The POWER of Hidden Leitmotifs | Game Music Secrets

[@Dorked]

EDIT: Due to me expanding the Paper Mario TYD section, the SPM spoiler timestamp is off! Go to 39:50 to skip! This video as an immense undertaking, but I tried to highlight a lot of neat examples in each of the series showcased. Videos like this take a long time, so if you wanna support what I do, please check out my patreon: patreon.com/dorked. My previous leitmotif video can be found here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f16zq32Kga-XsM0 I will be streaming Moon Remix RPG adventure in the near future, so if you wanna be notified when I go live, head on over to my twitch: twitch.tv/derpisms My stream VODs channel will be housing my old Paper Mario 64 vods soon, so stay tuned at: www.youtube.com/@DorkedStreams Cucumber Quest: cucumber.gigidigi.com/ Stream VODs channel: @DorkedStreams My new twitter: twitter.com/dorkedreturns (old was suspender x'|) My Previous Leitmotif Video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f16zq32Kga-XsM0 My Twitch Account: twitch.tv/derpisms My P4 Akechi fic, The Crow Cries at Midnight: archiveofourown.org/works/48777436/chapters/123046261 My Undertale webcomic: invertedfate.com/chapters Chapters: 0:00 - Introduction 0:48 - Undertale and Deltarune 10:40 - Persona Series 26:02 - Mario RPGs 41:58 - Pokemon 48:55 - Conclusion and Channel Update

[@chuckles2364]

❤❤❤

[@dylanzlol7293]

I'd like to see a part 2 of this vid tbh

[@Kuhleb12]

FOR YOUR METANARRATIVE VID: Idk what counts exactly as meta-narrative but "The Beginner's Guide" is an absolute must-play, life changing game.

[@Fragmentsinfractals488]

I think Undyne leitmotif plays in The Papyrus Date because by becoming friend with Papyrus it pushes you toward friends with Undyne because they are friends.

[@Dorked]

That's a good point, too! Though obviously that mostly applies if you spare here, he does push for it either way. It's just more obviously linked to her in the song's use in the Alphys date.

[@ryanhanter1516]

A series that also uses leitmotifs but rarely anyone talks about is the Ace Attorney series. There are genuinely so many leitmotifs it’s crazy not a lot of people have noticed! The objection baselines are related to the pursuit baselines. Athena Cykes’ themes are all her motif. And Wright’s objections are all related to each other via the same intervals. So many examples!

[@Dorked]

Ooh, these are some cool examples. O: Always neat to hear cool music details like this.

[@greenhydra10]

You know, I really could've gone without knowing Your Best Nightmare's melody was in Deltarune.

[@Dorked]

Its prevalence is really strange, and I wonder if Toby is going for vibes or something more...

[@imanoffice641]

“When I grow up I want to be a cool leitmotif” /j

[@Dorked]

Oh, to be a leitmotif. To be an omnipresent melody that represents theme, place, or character...

[@32bitsandwich]

​​@Dorked that is a nice description

[@ChristopherMoom]

I'm impressed with the variety of what you covered with this video, I think it's sick seeing you be so passionate with a multitude of sources you enjoy I know I already talked about Kirby's Return to Dream Land last time I threw my hat in the ring, but it's also weirdly applicable here. There's a few songs in its OST ("Beyond the Hill" and "Perfect Sledding Weather") whose ending's share a secret motif that's not exactly prominent in the game. In fact, this specific motif's other appearances are outside the game itself. One instance of it can be heard in a completely unused song from Return to Dream Land's files, and another in the final boss theme of a different game entirely, Kirby's Epic Yarn. (I wish I could express this in an easier way, but YT doesn't like links in comments, maybe I can message them to you) What's really cool about this is that you can analyze these songs with a fourth wall breaking lens, because, outside of a common motif, these songs share certain characteristics: >All of them were made by the same composer, Jun Ishikawa >All of them have a similar quasi-retro production style >Their filenames share a "KbyW" prefix (Or, at the very least, "Kby" followed by a capital letter in general) These points actually all apply to several Return to Dream Land songs that don't contain a common motif, but do share the same instrumental style, and these observations have served as a really cool way to theorize over a scrapped Kirby game that eventually influenced Return to Dream Land ... that was a lot to dump on you, sorry, haha. I honestly do think Return to Dream Land's OST itself could serve as a video topic, but I understand analyzing a full soundtrack from a franchise you're not familiar with is difficult; I'd be down to share more of my perspective in the future if you ever get into the Kirby series

[@Dorked]

Always happy to hear people share their own fondness for certain leitmotifs! The more I hear about Kirby, the more I really gotta make time to play it. There's this whole history of games I'm only loosely familiar with. ONE DAY...

[@Keitoded]

It's not really hidden but I love the Kirby motifs in Planet Robobot if you've ever played it. That main theme/Haltmann Works Company theme is flipping EVERYWHERE

[@rodomify7681]

I've been going through the various leitmotifs in Undertale and Deltarune lately trying to catalogue where they are, and this did help me find a couple I had missed. One you seemingly missed though, is that the leitmotif you mentioned for The Chase is also in The Door.

[@Dorked]

Happy to have helped! And yeah, the Chase and the Door share a leitmotif. I just singled out the chase for being up tempo, like Nightmare Knight.

[@Yuti640]

I just realised it sort of makes a lot of sense for Toriel to sample Enemy Approaching because she’s the one with the most connections to the enemies you find in her area, the monsters in the ruins talk about her a lot

[@Dorked]

Ooh, that's a very good point! I can see it.

[@manupm9161]

Tokyo daylight's motive is also in "when my mother was there", probably referencing how that room (pyramid) is everything she knows about Tokyo. That theme also appears at the end of the cutscene when the phantom thieves reach the pyramid

[@Dorked]

Ooh, very good catch! I'll have to listen for that. Love hearing the little details I missed, tbh.

[@corvus6971]

wake up, get up, get out there also has the line 'if you hold on, life won't change' which is obviously called back to in life will change with 'now we know that life will change' life will change generally just does sound like a continuation of the opening theme, it's really fun I love how cohesive p5's soundtrack is as a whole

[@Dorked]

I REALLY WISH I HAD... actually included the lyrical reference in Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out there in hindsight. I think the reason for its omission was because the shared motif between the two songs is very, very direct.

[@corvus6971]

@@Dorked makes sense!

[@ventusthekey5187]

@@corvus6971 and I believe continues that lyrical motif connection with the lines, "I thought that I told you I'm not a robot. I thought that I told you I'm not a phantom. I'm in your face!" The clever ways they connect Wake Up Get Up, Life Will Change, and I Believe is astounding. The way they tell the story of Royal through those three songs makes them some of my favorite video game music out there.

[@corvus6971]

@@ventusthekey5187 it does!!!!! The music of p5 is so damn cohesive, it really creates a whole world

[@Magic_Ice]

speaking of Toby Fox, my favorite use of Pokémon leitmotifs is with the final boss of Scarlet and Violet. While we don’t know is he composed that track directly, he did compose the tera raid theme which is referenced heavily in the final boss theme along with many other motifs and sound effects relating to terastilation along with sounding so haunting and full of hype. I’m just saying you gotta get into Kirby. I’ve seen some people who are both Undertale and Kirby fans say that Kirby uses them better and in some scenarios I can’t disagree.

[@Dorked]

One of these days, I will try the Kirby series in earnest. I just have a huge backlog of games as it is, and I do wanna prioritize Moon as my next stream since it's a pretty foundational meta RPG.

[@spinomania1921]

Kirby leitmotifs go so hard because of how well they're able to transition seamlessly between original parts and motif parts and between one motif and another. They got motifs from another song's motif playing in the foreground as two different motifs play in between during the main motif's breaks

[@superlagbro192]

​@@spinomania1921 i love how forgotten land deliberately DOESNT use the green greens/kirbys triumphant returns motif. It adds alot to the feeling of the forgotten land being somewhere foreign and alien to kirby.

[@spinomania1921]

@@superlagbro192 Yeah it's so good. A whole new world, whole new leitmotifs.

[@themustardman219]

We can't forget the motif he used in Battle Tower

[@RC_Cap_the_1st]

The TTYD Remake loves its leitmotifs. There's a few from Origami King as well; the Bowser's Castle theme has a small portion of the Origami Castle theme, likely due to the fact that Bowser is the party member in that area, and the Battle Master battle theme has Autumn Mountain in it. It was really cool hearing them for the first time, and it feels like a subtle way of bridging the gap between modern and classic Paper Mario.

[@Dorked]

Ooh, thanks for sharing! I really gotta check out the TOK soundtrack in earnest sometime. I know it has some cool stuff.

[@jenfkejl]

i love how a leitmotif can weave every single song in an ost together while also bringing more meaning to songs

[@Dorked]

Yeah, for sure. It's so fun to listen to game OSTs and realize how prevalent certain motifs are!

[@peronafanman]

I also think the absence of lietmotifs can be impactful as well Megalovania for example, has no leitmotifs in it to symbolize how Sans is fighting for a completely different reason than everyone else in the game, who were fighting to protect their loved ones, Sans is fighting you to protect the timeline and the rest of the Multiverse because he knows that if you erase everything this time, it'll be permanant (of course there's also the fact that Megalovania came before Undertale but let me have my moment)

[@Dorked]

That's a really good point! I think it really also depends on how leitmotif-dependent a game's given OST is. Like Toby Fox's games use leitmotifs very liberally. And then you get certain Mario games that will use one single motif for almost all of their stages, like Yoshi's Story, until the final castle stages, which do not use the yoshi motif at all.

[@greenhydra10]

Tracks that lack any form of leitmotif stick out when leitmotif is common in the game. That makes it feel "special".

[@KhepriProd]

One of my favorite hidden leitmotifs in Undertale is in the song “d.ogg”, which is a MUCH darker version of Merry CD from Omori, the song Toby guest composed for it. It’s interesting because MERRY CD is clearly a Christmas-based song, and d.ogg plays during the Snowgrave encounter with Berdly. Merry Christmas, Berdly!

[@Dorked]

Oh, huh. They do share the same rhythm, even if the notes and intervals differ. VERY interesting...

[@vashtijoy]

I FEEL LIKE I LEARNED SO MUCH FROM THIS VIDEO, but specifically I keep being floored by how good the Paper Mario games look. My response to them was always "well, I have no idea what that is supposed to be".

[@Dorked]

Oh, I love the classic Paper Mario games! Haven't played TOK so I can't speak for it personally, but I have heard it's the best of the "modern" trilogy, whereas the first three games (64, TYD, and SPM) are generally well liked overall.

[@Something_Maybe]

One really cool secret leitmotif I know is how the true final boss theme of Sonic Mania has the chorus of the main theme of Sonic Forces.

[@Dorked]

Oh, great point! Emerald Hill also has a little bit of green hill in it.

[@PTp1ranha]

Once again I am surprised by how many of these slipped past me as I played. Am glad you covered TTYD's opening theme constantly reappearing in the remake, I definitely felt like they wanted us to pick up on it more this time around. There's something about how it's always just a PART of other songs, sneaking in, and it's not until the crowd cheering at the very end when it's finally the main song of a scene all on its own, kind of like the Live and Learn example in the other video.

[@Dorked]

I'm actually noticing it in the great tree as I play right now, so there are definitely more examples!

[@DE23]

The way TTYD Remake adds the main theme to songs kinda reminds me of how Ducktales Remastered retroactively makes the Moon Theme a recurring motif

[@Dorked]

Yeah, I noticed the moon motif became a bigger deal in Ducktales in the internet era. DT2017 also made it significant, for instance.

[@Typi]

One of my absolute FAVORITE uses of a leitmotif is actually in Lets Go Pikachu/Eevee. Those games are mixed bags, but I like them for what they are, and they did one section of the originals amazing justice: The Cubone and Marrowak scene. In the final cutscene of that section, the music plays a lighter version of the usual Lavender Town theme. The thing is, this version of the Lavender Town theme is an actual track from the Johto Games, being the theme of... the future Lavender Town, where the spirits are finally at rest. Them bringing back that iteration of the theme at the very end of the quest line just added to the somber yet happy feeling of that cutscene. Pokemon brings back motifs all the time, but this is one of the few times where they used the iteration of a leitmotif from a game that takes place years after the events of a remake.

[@Dorked]

Ooh, that's such a cool touch, though! I'll have to listen later.

[@AT7outof10]

On the topic of TTYD remake, Bowser's introduction scene at his castle added the Origami King's Bowser Castle motif.

[@tsths]

48:53 One of my favorite exemple of Leitmotif usage in Pokémon is in Diamond Peark and Platinum, with the Arceus event. The melody used to access Arceus is from the intro title screen, but unlike other use of title screen leitmotivs in other pkmn game, where the reference is for an extradiegetic music, this one is played intradiegetically. The fact that to invoke God you have to play a song that came from outside of your realm, the music that's playing before you're entering the Real Game, is super strong as an idea. Then it get better when the distorded version press start title screen theme plays as you walk up the stairs adds up, it's absolute cinema. And finally, the gliching effects in the legends Arceus's Arceus theme just confirm for me that it was done on purpose, and makes even more emphasis on that "Outside of the game" feeling they gave to Arceus, which is clever to show that it's God Himself, like if It create the game Itself and that the mere presence of an avatar of it could compromise the game's integrity, the world integrity

[@louckykoneko]

this is such a fun video, and you listed several examples that I had only subconsciously noticed before (especially the Persona and Pokemon ones)! the Gladion theme was especially interesting because I knew I'd recognized his theme from somewhere, but always assumed it was a reference to something from one of the movies. I never noticed it referred to one of my favorite themes from Mystery Dungeon!

[@Dorked]

Yeah, I remember being so surprised when I first encountered him because I have so much PMD brainrot. It's such a neat connection.

[@DiffidentDennis]

9:42 omg thank you so much for bringing that up, i had noticed that since the moment i heard Susie's battle theme and was surprised to find not alot of people caught the similarity

[@Slimeonian]

One of the best Leitmotif’s I’ve heard in recent games is actually from Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, which I guess makes sense cuz Toby Fox was heavily involved in the soundtrack. Basically everything to do with Terastallisation shares motif’s. Terapagos’ cry, the Tera Raid Theme, Raid clear theme, Area Zero, Sada and Turo, it’s all connected and it’s amazing

[@rd_ctrlr5311]

It's a shame these videos seem to tend not to do as well as you'd like them to. They're always good essays, perfect to have on the side while doing other things. Maybe the general public just isn't as interested in leitmotif analyses as they should be

[@Dorked]

I think it's also that my initial audience came here for Ut/DR, so any time a video branches into other territory, the videos aren't as immediately successful. I really do want to be able to cover other topics, though, rather than just being an UT/DR channel. I think it's better for me creatively to have a wider umbrella of topics to pull from so I don't burn out while still doing the occasional UT/DR stuff.

[@rd_ctrlr5311]

@@Dorked It's a shame! I'm a big fan of your UT/DR stuff, but your other content and analayses of other franchises are equally enjoyable too. Admittedly I have been guilty of watching only one fandom's worth of content from creators in the past, but I do hope people start watching your other content as well

[@johnbacchus6169]

One leitmotif I don't hear a lot of discussion about is Xehanort's original leitmotif in Kingdom Hearts. It's first heard in "Forze del Male," and it reappears in the Unknown (Xemnas)'s battle theme "Disappeared." But there's a catch: the last three notes are higher compared to Forze del Male (I'm not completely sure about the sixth note but definitely the fifth and seventh), making it feel less overtly sinister. This may have been to represent the fact that Xemnas (seemingly) was a more sympathetic character at the time compared to the more overtly evil Ansem. The Ansem version of the leitmotif reappears in "The Force in You" in Chain of Memories (because that theme quotes "Forze del Male"), then in KH2, the Xemnas version not only returns thanks to "Disappeared" being back, but is also heard in the last part of "Darkness of the Unknown." After KH2, though, this leitmotif doesn't reappear in any music except for tracks that contain Forze del Male, such as Forza Finale. I've wondered if the absence of this leitmotif in new, original themes has been due to a change in Xehanort's characterization. Especially for Xemnas once his true motives were revealed, since his variation of the leitmotif never returned after KH2.

[@Dorked]

This is a really cool breakdown! Love all the little touches the KH series does with recurring motifs and melodies, both on a grand and subtle scale.

[@graymin_318]

Hey, Dorked! I love your videos especially this last couple of videos on video game leitmotifs! Knowing you're a Kingdom Hearts fan too, I also want to recommend Green Requiem's series of videos of Kingdom Hearts's OSTs, as he does a great job of explaining how Yoko Shimomura uses rhythm and instrumentation as music motifs. Anyways, thanks for the great videos!

[@Dorked]

Oh, Green Requiem's stuff is great. It's criminally underrated, too. I'm always surprised at how few views those videos get.

[@DittoMaster6]

One of my personal favorite uses of Pokemon leitmotifs is probably the Cipher Syndicate theme from Pokemon Colosseum and XD Gale of Darkness. An interesting thing about Cipher in those games that makes them stand apart from other villain teams is that the Orre region is explicitly low income, so a massive corporation like Cipher has already heavily ingratiated themselves into the everyday lives of the region's citizenry. As a result, the theme is constant throughout the game in places even tangentially related to Cipher. It can obviously be heard in the Cipher Admin theme and Nascour's theme. It can be heard in The Under, an underground city founded and run by Cipher, as well as Pyrite Town, a run-down town with a high crime rate where they distribute Shadow Pokemon. It can be heard in the Snagem Hideout, the hideout of a smaller evil team that during the course of Colosseum, acts mostly as a patsy group to steal others' Pokemon to then allow Cipher to turn into Shadow Pokemon. But it can even be heard during the Normal Battle theme due to how omnipresent Cipher's influence throughout the Orre region is. XD Gale of Darkness reuses a lot of tracks from Colosseum, so some of the uses ironically become a little bit outdated. Team Snagem, for example, no longer works for Cipher and is actively conspiring against them, but the Snagem Hideout still has the Cipher Syndicate leitmotif within it. But it adds to the collection through the main villain's overworld theme, which is a short, but very obvious demonstration of the leitmotif, the Cipher Admin overworld theme, which is a somewhat more comical and funky version of the theme, to demonstrate the eccentricity of its new admins, and the Shadow Lugia theme, which is the culmination of all of Cipher's Shadow Pokemon research to create what is ostensibly a Pokemon that can never be purified. It's a pretty basic leitmotif with largely predictable usage, but I think it's fun how these deviations from the Pokemon formula hone in so hard on how much influence their villains have over the region through its music. This motif went on to be reused in several Pokemon Battle Revolution tracks. It doesn't have any context or connection besides the same composer working on all three games, which is certainly fair. But the weirdest appearance of the motif, like your example with Gladion, occurs in Sun and Moon, where it briefly appears in Lusamine's first battle theme at around the 47 second mark. The usage of it puzzles me, but I can see loose connections, at least. Lusamine's shut off her heart to her children due to the corruptive influence of another, much like Shadow Pokemon have, so maybe?? The Aether Foundation has ingratiated itself as a vital part of the lives of many only to be a corruptive and damaging influence on the region, much like Cipher, albeit with Cipher being presented as villainous from the start, so maybe??? I dunno, it's just a fun leitmotif to me, and I thought it was worth acknowledging.

[@Dorked]

These are really great observations! It's been a while since I played Colosseum, and I haven't actually played XD, but the worldbuilding in those games was genuinely so cool, and I love to hear others' thoughts.

[@mak315_]

I think one of my favourite usages of leitmotif in Pokemon specifically is the usage of Lusamine/Aether’s theme in Guzma’s battle theme as a way of hinting towards their future connection and the whole Lusamine manipulating Guzma plot point. I think it’s one of the more obvious ones but as someone who is absolutely terrible at spotting leitmotivs its one that I think about every time I listen to either theme

[@Dorked]

That one's been brought up a few times! I think the only reason I didn't bring it up when I talked about Gen 7 was that it's been a very long time since I last played, so the only BIG example I remembered was Gladion due to the PMD musical similarities. Maybe if I do a followup, I can include it!

[@IrvingIV]

3:56 little yellow creature!

[@Dorked]

The bird is the real MVP, tbh.

[@blockeontheleafeon]

A good example of games that have a bunch of character themes are Final Fantasy 6 and the Touhou series. The Touhou series has a seperate song for each individual character and FF6 takes this concept a step further by having sad versions of (almost) everyone's theme whenever something tragic happens to them. Love stuff like this.

[@pancaek_boi]

In P5R specifically there is one specific leitmotifs that looms over the new content which i'd like to call the Maruki leitmotif. It features in most of the new R songs like Colors Flying High, Royal Days and the 3rd semester tokyo daylight replacement. It might also feature in I Believe and Throw Away Your Mask but i dont remember exactly. (Side tangent while it isnt really a leitmotifs or if it is its really short the sections at the beginnings of Awakening, I Believe and some other songs seem to share some similarities from what i picked up on but i cant exactly say if thats intentional or not)

[@Dorked]

Yeah, that's true! The motif from Colors Flying High is especially pronounced throughout Third Semester and is another good example. Maruki's theme definitely also features in multiple places, and I believe the theme that plays when Sumi dances also gets a dark reprise during the flashback cutscene in third sem.

[@JackitK]

Its great you're going to look into Moon: RPG adventure. I believed it was consider a source of inspiration for Toby Fox and after watching a full playthrough of the game, I totally see the parallels.

[@ventusthekey5187]

Mayas theme is my favorite use of leitmotifs in video games. It's such a good connection between all the games

[@Dorked]

Oh yeah, the Turnabout Sisters motif is really solid in how it's integrated into the trilogy.

[@ventusthekey5187]

@@Dorked oh I ment the Maya theme from persona you mentioned lol. But that one is also on my list somewhere.

[@Dorked]

@@ventusthekey5187 I MAY BE DENSE... but yeah, Maya's theme is really well utilized in the Persona series, and it's interesting how widespread it is.

[@JudeHashman]

How have I not found your awesome channel sooner?

[@ovite1240]

Big fan of this video! Particularly when you talk about the mario RPGs- paper mario 64 is one of my favorite games ever, but a lot of the stuff you mentioned I didn't even realized until now! I would assume you haven't played it, but paper mario the origami king uses leitmotifs pretty consistently as well. One of my favorite ones is how Olivia and her brother, olly, have small leitmotifs that are reused in a lot of songs related to them. Olivia has a small leitmotif that plays in several songs related to her, and olly has also a small leitmotif that plays in songs related to him. What i think is neat is that the main theme of the game is a conjunction of both character's themes!

[@gabrote42]

2:09 What's interesting is that at the time this song was made, back when it was JOKER BATTLE, the standard battle theme was Bonetrousle, according to Toby. That makes the inclusion of EA possibly be the very first instance of the theme, inspiring Enemy Approaching by itself! 2:51 *AUTO-PARRY* ouch. I got got in my enthusiasm! 9:51 That's the second surprising news this video! Wow! Much better than the Patient trivia

[@paulgrotebeverborg1119]

My favorite moment of a leitmotif being used in anything Persona 5 related is in Persona 5 Strikers' 5th Jail theme, Counterfeit Phantom, which includes the Wake Up Get Up Get Out There/Life Will Change melody

[@Dorked]

Ooh, I'll have to keep an ear out for it whenever I get around to Strikers!

[@paulgrotebeverborg1119]

@@Dorked also didn't even notice the Tokyo Daylight - Freedom and Security connection till now XD Did know about Ark though

[@An_Account1]

Well this video managed to trigger basically everything brainrotting me right now so here's a needlessly long comment! First Undertale/Deltarune. The Enemy Approaching Leitmotif actually seems to be a fairly important one in the game as it appears in Dogsong and Tem Shop, which are themes associated with the actual creators of the game. It seems to have extra relevance to the games developers. The usage of Flowey motifs in Deltarune is really interesting too as Flowey doesn't seem to be in Deltarune unless you consider Ralsei, who I'm compelled to think is not evil but this motif seems to be the only thing casting suspicion on him for me. Then Persona. I've only played 3 Portable so I can't speak much to the other games, but this did give me more appreciation for 5's soundtrack as I listened to it and not much clicked with me. As for 3 Portable itself, I feel like I found the most obscure leitmotif since no one pointed it out and I honestly feel like I'm just hearing things sometimes. Every time I listen to Unavoidable Battle, I constantly hear a Way of Life in it, which feels odd as most of Portable's exclusive tracks reference each other as opposed to referencing base game tracks (such as Soul Phrase and Danger Zone). As for the Mario section, all I have to say is good, I'm not hearing things in Magma Mountain. And as for Pokemon, the main series uses leitmotifs more than I thought they did in the early games. I never noticed the dungeon themes being similar and THANK YOU FOR FINALLY POINTING OUT THE GEN 1 TRAINER THEME IN THE GEN 2 CHAMPION THEME SO I NOW KNOW WHY IT SOUNDS FAMILIAR! Also, it's sad that the Fugitives reference in Sun and Moon is the main PMD content we got in Gen 7. Speaking of Fugitives, that theme appears in other tracks in Rescue Team, such as Sky Tower and Rayquaza's Theme (which also appears in Explorers). The newer games also use leitmotifs heavily, as each province in Scarlet and Violet has it's own leitmotif that plays in the overworld, battle, and towns. Additionally, Area Zero has it's own leitmotif that appears in way too many songs for me to possibly list here since this comment is already longer than I thought it would be when I said "needlessly long comment" at the beginning. So yeah, I love these leitmotif videos! I'd love to see more! Keep up the great work!

[@Dorked]

It wouldn't surprise me if Way of Life *was* used. I know a lot of Soul Phrase is sprinkled throughout FeMC's tracks. I almost talked about it, but I wasn't sure where it landed in terms of subtle/obvious. Granted, Swear to my Bones is everywhere in P5, but I wanted to kinda use that as a jumping off point for how it originates from a P2 leitmotif that is all over the series, since it's such a cool musical touch. AND YEAH. Magma Mountain is a direct quote of Bowser's Keep, just up tempo. It's really cool, but such an odd place for an SMRPG musical reference. And yeah, the gen 1 trainer theme in gen 2 champion reference is very brief, but I noticed it when I was listening to it again for this video and thought it pertinent to mention, alongside the indigo plateau theme. I've heard good things about ScarVi's use of leitmotifs! I just haven't played any of the switch games outside of Arceus, which I can only play at a friend's house since I don't currently own a switch.

[@An_Account1]

@@Dorked Yeah I somehow found Soul Phrase in basically every one of FeMC's tracks. A Way of Life is just a fusion of Soul Phrase and Unavoidable Battle and Danger Zone is Soul Phrase: Battle Edition (and so is Wiping All Out to an extent, but that one isn't as obvious). I literally played Magma Mountain for the first time around a month ago and thought the SMRPG reference traced further back to something like SMB3 but no, it's just an SMRPG reference. It seems like Pokemon doesn't need Toby Fox to used leitmotifs, I didn't mention it but Gen 7 and 8 use them a bit themselves, though not to the same extent as Scarlet and Violet. Even if you can't play the games, the soundtrack is so good that it definitely deserves a listen.

[@_LovelyBunny]

Can we just talk about how similar Berdly bassline is to The Legend bassline at 1:29

[@32bitsandwich]

Music leitmotifs are such a cool concept, and I love how games encoperate those into their ost's

[@Dorked]

Oh, for sure. It's always fun to realize a leitmotif is being used, too.

[@32bitsandwich]

@@Dorked I agree. That kind of recognition and joy you some times get when finding leitmotifs is just weirdly nice. Idk if I'm over thinking it lol

[@Ellie_eris]

I was very much expecting you to tie the Pokemon gen 1 intro theme into the other two references (that I'm aware of) as well. (tho, I too *have* always loved the fact that Lance and Red's theme in gen 2 references it.) The other two instances of lietmotifs from the gen 1 intro are: Guzma's battle theme from Sun and Moon, and the Gym Leader's Last Pokemon theme from Black and White. (Since you asked for folks to comment other pokemon lietmotif examples.) I've enjoyed basically all of those themes, mostly because they feel like extensions of the main theme to the series. (I guess the gym music is also a use of the other section of the main gen 1 intro theme. but that one is less "hidden".)

[@Dorked]

I'll have to take another listen . Been a while since I played gen 7, but the PMD reference always stuck with me.

[@Ellie_eris]

​​@@Dorked I think, upon relistening myself, that Guzma's theme is more a reference to Indigo Plateau. (I had always interpreted/misinterpreted it as a reference to Red's/Lance's theme, tho, and by extension the gen 1 main intro theme). (And the gym leader last pokemon theme from black and white is also... not really "hidden" either, to be clear) (also, i actually have no idea why i thought the gym theme was related to the intro theme? must have misremembered something, but it doesn't really sound... similar)

[@shiratojin]

Wait.. holy cow.. YOU made “The Crow Cries at Midnight”???? I thought the same name thing was just a coincidence.. man, what a small world. Kinda awkward, though, considering I have pretty much the same user on there… (no seriously though, I thought it was a coincidence or something until I read the description of this video.. should’ve figured it out when you were talking about making a Goro Akechi video in the community posts.) also it’s in your KZbin DESCRIPTION??? I may not be intelligent. I’m losing brain cells the more I keep thinking about this, forgive me.. god DAMN.

[@Dorked]

YOU'RE GOOD, haha. I know I'm mostly known for UT/DR stuff on KZbin, though I am hoping to tackle Persona stuff on the side. At the very least, I do wanna do that Akechi video after I get some research done, replay the game, etc. The metanarratives video will probably come first, though.

[@shiratojin]

@@Dorked gl and have fun (??) idk yeah 👍

[@F1areon]

Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil has a lot of leitmotifs but the one SUPER prominent example is in the track for the second-to-last level. It not only plays a lot of tracks from earlier in Klonoa 2 proper (some of which need to be reversed to be heard correctly), but it ALSO plays a few tracks from Klonoa 1, too.

[@GSPlover900]

One funny “hidden” motif is in paper Mario the oragami king. In the shogun studios tea house, the theme that plays is a slowed down remix of maple freeway from Mario kart Wii. While this reference does make sense due to the whole chapter having an autumn theming, it is “hidden” because of how little time you spend in the tea house, meaning that you don’t have much time to make the connection.

[@Dorked]

Ooh, that's really cool! O: I haven't played TOK myself, but I have heard great things about its OST and a lot of other aspects of it. Love the attention to detail.

[@Rowan-kh8qw]

Something else that makes the champion theme in GSC absolutely genius is the fact that gen 2 was originally intened to be the last games, im glad they werent the last games after all but can you imagine if they closed out the series with THAT

[@FungiCaptain]

i wanna mention that the main SPM motif (the one that plays between chapters) is the TTYD motif but with an additional 3 notes

[@Dorked]

Yeah, it's VERY similar. Lil' more expanded, but I can definitely hear it, which is interesting.

[@SpamtonSlapper1997]

38:21 THE SEVEN HUMAN SOULS?!

[@Dorked]

The pure hearts do look a lot like them, actually. xD Funny.

[@sonoxas7176]

6:57 THANK YOU!! Finally someone who doesn't hear each and every arpeggio in the OST and says "gAsTeR coNfIrMeD". It drives me NUTS! XD

[@Dorked]

I think people are a little too quick to find Gaster everywhere, tbh. I get being enthusiastic, of course, but there's this air of like... elevating Gaster in the fandom, too.

[@sonoxas7176]

@@Dorked I couldn't agree more. It's crazy to think that a character that technically doesn't even exist,at least not anymore, became such a popular one and a such a big topic of discussion. I'd like to think that Toby Fox keeps a keen eye on the Fandom, sees all the rabid fans' theories on Gaster and either laughs his ass off, or sits there wondering "What have I done...?" Or both. Both is good XD

[@ChronoSariel]

If we want to continue bringing up Pokèmon examples (more specifically Mystery Dungeon) I had made a peculiar discovery that “On the Beach at Dusk” uses the motif from “Parting~ Farewell” from Rescue team. Idk I find this kinda fascinating as musically the end of Rescue team leads into the beginning of Explorers and even Explorers first ending. Like it’s such a cool creative choice that creates an interesting connection between two other mostly unrelated entries in the series. For other interesting example that a friend had discovered but the Outlaw theme just casually just runs through the series main motifs. Like I don’t know why the decided to cook but I almost have a feeling it was designed to be for a “certain someone” who also uses this theme as they are definitely true final/secret boss material lol. Also there is Super Mystery Dungeon that uses the partner’s theme as the final boss theme and main theme. Considering the story and the use of the partner’s theme almost makes the player feel like the partner in the story instead of the main hero. (Also quick side note god Super Mystery Dungeon is so peak, like if it had Sky’s bonus episodes it could honestly be the best one in the series.) Something outside of the Pokémon series for a moment but the Touhou series consistently motif “Theme of Eastern Story.” It’s become sorta the series main theme. My personal favorite example of the motif being used is the song “Entrusting this World to Idols ~ Idolatrize World.” The Mother series motif Mother 1’s Eight Melodies quite often, like after collecting one of the melodies in Mother 2 you are greeted to the theme “a Flash of Memory” that mostly is just Mother 1’s Eight Melodies. For Mother 3 the “Love Theme” is just a slowed down version of Mother 1’s Eight Melodies.” Another example is how in Earthbound/Mother 2 the Game Over theme is motifed in the Flying Man theme. Entering Onett for the first time the opening part of the song motif’s “Pollyanna” from Mother 1. Also Undertale’s “Your Best Nightmare” has an odd motif… The “Justice Motif…” It is quite literally just “Bad Apple…” Like I am unsure of why this is the case but kinda makes things like UTY really funny as a lot of the themes are technically remixes of Bad Apple due to the Justice motif.

[@saladplainzone]

really good video!!! ❤ the The Chase motif in Deltarune is also used in The Door, so I'm curious where else it'll show up. (sidenote, I think the timestamp at 37:18 got messed up by the added section, lol)

[@Dorked]

Oh, whoops! Thanks for the heads up.

[@Ender0214]

This reminds me of how my partner and our friends are very obsessed with the musical EPIC. One noticed (or found out) that there’s always the same motif used when Odysseus is in danger, and very rarely was it ever not present

[@corvus6971]

(obligatory uty mention I LOVE THE USE OF MOTIFS THERE TOO!!!!! THE ENEMY RETREATING* THEME BEING TWISTED INTO WHAT'S BASICALLY THE PLAYER'S BOSS THEME IS SO GOOD AND THE MOTIFS BROUGHT OVER FROM UT ARE ALSO GREAT)

[@finnvaneekelen7740]

Just started and already know this is gonna be great!

[@Xman34washere]

Damn i actually didnt notice Tokyo Daylight in ARK! That's sick

[@Dorked]

Happy to share! It blew my mind when I learned about it.

[@SquidEevee]

the klonoa series does this quite often with the windmill song it pops up in several places in door to phantomile's ost

[@Dorked]

That just made me realize I never played the original Klonoa. I did rent Klonoa 2 once when i was in... middle school, I think? Back when Blockbuster and Hollywood Video still existed.

[@SquidEevee]

i'd recommend it if you enjoy platformers just be aware that it gets pretty difficult near the end on an unrelated note, i personally thought that vs susie sounded like the near future battle theme from live a live

[@dylanzlol7293]

You forgot to mention that ttyd doopliss's theme has a paper mario 64 crystal palace area leitmotif, representing his connection with that area's duplighosts

[@Dorked]

Oh, good catch! Somehow I missed that.

[@rendumguy7596]

About The Cackletta Motif, I saw a comment claimed that immediately after that, the melody that sounds like Cackletta's theme quotes the start of Count Bleck's theme It's the "cackletta-esque" melody that starts around 40:59, It was hard to notice at first but now I can't unhear it. It would be really cool if that was intentional because these games had nothing to do with each other, and the songs ends up kind of being a homage to multiple villains

[@TheSkyGuy77]

Leitmotifs are certainly fascinating

[@Dorked]

They are! I quite like looking into them.

[@OctinSILLY]

Awesome video!! I especially like the leitmotifs from the mainline Pokemon games. The champion theme from Sword and Shield is one of my favorite songs from the series, which makes heavy use of the hall of fame theme from Gold and Silver. I also noticed that the at the very end of the title screen song from Ruby and Sapphire, there's a melody that plays that must have been repurposed into Necrozma's theme from Sun and Moon. Another game series I like that makes use of leitmotifs is Splatoon. Most of the leitmotifs that I've noticed appear in the games' single player campaign, with the "Onward" leitmotif being used in one way or another throughout all three games.

[@Dorked]

I'm not super familiar with Splatoon, but I have seen it brought up a few times in my comments before! I really gotta listen to the later Pokemon game OSTs, too. Admittedly, the last mainline game I've played in full was Pokemon Sun. I've played a bit of Ultra Moon and Legends Arceus at my friends' house. I'm very behind the times!

[@OctinSILLY]

I do highly recommend both franchises OSTs, however Splatoon's can be a bit harder to get into just because of how experimental some of the songs can get.

[@rezaching]

I'm so happy to see so many parts of gaming in this video. This is my favorite Dorked video.

[@Dorked]

Eyy, thanks! c: I'm glad you liked it.

[@strangejune]

One that's fresh in my mind is just how many times parts of the main melody for the Armored Core 1 garage theme is reused in future titles' music. Specifically old gen. Armored Core 2: 'Red Impulse' uses it for a solid thirty seconds. 'Whiz Drop' uses a part exactly two minutes in. 'Op' uses a repeating part of it as its main beat. Armored Core 2: Another Age: 'Shape Memory Alloys (Remix)' is literally the same song from Armored Core 2. 'The Groove' uses a repeating part as its base, but 'inverted'. Instead of up-down-up-down, the melody in this track's base goes down-down-down-up. This one might be a stretch. 'Lynch Law' has a heavily modified piece in the bridge a minute and twenty seconds in. Armored Core 3: Nothing that I could hear. The closest I could get is one of the main themes of Artificial Sky being kind of similar, but it's a stretch, and if it is derived, it's heavily modified. I don't feel comfortable saying that's what this is. Armored Core 3 Silent Line: 'High Sign' introduces a background instrument at two minutes which plays a similar melody, but compressed. 'Scrambling Film' has a bassline which sounds very similar to me. Also, at about ninety seconds in, it introduces a new instrument which plays a melody which sounds like it was derived from the theme. 'Disrespect' plays a version of the up-down melody with the parts swapped at about thirty seconds in. Armored Core Nexus: 'Shining' contains a main melody which, while not necessarily the same melody, has a very similar contour to the rhythm. 'World Navigation' is basically just a remix of the song. 'Brandnew Armored Core Runs About' is another version of 'Shining'. 'High Sign' doesn't have a reference. I just want to draw attention to the fact that there is a song with the same name for two games in a row. 'End Roll' is an alternate, extended version of 'Shining'. I didn't look at Disc 2, since it's just remixes of songs that should've already made this list. There are probably more, even in these games. They are the only ones I checked while writing this comment. It's so cool!

[@jonwoods4590]

outside of pokémon and mario another nintendo RPG i don’t see people talk about nearly enough when it comes to leitmotifs is miitopia. - i recently realized that the theme when you change your mii’s equipment has the same melody as the battle victory theme, as does the theme that plays if you and the great sage choose to euthanize the dark curse. - the track “now’s our chance!” that plays for snurp fights serves as a slowed down minor version of the greenhorn battle theme, also using the same instruments and gibberish vocaloid. - the final section of the new lumos battle theme repeatedly samples a few notes from the track “boss battle 1”. - the great sage’s theme’s intro is later reused for the darker lord theme as well as darkest lord phase 1, meaning that they subtly foreshadowed from the very start of the game who the real final boss was. - the darkest lord phase 1 track also hides sped up 4/4 versions of at least 2 melodies from the dark lord’s main and/or boss themes, making both dark lords feel more connected since they’re 2 bodies possessed by the same soul. - lastly (my personal favorite) the fanfare that plays in the end cutscene as your party strikes a victory pose ends in the exact same “doo-WAHHH” as the sting that plays when you reach levels 2-5 of friendship with a partner, which seems to symbolize that the bonds your miis formed across their adventure were what gave them the strength to finally triumph.

[@Noirwhisperwind]

The ending for deltarune came from a fever dream of toby fox when he was sick. He wanted to make one with that ending and wanting to make deltarune first, ended up making Undertale first.

[@blu3m0nkey]

I DIDNT RECOGNIZE YOUR CHANNEL FOR A SECOND BECAUSE YOU CHANGED YOUR PROF😭

[@Dorked]

Yeah, I tried to announce it earlier this week. Thought it was time for a lil' change, haha.

[@MegaDude10]

One leitmotif in Undertale I noticed is how Ruins samples a bit from Waterfall/Undyne's theme. I'd like to imagine it's supposed to represent "protection", like how Toriel protects you while Undyne protects Monsters.

[@GoshiWorld]

What are my favorite ones is Pokemon Scarlet and Violet the Terapagos light motif as I'll call it the first time you'll probably hear is doing a Terrain battle but then you'll hear it during the final boss of the base game and and the final boss of the DLC Also another nice musical reference is how the team star grunt battle theme starts exactly the same as Penny's battle theme

[@Dorked]

Very neat! Admittedly, I haven't a lot of experience with the Switch era of Pokemon, so there's a lot of musical references I've definitely missed out on.

[@JumbSkull]

Leitmotifs are the equivalent of redrawing the same OC in different AU's only cuz you know it goes HARD AF and no one can change my mind😂.

[@romancat-holic7640]

There’s also a hidden leitmotif in Hopes and Dreams! If you listen carefully, the transition melody (or big drop) into the meat of the song after the intro is also the same transition melody into the somber middle part of Undertale.

[@idkrandomvideos-lg6tq]

the basement have your best nightmare motif is something that i really I didn't Know really cool video

[@thegingerheed]

Awesome video, love discussing Video game musics and the little secrets they can contain. Persona has a ton of really cool musical callbacks and what not. I think one of my favourites is during P5's Introduction, during the animated cutscene where Joker is diverting guards attention. On its own it's just a simple curscene track but once the game comes full circle it begins to play a more intense version of the track now that you have all the context. It feels kinda celebratory in a way, like it really nails home the whole "80 hours in and you're finally here!" vibe of the cutscene. Replaying the introduction after the game comes full circle is probably one of my favourite moments in P5 as a whole, in part due to the musical changes. P3's January overworld tracks also have a ton of references to the game's credits theme "Memories of You." and also tracks that play during the ending cutscene of that game. To the point where they are called "Memories of the City" & "Memories of the School". Not exactly subtle references but they really do build up the impact of thaf credits theme. You mentioned Sonic in the last video and Generations has a ton of musical callbacks, like how Sonic 3 Endless Mine from Competition Mode plays during a segment of Classic Sonic's City Escape. And of course, how when activating Super Sonic as Classic Sonic the intro riff of Live and Learn plays before transitioning to Sonic 4's Main Theme, still the funniest musical troll I've ever seen done in a game before. Beyond the games you've already talked about, Fire Emblem Three Houses has a very funny relationship with lietmoifs. Funny in that basically every track in that game has the game's main melody play, at least somewhere in the track. I think it's one of the unique cases where calling back to past tracks can be a bit of negative, because whilst the soundtrack is a banger the overabundance of the main theme kinda hurts the impact when the main theme is used in more climatic tracks. Since you've been hearing the same recycled melody for the past 40+ hours.

[@Dorked]

This is all really good stuff, but I'm suddenly reminded that I never beat FE: Awakening. One of these days I gotta replay it and try in earnest. Have heard good things about Three Houses, too!

[@benjaminfricke4791]

Small, petty, band kid note: I would argue that Heartache is in 6/8, not 3/4, though it is a bit unusual by the former’s standards. To anyone who doesn’t know, those two things are not equivalent in music.The simplest way to describe the difference is as follows: 3/4 songs group the eight notes into three groups of two, with the “beat” going to the quarter note. Toriel’s other theme, “Fallen Down,” is an excellent example. 6/8 songs instead group the eight notes into two groups of three, with the eight notes getting the beat, like in Heartache. To hear them side-by-side for comparison, check out “Dry Guys” from Mother 3. It alternates between them every measure. Anyway, just felt like rambling about that a bit. Not a major issue by any means.

[@Dorked]

Yeah, I updated the captions to say 6/8 for that reason. 3/4 and 6/8 have a lot of overlap that it can be easy to mix them up, but I agree w/ all these points, tbh. It was just an oversight (like the SPM spoiler oversight after I added a new section to the TYD bit, oops).

[@Kibui]

I... I think Pokemon Ranger also contains an unintentional(?) reference to the hammer bros theme from SMB3 or it at least sounds very similar to the track "Go Rock Quads' Theme" (most obvious at around 0:37 compared to ~30:27 of this video)

[@Dorked]

Oh, that's very interesting! Admittedly, I haven't played the ranger games, but I'll have to listen later.

[@hanaheaven9058]

I know I'm off topic but I Like your profile, it looks cool. I love leitmotifs in music it give out a message about what they want to achieve.

[@moudura2448]

There's a leitmotif related to a few VR games by Stress Level Zero, specifically Boneworks and Bonelab. Boneworks has a leitmotif that is probably burned into the minds of pretty much everyone who's played it, since it manages to sneak into its way into several tracks, including some of the Bonelab tracks which have their own leitmotif that appears everywhere in various subtle ways and i love it

[@Marigold11037]

Great video! One of my main interests is Undertale and its leitmotifs, and i was still caught off by some of the comparisons you made! I don't know Deltarune as intricatly so having the different motifs pointed out was really eye opening! Or I guess ear opening?

[@brawlmasterjoelstudios]

"Life Will Change" and "Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There" have very similar choruses

[@xcaedes]

It is always nice to see Undertale fans analyzing leitmotifs. Glad you made this video! Also did you change your pfp? It looks cool 😎

[@Dorked]

Yeah, I'm trying to test a shift in branding because while I still plan to do UT/DR videos, I wanna diversify the videos I put out so I can talk about and share my other passions. A lil' harder to convey that with an AU Papyrus as my pfp.

[@shiitake5msm]

I absolutely love leitmotifs! A favourite example of mine comes from the game Bugsnax, where in one of the final tracks, "escape from Snaxburg", every single leitmotif in the game is put into a single track that plays troughout the final moments of the game. Its a really nice song too, i'd love to see it covered in an eventual third instalment of this series (which, btw, i'm absolutely loving so far :3)!

[@Dorked]

I'm not super familiar w/ Bugsnax, but that's neat to hear about it's OST! O: Love when games create big medleys toward the end to tie everything together.

[@Brickselot]

7:50 reminds me a bit of sayo-nara from dokidoki. Maybe toby took inspiration from there, since yk what happened to berdley

[@DE23]

One actually somewhat subtle leitmotif in SMRPG is that the piano part 12ish seconds in "The Sword that Scattered the Stars" using the Smithy Gang motif

[@Dorked]

Oh dang, good catch. I know it's also used at the start of Smithy's phase one fight, too.

[@DE23]

​​@@DorkedThe intro isn't the only part of Battling Smithy that references the Smithy Gang motif, the repeating bassline pattern is also based on the bassline of Battling a Weapon Boss, just transposed to F# minor, the first note moved down an octave, and extended a bit (although I would probably believe it could just be a coincidence if it weren't for the way Battling Smithy's bassline and Battling a Weapon Boss's melody were combined in Fun Parade Cheerful Parade) Also the bassline in Battling Smithy's Many Forms contains the motif at the part right before the loop

[@thebraviarykid7849]

Gladion isnt actually the last musical reference to mystery dungeon! In BDSP, there are two themes for returning legendaries (raikou, latios, rayquaza, etc). Both of these themes have a lietmotif that ill let you discover yourself. There are other lietmotifs in there too auch as for the legendary beasts!

[@Dorked]

Ooh, I'll have to look into it! O: I haven't played a lot of the switch Pokemon games since I lack the console and have to play with friends, and I still gotta finish legends arceus, but I am intrigued.

[@thebraviarykid7849]

@@Dorked I’ve never played BDSP either lol. Legends has some cool leitmotifs as well but of course most are from Gen 4

[@jaxsterminator8634]

9:46 I am SO GLAD I’m not the only one who noticed this

[@Dorked]

I think Audiospawn was the one who first brought it up in my server, but it's been sitting in my head ever since, so I felt obligated to talk about it. xD

[@markvd1008]

9:42 Contra popped up in my head for that riff instead apparently for me.

[@Dorked]

Oh, interesting! :O I haven't played, but I'm curious which track.

[@markvd1008]

@@Dorked It plays in Areas 2 & 4: Bases 1 & 2. v=8dZEeitofz0 for the video URL link.

[@Idazmi7]

I suggest you also compare Lost Girl to Nightmare Knight. It's eerie.

[@Chiptendo]

Ok, finished the video! in terms of the pokemon and undertale games, I would've never even noticed them without you telling me. but with the mario RPGs, hidden lemotifs are hidden throughout the entire franchise. for instance, the main theme of wonder is also the same theme as the main theme of the 1st game. the same goes for the underground of both games. DDLC+ does a similar thing, where they remix a track, but it sounds way too different to be it's own thing (peachy pie and ohayou sayori for example).

[@Dorked]

Yeah, Mario has a lot of leitmotifs in every branch of the franchise! I just zeroed in on the RPGs as it's the branch of the franchise I have the most personal investment in, and I thought a lot of the examples were neat.

[@DyxoXinoro]

One game that I want to highlight for a well hidden, but highly pervasive, motif is Chrono Cross. Granted, its gonna be overlooked a lot due to its relationship with Chrono Trigger, but the thing about Cross is that it hides a motif throughout its soundtrack, but _learning_ that motif is actually a core part of the game. It wants you to pick up on when it plays, slowly increasing the frequency and visibility of it as you get further and further into the game, until it becomes the backbone of the final dungeon theme. This is because the game's most powerful spell requires knowing this motif to get the most out of it, as just equipping it turns the game's magic system into a piano puzzle. And the best part? Said motif is a quote from a song in Trigger. Thus, if you played trigger and catch onto what Cross is setting up for, you can use your knowledge of the previous game to solve the puzzle as well. Although, arguably, Cross would have fit better as part of my comment on the previous video, since the game's true ending is tied to completing said piano puzzle while the final boss actively tries to disrupt you from doing so with its own spells. Plus the final sequence after beating said boss turns this motif into a full song of its own, fully divorced from the source material. Whoops.

[@Dorked]

While I'm only familiar with Trigger, I've heard that Cross has a really solid OST with a lot of fantastic atmosphere, melodies, and storytelling. It's cool to hear that it builds with its motifs to such a pivotal story moment and even calls back from Trigger.

[@DyxoXinoro]

@@Dorked Cross has one of my favorite soundtracks in any game I've played. As it turns out Mitsuda turns CDs into solid gold when you just let him cook. And apparently he likes working with Kato, since the two worked together on the later's indie project Another Eden.

[@theluigifan1]

The way I’m a huge fan of all of these games and their respective soundtracks 😭 Watching this video is like when a kid gets to go to a candy store and sees all their favorite candies everywhere. I love it!

[@Dorked]

Eyy, thanks! c: Glad you enjoyed.

[@theluigifan1]

You’re welcome! You’ve listed a lot of my favorite leitmotifs, too! If you’ve ever played Final Fantasy VII, I do hope you make another video including the leitmotifs that game has!

[@nicblueberry6360]

Great analysis! ❤

[@jamesvonderhaar2553]

I’d love to hear a comparison between Deltarune’s “The World Revolving” and Chrono Trigger’s “World Revolution,” its final boss battle theme. They’re obviously related because of the name and I think I can hear some similarities, but I don’t have the musical expertise to know anything more than that.

[@Demian_Garcia]

In bloodborne's dlc, laurence, the first vicar's theme has a couple of sections with motifs from the cleric beast and vicar amelia's theme, which makes sense considering he's the original cleric turned beast

[@Dorked]

Ooh, neat! I'm not familiar with the Soulsborne series, so it's cool to hear examples outside my usual frame of reference.

[@Demian_Garcia]

@@Dorked Well, here are some more, if you'd like to read about them. (Spoiler warning) In dark souls 3, the final boss theme (soul of cinder) contains a somewhat hidden leitmotif in the intro part, belonging to the theme of dark souls 1's "hub" area, firelink shrine. In phase 2 of the same fight, the song changes into the iconic ds1 final boss theme (gwyn, lord of cinder) as the boss itself also changes its fighting style to call back to gwyn (peak gaming moment) Elden ring has a few. For one, one of my favorite leitmotif tropes appears, as the main theme of the game is used in the final boss theme (radagon of the golden order and its second phase, the elden beast, with each phase taking different parts of the main theme). The elden beast leitmotif also appears in an area called the shaman village, the now empty hometown of queen marika, who served as the vessel for the elden beast

[@autumnwolverton4154]

I have my doubts that the quote of Run Away, Fugitives in Gladion's themes was intentional, not because of anything about the songs themselves, but just because Sun and Moon also feature Team Skull, a villainous team with the exact same English name as a group of minor antagonists from the PMD Explorers games. If they really were drawing deliberate attention to PMD, it seems weird that they would also reuse an important name like that... Although it could just be a case of Sun and Moon's Japanese devs not knowing about the English versions of PMD, as the Skuntank/Koffing/Zubat trio was apparently just called "Skull and Crossbones" in the Japanese version. Both skull-themed, but not literally the same name.

[@Dorked]

It could definitely be a localization difference, yeah. That, and Team Skull is probably the simplest localization choice to make. It's definitely still possible that it's a coincidence, but it's crazy how much of a quote (whether coincidence or not) it is. o_o

[@catgirlcallie]

On the subject of Paper Mario musical secrets, I believe that Mr. L, Green Thunder, is written as a twisted version of the theme from Luigi's Mansion. The melodies are warped and the feel is completely different, but there are subtle commonalities between the two tracks that make me think it's supposed to be a reference. Though, no one I've ever told this has heard what I do, so maybe I'm just crazy.

[@Dorked]

Oh, that's interesting. I'd have to listen to them back to back, but it's not *impossible*.

[@phictionofgrandeur2387]

Yoko Shimomura composed many Mario RPG soundtracks including the original and the ones from the Mario and Luigi RPGs, and I noticed a subtle reference to "Beware the Forest Mushrooms" from Super Mario RPG in "Deep Castle" from Bowser's Inside Story when I played those games. Edit: thanks for the reply but my phone is being dumb and not showing it to me, only the fact that you replied, not the reply itself. I'll have to wait a few minutes.

[@Dorked]

You know, I actually thought about mentioning that, but I wasn't sure if it was as much of a quote/reference as the Cackletta theme. I do definitely hear it, though.

[@christhethinker6791]

25:06 This is 'Wake up, get up, get out there' erasure

[@Dorked]

The original P5 OP is very solid! Its use of Life Will Change is just rather obvious, and I wanted to focus on the sneakier overlap between Life Will Change and I Believe.

[@dieg7749]

I would love someone to go in depth with the leitmotifs in Kirby games as I don’t really see many talk about it- specifically how leitmotifs are handled in the modern 2D platformers and in forgotten land-

[@Shai_Guy992]

The Thousand Year Door leitmotif reminds me of the Origami King leitmotif in PMTOK

[@johanstenfelt1206]

This was very interesting, i really am liking these Leitmotif Videos, I wonder if there could be more to talk about with them? Do you know about Pizza Tower or Asura’s Wrath?

[@AloeHalo]

Tbh this section in 3:53 is such an weird and funny about undertale's leitmotifs