Uploaded March 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Japan only GameBoy title "Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru", or "The Frog for Whom the Bell Tolls", features one of my favourite game soundtracks of all time. Written by the legendary Kazumi Totaka, the music hits this perfect middle ground of melodicism, unique and colourful harmony, and thematic unity that really hits me. Follow along as I breakdown some of my favourite tracks and get into how Totaka worked around the limitations of the GameBoy soundchip when writing this great work!

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0:00 - What is The Frog for Whom the Bell Tolls?
1:21 - The GameBoy's limitations
1:48 - The Bell Theme
2:44 - The Prince's Adventure
7:46 - Port Saltwater
8:57 - Spring Hill
11:49 - Mandola's Theme
16:24 - Reunion
20:33 - Outro

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