The fact that those 8 quest terminals are still functioning even though the entire population of the city was killed centuries ago gets me every time. They're just doing their jobs, unaware that there's no one left to serve, the city is overrun with killer Mechon and the only living resident is a homicidal maniac.
i love how the whole game you’re building up to the mechonis capital and gearing up to kick some serious robot ass and you get there and it’s just, desolate. 10/10 storytelling
@@v4le69 Yes. It's so impressive how many major plot twists the game throws at you while still having it make complete sense. In fact, that's what made it my favorite game of all time and to think hearing Gaur Plains in Smash is what piqued my interest in the series.
@@sabrith3871 I thought about playing this game when I heard You will know our names in Smash. I realized that the definitive edition was already released and i decided to play this game. I finished it last week and am thankful to made this decision to play this game. I really love the cutscene after the fight against Egil where you thought you have beaten him and are about to kill him. This major plot twist afterwards with the true reveal of Zanza, Shulk’s actual story and the reveal of his disciples is completely mind blowing yet so great to understand who is really the real antagonist of this game. One of my favorite cutscenes in my favorite game
My favorite moments in the game SPOILERS is a tie between when Zanza went all bloodthirsty crazy and was fighting meyneth. The other was when shulk gets the true monado because everything is just so epic in that moment, the music was fantastic (God Slaying Sword my favorite in the series) because it's not Zanza's theme its shulks theme and makes you feel like you're the one in power and he's trying to beat you, which it is basically because you're busted at that point. All in all I love xenoblade 1 and 2 phenomenal games 13/10
It’s hard to explain why, but seeing those still-active civil service terminals was maybe one of the saddest moments in the whole game for me. This music is really good. It’s a very slow burn.
SPOILERS FOR XENOBLADE CHRONICLES 2 I had a similar feeling in the land of Morytha with the sidequest you got from the old tablet. The more you think about it the more you realize that there was once a great and advanced civilization but now it's nothing but ruins. Xenoblade 1's was different everything was completely intact but in a weird sence it felt more lonely because at least in Morytha there were the poor souls who clung to life and still roamed, In Agniratha there's no one not a single living thing just Machines and tales of a great past.
@@Knownodin875 spoiler for XC 2 Yeah plus Morytha seems a lot like our actual big towns, it does hit a lot to think that one day our civilization will be down and look just like Morytha, and no one will remember its time
Also, when you hear the night version of it, with the voice over it, for me, it sounds like a sad voice, as if it actually was the Titan voice that cry the lost of the livings thinks that once lived here
@@clementlesme1426 spoilers for XC 2 that's because the civilisation of morytha basically is our civilisation. there's reference to real world countries and places in some signs in morytha and the world tree, and some lore exclusive to a siren figure also mentions that the conduit was found in africa IIRC. when I was browsing tvtropes a little while ago, I found the perfect description of it: the "it was earth all along" twist.
I'll never forget the feeling of first walking into Agniratha, expecting a heavily fortified stronghold...and instead finding an empty husk of a once great civilization.
Not Zanza. Klaus. Egil even talks about how Zanza was good until klaus' influences. Egil and Zanza were the progenitors of the homs and mechons, but early they worked together. Until the birth of the monado(stop here for spoiler)'s, then it was Klaus-Zanza (k's ego, entitlement, god complex) that turned on the mechons. Then you see in the 2nd game klaus' more positive side. Since his person was split between two dimensions. And the machine that did it (trinity processor) is based on Pnuema (Female/kind/nurture/protect) Logos (Male/logic/any means to an end/difficult to persuade) and the last Ondos(Neutral and bound to a robotic level logic, high intellect, only able to act in order to balance the opposing Pnuema and Logos) and After klaus broke the universe, ondos disappeared, but not really, just followed his negative side to the world of XBC1 as alvis then because the death of logos, the imbalance caused ondos to become more malevolent and p much attempt to be the deciding tyrant as a god. similar as to how Zanza-Klaus did, but more powerful and totally indifferent so long as it would end with projected positive outcomes. Alvis even tells Melia after the events of the first game after Shulk finds his earring on the shore (which looks identical to the core crystals of both Pyra/Mythra (Pnuema) and Malos (Logos) and he would definitely fit the bill since klaus explains that Ondos vanished after he started the machine along with half of his own being. And his message to shulk was that it was a gift since without the existence of the monados alvis cannot be. And it becomes very important in XC3 expansion.
I've convinced myself not to listen to this song until i get to Agniratha in-game, but I came here to say that this song will be absolutely beautiful, just like the original.
This remaster will most assuredly live up to your expectations. They perfected this piece to a point that I could never imagine. I’m beyond happy with it, and I hope you will be too :)
@@squidwardtentacles6338 I'm lying in bed now literally misty eyed at the beauty of this song. The instruments themselves are alive with emotion. Please when you play this, do it late at night with headphones like I am now, it's so personal and breath taking
This song is so beautiful and encapsulates the themes of loss, of pain, and the determination to survive against all odds that surrounds Xenoblade. Agniratha being untouched is such a testament to Egil’s pain and determination.
Man, you gotta love the writing in this game. So long you had been building towards this city, expecting a heavily fortified final dungeon leading up to the man you thought was the main villain, probably alongside something like The end lies ahead for it’s area theme. But then you arrive and instead you get this, a desolate city and the realization that Egil may not be as evil as you thought. Instead of a triumphant end to the story you got tragedy, the end was no where close just yet. All of this accompanied by one of the most masterfully composed songs in the game, you can just feel the pure sorrow emanating from it, along with the marching in the back urging you to go forward. This right here is why this game without question the best of all time.
Right? they do such a great job drumming up your hatred for the mechons, only to realize that they're worse off than they were and Egil is more or less the Mechon parallel of Shulk. Just was willing to cross the line to do it, but after you understand the betrayals of the monado-influenced Zanza, who before was a great friend to Egil, and killed mayneth in order to make himself to most powerful. Which if you know all 3 games and expansions, it even still holds importance then. They are amazing at storytelling.
They did such a great job of making the place LOOK dead, the enemies all blend right in and mostly stick to their own areas like sentinels waiting for something to come along but man, the novelty of 'oh man there's another one and I woke it up!' sure wears thin after the 9th or 10th time you go up the same platformy spiral and aggro the same enemies.
I had typed out an analysis of this song a while back but the comment seems to be missing so here it is again fron scratch. The most incredible thing about this song is that it perfectly captures the history of the city. It starts out with very few instruments (one violin and a small piano section), indicating the birth of life on Mechonis. The violin is Meyneth and the piano represents the Machina coming into a chaotic existence. Things start to pick up. We get a flute and other string instruments. There's a general uplifting melody in the flutes but the strings remain somber. The Machina are living with Meyneth and enjoying their lives but the Bionis, indicated by the lower note strings, constantly looms in the background. Meyneth and Zanza can't coexist because Zanza won't allow it. The staccato percussion section early on indicates the tension building between the two gods and we're greeted with a brief refrain. The strings come back in full and the flute seems more somber this time around. The Machina know that this peace can't exist forever and are desperately pleading with Meyneth for a solution. Sadly, none came. The percussion comes back and Meyneth battles Zanza. They ultimately fight to a stand still and the wind instruments take over as the dominant track. Meyneth tells the Machina that she's soon to be gone and the people begin to look for ways to live away from the ever looming threat of the Bionis. They seek refuge on the fallen arm amidst the chaos of abandoning their home and the destruction of the Mechonis and perceived death of Meyneth. The piano starts descending in a frantic way yet deceptively slow. The Machina are scared and confused about what happens next but the flute remains optimistic. They believe in a future free of fear and set out to make that happen. The instruments begin to recede as more and more people leave Agniratha. Eventually we're left with one somber instrument. A piano, the staccato notes capturing both the sadness and rage of the lone citizen remaining: Egil. He stays behind, constantly staring out at the face of his people's oppressor: the Bionis. He begins devising a plan to finally end the reign of Zanza even if it costs him everything. In the end, he is alone and the only thing he has left are the sadness and rage he feels whenever he sees the Bionis. That is all that remains of a once great and bustling city.
It's so hard to pick favorite music in Xenoblade, but both Agniratha pieces are absolutely up there for me and I think both versions are simply genius. I think they both follow a theme of sorrow with the Day variant meant to represent Egil's past how Zanza possessed Arglas and tried to wipe out all Machina and Mechonis and the Night variant is meant to represent Vanea's sorrow for Egil's actions toward the people of Bionis and the refusal to let go of the past. I think the female vocalist in the Night variant supports my idea at least
This is egils colony 9. The day the bionis attacked was his loss of fiora and you and the invaders. you reached your ultimate goal, but the goal was much different to when the journey began
I am playing the game for the 2nd time (I played the original many years ago) and now I am older I have a better understanding of the plot and omg... OOF... Goosebumps. I adore this soundtrack so much.
This is easily one of my favorite songs from this game, if not my favorite. It's such a haunting tune, especially given why Agniratha is the way it is...
Funny how only by coming back to this game after beating the wii release and the sequel that I noticed how this track is very similar in tone to the morytha theme (from the sequel), which is fitting, since it is in both these areas that you start understanding the underlying (and somewhat tragic) backstory of each game.
(Mild spoilers if you haven't gotten to this area yet) There's just something so hauntingly peaceful about going through this long, intense journey to fight your way to the top of the mechonis, only for the ultimate destination to be a small, quiet town, devoid of people. Makes you remember that the mechonis used to be just like the bionis, full of people and communities with their own values and cultures, and wasn't always just some giant factory to mass-produce soulless killing machines. This area theme does an excellent job at emphasizing that feeling.
This, and Land of Morytha in Xenoblade 2, are just so depressing. When I first heard about capital of Mechonis, I thought it would be a city like Alcamoth, but I was wrong. The city is totally desolated.. Same with Land of Morytha, a city that looks exactly like our world, sunk into Cloud Sea..
Recently played this for the first time on the switch, it was this part of the game (one of many) where I was in awe of how great of a story/game this was. XC1 is now up there with my all time favorite rpgs, on par with FF7 & Chrono Trigger.
the only crime this song has you cant hear it anymore after a certain event occurs it is the indol theme all over again btw for anyone gonna say anything I finished.xc2 before xc1
Serious spoilers: You can actually go back there briefly due to an oversight that remained in Definitive Edition. While you're escaping from Mechonis, you can actually travel all the way back to Agniratha.
@@TheAbsol7448 true but commonly no one would think to do that on first playthroughs because again spoiler Because agniratha is supposedly destroyed when mechonis awakens
Definitely in my top 5 songs in the whole game. I just love how melancholic it is. I'm so glad I could listen to this banger while spending hours searching for that second piece of lewisia silver
This has to be one of my favorite songs from this game. Mechonis Capital is such a beautiful city. Hearing this while walking around a dead city was something else. The sad history of Agniratha plus the music really hit me. This song hits even harder after you see what really happened between the Mechonis and Bionis. It's even sadder when you realize that the only person that was in the city prior to Shulk and his group was Egil. I can only imagine the pain Egil felt. I plan to do a second playthrough after I 100% my first one and I can't wait to explore Agniratha once again. This game is so fucking good man!
I knew about Agniratha and whatnot prior to arriving here in my own playthrough. But I'd never heard the song. I knew nothing past Seven's arrival in the party. I wasn't ready for this place.
I love that this song represents everything the Machina went through and Egil after Zanza possesed Egil's best friend Arglass to attack the Mechonis, once you go to Agniratha you see dead Telephia and the ruins of the city the Machina one lived in and force to leave, this shows you who is the real villain here this game is a masterpiece
What I find weird about this place is that if you walk back to the transporter in the Central Factory on foot after the events at the Meyneth Shrine (when the city is clearly laid to waste in the cutscene and after which skip travel is disabled), you can actually revisit this area as if nothing had ever happened.
In the original game I thought it was an oversight, but they kept it in DE as well so I don't know what to think... still think it's an oversight but they're too stubborn to change anything significant from the original game so they kept it
How about just spending hours in this place aimlessly swinging your blade hoping to revenge the fallen... Honestly wondering and consistently questioning whether it be enough.... Dude this track slaps differently...
Massive Spoilers for both XC1 and XC2 The fact that this and The Abandoned City sound so similar is heartbreaking because you can see that they were once both big prosperous civilization destroyed by Klaus
Can we talk about the improvement of this version? I really enjoyed how they finished orchestrated the whole thing, especially the addition of the flutes and a proper violin, they made a huge difference. Before, I could barely remember this song, but when I heard this while playing the Def. Edition, I was kinda blown away. I feel like the melancholy hidden under the melody soared more here, especially considering the place it's the theme of.
When I hear the bells in 0:08 I just thinking about the Mekkons flying around that place and just gives me chills When a game gives me chills because of the music with the scenario,it means that I ended up loving this game
I'm glad I'm not the only one who got that vibe, though I thought of _Labyrinth VI - Forbidden Wood_ from Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard instead because, should my musical knowledge not deceive me, both songs are in the same key. (This does not apply to its EO2U arrangement, though.) As such, I get a very familiar mood since I played and listened to the music of EO2U way before I managed to get to this game for the first time.
The most melancholic area of the game so far, thus the best. Also, the song that builds up when you explore it, damn. Wish I could experience it for the first time again, it even beats Satori Marsh at night.
@@BeynT. No, that's not what I meant. I phrased it terribly, I'll admit. What I meant is SAME SPOILERS AS BEFORE AND ALSO A LITTLE FROM XC2 While Agniratha is similar to Morytha and Alcamoth in the first game is as beautiful as Elysium was thought to be in the entirety of XC2, Alcamoth in FC is rotten, desolated, destroyed, it's become no less ruined than Elysium. In that sense they're similar. Now that I think about it, the places where you face the final bosses of their respective stories are also located there (Aion Hangar in Elysium and Melia's garden in Alcamoth)
There are a lot of firsts that make this game great. First entering Gaur Plain and hearing that triumphant music and finally really seeing how expansive the world is and how great the graphics are. First entering Alcamoth and seeing the grandeur of the High Entia, with their emperor and futuristic aesthetic. First seeing the Eryth Sea and being high up in the clouds. And first entering Agniratha, expecting a grand city with lots of fortifications, only to see it abandoned, sad and desolate. I wish the game didn’t put you back to before facing Dickson once completed. I would’ve liked to be able to revisit the city and see the Mechina return there. But I know that, given the state of the Bionis and the Mechonis, that there wasn’t really a possibility of that:(
The Machina and the Tornans are the most advanced civilizations of their universes, and they were nearly wiped out by an omnicidal religious figure, causing their champions to fall into despair, either by crushing self-loathing, or a thirst for revenge.
I think you might be talking about the one I wrote a while ago that seems to be missing. I typed it out again so if you sort the comments by new it should be there.
![Mechonis Field - Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition OST [080] [DE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/DB20rYaWZLA/mqdefault.jpg)
![Mechonis Field - Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition OST [080] [DE]](/img/tr.png)
![Agniratha, Mechonis Capital (Night) - Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition OST [083] [DE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/lDlK8MVTeB4/mqdefault.jpg)
![Gaur Plain - Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition OST [048] [DE]](/img/n.gif)
Listen to the Original version of this track here: th-cam.com/video/YxLO2IquEM4/w-d-xo.html
The fact that those 8 quest terminals are still functioning even though the entire population of the city was killed centuries ago gets me every time. They're just doing their jobs, unaware that there's no one left to serve, the city is overrun with killer Mechon and the only living resident is a homicidal maniac.
EXACTLY. so depressing
@@untitlednobody9009 bruh lmao.
Those things lasted for 494 years...
Yes, it’s my headcannon that the battle between the titans took place at the same time as the Aegis war.
Max Richards okay
And some fucked up niggas
i love how the whole game you’re building up to the mechonis capital and gearing up to kick some serious robot ass and you get there and it’s just, desolate. 10/10 storytelling
And the twist that follows it, too. 11/10 storytelling.
@@sabrith3871 that evolution in the story gets better as the game progresses. i love it. definitely 11/10 storytelling
@@v4le69 Yes. It's so impressive how many major plot twists the game throws at you while still having it make complete sense. In fact, that's what made it my favorite game of all time and to think hearing Gaur Plains in Smash is what piqued my interest in the series.
@@sabrith3871 I thought about playing this game when I heard You will know our names in Smash. I realized that the definitive edition was already released and i decided to play this game. I finished it last week and am thankful to made this decision to play this game.
I really love the cutscene after the fight against Egil where you thought you have beaten him and are about to kill him. This major plot twist afterwards with the true reveal of Zanza, Shulk’s actual story and the reveal of his disciples is completely mind blowing yet so great to understand who is really the real antagonist of this game. One of my favorite cutscenes in my favorite game
My favorite moments in the game
SPOILERS
is a tie between when Zanza went all bloodthirsty crazy and was fighting meyneth. The other was when shulk gets the true monado because everything is just so epic in that moment, the music was fantastic (God Slaying Sword my favorite in the series) because it's not Zanza's theme its shulks theme and makes you feel like you're the one in power and he's trying to beat you, which it is basically because you're busted at that point. All in all I love xenoblade 1 and 2 phenomenal games 13/10
It’s hard to explain why, but seeing those still-active civil service terminals was maybe one of the saddest moments in the whole game for me. This music is really good. It’s a very slow burn.
SPOILERS FOR XENOBLADE CHRONICLES 2
I had a similar feeling in the land of Morytha with the sidequest you got from the old tablet. The more you think about it the more you realize that there was once a great and advanced civilization but now it's nothing but ruins. Xenoblade 1's was different everything was completely intact but in a weird sence it felt more lonely because at least in Morytha there were the poor souls who clung to life and still roamed, In Agniratha there's no one not a single living thing just Machines and tales of a great past.
@@Knownodin875 spoiler for XC 2
Yeah plus Morytha seems a lot like our actual big towns, it does hit a lot to think that one day our civilization will be down and look just like Morytha, and no one will remember its time
Also, when you hear the night version of it, with the voice over it, for me, it sounds like a sad voice, as if it actually was the Titan voice that cry the lost of the livings thinks that once lived here
@@clementlesme1426 spoilers for XC 2
that's because the civilisation of morytha basically is our civilisation. there's reference to real world countries and places in some signs in morytha and the world tree, and some lore exclusive to a siren figure also mentions that the conduit was found in africa IIRC.
when I was browsing tvtropes a little while ago, I found the perfect description of it: the "it was earth all along" twist.
I'll never forget the feeling of first walking into Agniratha, expecting a heavily fortified stronghold...and instead finding an empty husk of a once great civilization.
Xenoblade is a masterpiece but once you get to Agniratha it becomes beyond perfect
ok but i still really wanted to explore a mechon city
@@dugtrioramen You have the Central Factory before then. The inner parts of Sword Valley and Galahad Fortress fit pretty well, too.
A husk? Such is the off-seers duty
Complete with telelelethia
The only bad thing about this track is that there comes a point where you can no longer freely listen to it in-game.
Like most Mechonis tracks, yup...
*cries in mechonis field and central factory*
@@heropontorchic1979 Mechonis has some of the best areas in the game only behind Prison Island 2 and Valak Mountain why must they shut it down
@@alexanderharrison7421 😭
Really wish this game had a jukebox or music player. Pretty much my only gripe with definitive edition.
"Here bad place. Riki want to go."
Considering Riki can hear ghosts I imagine it would be really imposing for him
@@marche800 poor Riki
@@marche800 I imagine he’s hearing sobbing all over the place, wails from those who died.
Wish we could riki...
But we need some of the supplies here to rebuild colony 6
You have no idea how much it hurts me that I’ll never be able to walk into Agniratha for the first time again.
What a special game.
i JUst walked in today for the first time.
It's just poetry.
@@JuanSinMiedo441 Visual storytelling at its finest
A relic of a bygone era. Back when things were much more peaceful. Before Zanza mucked everything up.
Not Zanza. Klaus. Egil even talks about how Zanza was good until klaus' influences. Egil and Zanza were the progenitors of the homs and mechons, but early they worked together. Until the birth of the monado(stop here for spoiler)'s, then it was Klaus-Zanza (k's ego, entitlement, god complex) that turned on the mechons. Then you see in the 2nd game klaus' more positive side. Since his person was split between two dimensions. And the machine that did it (trinity processor) is based on Pnuema (Female/kind/nurture/protect) Logos (Male/logic/any means to an end/difficult to persuade) and the last Ondos(Neutral and bound to a robotic level logic, high intellect, only able to act in order to balance the opposing Pnuema and Logos) and After klaus broke the universe, ondos disappeared, but not really, just followed his negative side to the world of XBC1 as alvis then because the death of logos, the imbalance caused ondos to become more malevolent and p much attempt to be the deciding tyrant as a god. similar as to how Zanza-Klaus did, but more powerful and totally indifferent so long as it would end with projected positive outcomes. Alvis even tells Melia after the events of the first game after Shulk finds his earring on the shore (which looks identical to the core crystals of both Pyra/Mythra (Pnuema) and Malos (Logos) and he would definitely fit the bill since klaus explains that Ondos vanished after he started the machine along with half of his own being. And his message to shulk was that it was a gift since without the existence of the monados alvis cannot be. And it becomes very important in XC3 expansion.
It's really sad to stay in this area, you see a lot of houses, places... but no one to live in them, there hasn't been anyone in more than 10000 years
Yeah... if only we got a Golden City-type prequel. I think that's one of the things XB2 did better than this game.
@@veryexciteddog963 agreed, I would love that. The hidden machina village is too small, I want a whole mechon colony/city
I've convinced myself not to listen to this song until i get to Agniratha in-game, but I came here to say that this song will be absolutely beautiful, just like the original.
Did you get there yet? Cuz it sure as hell was.
@@potatomari9644 Nope... i have to wait until my birthday to get the game, which is only in a little bit. Can't wait though!
This remaster will most assuredly live up to your expectations. They perfected this piece to a point that I could never imagine. I’m beyond happy with it, and I hope you will be too :)
@@squidwardtentacles6338 I'm lying in bed now literally misty eyed at the beauty of this song. The instruments themselves are alive with emotion. Please when you play this, do it late at night with headphones like I am now, it's so personal and breath taking
Welp I just got here and I almost cried
This song is so beautiful and encapsulates the themes of loss, of pain, and the determination to survive against all odds that surrounds Xenoblade.
Agniratha being untouched is such a testament to Egil’s pain and determination.
Man, you gotta love the writing in this game. So long you had been building towards this city, expecting a heavily fortified final dungeon leading up to the man you thought was the main villain, probably alongside something like The end lies ahead for it’s area theme. But then you arrive and instead you get this, a desolate city and the realization that Egil may not be as evil as you thought. Instead of a triumphant end to the story you got tragedy, the end was no where close just yet. All of this accompanied by one of the most masterfully composed songs in the game, you can just feel the pure sorrow emanating from it, along with the marching in the back urging you to go forward. This right here is why this game without question the best of all time.
Right? they do such a great job drumming up your hatred for the mechons, only to realize that they're worse off than they were and Egil is more or less the Mechon parallel of Shulk. Just was willing to cross the line to do it, but after you understand the betrayals of the monado-influenced Zanza, who before was a great friend to Egil, and killed mayneth in order to make himself to most powerful. Which if you know all 3 games and expansions, it even still holds importance then. They are amazing at storytelling.
Im so happy this got a remastered even though you only visited it for a short time in the original
Heck, they even remastered memory space.
And sound of the niggas
Not remastering the theme of a capital city is a crime.
@@ramahermawan4598 fuck you! Your existence is a crime!
@@timurkral3781 Stay off TH-cam. Go outside and work on your social skills, that way you can actually learn how to speak to people.
The "you seriously thought this game was almost over!?" theme
true
prepared for the final battle, everything said it would be the final one at least but it came different i guess
That terminal talking about equality between mechonis citizens made me tear up...
This song is so amazing. Too bad I only heard it for like five seconds before being constantly aggroed by enemies.
They did such a great job of making the place LOOK dead, the enemies all blend right in and mostly stick to their own areas like sentinels waiting for something to come along
but man, the novelty of 'oh man there's another one and I woke it up!' sure wears thin after the 9th or 10th time you go up the same platformy spiral and aggro the same enemies.
1:42-1:48 sounds like something out of Legend of Zelda and I absolutely love it. One of the most underrated tracks of the Xenoblade series.
a little late but i would say 1:59 - 2:13 does too! it really hits this zelda (korok?) feeling
@AdabatOfficial yes I agree haha, has that Korok forest feeling to it hey?
The 2 dislikes are likely from people who got stuck trying to get the Fairy Tale Diodes and Spring Grapes to spawn.
No, it's Zanza, the only disliker.
Not even I can dislike something that beautiful
2:21 BEST PART!! When the piano hits, you feel all the heavy emotion pounding your heart ❤️
I had typed out an analysis of this song a while back but the comment seems to be missing so here it is again fron scratch.
The most incredible thing about this song is that it perfectly captures the history of the city. It starts out with very few instruments (one violin and a small piano section), indicating the birth of life on Mechonis. The violin is Meyneth and the piano represents the Machina coming into a chaotic existence.
Things start to pick up. We get a flute and other string instruments. There's a general uplifting melody in the flutes but the strings remain somber. The Machina are living with Meyneth and enjoying their lives but the Bionis, indicated by the lower note strings, constantly looms in the background.
Meyneth and Zanza can't coexist because Zanza won't allow it. The staccato percussion section early on indicates the tension building between the two gods and we're greeted with a brief refrain. The strings come back in full and the flute seems more somber this time around. The Machina know that this peace can't exist forever and are desperately pleading with Meyneth for a solution. Sadly, none came.
The percussion comes back and Meyneth battles Zanza. They ultimately fight to a stand still and the wind instruments take over as the dominant track. Meyneth tells the Machina that she's soon to be gone and the people begin to look for ways to live away from the ever looming threat of the Bionis. They seek refuge on the fallen arm amidst the chaos of abandoning their home and the destruction of the Mechonis and perceived death of Meyneth. The piano starts descending in a frantic way yet deceptively slow. The Machina are scared and confused about what happens next but the flute remains optimistic. They believe in a future free of fear and set out to make that happen.
The instruments begin to recede as more and more people leave Agniratha. Eventually we're left with one somber instrument. A piano, the staccato notes capturing both the sadness and rage of the lone citizen remaining: Egil. He stays behind, constantly staring out at the face of his people's oppressor: the Bionis. He begins devising a plan to finally end the reign of Zanza even if it costs him everything. In the end, he is alone and the only thing he has left are the sadness and rage he feels whenever he sees the Bionis. That is all that remains of a once great and bustling city.
It was a treat reading your interpretation while having breakfast in an empty cafeteria before college as this song played
I see I see. But tell me, Where does Riki come into this story?
copy paste this somewhere so that it doesn't get lost again
It's so hard to pick favorite music in Xenoblade, but both Agniratha pieces are absolutely up there for me and I think both versions are simply genius. I think they both follow a theme of sorrow with the Day variant meant to represent Egil's past how Zanza possessed Arglas and tried to wipe out all Machina and Mechonis and the Night variant is meant to represent Vanea's sorrow for Egil's actions toward the people of Bionis and the refusal to let go of the past. I think the female vocalist in the Night variant supports my idea at least
The fact that every quest was timed made me sad knowing what would likely happen to this place. This music is just the cherry on top
This song alone is good enough reason to leave a save slot before Mechonis Core
yum, per usual. I love the part at 2:19 where it just gets really loud for an epic breakdown
This is egils colony 9.
The day the bionis attacked was his loss of fiora
and you and the invaders.
you reached your ultimate goal, but the goal was much different to when the journey began
Beautiful...
Got damn that was a really cool way to summarize what happened
I am playing the game for the 2nd time (I played the original many years ago) and now I am older I have a better understanding of the plot and omg... OOF... Goosebumps. I adore this soundtrack so much.
This is easily one of my favorite songs from this game, if not my favorite. It's such a haunting tune, especially given why Agniratha is the way it is...
2:21 every time I hear it all I can think about is memories of the lost from code vein
Feels City HD
Ghost Town HD
2:00 Zelda vibes, especially Skyward Sword
Amazing : o
This guy criticizes SWSH *and* likes Xenoblade? What a G
@@MrStarman926 let Monolith make pokemon
eggnog _ holy shit can you imagine? It’d be literally the best Pokémon game of all time
@@eeeeggnog._. Been saying this for years. Imagine if Monolith Soft started a joint with Bandai Namco specifically for making Pokémon games.
Now that they improved the beginning, this song is basically perfect
This piece is astounding and also the part of the story when this theme appears. I'm so exited for Xenoblade Chronicles 3 this september :D
Goddamn beautiful
This might be my favorite track in the entire Xeno series. Absolutely stunning.
One of the best pieces of the greatest OST ever created.
strings section sounds utterly fantastic
Today i came to this Place an immediately notice this Song and the night Ver. And that was just beautiful!
This is without a doubt one of the best games i've played in a very long time.
Zanza really hates this place that he's the only disliker of this video.
look he called Dickson to dislike it too
Seems Lorithia joined the dislike gang now
Now it looks like he called Alvis to dislike it. Maybe?
It appears their dislikes have been removed now that shulk has murdered them.
i just finished xenoblade 3 tonight and it is so cool how this theme can so easily fit in with that game.
Replaying this game again made me love the machina even more for some reason
They all look a lot better with the improved character models. More distinct from the Bionis races.
Indeed
Funny how only by coming back to this game after beating the wii release and the sequel that I noticed how this track is very similar in tone to the morytha theme (from the sequel), which is fitting, since it is in both these areas that you start understanding the underlying (and somewhat tragic) backstory of each game.
(Mild spoilers if you haven't gotten to this area yet)
There's just something so hauntingly peaceful about going through this long, intense journey to fight your way to the top of the mechonis, only for the ultimate destination to be a small, quiet town, devoid of people. Makes you remember that the mechonis used to be just like the bionis, full of people and communities with their own values and cultures, and wasn't always just some giant factory to mass-produce soulless killing machines. This area theme does an excellent job at emphasizing that feeling.
I really liked agniritha as a level, and really didnt like the fact it got....
obliterated so quickly without any warning
When I got here it was night
It absolutely blew me away when the vocals kicked in
I really did not believe it, I can still sleep to this, GOOD JOB
This, and Land of Morytha in Xenoblade 2, are just so depressing.
When I first heard about capital of Mechonis, I thought it would be a city like Alcamoth, but I was wrong. The city is totally desolated..
Same with Land of Morytha, a city that looks exactly like our world, sunk into Cloud Sea..
Agniratha (Night) and Land of Morytha are my 2 favorite environment themes in the franchise
This song is great. It's like hints of the bustling, ultra-urban atmosphere still remain after so many years. Hauntingly beautiful.
2:44
My favorite part
This is the music you should hear in coconut mall after the genocide of the miis apparent in the mario kart 8 dx
Bruh, that's really tragic.
This remaster reminds me of morytha and that's horrifying. It may be the single voice like used in morytha bug god damn it's good
same descending melody, you're totally right.
This is the one I was waiting for the most.
Recently played this for the first time on the switch, it was this part of the game (one of many) where I was in awe of how great of a story/game this was. XC1 is now up there with my all time favorite rpgs, on par with FF7 & Chrono Trigger.
Xc1 and 2 are my favorite games of all time
the only crime this song has you cant hear it anymore after a certain event occurs it is the indol theme all over again
btw for anyone gonna say anything I finished.xc2 before xc1
more like the abandoned city from elysium
Serious spoilers:
You can actually go back there briefly due to an oversight that remained in Definitive Edition. While you're escaping from Mechonis, you can actually travel all the way back to Agniratha.
@@TheAbsol7448 true but commonly no one would think to do that on first playthroughs because again spoiler
Because agniratha is supposedly destroyed when mechonis awakens
@@fireslayer95 I actually did discover that on my first playthrough. I realized there was no rush, so I explored Central Factory again.
This song just break my soul
Definitely in my top 5 songs in the whole game. I just love how melancholic it is. I'm so glad I could listen to this banger while spending hours searching for that second piece of lewisia silver
Man, I think I must replay all three games plus Torma soon
This has to be one of my favorite songs from this game. Mechonis Capital is such a beautiful city. Hearing this while walking around a dead city was something else. The sad history of Agniratha plus the music really hit me. This song hits even harder after you see what really happened between the Mechonis and Bionis. It's even sadder when you realize that the only person that was in the city prior to Shulk and his group was Egil. I can only imagine the pain Egil felt. I plan to do a second playthrough after I 100% my first one and I can't wait to explore Agniratha once again. This game is so fucking good man!
2:21 Auresco used a bit of that
Really wish I could go back here in the game
I knew about Agniratha and whatnot prior to arriving here in my own playthrough. But I'd never heard the song. I knew nothing past Seven's arrival in the party. I wasn't ready for this place.
I don’t think I’ve ever played a game this stunningly beautiful in places
Cuando pensé, que no podía escucharse mejor, llega esta versión y lo hace magnífico. ❤️
Lo mismo pienso, es muy genial
Tambien es genial encontrar un comentario en español :^)
I love that this song represents everything the Machina went through and Egil after Zanza possesed Egil's best friend Arglass to attack the Mechonis, once you go to Agniratha you see dead Telephia and the ruins of the city the Machina one lived in and force to leave, this shows you who is the real villain here this game is a masterpiece
Indeed, it's an absolute masterpiece.
Damn, this is just wonderful...
What I find weird about this place is that if you walk back to the transporter in the Central Factory on foot after the events at the Meyneth Shrine (when the city is clearly laid to waste in the cutscene and after which skip travel is disabled), you can actually revisit this area as if nothing had ever happened.
In the original game I thought it was an oversight, but they kept it in DE as well so I don't know what to think... still think it's an oversight but they're too stubborn to change anything significant from the original game so they kept it
Are we the baddies?
2:20 que motivaste es está parte, me recuerda eso sí a algun anime
Morbid, but I’d want this and the night version to play at my funeral. It’s so somber but beautiful
I adore this game, so much
This music made me turn off the travel guide so I could get lost in it. I fully expected some hype song for this area, but man, this is better
Wonderful.
How about just spending hours in this place aimlessly swinging your blade hoping to revenge the fallen...
Honestly wondering and consistently questioning whether it be enough....
Dude this track slaps differently...
Like everyone else I was so expecting to either fight the city or go into hiding in the city and it'd be like Gerudo town from botw
Massive Spoilers for both XC1 and XC2
The fact that this and The Abandoned City sound so similar is heartbreaking because you can see that they were once both big prosperous civilization destroyed by Klaus
Can we talk about the improvement of this version? I really enjoyed how they finished orchestrated the whole thing, especially the addition of the flutes and a proper violin, they made a huge difference. Before, I could barely remember this song, but when I heard this while playing the Def. Edition, I was kinda blown away. I feel like the melancholy hidden under the melody soared more here, especially considering the place it's the theme of.
When I hear the bells in 0:08 I just thinking about the Mekkons flying around that place and just gives me chills
When a game gives me chills because of the music with the scenario,it means that I ended up loving this game
Easily the best (saddest) track in the game (in any?) You can feel the sorrow of the Mechonis.
I was playing this song once and my breathing synced perfectly with the woosh sounds at the beginning. I’ve never felt more at peace.
The beginning is beautiful, I damn near shed a tear it sounds so amazing.
Beginning gives me some serious Mario Galaxy vibes.
This game just gets better and better, can't wait to see what happens next!
This video currently has 253 likes and 0 dislikes. Why? Because this song is perfect
Not just this song (turns and looks at Gaur plain and the menu theme)
Xenoblade Chronicles' music often reminds me of the Scores from Etrian Odyssey IV and V.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who got that vibe, though I thought of _Labyrinth VI - Forbidden Wood_ from Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard instead because, should my musical knowledge not deceive me, both songs are in the same key. (This does not apply to its EO2U arrangement, though.) As such, I get a very familiar mood since I played and listened to the music of EO2U way before I managed to get to this game for the first time.
The most melancholic area of the game so far, thus the best. Also, the song that builds up when you explore it, damn. Wish I could experience it for the first time again, it even beats Satori Marsh at night.
At 3:02 it sounds like the Windows XP startup lmao
My favorite part of this song is 2:21 ❤️
I’m getting chills
Agniratha, the XC1 equilavent of Elysium from XC2 with one striking similarity...Total desolation...
My personal take (if we’re making comparisons) is that Agniritha is more similar to Morytha and Alcamoth is what Elysium could / would have been
@@the.danielmason99 Beware, spoilers from Future Connected
Alcamoth in FC is what Elysium became
@@nyxmiloq4167 wait are you saying Xeno1 and 2 are the same universe? Because if you are saying that you’re wrong. There is no way alcamoth is Elysium
@@BeynT. No, that's not what I meant. I phrased it terribly, I'll admit.
What I meant is SAME SPOILERS AS BEFORE AND ALSO A LITTLE FROM XC2
While Agniratha is similar to Morytha and Alcamoth in the first game is as beautiful as Elysium was thought to be in the entirety of XC2, Alcamoth in FC is rotten, desolated, destroyed, it's become no less ruined than Elysium. In that sense they're similar.
Now that I think about it, the places where you face the final bosses of their respective stories are also located there (Aion Hangar in Elysium and Melia's garden in Alcamoth)
How do you improve on perfection? Apparently the Xenoblade composers found a way. Definitely a top 5 theme for me coming from this game.
Thank you HMK for this gem 👌
There are a lot of firsts that make this game great. First entering Gaur Plain and hearing that triumphant music and finally really seeing how expansive the world is and how great the graphics are. First entering Alcamoth and seeing the grandeur of the High Entia, with their emperor and futuristic aesthetic. First seeing the Eryth Sea and being high up in the clouds. And first entering Agniratha, expecting a grand city with lots of fortifications, only to see it abandoned, sad and desolate. I wish the game didn’t put you back to before facing Dickson once completed. I would’ve liked to be able to revisit the city and see the Mechina return there. But I know that, given the state of the Bionis and the Mechonis, that there wasn’t really a possibility of that:(
I was actually super surprised to see the capital just empty when first getting there
bruh why does this shit go hard
Part of this song reminds me of Torna's captial.
The Machina and the Tornans are the most advanced civilizations of their universes, and they were nearly wiped out by an omnicidal religious figure, causing their champions to fall into despair, either by crushing self-loathing, or a thirst for revenge.
@@maxrichards3881 True dat.
Lilian Achura
Here’s a fun question. Which champions am I referring to with each line?
@@maxrichards3881 Jin being the self-loathing one and Egil the vengeful one, right?
Laggalot101
2 champions each.
Jin and Egil are the vengeful ones.
Edit; Mythra and Meyneth are the self-loathing ones.
2:20 gets me every time
Can someone tell me where has gone the wonderful commentary that explains precisely the meaning of each part of this music please ?
I think you might be talking about the one I wrote a while ago that seems to be missing. I typed it out again so if you sort the comments by new it should be there.
@@LunaFaye17 Thank you so much ! You are the best !
Theme of Fairy Tale Diode