RPGamers Network > Reviews > Game Music Reviews > Smash Brothers Melee DX Orchestra Concert
Reviewed by: Kie
Hey all, good to be back. The original Super Smash Brothers game was a big hit worldwide and sold millions for Nintendo. It basically revolutionized 4-player fighting games which have still yet to reply with a better idea. The sequel, Super Smash Brothers Melee (or Super Smash Brothers DX in Japan) brought a faster version of the original, with loads more characters, areas, secrets and an excellent soundtrack. Speaking of which, this album is a recording of an actual concert performed by the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra on August 17th, 2002. Ticket cost was 3,000 yen and it was a big hit. So big that Nintendo released the recording they had of the concert to the public, although so far, it is only available in Japan.
Tracks 1 and 9 are performances of the two Star Fox songs in the game, Corneria and Venom. Corneria plays basically the same as the actual song, except with the different instruments used like Violins and Trumpets. The song in general I think is particularly lacking in what made the original so good. However, Venom is much different. This is how the original should've been done...with an orchestra. It all blends well together and the trumpets work well for the main theme of the song. At the end it does the cool little "mission complete" tune of the original to sort of finish it off well. Not bad at all.
Jungle Garden is done surprising well here. It is the original Donkey Kong theme done with awesome bongo drums and trumpets. The best part about the song is that it is actually remixed to give that extra spark that the original didn't have. At about 1:59, the song goes into a quiet flute solo to perform the next part of the song. I was happy to hear that they didn't use trumpets heh because it would have spoilt the part.
As you can guess, Temple ~ Great Bay is a mix of two Zelda songs from the game. The temple song is first up, with Violins, Trombones, Trumpets and Flutes all playing the main theme at well timed areas. The song goes on until 2:39 when a brilliant orchestrated version of the main Zelda theme arrives using basically all the instruments in the orchestra, especially the strings and trumpets. It then does a slower version of the song with violins before finishing it off with Link's winning ending in the game. A very good track all up.
The next track, Doctor Mario starts off with a really peaceful strings intro before getting into the actual tune which sounds like it's done with strings and a xylophone. The tune itself is remixed a bit when the trumpets kick in as the main instrument. I like the trumpet solo at 2:12, it really slows the song down and sounds pretty great. It also flows into a violin solo straight afterwards which makes you wish the song would end there. I think that would have made a great ending. But it is still a good piece, definitely not the worst.
This piece was interesting. The Original Medley is a medley of the All-Star Intro, Trophy, How to Play, Final Destination, Menu and Ending themes from Melee in that order. It starts off with a quiet violin solo until about 1:36 when it starts the All-Star Intro. Since most of these songs are short, the orchestra added a few solos in to add more time. The All-Star Intro is done well with trumpets as well as the Trophy part. The How to Play is done with a cool beat of trumpets, drums and sharp violin playing. At 3:39, the Final Destination music begins and it sounds pretty great. A good mix of all the orchestral instruments with a few hidden solos if you listen enough. It ends with a finale mix of the menu and ending and a single pitch with all of the instruments used. Not a bad medley here.
Tracks 6 and 14 are obviously Kirby songs. The first one, Fountain of Dreams is the Kirby theme played very well. The trombones as bass and trumpets as the tune used in unison with the violin's little tunes make this a brilliant track. Definitely my favourite track on the album. I just like all the little background instruments playing their own pieces while the main theme goes on. Can't get much better than that. The ending sounds like the beginning, with a great violin solo. The second Kirby song is Green Greens which used trumpets as the main first tune. The second tune is played by the violinists. There isn't really any remix here, but I do like the mix of instruments used in the final part of the tune from about 1:00. This being the shortest song on the album, I don't think it captured the same depth as the original version did.
Despite all the people against Pokémon, the music really isn't bad. I was surprised how much I liked the Pokemon Star Medley. It starts with the Gym battle theme which I believe is a remix of the Gym battle in a few of the original gameboy versions. I've liked this song for ages, and this orchestra version used mostly violins which really suit the song. The next part is the Pokémon Floats theme, which is the main Pokémon theme. It was done great with the trumpets and harp as the mix. At 3:50, the Gym battle theme from Gold and Silver version (or so I'm told, I never played it) starts being played. The mix of chimes with the trumpet play the tune pretty well I think, though I can't make a comparison, but it sounds better than the Melee version. All in all it is a great piece of music. Worth a listen even if you never want to see a Pokémon again.
The next song, Opening is a fairly well arranged version of the main theme from Melee. As you should guess by now, the main theme is done with trumpets and violins mixed together at different areas.
However, the violins play a key part at about 1:20 when they do a good solo from the original piece. It's not been remixed as such, it's just had different instruments placed. Not brilliant, but ok.
The next song is a real beat song, although it sounds a bit childish, as the game intended it to. Yes, we're talking about the Yoshi Story main theme. I did like the original piece, so I might be biased a little in saying it's well played. Conversely, I think the song needed to have a few more things acting as bass, because it doesn't have any. Short and sweet, in general.
And here's a bit for the Metroid fans, the Brinstar Depths ~ Brinstar piece is definitely worth a listen. The violin plays the Depths very well with what sounds like church bells and a flute playing at about 0:56. The song gets boring for a little bit afterwards before getting into the main Metroid theme at about 2:16. I like the trumpets used here as background music as well as the theme. Good stuff all up.
By now you're probably wondering...where the hell are the Mario songs? Well, at track 12, the Smash Brothers Grand Medley has plenty for you, plus a lot more. The longest track on the album by far shows the true form of the orchestra in blending songs together. In order, the songs are Ancient Kingdom I, Ancient Kingdom II, Flat Zone, Balloon Fight, Big Blue, Mach Rider, Yoshi's Island, Saria's Theme, Super Mario 3, Icicle Mountain and Peach's Castle. It starts off with a simple main Super Mario Brothers theme played with flutes fairly quiet. Nothing too special here, just starting it off I think. At 0:59, Ancient Kingdom II starts and it gets pretty well, doing the main theme to Super Mario Brothers 2. The violins play a key factor is making the song bearable. I never really liked the original, but this isn’t bad. We see another merge around 2:15 - 2:47, when we get to the Flat Zone. Not much to tell here, I’m just surprised the orchestra bothered with this. We get into the Balloon Fight music which plays for quite a bit compared to others. It's just another Mario song, but it's pretty well done. There's this part at 4:33 that does a fairly loud bang. If you're wearing headphones it sounds like the bang is coming from somewhere left of you. Aaaanyway, at 5:12, I was happy to hear the Big Blue theme play in trumpets very well. I didn't know what was on these tracks when I first listened to them a while ago, and this part stood out from the rest in the song. Everyone likes Big Blue anyway. At 6:40, the Mach Rider song comes on. It's a fairly rare song on Melee, but it plays sometimes instead of Big Blue on the level. This was done very well compared to the original, with flute and trumpets working the theme. Near the 8:00 mark, the Yoshi's Island part plays. I think this part was done too quietly with the violins for such a good original piece. But the song gets back into it at 8:50 when the Lost Woods comes on with trumpets and violins. I heard harp in there too, a highlight of the song. Can't get enough of Mario, and the Super Mario Brothers 3 main theme comes on for a little while until about 10:22 when the Ice Climbers theme arrives and it sounds roughly the same as the original, barring the little harmonica piece at 10:57. Probably the boring part is the 11th minute, it has a little Mario piece, but mostly silent. The final part of the song is all Mario, returning to the main theme in louder instruments for Peach's Castle. I liked this version of the Mario theme, it's not done how you'd expect it from an orchestra, but it's done well. The song finally ends with a great few high pitches. Second best song on the album.
This song is just done cool. The Fire Emblem theme starts quietly with violins but soon comes into context. Some parts on the intro sound a bit out of key but you get past that with how well the trumpets work here. Kudos to the trumpet players in this concert by the way, they did a brilliant job. I like the violin part at 1:50 as well, to slow the song down a bit and also give the flute players to have a go. Enjoy the ending with a mix of every instrument, but especially the drums and trumpets, it's great.
The last song is the Rainbow Ride theme from Super Mario 64, which is just called Rainbow Cruise on Melee. The song is done very well with the classical instruments here. Nothing too special however, besides at 1:36, when the audience (yes, it's recorded live remember) begins clapping along with the tune. It basically enhances the atmosphere of the song until the end.
So what do I think in general? Everyone in the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra definitely deserved the results they got. A brilliant performance and even if you're not a fan of orchestral music, the songs are still worth a listen.
This review has been read 3393 times
Send feedback to author
| Album Information | Reviewer Rank |
|---|---|
|
Smash Brothers Melee DX Orchestra Concert Published by: Enterbrain Release Date: October 21st 2002 Composed by: Hajime Hirasawa, Dave Wise, Koji Kondo, Hirokazu Ando, Tadashi Ikegami, Shogo Sakai, Takuto Kitsuta, Jun Ishikawa, Dan Miyakawa, Junichi Masuda, Kazumi Totaka, Yuka Tsujiyoko, Hirokazu Tanaka Arranged by: Hirokazu Ando, Shogo Sakai, Tadashi Ikegami 1 Disc, 15 Tracks Catalog: Q+AD02012 |
85 |
Reviewed by: Kie
Hey all, good to be back. The original Super Smash Brothers game was a big hit worldwide and sold millions for Nintendo. It basically revolutionized 4-player fighting games which have still yet to reply with a better idea. The sequel, Super Smash Brothers Melee (or Super Smash Brothers DX in Japan) brought a faster version of the original, with loads more characters, areas, secrets and an excellent soundtrack. Speaking of which, this album is a recording of an actual concert performed by the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra on August 17th, 2002. Ticket cost was 3,000 yen and it was a big hit. So big that Nintendo released the recording they had of the concert to the public, although so far, it is only available in Japan.
Tracks 1 and 9 are performances of the two Star Fox songs in the game, Corneria and Venom. Corneria plays basically the same as the actual song, except with the different instruments used like Violins and Trumpets. The song in general I think is particularly lacking in what made the original so good. However, Venom is much different. This is how the original should've been done...with an orchestra. It all blends well together and the trumpets work well for the main theme of the song. At the end it does the cool little "mission complete" tune of the original to sort of finish it off well. Not bad at all.
Jungle Garden is done surprising well here. It is the original Donkey Kong theme done with awesome bongo drums and trumpets. The best part about the song is that it is actually remixed to give that extra spark that the original didn't have. At about 1:59, the song goes into a quiet flute solo to perform the next part of the song. I was happy to hear that they didn't use trumpets heh because it would have spoilt the part.
As you can guess, Temple ~ Great Bay is a mix of two Zelda songs from the game. The temple song is first up, with Violins, Trombones, Trumpets and Flutes all playing the main theme at well timed areas. The song goes on until 2:39 when a brilliant orchestrated version of the main Zelda theme arrives using basically all the instruments in the orchestra, especially the strings and trumpets. It then does a slower version of the song with violins before finishing it off with Link's winning ending in the game. A very good track all up.
The next track, Doctor Mario starts off with a really peaceful strings intro before getting into the actual tune which sounds like it's done with strings and a xylophone. The tune itself is remixed a bit when the trumpets kick in as the main instrument. I like the trumpet solo at 2:12, it really slows the song down and sounds pretty great. It also flows into a violin solo straight afterwards which makes you wish the song would end there. I think that would have made a great ending. But it is still a good piece, definitely not the worst.
This piece was interesting. The Original Medley is a medley of the All-Star Intro, Trophy, How to Play, Final Destination, Menu and Ending themes from Melee in that order. It starts off with a quiet violin solo until about 1:36 when it starts the All-Star Intro. Since most of these songs are short, the orchestra added a few solos in to add more time. The All-Star Intro is done well with trumpets as well as the Trophy part. The How to Play is done with a cool beat of trumpets, drums and sharp violin playing. At 3:39, the Final Destination music begins and it sounds pretty great. A good mix of all the orchestral instruments with a few hidden solos if you listen enough. It ends with a finale mix of the menu and ending and a single pitch with all of the instruments used. Not a bad medley here.
Tracks 6 and 14 are obviously Kirby songs. The first one, Fountain of Dreams is the Kirby theme played very well. The trombones as bass and trumpets as the tune used in unison with the violin's little tunes make this a brilliant track. Definitely my favourite track on the album. I just like all the little background instruments playing their own pieces while the main theme goes on. Can't get much better than that. The ending sounds like the beginning, with a great violin solo. The second Kirby song is Green Greens which used trumpets as the main first tune. The second tune is played by the violinists. There isn't really any remix here, but I do like the mix of instruments used in the final part of the tune from about 1:00. This being the shortest song on the album, I don't think it captured the same depth as the original version did.
Despite all the people against Pokémon, the music really isn't bad. I was surprised how much I liked the Pokemon Star Medley. It starts with the Gym battle theme which I believe is a remix of the Gym battle in a few of the original gameboy versions. I've liked this song for ages, and this orchestra version used mostly violins which really suit the song. The next part is the Pokémon Floats theme, which is the main Pokémon theme. It was done great with the trumpets and harp as the mix. At 3:50, the Gym battle theme from Gold and Silver version (or so I'm told, I never played it) starts being played. The mix of chimes with the trumpet play the tune pretty well I think, though I can't make a comparison, but it sounds better than the Melee version. All in all it is a great piece of music. Worth a listen even if you never want to see a Pokémon again.
The next song, Opening is a fairly well arranged version of the main theme from Melee. As you should guess by now, the main theme is done with trumpets and violins mixed together at different areas.
However, the violins play a key part at about 1:20 when they do a good solo from the original piece. It's not been remixed as such, it's just had different instruments placed. Not brilliant, but ok.The next song is a real beat song, although it sounds a bit childish, as the game intended it to. Yes, we're talking about the Yoshi Story main theme. I did like the original piece, so I might be biased a little in saying it's well played. Conversely, I think the song needed to have a few more things acting as bass, because it doesn't have any. Short and sweet, in general.
And here's a bit for the Metroid fans, the Brinstar Depths ~ Brinstar piece is definitely worth a listen. The violin plays the Depths very well with what sounds like church bells and a flute playing at about 0:56. The song gets boring for a little bit afterwards before getting into the main Metroid theme at about 2:16. I like the trumpets used here as background music as well as the theme. Good stuff all up.
By now you're probably wondering...where the hell are the Mario songs? Well, at track 12, the Smash Brothers Grand Medley has plenty for you, plus a lot more. The longest track on the album by far shows the true form of the orchestra in blending songs together. In order, the songs are Ancient Kingdom I, Ancient Kingdom II, Flat Zone, Balloon Fight, Big Blue, Mach Rider, Yoshi's Island, Saria's Theme, Super Mario 3, Icicle Mountain and Peach's Castle. It starts off with a simple main Super Mario Brothers theme played with flutes fairly quiet. Nothing too special here, just starting it off I think. At 0:59, Ancient Kingdom II starts and it gets pretty well, doing the main theme to Super Mario Brothers 2. The violins play a key factor is making the song bearable. I never really liked the original, but this isn’t bad. We see another merge around 2:15 - 2:47, when we get to the Flat Zone. Not much to tell here, I’m just surprised the orchestra bothered with this. We get into the Balloon Fight music which plays for quite a bit compared to others. It's just another Mario song, but it's pretty well done. There's this part at 4:33 that does a fairly loud bang. If you're wearing headphones it sounds like the bang is coming from somewhere left of you. Aaaanyway, at 5:12, I was happy to hear the Big Blue theme play in trumpets very well. I didn't know what was on these tracks when I first listened to them a while ago, and this part stood out from the rest in the song. Everyone likes Big Blue anyway.
At 6:40, the Mach Rider song comes on. It's a fairly rare song on Melee, but it plays sometimes instead of Big Blue on the level. This was done very well compared to the original, with flute and trumpets working the theme. Near the 8:00 mark, the Yoshi's Island part plays. I think this part was done too quietly with the violins for such a good original piece. But the song gets back into it at 8:50 when the Lost Woods comes on with trumpets and violins. I heard harp in there too, a highlight of the song. Can't get enough of Mario, and the Super Mario Brothers 3 main theme comes on for a little while until about 10:22 when the Ice Climbers theme arrives and it sounds roughly the same as the original, barring the little harmonica piece at 10:57. Probably the boring part is the 11th minute, it has a little Mario piece, but mostly silent. The final part of the song is all Mario, returning to the main theme in louder instruments for Peach's Castle. I liked this version of the Mario theme, it's not done how you'd expect it from an orchestra, but it's done well. The song finally ends with a great few high pitches. Second best song on the album.This song is just done cool. The Fire Emblem theme starts quietly with violins but soon comes into context. Some parts on the intro sound a bit out of key but you get past that with how well the trumpets work here. Kudos to the trumpet players in this concert by the way, they did a brilliant job. I like the violin part at 1:50 as well, to slow the song down a bit and also give the flute players to have a go. Enjoy the ending with a mix of every instrument, but especially the drums and trumpets, it's great.
The last song is the Rainbow Ride theme from Super Mario 64, which is just called Rainbow Cruise on Melee. The song is done very well with the classical instruments here. Nothing too special however, besides at 1:36, when the audience (yes, it's recorded live remember) begins clapping along with the tune. It basically enhances the atmosphere of the song until the end.
So what do I think in general? Everyone in the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra definitely deserved the results they got. A brilliant performance and even if you're not a fan of orchestral music, the songs are still worth a listen.
Send feedback to author
Poll
How do you feel about vocal songs in the radio rotation?