Okay, well I guess the good thing about this being late is that you only have to wait a few days for the next part of this, because, yes, in honor of the release of Black and White 2, I've decided to do a two part special of some very specific music. Welcome to the Gym Themes, everyone!
Why Colress? BECAUSE COLRESS IS MORE AWESOME THAN ALL THESE GYM LEADERS COMBINED and also I can't find good gym leader fan art....
Unlike previous games, where the music in all gyms has been exactly the same, Black and White 2 feature unique takes on the individual gym themes based on the gym leader him/herself and the atmosphere of the gym. Without further ado, let's get started!
Here's Aspertia City, the first gym run by Cheren from Pokemon Black and White. Now, I know what you're saying. "UM, what the heck?! This is the gym theme from Black and White!" Well OF COURSE it is! I'm not stupid! Cheren is a Normal-Type gym leader, taking over Lenora's job from the last game and replacing Cilan/Chili/Cress as the first gym. Therefore, being the Normal-Type, the gym theme was unchanged; it's the normal theme! I do very much like this theme. I like the instruments chosen for this: guitars and trumpets seem like an odd combo, but they work incredibly well together. The trumpets give it an official sound, while the guitars provoke images of the intense battle you're about to face. I wouldn't call this a classic--it's not THAT old yet--but hearing the old Black and White 2 music does make you feel good....and lull you into a false sense of security for what's coming next.
Hm, can't seem to find the English version of this one....
Well, welcome to Virbank Gym! Yes, the music caught me completely off guard as well. In the English version, Roxie, the singer and gym leader, spells out "Pokemon", but in this version, she's spelling out "Dogars", which is the Japanese name for Koffing. I do really like this gym theme. In case you didn't know, Roxie runs a band, and her gym is in her nightclub. This really captures the garage band feel that I think they were going for. While it does get repetitive a lot faster than the original--with all that singing ONLY ONE WORD...--it's still fun to listen to. A nice added touch is, when you beat the gym leader, the music stops, as the band has stopped playing.
Hello, friends, and welcome to my favorite gym theme--Castelia City. I've seen the comments on this video describing the music as "eargasm", which I guess can sum it up pretty well. It's a very creepy sounding gym theme, fitting well with the spider theme Burgh has remodeled his gym to fit. I think the slower presentation of the main melody works really well, a lot better than I would think before I heard this. The echoing quality of the notes works really well, and I love the underlying beat: not too loud to be overly scary, but not too quiet to not keep it moving. The part starting at :54 is absolutely chilling, creepy in a very good way, and the piano playing afterwards is superb. I think the piano is a very good instrument to work with all the light electronic sounds. Overall, this is a very atmospheric piece, and I love it to bits. Best theme award goes to Burgh. Sorry we're going in order, otherwise I would have saved this one for last ^^;
And our last gym theme for this part...
Okay, so this is pretty damn fun. Nimbasa City is a very close second for my favorite gym theme. The beginning is what plays when you first enter the gym and battle trainers up the catwalk--yes, catwalk. You're in a fashion show, which this theme displays perfectly. It's very nice and low key, but at :40 it completely revamps itself. That's when Elesa enters the scene. While I feel that the main theme starts out a bit overbearing, it's still super fun to move to, and the switch in instruments at 1:22 fits much better. Also, I really dig the vocals (something I didn't really think I'd find myself saying): it really feels like something you would hear played as background music in a fashion show. Something about this music just screams "STAGE!" ...it's kinda hard to describe...
Well, on that note, I'll leave you with these great gym themes. The last half will be up on Thursday! Hope everyone who has their copy of Black or White 2 has been having a good time with it! I'd love to hear some opinions of new gyms and of new Team Plasma and COLRESS I mean (ahem) Colress.
Until Thursday, ciao~!
-umchan649
