Jam of the Day: Norfair (Brawl Version) by Yuzo Koshiro (Super Smash Bros. Brawl Soundtrack)

I’ve been writing a lot about Metroid music this week. Not just here, but in a long form piece I wrote on the series’ music as well. But hey, somebody’s gotta celebrate Metroid’s 25th anniversary if Nintendo won’t.

This remix comes from the Brawl soundtrack courtesy of Yuzo Koshiro (Streets of Rage, Actraiser). Norfair’s theme in the original Metroid has always been a strange tune. Koshiro’s take on it does a good job of modernizing it without losing the original weirdness of Hirokazu Tanaka’s version. Yet another great arrangement from the Brawl soundtrack.

Jam of the Day: Stickerbush Symphony by Michiko Naruke (Super Smash Bros. Brawl Soundtrack)

I could make this blog nothing but tracks from the Super Smash Bros. Brawl soundtrack and I would still be able to update with a lot of great, very diverse music for a long, long time.

I love the tracks that really show off the arranger’s style. When you listen to the Brawl version of David Wise’s Stickerbush Symphony, it is immediately apparent who the arranger is. Michiko Naruke’s trademark style takes the track in a direction that would fit seamlessly into one of her Wild Arms soundtracks, giving it a new flavor that wasn’t present in the original instead of just updating the instruments.

Jam of the Day: Tetris A by Yoko Shimomura (Super Smash Bros. Brawl Soundtrack)

Believe it or not, one of the things that excited me most about Super Smash Bros. Brawl was the soundtrack. Each week, I would excitedly check the official site to see if there were more song previews of the then upcoming game. With literally hundreds of classic Nintendo songs being remixed by big name game composers, I was overwhelmed with joy.

When I first heard the Brawl version of Tetris A, there was no artist name attached to it, but immediately I knew it was Yoko Shimomura. She is one of my favorite composers and her style was instantly recognizable. Both the pacing and instrumentation sounds like it was lifted straight out of the battle themes found in her Kingdom Hearts scores. You’ve undoubtedly heard many versions of Tetris A before, but none of them are as epic as Yoko Shimomura’s arrangement.