From Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia.
|
GB Sounds
ＧＢプレイヤー
GB Player
|
|
|
| Introduced in Generation IV
|
| Cost
|
Cannot be bought
|
| Sell for
|
Cannot be sold
|
| Pocket
|
| Generation I
|
 Unknown
|
| Generation II
|
Unknown
|
| Generation III
|
Unknown
|
| Generation IV
|
 Key items
|
| Generation V
|
Unknown
|
|
The GB Sounds (Japanese: ＧＢプレイヤー GB Player) is a type of key item exclusive to Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver.
Effect
Manual activation
The GB Sounds changes background music to 8-bit remixes of the tracks in the area; these tracks are similar to the original tracks from Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal. It does not affect other audio effects.
Description
| Games
|
Description
|
| HGSS
|
A music player that allows you to listen to nostalgic songs. It's operated with a single switch.
|
|
Acquisition
Music information
Changes
Despite the fact that the GB Sounds tracks are supposed to sound like the original tracks from Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal, none of them sound exactly like the originals. The acoustics sound different and many notes have other pitches. Some tracks had their tempos altered somewhat and other notes in various tracks are not even heard at all. This is due to the games using a soundfont for MIDI playback rather than generating real chiptunes. The different audio hardware between the Game Boy Color and the Nintendo DS would also have been taken into consideration.
Additions
- Main article: Pokémon HeartGold & SoulSilver Music Super Complete
Several tracks that are absent in the original Pokémon Gold and Silver have received 8-bit remixes. Examples include グローバルターミナル Global Terminal and ４７ばんどうろ Route 47. Despite this, none of the Battle Frontier facilities, except for the outside area and the Battle Tower, have an 8-bit remix of their background music. However, battling in battle facilities in the Battle Frontier with the GB Sounds active will result in the 8-bit remix of 戦闘！ トレーナー（ジョウト）Battle! Trainer (Johto) being used. This effect is reverted when battling a Frontier Brain.
Limitations
Some of the original tracks from Pokémon Gold and Silver, such as オーキドはかせ Professor Oak and オープニング Opening, cannot normally be listened to with the GB Sounds. The tracks pertaining to Team Rocket can only be legitimately listened to in the Giovanni event triggered by taking a Celebi to the Ilex Forest shrine. To solve this issue, the Pokémon Music Channel hosts the Pokémon Past Archive program every Sunday, which features these tracks in addition to a few others, such as all the Trainer encounter themes.
Oddities
進化おめでとう！ Congratulations on Evolving!, which also plays when a Trainer successfully catches a Pokémon, is not affected by the GB Sounds in the latter case. Radio music is also unaffected, even though 8-bit remixes of the tracks are available and played as part of the Pokémon Past Archive on the Pokémon Music Channel every Sunday after the GB Sounds is obtained.
If active during a Bug-Catching Contest, the GB Sounds will not switch to the 8-bit version of しぜんこうえん National Park during the contest results; however, it'll perform the switch after the results are announced.
There is also a a glitch which results in the music being muted after using the GB Sounds on Route 20 or Cinnabar Island.
