GB Sounds
- GB Player redirects here. For the Nintendo GameCube accessory, see Game Boy Player.
The GB Sounds or simply GB Sounds (Japanese: ＧＢプレイヤー GB Player) is a type of Key Item exclusive to Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver.
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In the core series games
Effect
Manual activation
The item changes the background music to chiptune-like rearrangements of the tracks in the area that are similar to the original ones from Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal. Sound effects and radio music are unaffected by GB Sounds.
Description
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Acquisition
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Music information
Changes
Although the old-style tracks are supposed to sound like the original tracks from Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal, none of them sound exactly like the originals. This is mainly due to the way chiptunes are handled on the Nintendo DS. The capabilities of the PSG found in the DS line is limited compared to the one found in the Game Boy line. The DS PSG has fixed square wave and noise channels like the Game Boy PSG, but lacks the crucial 4-bit wavetable synthesis channel, which renders the DS incapable of generating the variety of different waveforms the Game Boy could. This means that parts played using the 4-bit wavetable synthesis channel in the original tracks are approximated using square waves, leading some parts to sound vastly different. In addition, some tracks have altered tempos and missing notes; reverb not heard in the original compositions has also been added.
Additions
Several tracks that are absent in the original Pokémon Gold and Silver have received old-style rearrangements. Examples include Global Terminal and Route 47. Despite this, none of the Battle Frontier facilities, except for the outside area and the Battle Tower, received an old-style rearrangement. Battling in the facilities at the Battle Frontier with GB Sounds active will also result in the old-style Battle! (Trainer Battle—Johto Version) being used. This effect is reverted when battling a Frontier Brain.
Limitations
Some of the original tracks from Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal, such as Professor Oak and Opening Movie (Pokémon Gold & Pokémon Silver), cannot normally be listened to with GB Sounds. To solve this issue, the Pokémon Music Channel hosts the Pokémon Past Archive program every Sunday, which features these chiptune tracks in addition to a few others, such as all the Trainer encounter themes.
The game data has GB Sounds versions of two tracks that are only accessible on the radio: Mysterious Transmission and Radio Transmission. As GB Sounds does not effect radio tracks, and they are not included in the Pokémon Past Archive program, these versions are unable to be heard in-game, even if GB Sounds is cheated in early.
Oddities
If active during a Bug-Catching Contest, GB Sounds will not switch to the old-style version of National Park during the contest results; however, it'll perform the switch after the results are announced.
There is also a glitch which results in the music being muted on Route 20 or Cinnabar Island.
GB Sounds does not affect the unused SEQ_DUMMY (played in the Mystery Zones) or SEQ_TEST_TITLE tracks, which are mere copies of the regular Route 29.
In other languages
| Language | Title | |
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| Chinese | Cantonese | ＧＢ播放器 GB Bofonghei |
| Mandarin | ＧＢ播放器 GB Bòfàngqì * / GB Bōfàngqì * | |
| French | Lecteur GB | |
| German | GB-Player | |
| Italian | Lettore GB | |
| Korean | GB플레이어 GB Player | |
| Spanish | Latin America | Reproductor GB |
| Spain | Reproductor GBIX+ Lector GBIV–VIII | |
See also
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This item article is part of Project ItemDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on all items. |