Victory theme

A victory theme, sometimes referred to as a flourish, or a fanfare, is a short, recognizable melody that plays at the Results screen after a character wins a Vs. match or other similar events such as a Tourney. For instance, in the Results screen after Mario wins a match, an orchestral cover of the fanfare played at the end of each level in Super Mario Bros. plays.

Characters from the same universe usually share victory themes, but starting with in Brawl, several universes have received multiple unique victory fanfares in a single Smash entry. These include Mario, Donkey Kong, Metroid, Kirby, Fire Emblem, Kid Icarus, Xenoblade Chronicles, Final Fantasy, and Persona, with the latter's three unique themes all being tied to a single character,, in Ultimate. In addition, from the  universe has no victory theme at all.

In Ultimate, several returning victory themes were shortened to be more consistent in length, either by increasing the tempo or abridging the melody.

Mario Victory Theme
In the Melee Sound Test, this theme is titled Mario's Victory.

Origin
This flourish is a cover of the small sound clip that would play whenever Mario or Luigi grabbed a in Super Mario Bros., a track that went on to become a recurring theme. In Ultimate, the entire fanfare is sped up slightly, and the ending is abridged.

Origin
A music piece based on the same melody as the Mario victory theme, but instead of a standard orchestral arrangement, the piece is played with slightly distorted electric guitars. It also resembles the level clear theme of Bowser's sidequests in . This flourish also makes Bowser the only character to change victory themes from Brawl to Smash 4.

Origin
This flourish is a remix of the title screen track for , as well as the theme played when Mario or Luigi obtains a Power Star in that game.

Donkey Kong Victory Theme
In the Melee Sound Test, this theme is titled DK's Victory.

Origin
This flourish is a cover of the short track that plays in  whenever a playable Kong defeated a boss or completed a bonus game.

Origin
This flourish is a small excerpt of from .

The Legend of Zelda Victory Theme
In the Melee Sound Test, this theme is titled Zelda Team Victory.

SSB, Melee Origin
The flourish for The Legend of Zelda series in Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee was an excerpt of the overworld theme in The Legend of Zelda, a track which went on to become the main theme of the series. The excerpt is also followed by the theme that plays when Link obtains certain items.

Brawl, SSB4, Ultimate Origin
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the Zelda series got a new flourish, now a cover of the music that would play when Link obtained a Triforce Piece in The Legend of Zelda for the NES. This song is also the basis for the Ultimate flourish; however, the theme is rearranged to be significantly shorter.

Metroid Victory Theme
In the Melee Sound Test, this theme is titled Samus's Victory.

Origin
In  for the NES, this flourish would originally play when Samus Aran obtained a new power-up or addition to her, as well as when Samus defeated Ridley or Kraid. In nearly every Metroid game since, a variation of this fanfare is used for acquiring major item upgrades.

Origin
Ridley and Dark Samus's victory theme is an intense and sinister variation of the Metroid victory theme.

The version in the E3 2018 demo was instead based upon the "Unknown Item" fanfare from Metroid: Zero Mission.

Yoshi Victory Theme
In the Melee Sound Test, this theme is titled Yoshi's Victory.

Origin
This flourish is a combination of two small music excerpts from . The first is a sped-up, orchestrated cover of the title music of Yoshi's Story, while the other is the short flourish that plays when Yoshi collects all thirty necessary fruits and completes a level. In Ultimate, it plays at a slightly faster tempo, and the second half of the jingle is abridged.

Kirby Victory Theme
In the Melee Sound Test, this theme is titled Kirby's Victory.

Origin
Kirby and King Dedede's victory theme is a cover of the short recurring theme that plays when Kirby completes a stage or defeats a boss, debuting in Kirby's Dream Land (though the shortened version that this track is based on debuted in Kirby's Adventure). The Melee version of this flourish is considerably slower in pace in relation to the original track, though its other versions more closely match its original tempo.

Origin
The Meta Knight Victory Theme is based on the same melody as the Kirby Victory Theme, but is performed with electric guitars in quadruple meter, as opposed to the more symphonic instrumentation and triple meter of the Kirby Victory Theme.

Star Fox Victory Theme
In the Melee Sound Test, this theme is titled Fox's Victory.

Origin
This victory theme is based upon the main theme of Star Fox 64, most specifically the title screen theme. It also shares similarities with the music that would play in that game when Fox completed a level, as that track was also based on the main theme.

Pokémon Victory Theme
In the Melee Sound Test, this theme is titled Pokémon Victory.

Origin
This victory theme is a small excerpt of the title theme for the first generation of Pokémon, a track which would go on to become the Pokémon main theme for the entire series. In Ultimate, the theme is abridged.

EarthBound (Mother) Victory Theme
In the Melee Sound Test, this theme is titled Ness's Victory.

SSB, Melee Origin
In EarthBound, a major objective is for Ness to collect the. This victory theme comes from the final four melodies of the eight.

Brawl, SSB4 Origin
This victory theme is a highly sped-up remix of Mother Earth, the title theme of the original NES Mother / EarthBound Beginnings.

Ultimate Origin
This victory theme flourish is a combination of the final two out of the Eight Melodies in Mother / EarthBound Beginnings.

F-Zero Victory Theme
In the Melee Sound Test, this theme is titled Capt. Falcon's Victory.

SSB, Melee Origin
This victory theme is an electric guitar-based cover of the short track that would play when a character finished a race in .

Brawl, SSB4 and Ultimate Origin
This victory theme is an electric guitar-based cover of the short track that would play when a character finished a race in .

Ice Climber Victory Theme
In the Melee Sound Test, this theme is titled Ice Climbers' Victory.

Origin
In , when Popo or Nana grabbed the feet of the Condor at the end of a bonus stage, this track would play. The Ultimate version cuts out the first half of the theme.

Fire Emblem Victory Theme
In the Melee Sound Test, this theme is titled Fire Emblem Team Victory.

Origin
This victory theme is an orchestral cover of several bars of the, the title theme for the original Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, which has since become the main theme of the series and appeared in every game. The ending of the fanfare resembles the leveling up jingle from Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light. The Ultimate version is slightly sped up and slightly abridged at the end.

Origin
This victory theme is a short orchestral cover of "Id (Purpose)" from .

Origin
This flourish is a small, sped-up excerpt of from , presumably the SSB4 remix of said theme.

Origin
An excerpt of the main theme from .

Game & Watch Victory Theme
In the Melee Sound Test, this theme is titled Mr. Game & Watch's Victory.

Origin
The Game & Watch flourish in Melee is an original melody in a minor key, based upon the typical bleeping noises that characters or other objects in a would make. It also shares some similarities with the Flat Zone theme. The flourish introduced in Brawl features a different melody that follows a more energetic tempo, though it still draws from an identical origin.

Origin
This victory theme is a small excerpt of the title screen theme of Kid Icarus, with an original ending. After the release of Brawl, the track was remade for , used whenever a match in is completed.

Origin
This victory theme is a small excerpt of Dark Pit's theme from Kid Icarus: Uprising.

Origin
This flourish is an original tune created for Brawl which was also used in the Waluigi Pinball remix. However, it later became the basis for the theme in , which was released after Brawl. The Ultimate version is slightly sped up.

Origin
This flourish is a small, sped-up excerpt of the title theme of Pikmin.

Origin
In the NES game , the first game that the R.O.B. accessory was compatible with, this track would play before starting memory mode. In this remix, a short intro is added, and the first part is played twice.

Origin
A remix of the title theme for Animal Crossing on the Nintendo 64 and GameCube. The Ultimate version is slightly sped up.

Origin
This victory theme is a remix of the main theme of Wii Fit, specifically resembling the tune that plays after a save file is selected.

Origin
An orchestral remix of the theme that plays when the player defeats an opponent in the NES and Wii Punch-Out!! games.

Origin
The second half of the riff of , the battle theme used in Xenoblade Chronicles when fighting a unique monster. The Ultimate version is slightly sped up.

Origin
A short excerpt of  from Xenoblade Chronicles 2.

Origin
The jingle that plays before a new game starts in Duck Hunt. It begins with the original chiptune rendition, then transitions to a remixed version for the rest of the theme. The Ultimate version is significantly sped up.

Origin
A remix of the Online victory jingle introduced in Splatoon.

Origin
A short flourish from the ', combined with the vocals from Ribbon Girl's stage '. It also features a few drum notes from the victory theme of ARMS.

Origin
A small excerpt of the main theme of Metal Gear Solid. In the game, this excerpt is used twice: when Solid Snake is caught and the player receives a Game Over, and when VR Training is completed.

Origin
This flourish is ripped directly from ', which itself is an orchestrated remix of the recurring level clear jingle that originated in '. It is the first flourish in the series to be directly ported from a non-Smash game. The Ultimate version is very slightly sped up and slightly abridged at the end.

Origin
A short remix of the beginning of the title screen music from .

Origin
A remix of the jingle that plays when starting a new game in Pac-Man, as well as completing levels in .

Origin
A remix of the victory theme from .

Origin
A remix of the victory theme heard in Final Fantasy VII, which is itself a variant of the victory themes heard throughout the Final Fantasy series. It continuously plays, replacing the results theme, being the first victory theme to do so. In Smash 4 only, if the player wins in a tournament, a non-looped version of the theme will play. This version is based on a short scene during the Junon sequence of Final Fantasy VII where Cloud performs his victory pose as part of the parade rehearsal.

Origin
The ending of "", taken directly from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Afterwards, a droning note plays; it is unknown if it is from any source in particular, though it references the same droning sound that plays during the fiery cutscene from the Nibelheim Incident. Then, instead of the regular results theme, another droning note plays continuously, although its difficult to pick up on due to the sound of the flames.

Additionally, this victory theme is played after completing the Sephiroth Challenge, minus the note and flame sounds.

Origin
The first few notes of "", followed by the jingle that plays upon completing a verse in Bayonetta. Both tracks are ported directly from the original game, though the arrangement of them together is unique to Smash.

Origin
A remix of the "Stage Clear" theme from the original Castlevania, with the original chiptune audio in the background.

The August 8, 2018 Nintendo Direct features an early version of the track that contains an electric guitar not present in the final version.

Origin
Joker's primary victory theme is directly ported from the after-battle results screen from Persona 5. This theme loops indefinitely and replaces the normal results screen music, similar to Cloud’s. When Joker wins a match in Mementos while music from Persona 3 or Persona 4 is playing, the victory music from the corresponding game is used instead. This is the second instance of victory themes being ported directly from other games, and the first instance of a character having more than one victory theme in the same game.

The themes are:
 * Persona 5: Triumph
 * Persona 4: Period
 * Persona 3: After the Battle

Origin
An arrangement of the ending phrase of "Overture", the main Dragon Quest theme. It is a slightly altered excerpt from the  version of "Overture X".

Origin
A remix of the jingle that plays when Banjo & Kazooie collect a Jiggy in Banjo-Kazooie.

Origin
A hard rock rendition of "Results Are Everything", the end of fight theme from the original Fatal Fury game.

Origin
The theme that plays when completing a challenge advancement, ripped directly from Minecraft: Java Edition.

Tekken Announcer
In a series first, the Tekken series does not have a traditional victory theme. Instead, the announcer from Tekken 7 (voiced by Josh Keller) is featured in Kazuya's victory screens, saying, "Kazuya Mishima wins," replacing the announcer lines by Xander Mobus with no music at all. This does not apply to Team Battles.

Origin
The announcer used in Kazuya's victory screen is the announcer from Tekken 7. Him saying "Kazuya Mishima" is recycled from Tekken 7's character select screen. However, "wins" seems to be either original to Ultimate or recycled from an unused take for Tekken, as only he says "You win!" in Tekken 7. The early Tekken announcers did say it similar to how it is said in Ultimate.

Origin
An orchestrated rendition of "Hand in Hand", the second battle theme of Traverse Town from the original Kingdom Hearts. It was confirmed in the Battling with Sora presentation that the arrangement for the victory theme was handled by, the song's original composer.

SSB4 Origin
A portion of the main theme of Super Smash Bros. 4.

Ultimate Origin
A portion of Lifelight, the main theme of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Results Theme
In every game except for Melee, after the character's victory theme plays, the results theme will play out for the remainder of the time that the player is on the victory screen. Ultimate would notably be the first game to reuse the exact same results theme from its predecessor. The only characters that do not play the standard results theme are Cloud, Joker, and Sephiroth, the former two instead playing their individual looping victory themes, and the latter simply having the sounds of flames.

Origin
While Smash 64 and Brawls results themes are original to those respective games, SSB4 and Ultimates variation is based on the music used on the character selection screen of Smash 64.

Trivia

 * In Brawl's code, there are unused victory themes for most of the roster, excluding, suggesting that characters were supposed to have their own victory theme independent of their series; this is only the case with in the final game.
 * This also includes Mewtwo and Roy, who were both cut from Brawl.
 * Sonic, Bayonetta, Joker, Hero, Steve, and Sephiroth are the only characters whose victory themes are taken directly from other sources. However, aside from Sonic (in Brawl and Smash 4) and Steve, they each feature a few slight modifications from the original:
 * In Ultimate, Sonic's victory theme from Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) is sped up and slightly abridged at the end.
 * While the individual parts of Bayonetta's victory theme are taken from her original games, the arrangement of them together is unique to Smash.
 * Joker's victory theme does not loop all the way to the beginning like it does in Persona 5, instead looping the fourth verse over and over.
 * The Hero's victory theme is a synthesized version of the original source.
 * Sephiroth's slightly arranges the ending parts before the main fanfare. The droning note that plays afterwards is original.
 * Coincidentally, all of these characters are third-party characters, and three of them, Sonic, Bayonetta, and Joker, are properties of Sega.
 * Of the victory themes in the Smash series, Sephiroth's victory theme is the only one to not originate from a video game; his is taken directly from the movie Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.
 * As of Ultimate's release, Ness has had more different victory themes than any other character, receiving new ones in Brawl and Ultimate, in addition to his original one from the first two games.
 * In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Captain Falcon's and Mr. Game & Watch's victory themes are the only ones that are not orchestral music.
 * Rosalina & Luma are the first fighter with a distinct victory theme from their universe who are neither a villain nor an anti-hero. This distinction would later be shared with Lucina, Chrom, Robin, Corrin, Byleth, Pyra and Mythra in Ultimate.
 * Super Smash Bros. 4 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate are the only installments in the series where victory themes are not accessible in the Sound Test.
 * Various victory themes from Super Smash Bros. Brawl could be heard during the opening ceremony of the 2015 .
 * The, , and victory themes can be heard in Cloud, Sephiroth, Bayonetta, and Simon and Richter's reveal trailers respectively. Similarly, the Metal Gear victory theme can be heard in the debut trailer for Super Smash Bros. Brawl after Snake is revealed.
 * The Castlevania victory theme heard in Simon and Richter's trailer, however, lacked the electric guitar heard in the final version.
 * had a different victory theme in the E3 2018 demo of Ultimate. It was also a sinister variation of the standard victory theme, but ended with a harp arpeggio resembling the Unknown Item jingle from Metroid: Zero Mission. The reason for it being changed is unknown.
 * As of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Ganondorf, King Dedede, and Wolf are the only antagonists that do not possess distinct victory themes from their respective universes.
 * , and  are the only three universes to have more than two victory themes in a single game, with Fire Emblem having four and Mario and Persona having three each.
 * However, if one were to count sub-universes (, and ), then Mario would have the most victory themes across the Smash Bros. series, with a total of 7. This would also make the Mario universe the only one to have more than one victory theme in every single game.
 * and are the only third-party universes with more than one victory theme.
 * Bayonetta in Smash 4 was the first victory theme to include vocals, and the only victory theme of such prior to Ultimate. Ultimate would go on to add four more (Fire Emblem Awakening, Corrin, Min Min, and Sephiroth).
 * Bayonetta's is the only one with English vocals, as the word "forever" can be heard near the end.
 * Sephiroth's is the only one to feature the character's name in the vocals, as the chorus chanting his name from "One-Winged Angel" can be heard.
 * is the only character to have their victory theme changed in an update. The version 3.0.0 update of Ultimate changed his victory theme from the standard Fire Emblem victory theme (shared with Marth, Roy, and Ike) to the Awakening victory theme (shared with and ). It is unknown if him having the standard Fire Emblem theme at the game's launch was intentional or an error.
 * Joker is the first fighter to have his victory poses and victory theme change depending on the stage; if the match was played on Mementos, it will match the music and aesthetic of the stage.
 * This makes Joker the only character to have multiple possible victory themes in the same game (barring Chrom's aforementioned update situation).
 * Cloud, Joker, and Sephiroth are the only characters with victory themes that loop.
 * Bowser is the only character to have a victory theme change from Brawl to Smash 4.
 * Byleth is the only character to never at one point use the standard series victory theme.
 * is the only series in which all of its fighters each have a unique victory theme.
 * If Pyra and Mythra are counted as the same character, then the series also falls under this distinction.
 * Barring ported victory themes, Sora's victory theme is the only one with a known arrangement composer, that being Yoko Shimomura.
 * The Pokémon victory theme represents the greatest amount of fighters, both throughout the Super Smash Bros. series and in a single game (Ultimate), at ten fighters, or eight if counting Pokémon Trainer as one fighter.