Super Smash Bros. Melee "Smash Those Records!" 2:56

I'm getting ready to experience my first-ever VGM Con (thanks to DragonAvenger & OceansAndrew for their hospitality!), so excuse me if the posting slows down and we don't smash those consecutive-day posting records! :-D I'm gonna keep the DoD love flowing with judge jnWake's podium-topping take on Super Smash Bros. Melee's "Targets!" Wake has a pretty notable style in what's ostensibly an anonymous compo, which frankly makes his Party Month victory lap all the more impressive, not to fixate on the fact that he also teeeeechnically chose a source tune outside the spirit of the format, which he admits he cheekily got by on (!):

"Yet another new DoD month, yet another new submission. Somewhat jazzy remix of the fun "Break the Targets" theme from Super Smash Bros. Melee. Hehe, I guess this is more jazz-inspired than actual jazz. :-P The original song is a fun and catchy fast-paced track and I wanted to keep that spirit on my take, while adding some fun chord variations and rhythmic changes. There's tons of fun remixes of this tune out there, I recommend the one by Close to Good.

This one comes from Party Month, where you had to pick a game that can be played locally by 4 people. I picked Smash Melee and then picked a theme from a single-player mode (woops!). It was kinda by accident, really, I didn't think too hard about that part, but it's funny. Anyway, the theme from the Break the Targets mode is a banger, so I've been wanting to cover it for years and I took this chance to do it. It's an upbeat theme with just a few sections, and for the arrangement I went with keeping the pace and adding some jazz-ish flair to it. I tried to change it up as much as I could. It was pretty fun to arrange and play. It came out 1st on the competition, so I assume it's good enough! Always nice when that happens.

From the source, I want to highlight a tiny melody that plays at 0:27, since it's something I expanded a lot on the remix. When sources are short, you kinda need to expand them as much as you can!

Breakdown:

0:00: Intro directly based on the source's intro, although the rhythm is a bit different. (Basically, the original begins with a chord a 16th after the first note. I put the first chord an 8th after the first note.) There's a break where the 0:27 melody plays and then we move into some more variations of the intro, with a few keyboard solos.

0:43: A quick ascending run, taken directly from the source.

0:46: Based on the second part of the source, changing chords and rhythm.

1:13: Repeat of the intro with some rhythm/chord changes.

1:28: A small break, featuring a cameo from Melee's main theme. Rhythm kinda inspired by zircon's remix of "Trophy Tussle".

1:41: Synth lead based on the piano solo from the source, chord progression is "original".

1:55: A repeat of a previous part.

2:08: Another ascending run!

2:12: More variations over the main rhythm, but now I play it exactly like the source. Features a keyboard solo!

2:39: All of this is based on the 0:27 melody.

2:46: Outro. This is quoting Frost* (I've mentioned this band before), from a track called "Milliontown".

Hope you enjoy! I had a ton of fun making this."

You absolutely can tell Wake had a great time cutting loose here, and what he put down was easily picked up by fellow judge prophetik music, who called this light work as far as ruminating over his decision:

"this one's easy =) excellent work adapting a track that's lacking in melodic texture without just comping on the chords the entire time. there's a lot of clever instances where you either updated the chords or the melodic bits while keeping the other the same, and the consistent juxtaposition helps keeps the energy up despite the minimal amount of content in the original."

Hemophiliac was also swooning over the proggy prowess we've come to know and love from our Chilean compadre:

"Once again, we're in your wheelhouse smashing your keys. Your key-based prog never [disappoints] and this one is no exception.

The contrasting break at 1:28 was a great way to bring in the Smash Bros theme for a quick cameo. Plus the contrast helped the track not feel ultra-high energy for the whole way through.

You know the right moment to bring in some planing chords to excellent effect, 2:09-2:12 is a great example of this plus you layered in orch hits for extra power. So cool.

This doesn't overstay its welcome and wraps up quickly, just leaving me wanting more awesome prog-riffs that subvert expectations while playing with time.

Absolutely YES"

The original tune's an amazing example of energetic sampled organic-sounding instrumentation with electronic stuff, so I'm so glad Wake, who's also great at that fusion, is tackling this theme because his take sounds awesome. The beginning of :46's section had me smiling. Love the organ cameo at 1:13, let's go! The percussion writing is so good as well. Oh man, amazing dropoff at 1:27 gradually rising to include the source melody with the menu cameo, then it just turns on a dime to some loud synth soloing at 1:41, wow! I feel like I'm getting so many cool moments where you'd love to hear fuller arrangements extrapolated in those respective styles.

At 2:12, the rhythm of the piano line from the source also reminds me in a way of Streets of Rage, so now I wanna hear Wake arrange that *too*. OMG, another great moment, the brief filtering effect from 2:42-2:45. DUDE, this is such f'n creative, smart, and engaging arranging all the way through. You're a legend, Wake!