Why do Chain Chomps sound different in Japan? (MORE Music Secrets!)

Chain chomps are some of the most recognisable Super Mario enemies, and beginning in Super Mario 64, they make an iconic "bark" sound. But in the Japanese version of the game, they sound completely different!
Plus, did you notice the Super Smash Bros song that reveals a hidden melody when you slow it down? Or the Mario and Zelda songs hidden within Pikmin 4…
Today I'm talking about some of my favourite musical secrets, mysteries and Easter eggs in Nintendo games!
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[@CrestedJeans]

Because the chain chomps speak different languages

[@eglol]

Haha that's funny

[@natvelo]

hahaha

[@HuMan-bEing132]

japanese chain chomp

[@zyrenfall]

Chompanese

[@KirbyPoyo]

Joe

[@Chubby_Bub]

I'm very impressed you actually reached out to Soyo Oka, and that she actually responded AND was interested in helping. It's always nice when creators are willing to interact with fans like that, particularly given the language barrier and Nintendo's usual secrecy. And I'm glad you bring light to their work like this!

[@hilariousskullnamedcatzo647]

If I recall correctly, she no longer works at Nintendo

[@axeltroysugiarto5473]

Honestly the sfx just sounds like toad.

[@keroppib4ptista]

wait ur the guy with all the hhp songs

[@nb064]

​@@hilariousskullnamedcatzo647 she doesn't, she's a freelancer now

[@Hithere-uz6wd]

The normal employees at Nintendo are not the ones who are full of secrecy

[@thefizzwizz1662]

17:19 This so funny to me. The original Japanese name basically means 'woof woof', but as a child, I never knew what the Chain Chomps were actually called. The closest I got to an answer was in Links Awakening for the Gameboy, where there is an NPC character who owns a Chain Chomp as a pet. The Chain Chomps name is "Bow-wow", which is another way of expressing what a dog sounds like. So all my child hood I thought Chain Chomps were actually called 'bow-wow's, akin to how their Japanese name which happens to be very similar.

[@MrGamelover23]

You know what, Bow Wow could have totally worked as a name.

[@TheRealBatabii]

I remember having like a mini strategy guide preview for Mario 64 that came with one of my magazines and it was baffling to me that it only used Japanese names for all the enemies but I don't actually remember if it said chain chomp or wanwan

[@derbuhn]

I don't remember when exactly I knew that Chain Comps were supposed to be dogs. But in german they are called "Kettenhund" which would be "Chain Dog". I do remember that in SMB3 when my parents, sister and me were playing we always referred to them as "Chain Dogs". Today I will always call the Chomps :D It's just more fitting and kinda cute ^^ PS: Kettenhund is a usual word for Dogs who are (nearly) always chained up.

[@danielworley7595]

I knew it was called Wan Wan I don’t know how tho🤷‍♂️ We bought the big guide book I think, maybe I got it from that.

[@groom_of_the_stool]

They were called Bow-Wow in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, too. Even in the English version.

[@SavioSiqueira1]

17:45 So, about the american chain chomp sound! The sound effects wiki has it explained, its from a library called "The General Series 6000 Sound Effects Library", it's a 43 seconds long clip of a rottweiler barking, and one snippet of it was used for the chain chomp!

[@Gabethedoggo]

how to own a chain chomp: step 1: get a Rottweiler step 2: put it on a chain step 3: make it bite everyone step 4: have a chain chomp

[@wrexhammusic]

Wait a little longer to hear a slowed down version of the motif on the Mario Kart Super Circuit title screen. BE PATIENT, it IS there.

[@datnastysalad5616]

The fact that Soyo Oka responded was so cool!

[@Scallion_Pancake]

There have been studies that show how cats have different meows based on their owners' accents, so maybe it's similar for dogs in Japan.

[@HelpTheWretched]

I saw a video a few weeks ago of a husky with an Italian accent. Che cane buono!

[@FaisalBashir1]

Piranha plant’s lullaby is just so fitting in a music box

[@cheesycoke]

"the music in the bathroom is like 10 minutes long" thomas how do you know this.

[@pewzier]

you could say he might’ve eaten a fireflower

[@BinglesP]

(Literal) toilet humor aside, by Occam's Razor, he probably just knew that because of the recordings he was able to get to play in the video, and looked at the timestamps of them. But as for who recorded the track... I don't want to know.

[@BlueAizu_]

Hey, if ever you're sick and stuck fighting for your life in the toilet... you'll appreciate the music not looping constantly

[@Reaktron88]

2:36 I would like to mention that the first 2D mario game with an interconnected overworld was actually Super Mario World. Although it did have some zones that were separate maps, most of it was the same overworld. Also, those other maps are just like "loads" within the overworld, and they also have multiple entrances from different places.

[@ptanker9236]

Yep, even Super Mario Land 2 had an interconnected overworld

[@thestupidnintendokid]

I think she meant the first New Super Mario Bros. game, but I could be wrong.

[@Reaktron88]

@@thestupidnintendokidYup! You’re right. She only said: “For the first time in the new super mario bros series”

[@safebox36]

Feels weird that chain-chomp has a different sound effect in the west, given the sound used is a Japanese onomatopoeia for "barking"; "wan-wan". Edit: could just be me, but the western sound effect sounds more like "wan-wan" than the original which sounds like "on-on" to me

[@ArgentuTA164-2]

Honestly it's the opposite for me. The original Japanese sound effect sounds closer to "wan-wan" while the English sounds closer to "ruff-ruff"

[@TheBoeboe]

they pretty much sound the same to me, except one being deeper and with more reverb

[@qactustick]

When I heard the Japanese version, it made me realize that the Chain Chomp uses the same sound effect as a lot of enemies when they're defeated; the enemy version is just sped up.

[@brare45996]

English sounds like ROWROW! Japanese sounds like hyu hyu?

[@s_gaming71]

The reference to Mario Kart 64 star road music is "a subtle reference" with "only 5 notes in common" ? What ?? The very first chord that plays instantly has 5 common notes already, and every following chords all have many common notes to the original song, I recognized instantly what song it was from that alone. Thats way more than common notes, its literally the entire same song structure with a slightly adjusted melody on top lol

[@Qwerty10254]

Chili, he's not a music nerd like you 😮

[@lukelcs8934]

@@Qwerty10254I was thinking a lot of these references were pretty easy to spot as well, but I’m also a hobbyist composer who composes by ear who was practically raised on Nintendo games soooo Idk if he underestimated how easy they were to recognize or I overestimate the average- what do we call this? Ability to recognize motifs I suppose (melodies for the non music nerds lol) Still was kind of funny tho for me to know the song after the first note and he’s like “sound familiar? It’s actually a subtle reference to this” Funny, tho in an entertaining way ^.^

[@nayimpelaez2163]

Thomas should totally make a compilation of her playing songs on the piano, She’s very talented at it! 👏👏🎶🎵🎶🎵

[@Realmariowahoo]

His*

[@Kebbo1992]

​@Realmariowahoo thomas came out as trans in december so she uses she/her pronouns now

[@dothedo3667]

​@@Kebbo1992 Keeping Thomas though or thinking about changing names soon?

[@durdleduc8520]

@@dothedo3667 all i've heard her express is that she's keeping the Thomas identity for her online persona. it's very possible (and not our business) that the case might be different in her personal life.

[@nefer-trebeledfomp-4129]

16:16: The weird bit is that the synth you're looking for sounds *really close if not is an exact match* to one of the microphone instruments in Starbound. It may be worth asking around the Chucklefish forums?

[@sdg1]

holy cannoli I checked out the mic sounds and I was in shock how similar they are lol

[@SupernaturalMario64]

US chain chomp: Woof woof! JP chain chomp: HEALP HEALP

[@scmtuk3662]

11:01 that's not exactly correct. Mario Kart: Super Circuit _does_ include it. It's just arranged so much that it's harder to recognize. In other words, a "strong similarity, but not an exact match".

[@katelynbraunohler5191]

u r underrated big time i feel so bad about that youtube warning

[@joshjones7605]

Letter was surprisingly good Japanese. I’m very impressed! Few improvement points (hope you see it as me trying to help a fellow learner) -textbooks teach ときどき、but I almost never hear natives use it. Consider たまに or excluding the “sometimes” qualifier altogether -なずを解く❌　謎(なぞ)を解く⭕️ -メイル is not common spelling, recommend メール instead. You can check on your phone how common spellings are using clues like suggested emojis while typing 😉 -natives are also bad at this, but is better to choose casual ある　ない format or です　ます format and stick to one throughout a body of text. (I’m not saying you must be formal every time, just suggesting consistency)

[@pimeja7]

ive also noticed "っ" missing in なって and だったら

[@alyssa_taylorsversion]

I really don't understand how you don't have a million subscribers yet! I love these videos so much, I watch them on rainy days. Glad to see your channel is still here despite the warning from KZbin. 💖

[@goodolbreadguy5038]

As a pikmin fan I’m happy the 3 music boxes are included here. First one I found was the song of storms one and I smiled when I heard it. I just knew they had to include the piranha plant lullaby too and my suspicions became true once I got the music box.

[@davidzea-smith1417]

I’m just glad your channel survived that strike scare.

[@DaNintendude]

The interesting thing about the Mario Kart title theme is that-- in the trailer for Home Circuit, they had an arrangement of the classic theme to end off the trailer, which doesn't exist in the in-game version... probably so they can loop it for as long as you listen to it! With Mario Kart Tour, there isn't really a title screen song. Just loading/menu music. But in some of the trailers for the game, there's a new song that mixes part of the classic theme into it. It also takes elements from Mario Kart Wii's intro cinematic. If you'd like to hear it, look up the original Mario Kart Tour trailer. It's about 45 seconds into it. I remember it most from playing in the trailers that showcased the teams of Team Rallies, but they'd usually cut off right as the music would get to the reference.

[@-strawberrydonut]

yes shes still on youtube !!

[@spiritbaki108]

She?

[@-strawberrydonut]

@@spiritbaki108 yeah, thomas is a trans woman.

[@SebsistButReal]

​@@-strawberrydonut really?? when did she say that?

[@-strawberrydonut]

@@SebsistButReal a while ago, and mentioned it in one of her last videos i think.

[@-strawberrydonut]

i checked and it looks like the video is down, it was about how she might need to quit youtube, it was between this one and the last one.

[@midi5467]

I was so happy to hear the OG Mario Kart theme being played by 8's band. That whole soundtrack is wonderful!

[@Chaotic_evil_duck]

Glad you were able to resolve those strikes

[@Cheri_Blast]

10:37 Something I’ve noticed is that MK8 is the only game to recreate that track 1:1 All the others that have this use a sped-up version of MK64’s rendition, not the original SMK theme

[@cowboyluigi5275]

Super Circuit comes very close. Listen to the theme of single-pak multiplayer races!

[@Cheri_Blast]

@@cowboyluigi5275 ... okay, two games recreate it 1:1 I've never heard this track before, but yeah, it's definitely reminiscent!

[@maxevocal]

The mariokart theme feels like when you watch a ballet/play/opera and a character gets their own little musical leitmotif to remember them by 😊

[@vinyboiler]

The Mario Kart SNES theme is in Mario Kart Super Circuit. It's in the single pack multiplayer mode as the race theme! Hidden like a true musical Easter Egg.

[@dawndishsoap14]

so silly that it's the only mainline mario kart to not have it in the title theme

[@SwedenTheHedgehog]

The Japanese version Chain Chomp -sound is MOST LIKELY the same sound that some NPCs in the game use, just pitched/warped a bit. It specifically sounds like the first two "notes" of the same sound that King Bob-Omb noise (among other characters).

[@Fidumo]

10:47 it was so obvious what that 2nd silhouette was lol

[@ptanker9236]

Super Circuit was also obvious the moment i didn’t see it in the list

[@joshuwamckinsey5666]

11:00 Super Circuit does use the Super Mario Kart title theme but if every other Mario Kart can be described as using the first half as it’s motif then Super Circuit can be described as using the second half.

[@Axecon1]

I'm glad your channel is doing ok! Bummer that it had those copyright strikes

[@JonathonV]

The opening two chords of the World 9 song at 4:40 also echo the theme song from Rainbow Road Wii, so this is truly a Rainbow Road-themed world!

[@bluargie7906]

This video showed me how many iconic music tracks Nintendo developed over the years. I recognized most of them the first two or three seconds and was humming along. It is cool to see how ingrained these mucical numbers are in my brain and to many others!

[@dragooncroft]

I like how much research you do into the developers, it's like you were there and telling their story somehow.

[@Boooo]

14:28 Nice landing lmao

[@NobodyYouKnow01]

Before you had even slowed down Peach's final smash, I heard it for the first time and my mind was blown.

[@evarsonstudios]

Another Nintendo Music Easter Egg: If you speed up the GameCube BIOS theme 10x you will get the Famicom Disk System BIOS theme

[@Bigoukun]

Fun fact: In France, Chain Chomps used to be called "Toutou Bombe", which you could translate to "Bomb Doggie", or something of that effect. (Nowadays, they are called Chain Chomps there too, like in most of the world.)

[@BinglesP]

Because they look so similar to Bob-Ombs and the like? I can see that. Funny to think of them that way, considering how many enemies in Mario games nowadays are very clearly variants on others, and much more blatantly.

[@Bigoukun]

@@BinglesP Don't know the reason. Maybe.

[@Asolire]

About the Mario Kart motif, despite Tour not using it for the title screen, it was used in the game's main Trailer, it's uploaded on KZbin from a year ago, you can hear the motif at 0:42 with an electric guitar. That same music was always used for the biweekly trailers for new waves of mii suits, but it was never played for long enough to get to the motif. What's more, we never got a clean release of that soundtrack so this version with the sound effects over it is the only one out there with it sadly.

[@therobinflieseast]

The pilotwings vocal part almost reminds me of one of Toad's voicelines from MK64. The wuh-wuh-wuh-wuh-wuh-wuh, though it could as easily just be a common sound effect to make

[@flyingtypetrainer4072]

What an interesting concept for a video! I wasn't anticipating the loads of other information included in here either, great work!

[@windowsnt4.0enjoyer]

LETS GO YOU'RE STILL HERE

[@nb064]

5:00 its also worth noting that both songs are composed by the same person!

[@LavaCreeperPeople]

YEAH, WHY DO THEY SOUND DIFFERENT!?!?!?

[@jackspielman5488]

I think theres a video that explains it somehwere

[@SebsistButReal]

​@@jackspielman5488 what's it called

[@FaisalBashir1]

Man, there are a ton of peach’s castle remixes in these videos.

[@AJ.the_ray.j]

I got so confused around the 3min mark cause you went off topic from the chain chomps sound and I wasn’t paying attention so I was like “wait huh? Am I still watching the same video-?”

[@olivercharles2930]

trash pfp

[@AJ.the_ray.j]

@@olivercharles2930 awwwww same to you🫶🫶🫶

[@alondraiee]

@@olivercharles2930you don’t even have a pfp dawg

[@olivercharles2930]

@@alondraieeAnd?

[@olivercharles2930]

@@AJ.the_ray.jEwww

[@heyojinko]

HI THOMAS *does a little dance*

[@JibrilShchedrin]

I always thought the kart driving sound was synthesized in Super Mario kart _BUT ITS REAL!!!???!!!_

[@DeuxLeftHands]

In the end I mistakenly understood "myster'eggs" and honestly I think it should be more common. Great work!

[@Magnus_2882]

5:17 the same 5 notes remind me the file selector in sm64

[@Cece_Star]

19:07 In Germany The Chain chomp ( Wan Wan ) is called ,,Kettenhund“ which translates to Chain dog so it was clear to me that its supposed to be a dog , but i feel like the Japanese version sounds like a koopa 👀

[@YujiUedaFan]

The koopa noise was one of two women screaming (still is).

[@RDG-01]

Good to see you back, sis! glad to have more of these videos on my home feed. Good luck with the transition btw.

[@tntgames-yf4ne]

14:06 It's just me or does this sounds like The Pelones from Sr Pelo? lol

[@DilHark]

To me it sounds like the BUP sound from the toad meme lol

[@rAIGMIBU]

11:12 "Still, that's 7/11 total games, all of which include the Mario Kart motif that Soyo Oka composed way back in 1992," I thought it was 3 games that didn't use the song Soyo Oka composed, 11 - 7 = 4

[@Chipmunkboy]

10:44

[@horrisnorris6478]

I had a visceral reaction to that Japanese chainchomp sound at the start of the video!

[@pablociraptor]

fun fact : the patron 'Cyprien Iov' at 20:13 is the 3rd biggest french youtuber, who's been around the platform since like 15 years

[@prodghxstiin]

i love the current grind you've been on with your content recently! loving your new content

[@arebolguese180]

so happy to see you're still on youtube! love your content

[@WaddleDeeLover]

14:00 It reminds me to Toad's voice from Mario Kart 64

[@Chipmunkboy]

Torad never makes a sound in mario 64.

[@Bakedbeans780]

He’s singing his heart out

[@WaddleDeeLover]

@@Chipmunkboy Oh you're right, I forgot. So where does de bop sound effect come frome, Mario Tennis?

[@Chipmunkboy]

@WaddleDeeLover it's trimmed out of a mario kart 64 voiceline

[@WaddleDeeLover]

@@Chipmunkboy Oh that's right. Thank you very much!

[@chompchompchangbin]

Yay, thanks for the upload! ❤

[@astrid3321]

I loved the editing in this one

[@MrChainChomp]

I always enjoy learning more about my people and their different languages! 🥰

[@basil_gamin]

Holy shit it’s mr chain chomp

[@PvzNerd]

Holy crap it's a gooomba!

[@Kebbo1992]

​@@basil_gamin holy shit it's basil omori

[@NormansWorldMovies]

8:38 I knew that song sounded familiar

[@glenngriffon8032]

I'm glad you got them strikes resolved. Happy to see new content from you.

[@XxguaxinimxX.]

That was a great video! Surely a lot of research was made, but it was worth it, for sure!

[@SnackCakes]

Keep up the great work! Love your content

[@GiuseppeGaetanoSabatelli]

Not gonna mention WHY the song of storms was chosen? Lol. Because the guy who teaches it to you is literally cranking a music box with that melody!

[@rod0fdiscord]

glad to see your channel still up

[@Pirikala_]

Amazing content as always !

[@Obbels]

Glad to see you still exist, keep up the good work!

[@NaOkii]

I even have the Song of Storms music box, what a cool coincidence

[@LARKXHIN]

"sound familiar?" Me who plays 0 Mario games and just enjoys the videos:

[@Dig_Duke_SFM]

I just stumbled on your channel and im loving it already! I gotta watch more lol i found a new binge watch n popcorn channel ^_^

[@aloofi_]

I’m always so excited to watch your videos, they never miss

[@bitwize]

The Japanese Chain Chomp sound sounds like a slowed down version of one of the "heho-heho" type sounds used for Koopas and Goombas from SM64 on. It doesn't sound like "wan wan" to me. I think they just had these voice-synth samples lying around and decided to reuse them, much like how the same laugh is used for Bowser and the Boos. As a matter of fact, in this video of various Koopa sounds, at about 11 seconds in, you can hear a slowed down "hroo hroo" VERY similar to the Japanese Chain Chomp bark: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aYnYk2ikf9SBhbs

[@YujiUedaFan]

What's really creepy is the original Chain Chomp, Goomba and Koopa noises were of two women screaming.

[@prayagsuthar9856]

I'll definitely keep an _ear_ out for those Pikmin 4 music boxes while I'm playing! I'm also _amazed_ that you were able to contact someone at Nintendo! Next-level 🤩🤩🤩

[@harrisonallen651]

Love it once again, I look forward for a third entry in this series.

[@Tysig]

You are my favourite Nintendo youtuber thank you for making so many amazing videos

[@hershmysson]

Hah, I was just thinking as you showed the world 9 song “why does it sound like Martin kart music” and then oh wait, as I realized you showed rainbow road, so cool

[@Sing_LoveWRS]

Yayyyy!!! Thomas upload! Happy days, a new upload from my favorite lady on the platform.

[@Shadowiann_]

lady?

[@Sing_LoveWRS]

​@@Shadowiann_ check her community tab

[@Sing_LoveWRS]

@@Shadowiann_ I think my other message didn't send, but yeah, Thomas is transgender if I'm remembering correctly.

[@NicecrownFromTheBeancrowns]

@@Sing_LoveWRS that is correct

[@megamix5403]

I just found out about this today wow

[@Kictor]

This video was awesome! That’s so cool you got an email reply! Also its so nice hearing your piano at the end!

[@user-vk4yq3py5e]

6:46 well that is true but the song vame from the original super mario bros game on the nes.

[@wesleywarrick]

I'm kinda happy that the explanation was put at the end of the video... I learned more than I thought I wanted to 😂

[@thecrazycapn]

So, wait...Peach's Castle has an evil version of the SM64 theme when Bowser takes it over. But in SM64 Bowser has taken it over. That's the plot of the game! Why isn't, then, the default Peach's Castle theme already the evil version! :/

[@tobiassprinzl6516]

I must admit that as a 19 year-old that grew up during the wii, 3DS and Wii U era, this entire video made me extremely nostalgic. Thank you for reminding me of my childhood.

[@PaintraSeaPea]

If I'm not mistaken, isn't the Japanese chain chomp sound sampled from the same audio CD as other vocal sounds in SM64? (The "Bah" instrument, Koopa Troopa's voice, boss sound effects) Since the international version has a few minor changes and seems to be something of a revision, the assumption I made was that they were being as resourceful as possible, but someone down the line thought an actual bark would sound better. They still use the newer bark to this day, too, so I'd think they just find it more ideal.

[@Kebbo1992]

HOLY SHIT IS THAT FUCKIN HIT KIRBY ANIMATOR PAINTRASEAPEA IN A THOMAS GAME DOCS VIDEO!?!?!??

[@T12321H]

absolutely loved this video!!!!!!!! thanks TGD

[@LucarioredLR]

Imagine getting a really nasty stomachache and having to fight for your life in the toilet and then 6:44 is there to support you 😭

[@icaliver]

Chain chomps already had vocal sounds in both Zelda link to the past and link’s awakening. The barking seem to be the ideal sound for them.

[@teirusureynard9279]

13:20 - Foley Vs. Field Recording

[@HaphazardDisastard]

The chain chomp noise seems to me to be the same sample of a dog bark, just pitch bent and perhaps modified slightly. My guess as to why they are different is because dogs in Japan are typically smaller. (Take the shiba inu for example.) Meanwhile, in the US where more people seem to be addicted to power and larger things, a bark of a larger dog seems more fitting.

[@Weegiepeasy]

The one time I’ve wanted to use the restroom in a theme park

[@EdinMike]

Having just thought about it, the only Mario games I’ve ever purchased were Mario 64 and Sunshine, of course there were Karts and Smash bros but we were a Sega and PC family in the late 80s/early 90s and then after the N64 and GameCube I moved to PC !

[@ReptarRaWR]

You're awesome! thank you for making awesome content.

[@iknowthisisforLKR]

Fun Fact for you to talk about:In Pikmin 4,each enemy has a looping section that adds to the musoc when approached.But the Breadbug’s theme actually contains the Boss theme of the big breadbug

[@Syntax_Error15]

Hi Thomas! Very nice video!

[@Croshau]

It's great to see you have your channel

[@MalarkTheJester]

I am sad to hear that one of the pikmim 4 music boxes wasn’t the Yoshi’s Island prelude song as it was a music box.

[@StefiStarlite]

Thank you for another fun video! A lot of those were a delight to learn about. ^_^