Octopath Traveler is a game full of good ideas. One you may not have noticed though is how it uses music to build excitement going into the boss battles. Let's explore Octopath's clever trick that made its boss battles so hype.

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And thanks to a bunch of the people from in here who helped me with some of the music theory for this video, including Jake Butinaeu, Palycat, and TheDeerLord. Couldn't have done it without you!

"How Octopath Traveler Changes Key" by 8-Bit Music Theory
   • How Octopath Traveler Changes Key  

"Octopath Traveler & Reimagining Game Music" by Game Score Fanfare
   • Octopath Traveler: Reimagining Game M...  

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Game footage used in this video, in order of appearance:

0:00 - Dark Souls 3
0:05 - Hollow Knight
0:09 - Final Fantasy VI
0:14 - Pokemon HeartGold / SoulSilver
0:18 - Shadow of the Colossus (2018 Remake)
0:22 - Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
0:25 - Metroid Prime
1:07 - Octopath Traveler
3:08 - Super Mario 64
3:11 - Bravely Default

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All music used in this video is from the Octopath Traveler OST and was composed by Yasunori Nishiki, unless otherwise stated. Tracks in order of appearance:

0:00 - Koopa (Bowser) - Yoshi's Island (composed by Koji Kondo)
1:06 - Battle 3
1:25 - Cyrus' Theme
2:10 - Olberic's Theme
2:50 - For Redemption
3:08 - For Master
3:32 - For Redemption
4:30 - For Revenge
5:05 - Decisive Battle II
7:02 - For Truth
7:18 - For Freedom
7:36 - For Treasure
8:02 - Decisive Battle I
8:21 - The Battle At Journey's End
8:36 - They Who Govern Reason
9:17 - Decisive Battle I

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Game Score Fanfare is a show that celebrates music in video games, an aspect so overlooked as that's often the point: to work without you even realising it's there. I look at games through the lens of its score, discovering the unique perspective and roles that music can bring.