What I tried to say at 0:23: "My camera screwed up, so it looks like I just ascended to divinity (for the rest of the video)." Then the editing managed to screw that up too, NICE! Anyway, hope you guys learn something out of this! I did it a bit quickly (just released another analysis yesterday, usually I do max one per week). Let me know if you like these more minimal, more frequent analyses, or if you prefer much bigger videos on a less frequent basis!
Personally, I like the style of this analysis quite a lot and I'd like to have more of these, to be honest. The "bigger" ones are great as well (I honestly didn't notice much of a difference, besides maybe only one camera angle, anyway) but maybe there's a way to strike a nice middle ground. Like maybe you could do 2 of the quicker ones per week-ish and every 2 or something weeks there's one that's a little bigger. This way you'd be able to cover more songs, which I'd definetely appreciate, and when there's one that deserves a more in depth look you can work on that in more detail without having to release one every week. I don't know if something like that would work, but who knows? But, personally, I'm looking forward to the videos, regardless of if you do quicker or more in depth ones, as they are both very informative and have their own appeal (which is why I'd like a mixture, to be honest). Wow, that comment is a mess, I hope t makes at least some amount of sense.
The more the merrier. You still go into plenty of detail here. But by all means don't rush just to make more content either. Give the song however much time you think it needs.
In regards to your "Orchestrator: I'd like to know!" there are details on the video notes, which I will post here for your convenience: Credits: UNDERTALE and all original music by Toby Fox Orchestra performance by MUSIC Engine Arrangement by Kota Kawai Video recording by Tokyo Concert System Engineering by Takabumi Itoh Video production by Everdraed & Steve Pre-concert illustrations by Ade
A little while ago, less than a year ago, I had the idea for a theme for one of the NPCs in my D&D game, but I had no idea how to actually make it. I have no musical education, can't play any instruments, etc. but I like music. I heard the tracks in Undertale and figured I might be able to make the theme that way with midi sounds, but later found a DAW that my friend used for producing his music and got that. Since then I've been experimenting with making music for fun, and watching your videos have helped immensely in that regard. The breakdowns of how things work, and why composers do certain things, even just learning the terms, is incredibly useful and I appreciate the hard work you put into it. Even just the idea of tracking existing songs to pick them apart and learn why they sound the way they do, was an idea I took from you to learn even more. That's actually how I sort of, kinda, almost, figured out how to properly harmonize things. I usually never comment on videos but I wanted you to know that yes, people are learning a lot from you, and you're great at teaching them about music. Thank you, and keep up the awesome work!
Me: I don't really understand any of this, I've no musical talent. Alex: Okay so it's like if Charmeleon evolved into Charizard. Me: You have my attention.
An interesting theory to know about is that this song isnt sans fight song but actually is your characters genocide route song. Whenever a fight is engaged you are the first to make a move and whoever you're fighting, their theme song plays. But in this case, sans already has a song dedicated to his character but when the fight commences, he's the one to attack you first. Along with that, the title of the song fits much better to your character then it would with sans
Toby Fox really did create Megalovania at the age of 16 and managed to get the song played in Smash Ultimate and in a live orchestra huh (by the way Genocide was represented in a really sick way in the concert just saying)
great analysis. Just to be precise: Toby Fox has nothing to do with this concert, though. The concert was made by Music Engine last year(I was there) and it's been the 4th or 5th concert done by them for Undertale. The music scripts and arrangements for the concert were made by Music Engine entirely. Although the original music is Toby Fox's this entire concert was made entirely by music engine, and since Toby Fox liked it a lot he gave them his sponsor and requested to have it made into CDs and used also for the 5th Anniversary!
I still think its unbelievable that a single person with help of some digital artists made an entire game including the awesome soundtrack. And its been 5 years now
"Waterfall" and "Battle against a true hero" are the tracks where the Orchestra really shines. Waterfall with its haunting mysterious atmosphere that the whole string section can enhance that feeling. It seriously made me feel uneasy in a good way. Battle on the otherhand, you need the bombastic sounds of horns and drums to help you sell the fact that youre in a battle against someone who is doing everything they can to stop you.
it's a beautiful day outside. Birds are singing, flowers are blooming... on days like these, kids like you... ....should be breaking these dope beats down for us, thus increasing our already preexisting love for them. - - Edited for corrections so I could end the commentators’ Genocide Run against me.
You should do more Undertale/Deltarune analysis, Toby Fox is a genius and there are a lot of recurring themes ! You'll have a lot of fun analyzing it i'm sure !
The way the song "Undertale" in New Home reminds you, the player of Home and His Theme, and with the actual recording makes Undertale my favorite Track....
While I would really like more Undertale/Deltarune, I would find it awsome if Alex talked about the other project Tobi Fox worked on: Homestuck. Oppa Tobi Style is probably one of the most *awesome* fucking things I have ever heard for a final act.
You mentioned how the really dark and deep part of the songs shows how sans is a threat, but I just think about how much it represents most of his dialogue. The fact that he knows he’s only delaying the inevitable, that eventually the game will be reset back to the beginning and nothing he does really matters. And ESPECIALLY how he hypes up his Special Attack!
@@joeyshadeslayer9792 because it wasn't made for it. I also doubt Sans was made for the music. He himself wrote that he put it because he felt the song needed to be put somewhere.
So did I! It sounds like Zelda or Studio Ghibli stuff. However, I wanted to talk about everyone's favorite tune so that more people could learn about Undertale's secrets
The song that Began a whole list of memes! Made even better when we dissect why the song is so great. Probably why I like these videos so much, its one thing to enjoy a song, its another to have a song be broken down by an expert on why its so good, I've had a couple songs I even appreciated more thanks to your vids Keep it up Ace!
Haha! It is my firm belief that any music listener who enjoyed the more complex side of music (Jazz, Prog, Funk, Fusion or stuff that is not just simple pop in general) definitely has a musician in them trying to get out.
Respect for trying to not spoil something that most people treat as common knowledge at this point when there's always people who miss hearing about big spoilers and do go into things blind, just a matter of the right people knowing how and where to discuss important story elements.
Imagine actually being able to go into Undertale blind, no knowledge of the kill mechanic or the diffrent endings, just thinking it's a normal RPG with a good sense of humor. Imagine trying to grind to gain levels and seeing the kill counter, and being sucked into it and getting the terrifying genocide ending with Chara, first run.
@@catnumber1538 My first playthrough I went in blind and my first instinct was to grind because turn based RPG and that is literally what happened to me. Then I noticed the weird slowed down music and my sister shouted at me and made me reset lol
@@catnumber1538 I managed to go into it somewhat blind, and the main thing I was spoiled turned out not to be something you can see in the game without effort anyway.
Honestly, I'm SO glad you mentioned the Waterfall song. It has been my absolute favorite song on the OST, and hearing it last night on the Orchestral version was a fucking wild ride. I loved it.
9:13 Alex confirmed for preferring the Homestuck version of Megalovania, what great taste. I know it's a lot to ask but a reaction to the 13 minute long Cascade medly would be amazing.
Whole Undertale soundtrack is so good. Personal favorite is Asgore’s theme. The hints of Toriel’s theme & “Determination” make me SUPER happy, but also sad because the story😭
I wish people wouldn’t see megalovania as a meme but more of a masterpiece. People in the chat during the 5th anniversary kept saying it wouldn’t be played cuz it’s a meme. Come on man Megalovania is deeper than that. But eyyyy at least everyone knows Megalovania now XD
it's more impressive when you remember that Toby writes all his music BEFORE applying it to a situation in the game. So he wrote this without having a specific scene in mind.
Idk if you already do, but if you wanna stay up to date on Undertale/deltarune news, you can go follow Toby Fox’s Twitter. That’s where I heard about the 5th anniversary concert
Also just really fun hear a new rendition of Your Best Nightmare whenever a new orchestration comes out. It's such an arrangement challenge it sounds different every time.
I would love to see you do a full analysis on Toby Fox's work, like a huge long video explaining tropes, leitmotivs... But other videos analysing Undertale songs would be awesome too haha, love your videos
Death by Glamour is also great in my opinion, and I love the Undertale "main theme". At 1:57:22 in the video you linked, they play it, and I LOVE the soothing violin "waves" they added
I was watching Clippers/Nuggets game 7, playing Greedfall, and had my A/C on while listening to the concert. EVERYTHING went off when Undertale came on. It is by far my favorite track and it always demands my full attention.
I was watching a video that was doing a sort of retrospective on Undertale, and almost couldn’t finish it, because they had the audacity to say that Toby doesn’t know how to write music, because he uses chiptune! Legit said that you can put random sounds into chiptune and make a song out of it, then proceeded to do said thing, and came out with random garbage. It was the most surreal thing I’ve ever heard! After listening to Toby’s music this way, I don’t understand how anyone could think that Toby is incompetent in any sort of way!
@@sergiorubens8475 I can’t remember the reviewers name since it was a little while ago, but his case was pretty much that chiptune music isn’t good, the only reason why people like it was due to nostalgia, and that you could randomly bash keys and it would end up sounding like a good chiptune song. Now that I’ve recently started learning music, I think he had melodies confused with “random keys”. Despite how random those can sound, there is definitely a method behind it… which he didn’t follow… and it obviously came out bad.
Would love to see analysis on a couple more songs. Megalovania is the one everyone knows and talks about but songs like Asgore and Battle Against A True Hero are absolutely incredible as well. These longer videos are fun though!
@@Jotunn96 Asgore is no lie my favorite boss track, easily above Megalovania. Plot-wise it has so much more nuance and utilizes multiple leitmotifs from the game in a way that actually brings the story elements of them together, it's really amazing. Both are such good songs though.
I'd watch literally every single analysis of an Undertale/Deltarune music from the beginning to the end. I'm tired of listening to it and thinking "how's it that's good, how's it hits different I don't understand!"
7:59 Toby Fox did this in multiple songs. I remember that Hopes and Dreams has the most apparent version of this where flowey's theme creeps in while the normal song happens and then it becomes the main thing you hear
I love to hear the details of what goes into music and why it is so effective in making you feel, my first exposure of Undertale was the music and that was what got me so invested in the game So many games have such amazing soundtracks and taking the time to look into why they are amazing even when pulled away from what they were made for is a joy.
Honestly a Undertale video is the best place to recommend a Touhou song,(Specifically Necrofantasia) considering ZUN was one of Toby Fox's inspirations,
Agree. But It is impossible to choose the most beautiful track. (but my favourite are Lullaby of deserted hell, Septette for the dead princess, Love colored master spark and especially Extend ash ~ Hourai victim).
bro your analysis slaps as always, but the real win was pointing me in the direction of that concert. Absolutely amazing. I wish we had video game concerts like that around where I live. I would die to go to a Final Fantasy Live Orchestra concert.
Finally, someone explaining why this song (and a lot of the songs in Undertale) is fantastic in a way my friends can understand so I don't sound like an absolute madman as I try - and fail spectacularly - to put it into words. Fantastic analysis!
There's a reason I love Alex. He not just brings his own knowledge of symphonic composition, but he's also able to make it entertaining. He teaches while making incredible videos. Big props, dude.
Nice commentary on this! I think you made it understandable for a general audience (as well as not ignoring the rest of the concert like some people haha) By the way, I'm unsure whether someone else already commented this, but (~ 4:04) 'marcato' means well-marked, meaning you play a passage or note more strongly (and more short, in most cases). I think you were looking for 'tenuto' which means holding the full length of a note. :D
I must say, there is something to be said for someone who is experienced and knowledgeable about a topic getting excited and giddy about something. Watching you explain the topics in plain conversation is only made more important through the value that you put onto the concepts through your excitement. I found myself smiling and slightly bouncing in my seat along with the song, hanging on your explanations to further get excited myself about the song! You translate the professional appreciation and show us why this is such a wonderful piece. Thank you so much for sharing this with us!
At long last! For the popularity of the soundtrack, there are surprisingly few great analyses of it. Good to see one from you-and it’s fantastic! Now I need more Undertale reactions from you, help!
I just gotta say, these videos have become one if my favourites on RU-vid recently. The way you go into the finer details of these awesome VGM tracks and explaining them makes this just so goddamn interesting. It's obvious you've got a lot of passion for music. So please, keep em coming man!
the rate at which you pump out content is to be admired, dude. ALSO, i'm stealing the megalovania chords to make an acoustic vers to play solo in limsa :D
I'd love to hear your thoughts on the music in Delta Rune which is on another level even compared to Undertale. The crazy back and forth with how he has music playing within each instrumental parts' negative space while coming together at the end of each segment in the song Rude Buster is so good.
Now I kinda want to see you react to some Touhou music (like "Bad Apple", "U.N. Owen Was Her", "Flowering Night", "Luna Dial" or "Necrofantasia") as that stuff is a freaking bop.
I sometimes forget that it's not just a funny meme song but also a fucking masterpiece, I've heard so many remixes of it and they all sound pretty good, as in it's so well made and put together that even with insane remix ideas it's difficult to make it bad
What I loved about this orchestra was the staccatos. They were super clean and super sharp and on point and it added so much style to the composition itself!
I never thought I'd see the day of strings playing Megalovania. When I see musicians assembled like that, I'm expecting more of a John Williams than Undertale.
You’re videos are so interesting. I am a bass clarinetist in my school marching band and concert band and sometimes I wonder what makes a good song. Thank you for putting names to these wonderful emotions and ideas. You’re a genius
good video! perhaps you could also give a look to ZUN's compositions, creator of Touhou Project, well-known and highly regarded for its peerless soundtrack (a series which Toby Fox is also a fan of!) he's a one-man team, engineering the game's mechanics _and_ arranging the game's music all by himself, which is certainly impressive.
As someone who isn't very knowledgable of a musician however someone who has only really ever made remixes of Megalovania so I know the song quite well I noticed so many little things about the version, I'll say that the orchestra definitely feels less impactful than the original, and I think that comes from the lack of any kind of rush, over (digital) compositions use and abuse the brass more in the song overall, however I think this version is so fucking cool especially with how much it deviated and develops from a traditional orchestra with the Synth. Loved the EWI as well, such a good anniversary
I really love these video game music breakdowns I'm looking to design games professionally and this really just showing me how many layers there are to really push games past being good to great or even amazing with persona being my favorite example of the meld between amazing music, amazing gameplay, and amazing visuals so with such an in depth breakdown on games like persona coming from you it really makes me happy watching. Keep up the good work!
As a music nerd, I'll confess I was melting in my seat every 5 freaking seconds lol. There's just not enough words to describe Toby's composing skills! Can confess that my three favorites were Heartache, Waterfalls, and Spider dance. (Honestly the whole concert but those stuck out the most to me)
I'm fucking LOVING your videos, it gives me such a new appreciation for these songs. It's so interesting and your passion is contagious. Thanks for breaking these songs down for those of us who aren't musical!
The highlighted clips quoting the string-heavy sections of these pieces sound amazing. The Waterfall clip was absolutely goosebumps-inducing. I gotta hear the rest now!
Well, that's a long comment. I think the meme-ish reputation and the silliness of the game in some happy parts make you think it can't be that good or something. And the chiptune also, I guess? Indie games, especially retro ones, kind of have a... reputation. I'm trying to keep, in the music of my game, that thing you have with earthbound and Undertale of not trying to get limited by what would be considered good historically. In this sense, Undertale (and Earthbound too) taught me a lot, not only in music, that I can just ignore some restrictions, like genre, if they're not gonna do anything but stop me. I still remember the face of my teacher when I showed her a piece I wrote for a boss, in piano, and asked her to play and she was like "what the heck is this 8/4 rhythm". I have a lot of 8/4 songs because at the time I didn't know 4/4 was the default and that led to very unique songs. So it's, uh... learning fundamentals and taking theory as a guide but not getting stuck to only doing what has been done before. For my soundtrack, especially being an RPG about psychology and the uniqueness of human beings, I like to go freaking everywhere with my composition; sometimes I'm using strings and orchestra, sometimes I'm using guitars, sitars, synthesizers, dog sounds, and taking inspiration from ALL genres, sometimes orchestra, sometimes bossa nova, lo-fi, electro swing, etc. And of course, a lot of chiptunes. If someone thinks chiptune can't be a real instrument in music, I like to think otherwise. If I get my music played by an orchestra someday, there are some OST who would HAVE to have some drumkit, but also African drum and square-wave synthesizer keyboards in there for my video-gamey arpeggios. Other places I've seen that is with: Earthbound Music, Minecraft Music (C418), Kurzgesagt (Epic Mountain Music). They have a more orchestral feeling by default but you can see how they are not afraid of going everywhere and it sounds so unique and good. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-EjC4hEcH67E.html Oh, and some songs I'm making for my game if I made anyone curious. This is my BETA playlist, so not all songs here are, like, final: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-lphyY0dxxDU.html
I love your videos Alex. You always make music so much fun to learn, and there are so many things you help your audience understand about orchestration. I'm so happy you focused on Undertale this time around!!
I really like your analysis of the song. Your description made me think of the how the mechanics of the game works. You are introduced at the very beginning of the game the basic mechanics, then mixes things up and rams up the difficulty.
Probably the most overrated game of all time. There were thousands games like Undertale before it came out, now there are hundreds of thousands of them. But only Undertale became popular. Right marketing and luck does everything. Extremely unfair reality. And people don't even care (and know) about other games, even though many of them are way better.
I’m sorry that a fun game with interesting lore, tons of replayability and unique fighting mechanics got popular...? Why are you even bringing it’s popularity into this? The guy is only analyzing the music, which is a huge highlight that I bet you the other games that you talked about didn’t have compared to it.
@@LoverOfStuff You are missing the point, I am not saying that this game is bad, I am saying that there are thousands of unknown games of the same quality or even better. Read carefully.
Twokmmr well I agree on the fact there are better games than Undertale but I disagree on it being overrated, when it first came out yes I would say so, but now I think it’s perfectly respectable game. Undertale help bring other games with similar ideals into the spotlight that probably would have never been noticed it’s just that undertale become the most popular. I argue that it help those video games than overshadowing them. I’ve discovered many new video games thanks to undertale that I probably would have never discovered without and I also see that many other have too.
Thinking about how Toby had an awesome start utilizing Live a Live's Megalomania (by the ever-talented Yoko Shimomura), and had about four different times he worked on Megalomania to get it right by the time it was in Undertale
