6:04 The music really hits differently when you take into account that by that point, Revali is the last champion standing. And he knows it. He’s heard all the other’s send out their SOS signals. He knows that there will be no one coming to rescue him. It’s already too late. Castletown had already fallen by the time Revali would have sent out his own SOS. Link had probably fallen in battle by now too. And these were probably his final thoughts as he died… knowing that they had failed.
But the sos was also audible at the start of this one? Why is everyone saying his was the last one Edit: actually, it isn’t audible until fifteen seconds in, which is later than every other song.
@@bzlujapvso when you listen to mipha’s her SOS signal is heard right away, especially since waterblight ganon turned her water powers into ice, so her powers were useless and she was the first to fall. As for Daruk and Urbosa, they were either the 2nd or 3rd to fall, based on the timing of the SOS signal and flatline. As for Revali, he didn’t send the SOS signal until later, now remember, Rito’s have very bad eyesight at night, so he could barely see Windblight ganon, so based off the SOS signal and flatline, he was the last to fall.
I think how often the tone of revali's SOS changes says a lot. All the other champions' signals only used 2 or 3 pitches but revali's was all over the place, like he was trying to use as many different radio frequencies as he could before windblight ganon caught up with him. He wasnt just trying to reach the other champions, he was trying to reach ANYONE who could hear him.
The thing is, only Ritos could help him. He knew that the champions would take awhile because they cant make it up there without help (and they were uh…suffering). He was desperately calling for help at that moment. It wasn’t stalled because of ego, it was stalled because he didn’t believe it would find him help at all. He only did it out of desperation/panic and it shows.
It terrifies me to know that the divine beasts actively had communication systems with each other. Meaning they could all hear each others sos signals, and the SAD signals. Revali's battle is the saddest, because he was the last to fall, and he probsbly was aware he was last man standing with no help coming.
@@FallenFromGlory most people actually think that's all Revali is, while it's completely the opposite. Revali may be my second favorite champion (excluding Link, who will always be #1) just behind Mipha. Revali was born without a power, so he used his own abilities to make them. Revali kept an ego because he was the pride of his people, not because he loved the attention. Revali clearly had a rivalry with Link, yes. But it wasn't to be cocky, or to appear 'better' than Link, it was moreso likely that he just wanted the Validation, that he's just as strong as the rest, even though he has no natural power, he's not a leader or royalty. He's just skilled with a bow and arrow, and he can be just like them. The writing for the champions is honestly amazing and I'm really sad we'll likely never see them again after TOTK. Also, Revali's fight against Windblight was the *most* unfair blight battle. Rito have horrible eyesight, and the calamity struck at night. Windblight could toss Revali around like a toy, and Revali could do nothing about it. The reason Revali was the last alive is likely because he may have been the last one to his divine beast, considering he most likely would've had to go straight through Hyrule Field to get to Vah Medoh. He was already weak and exhausted, when he got to Vah Medoh he was met with an enemy that could obliterate him in just minutes. just realized how much i wrote ahaha, sorry I'll stop now :]
@@FallenFromGlory If you're talking about Tulin/Teba, I believe he did that on his own aswell. I'm not entirely sure because I'd need to replay the Rito section. If Tulin did get his powers passed on, it was likely by Teba, who I believe self-taught himself. Even then. It wouldn't make sense for Revali's ability to be passed on, as it was learned by him, not granted, so it wouldn't be genetic. If you're talking about BOTW, I'm pretty sure that the abilities are created by their spirits, not Link. So, Link isn't preforming these abilities, but the spirits of the champions are.
@@omodev Yes, but if the champions can interact with the physical world, then why aren't they fighting? Every other ability works fine. Urbose has lightning powers, which makes sense as "magic", and Mipha had innate healing powers; it makes sense for her to be able to heal her host, Daruk: all of the above. But if Revali truly made his own ability, he can interact with the physical world.
This one feels lonelier. The other Champions were all leaders and/or held a lot of influence over their respective communities. Mipha mourns her lost love, the brother and father she left behind, the people she can no longer protect. Urbosa mourns the tired princess, kept from the people she once led who now have to fend for themselves. Daruk had a strong connection to Link and probably worries about him constantly, along with his brothers of death mountain left to the mercy of the volcano. But who does Revali have to think of? He isolated himself from his community to train and improve, put himself on a pedestal becoming unwittingly detached, never seemed to be close with anyone. Never allowed himself to. All he can do while waiting for Link is to pour over old regrets, replay the fight over and over in his mind trying to think of a way he could have made it out. The flaws and inconsistencies in his skill he'd failed to correct.
That sucks having to replay over that same situation in your mind over and over. We think of it as torturous for just a few minutes…BUT THIS REPLAYED OVER IN HIS MIND FOR A CENTURY!!!!!
I made this observation a while back-- with the SOS signals, there's also a SAD (seek and destroy) signal playing in tandem. The further along the first sequence of the soundtrack gets, the closer together the signals become, as if they're battling. It gets to a point where the SAD signal starts before the SOS can even finish, until eventually SOS is phased out completely. Enter the orchestral sequence-- it's like it leaves you feeling "What happened to Revali?" That depressing, onsetting idea that the proudest champion was slain settles in, but the music is still anticipatory enough that it kinda leaves you in suspsense. It just sounds like an eternal build-up of not knowing whether or not one of your closest brothers in arms is alive. God, only Nintendo music can get people to come up with theories like this based on a *soundtrack.* Edit: AND. The bell tolls in the orchestral sequence. It sounds so grave... I just-- I can't with this.
@@trustyrusty6969 It's the lower toned signal that plays each time after the SOS. You can hear it pretty good at 0:23 (. . . /. - /- . .). The details of this track are absolutely wild. I'm pretty sure its in the other divine beast ones too? But I don't think they're as clear
I’ve heard a lot of people saying that he was too prideful to signal for help, but do you all remember what he said to Link? “Oh, you must *pardon* me. You have no way of making it up to the divine beast on your own.” I believe that he was in a situation where he was damned if he signaled and damned if he didn’t. No one but a Rito could get up there. Ravioli didn’t deserve this. He really has the most sad perspective of this fight. Not only does he hear his friends and fellow champions die (minus Zelda) but he also is dead either way as no one can make it up to Vah Medoh.
@@kito5719 SOS is a call for help, and, historically, has been meant to stand for "Save our Ship/Souls". Using morse code, it's a way to communicate that you're in distress and in dire need of help. Within this song, you can hear individual "beeps" (starts around 0:17, in the background). This is the morse code that translates to "SOS". Essentially, the theory is that each Champion was sending out an SOS, most likely when they were battling the Blights. It was their last call for help before they were, unfortunately, defeated.
I know that everyone else is saying that Revali was too overconfident to trigger the SOS at the start, but I think that he knows when he can't win a fight, and will reluctantly send out the SOS. But he saw that all the other DBs were also using the SOS so he held off on using it until he had to.
THANK YOU ! His last call seems like an ego problem, but I see it like he shrinks from nothing, waits until his last breath and then seeks for help bc he really needs it.
I had read somewhere that there's a brief snippet of the SOS early on in the theme, like, really early on, but then it cuts out and doesn't come back until the end. The theory posited was that Revali started sending the SOS then heard the other Champions' SOS calls and deliberately stopped so help could get to them before him. SO when the SOS call comes back in the theme, Revali's literally dying for help
dont forget ritos have terrible night vision so he probably struggled the most and also that the sos signal gets overtaken by search and destroy which was basically the moment the divine beast became territory to windblight or the exact moment revali died
I love the fact that all the themes aren’t as intense at this one. By far this will always be my favorite, this takes the cake. It’s so eerily and sudden making it more serious and fast like Revali
Mine too, only Urbosa’s is second to this in my mind, but only because Revali is my favorite champion because I love him. I wish he was real and I could give him the true love I know he needed. The Shrine B theme here is so heart-wrenching and full of desperation and urgency, as you turn Medoh and the divine beast cries out..
@@rominn2184 Urbosa's is a theme that can make me cry every single time without fail, particularly at that part near the end where it cuts in with the flute sound from her village. It suggests she died with pride that she still fought to her best ability, that confidence that the community she cared for will survive.
the. first terminal is my favorite because it’s the one i spent the most on, considering i didn’t have the master sword in the dungeon. i was scared asf so i just teleported out of there. when i got back, i litterally walked around for hours in-game and finally saw the next terminal right in front of me. good times.😂😂
all this talk about SOS signals and flatlines and i'm over here admiring how the orchestral section at 1:16 is just the battle theme from Ocarina of Time slowed down to a graceful crawl.
THANK GOODNESS someone else noticed this. I remember playing BotW for the first time and being like “why did that sound familiar?” For a moment but didn’t put my finger on it until recently. Beautiful callback.
Revali is just amazing. His theme and even Vah Medohs theme really reflect his character. Everybody has pointed out that the S.O.S doesnt start until later and how its very frantic but lets not forget that Revali himself said there was no way for Link to get to the divine beast on his own. Its just sad to know that Revali waited the longest to call for S.O.S and even when he did knew that nobody that could help him could even reach him on Vah Medoh. Revali is my favorite character in the game!
I’m surprised nobody really thought of that…including me…Link couldn’t reach the divine beast without help and neither could the champions…He knew it too, but he was so overwhelmed in the end, and swallowed his pride, and called for help even though deep down inside he knew nobody could get to him anyways if they tried…it’s really sad
His SOS signal does begin early on, around 29 seconds in, but it doesn't finish. Someone else pointed out that, considering how Revali likely lasted the longest, he heard everyone else's signals when he was starting his, but stopped so they could get help first.
[EDIT 6 months later: to clarify, I don't mean the SOS or SAD that have been talked about for a while now, I'm hearing something close to a heart-rate monitor, steady & repetitive beeps without a pattern. It might very well be me mistaking the SOS or SAD signals for the heart-rate, I've never been able to distinguish those.] At 3:30 onwards I'm hearing another steady repetitive beep (I'm not hearing a pattern.) that gets more and more clear leading up to a "flatline" at around 04:08, which also follows the strings and the pulsing synth in the background. It's at about 160 bpm. The normal heartbeat for a human is between 60 and 100 bpm, so let's imagine a Rito's heartbeat is the same as a human's. Anything above 100 is considered fast, 160 is usually only seen during intense exercise. Or y'know. Fighting for your life I suppose. I think this further suggests that Revali held up fairly well for a while against the Wind Blight which was supposed to be his perfect foil, and he didn't really panic until his very very last moment when he seems to have realized he couldn't win after all. Honestly love how much there is to speculate around in these soundtracks alone.
I don't know if it's just my mind playing tricks on me, but I think it might be in an SOS signal (...---...) Could totally be my brain trying to make me hear things tho :D
That kind of beeps with that high pitch is actually really similar to the sound produced by some telegraphs for morse code when something is interfering with the lines and the message couldn't arrive perfectly Don't know if it's intended to be like that, but I like to think that Revali was sending a last call with some of the informations about the Blight he was fighting but those informations were blocked by the Blight and we cannot hear them properly 'cause the beeps follow clearly a different pattern from SOS or SAD (search and destroy) but the strings song and the height of the pitch just make them impossible to translate from morse
after the sos signal theres the SAD or search and destroy (... .- -..) signal, and it eventually covers the sos entirely. It could reprisent the beasts turning against the champions
If you listen to it with headphones on, you'll hear the SOS in your right ear, and SAD (morse code for Search And Destroy) in your left. I've noticed all the Champions' Divine Beast songs are this way-a call for help in one ear, and a call to attack in the other. And they start overlapping as if fighting against one another-like the Blights fighting the Champions.
I noticed this too but for Vah Naboris I swear the SOS is in the left ear (pretty quiet) and the SAD is in the right ear (a lot louder, almost drowning the SOS out). Or am I mistaken? 😅
@@louisecarter1385 i know it's been a month but you are NOT mistaken! the SAD is ment to overpower the SOS and drown it own as a way to say that these champions had literally no match against the blights and ganon
oh i thought the SAD was the champions giving up hope in surviving and instead telling everyone else to take it down with the knowledge that it was there (they would've stood a better chnace if they werent taken by surprise). Yours works better, its like the blights telling each other to attack
People have probably already noticed but for anyone who didn't there's a theory that the booming piano in all of the themes are when and how tragically they were struck , for example urbosas is far more intense because she had the most tragic death. P.s later in this track it's so like slow and sad just showing how desperate revali was :'(
They do show in game that lightning is possibly the most painful attack type in combat, without armour immunity it can one hit Link. Our poor Gerudo queen 🥺
For any of you that can’t hear the SOS, it’s clearest at 0:15. Take out your left headphone and if you need to it might help to listen to what SOS sounds like in morse on another video first so you know what you’re looking for :]
in the third terminal activated song, there's a sound in the back that sounds like a deceased flatline heartbeat i think the whole theme for medoh just kinda sounds hopeless the other themes were okay, but the whole time i did vah medoh i had to fight back the feeling of breaking down and crying
This is hands down my favourite song in the entire game, hell even my favourite OST track in any game. There is something so beautiful and sad about it, when I first heard the violins kick in my draw dropped.
We all talk about how Revali was the last one standing and how terrified he was because he knew it, but just remember that he could hear the other SOS signals. That also means he could hear the SAD signals after they fell and while he continued to fight. Imagine how terrifying that would be, to know your friends and allies fought until they died and now the blights that killed them are searching for you to kill next. All of the emotion of being the last one standing, leaving his arrogance behind to call for help. Now add on the fear of being hunted.
The music after the first terminal is the best. It’s simultaneously soothing, as if to say “Calm down, you are in the heavens above Hyrule. Nothing can reach you in this sky fortress”, but it’s unsettling. You know that there is something in here, and it wants you dead.
I will not cry over a video game character-crying over video game character. Just the fact you can hear the sos and the realization that’s he’s in trouble in the music.
I think that the more the music goes on the more panicked he is, due to his personality and the fact that the music gets faster and every instrument clashes together, he’s flying through the dark and can barely see a thing keep in mind that he still has the marks that symbolize rito youth on his face, he’s so young and scared yet he is the final champion to sos, it’s so tragic
Just Imagine His pride was in His way to call for Help Bit at the end he tried. Imagine his Last thought pleading for Help thinking "please Link I don't want to die" and eventually His sos calls faint out...
Maybe I am reading too deep into it but there is another reason than just his pride that he might have activated his SOS last. He saw the other Champions activate their own SOS's and perhaps was going to activate his too, I believe that's why we start to hear the beginning of an SOS message earlier and then gets cut short, he was going to call for help but saw his friends in danger so he decided "If anyone is coming...go help the others."
@@pokocrow Funny I was just thinking about this. This is merely my interpretation of the SOS signal cutting out, I feel like it adds to his character more than him just being too proud to call for help. We get from his diary and a couple flashbacks that he is insecure and desires approval for his work, unlike the other champions he is not royalty, from any sort of proud lineage, or chosen by destiny, he was just an ordinary Rito who was talented but also worked hard to hone his skill. In his last moments he was not being observed by anyone, he could have set off his SOS and nobody would have looked at him any differently, afterall all the Champions were using their SOS call too. On the other hand he saw his friends in trouble, and part of me wants to think despite his outward attitude he does care about them, and decided despite his fear to make sure if any help was coming they would go save them first.
Easily the best one out of the four. From the second phase on, the theme sounds so hopeful. Almost like Revali is excited to finally be free even tho he doesn't want to admit it. Truly the bird of the times lol.
This one is so tragic sounding, really captures the failure and deaths of the champions. One of my favorite soundtracks of all time. Don't even get me started on the SOS and SAD calls. So brilliant.
Almost makes me wish age of calamity was darker. The way they could instil emotion when everything was told with memories was great, but I wish it could have been more fleshed out
We know that the Champions fought the Blights in the dead of night. The Rito have poor night vision, meaning Revali held out longer than the others, while being practically blinded and still managed to get his SOS off.
@@DiaomBayet Nobody is overhearing anything, the SOS code is literally in the audio, you can hear it even clearer on the Vah Ruta one, right in the beginning.
I could win this he thought to himself, pride, courage as much as that hylian..so he braved the inside of medoh, waiting for the attack signal, unaware he was followed inside his chambered grounds like his fellow fighters, he was in serious danger, he just did not know it yet, the other three started sending signals, swallowing his pride hearing his friends he started to play his own signal after the signal of urbosa and daruk grew quieter, more in worry for them, he can do this, at first his signal is as quiet, facing the wind blight, he thought he could win, however..his pride got the best of him, the place engulfed in darkness, basically blinded he attacked in vain hope, by the time he managed to succeed one part he was panicking, wounded, he made his signal louder, but alas the harsh winds and arrows of the blight did in his wings...the last thing he heard was the ringing sad overriding the sos of his friends..
As others have mentioned as well, not only was Revali the last champion to die, Vah Medoh is also the only Divine Beast that can fly. Like Revali mentioned in his memory, he was the only one that could even reach Medoh while it was flying. It means that as Revali died, he had to carry the knowledge that he was truly alone.
Compared to the other Divine Beast themes, Vah Medoh’s sounds oddly graceful? Like even though Revali knows he’s going to die he’s still clinging onto the belief that he might survive and he’s carrying that with him as he fights Windblight, and then the shift in music after you activate the last terminal is much more frantic. Hope was shattered. No one could reach him while he was up so high. That was it
I love the little pauses in the intro. It’s like you can feel his tension and his struggle, how he was on the brink of death so many times but continued to get back up. Until he finally couldn’t, and then a bell tolls and the music begins, signifying the moment he died.
Fun fact about this one: Revali didn’t sound his S.O.S. Until so late because he knew everyone else was already issuing theirs and that there was no real way anyone could get to him. The reason he sounded it when he did and the reason it’s so frantic is because he wasn’t calling on help from the champions, all of whom were as good as dead by that point. He was calling for *anyone* who could hear. He was desperate and probably terrified. He wasn’t able to see in the dark and would’ve only seen the flashing lights and guardian beams as he had to fight heating the other champions falling one by one.
I... just noticed something, going through the different themes of the divine beasts. Everyone's SOS comes in on the left channel, with the antagonizing SAD from the right. However, Revali's SOS signal comes in from the right, while the SAD signal from the left. Does this have any significance, or is this just an overanalysis?
@@trustyrusty6969 It starts 16-17 seconds in. Depends on your speakers/headphones. Yeah SOS is an emergency signal. Originally SAVE OUR SHIP when their vessel was in distress.
@@trustyrusty6969 It sounds like this ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9A3tBINRdiE.html (Epilepsy warning btw) Has the same sound at 0:15 But you can hear it more clearer with headphones on or at 0:32
@@steventhibaudeau601 if im not mistaken, the ships used the letters S and O because they are the easiest ones to type and understand, so they dont lose any time during the emergency.
Imagine not knowing that everyone else is either dead or dying and not being able to send help. His sos cut of too so he wouldnt have made it out either way
I’m not in the Zelda fandom, and I have never seen a clip of botw but this still manages to make me cry especially with all the theories and stuff in the comments
The sad thing about these songs, the songs of the divine beast, is that they ALL have SOS signals within the songs, but the thing that makes Rivialis song stick out is that you can HEAR it in the main part of the song. The other champions must have sent out their signals as they are earlier in the song, knowing they wouldn’t be able to take on the blights. But Rivali, he’s too stubborn and arrogant so when he FINALLY sent out a SOS, it was fast, loud and filled with panic. That’s the SOS of someone who knows they’re going to die.
This is so chilling! I always considered BotW very "meh" game compared to older Zelda games, and gameplay-wise I do still prefer the older ones -- but this level of detail, this incredible amount of care for sound design, among others -- has really opened my eyes to another side of the game. The narrative may not be as readily presented to you, but the environmental storytelling is phenomenal. The S.O.S. and S.A.D. signals playing simultaneously, eventually drowning each other out, and Revali's S.O.S. starting fifteen seconds later than everyone else's all speak a thousand words. It's such strong characterization. I can't believe this has so long gone unnoticed by me, and moreover, that so many people out there probably still don't know of it -- and never may. I really underestimated this game. Big big kudos to the team!
botw is just that good, its a game about loss and sadness but also about rebuilding. this song fits perfectly with the character of revali. especially the part where the s.o.s is delayed. its these small details that make botw as good as it is :)
for anyone stuck trying to hear the morse codes SOS is ...---... and SAD is ....--.. for headphones, the SOS plays from the right side, and SOS from the left
I feel like reválidas holding off until the very end when he knew he couldn’t win but not as a desperate call more like he didn’t want to burden the others showing he’s capable. All the others were already gone and he knew the others were having trouble and since the others have their calls first, he probably wanted to be the one to answer the calls. But since he was last to fall for help, it might’ve been more or a “please tell me you guys are ok I’m coming” kind of way. His character doesn’t seem like he would be desperate I think
How could I forget about this? I recently saw a short about the SOS and SAD morse codes, so I came back to each divine beast's full theme... I couldn't really remember them from my playthrough, it's been over 5 years... But wow! This one is a masterpiece... Beautiful, but you can also feel the despair of Revali's final battle... Heartbreaking 🥺
Which means thats when revali died and for each theme for the divine beasts you can hear a sos call which means the champions caalled for help when they knew they were about to die but no one came for them revali was the last to die
1:15 When the violin piece starts, does anyone else think it sounds reminiscent of some of the violin tracks in the 2000s Battlestar Galactica soundtrack?
When I played this game I was somewhere between 7 and 8 years old, when I got to this divine beast the soundtrack always terrified me, its quite intense and unsettling.
having played totk i still definitely prefer botw for its more fleshed out lore and solemn atmosphere. looking back at the divine beasts i think the devs hit an absolute goldmine of environmental storytelling. you're exploring the inner mechanisms of an ancient super-machine created with unknown technology which has been taken over by a primordially malevolent force, and you can feel something is very, very wrong the instant you step in and these songs begin playing. i love it so much
So many details in the music. I remember playing this years ago and I think Ruth was the first I did, followed by Medoh. But the music was so, so sad. I actually felt really bad with the story as the characters fought alone and you knew because of the story that they lost. It made the flashbacks in the game you'd see that much tougher to see, but then inside the Divine Beasts, after knowing the sadness of the others, it was one of the only video games that gave me an emotion of sadness. Truly brilliant score. And somehow... with "Age of Calamity", hearing it just makes it that much more emotional.
I haven't seen anyone point this out yet, or maybe I missed it, but while the SOS and SAD codes are playing, they begin to overlap each other. First, with headphones, you'll hear (I think) SOS in the right ear, then SAD in the left quite. They're both loud, so it's clear which is which. They soon start to play over each other's codes until SAD takes over to drown out the SOS signal. Makes me think at that point Revali was trying his hardest to call for help after letting his pride go, and maybe he was searcing for a safe place to recover, but Windblight wouldn't let him because of the SAD signal being so strong and loud. Or maybe Ganon was trying to drown out the SOS signal so that in case someone could potentially help, it'd ultimately be useless. You stop hearing the SOS signal too and only hear this fast and crazy SAD signal playing a few times. So, at that point Revali was getting killed, and Ganon finally took over Medoh. Pretty dark when you really think about it.
I have a theory about the beasts’ themes, and it’s different from the SOS thing, but similar. In my opinion, the lenght of each theme is related to the death of each beasts’ champion. Let me explain: the longer the theme lasts, the longer the champion survived. For exemple, Vah medoh’s theme (6m36s) is the longest of all, making, according to my theory, Revali the one who lasted longer. In my theory, the order of death is : Urbosa; Mipha; Daruk and Revali. Maybe this theory already exist, and if it does, please give me a link 😁 Otherwise, give me your opinion 🤔
The last dungeon I did, and my favorite! Even though it did make me dizzy. After facing Thunderblight Ganon, this boss was a breeze (pun sort of intended)!
I think i can hear the SOS signals at first but after a while it simply dissapears and it doesn't make a come back until later in the song. Almost like Revali tried to ask for help but then realizes that the others were also asking for help and decided to prioritized the others
I love medoh so much, just the vibe of this music, its so calming, not even gonna talk abt the fight w the divine beast w such awesome music, also Windblight is very poggers too
I love the fact that reality was so hellbent on being the best hw didn't think he needed help, and when he rides he needed it and couldn't do it alone it was to late, that's why unlike the other themes the sos in vah meadows is loud piece in the other songs its part of the background and its very loud and rushed, it's the sos of a man who's realized to late he is not capable of taking down wind blight, but I do have a theory that he also did last longer and that's why his sos was later is bc he was able to last longer
