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Champion Music: Losing Its Epic Feel?

Pinkie-Dawn

Pinkie-Dawn

Vampire Waifu
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    In previous gens, the music used for the champion's theme tends to be intimidating, hardcore, and climatic, making you feel that you're dealing with a powerful entity, much like every final boss battle. Blue, Lance, Steven, Wallace, Cynthia, and Alder have a sense of serious battling. But by the time BW2 came out, instead reusing the same Unova champion theme for Iris much like they did with Wallace in Emerald, Game Freak decided to compose a new theme for Iris, and it sounds cheery and anti-climatic, thus not taking her seriously as a worthy opponent. This was later transferred with the Kalos champion theme for Diantha, for it's once again just as cheery and anti-climatic as Iris' theme. Should future champion themes go back to their One-Winged Angel music from previous gens in order to treat them as serious trainers again, or is this really refreshing take from all the hardcore/serious final boss themes?
     
    I'd prefer the themes from the previous Gens but intense music wouldn't really suit Iris and Diantha. Their themes fitted their personality and style. I also think Wallace's theme should have been changed since he didn't really strike me as a 'fierce' opponent, more like graceful I guess.
     
    I do actually really like Iris's and Diantha's themes. Interesting point Trainer_Altair bring's up too, they're pretty fitting. Now Red/Lance's theme from HGSS was bad in my opinion. The 8bit version was much fiercer.
     
    I don't really feel like it's losing it's touch at all, as the posters above me said, they match the person you're fighting. Also, I still feel like the music now is still epic, but the problem is, that that's a matter of opinion and what each person's idea of "epic" is. Dianthia has some pretty epic but still elegant music, I think. I haven't gotten to Iris in W2 since I just bought it, but I'll see when I get there.

    As far as the old themes, yeah, they're pretty epic as well and more fierce, no disagreement there. XD
     
    Yeah, I know that Marriland himself said he highly dislikes Diantha's battle theme because it sounded too angelic for his tastes. I don't blame him. Personally, I feel that music sounds more fitting for a Final Fantasy game than Pokémon, although that's just me.

    Iris' theme, on the other hand, I thought was f***ing boss. I would even say it's one of my favorite tracks in the entire series. It's part of what makes me enjoy battling her so much. And as someone above said, they try to make the Champion themes fit the characters, and I don't mind that.
     
    Trainer_Altair said:
    I'd prefer the themes from the previous Gens but intense music wouldn't really suit Iris and Diantha. Their themes fitted their personality and style. I also think Wallace's theme should have been changed since he didn't really strike me as a 'fierce' opponent, more like graceful I guess.
    Click to expand...

    Cynthia had a similar personality and style as Diantha, yet her champion still fierce rather than elegant. It should prove that final boss music shouldn't try to fit the character's style and should try to be intense and epic for the sake of it.
     
    Honestly, battle themes in Pokémon games are fairly forgettable in general in my opinion, so I had to look up Diantha's battle theme on Youtube in order to see what the fuss is.

    As I'm listening to it right now, the composition itself sounds par for the course for the traditional "epic" champion battle themes, but while I personally like it, I can see how the instruments chosen can turn people off. It's like people above me said, it's a matter of reflecting Diantha's character...however flat she may have been. XD
     
    I think that when composing the music for champions, it's key to match it with their personality. So when it comes to Iris and Diantha, I think they excelled in the department. To have a serious and intimidating song for Iris, for example, wouldn't make sense. Not that you shouldn't take her seriously, but it just wouldn't fit her at all.

    Also, I don't consider Alder's theme to be intimidating. It gave me more of a feeling of a friendly fight with an old friend, which makes sense because Alder helped you throughout the region, more so than previous champions. So it was like battling with a friend and it wasn't meant to be intimidating.

    All the Champions are easy anyway so none of them intimidate me in any way!
     
    I know some people have said Alder's theme is out of place in a Pokémon game, but I never agreed with that at all. To me it has that feeling that makes you want to charge forth and attack. (Although, admittedly, I feel it might have liked it more if it was in a Sonic game, but that's just me personally.)

    And interestingly enough, I happen to be listening to Iris' theme as i'm typing this.
     
    Spoiler:

    I really love the first theme, Green's theme. It's amazing for such a simple piece. At first, it sounds kind of weird, but from 0:45 and onwards, there's this really nice part that sort of binds the whole atmosphere of the music and battle around it. Imo :3 The other incarnations of his theme use other instruments and styles, but they manage to make it hard, dramatic and stressing. Which a champion theme should have. Lance's theme builds onto the same style and tunes so I think that's definitely intimidating enough as well. Hoenn's theme have the same mix of drama, stress and mysterious tunes.

    Never really liked Cynthia's theme. It's almost too hard and doesn't give the same epic game-ending feeling. Sounds a bit happy. And Alder's theme... It takes a step further in the wrong direction. Gone is the mystery and up comes some kind of smiling figure that taunts you "game's almost over, just beat me!" Iris' theme... Oh god. What is this even, have they forgotten what a champion tune is supposed to sound like? Thankfully, it does have some darker and more mystic parts... but they aren't too long. Wow, I never heard Diantha's tune before. It's okay, actually. Like Alder's, a bit too cheerful perhaps. Instead of the "I'm at the end of the game and about to diiiie" that Lance and Green and Steven pretty much give off, this says "it's okay as long as you try, let's all eat cakes and be butterflies".

    So I agree with you. Maybe they felt they wanted to make the games less apocalyptic serious after Team Magma/Aqua's escapades and Galactic's bombs, and so they made the final tunes more cheerful? /wildtheoryappeared

    Trainer_Altair has a point though. Alder's tune maybe fit him as the "old friend" rather than the super unfriendly rival that Green was.
     
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