03.10.08

And Then There Was Brawl

Posted in Gaming, Rants at 3:59 am

And it was good. I’ve got a couple of characters unlocked, I’ve played with a few of the new combatants, and I’ve become slightly proficient with Pit… and the best part, really, is that I’ve only just barely scratched the surface of the game. One trip through Subspace Emissary will be enough for the Game Clear, but I am so going to be playing this consistently for quite some time.

On a completely bizarre note, playing Super Smash Bros. Brawl has me getting in the mood to play through Wild ARMs 5 as my next “major” RPG. There’s a very simple reason for this– two that I’ve discovered so far, actually. They’re two music tracks that were arranged by WA’s primary composer, Michiko Naruke. I’m not understating it at all when I say that her style is completely divergent from any other composer’s in the game, and that her take on the Ocarina of Time Medley and Donkey Kong Country’s Bramble Blast aren’t just distinctive, they’re emblematic of her work while still retaining the core melodies and phrases. (It doesn’t hurt that Bramble Blast was one of my favorite tracks from DKC, either.) Contrast this to, say, Motoi Sakuraba’s contributions– they’re good, and he was responsible for another of my favorite of the Kirby tracks, but they’re just not really “his”. (Of course, I’m just bitter because I absolutely adored the orchestral version of “Fountain of Dreams” from Melee, and that didn’t make the cut to Brawl.) Oh, and to my great surprise, the Kid Icarus tracks are phenomenal.

Yeah, so I’m geeking out over game music today. I think I could be excused.

See you tomorrow.

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