I’m of the belief that the reuse of the standard cave theme for Angler’s Tunnel was always intentional. It throws the player off-guard, like a lot of other things in the dungeon do: from its uncharacteristically open floor plan to the reused cave theme, to the boss door not immediately opening to the boss room, to the actual boss ambushing you when you least expect it, the whole dungeon is cleverly designed to subvert the player’s expectations and make you really start questioning the nature of Koholint. It’s what makes Link’s Awakening so amazing: Half the story is told through the game design alone; Link becomes a true player surrogate. Which just makes the plot twist and subsequent ending that much more powerful.
Which is hilarious because the summery on the back of the box doesn't hide the fact what koholint really is. The real knife twister here isn't just the _how,_ but the question of _what will it mean_ when you do manage to wake up and escape the island. Yeah you got out, but it doesn't feel good...until you see the fruit of your efforts. The song proved what you experienced was real, that your efforts mattered; seeing the wind fish above singing its heart out and a clear sky shows you did good and you were a hero to someone; and because you saved them, koholint will continue to exist in some form. For link, for you the players, it's a memory and not just a dream.
thanks for taking the time to give the Face Shrine its own moment. I've played the game since childhood in the '90s. It's sad and sweet at the same time And omygod you just blew my mind with the cave theme -> anglers tunnel, I swear i never noticed that until now!! Sometimes I still turn on my old Gameboy Advance and play the original cartridge, to hear the mountain theme and look at the clouds
I saw this shared and was like "ok I'll just check to see which song is so strange and then I'll move on" but it turned out to be so interesting that I just watched the whole thing. I've always loved the way the Oracle games' chiptune sounds but I didn't realize what it was about them that made them sound so distinct from other chiptune music. I wish more chiptune artists would copy some of those effects because I really like it. I didn't buy the LA remake, but I'm really hoping they will remake the Oracle games with the same music artist because I'd love to hear how they work those tunes.
The way I'd describe the remake version of the song is ballsy. How do you remake what can feel like a throwaway song from the original? Total redo? Nope, play it at the same time as different music completely unaltered. I think that's really cool, and it gets away with it because it takes the "black sheep" of the soundtrack from the original and keeps it as one in the remake.
The new arrangement clashes with the game's themes, imo. The back-and-forth fading in and out dynamics of the original track feels much more dream-like. It's like some kind of disturbing, obtrusive thought at the back of your mind, rising to the conscious level, before quickly disappearing back beneath the waves into the unconscious. Fits the game's narrative much better.
@@quibquiberton4184 Your description feels like it describes the remake arrangement just fine. What with the original GB Face Shrine theme coming in and every now and then as if to remind you of the obtrusive thought. IMO, the best thing about the new arrangement is that it makes Face Shrine stand out better from Southern Face Srhine.
@@Jalopes I did! Thank you so much, glad you like it so much. :) That means a lot. And of course! Piqued my interest and I was not disappointed. Keep at it dude! Great work yet again.
huh... well at least I noticed it changed in the new version, but couldn't remember how. The Face Shrine also gets a good addition to it i the remake :O
Maybe the anglers tunnel theme was supposed to be similar to the cave theme. To me it makes sense as it gives off the feeling of the cave but more uncanny, considering the dungeon is literally in a cave. It being sped up portrays that’s it’s an odd uncanny cavern
Great video! Kept me entertained until the end even though I barely know what a chord is. Great structure, editing, and production over all, you can really tell that you put a lot of work into making quality videos. I remembered that song from the remake instantly when I heard that old high pitched version. You're right, it is super jarring and weird, maybe that's why I remembered it so well
Holy MOLY this was a good video! Good explanations, great music, interesting perspectives and i love LA even more now? And the production was top tier quality. Damn i think that means i have to subscribe now...
the Face Shrine song haunted me on the GBA and also haunted/amused me on the Switch version.. But the remake version has a melancholic arrangement that for some reason hits me everytime
That's fascinating how the remake version has the original gameboy song in the background. And, ever since I watched this video the song is now somewhat creepier than how I originally heard it.
I was looking up this video and wondered why I couldn't find it. then I remembered the "strangest song" in the title, and found it, and wondered how the heck this only has 1200 views?? This video is so good though!!!
This is a great video, Links awakening definitely had one of my favorite sound tracks as a kid playing games. I didn't realize at the time why the music was so haunting, but the games story and music really synchronized and I felt so bad after the ending. On a replay, I got to the end and didn't complete it because I didnt want their world to end! Thank you for a great video, and hope you make more like this in the future if you want to!
Just came back to revisit the LA soundtrack and got recommended this video right after listening to dungeon 4. To say that I needed an explanation was to put it mildly. I'm not sure I agree with the final conclusion, but I definitely appreciate the presentation and analysis, and wanted to let you know someone was finding this video 2 years later.
Fantastic video man, I had no idea about any of this! Top tier editing, pacing, and delivery. I hope this eventually makes the rounds and gets the views it deserves. Will be sharing this around.
As the are that’s meant to reflect upon the horrific truth you’ve just discovered( the island is a dream) the Face Shrines music is legitimately quite creepy and leaves me with and uneasy feeling only more so thanks to the 2019 re-score. When I listen I find a lot of thematic and musical similarities to the original LOZ dungeon theme which always creeped me out and I don’t know if it was intended but I think it adds a feeling of intimidation to the dungeon that some of the others while extremely over achieving in quality don’t quite reach.
i love music in games, it always makes me ;-; especially with smart use of it. But with that said, music theory and construction and all that both bores me and is like ancient greek to try to understand. I gave this video a chance despite that, and was *not* disappointed. The only thing more shocking than how much i enjoyed it was that it appears to be a first for you in terms of this format, because you absolutely nailed it. The intro explaining a groundwork for what you wanted to talk about was easy to follow + entertaining, and your description of how the music works and flows works well even when one has a bottom level understanding of basic music theory. easy subscribe :)
This was awesome. Very well put together and when that payoff hit, I was blown away. I was not expecting that surprise at the end From a music theory and production background it was interesting from the educational aspect, but even thinking about how and why they chose to reuse the song this way, is fascinating in it's own way. Nice work.
@@Jalopes Game Makers Toolkit has a monthly watch/reading list for patrons! Since TotK released, Mark had a lot of Zelda-related content on this month's edition.
Awesome video with some really cool, insightful analysis. I usually leave things like this as nostalgic memories from my childhood and don't delve deeper into why they mattered to me, but this in-depth analysis was very well formatted and intriguing. My only qualm with the video: It appears that you chose Bulbasaur as your starter and I can't help but feel you made a bad choice. It is arguably an A tier Pokemon but Squirtle and Charmander are clearly both S tier.
Amazing video. My one soundtrack enigma had always been the use of the final boss theme in the original vs. the remake. You probably already know this, but they reused the mini-boss theme for the final phase of the Shadow Nightmares, while Nagamatsu used an entirely different theme this time around.
Ironically, first time I played through the remake, the Angler’s Tunnel theme was my favorite song. It just jumped out at me. I hadn’t ever played the original
Awesome video. After hearing the explanation, I can now understand why I love soo much the music from this game. In particular the lvl 6 dungeon. It's one of my favorite pieces of video game music.
Loved this! This track has always intrigued me for the same reasons. The chord you labeled Gb5, to my ear has F# in the bass. To me I hear F#, G, B, and Db, not sure how that would be labeled
Wonderful video. Great production quality, extremely interesting choice of topic that I never once noticed before even though I consider Link's Awakening one of my favorite games of all time, well researched, and wonderfully explained that even some dork like me who doesn't know much about music can appreciate and understand.
This has always been my favorite game in the entire series. The more I learn about the technical stuff behind it's development, the more I fall in love with it.
Amazing video!! I never noticed how charmingly weird that music is, but the Face Shrine is my favorite anyway Can't wait for more from this channel! (Also hoping Nintendo will give us the Oracle games or an Earthbound remake in this toy style😭🙏)
Interesting feature. I was familiar with the GBC track from playing Oracle of Seasons. I don't particularly agree that the remade version is brilliant to be honest, it feels very forced/jarring to me. A similar track is the Pokemon Mansion track from the original Red and Blue Pokemon games in that, it's interesting, but doesn't feel like a cohesive piece. I think it could have incorporated the previous track in a more pleasing and/or natural way. But it's definitely a unique take to be sure that can certainly be appreciated for its creativity and ambition alone. Great analysis on the delay effect in the chiptunes as well; found that to be fascinating!
Thanks for watching man! Yep, your mileage will definitely vary with something like this - I couldn't fault anyone for finding it too abrasive, but there's a strange experimental energy to it that really appeals to me, particularly given the song's less-than-exciting origins. Nagamatsu turned the most uninspired song from the original into the most striking and bizarre - if nothing else, I have to give it credit for that alone, haha.
oh, and speaking of the Pokemon Mansion, you might be interested in checking out this video from Mark Benis, who did the Pokemon transcriptions I showed in the video. That is also an incredibly fascinating piece of music, for a completely different reason, which he goes into in a lot of detail about here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-VOF-SijlAU8.html
Many of the dungeon themes use the motif from the cave/Angler's Tunnel theme, but transform them with different arrangements. Jason Yu wrote about that here: jasonyu.me/links-awakening-dungeons/ It's pretty cool! The difference with the Angler's Tunnel is that it is the exact same arrangement as the cave, just sped up and higher pitched.
Cool video my man I got giddy when I played The Links awakening remake so much I didn’t realize the change to the anglers tunnel change that shows you how Nintendo did this game right you really know your stuff and taught me a lot about chip tunes and musical composition have an awesome day (If you read all of this thank you)
this is a super fascinating video! i love learning about how video game music is adapted into other styles, and normally i know more about adapting streamed music to chiptune style than the reverse.
The original works as an atmospheric piece. I do find if funny that the originals angler tunnel theme not being unique is what makes it unique. I suspect that reusing the cave theme was the closest they could get to the feel they were going for, though that is just speculation on my part. The original piece I have always thought sounded like dripping water in an echoing cave which is what the angler's tunnel is. Its a dripping wet and echoing cave. That said your right that old gba music leaves a lot for interpretation. The remakes dungeon themes have this really interesting interplay with serene and sinister or disturbing. Its as if the theme for each dungeon is a battle between dreams and nightmares. For many dungeons like tail cave, key cavern and catfish maw, the sinister nightmare elements are in the fore front and the serene plays a more background role. The Remakes angler tunnel plays on that idea by putting the serene harp, strings and horn in the forefront and the original piece is playing the role of the sinister. If you removed the original from the remake it would be a terrible dungeon theme, but with it there its as if something eerie is slowly eating away at the dream established by the other instruments. Or that all is calm on the surface, but deep below something stirs. Im not musically trained and I find your videos interesting.
I wish I could better put into words how amazing this video was for me...but I don't comment very often at all. But every little detail, explanation, it was all just such a perfect way to get all your thoughts on the music across! Beautiful conclusion too.
This video Is amazing. Was honestly just curious about that strage song, but this Is literally explaining the genuity of Its soundtrack composition with little limitations.
i love what they have done with they have done with the remake the have really made it come to life with the music and the monsters as i only have the game boy version and i really am considering getting this one as i said i love what they have done with the remake
another chiptune soundtrack i really like that uses sparse arrangement techniques is the soundtrack to klonoa: moonlight museum. the low quality wonderswan samples playing in short melodies with little else really sells the "lonely, vast museum" feeling on top of the already dreamlike feel that klonoa has across the board
i dont know why the cave music was reused, maybe the composer had done both versions and couldnt decide which one to use, so used them both, but since this dungeon is a water dungeon, they added a watery music background to it in the remake
Honestly I feel the artists making the music for old games deserve a lot of credit. When you consider what they are working with and the kind of soundtracks made are overall really good. ( Admittedly more so on the slightly younger consoles such as the SuperFamicom/SuperNintendo and the Sega Genisis in terms of really good music but even the older Famicom/Nintendo also had really good music on a lot of titles.. Of course.. There was also bad/lazy ones as well.. But it is what it is.. )
