Dwelling of Duels: Super Smash Bros. Month

The administrators at Dwelling of Duels decided to give a spin to the “Free Month” formula with this month’s theme. Practically a “reverse loophole” month, every franchise present in a Super Smash Bros. game was eligible. That meant less deep cuts, but what I didn’t expect, is that we’d get so many high quality entries.

As most participants commented in their Discord server, December is a difficult time. It often involves traveling and a lot of family gatherings. So my impression was that Dwellers would be unable to submit elaborate entries, and would default to simpler arrangements. However, I was fortunately mistaken! This month exceeded all expectations, and actually made it harder for me to predict which entries will be at the top of the rankings.

Thanks again to all artists for the amazing music, and remember to check out the DoD website in order to listen to all the tracks.

1080° Snowboarding – Crashing Power!

We start off with a some powerful growls, which as I’ve said before, are not my cup of tea. However, this sounds extremely well produced! I really enjoyed the music and I had no idea this game could go this hard.

Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Mario Kart 64, Super Mario Bros. – Pass The “Ranch” Please?

I’ve seen a couple of anons do mashups of Zelda and Banjo sources, and I wonder if there’s a reason for that, musically speaking. They certainly go well together! This one adds in some Mario and is quite a fun take. By the time “Lon Lon Ranch” kicks in, I was fully ready for it, haha. Recording quality doesn’t seem to be the best though, compared to other acoustic entries I’ve heard.

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest – Checkpoint

I was familiar with the concept behind this entry (the whole “internet checkpoint” phenomenon from some years ago), so I had all the context I needed. During the listening party, people commented that this would be hard to vote on, since it didn’t seem fair to judge it on musical merits alone. I agree, but I also really like the music here, the strings make all the difference in delivering a pretty dark and intense take on “Stickerbush Symphony”. It’s heartbreaking, but also endearing and encouraging. Thank you for this anon!

Doshin the Giant: Tinkling Toddler Liberation Front! Assemble! – 𝓅ℯℯ 𝓅ℯℯ ♥

As always, we get the deepest of cuts in DoD. Without any context for this whatsoever, I initially thought that the percussion and hip hop beat in the intro sounded a lot like “Kanon’s Klaim” from DKC2. But this quickly turns into something else, quite funky and lots of fun, referencing Beck‘s “Loser” both in its style and with a direct quote at the end. It still surprises me how much one can learn about VGM music history just by listening to DoD entries every month.

Dr. Mario – Fever [Poppin’ (Pill) Bottles]

Conversely, this entry gets all our love based on source alone. But it’s always exciting to hear a new take on this, specially when they are as cool and well executed as this one. Love all the quirky chiptune effects and instruments like the güiro and out-of-tune harmonica, but the cool guitar and silly chorus really takes this to another level of fun.

Dragon Quest 4, Dragon Quest 11 – Stranger in Paradise

When I read the title I thought this was making a reference to the Squenix clusterfuck that is Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin. After listening to it and researching a bit, I found out that both things aren’t completely unrelated. Originally part of the musical “Kismet”, the original “Stranger in Paradise” has gone on to become a staple of jazz singer Tony Bennett. And it also happens that, for the promotion of their aforementioned game, Squenix used another jazz singer’s hit song: Frank Sinatra‘s “My Way”.

But enough speculation on my part! The singing in this is superb, and it gets extra points for covering games that are very often overlooked in the west. Extremely touching performance, that I really hope this anon repeats someday to offer us a full VGM opera EP or album.

Earthbound – ♥ Heart ♥

Mimir month represent! What an endearing take on a classic source. The piano sounds almost like a music box, and the reverb lets some of Earthbound‘s inherent eeriness prevail. We really need a theme centered around lullabies or relaxed tracks, just so this type of entries gets some time in the spotlight.

Final Fantasy 16, Tekken 8 – The King of Flaming Fist

This anon took advantage of the recent collab between the two franchises and delivered an epic mashup. This is definitely high quality, sounds crisp and has amazing samples throughout. It’s an epic entry with high chances of getting a medal.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth – SSS: Stamp Sans Shinra (Corporate Mascot Cooptation Anthem)

I lack ALL the context to understand this entry. However, despite the silly lyrics, I was able to enjoy it. Extremely catchy and fun. It’s a longie that could have been a lot shorter, in my opinion. And the skits with sfx and voices veer a little too much into shitpost territory. But I gotta say that the main singer has a great voice, and I would love to hear them sing in more entries in the future.

Final Fantasy 7 – Plus Musici, Plus Victoriae

That’s right, we got one “OWA” (“One Winged Angel”) entry. No matter how overdone this source is, a good arrangement and performance will always shine through. This entry takes a lot of liberties and incorporates different sources. It’s a damn good version: epic, masterfully produced and with enough fresh additions to stand out. Definitely one of my favorites. The lyrics rub salt into the wound, since they make it clear anon is aiming for gold with this. I hope you medal!

Kingdom Hearts – Nothing but the Night

What an intense piano solo! Despite having played Kingdom Hearts, I can’t quite remember this source. So to me, this sounds like an excellent arrangement by anon, full of personality and determination. I’d pay to see a concert of this. The dark tone was also enough to set it apart from other contenders for Makoto‘s top picks.

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, Super Smash Bros Brawl – African Skies, Blood-Soaked Eyes

Competition this month will be FIERCE, as it is the norm. This amazing jazz ensemble delivers what sounds to me like original material, from my lack of familiarity with the sources. There is absolutely nothing I can complain about with this entry. Every instrument seems in its right place. The percussion, piano and double bass carry the whole piece, while the wind instruments sprinkle smooth solos over it, to finally intertwine. My hat is off, anons! I hope you medal.

Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker – Here Be Dragons!

What beautiful acoustic piece! Impecable arrangement and performance, with a lot of emotion. Although this is probably a multi-instrumentalist anon, I bet there were additional collaborators for harp and winds. The recording quality is excellent and so is every performance.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater – Kashmir Snake

What a great mashup idea! The singing style is quite different from both “Kashmir” and “Snake Eater”, and I quite enjoyed it. It’s unbelievable how well they fit together. And this goes well beyond a smart idea, the execution adds all the flavor to it and makes it work seamlessly. This is definitely getting one of our awards (or two).

Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots – If You Could Only See (The Best is Yet to Come)

The production here is unreal, as well as is the vocalist. Really top notch stuff, and I would suspect this is a big collaborative effort. One of those times where I can completely say that the cover surpasses the original. This is highly likely to get a medal, in my opinion.

Persona 5 – A Day in the Life of a Phantom Thief

I’m so glad we got some Persona representation here! And what a journey it is! Picking a single source to cover from this amazing soundtrack seems like a difficult task for anyone familiar with it, so I completely get that we got a medley here. However, despite these anons’ ability to faithfully represent the sources, I would have liked more of their own style to shine through, even if it meant covering just one or a couple of sources.

Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow – Vermillion Dolla$

This has got to be one of the most metal versions of these sources I’ve heard, and it’s a great arrangement. It’s hard to make such mellow tracks work in this style, but anon did this right for sure. The chiptune transitions are a nice surprise, and by the time we slow down I’m completely entranced. I love the calm segment of underwater reverb and acoustic guitars, it actually reminded me of the Blasphemous soundtrack for a bit. And by the end, the poké-canon just carries us beyond the horizon. It was so hard no picking this for my top 3!

Pokemon Scarlet/Violet – Silly Crystal Hats

This one sounds a bit rough around the edges, but it was an amazing journey. I can barely hear the synths at times, and the drums could use a bit more variety, in my opinion. Still, as I’ve said before, I love the “The Edge”‘s guitar tone that comes in after anon goes nuts with the downtempo section at the 2 minute mark. I commend anon for carrying Scarlet & Violet‘s DoD representation by themselves. Also, they have become one of the few anons that Makoto will instantly help me identify when she hears their entries. And this entry in particular was a contender for her top picks.

Shovel Knight, Undertale, Super Smash Bros. – Рассказ без слов (A soviet’s Christmas Story)

Where did you get Russian children for this anon??? Even if the transitions between sources are quite abrupt, there is a lot of creativity on display here. I particularly enjoyed the Mettaton segment, the unsettling children chorus and voices, as well as the siren at the end. I hope you keep adding this level of sound design to your tracks, anon!

Sonic Adventure – Azure Blue World… For Emerald Coast

This sounded like a somewhat straightforward cover to me, until we reach that sweet guitar solo. Surprisingly, Adventure is the only Sonic game I’ve finished, but I’m not too fond of its music. The cheesy character voices don’t do much for me either, but I completely get that I’m not the target audience for this in particular.

Sonic Adventure – Red Sky at Morning, Eggman’s Snoring

This has some very nice synth and piano playing, but I think the drums are sampled and were not the best, in my opinion. Quite a melancholic piece, and would have loved for it to have more musicians on board.

Super Smash Bros Brawl – It All Ends Here

I’m confused as to who this anon (or anons) might be, so I’ll try to review it without any bias. The source alone, warrants a high mark from me. But the variety of instruments and styles in the arrangement completely blew me away. This feels epic and significant in every way possible (even the title hints at some major event), and I commend the fact that it’s an original Smash track, since almost no theme other than Free Months will allow for this to be covered.

It’s quite a longie, and as such, it feels like anon lacked time to deliver a fully polished mix. The second time the vocal chorus kicks in, it sounds a bit drowned. Also, the acoustic guitar plucking is a bit too loud when it comes in, and it ends up bothering a bit on headphones. The ending is just a perfect nod to the chaos and epicness that is Smash Bros.

Despite my criticism, this stole my top spot, and I thank anon for delivering my favorite version of this source to date.

Super Smash Bros Ultimate – Galeem vs. Dharkon

The heavy guitars in this one completely drown the vocals, which I gotta admit I didn’t enjoy very much. They sound like they belong in a play or musical, so the clash of styles didn’t do much for me.

Super Smash Bros. – DK Swing and a Miss

Sneaky anons avoided mentioning that this is originally a Donkey Kong Country source, although the entry is evidently based on the Smash arrangement. I love the lo-fi effect, which adds a lot of personality when applied to this semi-big band jazz style. The only thing preventing this track from feeling like an old recording, is the heavy and awesome synth bass and beats.

Undertale – A Flower For Your Funeral

The Undertale block starts strong! I think that if I was more familiar with the source material, this could have definitely ranked even higher for me. Without much context, I can say I love the arrangement. My favorite part is specially after the 2 minute mark, love the change of pace and intensity buildup. I can tell this is definitely a battle theme, for how unhinged it gets. I love the variety of styles and emotions throughout.

Undertale – Brought to Ruin

This one took a few listens, but it has definitely grown on me. One of the best jazz entries this month, even if the vocalist’s style at the beginning isn’t particularly jazzy. Again, after the 2 minutes is where it gets really interesting for me. The shift to a more latin inspired percussion, trumpet and piano are top notch. By the time we get synths and guitars, I can completely say this is a banger. And after so much variety and fun segments, the return to the initial style feels welcome.

Undertale – Medley of Dog

I didn’t enjoy this as much as the previous Undertale entries. I love the unapologetic festivity in it, but I think I lack familiarity with the source to truly appreciate it. Still, in my opinion, many of Toby Fox‘s pieces are very simplistic, and not quite my cup of tea. I end up liking the covers better. However, with this one, I don’t have a point of comparison. It ends up feeling underwhelming, because after a very solid intro and energetic mid section, it ends up feeling a bit repetitive and short.

Wave Race 64 – T-Riangle

Makoto had a hard time deciding what her third pick would be, and this was one of the contenders. On my end, I enjoy a good pun, and the title just cracks me up. Is it 3 anons collaborating here? In any case, the homage to T-Square transcends the pun and delivers a very solid fusion track with each instrument getting a time in the spotlight. I think my only complaint is that the ending is somewhat anticlimactic.

If it’s dark and gloomy (or sometimes silly), you can count on her vote.

1. Kashmir Snake (MGS3)
2. Fever [Poppin’ (Pill) Bottles] (Dr. Mario)
3. Nothing but the Night (Kingdom Hearts)

This time I picked entries that’d be perfect for a Smash battle.

1. It All Ends Here (SSBB)
2. Plus Musici, Plus Victoriaes (FF7)
3. A Flower For Your Funeral (Undertale)

👏 “No Contest” Awards

We liked too many entries this month. We declare a tie.

1. Silly Crystal Hats (Pokémon SV)
2. T-Riangle (Wave Race 64)
3. Vermillion Dolla$ (Pokémon RGBY)

🎭 “Dweller of the Opera” Awards

We need more epic poetry and dramatic singing in our VGM.

1. Stranger in Paradise (DQ4, DQ11)
2. If You Could Only See (The Best is Yet to Come) (MGS, MGS4)
3. Plus Musici, Plus Victoriaes (FF7)

🎷”Touch Fuzzy, Get Jazzy” Awards

We love jazz, so these deserved a mention.

1. African Skies, Blood-Soaked Eyes (Kirby 64, SSBB)
2. Brought to Ruin (Undertale)
3. DK Swing and a Miss (DKC, SSB)

🍑 “Peach Blossom” Awards

Music to fall asleep to, specially in a Final Smash.

1. Heart (Earthbound)
2. Here be Dragons! (Wind Waker)
3. Nothing but the Night (Kingdom Hearts)

🤯 “I Can’t Believe It’s Video Game Music” Awards

Have your family or friends listen to this, they will never guess it’s VGM.

1. Kashmir Snake (MGS3)
2. Stranger in Paradise (DQ4, DQ11)
3. pee pee (Doshin the Giant)