of channels. This was more than musical mastery. This piece is engineering genius.

[@OdaKa]

Well actually 🤓 if you listen closely to the exerpts in this video you can actually hear that chords are being used. The Gameboy Advance was capable of using a system similar to MIDI, but more like DOS modules like xm, it, mod, etc.. to play sequences of audio samples, like the N64 and SNES for example. Most GBA titles used this exclusively. The thing that makes this a unique Gameboy Advance soundtrack is that along with using the audio sampling capabilities of the system with as many channels as you'd like, it also utilized the 8bit soundchip from the original Gameboy that was embedded in the GBA for backwards compatibility with older gameboy and gameboy color games. The 2 pulse channels for leads and counter melodies, the wavetable synth channel for bass, and the noise channel for percussion, combined with drum and melodic instrument samples to fill out the sound with chords, riffs, and more fleshed out percussion. It really emphasizes the dualistic nature of the real world + the cyberspace internet world by using the 2 different sound systems in tandem

[@romajimamulo]

That's more a limitation of the original Gameboy and the color. The advance actually does a lot of sample playback instead

[@josephd183]

you’re so right, and i’m getting shovel knight vibes because of it since shovel knight tries to stay within the technical limitations of a nintendo console from that era

[@blara2401]

The guitar is so exactly overstepped by the bass that I swear to all that's holy I would have never known it existed, were it not for you isolating it.

[@pokeperson1000]

It’s quite surprising, considering how usually in music it’s the other way around, with the bass usually being the hard to notice supporting role while the guitar being what people normally notice. I guess the low range that the guitar plays is a decently large chunk of the reason for that, basically acting like a second bass?

[@blara2401]

@@pokeperson1000 I suppose that does play a part. If my estimations are correct, the guitar hovers around an F2 note at around 90Hz. Although a bass guitar starts as low as 40, human ears aren't well tuned to make a lot of difference between lower frequencies. Still though, it sounds to me like a guitar and not a bass ; but it simply can't be heard in the original arrangement which, personally, I find just too muddy for its own sake, _especially_ considering the GBA's poor hardware.

[@pokeperson1000]

@@blara2401 yes, I agree that it definitely sounded like a guitar. What I meant was that it was playing a role similar to that of what normally would be the role of a bass in other music, supporting the other parts and sinking into the obscured background as a result. The muddiness doesn't help either, and I can only hear smatterings of it after straining my ears while trying to ignore the rest of the music.

[@omegazeeeez]

One of the Best songs in the franchise so far, not only this song but the entire OST of 6 could be summed up by EMOTION, it has a lot of emotions going all the way around and that is why I love this game so much.

[@neuworldgames5006]

Agreed!! Probably my favorite OST in the series 🙏🏿

[@FedEx867]

🔥

[@fou-luthedragonemperor8648]

MMBN is full of battle music bangers, MMBN3 grand prix song is another one I love.

[@1fareast14]

yep, was thinking of that one too :)

[@soulcleaner3578]

Great Battlers is so hype, you have keen taste my friend.

[@mattieboombatti]

Capcom was really on top of it in this era. The Zero/ZX series came out at around the same times, and those soundtracks were absolutely amazing too.

[@blackbulls9725]

N1 grand prix makes bn3 my favorite in the series I love tournament arcs and the fact that you build up to the tournament over the course of half the game made it so hype when you take the stage and all the battlers in your block are introduced

[@odd_cup_of_coffee]

The battle themes in BN3 are absolute bops

[@LadyTsunade777]

The music composer for the MegaMan Battle Network series is truly incredible. It takes a real magician to make such incredible and timeless music through the limited GBA soundfonts and low track number. There are _so many_ great songs throughout the series that still sound just as iconic and distinctive and great even today. Composers for other games often lament how they're "limited" by the hardware, or just try to imitate real life music, and never think outside the box like Akari Kaida and Yoshino Aoki did. Video games aren't real life, so you're not limited to what kinds of music real life performers can physically play. MMBN's Akari Kaida and Yoshino Aoki (and also FFXIV's Nobuo Uematsu and Masayoshi Soken) realized that they can make incredible music making full use of the facts that they don't have to be constrained by the limits of real life performances or genres and can make _anything they could imagine without limit._

[@ReloGP14th]

yeah my composer teacher said that "If it sounds nice, why complaining?" It is true some people wants to limit to real life limitation. But as long as the music is enjoyable, i dont care if i need 7 arms to play a music

[@Inhaledcorn]

Ayo, Soken getting praise on a completely unrelated video. Love to see it.

[@BoomTheGuardian]

Remember: the gba doesnt have a dedicated sound chip, all music on there had to be hard coded by scratch

[@GlitchedVision]

so... the more I considered things while listening to your video here, the more I started to realize that this track is essentially a musical representation of a player's journey through a boss fight. The dissonance at the start is when you're first learning the patterns, not confident and often caught off guard by the incoming attacks but eventually you learn that pattern and become confident until phase two where the boss switches it up with a mid fight special. After this this pain in your neck decides to change the pattern, even if ever so slightly so while it's familiar there are things that may still throw you off until you get your confidence back. Even the fact that the track loops is significant as this process repeats itself every time you fight a new boss. not sure if this was intentional, or even meant to happen but your musical analysis made me come to this realization. I don't think I've heard many songs that can portray this journey as well as this one does, perfect boss song in my book.

[@Karen-0]

Almost definitely intentional - great observations

[@blara2401]

I love me a good analysis. Thank you for this read.

[@certainmisterbrick]

To this day, this track is still my favorite boss track in the series. It's just a straight banger.

[@kcsupersonic1]

YES!!!! I absolutely love Mega Man Battle Network and would totally welcome any more coverage from this gem of a series. My personal favorite track is "A Total War," from Battle Network 5, but honestly all of the Final Computer Comp tracks are excellent from, BN3's "Final Transmission, to BN6's "Two of Braves."

[@MFMegaZeroX7]

My favorite is probably "You Can't Go Back" from BN2.

[@soulcleaner3578]

Great Battlers is my favorite. Maybe tied with Light in the dark.

[@Dudeman23rd]

All I needed to see was "Surge of Power" and I _KNEW_ I had to watch this

[@irtehmrepic]

If you wanna cover more MMBN please do Proof of Courage!

[@nabilsalha1941]

YES

[@taggerung890]

yes please!

[@LadyTsunade777]

Also cover You're Not Alone, and all the other "hero themes"! MMBN5 was my absolute fav of the series, so You're Not Alone (specifically the GBA version) holds a special place in my heart with the sheer feels it induces.

[@FoxyPercival714]

@@LadyTsunade777 Imagine the DS version. That slaps.

[@blara2401]

PLEASE YES!

[@LinkEX]

1:16 Arpeggios are a trademark of Megaman music in general, aren't they?

[@keltzar1]

In classic and battle network it really comes about from the limitations of the hardware. It's an interesting case of "limitations breed creativity"

[@FCEngine]

Only Megaman 10 used arps

[@DobieMeltfire]

1:19 "Surge of Power takes advantage of the fact that no human ever has play this music on a real instrument" I guess you haven't heard GaMetal's take on this beastly tune!

[@VoiceofMidnightStorm]

Or ToxicxEternity's!! And *I* was the one that paid him to make it!

[@KnuckleCuts]

@@VoiceofMidnightStormty for your service 🫡

[@mainmanstan7405]

Thanks for that.

[@aloysiusdevadanderabercrombie8]

Or insaneintherainmusic's, bro killed that shit

[@icekiller1594]

God this boss theme still hits just as hard as it did when I first played the game

[@Jyukenmaster95]

I know you're doing this because you were sponsored to, but from the vibes of final fantasy 9 to the phoenix wright to Battle Network, I'm glad you keep covering music from my favorite childhood titles

[@pikmin4743]

nice sponsor, congrats! wow, those illogical bass and guitar tracks smushed together is insane but works so damn well

[@LS151]

Battle Network 6 is an all time favorite of mine, amazing game

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

I'm glad lots of us decided to time videos with the release of this collection! Great video!

[@8bitMusicTheory]

Thanks man! Love your stuff!

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

@@8bitMusicTheory Ahw shucks, thanks!

[@handaranda]

0:51 the grass seed landing to the beat drop

[@danielpayne1597]

Amazing to see such a chaotic, excellent piece of music cut apart and explained! Now to inject Surge of Power hype directly into my veins when my Legacy Collection arrives!

[@TheMurasakiProject]

This has gotta be the first time I've ever popped off for a KZbin sponsor before. Glad to see you're getting recognized + paid for some of the best content on KZbin

[@Force95042]

I'm actually crying remembering this soundtrack lol. Great vid man thanks for the feels

[@rumpelRAINS]

Forgot about these games I played on the GBA 20 years ago. Great video

[@Megaman12Protoman14]

I saw the title and immediately wanted to fight, lmao. Surge of Power is great, but BN3's got like 4 tracks I'd easily say bring on the hype more imo. If you wanna talk about more BM music in the future I'm more than on board.

[@sephreed1938]

The drum line seems like a really important part of the song to bring up as well

[@zephyralfasl4058]

Up

[@nabilsalha1941]

NO WAY i was listening to it all week and watching your videos for an assignment, this is just what i needed

[@VworksArt]

I freaking love this song so much. Thank you for this breakdown.

[@train4292]

This video made me appreciate Surge of Power so much more than I already did. And I loved this song to death before

[@TechnoL33T]

I LOVE arpeggios!

[@taggerung890]

yooo! as a MMBN fan, I love the breakdown of the score and playing each individual part and showing how it all came together. This was amazingly detailed, and I loved it! Immediately subbed! Please do more

[@PianoMan2501]

Now I want a MegaMan Network Transmission analysis video!!

[@Mahaveez]

I only played the first three games, but I still recognize this as the most iconic of the boss themes. It's just that powerful. And how often do you see the sixth game in a series blowing it away like this!?

[@OlleLindestad]

The sixth game really felt like Capcom trying to go out on a high in many ways. I really recommend giving it a try.

[@varenoftatooine2393]

*laughs in Final Fantasy VI*

[@Mahaveez]

@@varenoftatooine2393 This is like the only other notable one tho

[@frds_skce]

@@varenoftatooine2393 Definitely one of the most iconic boss themes under Capcom, man. Square Enix's VGM OST is whole different level to talk about.

[@EphemeralPseudonym]

​@@varenoftatooine2393 Final Fantasy and similar titles don't count so much imo as they don't follow the same continuity and setting, which gives them much more freedom and basically makes sequels be sequels in name and theme only.

[@OdaKa]

Always loved how this soundtrack combines the backwards compatible classic 8bit Gameboy soundchip along with the Advanced system's audio sampling capabilities

[@EphemeralPseudonym]

That was actually the intended way to play back music on the GBA, as purely sampled music would either be crusty or present a significant load on processing

[@cjt217]

I am so excited this collection is out!

[@kag2576]

Ah yes, the magnum opus of the MMBN series music (imo anyway). The music throughout the series is consistently great but this just goes so hard when it really doesn't need to. I remember hearing it for the first time and being blown away that this was a song on the GBA, it's such a standout in a game series already full of gems

[@MegaMan.exe20XX]

Man, I love listening to this during a boss fight.... *Presses Cybeast Button* *AS GREGAR!!* *Gregar roar!!!*

[@user-et3xn2jm1u]

Whoaaaa Capcom sponsor for 8BMT?!?! That's awesome!

[@lukamagicc]

BN3's main web theme (not sure what it's called) has such an amazing bounce to it. My favorite track in the whole series.

[@Pandachu123]

Mine, too! BN3 was my childhood, honestly. 🥰

[@hyun1539]

no way you made a video on this song, seriously feel like the only person who ever knows about battle network

[@paulpiche8370]

The music in this game was great. The title screen is my favorite. The first time I heard that song I knew that this was going to be the series finale.

[@courierz9451]

Got damn. This guy goes over music notes like a quick football play and i dont know jack about either and im pulled in

[@TitansTracks]

Great choice of music, Surge of Power is such a sick track! Gotta be one of the funnest tracks I've remixed from the series so far! 💎

[@AverageAspie]

I'm amazed this is a thing. Surge of Power is the sickest metal track on the GBA soundchip lol

[@mist666999]

I'm not enough of a music buff to understand the specifics, but this video still explains to everyone what those specifics actually mean. Excellent analysis!

[@catsozen]

Quickly clicked because I thought this was a Surge of Power remix, but stayed for the cool analysis. Awesome breakdown, fav Battle Network music!

[@JoshDR09]

An all time great song. Glad you made this

[@EngrossingEnigma]

I love CAPCON even more for sponsoring this channel. I love this channel. It's what I wanted growing up as a musician and RPG video game nerd in the 90s. Feels good to knowbI wasnt the only one passionate about RPGs and music thory and answers a lot of the questions had. Even simple ones like ... what scale is the saga frontier opepening theme in. I didnt have the tools or education.

[@turnkey_hole]

Congrats on the sponsorship! Love Surge of Power and your breakdown! I forgot how good that track was.

[@grimms-vi1874]

That was definitely accurate about the whole inscrutable guitar thing. Whenever I listened to this in an attempt to transcribe by ear, I tended to hear the longer notes as a synth instrument of some sort while the shorter strumming as part of the percussion like a record scratch when combined with the high-hat/maraca sound in the actual drums.

[@uuu12343]

I just finished all 6 games in the legacy collection and I literally teared up from nostalgia overflow + just a banger of a game series No joke, the level of detail connecting every game together is insane and I still havent found any games with this level of collection

[@uuu12343]

*Level of Connection

[@SapphireLibra3]

It's almost like you can hear the Cybeast seething, waiting, and then you hear the dissonance between them, Mega Man, and Lan.

[@canaldojegue2056]

I love when the song's names represent the feeling they create when played.

[@OptimusCrlme]

I had never even heard the guitar and bass part at the beginning until this vid. So awesome

[@authoreyes101]

Surge of music theory that I didn't understand but still sat through and listened to anyway.

[@toonbax3]

Video Game Animation Study just posted about this series' animation a few hours ago! Happy to see the love for the series and it coming to Switch

[@TetraBitGaming]

Yesss! What an amazing song

[@kylathe]

Never thought I’d see the day battle network gets its day in the sun but here we are and I’m all for it!

[@ReneeBunny]

absolutely still listen to it to this day

[@astralblue64]

Fun fact, the advance gameboy sound driver had 8 PCM Channels, with the other 4 channels being the from the original Gameboy hardware, whichis why if you listen closely, some sound effects play over what sounds like the melody or noise in gba music.

[@amoschew3609]

1:52 "Bass goes down blues scale" is weirdly a good enough descripter for every fight Megaman has with Bass

[@SPIRE_FAN]

That's one of the best sponsorship deals on this website because Mega Man Music is the cream of the crop when it comes to what it takes to be the best Video Game music out there.

[@falcie8505]

2:17 Those dread notes, alone, represent MM fighting a boss... who ends up doing the yoinky sploinky

[@fortisch]

Congrats on the sponsoring. Hyped for the megaman nt rerelease

[@Waywren]

Oh, exquisite. What a masterful analysis of a grand song!

[@CybeastID]

YES, SURGE OF POWER! THIS IS SO GOOD

[@ocarinalover1214]

yoooo i never expected a video on my favorite Battle Network game!!!

[@Runningwritingreading]

The sickest 5 years on the gba I still replay them once every 3/4 years especially for travel or vacation they can be beat so quick and the progression is great alongside insane OST I like this song but the main menu themes are super iconic too. No idea how they did this on gba soundfont all these are sick

[@eduardoespinosa5299]

Battle network is my favorite thing. Just dropping a comment to show support ! I also loved learning about the music theory behind the composition

[@ShredmasterScott]

video game composers are so underrated

[@booyah344]

2:15 **casually triggers my PTSD**

[@nothingelsetodoZ]

Not gonna lie, one of the best youtube videos I've watched in a while. Congrats for the sponsorship and the high quality work. Subscribing even if not knowing a single thing about music theory.

[@Omugiku]

One of my favorite tracks from my favorite Battle Network game. A lot of the songs in that game are sooooo good. I'm so happy to play it again now that my gba is too small for comfort for my hands.

[@PMattiolo]

This series has very good music and this piece brings back a lot of memories. Thanks for covering it!

[@BrandDude24]

The way you broke down the instruments in this video was fascinating. I love the music in the Battle Network series and I feel like it needs the praise it deserves. Kudos to you man!

[@redflameken]

A video that talks about music, especially the OST of my favorite game? the channel name is 8-bit music theory??? instant sub!

[@bluphantomexe8279]

I think the best part about surge of power is that either in the player's hands or in the enemy's. For example, if you are so used to fighting Blastman you'll feel the power and control go to you as if you are there to cause the chaos. BUT if for instance you run into Bass or Colonel unprepared it takes that power and chucks it into their court. It's like the ultimate battle song for two powerful forces clashing in a tug of war. lol

[@Okerokeka]

Its me, I'm the cult following for Megaman Battle Network

[@poisontango]

I'd love to see an analysis on "Save a Life" from Battle Network 3. It's this largely overshadowed gem in the middle of the game, and I cannot get enough of it!

[@RasenRendanX]

I got goosebumps booting up BN5 again man. Thank you capcom.

[@zacharywong483]

Impeccable video, as always! And congrats on the sponsorship!

[@EphemeralPseudonym]

The first time I listened to anything with halfway good headphones, I was playing MMBN6 and sampled Bose headphones on it. Truly transcendent

[@peterslempers]

MMBN is a title I played a lot as a kid and in college I did an arrangement on this piece :’) Love to see this video and that you got the CAPCOM sponsor!!

[@KilleRoy_NL]

I've loved this theme from the second I heard it, it's amazing. ❤ That section where you layered 3 parts over eachother one by one was lovely, I never noticed the little guitar-like sound going along with the bass, that's really cool. Man I love video game music. 🙏🏻

[@uberwow13]

Surge of Power is not the boss battle theme. Surge of Power is the theme your opponent hearing fighting you. You're the monster

[@pjwafflewar]

Eyyy this is the video that pushed me over the edge. I'm getting the game

[@lebureauweb2229]

Waouw, what a nice sponsor you got ! Congratulations, it is well deserved, your channel offers great content !

[@ix8750]

Your analysis of this was not only amazing but pretty concise as well. Bravo man you fuckin rock.

[@nobodyspecial1699]

I remember fighting Blazeman for the first time as a kid. The music start to play and a sudden rush of fear and adrenalin rushes to my little head. I was feeling very hyped after the fight was over

[@ChocotiAlt]

Damn you got sponsored by Capcom itself !! BIG GUY YOU ARE, IM SO HAPPY TO KNOW IT..

[@PaulKassebaum]

I am so happy that you're getting sponsors from game publishers! You deserve it, dude. Keep up your wonderful craft.

[@justsomeguy727]

"surge of power takes advantage of the fact no human has to play this on a real instrument" and yet, so many people managed to do it anyway cause the song is just that freakin good. Love to see it.

[@sombat2788]

I refuse to play this game without headphones this time around. Back in '03, I would rock out at recess & lunch by opening up the SP and going full volume with the BN3 opening theme. Kids would gather round and rock out, too. Good times.

[@jesses542]

Great battlers from BN3 is my all time favorite, it just gets you hyped up when you're in the N1grand prix

[@webmeisterBud]

This was so cool. Good sponsorship! I played every MMBN except 6, so I'm looking forward to this hype finalé when I play it on the Switch! 🙏🏽 =)

[@LanEXHikari]

All GBA crunchiness aside, MMBN soundtracks was mostly banger after banger with some really moving themes when needed. Akari Kaida shining as usual!

[@byg4299]

Just to correct, this was by Yoshino Aoki. Akari Kaida only did BN1 and BN5.

[@LanEXHikari]

@@byg4299 thanks for that. All composers did such an awesome work throughout the series

[@LuluTeala]

The song had strong vibes in terms of the fight for survival, and it wasn't your fight to survive, it was theirs.