Why does most of Pokémon's Music sound average or bad?

[Jiggykoopbob]

This is purely just my own personal opinion. But i have heard a lot of Pokémon songs other then the well known main theme introduced in generation 1. And to me, a lot of these songs sound like a bunch of random notes thrown together to make it sound like "a song". I think the composers maybe did this to try and make the songs sound less repetitive or something?

Take a listen to the Wild pokémon battle theme from Pokémon Sun & Moon and compare it to most normal battle themes from other RPGs (The one from Mario & Luigi Superstar saga is probably my favourite normal battle theme.)

Maybe its because i mostly play Mario games, And mario's music is quite catchy most of the time.

In my opinion, The only games that have soundtracks with a decent amount of good or deep songs in it are Black & White, Sun & Moon and Sword & Shield. So they're improving somewhat.

 

[Palamon]

I'll be honest, I love most Pokemon music, but in later generations, specifically the 3D era, I felt some tracks (especially Kalos) kind of fall a little flat.

And some of the earlier music in the pixel generations were too short and were repetitive. But, I don't think the entire soundtrack in Pokemon is bad. I love a lot of Sword/Shield's music tracks currently, for example, especially the gym leader theme having the sounds of a cheering crowd in the background.

 

[Zeostar]

Musical enjoyment is so subjective, this is almost impossible to answer.

I was neutral towards most of the Undertale soundtrack, although it's incredibly beloved. As for Pokemon, the ones that stand out for me are the champion soundtracks.

 

[Sheep]

Some people are pretty vocal about Kalos and Alola not having the best music so I can understand you feeling the same way! Some of the tracks in those games were pretty bland, and this is coming from someone whose favorite region next to Unova is Alola. The music definitely could've been better imo (though I did love some of them massively, like the E4 battle theme and Seafolk Village). BW easily has some of the best tracks and it'll be hard for other main series games to compete. Played Colo recently too and that one also has 👍 music even now in 2021.

But yeah, music taste is pretty subjective I'd say. I can agree that it's hard not to compare to other RPGs sometimes, especially since Pokémon's budget is so massive, but we do have a lot of other amazing tracks in the games still even if some of them aren't particularly standout. SwSh had some great ones and I hope it'll keep improving in later gens.

 

[_confused_piplup_]

I think it's purely personal. tbh i love pokemon music and my fav music is in gen4. some people for example say gen5 music is better, but it's not like that to me. it's personal taste. indeed when u play a game more than another, that affects the way u listen to some music. u said u play more to mario than pokemon and u prefer mario music, to me it's the total opposite!

 

[Soaring Sid]

In my opinion, The only games that have soundtracks with a decent amount of good or deep songs in it are Black & White, Sun & Moon and Sword & Shield. So they're improving somewhat.

Hmm maybe because they have focused more on gameplay than music. I did like sun and moon music and Galar themes too but not as much as Kalos or Unova. Of course music taste is subjective and others may find the new stuff still good.
Until five years back I used to think Pokemon music was the best. Then Zelda. Then Mario. As I got exposed to a lot more games, I found that I'd been listening less and less to pokemon music. So many games had a lot of amazing composition! You'll struggle to find pokemon songs in my youtube playlists XD

But of course I recently binged some pokemon music because I keep coming back to it from time to time.

 

[Adam Levine]

For the earlier generations, the tracks themselves are catchy, but in my opinion they're held back by the soundfonts. 8-bit music isn't my thing, and as much as I love Generation III's music, it has some pretty lackluster percussion. I'm not that big a fan of DPPt's soundfont either, but their music is still pretty good. But not as good as...

The music in HGSS and Generation V. In my opinion, not only did they have really good tracks, the soundfonts are also possibly my most favorite of not just of any Pokémon game, but any game in general. Those instruments enhance the already banging Gym Leader and Elite Four themes, and they don't fail with more atmospheric tracks like Route 47 or Village Bridge.

The 3D games' music is...alright. XY's soundtrack has grown on me, particularly the Kalos Power Plant and Elite Four themes, even though I've never played XY, but I'm not a fan of ORAS's orchestral approach to remaking the music; I'm not sure whether I like the original or remade versions of the Maxie/Archie and Elite Four battle themes more. Percussion is important to me, and neither of those versions delivered that well.

I've played Generation VII, and I feel like this is where the sentiment that Pokémon's music is somewhat lackluster comes from. There are some bangers like Vast Poni Canyon and Ultra Recon Squad battle theme, but other than that, the music is...alright, nothing too catchy. As for Sword and Shield...yeah, I'm not the biggest fan of the music (although I've never actually played Sword and Shield). I really do not like the cheering in the Gym Leader battle theme, and Bede's battle theme is kind of a mess. The other battle themes are somewhat forgettable in my opinion, obviously except for the Battle Tower theme, because, well, it's Toby Fox.

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon OST is consistently really good, though.

 

[Bellsprout]

Hmmm well I will say the tracks that get stuck in my head are usually from routes or towns/cities. Most of the battle music I don't care for. There's only a few legendary and champion battle themes that I find catchy. The rest of it is very generic to me.

 

[DelibirdTrainer]

Gen 1 gyms's was pretty nice, also, Ruby and Sapphire had some nice bgm for cities and some other places.
But, usually, I mute the sound, because the music gets stuck in my head

 

[colours]

gym battle music tends to lean towards the ok/good side. elite four music is good to me, and idk, i've never particularly heard a bad champion theme. so on the whole? the important parts sound fine to me and honestly quite enjoyable at the best parts. even most legendary themes slap.

i'm of the minority that doesn't pay that much attention to the route music, though.