Although gamers mainly flock to the Pokemon series to collect as many critters as possible, part of what makes the multibillion-dollar franchise so great is its soundtrack. Since the days of Pokemon Red and Green, gamers have been treated to enchanting compositions that give each location character and up the energy of battles. Some songs, such as the eerie tune that plays in the Kanto region's Lavender Town, have gone on to achieve cult status, and many myths and urban legends are associated with them.
Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, the fourth generation of the franchise, continue the trend of including unforgettable soundtracks. However, for a long time, Nintendo has adopted a no-tolerance policy concerning copyright infringement, leading to music from its franchises, including Pokemon, being taken off YouTube and other online sites, making it difficult for fans to enjoy Pokemon's music. Fortunately, Pokemon recently announced the Pokemon DP Sound Library, which gives the public access to the entire music library of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl.
The History of Pokemon's Brilliant Soundtrack
Pokemon was dreamed up by Satoshi Tajiri, who was inspired by the insect-collecting hobby he had as a child. He aimed to create a way for kids to collect creatures, and also have a relationship with them by naming them and working with them in a team. The series got off to humble beginnings, and a team of fewer than ten people worked on the first game, which took about six years to develop. However, their hard work paid off, and when Pocket Monsters: Red and Green was released in Japan in 1996, it was the start of what would become the most profitable entertainment franchise of all time.
Music for the first games was composed by the now-legendary Junichi Masuda, who was also responsible for making the cries of all the Pokemon. He composed the music using a Commodore Amiga computer, and he created a program to convert his music and play it on a Game Boy. It is a good thing that Game Freak has Masuda and his genius musical talents, because it helped give Pokemon its personality and propel it to the levels of popularity it has achieved.
According to Masuda, his creative process requires him to be alone. As he explains: "most of the time when I'm with other people, I'm usually talking, so it's kind of hard to hum a new song." He also admits that with the first games, the team imagined Pokemon as somewhat scary creatures, hence a lot of the music has a scarier, creepier tone which is heard in locations such as Viridian Forest and Diglett Cave.
He lists Cynthia's theme, which plays in Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, as one of his favorite songs in the series. It is not hard to understand why, as it is an upbeat, marching-band tune that does a good job of raising the listener's excitement. Players can easily listen to it now thanks to the Pokemon DP Sound Library, but this was not always the case.
Nintendo's Wrath Against Copyright Infringement
Nintendo is a giant in the gaming industry, and it is not afraid to demonstrate its might. For years, the company has made it clear that it is extremely protective of its IPs, and it harshly hunts down anyone who violates copyright law. Nintendo is well within its rights to do so, though it can be a bit of a disappointment sometimes for gamers, such as when YouTube channels dedicated to archiving Pokemon and other Nintendo music get struck down.
Popular YouTube channels such as GilvaSunner and BrawlBRSTMs3, who archive video game soundtracks, have found themselves hit with dozens of copyright claims. The heavy deluge of copyright claims affected not just Pokemon, but other Nintendo franchises too including The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario, Luigi's Mansion, and Fire Emblem. On February 1 this year, GilvaSunner announced that they would be deleting their channel after "the 1300 copyright blocks from Nintendo a few days ago," and on February 4 the channel was gone.
Nintendo's copyright claim frenzy has frustrated many gamers who rely on YouTube channels to access video game soundtracks. Worst of all, legally acquiring these soundtracks is exceedingly difficult, especially if one does not live in Japan. With many YouTube channels shutting down because of Nintendo's relentless pursuit of all copyright violations, some gamers have pointed out that Nintendo runs the risk of having the soundtracks of its older and more obscure games inaccessible to modern audiences.
Pokemon Introduces the DP Sound Library
Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, released in 2006, brings gamers even more enchanting music to color their adventures throughout Sinnoh. Masuda returns to compose music alongside Go Ichinose and Morikazu Aoki. Players get to experience the joys of Sinnoh again on modern hardware thanks to the release of Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl in 2021. To commemorate the release of the games, The Pokemon Company has made the Pokemon DP Sound Library available.
With the Pokemon DP Sound Library, the public has free access to all 149 songs from Pokemon Diamond and Pearl. Not only can the music be streamed online, but it can also be downloaded and used in one's own videos and music. The site also features some playlists which arrange the music into themes, and users can create their own playlists. For now, the English version of the library is available in the USA, UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Macau, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
This is a good move from The Pokemon Company, as it makes more of the iconic music from the Pokemon franchise freely available. Allowing the public to listen to the music online, or download it, makes Nintendo look a lot less like the bad guy every time it hits YouTube channels with copyright claims, as gamers get to still access their beloved music while Nintendo gets to protect its precious intellectual property. In a best-case scenario, The Pokemon Company should extend this initiative to all Pokemon games, ensuring that the franchise's historical soundtracks are archived for future gamers to enjoy.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl and available now on the Nintendo Switch.
