Music in Pikmin 3: Difference between revisions

Music in Pikmin 3 (edit)

Revision as of 12:06, July 12, 2015

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Finished cutscenes.

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 ==Cutscenes==
-{{todo|Can we find the name of the person who narrates the prologue and epilogue?}}
+{{todo|Can we find the name of the person who narrates the prologue and epilogue? Also, find the exact fruit values that trigger the different epilogues.}}
 Most of the [[cutscene]]s of the game have pre-rendered soundtracks, as they are usually a specified length. The theatrical cutscenes have a Hollywood-style orchestra to perform them, plus electronics. Meanwhile, the in-game cutscenes can sometimes have a looped theme, since dialog occurs over the cutscene that requires player input to progress. These cutscenes can be performed by a wide range of ensembles and electronics, as they all have varying moods and contexts to convey.
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 |link=http://downloads.khinsider.com/game-soundtracks/album/pikmin-3/045-pikmin-in-danger-.mp3
 }}
+Heard when a leader explains what to do when a Pikmin is on fire or drowning. This loop is rather coherent, with a distinct resolution of D to G from E♭, according to the bass clarinet. However, one synthesized texture underneath this resolution is detuned with itself, making it sound unpitched and disconcerting. Certainly, the contrast in registers here is enough to suggest something wrong, and something urgent.
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-;<span id="Leader down">''Leader down''</span>:
+;<span id="Leader is down">''Leader is down''</span>:
 {{infobox track
-|name=Leader down
+|name=Leader is down
 |link=http://downloads.khinsider.com/game-soundtracks/album/pikmin-3/080-alph-down....mp3
 }}
+Heard whenever a [[leader]] loses all their [[HP]]. This is a new rendition of the [[Music (Pikmin 2)#Leader is down|"leader is down" theme]] of the previous game, featuring the same composition but with a few differences. The synth bass in the previous game is replaced with a marimba sound, and the whole texture fades into a synthesized filter at the end. These changes, including making the whole theme less melodic and less prominent, can reflect that one leader being downed is less of an urgent problem with three leaders to begin with. However, ''Pikmin 3'' does not supply different versions of this theme based on how many leaders are left.
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 |link=http://downloads.khinsider.com/game-soundtracks/album/pikmin-3/101-pikmin-extinction....mp3
 }}
+Heard whenever a [[Pikmin extinction]] occurs, when a player loses all Pikmin. This is a new rendition of the [[Music (Pikmin 2)#Pikmin extinction|"Pikmin extinction" theme]] of the previous game, except many instruments have been removed to diminish the scale of the mood down to the three lone leaders. Now, only a penny whistle, a classical guitar, and a marimba score the loss of all Pikmin, certainly making the cue more solitary yet still conveying the forlorn yet hopeful mood well. The marimba and the classical guitar sounds particularly show off the advancement of the programs used to make music in the series.
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 |link=http://downloads.khinsider.com/game-soundtracks/album/pikmin-3/083-game-over.mp3
 }}
+Heard when a [[day]] ends with no [[juice]] remaining. A decelerating clock tick and baritone saxophone chime in to bring the playthrough's events to a sluggish close. Based on the whole-tone tendencies, the comical jaw-harp-like harmony, and the detuning timpani hit near the end, this little gesture seems to be playing more to mocking the failure of the player than to the doleful fate of the Koppaites. It seems that its brevity was intended to sound anticlimactic, perhaps to give the player more hope and indirect encouragement to continue.
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 |link=http://downloads.khinsider.com/game-soundtracks/album/pikmin-3/084-continue-.mp3
 }}
+Heard when the message appears asking the player to continue after a game over. This loop is drastically different from the game over cue right before it. More of a collection of sounds, this loop uses space and register very adeptly, filling it with far-fetched and unrecognizable textures. Each sound on its own is triadic, or at least tonally coherent, but together they all mold together into a juxtaposition of modes, providing a background music bed. The looseness of this theme can be explained by its anomalous purpose: this theme has to score the game after the game is over.
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 |link=http://downloads.khinsider.com/game-soundtracks/album/pikmin-3/052-brittany-s-landing.mp3
 }}
+Heard when the S.S. Drake prepares to land in the [[Distant Tundra]], but loses Brittany. Notice at the beginning of this rendition of the "land in new area" theme that the cymbal crash is missing. It instead accents the S.S. Drake hitting an obstacle and losing Brittany. This perfect synchrony also includes the final note being a half-step higher than usual, to give the theme a whole-tone, ambiguous feel. Afterwards, a saw-wave synthesizer and [[wikipedia:Gong|tuned gongs]] descend chromatically to aurally follow Brittany on her fall into the cave.
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 |link=http://downloads.khinsider.com/game-soundtracks/album/pikmin-3/067-captain-charlie-s-theme.mp3
 }}
+Heard after [[Captain Charlie]] escapes the [[Vehemoth Phosbat]], and is talking with the other leaders. This small loop repeats Charlie's [[#Captain Charlie's introduction|previous motif]] with a vocal-like synthesizer and over a simple straight-ahead beat. Again, the beat puts the theme in more understandable context, and gives both the theme and Captain Charlie more associated character.
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 |link=http://downloads.khinsider.com/game-soundtracks/album/pikmin-3/077-louie-s-theme.mp3
 }}
+Heard when [[Louie]] calls the leaders in the [[Twilight River]]. Louie's theme has many different sounds all providing confusing whole-tone passages. Together they create a very complex and comical loop, with many different streams that are difficult to follow. One element remains constant though: a Wurly-keyboard-esque sound consistently plays the 7th and 2nd scale degrees on the off-beat. This rigid gesture will be important when Louie's theme is reprised; it provides the basis for the general mood of urgency.
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 |link=http://downloads.khinsider.com/game-soundtracks/album/pikmin-3/078-louie-analysis.mp3
 }}
+Heard when Louie is brought back to the S.S. Drake, both times. This cue harkens back to the [[Music (Pikmin 2)#Collected special treasure|"collected special treasure" theme]] from the previous game. The composition is the same, but the instruments are radically more synthesized and the rhythm is more pronounced by a drum machine. The "Koppaite" motif was used for all important items before this; since Louie is a [[Hocotatian]]; the [[Music (Pikmin 2)#Leitmotifs|"Hocotatian" motif]] is referenced. Also listen carefully for what seems like a small noise from Louie during the cue. After the cue, the same "collected treasure" loop plays, a theme for the analysis of important objects.
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 |link=http://downloads.khinsider.com/game-soundtracks/album/pikmin-3/079-follow-that-hocotatian-.mp3
 }}
+Heard the morning Louie escapes in the [[Garden of Hope]], when the leaders discover he is missing. This is essentially the last reprise of Louie's theme, with a few elements adding extra power to intensify the feeling of having no juice left. Instead of the Wurly synthesizer, violas and violins provide the texture bed for the other confusing gestures. Overall, they make the loop sound less elaborate, but more important, as the scale of the ensemble and the mood is augmented.
 {{clear}}
 ;<span id="Found Olimar">''Found Olimar''</span>:
 {{infobox track
-|name=Found Olimar (loop)
+|name=Found Olimar
 |link=http://downloads.khinsider.com/game-soundtracks/album/pikmin-3/109-captain-olimar-found-.mp3
 }}
+Heard when [[Captain Olimar]] is discovered at the top of the [[Formidable Oak]]. Now a full orchestra and electronics are prepared to score all scenes containing the [[Plasm Wraith]]. The surprise of finding Olimar is intensified by harsh whole-tone strings, a cymbal slide, and a quiet reversed sample of an ocean harp. The strings hold on a high E to sustain the suspense of finding out the Plasm Wraith's next move. This tension is not easily released, however, as evidenced by the following loop.
 {{clear}}
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 |link=http://downloads.khinsider.com/game-soundtracks/album/pikmin-3/110-formidable-oak-exterior-the-mysterious-life-form-s-lullaby-.mp3
 }}
+Heard when the leaders explain finding Olimar. Only a celeste and a voice-like synthesizer play here, creating a very eerie lullaby mood. Given the context of the Plasm Wraith looking over Olimar, this piece is remotely fitting but still extemely tense. The tension built from the previous cue is not released here, as the music takes an almost opposite judgement to the leaders about the situation. The calmness and thinness of this piece is not referenced again, as the Plasm Wraith is never this calm again.
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 |link=http://downloads.khinsider.com/game-soundtracks/album/pikmin-3/111-mysterious-life-form-battle-intro.mp3
 }}
+Heard when Olimar is initially released from the plasm ball the Plasm Wraith forms. A sweep up the strings and a horn blare establish the terrifying contrast that characterizes the now hostile Plasm Wraith. The orchestral power subsides as Olimar is left alone, with only violins holding E and F together to augment the suspense of the moment. This held note quickly evolves into a new loop.
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 |link=http://downloads.khinsider.com/game-soundtracks/album/pikmin-3/112-formidable-oak-exterior-mysterious-life-form-battle-and-aftermath-.mp3
 }}
+Heard when the leaders explain how to handle carrying Olimar. From the initial held note this new loop appears, controlled by cellos and a [[wikipedia:Goblet drum|doumbek]]. The violins waver in their notes slightly, which certainly makes the mood off-putting, but what really drives the tension home is the alien synthesizers that play. A ping-like sound and a synth bass play bits of the [[Mysterious Life Form]]'s theme, which at the moment sounds very strange but which will soon sound familiar. In fact, it could be said that the Mysterious Life Form's theme releases the tension accrued and sustained by this theme.
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 |link=http://downloads.khinsider.com/game-soundtracks/album/pikmin-3/113-the-mysterious-life-form-appears-.mp3
 }}
+Heard when the [[Mysterious Life Form]] materializes inside the [[Formidable Oak]]. This is the most [[wikipedia:Aleatoric music|aleatoric]] bit of music in the game, beginning with the reversed sample of an ocean harp (to establish something wrong) and growing into a huge, rich, looping cluster of tension. High strings randomly rise while a horn cluster settles them, eventually just leaving a loop of low strings and horns playing imperceptibly together. The whole loop sounds like one sound, but it is a very rich texture that actually alienates the Mysterious Life Form. The dissonance of this cue makes the Mysterious Life Form seem more monstrous, and less adherent to anything else in the game.
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 |link=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsQUSw3Ppkg&index=51&list=PLz5gUls4mkX8JUFzdNYPyF5Rudaz3rVQk
 }}
+Heard when Olimar is saved; the cutscene occurs this way no matter how much [[fruit]] was recovered. It begins with the Koppaites meeting Olimar, who is immediately characterized by the true [[Music (Pikmin 2)#Leitmotifs|"Hocotatian" motif]] played resoundingly in trumpet (and later echoed in a horn section and a flute). The bold texture for Olimar contrasts with a softer, thinner texture for the awestruck Koppaites, in harp, thumb piano, and flute. This friendly texture stays for the remainder of the scene, as Olimar and the Koppaites exchange friendly dialog. One other element receives musical attention: the [[S.S. Drake#Cosmic Drive Key|cosmic-drive key]]: its appearance is almost comically chimed by a bell and the same choir used as a sound effect in the [[KopPad]].
+When the S.S. Drake lifts off, an immediate orchestral theme erupts with full strings and up-beat horn textures. An electronic drum kit kicks in with a cymbal crash and a synthesized texture plays the S.S. Drake accelerating into the atmosphere. Next comes an orchestral elaboration of the "Koppaite" motif, which only becomes richer and more victorious with time. When the leaders look back at the Pikmin from the air, the texture suddenly thins out to solo strings playing ''molto expressivo''. The texture builds as more strings and a [[wikipedia:Mark tree|mark tree]] enter the mix, until it all metamorphoses into a predominant version of the ''Pikmin 2'' motif, sung by Pikmin over strings. The orchestral texture barges back in to repeat this texture as an extended dominant, until the final resolving F major caps the whole scene's fade to black.
+As the S.S. Drake leaves PNF-404 in the next scene, the music slows to an ostinato of quiet violins and basses, while woodwinds and cellos voice a gesture dissimilar to any motif; it is clearly building up to something. This something is a resolution in G major, with mainly a trumpet and crotales voicing what resembles an inversion of the "Koppaite" motif, followed by a simple scalar gesture in strings and glockenspiel. This repeats three times before the next orchestral hit, when Charlie tells Alph to prepare cosmic drive. The orchestra builds in the dominant key as the sound of cosmic drive intensifies, even switching to strange substitute harmonies, perhaps in the style of [[wikipedia:Gustav Holst|Holst]]. Finally, cosmic drive begins, and the orchestra hits several times in a whole-tone key of G, augmenting the weirdness of this science-fiction concept. A final triplet of hits from the whole orchestra plays before the S.S. Drake disappears in a flash; the music simply stops at this point, leaving one with the view and the aural nature of the void of space.
 {{clear}}
+;'''Epilogues''':
+The epilogues all feature the same music bed, with the narrator from the prologue narrating a different message based on how much fruit was recovered. The music is a loop not unlike a fanfare for a medal ceremony, with military percussion and rhythm underlaying a harmonic texture in strings and some woodwinds. Even a few spacey melodic sound effects join in to thicken the texture. Overall, this piece focuses on playing to the conclusion of the game, so it works over each message.
 ;<span id="Epilogue (bad)">''Epilogue (bad)''</span>:
 {{infobox track
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 |link=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1UG7Ksx-pQ&list=PLz5gUls4mkX8JUFzdNYPyF5Rudaz3rVQk&index=52
 }}
+{{transcript|Though not entirely satisfied, the explorers managed to secure a modest supply of edible matter for their home planet. Yet still they wondered, can this handful of seeds really bring salvation to the people of Koppai? Even if they carefully cultivate the seeds they've harvested, it may not be enough to support the entire population. This thought hovers over the explorers as they embark on their journey. Along with their cargo they carry with them a sense of unease.}}
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 |link=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVrGzjHO_VI&list=PLz5gUls4mkX8JUFzdNYPyF5Rudaz3rVQk&index=53
 }}
+{{transcript|And so the intrepid explorers succeed in securing a reasonable supply of edible matter for their home planet. If they carefully cultivate the seeds they've harvested, they just may bring salvation to the people of Koppai. However if they once again squander their resources, salvation may only be temporary. But fate will decide whether history repeats itself.}}
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 |link=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ic9XM7DIJBI&index=54&list=PLz5gUls4mkX8JUFzdNYPyF5Rudaz3rVQk
 }}
+{{transcript|And so the intrepid explorers successfully complete their mission. After securing a bountiful supply of edible matter and learning the valuable lessons of planning and teamwork, the explorers are set to become the saviors of their home planet. Under their guidance, the seeds they've recovered will be used to kick off a sustainable cycle of cultivation and harvesting, thus bringing new life to Koppai. However, one question remains: what was the cause of the accident that sent the S.S. Drake hurtling to PNF-404's surface? Perhaps, it wasn't an accident after all.}}
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 |link=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETMeYlLGjQM&list=PLz5gUls4mkX8JUFzdNYPyF5Rudaz3rVQk&index=55
 }}
+Heard after any of the epilogues, when the game is complete. This is by far the most varied of the credit sequences in the [[Pikmin series]]. Each scene in the credits' background has a different environment and different actions from the Pikmin, and the music adeptly scores each scene, while developing itself. The scenes are listed chronologically:
+*(0:00) [[Blue Pikmin]] are walking through rain in the [[Tropical Wilds]] while [[Yellow Pikmin]] take shelter under a stump. As the credits have just begun, the texture is very thin, with only a [[wikipedia:Hang (instrument)|Hang drum]] and pizzicato violin establishing the waltz and the first gesture.
+*(0:17) Blue Pikmin are idling in water in the [[Garden of Hope]]. The first gesture repeats with glockenspiel, harp, and bass pizzicato added. This adds complexity and development, before the gesture is briefly set aside for some more detailed scores.
+*(0:34) A [[Red Pikmin]] attempts to chase a [[Yellow Spectralid]] in what is more clearly the [[Garden of Hope]]. Here the music takes a sidestep and scores this small scene with instruments from the Garden of Hope's theme, including an accordion and banjo. Its underlying development still exists, as can be heard in the underlying low clarinets and strings. At this point, the music is swung rather than a straight waltz.
+*(0:52) Several Pikmin watch as other Pikmin slide down the larger ice slide in the [[Distant Tundra]]. The music switches a new passage in a deceptively different key using the tuned gongs, jingle bells, and synthesized pad from the Distant Tundra's theme. This may sound like an entirely different turn, but the orchestra bassoon and strings can still be heard building behind it.
+*(1:08) Pikmin idle in tulips, until they begin hiding from back to front. The frontmost Yellow Pikmin does not notice the threat, and nearly gets eaten by the revealed [[Whiptongue Bulborb]]. The Pikmin rise out of the tulips one by one, and watch the Whiptongue Bulborb leave until a Blue Pikmin is caught by a [[Swooping Snitchbug]]. This long scene has two parts. The first is a buildup to the Bulborb's attack, in gracing woodwinds, piano, and snare drum. The texture becomes increasingly thick and accelerates until the Bulborb's attack is accented by a cymbal crash and timpani hit. The Bulborb's failure and departure characterized by the bassoon gesture from the [[Twilight River]] theme, the Pikmin begin rising from their tulips with whole-tone harp and glockenspiel. As each one rises, they make a small noise, and the high-register waltz texture plays their scale. As more of them rise, they begin to make noises in rhythm, and even start to sing the ''Pikmin 2'' motif, until a gesture in piano and [[wikipedia:Col legno|col legno strings]] abruptly accents the Swooping Snitchbug capturing the Blue Pikmin, ending the scene.
+*(1:50) A camera pan-through shows many different Pikmin in the Twilight River practicing singing the ''Pikmin 2'' motif and eventually harmonizing to the song. There are just enough Pikmin shown in the scene for all the voices in the tune, and their voices are wavering and arrhythmic enough to sound more like an ensemble of non-professional singers than an instrument. This is also the first instance of Pikmin harmonizing together, getting more and more accurate as the piece progresses and deceptively becomes more and more orchestral. By the end of this scene, a trumpet and full strings accompany the Pikmin. As a fun secret in the credits, the final Pikmin shown, a Blue Pikmin on a branch, appears to be conducting the song. It waves its arms and makes noises that resemble, "Two, three..." as a conductor might gesture in a [[wikipedia:Fermata|fermata]] such as this.
+*(2:15) A camera zooms out from a passageway in the Tropical Wilds to reveal a large amount of Pikmin sitting on various perches, becoming a chorus of harmonizing Pikmin. The orchestra reaches its climax here, with a cymbal crash and grand enharmonic substitution chords from the Pikmin. As the texture thins out to a final E♭ major chord in horns, the Pikmin voices disperse as the ''Pikmin 2'' motif is repeated one more time and a half. At this point the scene fades to black, and the final scene of the credits does not contain music (save for the sustain of the final note in the last scene). Since this scene is a cliffhanger for the [[Canon|canonical story]], it is played in complete silence to seal in the questions raised by it.
 {{clear}}