OST of the Day #63: Pokemon Diamond & Pearl - Eterna Forest 🌲

taco.cat (67)in INVEN Gaming • 4 years ago (edited)

Hey Steemit!

If you're unfamiliar with this series, basically I share a soundtrack and my thoughts about it, and I highly recommend listening to the song while reading! 😊

It's been quite a while since I last shared a song from the Pokémon series, so I thought why not share one today?

I'm sure everyone knows about Pokémon by now, but the specific Pokémon game this song is from is Pokémon Diamond and Pearl!

Source: Dexerto

If you're unfamiliar, Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl are 2D top-down RPGs developed by Game Freak, published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. They are the first installments in the fourth generation of the Pokémon series. They were first released in Japan in September 2006 and later released in other regions over the course of 2007. Pokémon Platinum, an updated version, was released in 2009.

Source: Dot Esports

Set in the Sinnoh region, which was inspired by the Japanese island Hokkaidō, Diamond and Pearl hits all those familiar story beats of leaving home, catching Pokémon, challenging gyms, defeating an evil team, tackling the Elite Four, and eventually attempting to capture the legendary Pokémon.

However, since it's the first Pokémon gen on the DS, there were quite a few new features, such as Internet play over the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, changes to battle mechanics and Pokémon Contests, along with the addition of 107 new Pokémon.

Diamond and Pearl are independent of each other but feature largely the same plot and while both can be played separately, it is necessary to trade between them in order to complete the games' Pokédex.

Source: Den of Geek

Platinum was actually the last 2D Pokemon game I played. And was technically the last Pokemon game I played for many years, until Sword and Shield came out. It's been a long time, but I remember liking the graphics quite a bit in Pearl and Platinum. The character models looked really good for 2007, and everything had a more 3D look to them than ever before.

It was nice just chilling by the lake with my Empoleon

But anyway, the song I chose for today is one of my favourites! Have a listen:

I believe this song can only be heard in one place in the game, called Eterna Forest. Hence the name of the song. It's located in the middle of Route 205, between Floaroma Town (the fifth town you'll encounter on your journey) and Eterna City.

The look of Eterna Forest is similar to that of Viridian Forest in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen, with the forest enveloped in chilly air and the ground shaded by the thick crowns of the trees.

Source: wikiHow

I absolutely love this song. The soft piano coupled with the flute is such a good combination. And when the bass and hi-hats come in it's subtle, and doesn't take anything away from the melody. Then the tempo increases just a little bit with the faster bass notes and the synth melody. But it transitions back to the piano and flute once again.

I like to think of the consistent soft 8-bit notes in the background as the sounds of fairies, to really make you feel like you're really in a magical forest. Which is fitting, since Eterna Forest actually has a reputation for being a mysterious place, from the abandoned Old Chateau to the strange Moss Rock. The Eterna Forest is a long and complex structure of trees that make it a natural maze where a lot of people get lost. Which is why before you enter the forest, you meet Cheryl, this cute girl who asks to go through the forest with you.

Source: Azurilland Wiki

I loved Eterna Forest; the look, the song, everything was so peaceful and calm. The song in particular, really nailed that feeling of tranquility. I remember coming back to this place multiple times in-game just to listen to this song and walk around in the forest, imagining that I was really there.

Source: photobucket

According to the Wiki, there were 4 composers for the soundtrack of Diamond and Pearl - Go Ichinose, Junichi Masuda, Hitomi Sato and Morikazu Aoki, and I have to say they did an absolutely phenomenal job. I read so many comments about the Gen 4 soundtrack and the fact that people still remember it today, after so many years of Pokemon games is a testament to how fantastic it really is.

In fact, my last Pokemon song post was also from Diamond and Pearl!

And here's an awesome jazz arrangement from one of my favourite musicians, insaneintherain! Definitely check it out if you liked this song!

Thanks so much for reading!