[D] First Round #5 (Fire Emblem Theme vs. Ghost Ship)

Listen to both songs and select the one you prefer.

Download Links:

Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Fire Emblem Theme
Grandia - Ghost Ship

Streaming:

Removed due to faulty playback; please download from above links.

Normally I like the FE theme. But... that chorus thing this version has going on just makes me wince. Totally ruins any other quality the song might have.

Ghost Ship gets my vote by default.

Ghost Ship's heavy introduction turns me off, but the melody afterward is epic. Vote.

How did I never notice Ghost Ship before? That song is crazy good. I beat the game too!

Ghost Ship bored the hell out of me. Fire Emblem Theme is a song that's grown on me significantly since I first heard it. Obvious choice for me!

This is actually the most boring rendition of the Fire Emblem theme I've ever heard. It's just nothing but "meh" effort all the way around.

OH SHIT GRANDIA I FUCKING LOVE THAT SOUNDTRACK.

Fire Emblem Theme: Yeah, I'm not a fan of this arrangement. The orchestration is rather plain and the chorus adds nothing to the piece at all. I much prefer the original.

Ghost Ship: Ah yes. The first Grandia soundtrack when Iwadare actually was interesting to me. Absolutely amazing soundtrack if you ask me. The lush instrumentation of this one is also epic and makes for a highly entertaining piece of music!

Vote for Ghost Ship.

Originally Posted by ZiggyGo

Fire Emblem Theme: Yeah, I'm not a fan of this arrangement. It sounds like a rather generic arrangement with really nothing else to it. This chorus is just absolutely horrible if you ask me.

This is nothing against you, Ziggy, but that is probably the most vague criticism I've ever heard.

None taken. I'll spruce it up a bit.

Jesus, you guys nominated like twenty Super Smash Bros. songs, that's so disturbing. I really hope that Ghost Ship wins this pairing, otherwise I have to reanimate Team Grandia.

Additional Spam:

Originally Posted by Darky

I beat the game too!

The Game is awesome!

Ah, I'm somewhat a fan of the "Fire Emblem Theme" main theme, so let me see if this Brawl arrangement does it justice. Yeah, I'd say it does. A bit overly dramatic in places, but that's appropriate enough I guess. The vocal work is impeccable, and flourishes like the one at 1:50 are what really put this arrangement a cut above others. I'll admit 6 minutes is a bit of a task, but what's done is done exceptionally well.

Major <3 for my man Iwadare. I'm a fan of his, especially his Grandia works. "Ghost Ship" goes from being all ::serious:: to being all ::heroic:: to being all :mg totally cool::. Awesome orchestration, and basically just a wonderful performance.

"Fire Emblem Theme" - 8.5/10
"Ghost Ship" - 8.5/10

I'll give Fire Emblem the nod for the greater nostalgia value.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Fire Emblem Theme
Take a theme that isn't terribly distinctive to begin with. Mix with an arrangement that's overblown to the point of comedy. Sprinkle liberally with lyrics from a third-rate aria. Mix poorly and serve cold.

Grandia - Ghost Ship
I was never the biggest Iwadare fan, but since playing through Radiata Stories I have to concede that he does have something to offer the world. And while not terribly...anything...Ghost Ship isn't without its charms. It's ironic that this effort seems much less overblown and pompous in the context of this match.

Das Geistschiff.

I have to concur that the Fire Emblem theme feels overblown and a touch ridiculous in this context. This to me seems the fault of poor and un-inventive orchestration (the strings are used pathetically, and the percussion is quite grating). I actually like the contribution of the chorus, though.

Ghost Ship seemed somewhat dull to me until 1:50 or so, whence it started doing some creative things. It secures my vote.

Fire Emblem Theme-
The original is pretty good, but this version leaves me kindof ambivalent. The mixing doesn't suit the instrumentation at all, and the chorus lacks any sort of actual passion.

Ghost Ship-
Pretty nice performances, but there weren't enough melodic hooks to really get me interested. The harp and pizzicato section was nice, but my personal bias against music without a strong melodic hook, gives my vote to Fire Emblem. My apologies to who nominated this one. If the entire piece was as focused as the last 15 seconds this would be an easy vote.

The Fire Emblem theme is OK, but I hate having to hear it in-game. Works better outside of context (what). I wish there was some legato in the singing, instead of this EVERY NOTE MUST BE OVERLY DISTINCT thing.

Ghost Ship, what's going on in the beginning? But then it become nice. Much more tolerable than the lack of legato in the singing.

There is something about Fire Emblem Theme that makes me want to clasp onto the arm of my chair to try and numb the cringeworthiness of the piece. It's not bad, the melody's good and I don't mind big choral orcehstrations but this one just feels so cheesy, it goes on well beyond what is welcome as well, needed to be half that length.

Ghost Ship is great, nice funereal tune with varying orchestrations to keep the interest up. Great use of colour as well. I do begin to lose interest in the second half but it's forgivable.

Ghost Ship.

I wasn't blown away be either; Fire Emblem Theme's operatics aren't in a style I typically enjoy, while the dark tone of Ghost Ship is equally off-putting to me.

But in the end, I think Ghost Ship better accomplished its mission statement, so that will earn a vote here. I don't know if I'll support it in the future, however.

Sakai is probably the most inconsistent of the Brawl arrangers. For every awesome song he does (Pictochat, NSMB Overworld), it's marred by the inclusion of terrible songs (Porky's Theme, LoZ Main Theme Remix). Fire Emblem Main Theme is above average for him, and the amount of effort put into the tune (chorus = effort always) is commendable. It's also good that this is the only arrangement of his that doesn't loop terribly.

Ghost ship is such an amazingly cool listen though. One of the best orchestral tunes I've heard so far in the contest.

: Grandia - Ghost Ship
: Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Fire Emblem Theme

What the hell is that changeup at 1:02 of Fire Emblem Theme, it makes no sense. Nice chorals, but I find the melody rather bland. Decent effort, but nothing shockingly fantastic.

Ghost Ship is one of my favorites from the Grandia OST. Iwadare does actually know what he's doing at times, and this track impresses me. The development is excellent as we go from stock Transylvania footage to epic hero march to the castle to delicate whatever you have ears this is awesome. Easy vote.

I really dislike Fire Emblem Theme since I've always thought of it as arrogant (this Brawl version anyways). For come reason I think it sounds like the singers are singing "Fire Emblem" over and over again, even though that's probably not what they're saying. The instrumentation and voices don't help deter that mindset either. Ghost Ship is atmospheric done right, unfolding a nice story with moments of suspense and discovery apparent throughout, not to be merely relegated as background music. Highly impressive!