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Lifelight

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Spirits returning to their worlds during the "Restoration" cutscene in World of Light, a literal depiction of the song's opening line

Lifelight (命の灯火, Life's Light) is the main theme for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The full vocal version and the theme's title were first revealed at the end of the November 1st, 2018 Super Smash Bros. Direct during the trailer for Adventure Mode: World of Light. Prior to this, an ominous snippet of the first verse was heard during the game's initial teaser in the March 8, 2018 Nintendo Direct, and an instrumental “remix” of most of the complete melody played during the "Everyone is Here!" trailer at E3 2018. Neither of these variants can be played in the final release. The theme is composed and arranged by Hideki Sakamoto[1] and sung in Japanese by Erina Koga[2] and in English by Abby Trott[3].

In the game proper, an abridged version of Lifelight plays during the opening movie and is played in full during the true ending. The Japanese version is used if the language is set to Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese or Traditional Chinese, while the English version is used for English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian and Dutch. Both the English and Japanese versions of Lifelight can be selected as alternate menu music in My Music after clearing World of Light, and can be used as music for custom stages as well as on Battlefield, Small Battlefield, Big Battlefield and Final Destination if the "All Music" option is enabled. Lifelight's melody is also incorporated into most of Ultimate's original music tracks such as "Menu" and "Battlefield," as well as the Mii Fighters' victory theme.

Specifics[edit]

  • Music Composition / Arrangement Supervisor: Hideki Sakamoto
  • Lyrics Supervisor: Masahiro Sakurai
  • Lyrics Translator: Eric M. Smith / Ryan N. Kelley
  • Recording Manager: Mahito Yokota
  • Musician Coordinator: Norito Sekiya
  • Japanese Vocalist: Erina Koga
  • English Vocalist: Abby Trott
  • Performance: Super Smash Bros. Orchestra

Lyrics[edit]

The song's lyrics can be found on the game's official website, on the Music page. The lyrics can be accessed by clicking on an animated twinkling star in the background of the theme's banner. The lyrics can be viewed in English and Japanese regardless of the language chosen on the website.

English[edit]

Colors weave into a spire of flame
Distant sparks call to a past still unnamed
Bear this torch against the cold of the night
Search your soul and reawaken the undying light

On that day, when the sky fell away
Our world came to an end
In our eyes, did a fading sun rise in the dark?
Glimmering shadows

Silence grows, in the spaces between
stretching out beyond time
Rising up, as a chorus of souls find a voice
flickering through the void

These little sparks, cling on to life,
everyone caught in the struggle,
And then the storms of change, they fan the flames
scattering ashes to the wind

Every soul contains a whisper of light
gleaming faintly as it dwindles from sight
No escape, no greater fate to be made
In the end, the chains of time will not break

Colors weave into a spire of flame
Distant sparks call to a past still unnamed
Bear this torch against the cold of the night
Search your soul and reawaken the undying light

As fate spins a thread without end,
new life draws its first breath,
Blossoming in a soil reclaimed from the past,
where destiny holds fast,

Here where we stand, hand clenched in hand
everyone caught in the struggle,
This is the day we finally find our way
stepping into our tomorrow

Every soul contains a whisper of light
growing louder as it calls to unite
From the distance sings a chorus of souls
rising slowly, stirring heat from the coals

Colors weave into a spire of flame
Distant sparks call to a past still unnamed
Bear this torch against the cold of the night
Light will guide you, on your way to the ultimate fight
Every soul contains a whisper of light
growing louder as it calls to unite
From the distance sings a chorus of souls
rising slowly, stirring heat from the coals

Colors weave into a spire of flame
Distant sparks call to a past still unnamed
Bear this torch against the cold of the night
Light will guide you, on your way to the ultimate fight

Japanese[edit]

Kana Romaji Translation

とりどりの色たちがつむぐ 炎の螺旋
果てしなく続いてく はるかから受け継いだ光

toridori no irotachi ga tsumugu honō no rasen
hateshi naku tsudzuite ku haruka kara uketsuida hikari

Various colors weave into a spiral of flame
Continue endlessly, the distant, inherited light

空が落ちたあの日 目にしたのは
朽ちる明星か 尽きない宵闇か

sora ga ochita ano hi-me ni shita no wa
kuchi ru myōjō ka tsukinai yoiyami ka

The sky fell before our eyes on that day
Is it a dying star or an endless twilight?

永遠(とわ)に続くような しじまの中
無数の魂が ほのかな鼓動を打つ

towa ni tsudzuku yōna shijima no naka
musū no tamashī ga hono kana kodō o utsu

In between the everlasting silence
Countless spirits, a faint heartbeat

命の灯火 全ての人たち
吹き抜けてゆく風に 身をゆだねたまま

inochi no tomoshibi subete no hitotachi
fukinukete yuku kaze ni mi o yudaneta mama

Everyone's lights of life
Entrusting their bodies to the wind blowing through

生けるものが かすかな光を放ち消える
悠久の刻の中駆ける さだめと絆

ikerumono ga kasukana hikari o hanachi kieru
yūkyū no toki no naka kakeru sadame to kizuna

Living things release faint light
Run in the heart of eternity, destiny and bonds

とりどりの色たちがつむぐ 炎の螺旋
果てしなく続いてく はるかから受け継いだ光

toridori no irotachi ga tsumugu honō no rasen
hateshi naku tsudzuite ku haruka kara uketsuida hikari

Various colors weave into a spiral of flame
Continue endlessly, the distant, inherited light

めぐる因果の中 息が芽吹き
新たなる命が包む この大地で

meguru inga no naka ikiga mebuki
arata naru inochi ga tsutsumu kono daichi de

A breath sprouts in the fate that surrounds
New life will cover this earth

戦い 交わる 全ての人たち
立ち上がり踏み出して 明日へ進みゆく

tatakai majiwaru subete no hitotachi
tachiagari fumidashite asu e susumiyuku

Everyone caught in the struggle
Stand, step forward, and advance towards tomorrow

生けるものが かすかな光で織りなす星
悠久の彼方まで 魂たちは歌う

ikerumono ga kasukana hikari de orinasu hoshi
yūkyū no kanata made tamashi-tachi wa utau

Living things weave faint light into a star
Spirits sing to the distant eternity

とりどりの色たちがつむぐ 炎の螺旋
果てしなく続いてく どこまでも流れゆく光

toridori no irotachi ga tsumugu honō no rasen
hateshi naku tsudzuite ku doko ma demo nagare yuku hikari

Various colors weave into a spiral of flame
Continue endlessly, light which flows everywhere

生けるものが かすかな光で織りなす星
悠久の彼方まで 魂たちは歌う

ikerumono ga kasukana hikari de orinasu hoshi
yūkyū no kanata made tamashi-tachi wa utau

Living things weave faint light into a star
Spirits sing to the distant eternity

とりどりの色たちがつむぐ 炎の螺旋
果てしなく続いてく どこまでも流れゆく光

toridori no irotachi ga tsumugu honō no rasen
hateshi naku tsudzuite ku doko ma demo nagare yuku hikari

Various colors weave into a spiral of flame
Continue endlessly, light which flows everywhere

Gallery[edit]

Theme video in English
Theme video in Japanese
E3 2018 version (unused in the final game)

Trivia[edit]

  • This is the first main theme to have an official title.
    • It is also the first main theme to have its main version be officially revealed a significant amount of time after the game's reveal.
  • While the main theme of Super Smash Bros. Brawl has vocals in Latin, this one has vocals in both English and Japanese, a series first.
    • As a result however, and unlike Brawl, the vocals are not subtitled in any language when sung during the final credits. This causes Ultimate's main theme to have official lyrics in two languages, while Brawl's main theme had official lyrics in eight languages (including Latin) depending on the language of the game.
    • The Brawl and Ultimate main themes are also the only main themes that can be used as alternate menu music in their original forms (as opposed to remixes).
  • The English lyrics of the song on the game's official website used to contain an inconsistency in the seventh verse: the sung lyrics are "where destiny holds fast", while the printed lyrics were "where our future holds fast". On November 6th, 2018, this inconsistency was fixed on most English versions of the website, but it remained on the North American version, until it was fixed approximately two weeks later.
  • The ominous non-vocalized first verse of Lifelight heard during the game's first teaser trailer and at the beginning of Sora's reveal trailer can also be heard in the World of Light opening cutscene as Kirby looks over the desolate landscape.
  • The E3 instrumental version of Lifelight, heard during the "Everyone is Here" trailer and on the Music section of the game's website, is absent in the final game, although as the second to last vocal part of the song was used for the final boss fight between Galeem and Dharkon.
  • Abby Trott, the English vocalist of Lifelight, said in an interview that she had no idea she was auditioning for the role of the main vocalist in Ultimate. As a life-long fan of Nintendo, she stated that she cried when she realized exactly what she was auditioning for, and that the opportunity was "extremely special".

References[edit]