All of Zinnia's themes are superb, especially how they all use the same motif.
The motif sound incredibly nostalgic, beautiful and melancholic on the piano playing over the character's backstory. The battle theme seems to mix in a harmonica that plays the motif in the background.
Wally becomes a rival in this game and gets his own encounter and battle theme. The only negative I have about it is that it's a little bit too short 🙁.
Oceanic Museum now sounds much more mellow and gentle when it has more depth due to the Nintendo 3DS' sound capabilities. Compared to the old one from Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald you can actually hear that its actual instruments being played.
The new Rival Battle theme is a solid energetic and upbeat track, but it can't quite match the charm of the original one. The original synth sound for the Game Boy Advance sounds more like a trumpet and the new theme fails to match the same shrieking intesity produced by the Game Boy Advance sound card 😊. That being said, it certainly still rocks 🤘.
There are just so many battle themes in these games, but another one I really like the new version of is the Battle! VS Magma Leader Maxie/Aqua Leader Archie. It seriously sounds like there's a whole jazz band playing when you battle against them.
All the encounter themes got their rightful upgrades as well, especially the Encounter! Psychic stands out to me, as it now has more futuristic vibe to it with funky computer-esque sounds. There is also something about the new trainer theme added in this game Encounter! Delinquent that I quite can't put my finger on. It might sound like something out of the Yakuza / Like a Dragon series?
Verdanturf Town is now a nice little piano and light-orchestral ballad. Sea Mauville is very true to the original Abandoned Ship, the ship even got a new name!. A slowed down version of the same melody can be heard in the theme for Southern Island.
There is also a lot of endgame content with legendary battle themes from other games. I'll only comment on a few since they're not exclusive to this game. My favorite is probably the Battle! VS Unova Legendary Pokémon. It's just something about how the track slows down and the picks back up.
Some chill tracks to have in the background while doing something else:
Meteor Falls/Cave of Origin just captures the feeling of shining awe and aspiration one should have when entering such ancient caves.
Favorites
- Zinnia's Tale
- Battle! VS Zinnia
- Rival Battle theme
- Battle! VS Magma Leader Maxie/Aqua Leader Archie
- Battle! VS Wally
- Soaring the Skies - Day
- Battle! VS Gym Leader
Links
- Published:
- 11 November 2024