N75
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Welcome to the first instalment in a series of threads I plan to make about the music of the mainline Pokémon series. I can’t really say these will be posted in regular intervals, only when I get around to it. I also don’t want to spam them one after another. There may be games where I don’t have much to say or just skip over due to lack of familiarity (probably Let’s Go and BDSP).
Overview
So here we are, where it all began. At least in my opinion, the music is a big factor when it comes to the Pokémon games. Whether it be the field themes that convey the sense of adventure, or the battle themes that get you pumped-up. Despite the sound limitations of the Game Boy, I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that even to this day with the upgrades in technology, modern Pokémon titles still use the first generation as a sort of base to define what “Pokémon music” is.
I’ve seen a lot comparisons between Gen I music and marching band music. It fits, especially with how frequently the Route 3/4 theme plays throughout the game. Lots of percussion in that one. Which is ironic, as the battle themes don’t use the noise channel on the Game Boy at all, something that I believe was also carried into Gen II. This was likely done so that the attack sound effects wouldn’t cut in even more than they already do.
I wouldn’t say Generation I is my favourite soundtrack in the series by any means, but it’s still a great listen. Despite the memes about about Lavender Town, it has a good mix of lighthearted, intense, and foreboding tunes. Definitely up there when it comes to Game Boy music. I’ve included some standouts below, but my personal highlights are Route 11, Final Battle! (Rival Battle), and the Ending Theme.
Just an aside, there was a track added in Pokémon Yellow that was left unused in the final release. For years, this was widely speculated to be related to a scrapped mechanic where you would have to manually retreat from a battle if you hadn’t obtained Pikachu yet instead of getting it automatically. However, thanks to the Nintendo Gigaleak, it was discovered that it was likely going to be used as an encounter theme for Giovanni due to the filename being his Japanese name, Sakaki. If true, this would have been the first specific encounter theme for a main villain, something we didn’t actually get until Generation V.
Composers
Junichi Masuda
As one of the founding members of Game Freak as a video game developer, Masuda was involved with programming and composing for a number of games. Unless I’m mistaken, he was the company’s sole composer up until around 1996, coincidentally the year Red/Green released. Gen I was his first and only solo work when it comes to the mainline games. He would later be joined by several other composers, but that’s a discussion for next time.
Masuda has stated in an interview that he was primarily into rock music when he was younger, then discovering classical music later on, which is funny as the music of Gen I doesn’t really give off either of those themes. That being said, Masuda defintely has a distinct composing style that greatly differs from the rest of Game Freak‘s sound staff and can still be heard in the Scarlet/Violet battle themes, even though they were arranged by Minako Adachi (jumping the gun here, I know).
Speaking of arrangements, I don’t think I could bring up Gen I music without touching on Shinji Miyazaki’s anime score. He worked on the regular TV series up until the end of Sun/Moon (though the dub gradually replaced more and more of his music with the exception of the first season of Black/White) and is seemingly still invovled with the movies, but his Gen I adaptation stands out the most due to bringing the 8-bit tracks to life. He additionally composed a number of original pieces that fit the tone of the series perfectly.
I touched on it above, but not only would Masuda work with more people on the music, his own role would eventually diminish due to taking up the director role for the series. Starting with Generation III, his contributions were almost entirely limited to battle themes, which he mostly stopped arranging himself after Generation IV. Though the battle themes are usually the most popular ones, so he must be doing something right.
Notable Tracks
Title Screen
Pallet Town
Route 1
Battle! (Wild Pokémon)
Pokémon Center
Battle! (Trainer Battle)
Route 4
Battle! (Gym Leader Battle)
Route 11
Cycling
Lavender Town
The Sea
Final Battle! (Rival Battle)
Ending Theme
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