So I've decided to create a weekly entry of my own involving something I enjoy very much about the Pokemon series that I often think can be overlooked: the music! Pokemon games have some of the catchiest, craziest, and sometimes downright beautiful music that I've heard while playing video games, and I'm going to use this section to discuss what I like about some of my favorite pieces from the Pokeverse.
So, to start it off, I decided to discuss the piece that really spurred me to pay attention to the great music Pokemon has to offer: the Team Galactic Battle Theme.
As you can probably gather from the title, this music plays during battles with members of Generation IV's evil team, Team Galactic. This music only plays during battles with grunts, as both Team Galactic admins and the boss of Team Galactic, Cyrus, get their own separate themes, which are good pieces of music as well. Below is the original theme from Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum:
Throughout Pokemon, villain battle themes are usually rather good--as well they should be, since you often listen to them multiple times in a row with little to no break in between. But this battle theme always stuck out to me as being both incredibly catchy and fun to listen to. Bulbapedia has this to say on the theme: "The Galactic Grunt battle music has a funk and jazz element in it, while there is a funk and jazz group called the Galactic." (I believe this is purely coincidental, but that's just me.) I can definitely hear the jazz in this song; the main melody is often syncopated (offbeat, for those not familiar with music terminology), and the sudden outbursts of music both in the background and foreground are characteristic of many jazzy pieces. It's fast-paced with long runs of notes that I can easily see being played on a piano or marimba, and the music itself includes trumpet and other horn sounds, which are often used in jazz. The song is fun and upbeat, and I can say that I actually looked forward to fighting off tons of Galactic grunts to hear this music.
The Generation IV games came out not too long before Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and it made sense that one of the stages in the game was based on the "final showdown" location, so to speak, of Diamond and Pearl, Spear Tower. A remix of Team Galactic's Battle Theme was included as one of the songs that could possibly play on that stage during fights.
Like many people, I believe that this version is superior to the original song; though, music on console systems like the Wii is very often more impressive than music on handhelds, so it's understandable, and it doesn't take away from the great music that the original was at all. This arrangement sounds fuller to me (again, this is probably due to console vs. handheld), and I like the different sounds used, especially the background sound effects used at 0:07 and 0:53. While I'm a little disappointed that trumpets were not used in this version, I like the sound given by the electronic instruments, especially the guitar, which I believe gives this song an edgier tone that wasn't as prevalent in the original.
Being such a popular song, the Galactic Battle Theme is often remixed by fans of the Pokemon series. I did some searching, but I didn't find anything incredibly spectacular until this piece. I find it funny that I talked about the jazz elements of the original piece, only to find a spectacular, even jazzier remix. Making use of tons of typical jazz instruments, including some really, really hot piano playing (damn, I'm jealous), this remix at times feels even more fast-paced than the original and is overall a really great arrangement that captures the fun of the original.
Looker's face is absolutely perfect for the remix, by the way.
Well, I hope you enjoyed the first installment of Pokemon Jukebox! I have plenty of other songs to talk about, but I'm always open to suggestions! And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go listen to that jazz remix on repeat and lament the inferiority of my own piano skills.
Ciao~
-umchan649
