Pikmin 4 "Rescue Corps Anthem" 3:10

The circle of creativity grows once again! We're happy to welcome pixeltea to OCR with his Smashified spin on Pikmin 4's title music! pixeltea ended up channeling lots of Smash Bros. arrangements in the effort to make this take suitable to be a Smash stage theme (check out the MP3 comments for that), and even dropped an in-depth video about his approach:

"Arranged with the intention of sounding like a Super Smash Bros. remix - more upbeat, energetic and triumphant. Honestly, for one of my favorite video game series of all time, I haven't remixed its music nearly enough!

When I heard the gorgeous title theme in the Pikmin 4 demo, I immediately wanted to give it the Smash remix treatment. Pikmin remixes in Smash Bros. are always top notch, matching the high energy of a battle while also staying true to the whimsical and naturalistic vibes of Pikmin. I think I've achieved that feeling with this remix - honestly, this is one of my favorite remixes I've done in a long time. I hope you enjoy it too!

Something new I've been interested in trying: a comparison of my remix with the original song, and a breakdown of how I went about arranging it. I decided to start with my Pikmin 4 Smash-style remix. This video demonstrates how I "Smashified" the original song, dissects the different layers of instrumentation, and has a couple of tips and tricks for creating an authentic "Smash remix" vibe. This is a bit of an experiment, let me know if you think I could improve anything about this video format!"

Nice job by pixel spilling the tea with this extended first-hand insight into the process! The judges collective wondered if there could have been more of a resolution to end things, but the structure's literally intended to serve as loopable music that can be dropped into Smash, so kudos to pixeltea fashioning something that could pass the panel even with that judge bugaboo (fade-out endings) in mind. Everything's fair game with proper context! :-) Panelist prophetik music led the way with kudos for a successful glow-up of the source tune:

"opens with a cute fanfare, and we quickly get into the meat with violins replacing the piano ostinado. there's a nice rolling beat in the kit and some fun flourishes in winds and percussion. the feel changes a bit at 0:45 with some new instruments taking on the melodic material - the chimes are a nice touch. a big drop at 1:28 [...], but the subsequent instrumentation that is gradually brought back in is really nice and tasteful.

2:25's recap sounds quite a bit like the opening section, but is blissfully short before we get to some outro material. [...]

there's some really nice stuff here! the instrumentation throughout is really well-chosen and the mix is clear and consistent. [...] this is a great rendition of the original's concept in a fresh and inviting style. nice work."

In full agreement that pixeltea's faster, steady tempo and more involved orchestration set the stage nicely for this Smash-intended interpretation, praise also echoed by judge jnWake's play-by-play:

"This one begins with the source's intro on trumpet and we quickly move to the first section with the full band ensemble: strings, percussion, bass and piano. I like the energy you're bringing into the track with the percussion and string writing [...] During the first minute we continue on more or less the same vibe, with some additional orchestral flourishes here and there. At 0:51 we move to the second section from the source [...] 1:13 introduces the classic Pikmin jingle and at 1:27 we have a small piano only break reprising the first section. Orchestra slowly returns to the piece and at 2:09 we have a new section focusing on the main Pikmin melody. There's some stabs and around 2:28 we have a full repeat of the first section and we end on a fadeout. [...]

Overall, nice concept and nice execution. You did well taking a very peaceful theme and transforming into something energetic, I honestly can easily imagine it playing in the Garden of Hope stage. I particularly enjoyed the orchestral writing and flourishes."

Fellow judge Hemophiliac's attention was attracted most by pixeltea expanding the dynamic curve of the title theme:

"What a calming and chill source. It's really cool to hear the energy injected into your version, pixeltea. While this is fairly conservative structurally there's expansion in the supporting parts.

I also greatly appreciate the broader range of dynamics added to the piece. The source is relatively flat, but this covers soft and loud, big and small."

Nice job on this successful spec work by pixeltea, who makes a nice case for joining the lineup of luminaries making Smash arrangements: Masashi Hamauzu, Hideki Sakamoto, Yasunori Mitsuda... pixeltea? ;-) Maybe one day... you never know where hobbyists arranging video game music themes will end up!