Topic: The NintendoLife VGM Tournament: Farewell

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That's right, folks! It's that time! The final credits! Final credit themes fulfill many roles. They should often have a triumphant overall feeling, assuming the ending is a good one. Exceptions could be made for games like Shadow of the Colossus that are designed to make you think and/or end on a sad note, but no matter how you slice that requirement, it's also a chance for the sound designers to stand at attention, give it everything they've got, and make you really understand the power their compositions hold! And if nothing else, a good staff roll should make you think back on the game fondly and make you feel accomplished in one. So without further distraction, let's get into the voting!

1) The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess — Easy match. No seriously, this isn't even close. I mean, I know we're talking DS vs. Gamecube, here, but I know the DS can do better than this. The staff roll from Twilight Princess has a bit of a tendency to lose focus. This makes far more sense when you're actually watching the credits, but you know me. Context is for late game, only. Even then, the Twilight Princess credits theme still feels like the sound designer arranged an orchestra to show off what he had left in him with a rather complex and interesting twist on the Hyrule Field theme from the very same game. The theme is very triumphant and extremely memorable, and I can actually see Hyrule field scrolling by in my head as I listen to it. I can't even remember the Star Force 2 credits theme and I listened to it twice.

2) Game & Watch Gallery 3 — Oh my God, I'm laughing so hard it hurts. XD What's with the Sonic CD ending. It's so cheesy. Like... worse than Live and Learn and even goofier. "Teleportation, yeah! ... Shoo be doo bop!" That song's gotta be a classic along with Daytona USA.

Yucks aside, I feel that "Believe in Yourself" pulls its punches. It also feels more like a "getting back up" theme, if you know what I mean. Like something that would play when Sonic and friends have a final plan and they're about to put it into action. On the flipside, I don't think Game & Watch Gallery 3 holds anything back. For the very limited sound hardware available to the GBA, it seems like they really jam packed it with every ounce of sound design prowess they could muster. Good on them for that, but I need to point out that it does make the song sound cluttered. If this song moves on, that could quickly become a problem later on down the road.

3) Super Mario World — For the record, I don't mind cheese. Used well, it actually adds to the memorability of a final credits theme, but this was an unfortunate first bracket. Both songs are made very well and represent their genres and capabilities well. The compositions are amazing and memorable, the harmonies on "Still Alive" are actually pretty impressive, but in the end, I feel that everything Portal did well in terms of the ending theme, Super Mario World just did that much better. The only problem I have with Super Mario World's Ending Theme is how long it seems to drag itself on with minimal new or interesting composition, but I can cut it some slack on that, being that Super Mario World isn't exactly the world's most massive game. It was severely limited by the hardware, and considering what they got away with, they did an amazing job of it. Fleh. That excuse won't work forever, though. I don't think it'll need to, either. SMW is still a top contender for this flight along with Twilight Princess.

4) Bravely Default - Ballad Moving Toward Hope — Oh my God... Guys, I'm legitimately crying. This was such a hard decision. They're both amazing themes and the way each one plays out like a true ending... it's just... perfect! "Iris" sounds like a going home type theme. The journey's over, the day is saved, and I'm exhausted, so let me get some shuteye on the long train ride home type theme. It really moved me and the instrumentation is fantastic. The problem is, pretty much everything there holds true for "Ballad Moving Toward Hope" aside from the feel, which is pretty well described by the title of the song. I think what clenches it for me is the way Ballad seems to use many of the older themes, forcing me to look back on the journey through the music itself, but you can bet Iris will be a strong contender, too, regardless of how this bracket ends.

So, as you can probably guess, orchestral themes are going to have a massive upper hand in this one, but the size of the orchestra is less of an issue, so at least for now, hardware limitations will be a weak argument. A credits theme is about giving it all you got for a final show of your music, and this flight captures that so well. With that, I conclude my voting and discussion on the theme, but my comment isn't done, as I got here late and that means it's time to tally the votes!

SO HERE'S THE SCORE:
4 Twilight Princess - 2 Mega Man Star Force 2
4 Sonic CD - 2 Game and Watch Gallery 3
4 Super Mario World - 1 Portal
3 - 3 (Bravely Default and Professor Layton)

Meh, the second bracket will inevitably lose to the first, anyways. I think I may be sad if Bravely Default loses, though, but at least it lost to a similarly amazing theme, if it does.)