Champion Themes Getting Less Epic?

[Dragoncat]

First of all, I know I couldve embeded the videos, but I didn't want to kill Huey if Mandy happens to come across this.

Okay so we all know what final boss music should sound like: epic, fast paced, gets your heart pounding, captures the spirit of the heat of battle. In some games (Zelda etc) these themes also have a scary tinge to them since you're fighting the main baddie to save the world. Pokemon doesnt need this since by the time you get to the pokemon league champion, you've already shown the resident villains who's boss. But they still should sound like final boss themes, for example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezlFXaw7zOA

Even if I didn't know anything about Pokemon, I could listen to that and know it's a final boss theme. Lately I've noticed something though...look at Black 2/White 2's champion theme.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xb9ee9lWSbg

It's more happy than epic, right? Catchy, but doesn't exactly fit as a final boss theme. I thought that was kind of odd, but then again, the champion here is a bubbly young girl...so it fits in a way. Surely next time, they would go back to the epic songs.

Today I got to the champion in Y, and was presented with this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtyfIAk8bhU

Another happy bubbly theme? Why? I know it's not because of the champion's gender, because look at Cynthia's song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwBaf7cKOfA

Epic like everything before it. Also, if they used the happy bubbly songs for all girl champions and the epic ones for the guys, how sexist would that be...

Thoughts?

 

[Reaca]

I really liked X and Y's champion theme. I thought that it was a perfect mix of Diantha's personality and epicness. I do agree with you about Iris' theme, though. It was meh at best.

 

[Dragoncat]

See, I'm not denying that it fits. I just prefer the epic sounding themes.

 

[Terminus]

I'll rank-order mine.

1. Hoenn: I remember this the most because it was the first Champion Battle I faced. After finally beating Drake, I was so on edge that this music was seared into my mind.

[video=youtube;Ceu-X1PHMac]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ceu-X1PHMac[/video]


2. Johto: This is one of the few tracks to consistently give me epic chills, especially when the music is near its climax.

[video=youtube;ezlFXaw7zOA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezlFXaw7zOA[/video]

3. Kanto: It perfectly carries both a sense of arrogance and a sense of peril that perfectly fits Blue's personality. It is also the only Champion to consistently give me trouble.

[video=youtube;QrknF6Gesso]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrknF6Gesso[/video]

4. Sinnoh: Really nice and epic, and the start is just perfect.

[video=youtube;i5ixIrnJ6WM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5ixIrnJ6WM[/video]

5: Kalos: I can excuse the slightly cheery theme with the fact that Diantha is both an actor and her mos powerful Pokemon is the Psychic/Fairy Mega Gardevoir.

[video=youtube;XoM8wGIrF8k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoM8wGIrF8k[/video]

6: Unova A: Alder's theme is nice, but it fits a Rival Battle more than a Champion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DobvGOqzDlw

7: Unova B: Starts off airy-fairy and peppy and never improves from there. Nine times out of Ten I'll play the battle silently.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvHVAk2DjS8

(5 videos max per post so links for the last 2)

 

[Dragoncat]

I can just nod at your post, Termy. Actually my first champion was Cynthia, I played the games before that but never got through the elites.

 

[Snow Queen]

I have to say I really don't think the themes are getting less epic (Though Iris was a tad disappointing). All the themes give the battle an intense feel and cause adrenaline to flow.

 

[Leonomonn]

I agree with you that the themes give me a little less of that feeling that gets me going for the battle. For example, when I started up your Heartgold/Soulsilver song my spine started to tingle and I started to remember and imagine a battle. I think that even though they feel like final boss music more so in the earlier games (to me), the composer was still attempting to portray the character. Blue, for example, was epic because that battle was your final showdown after Blue taunted and teased you and was always one step ahead throughout the game. In Lance's case, anytime he showed up in the main story we only saw his Dragonite and how much more powerful it was than our Pokemon. Steven was similar to Lance and so was Cynthia. They were all mysterious characters that seemed really powerful by the moments you were able to interact with them. While the others are somewhat mysterious too, their personalities aren't so mysterious. I suppose that's up for debate, but that's my take on the situation anyway

 

[Sir Quaffler]

I suppose you do have a point with them being less epic-sounding. I think this might have something to do with the main games focusing more on the villain's plot and especially the dynamic between you and your rivals than it does with becoming Champion. I personally find the music with these two groups in X & Y to be the best of the game; while I do think Diantha's theme fits her mood, I personally like Iris' take on bubbly Champion music better. If I had to rank my champion's music, it'd go something like this:

1: Cynthia. Seriously, this is the most epic-sounding Pokemon music ever. Possibly my favorite of the entire series.

2: Lance. Again, another really epic battle. This one also gets additional points for being shared with Red, the most badass trainer ever.

3: Tied between Steven/Wallace and Iris. I really like their songs, but for different reasons.

4: Gary Oak (now tentatively tied with Diantha). Enjoyable in their own rights and fitting for the people they correspond to, though still lower than the others.

5: Alder. This one's complete garbage. I'm glad we get to fight N and Ghetsis instead of this dude for the final battle in BW1, otherwise I'd be pretty disappointed.

 

[HyruleHistory10]

I thought Diantha's Theme was actually really good to battle with. It has a nice heated feel while capturing the cathedral-esqe environment.

 

[Ver-go-a-go-go]

I guess I could agree with that statement. If by "less epic" you mean more geared towards a happier attitude and beat, then yeah, I think that's true.

Blue Oak's theme still remains my all-time favorite, if not just because the mood and atmosphere of the fight is the absolute best for me. You really grow to hate the guy, and it all comes down to that one battle, which one of you is going to be eternally better than the other. It's a true grudge match, something that no other Champion theme had behind it. I'm particularly a huge fan of the remixes that this theme has gotten, being it metal or orchestrated, because it almost universally sounds amazing. Lance's battle theme is really awesome too, but for an entirely different reason. You know how good he is, and you respect him for it. It's more of a "final obstacle" type deal rather than the conclusion of a rivalry. I'd rank it at number two though, because I do think it sounds more epic than anything else below Blue. It's the same thing with Red's battle, but more exemplified because he was the main character of the first game and all. Cynthia is in the exact same vein as this.

I'd say anything other than that has, to some extent, become less epic. Namely Gen V's and Gen VI's, which is a shame. I can't even remember Alder's battle theme, and Iris clocks in at my absolute least favorite. It already baffled me how she became Champion in the first place, some kind of bubbly, child-like theme didn't really help much. Diantha isn't all that better really, since it seems to be modeled after Iris' to some extent.

I think the solution is to have another plain jerk of a rival who becomes Champion. It's been too long.

 

[Curmudgeon]

I never really liked Cynthia's theme, either. It has almost no vertical range. I also find the composition a bit lazy with a lot of the melody tied up in repetitious rhythms that are simply moved a half step up chromatically. If I had to choose one, I'd take the updated champion track from HG/SS with its mildly clever reprise of the original title theme.

Honestly, I've always been a bit let down by the E4/Champion themes. My favorite pokemon tracks are the trainer battle theme from FR/LG and the wild encounter tunes from R/S/E and B/W.

 

[Musicfan]

Honestly I like 1-4 never was able to get to adder and never played gen 6

3 1 4 2 for me (Played RSE then FR LG DPP and SS HG so I might be a little biased)