Genshin Impact's most Ambitious Boss Theme: Scaramouche

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Let’s talk about Scaramouche’s Boss Battle Theme from Genshin Impact, explained from the perspective of a Music Producer & Composer.
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——– ▼TIMESTAMPS▼——-
00:00 – Phase 1
04:20 – Phase 2
14:48 – Phase 3
16:33 – Phase 4
——– ▼CREDITS▼——-
– Artwork: Bibi (Obb Spl)
– Track: Scaramouche Boss Theme (Phase 1 to 4)
– Composer: Yu-Peng Chen & @HOYO-MiX
——– ▼MENTIONS▼——-
– Zone of the Enders the 2nd Runner – Descending Aumaan
– Xenoblade Chronicles 3 – VS. Moebius
– Johan Sebastian Bach – Toccata & Fugue in D Minor
– Bury The Light Analysis Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7unNUzf4Z0Q

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44 thoughts on “Genshin Impact's most Ambitious Boss Theme: Scaramouche”

  1. This track is the perfect example of a character theme done right, in my opinion.
    For those who watched my Moon Halo video, Scaramouche's Theme to me is the antithesis of that track.
    They're not too far off: both themes narrate the story of some tragic characters, and they do so by establishing a few melodies and repeating them over and over…

    The only difference is that Scaramouche's Theme compensates the repetitiveness of its melodies by:
    – creating a WILDLY evocative narrative through exploring several music styles and cultures
    – using advanced techniques such as Polyrhythms
    – using advanced sound design and processing vocals demonically
    – literally quoting Bach
    – featuring interesting tonal shifts which occur rarely, but make a huge difference

    Moon Halo does not do any of that.
    It doesn't try to be over the top. it's a rock ballad with a nostalgic and pure sound that stays the same all the way through.
    The reason why I could guess SO much about Scaramouche here compared to the very little I could guess in Moon Halo is because one track goes above and beyond to do an incredible job at presenting itself, while the other is comfortable in not doing that and tugging at your heart-strings with simplicity instead (which works if you're the type of person who likes that type of music OR if you played Honkai Impact and are already aware of its context).

    Genshin Impact's boss themes follow the first approach way more instead, I find. And that's why I like them personally. No other theme I heard thus far in Genshin's soundtrack is more articulate than Scaramouche's, I think.
    For this one in particular, I started by recording my first reaction to it, and despite my explanations in the first reaction were already plentiful, I realized that the track had a LOT more going on than I initially grasped in that first instance).
    I didn't want to leave that stuff out, so I listened to it once more, took notes and THEN made this video, scrapping the first one.
    I could've probably edited it in a way where I showed both my first reaction and then my "post-nut clarity analysis" but I didn't have time for that, and to be frank, there's probably 999 entertaining first time reactions to this track on the internet already!

    All things considered, I far prefer Azhdaha and La Signora's Themes on an emotional and musical level. But on a technical level, this, to me, was a masterclass in music writing.
    Bravo, HOYO-MiX.

    PS. As someone's been noting, the singer isn't Scarmaouche's Chinese VA after all

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  9. 4:34
    Ok hear me out.
    This part of the song (as well as a few others) actually reminds me of Azhdaha’s theme, the easiest comparison being the intro and the choir in Phase 1, except in a lower pitch.

    [Spoilers for Scaramouche’s Character]

    This similarity is interesting because when you look at Azhdaha and Scaramouche, they’re actually very similar. Both were created by their respective Archons (Morax and Raiden) to see the world, Azhdaha as his own being and Scara as a vessel for Raiden. Both were inevitably abandoned by their creators for their imperfections (Azhdaha’s corruption and Scara’s imperfect nature as a Vessel) causing their rage to fester and empower them until they were far more powerful than they’d ever been, enough to potentially threaten the Archons themselves. Until the Traveller defeats them, leading to some cultivation of the good in both. Azhdaha with the spirit, Scaramouche with Nahida. However, where Azhdaha was able to use that good to warn others of his imminent release in an attempt to stop himself, Scara in the boss fight is still angry and is fully trying to stop you, resulting in the lower, darker pitch for a more ominous tone. Azhdaha’s comes across more as a mercy, preventing him from doing damage to Liyue from something not under his control. It’s like he’s lashing out. And while Scaramouche is also lashing out, he is fully aware of it and the damage he’ll likely cause.

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  10. near the 12:45 you're actually very right, in his backstory scaramouche as basicly a puppet made by a goddess (the raiden shogun) to "host" her kind of divine heart, but she felt he couldnt handle it so she "gave him consciousness" and threw him, and scaramouche felt that as a betrayal since a godess, his "mother" discarded him because she thought he wasnt worthy of divinity and the entire point of this fight (and scaramouche as a character) is trying to ascend to divinity. And near the end of the track its showing how scaramouche got betrayed by humans and a godess resulting in him simply giving up on his home and people and just seeking power to show his worth. Youc an find his teaser here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDQ7m2L9sK8

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  11. I was playing Genshin Impact today and, as I was playing in Sumeru, I realized that the melody at 18:51 is actually the melody you hear in Sumeru's overworld music. So it's Sumeru's motif with the Inazuma instruments! That's such a cool connection.

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  12. Thank you for the review! This vid is one of the first I watched on your channel and it is a masterpiece. I love how you took the time and effort to recreate key moments in the soundtrack and isolate some instruments/mashup some bits with other OSTs to prove your points. Very well-made and I don’t regret watching it entirely one bit.

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  16. When I first started playing yrs ago I found Genshin music outstanding straightout~ I wished for Infected Mushroom collab and this one is Def givin' me IM vibez~ }amazin' I never stopped playing the game it's as good as it gets

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  22. I feel like those "empty" parts, where you expect the epic drops but they don't happen are when he's close to archieving his Goal but he gets stuck on something. First it was him being "too emotional" then it was him getting involved with the Fatui and finally…

    Spoiler

    When he finally got "his" gnosis he still can't let go of his past. He's still trying to show Ei/Beelzebub that he's worthy of the gnosis and that she was wrong to discard him. He wants her to admit that she made a mistake so he doesn't feel lonely, angry, hurt, humiliated etc. anymore. That's also the reason as to why the mechanical suit/robot looks so much like Inazuma, from the style to the colours and even the emblem on the part that keeps the gnosis.
    He's stuck because deep down he's still looking for someone, anyone (but most likely preferably Ei) to accept, respect and appreciate him. He's still looking for approval and love freely given. Whether he wants to admit that to himself or not.

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  25. I don't want to spoil anything but since yesterday I wanted to say this; the melancholy and warmth from the Inazuman part, rather than coming from a past that Scaramouche misses, comes from a past and a warmth that never happened.
    Now come the spoilers:

    He feels the anger and sadness of never recieving what he expected of his creator. For anyone who has a bad relationship with their parents, this should be a familiar feeling heh. Whilst sad for not recieving that love, the hurt Ei has made cannot be repaired. Hence the anger and frustration. That's why his line "My fury will never be quelled" is so powerfull. It pains him but it has no solution. Even if Ei came back to apologize and try to be a proper mother, the hurt cannot be fixed.

    As for the straying away from the good old days, what actually happened is that they were taken away from him, again, indirectly, by his mother's negligence as a ruler.

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  42. THIS IS SPOT ON. Really a testament to your music knowledge and the composer's talent
    The only thing I can pick on is that his past wasn't beautiful and warm at all, but extremely tragic because he wasn't treated with love and acceptance. The warmth is probably coming from the prospect of leaving his past behind and possibly heading towards greatness he thought he was destined to achieve.

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  44. Man I love your analysis so much! Just the other day I was arguing with a couple of friends regarding Scaramouche as a character and tried to explain what I thought about him being a misled kid who doesn't understands that he had been feeling sad for so long and thought he could remove his feelings but keep his anger. And like so many other things about him, but I can't believe HoyoMix actually made his track to describe his entire life story and what he felt until now. Thank you so much for such a detailed analysis and literally just giving me a weapon against my friends who kept saying I was exaggerating xD

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