Previously to playing Black Myth Wukong, I read the entire novel Journey to the West. And it was one of the best decisions I ever made. Knowing the original story enhances this game so goddamn much it’s unreal. Yesterday I finished the game and wow, it exceeded all of my expectations. All of them. One of my favorite games of all time. 10/10
As the French that I am I am deeply sensitive to the existantialism philosophy and meaningful things, art, beauty in things, and greatness. And this game is all about that and proudly
I am a Buddhist-Taoist dude from South East Asia and I remembered Where Lies the Path Ahead fondly from my childhood days of watching Journey to the West on TV as a kid. It was the ending of the TV show. I cried some manly tears when I first listened to it in game. Nostalgia hit me hard.
When I try to explain Chinese culture to foreigners, I often find myself at a loss for how to begin. One characteristic of Chinese culture is that, when you need to explain the number '1,' you first have to elucidate the number '10.' To enable foreigners to fully comprehend a short Chinese ancient poem of a few hundred words, it may require an explanation of tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of words. Chinese culture is rich with numerous metaphors, fables, and allusions, conveying an immense amount of information. Fortunately, we now have games as a medium, which can visually convey Chinese culture to foreigners in a more intuitive way.
This exactly my point too. This game is an experience, it's art, more than just a solid game with many bosses. I've seen many comparison in gameplay with other games and stuffs but downplay on the story, because the story didn't get shoved down their mouth with hours of cutscenes and dialogues to make sense to them. They didn't take time to think, to feel, to figure the story out, the point of this game is it open a new gate to whole different culture, it intrigue people into checking the source materials, the little poems and stories of characters from your journal,... they interconnected and created a whole universe of chinese myths and culture right there. For those who just don't care, it might be just another cryptic, challenging game in Dark Souls/Elden Ring fashion and that is so pity
Indeed, think a lot of ppl just played this game and think from game playing it is a good game. But this game is so much deeper than the beautiful graphics, the nice boss designs, the varies build of skill trees, the rock ass cutscene, the awesome music, these is one level deeper, making u think life, value ur love, ur life, all the good and bad experiences in ur life, encouraging you to move forward, with hope, with love, with never give up spirts…. This game is so much more
Tears in my eyes when the "Where Lies the Path Ahead" unfolding ... bring so many memories of my childhood. For an Asian, this melody has special connection.
I found many messages in this game are similar to what my church is teaching every Sunday, especially the end of chapter 3, which actually helped me understanding the concept of sin and Satan in Bible! This game is like a normal size lake on the surface, but it is much much deeper than some of the oceans
That's why I love this game. It's far deeper than what's seen on the surface, as the developers threw in literary art pieces that gives players a glimpse of China's hidden cultural gems. People can interpret it anyway they want, but that fight in the blood pool was one example. I've seen a few Chinese fantasy/horror films and they have their own unique touch that's different from other East Asian countries. I hope the next DLCs include more of that. The few horror elements in this game really made it stand out, aside from their few storytelling moments (which I felt were lacking).
The story goes deeper than simple evil and sin, Yellow brow inverted causality to "prove" his point that human are born to do evils, by turning cause into results he will always "win" the bet, which makes Golden Cicada very annoyed.
In my recent trip to Kazakhstan, I came across a portly older gentleman in faded army fatigues and a navy hat busking on the streets of Almaty. He was singing some old soviet banger and I thought that he had a great voice so I tipped him 1000 tenge. He was immediately happy and struck up a conversation with me, asking me where I was from, and if I knew xxxx song. I unfortunately did not know the variety of songs he was going through, whether it be in russian, italian or french, until he finally started singing an aria from The Marriage of Figaro (which I recognized). He sang the whole thing flawlessly and it was one of my most memorable experiences on that trip. Opera certainly is worldwide.
I think they use a child's voice for that song because it's the ending theme from the 1986 TV show, when the Chinese players were all children themselves. It's like their own childhood is singing back to them; it's extremely nostalgic. And then the old man comes in, I think there's a good chance it's the original singer.
The old voice isn't the original singer, the original singer is another famous singer in china. The old singer in this version is the singer for another tv show from the big 4 novels of china, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".
The kid is the grand child of the older singer , also I was under the impression that the old singer was the original singer of the 86 TV show’s version. I shall double check…
The baritone part of Where lies the Path Ahead is performed by Yang Hongji, a Chinese singer who is 83 years old and still has a strong voice. A moving behind-the-scenes story is that in 1986, Mr. Yang Hongji once wanted to sing this song, but he failed to pass the selection at that time, this song was the 86 version of the Journey to the West TV series at the end of the song, is countless people's childhood memories. Game Science specifically contacted Mr. Yang Hongji and invited him to perform the song
Thank You. I'm African American and I was introduced to many cultures as a child. Through travel Asian art, philosophy, particularly brush painting art, and later music. It widened my worldview enormously to help me understand the West has so much to learn about everything. I believe what you are saying in this video is so important. And understanding ideals from other parts of the world can change the way humans interact with each other for the better. Digging deeper into this experience can truly be enlightening if you can let go of self-consciousness and ego long enough to investigate what is profound in cultures outside your own.
Well, I suppose after 20 million copies sold and so many players enjoying this game, we can finally say that this game made its Journey to the West. A heartfelt thank you to you Marco, for sharing your deep and emotiv insight, glad you enjoyed the game!
It is rare to find such deep understanding from non-Chinese (non-Asian) commentators. I am touched by your passionate analysis. Thank you! Just subscribed.
The translation for the lyrics of "Where Lies the Path Ahead?" In Black Myth Wukong was translated to be more lyrical and flow better in English, but as a result, it changed or omitted a lot of meaning. Chinese is a very metaphorical and compact language, so a short phrase in Chinese might translate into a long English sentence, so it's understandable that they went with this route with the translation. However, if anyone's interested in a translation that tries to preserve as much of the original meaning as possible at the risk of long, awkward English sentences, by an amateur translator (yours truly =P), along with the original Chinese lyrics and the pinyin, then here it is: 你挑着担 我牵着马 nǐ tiāo zhe dàn，wǒ qiān zhe mǎ You carry the luggage, I lead the horse 迎来日出 送走晚霞 yíng lái rì chū，sòng zǒu wǎn xiá We bid welcome to dawns, we bid farewell to dusks 踏平坎坷 成大道 tà píng kǎn kě，chéng dà dào We trample obstacles flat into a great road 斗罢艰险又出发 又出发 dòu bà jiān xiǎn，yòu chū fā，yòu chū fā Once we fight off perils, we set out once more, we set out once more. 啦啦 啦啦啦啦啦啦啦啦 la la -- la la la la la la la la 一番番春秋冬夏 yī fān fān chūn qiū dōng xià Another cycle of Spring, Autumn, Winter, Summer 一场场酸甜苦辣 yī chǎng chǎng suān tián kǔ là Another taste of sour, sweet, bitter, spice (refering to emotions here, not actual flavours) 敢问路在何方 gǎn wèn lù zài hé fāng？ May I ask where the road is? 路在脚下 lù zài jiǎo xià The road is under your feet. 你挑着担 我牵着马 nǐ tiāo zhe dàn，wǒ qiān zhe mǎ You carry the luggage, I lead the horse 翻山涉水 两肩霜花 fān shān shè shuǐ liǎng jiān shuāng huā We climb over mountains, wade across water, with frost flowering on our shoulders 风云雷电任叱咤 fēng yún léi diàn rèn chì zhà Wind and clouds, thunder and lighting, let them roar and scold all they want 一路豪歌向天涯 向天涯 yī lù háo gē xiàng tiān yá，xiàng tiān yá All along the way, our bold, unrestrained songs reach toward the horizon, reach toward the horizon 啦啦 啦啦啦啦啦啦啦啦 la la -- la la la la la la la la 一番番春秋冬夏 yī fān fān chūn qiū dōng xià Another cycle of Spring, Autumn, Winter, Summer 一场场酸甜苦辣； yī chǎng chǎng suān tián kǔ là Another taste of sour, sweet, bitter, spice (refering to emotions here, not actual flavours) 敢问路在何方 gǎn wèn lù zài hé fāng？ May I ask where the road is? 路在脚下 lù zài jiǎo xià The road is under your feet. 敢问路在何方 gǎn wèn lù zài hé fāng？ May I ask where the road is? 路在脚下 lù zài jiǎo xià The road is under your feet.
Thank you! You have done a brilliant job with the song's translation. Thank you for making the world more understandable so we can be more understanding to each other.
As a native born and raised Chinese, I travel globally a lot. When I was young, I admired western culture a lot for the pop and new things, but as I grows older and older, I started to appreciated my own culture more and more and wonder what is it to be a Chinese under this long historical background, then I found that, all out classic are always scripted and captured as the form of one big open question follow by one even more open answer and lead us to explore our personal answers, and you have a thousand years long of so many saint's written concluded experiences and wisdom from all aspect for starter and checker, and we dont have to start our exploration as an ignorant. And I guess this is the essence of meaning to be a cultural Chinese, from this point of view, we Chinese is indeed blessed by our ancestors.
I have been struggling mentally a lot recently and listening to Where Lies the Path Ahead? for the first time through this video, even with your commentary, made me break down in tears. Such a beautiful song. Listen Not too, damn, that's a beautiful duet.
No, I didn't know anything about JTTW when I started BMW. But I used this game as an opportunity to learn and that made the whole experience far more special than just playing a game usually is.
Not sure if anyone has mentioned in the comments, the baritone Yang Hongji (杨洪基) is 83-year-old. Like you said, the contrast of the two vocals is really fitting to the message this piece trying to deliver.
I’ve been watching a lot of Wukong content and thought you were gonna talk about the game. But I ended up really appreciating the music talk and reflections on life and meaning ❤
It feels like the devs never expected to fully realize their work until their trailer completely blew up, drawing attention from other devs looking to work with them among much support. All of that seemed to have allowed them to go all out with this genuine passion art project. And they succeeded.
I've seen short documentaries and interviews of the CEO and the art director. I got the sense that they totally EXPECTED and really WANTED to FULLY realize their work into reality and completion, always. It's just that the body of work is so massive when anyone tackles the subject of JTTW, it's like trying to work on both the old testament and the new testament into one movie, just too much. I think they started with much grander vision, and their challenge was to trim it down, narrow it down to a manageable amount of materials for the players. All Chinese authors, screenwriters, directors, artists, and game devs all dream to one day work on a project related to JTTW. So they have a lot of their storytelling building up in them that is often overwhelming to themselves. For that, I see the team of GC was able to effectively deliver a version of their story.
So the song with a child siging followed by a elder singing, that son hits everyone who heard the original version as the end them of 86' JTTW drama series. The older voice represents the original male singer, but aged now. And tthe young boy is all of us hearing that song back in the 1980s, young and innocent. By them singing in unison, we hear us truly being part of the journey, and the wisdom of the journey directly passed down to us from this sage (tthe older voice), while simultaneously being hit with the passing of time, the harsh and beautiful reality. We have all aged since then, its sad and beautiful at the same time. Whatever journey that we took individually buy following the path right below our feet, we are all here. Hopefully happy and wise, but maybe not. And thats okay. Such is life.
Mr. Yang Hongji Baritone singer, first-class actor of the PLA General Political Department Opera Troupe Professor of the Vocal Music Department of the PLA Academy of Arts. Major General In 1986, he competed with another singer, Mr. Jiang Dawei, for the singer of the ending song of the TV series Journey to the West, "Where is the Road?", but unfortunately lost. Being able to sing the original ending song of the same name, "Where is the Road?" in "Black Myth: Wukong" also fulfilled the old man's wish.
Damn， where lies the path aheads， It's right under your feet. It's like our life, While we stuck, we get trapped in some difficulties, Maybe we tend to ask. Where is the solution? Where is the path we can go? And that Lyrics just told us., The path the road is just right under our feet, Things will get easy if we just take actions to do it, No need to think too much. Just go and do it. Enjoy your life.
buddhism teaching "always live the present moment", our real me is always overshadowed and blocked by too much thinking of the past and future. Only the present moment is real, nothing else is.
The music for major boss fight is also unbelivably beautiful. especially the one for the secret boss fight with Erlang, the emotion for different stages/phases of that fight, i can sit and listen to that for hours.
A very moving review. Your thoughts on both the song and the game resonate deeply. Especially when you compare the game to a life-changing experience, it reminds me of when I was researching Journey to the West. I found that ancient Chinese people had a similar perspective. Many believed that it wasn’t just a story or a novel, but that the journey and the story itself contained secrets to cultivating one’s mind and character, and the keys to personal growth. (In fact, all great stories have this effect.) I’m really glad that such a timeless IP can continue to bring new experiences to people in the 21st century.
In an recent interview between one of the Chinese game media and the music/sound director for BMW, that sound director said that each chapter was designed around the end of chapter animated music video. And the music was more important part and made first before the video. The Game Director Feng Ji wrote all the lyrics for the songs and put extra emphasis on the music. For each of the PV they had before the game released, music are always made/ decided before the video footage and gameplay.
The way you dissect the music and vocals bit by bit really shows your expertise in opera singing and the ability to reveal hidden meanings of the art within Black Myth Wukong.
When this game first came out, one of the main discourses people had about it was to simply compare it to other games and franchises of similar gameplay loops and aesthetics. As much as I don’t find anything inherently wrong with it from the surface, I think the point you bring up in this video carries weight particularly in that instance. Now Marco, I think you recognize me in your comment section long enough to know that man, I fucking love Fromsoft games and their music which just so happens to be what Black Myth Wukong tends to be compared to from what I’ve seen. People make the comparison just off of how it feels to play alone and how the bosses are and whatnot. I personally think this is actually where the problem is, we are in a place in gaming and in society right now where people are focused on the product and what stimulus it offers in comparison to other products of similar merit. To see videogames as a genuine art form and outlet for creative expression and ingenuity is unfortunately something we don’t see much of from the average consumer creating discourse online. Not only does it undermine all the creative and artistic value of this game, but I think it also undermines the artistic value of the games and franchises it’s being compared to. I hope games like this really push the envelope for future games not to necessarily have to change anything about their creative expression, but to allow people to see them with eyes like yours, eyes that focus on art and the feelings beyond what you get from trying to beat it. Getting your ass clapped by Yellow Long and tryna minmaxx your way out of it is cool and all but I think it would be nice if people also stopped to think about what the devs want you to feel or even learn through all the creative elements to it. I’m glad we’re getting more games too that have deep cultural and historic roots and inspirations taking more of a foreground position in their concepts and development nowadays which I think will really help push that envelope I mentioned. Definitely looking forward to go through that journey on your channel too man
as a chinese, I have so say the lyric of the ending song’s english version has been simplified a lot to fit in english, it’s way much complicated and deeper in original Chinese language
nah marco im truly touched and impressed by your openness, "culturedness" and knowledge regarding all things art/music. This is why I value your gameplay/reactions on non-western content so much because of your extremely nuanced view on things, something which I fear is lacking these days where everyone is trying to paint things strictly black and white.
I was a terrifying assassin in the Middle Ages, one life per sleeve sword. I was also once the invincible Pale Blue Star, and it was my mission to hunt the Dragonborn. I was also the mad Greek god of war, destroying Olympus and destroying the old gods. One Astarte, the brave champion god-chosen under the Emperor's throne. So many years have passed, but I still want to return to my homeland to be that monkey.
The last song man, Bajie is banished to live a thousands lifes of tragidy, so he begs the Spider lady to let go. Next life Bajie: I beg you to let go Violet Spider: Please don't let go
The whole chapter was building up how Bajie hates and tries to stay away from Violet, then the animation shows that the feeling is the mutual, making the story extra sad.
@@MrPuckpunk Bajie loves Violet, but he’s punished to live a thousands life’s of tragedy, that’s why he have to pretend to hate Violet and not recognise their child or I’ll fate will befall them too
Throughout thousands of years of Chinese history, ancient Chinese people, writers, and poets have been constantly striving to express the deepest artistic conception with the least number of Chinese characters, so this has enabled Chinese to express very diverse and profound meanings within a limited number of words.
The lore they wrote is so good!!!! The voice acting director said she thinks the truly strong emotions are expressed overtly. They won't spoon fed the audience the deep ideals!!!
@@WRSH101 I'm talking about all the parts they added on, many parts were only a short sentence in the jttw story, but they expended a lot on those for the game.
@@WRSH101 the BMW story is based on a well known novel, but the BMW lore itself are 99% original with JTTW backed. Like the beggining of the scene where wukong dead is already say it enough
I am so envious of this young generation. Y'all get to grow up in an age with so much knowledge at your fingertips. I felt a lot of emotions while listening to these songs but no way to articulate them. Here we have an expert to explain why and how its done and explains my feelings exactly. Its incredible.
Your appreciation towards the game’s artistic presentation and music really shows that art transcends boundaries. Beauty is truth, truth beauty. Love your work ❤
Like your understanding and interpretation of that game a lot. You gain my respect to humanism in you, in us. I am older than you, I would no more play a game, that I would normally think as a "shallow" activity. But I am happy, as you successfully explained, that a game can have much deeper impact on humanism. Thank you!
Thank you for sharing this insight. I totally agree that this is one of the games that it's true value lies beyond the gameplay, especially the writing, music and visual art. Someone on reddit made a physical copy of the Yinshentu(Journals) in the game and it's as thick as a dictionary lol. One of the two founders of Game Science wrote most of the stories and lyrics, he said in one of his interviews that the true intent of making this game is to make stage for his writing lol. Random Fun Fact: the name of the six relics you get after each chapter is actually from the original JTTW, and they are the names of a group of bandits Sun Wukong killed near the beginning of the journey. Their names are supposed to symbolize the six senses in Buddhism, the action of killing them being purifying his own senses. The story of each chapter is basically a depiction of meanings under the names of six senses and how you find his influences in the mortal world even after his death.
agree, this game is an cultural art, and I don't care about GOTY labels from western gaming media anymore. It is above that. I think in recent years, China is doing the best or one the best fusion of traditional and modern musical instrument pieces of musical arts. Listen Not - I think this is the song for end of Chapter 4 ending cartoon scene. It is romantic and tragic.
As Chinese ,a Macau people and Canadian , I am proud with my culture . in my opinion , Stephen Chow movie and black myth wukong are same level , genius work of art ,master masterpiece ! Black Myth Wukong will be more and more famous ! like Stephen Chow movie : Chinese odyssey (secondary creation with wukong love story )
You're a such a beautiful person. I am as a Chinese never expected anyone who's not Chinese and can getting the vibe and senses and meanings behind songs like this, this is way too deep into Chinese culture, music united us and also Game Science did a really good job, to introduce you to what we've always loved.
bravo for your video, you've got a sensitive soul, the ancient chinese culture is rich, and deep, it worths your digging and thank you for sharing it with the english speaking world. bon continuation.
I’m happy we can have experiences like this with games. These experiences are what it’s all about for me. I personally haven’t played Wukong, but now maybe I will after playing Dragon Age. Good gaming!
The hidden story in this game is incredibly deep. The politics between Shen, Fo, Yao, and Guai are even more complex than those in Game of Thrones. If you dive into the lore, you’ll see just how intricate it really is.
Glad to see & hear, folks who knows actually more about music & singing than me, can appreciate too as just as much as me all the brilliant soundtracks of the best game of 2024! :)
that Zhu Bajie - Violet Spider duet song at the end of chapter 4 really left me clutching my throat. Learning about their story too from the novels just solidifies their tragic love story. It's heart-aching.
The lyrics for songs of chapter 1,3,4,5 animations and songs for the headless monk in chapter 2 are written by the CEO of game science. edited: oh, and the lyrics of the end credit song "unfinished" are also written by him
As much as I loved what GS did with Celestial Symphony, Where Lies the Path Ahead gave me even more goosebumps. Even though we heard hints of this remake in one of the trailers, the actual song still surprised me with the vocals. It's 1986 all over again.
Your appreciation and effort in understanding other cultures is just as beautiful as the songs in this game. You are quite right about the deeper meaning of the lyrics and the philosophy behind it. I have tried incorporating other chinese music into wukong mv in my channel but nothing beats the OST.
You might want to know that all the song lyrics were written by GameScience's CEO/Founder. A running joke is that he made a game company to write lyrics.
Wukong's legend is a profoundly influential work, in the east in ancient times all the way to modern day. so much stuff is based on it. its as powerful as the odysey, or stories from the bible. making a game about it is huge and awesome.
Journey to the West is one of the four great classic novel of China, 4, in whole thousand years of history of a billions people country. It's needless to say how big of an influence it has been
Well not quite right. Bible wasn't based off that. Journey to the west was written in 1590 and based off a monk from the year 630. Biblical manuscripts were written a bit before that
Hi Marco, I found this amazing rendition of the Black Myth Wukong main theme, didn't realise it featured so many instruments which can be seen visually and much easier to pick up. You can search 《31-person ensemble full version of the theme song from "black myth: wukong》maybe it will be a good reaction video material
Game Science was such a incredible studio bringing such a high quality epic game to the world. Such intricacy in every detail in the story. Even putting in such effort in the BGM.
A few weeks ago my wife was 38 weeks pregnant, and we were anxiously awaiting the birth of our second. It was a high risk pregnancy. My wife was full of anxiety, wondering what we would do if this or that complication might arise during labor. I tried to ground us as best I could. TH-cam recommend Where Lies the Path Ahead and in the stress of those days it brought me to tears. I was sitting in a parking lot of all places. I got back home and I told her that everything would be alright. That we’d be through a hell of a lot together, and that whatever happened we’d work hard and figure it out together. Life is full of hardship and uncertainty. If we believe in ourselves, it does not matter which way the path goes, we will walk through with confidence.
The red boy boss fight theme is so unique that it contains so many modern instruments unlike other songs but it fits the boss perfectly. It gives me the feelings of young passion, rage, extreme tension and the desperation at the end, just fits the story perfectly 🎉
This is really a piece of art! I was so indulgent to the OST of this game! Finally saw someone could appreciate the beauty of the music in this game, and thank you for bringing the professional perspectives to us!🫶🫶🫶
Hi Marco, I’ve been watching a couple of ur video, and really enjoyed it. Ur play through of Black Myth Wukong, are especially enjoyable. You see video game as a multimedia art form, and play / review it as such, based on ur depth and breadth of knowledge (music, culture…), with amazing attention to details (the use of specific music instrument at a specific time of a piece, the Buddha stature behind a the tiger villain and pool of blood…). But what really makes u stands out from other people, I think, is ur unmistakeable passion. That leads me to another thought I have; it would be awesome for u to review another multimedia art form films. Yes! Movie. Either main stream or independent / foreign films. Most of the film reviews I have seen, are either superficial with no nutritional content, or so clinical and sterile that u may wonder if it’s actually a robot that made the review. U have the quality to make a great film reviewer (critic), with both brain and heart. And I will be ur number one fan. Just a thought. 😊
The original voice that sings where lies the path ahead sounds like the second voice (older). This game introduced the little child's voice at the beginning. I feel it was supposed to represent two generations coming together to hear the story of journey to the west.
This game originates from ancient Chinese mythological novels, which were completed 600 years ago. The story takes place in the remote and prehistoric eras of China, a time ruled by deities, with countless gods and immortals. The novel Journey to the West contains profound philosophies, Buddhism, life wisdom, and mysterious theology. In particular, the "Wordless Scripture book" takes different interpretations of doctrines to an incomprehensible level. Perhaps, perhaps it is true that in ancient times, deities once ruled the Earth. I would believe it.
U know, life is tough, it’s hard for most of us, we make our own path forward in our life, that’s why this song is so encouraging, we just need to move forward, and make our own path in life, fight all these tough moments
I am a Chinese gamer who doesn't like action game that much. The fighting in this game doesn't really interest me. But what really makes me appreciate this game is in its theme and idea that are translatable to modern world. Everyone has their own interpretation of the game, for me, it's the relentless spirit rebelling against an authoritative establishment. Our main character fights through his way to restore hope for his monkey kinds. Besides the clear political connotation which we all know and abhor, this game for me highlights the power of resilience and kindness in times of darkness. Also, Marco your presentation skill is superb
In my opinion, Italian and Chinese civilisations are two greatest civilisations to ever exist on the face of the earth. Each dominated and shaped the West and East of the world as we know today. of course as an italian you would appreciate the value of culture as much as Chinese people do.
For your information, several beautiful songs and the main symphony of Black. Myth of Wu Kong were composed around 1986 for the TV series Journey to the West. The composer is Xu Jingqing (许镜清).
Thank you for your perspective! I'm so glad when Black Myth Wukong is regarded as a genius artwork for western players rather than a boss rush game. What I love most about BMW is its ancient traditional elements, the architecture, the sculpture ,the paintings,the poetic vibe ... Good RPG games can make us immerse in a story even in different culture we aren't familiar with.I'm an eastern player and before I play the Red Dead Redemption 2 ,the only thing attracted me was the beautiful north america nature scenery, cause I'm not familiar with that history and don't like gangster and violence.But rdr2 turned out to be one of my favorite game after playing, the storytelling ,the exploration of new things,the cinematic feeling...Not to mention Baldur’s gate 3,the Witcher 3 ,they all have abundant culture in it if you are willing to dig. Love all these artworks, thanks to them different people from different regions can share the same amazing experiences!
In the nineties, when anime like Akira, the Studio Ghibli stuff and Dragonball came, out we all got into Japanese culture. Like you said, we went on a journey. Now it's pretty much mainstream, but I'm getting those same vibes again with this game.
I never really watched or read or even understood a journey to the west but this game was still amazing and eye opening for me. I was looking forward to it for years and it is well worth the wait.
Love your passion in music and in such a completely different culture. And honestly, you understand this song (where lies the path) better than probably most Chinese people do! Not disrespecting anyone but respect to you bro.
Commenting during premiere. Ender lilies and ender magnolia have the same composer as the group behind the arknights cover song, Marco. I recommend you react to it.
Previously to playing Black Myth Wukong, I read the entire novel Journey to the West. And it was one of the best decisions I ever made. Knowing the original story enhances this game so goddamn much it’s unreal.
Yesterday I finished the game and wow, it exceeded all of my expectations. All of them. One of my favorite games of all time. 10/10
Even me a Chinese who live more than 30 years and watched so many tv series, anime, movies about JTTW, the story in this game still astonished me.
👍
As the French that I am I am deeply sensitive to the existantialism philosophy and meaningful things, art, beauty in things, and greatness. And this game is all about that and proudly
I am a Buddhist-Taoist dude from South East Asia and I remembered Where Lies the Path Ahead fondly from my childhood days of watching Journey to the West on TV as a kid. It was the ending of the TV show. I cried some manly tears when I first listened to it in game. Nostalgia hit me hard.
When I try to explain Chinese culture to foreigners, I often find myself at a loss for how to begin. One characteristic of Chinese culture is that, when you need to explain the number '1,' you first have to elucidate the number '10.' To enable foreigners to fully comprehend a short Chinese ancient poem of a few hundred words, it may require an explanation of tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of words. Chinese culture is rich with numerous metaphors, fables, and allusions, conveying an immense amount of information. Fortunately, we now have games as a medium, which can visually convey Chinese culture to foreigners in a more intuitive way.
黑神话刚出现的时候我试图解释一些东西，就一个简单的背景介绍和几个人物关键信息，试图将这些信息翻译成没有歧义的英文，就整整用了1万两千字……连百分之一的游戏故事都没写完。
This exactly my point too. This game is an experience, it's art, more than just a solid game with many bosses.
I've seen many comparison in gameplay with other games and stuffs but downplay on the story, because the story didn't get shoved down their mouth with hours of cutscenes and dialogues to make sense to them.
They didn't take time to think, to feel, to figure the story out, the point of this game is it open a new gate to whole different culture, it intrigue people into checking the source materials, the little poems and stories of characters from your journal,... they interconnected and created a whole universe of chinese myths and culture right there.
For those who just don't care, it might be just another cryptic, challenging game in Dark Souls/Elden Ring fashion and that is so pity
YOU SPEAK FOR MANY OUR DESTINED ONES
Indeed, think a lot of ppl just played this game and think from game playing it is a good game. But this game is so much deeper than the beautiful graphics, the nice boss designs, the varies build of skill trees, the rock ass cutscene, the awesome music, these is one level deeper, making u think life, value ur love, ur life, all the good and bad experiences in ur life, encouraging you to move forward, with hope, with love, with never give up spirts…. This game is so much more
You speak our mind beautifully! So true!
It is ART!
Tears in my eyes when the "Where Lies the Path Ahead" unfolding ... bring so many memories of my childhood. For an Asian, this melody has special connection.
I found many messages in this game are similar to what my church is teaching every Sunday, especially the end of chapter 3, which actually helped me understanding the concept of sin and Satan in Bible! This game is like a normal size lake on the surface, but it is much much deeper than some of the oceans
That's why I love this game. It's far deeper than what's seen on the surface, as the developers threw in literary art pieces that gives players a glimpse of China's hidden cultural gems. People can interpret it anyway they want, but that fight in the blood pool was one example. I've seen a few Chinese fantasy/horror films and they have their own unique touch that's different from other East Asian countries. I hope the next DLCs include more of that. The few horror elements in this game really made it stand out, aside from their few storytelling moments (which I felt were lacking).
The story goes deeper than simple evil and sin, Yellow brow inverted causality to "prove" his point that human are born to do evils, by turning cause into results he will always "win" the bet, which makes Golden Cicada very annoyed.
Gee, my tears r just out when listening to 敢问路在何方，where lies the path ahead? It’s under out feet. That’s life
In my recent trip to Kazakhstan, I came across a portly older gentleman in faded army fatigues and a navy hat busking on the streets of Almaty. He was singing some old soviet banger and I thought that he had a great voice so I tipped him 1000 tenge. He was immediately happy and struck up a conversation with me, asking me where I was from, and if I knew xxxx song. I unfortunately did not know the variety of songs he was going through, whether it be in russian, italian or french, until he finally started singing an aria from The Marriage of Figaro (which I recognized). He sang the whole thing flawlessly and it was one of my most memorable experiences on that trip.
Opera certainly is worldwide.
Oh wow!
Since the beginning it has struck me that the music of this game is phenomenal, finally I see an expert talk about this, thank you !
I think they use a child's voice for that song because it's the ending theme from the 1986 TV show, when the Chinese players were all children themselves. It's like their own childhood is singing back to them; it's extremely nostalgic. And then the old man comes in, I think there's a good chance it's the original singer.
I have the same thought. Now some of the audiences and actors are adults. It's like a bridge for different generations
The old voice isn't the original singer, the original singer is another famous singer in china. The old singer in this version is the singer for another tv show from the big 4 novels of china, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".
The nostalgia is almost too much
The kid is the grand child of the older singer , also I was under the impression that the old singer was the original singer of the 86 TV show’s version. I shall double check…
Supposed to be this guy in 1986 for that TV series, but for some reasons he got dropped.
The baritone part of Where lies the Path Ahead is performed by Yang Hongji, a Chinese singer who is 83 years old and still has a strong voice.
A moving behind-the-scenes story is that in 1986, Mr. Yang Hongji once wanted to sing this song, but he failed to pass the selection at that time, this song was the 86 version of the Journey to the West TV series at the end of the song, is countless people's childhood memories.
Game Science specifically contacted Mr. Yang Hongji and invited him to perform the song
Thank You. I'm African American and I was introduced to many cultures as a child. Through travel Asian art, philosophy, particularly brush painting art, and later music. It widened my worldview enormously to help me understand the West has so much to learn about everything. I believe what you are saying in this video is so important. And understanding ideals from other parts of the world can change the way humans interact with each other for the better. Digging deeper into this experience can truly be enlightening if you can let go of self-consciousness and ego long enough to investigate what is profound in cultures outside your own.
Well, I suppose after 20 million copies sold and so many players enjoying this game, we can finally say that this game made its Journey to the West.
A heartfelt thank you to you Marco, for sharing your deep and emotiv insight, glad you enjoyed the game!
Marco 的體悟深刻。意在弦外。是數百萬玩家中罕見的真情真心的嚴肅玩家。//
It is rare to find such deep understanding from non-Chinese (non-Asian) commentators. I am touched by your passionate analysis. Thank you! Just subscribed.
Thanks for sharing!
Macro you are such a true artist !
bruh its marco and he is not macro definitely
I was going to say one need to understand the tone they are singing in to truly feel how emotional, significant and deep it is. This man got it.
@@sola4393 Yes! That's why Marco is a true artist!
The translation for the lyrics of "Where Lies the Path Ahead?" In Black Myth Wukong was translated to be more lyrical and flow better in English, but as a result, it changed or omitted a lot of meaning. Chinese is a very metaphorical and compact language, so a short phrase in Chinese might translate into a long English sentence, so it's understandable that they went with this route with the translation. However, if anyone's interested in a translation that tries to preserve as much of the original meaning as possible at the risk of long, awkward English sentences, by an amateur translator (yours truly =P), along with the original Chinese lyrics and the pinyin, then here it is:
你挑着担 我牵着马
nǐ tiāo zhe dàn，wǒ qiān zhe mǎ
You carry the luggage, I lead the horse
迎来日出 送走晚霞
yíng lái rì chū，sòng zǒu wǎn xiá
We bid welcome to dawns, we bid farewell to dusks
踏平坎坷 成大道
tà píng kǎn kě，chéng dà dào
We trample obstacles flat into a great road
斗罢艰险又出发 又出发
dòu bà jiān xiǎn，yòu chū fā，yòu chū fā
Once we fight off perils, we set out once more, we set out once more.
啦啦 啦啦啦啦啦啦啦啦
la la -- la la la la la la la la
一番番春秋冬夏
yī fān fān chūn qiū dōng xià
Another cycle of Spring, Autumn, Winter, Summer
一场场酸甜苦辣
yī chǎng chǎng suān tián kǔ là
Another taste of sour, sweet, bitter, spice (refering to emotions here, not actual flavours)
敢问路在何方
gǎn wèn lù zài hé fāng？
May I ask where the road is?
路在脚下
lù zài jiǎo xià
The road is under your feet.
你挑着担 我牵着马
nǐ tiāo zhe dàn，wǒ qiān zhe mǎ
You carry the luggage, I lead the horse
翻山涉水 两肩霜花
fān shān shè shuǐ liǎng jiān shuāng huā
We climb over mountains, wade across water, with frost flowering on our shoulders
风云雷电任叱咤
fēng yún léi diàn rèn chì zhà
Wind and clouds, thunder and lighting, let them roar and scold all they want
一路豪歌向天涯 向天涯
yī lù háo gē xiàng tiān yá，xiàng tiān yá
All along the way, our bold, unrestrained songs reach toward the horizon, reach toward the horizon
啦啦 啦啦啦啦啦啦啦啦
la la -- la la la la la la la la
一番番春秋冬夏
yī fān fān chūn qiū dōng xià
Another cycle of Spring, Autumn, Winter, Summer
一场场酸甜苦辣；
yī chǎng chǎng suān tián kǔ là
Another taste of sour, sweet, bitter, spice (refering to emotions here, not actual flavours)
敢问路在何方
gǎn wèn lù zài hé fāng？
May I ask where the road is?
路在脚下
lù zài jiǎo xià
The road is under your feet.
敢问路在何方
gǎn wèn lù zài hé fāng？
May I ask where the road is?
路在脚下
lù zài jiǎo xià
The road is under your feet.
Great job!
@@Jellybean-gz4cj thank you :)
❤
Thank you! You have done a brilliant job with the song's translation. Thank you for making the world more understandable so we can be more understanding to each other.
@@PSLKim aww I try I try ☺ Thank you for your kind words!
As a native born and raised Chinese, I travel globally a lot. When I was young, I admired western culture a lot for the pop and new things, but as I grows older and older, I started to appreciated my own culture more and more and wonder what is it to be a Chinese under this long historical background, then I found that, all out classic are always scripted and captured as the form of one big open question follow by one even more open answer and lead us to explore our personal answers, and you have a thousand years long of so many saint's written concluded experiences and wisdom from all aspect for starter and checker, and we dont have to start our exploration as an ignorant. And I guess this is the essence of meaning to be a cultural Chinese, from this point of view, we Chinese is indeed blessed by our ancestors.
Amen brother, I resonate profoundly with your words above.
something ages like wine, something ages like milk
bro, i m totally w/ u. 👍
Woow nice analyse
As a gamer from SEA, I'm glad that someone from the West like you can understand how great of a masterpiece the game is. Well said man.
I have been struggling mentally a lot recently and listening to Where Lies the Path Ahead? for the first time through this video, even with your commentary, made me break down in tears. Such a beautiful song. Listen Not too, damn, that's a beautiful duet.
🙏 keep going. 🙏
@@MarcoMeatball thank you, I try
your argument is so beautiful and touching
No, I didn't know anything about JTTW when I started BMW. But I used this game as an opportunity to learn and that made the whole experience far more special than just playing a game usually is.
Not sure if anyone has mentioned in the comments, the baritone Yang Hongji (杨洪基) is 83-year-old. Like you said, the contrast of the two vocals is really fitting to the message this piece trying to deliver.
Macro knows. Someone brought it up during streaming.
I’ve been watching a lot of Wukong content and thought you were gonna talk about the game. But I ended up really appreciating the music talk and reflections on life and meaning ❤
It feels like the devs never expected to fully realize their work until their trailer completely blew up, drawing attention from other devs looking to work with them among much support. All of that seemed to have allowed them to go all out with this genuine passion art project. And they succeeded.
I've seen short documentaries and interviews of the CEO and the art director. I got the sense that they totally EXPECTED and really WANTED to FULLY realize their work into reality and completion, always. It's just that the body of work is so massive when anyone tackles the subject of JTTW, it's like trying to work on both the old testament and the new testament into one movie, just too much. I think they started with much grander vision, and their challenge was to trim it down, narrow it down to a manageable amount of materials for the players. All Chinese authors, screenwriters, directors, artists, and game devs all dream to one day work on a project related to JTTW. So they have a lot of their storytelling building up in them that is often overwhelming to themselves. For that, I see the team of GC was able to effectively deliver a version of their story.
So the song with a child siging followed by a elder singing, that son hits everyone who heard the original version as the end them of 86' JTTW drama series. The older voice represents the original male singer, but aged now. And tthe young boy is all of us hearing that song back in the 1980s, young and innocent. By them singing in unison, we hear us truly being part of the journey, and the wisdom of the journey directly passed down to us from this sage (tthe older voice), while simultaneously being hit with the passing of time, the harsh and beautiful reality. We have all aged since then, its sad and beautiful at the same time. Whatever journey that we took individually buy following the path right below our feet, we are all here. Hopefully happy and wise, but maybe not. And thats okay. Such is life.
Mr. Yang Hongji
Baritone singer, first-class actor of the PLA General Political Department Opera Troupe
Professor of the Vocal Music Department of the PLA Academy of Arts. Major General
In 1986, he competed with another singer, Mr. Jiang Dawei, for the singer of the ending song of the TV series Journey to the West, "Where is the Road?", but unfortunately lost. Being able to sing the original ending song of the same name, "Where is the Road?" in "Black Myth: Wukong" also fulfilled the old man's wish.
Damn， where lies the path aheads， It's right under your feet. It's like our life, While we stuck, we get trapped in some difficulties, Maybe we tend to ask. Where is the solution? Where is the path we can go? And that Lyrics just told us., The path the road is just right under our feet, Things will get easy if we just take actions to do it, No need to think too much. Just go and do it. Enjoy your life.
buddhism teaching "always live the present moment", our real me is always overshadowed and blocked by too much thinking of the past and future. Only the present moment is real, nothing else is.
True. But it more likely has no parth at all. :)
The music for major boss fight is also unbelivably beautiful.
especially the one for the secret boss fight with Erlang, the emotion for different stages/phases of that fight, i can sit and listen to that for hours.
Many did, unintentionally.
A very moving review.
Your thoughts on both the song and the game resonate deeply. Especially when you compare the game to a life-changing experience, it reminds me of when I was researching Journey to the West. I found that ancient Chinese people had a similar perspective. Many believed that it wasn’t just a story or a novel, but that the journey and the story itself contained secrets to cultivating one’s mind and character, and the keys to personal growth. (In fact, all great stories have this effect.)
I’m really glad that such a timeless IP can continue to bring new experiences to people in the 21st century.
I love hearing your passion for music and art in general Marco. You are amazing man.
I appreciate that!
In an recent interview between one of the Chinese game media and the music/sound director for BMW, that sound director said that each chapter was designed around the end of chapter animated music video. And the music was more important part and made first before the video. The Game Director Feng Ji wrote all the lyrics for the songs and put extra emphasis on the music. For each of the PV they had before the game released, music are always made/ decided before the video footage and gameplay.
The way you dissect the music and vocals bit by bit really shows your expertise in opera singing and the ability to reveal hidden meanings of the art within Black Myth Wukong.
the music and art presentation in this game is truly one of a kind in the video game industry and history
really like this video and your honest. Apprenciate and Touching.
Glad you enjoyed it!
When this game first came out, one of the main discourses people had about it was to simply compare it to other games and franchises of similar gameplay loops and aesthetics. As much as I don’t find anything inherently wrong with it from the surface, I think the point you bring up in this video carries weight particularly in that instance.
Now Marco, I think you recognize me in your comment section long enough to know that man, I fucking love Fromsoft games and their music which just so happens to be what Black Myth Wukong tends to be compared to from what I’ve seen. People make the comparison just off of how it feels to play alone and how the bosses are and whatnot.
I personally think this is actually where the problem is, we are in a place in gaming and in society right now where people are focused on the product and what stimulus it offers in comparison to other products of similar merit. To see videogames as a genuine art form and outlet for creative expression and ingenuity is unfortunately something we don’t see much of from the average consumer creating discourse online. Not only does it undermine all the creative and artistic value of this game, but I think it also undermines the artistic value of the games and franchises it’s being compared to.
I hope games like this really push the envelope for future games not to necessarily have to change anything about their creative expression, but to allow people to see them with eyes like yours, eyes that focus on art and the feelings beyond what you get from trying to beat it. Getting your ass clapped by Yellow Long and tryna minmaxx your way out of it is cool and all but I think it would be nice if people also stopped to think about what the devs want you to feel or even learn through all the creative elements to it.
I’m glad we’re getting more games too that have deep cultural and historic roots and inspirations taking more of a foreground position in their concepts and development nowadays which I think will really help push that envelope I mentioned. Definitely looking forward to go through that journey on your channel too man
as a chinese, I have so say the lyric of the ending song’s english version has been simplified a lot to fit in english, it’s way much complicated and deeper in original Chinese language
nah marco im truly touched and impressed by your openness, "culturedness" and knowledge regarding all things art/music. This is why I value your gameplay/reactions on non-western content so much because of your extremely nuanced view on things, something which I fear is lacking these days where everyone is trying to paint things strictly black and white.
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
I was a terrifying assassin in the Middle Ages, one life per sleeve sword. I was also once the invincible Pale Blue Star, and it was my mission to hunt the Dragonborn. I was also the mad Greek god of war, destroying Olympus and destroying the old gods. One Astarte, the brave champion god-chosen under the Emperor's throne. So many years have passed, but I still want to return to my homeland to be that monkey.
The last song man, Bajie is banished to live a thousands lifes of tragidy, so he begs the Spider lady to let go.
Next life
Bajie: I beg you to let go
Violet Spider: Please don't let go
The whole chapter was building up how Bajie hates and tries to stay away from Violet, then the animation shows that the feeling is the mutual, making the story extra sad.
@@MrPuckpunk Bajie loves Violet, but he’s punished to live a thousands life’s of tragedy, that’s why he have to pretend to hate Violet and not recognise their child or I’ll fate will befall them too
Throughout thousands of years of Chinese history, ancient Chinese people, writers, and poets have been constantly striving to express the deepest artistic conception with the least number of Chinese characters, so this has enabled Chinese to express very diverse and profound meanings within a limited number of words.
You are on spot! This is a work of art with so much depth!
The lore they wrote is so good!!!! The voice acting director said she thinks the truly strong emotions are expressed overtly. They won't spoon fed the audience the deep ideals!!!
They didn’t write any lore , it is well-known bookstory
@@WRSH101 I'm talking about all the parts they added on, many parts were only a short sentence in the jttw story, but they expended a lot on those for the game.
@@WRSH101Hi, could you play the game first?
@@WRSH101 the BMW story is based on a well known novel, but the BMW lore itself are 99% original with JTTW backed. Like the beggining of the scene where wukong dead is already say it enough
I am so envious of this young generation. Y'all get to grow up in an age with so much knowledge at your fingertips. I felt a lot of emotions while listening to these songs but no way to articulate them. Here we have an expert to explain why and how its done and explains my feelings exactly. Its incredible.
Really happy for you that you love the game so much! Great analysis Marco!
Your appreciation towards the game’s artistic presentation and music really shows that art transcends boundaries. Beauty is truth, truth beauty. Love your work ❤
Wow, thank you!
Like your understanding and interpretation of that game a lot. You gain my respect to humanism in you, in us.
I am older than you, I would no more play a game, that I would normally think as a "shallow" activity. But I am happy, as you successfully explained, that a game can have much deeper impact on humanism. Thank you!
子曰：游於藝。
并且，大美不言，例如：童謠、童玩、電玩。//
Thank you for sharing this insight. I totally agree that this is one of the games that it's true value lies beyond the gameplay, especially the writing, music and visual art. Someone on reddit made a physical copy of the Yinshentu(Journals) in the game and it's as thick as a dictionary lol. One of the two founders of Game Science wrote most of the stories and lyrics, he said in one of his interviews that the true intent of making this game is to make stage for his writing lol.
Random Fun Fact: the name of the six relics you get after each chapter is actually from the original JTTW, and they are the names of a group of bandits Sun Wukong killed near the beginning of the journey. Their names are supposed to symbolize the six senses in Buddhism, the action of killing them being purifying his own senses. The story of each chapter is basically a depiction of meanings under the names of six senses and how you find his influences in the mortal world even after his death.
【六識】，佛教術語，【識】的分類法之一，
為六種感官認知的功能，為1眼識、2耳識、3鼻識、4舌識、5身識及6意識六者的合稱，
六識的集合稱為六識身，形成六識界。
六【識】與六【根】、六【塵】，合稱為十八界。
＞
若單立【意識】，則餘者稱【五識】。《瑜伽行唯識學派》則加上“末那識”與“阿賴耶識”，稱為【八識】。 《維基百科，詞條- -六識》
agree, this game is an cultural art, and I don't care about GOTY labels from western gaming media anymore. It is above that.
I think in recent years, China is doing the best or one the best fusion of traditional and modern musical instrument pieces of musical arts.
Listen Not - I think this is the song for end of Chapter 4 ending cartoon scene. It is romantic and tragic.
As Chinese ,a Macau people and Canadian , I am proud with my culture . in my opinion , Stephen Chow movie and black myth wukong are same level , genius work of art ,master masterpiece ! Black Myth Wukong will be more and more famous ! like Stephen Chow movie : Chinese odyssey (secondary creation with wukong love story )
I have been searching for a good way to describe BMW.. now you said it.. it have "depth"
Not just depth
Is very very depth 😊
I'm Chinese
You're a such a beautiful person. I am as a Chinese never expected anyone who's not Chinese and can getting the vibe and senses and meanings behind songs like this, this is way too deep into Chinese culture, music united us and also Game Science did a really good job, to introduce you to what we've always loved.
🙏 thank you so much.
This is literally one of the best channels I've stumbled upon this year. Love your content! Keep it going!
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
PLZ do more songs from BM:WK! I am so enjoying as you lead us to understand the songs better.
Thank you for such a heartfelt and poignant analysis ❤
bravo for your video, you've got a sensitive soul, the ancient chinese culture is rich, and deep, it worths your digging and thank you for sharing it with the english speaking world. bon continuation.
+1。海洋不言，不失其深；幽林鳴鳥，更顯其靜。中國文化如是。//
I’m happy we can have experiences like this with games. These experiences are what it’s all about for me. I personally haven’t played Wukong, but now maybe I will after playing Dragon Age. Good gaming!
Enjoy ur wonderful work u did here. 🎉❤❤❤ Thanks!
Thank you so much!
The hidden story in this game is incredibly deep. The politics between Shen, Fo, Yao, and Guai are even more complex than those in Game of Thrones. If you dive into the lore, you’ll see just how intricate it really is.
Glad to see & hear, folks who knows actually more about music & singing than me, can appreciate too as just as much as me all the brilliant soundtracks of the best game of 2024! :)
True! Its a work of art that celebrates 5000 years of Chinese culture heritage. Just beautiful.
that Zhu Bajie - Violet Spider duet song at the end of chapter 4 really left me clutching my throat. Learning about their story too from the novels just solidifies their tragic love story. It's heart-aching.
What's mindblowing is almost all music that sung, the lyrics were written by Feng Ji, Game Science's CEO.
Nope
The lyrics for songs of chapter 1,3,4,5 animations and songs for the headless monk in chapter 2 are written by the CEO of game science.
edited: oh, and the lyrics of the end credit song "unfinished" are also written by him
They have a joke about Feng Ji, the one big reason that he found game sciences is that he can write his own lyrics, LOL
@@jiachen7865man just wanted to be a poet. So found a way to do it an make a lotta money 😂
@@MrJermson nope your own ass
Where lies the path ahead was actually the original outro song of the 1986 show.
As much as I loved what GS did with Celestial Symphony, Where Lies the Path Ahead gave me even more goosebumps. Even though we heard hints of this remake in one of the trailers, the actual song still surprised me with the vocals. It's 1986 all over again.
I love seeing such sincere sharing on youtube. Subscribed.
Thanks for subbing!
Your appreciation and effort in understanding other cultures is just as beautiful as the songs in this game.
You are quite right about the deeper meaning of the lyrics and the philosophy behind it. I have tried incorporating other chinese music into wukong mv in my channel but nothing beats the OST.
goddamn first time knowing the lyric from bajie scene, and GODDAMN IT, MY TEARS FLOOWWWWWWWWWWW
thats why i always appreciate some pros to do the review!
th-cam.com/video/FaDgsm0smQY/w-d-xo.htmlsi=8r8Xlls2Rq98VLs0
A true artist finds profound beauty in this work of art.
I love your musical analysis, very passionate with professional attitude.
You might want to know that all the song lyrics were written by GameScience's CEO/Founder. A running joke is that he made a game company to write lyrics.
Wukong's legend is a profoundly influential work, in the east in ancient times all the way to modern day. so much stuff is based on it. its as powerful as the odysey, or stories from the bible. making a game about it is huge and awesome.
Journey to the West is one of the four great classic novel of China, 4, in whole thousand years of history of a billions people country. It's needless to say how big of an influence it has been
@@BadEnd98 China only reached a billion ppl in the 70s or 80s . In the 50s it was around 700k
Well not quite right. Bible wasn't based off that. Journey to the west was written in 1590 and based off a monk from the year 630. Biblical manuscripts were written a bit before that
@@nanyanguo1 No it's not 700k, it's around 500M.
@@shadowoftheninja5723 The k was a typing error. I meant m . .. thks for the correction.
16:01 fun fact, the singer is actually 81 years old
He is 83 years old now.
Hi Marco, I found this amazing rendition of the Black Myth Wukong main theme, didn't realise it featured so many instruments which can be seen visually and much easier to pick up. You can search 《31-person ensemble full version of the theme song from "black myth: wukong》maybe it will be a good reaction video material
Appreciate the content!
Game Science was such a incredible studio bringing such a high quality epic game to the world. Such intricacy in every detail in the story. Even putting in such effort in the BGM.
A few weeks ago my wife was 38 weeks pregnant, and we were anxiously awaiting the birth of our second. It was a high risk pregnancy. My wife was full of anxiety, wondering what we would do if this or that complication might arise during labor. I tried to ground us as best I could.
TH-cam recommend Where Lies the Path Ahead and in the stress of those days it brought me to tears. I was sitting in a parking lot of all places.
I got back home and I told her that everything would be alright. That we’d be through a hell of a lot together, and that whatever happened we’d work hard and figure it out together. Life is full of hardship and uncertainty. If we believe in ourselves, it does not matter which way the path goes, we will walk through with confidence.
The red boy boss fight theme is so unique that it contains so many modern instruments unlike other songs but it fits the boss perfectly. It gives me the feelings of young passion, rage, extreme tension and the desperation at the end, just fits the story perfectly 🎉
This is really a piece of art! I was so indulgent to the OST of this game! Finally saw someone could appreciate the beauty of the music in this game, and thank you for bringing the professional perspectives to us!🫶🫶🫶
The listen not song reminds me of 80s Disney songs
Hi Marco, I’ve been watching a couple of ur video, and really enjoyed it. Ur play through of Black Myth Wukong, are especially enjoyable. You see video game as a multimedia art form, and play / review it as such, based on ur depth and breadth of knowledge (music, culture…), with amazing attention to details (the use of specific music instrument at a specific time of a piece, the Buddha stature behind a the tiger villain and pool of blood…). But what really makes u stands out from other people, I think, is ur unmistakeable passion.
That leads me to another thought I have; it would be awesome for u to review another multimedia art form films. Yes! Movie. Either main stream or independent / foreign films. Most of the film reviews I have seen, are either superficial with no nutritional content, or so clinical and sterile that u may wonder if it’s actually a robot that made the review. U have the quality to make a great film reviewer (critic), with both brain and heart. And I will be ur number one fan. Just a thought. 😊
That is very sweet! Thank you so much!
兩位都是有心人。有會流血的心弦。//
The original voice that sings where lies the path ahead sounds like the second voice (older). This game introduced the little child's voice at the beginning. I feel it was supposed to represent two generations coming together to hear the story of journey to the west.
This game originates from ancient Chinese mythological novels, which were completed 600 years ago. The story takes place in the remote and prehistoric eras of China, a time ruled by deities, with countless gods and immortals. The novel Journey to the West contains profound philosophies, Buddhism, life wisdom, and mysterious theology. In particular, the "Wordless Scripture book" takes different interpretations of doctrines to an incomprehensible level. Perhaps, perhaps it is true that in ancient times, deities once ruled the Earth. I would believe it.
U know, life is tough, it’s hard for most of us, we make our own path forward in our life, that’s why this song is so encouraging, we just need to move forward, and make our own path in life, fight all these tough moments
You understand it so so good!
I am a Chinese gamer who doesn't like action game that much. The fighting in this game doesn't really interest me. But what really makes me appreciate this game is in its theme and idea that are translatable to modern world.
Everyone has their own interpretation of the game, for me, it's the relentless spirit rebelling against an authoritative establishment. Our main character fights through his way to restore hope for his monkey kinds. Besides the clear political connotation which we all know and abhor, this game for me highlights the power of resilience and kindness in times of darkness.
Also, Marco your presentation skill is superb
Great video man
In my opinion, Italian and Chinese civilisations are two greatest civilisations to ever exist on the face of the earth. Each dominated and shaped the West and East of the world as we know today. of course as an italian you would appreciate the value of culture as much as Chinese people do.
For your information, several beautiful songs and the main symphony of Black. Myth of Wu Kong were composed around 1986 for the TV series Journey to the West. The composer is Xu Jingqing (许镜清).
An excellent game is not only entertaining, but more importantly, it establishes correct values.
Such a great analysis ❤. Love your insight into this wonderful game!
11:26
Nice analysis of the song 'Where Lies the Path Ahead'.
The actual meaning of the last lyrics should be :
Where lies the path ahead?
It comes into being behind your steps.
The lyrics in 'Where lies the path ahead' is extremely deep and reflective. I believed the lyrics and song were written for the 1986 JTTW tv series?
You are the first on talk at this deeply thinking
Thank you for your perspective! I'm so glad when Black Myth Wukong is regarded as a genius artwork for western players rather than a boss rush game. What I love most about BMW is its ancient traditional elements, the architecture, the sculpture ,the paintings,the poetic vibe ...
Good RPG games can make us immerse in a story even in different culture we aren't familiar with.I'm an eastern player and before I play the Red Dead Redemption 2 ,the only thing attracted me was the beautiful north america nature scenery, cause I'm not familiar with that history and don't like gangster and violence.But rdr2 turned out to be one of my favorite game after playing, the storytelling ,the exploration of new things,the cinematic feeling...Not to mention Baldur’s gate 3,the Witcher 3 ,they all have abundant culture in it if you are willing to dig.
Love all these artworks, thanks to them different people from different regions can share the same amazing experiences!
In the nineties, when anime like Akira, the Studio Ghibli stuff and Dragonball came, out we all got into Japanese culture. Like you said, we went on a journey. Now it's pretty much mainstream, but I'm getting those same vibes again with this game.
I never really watched or read or even understood a journey to the west but this game was still amazing and eye opening for me. I was looking forward to it for years and it is well worth the wait.
Love your passion in music and in such a completely different culture. And honestly, you understand this song (where lies the path) better than probably most Chinese people do! Not disrespecting anyone but respect to you bro.
Commenting during premiere. Ender lilies and ender magnolia have the same composer as the group behind the arknights cover song, Marco. I recommend you react to it.