Final Fantasy at the Olympics

[pendell]

Seen on Kotaku

As spotted by a variety of folks on social media, athletes and flag bearers walked out into the 68,000-seat stadium this morning to the tunes of Final Fantasy, the long-running RPG series known for pretty boys with enviable hair. According to the official playlist, it was the iconic fanfare track, which you can hear anytime you complete a battle or level up your characters. For gamers, the sound is tied to feelings of accomplishment—it’s the sort of thing you’d want to hear after doing anything cool or demanding.

Really, it was an entire medley that mixed in a variety of different sources, from Sonic the Hedgehog to Dragon Quest, and even some more comparatively niche picks, like Nier So while JRPGs make the biggest appearance, whoever put the music together for this made sure to include many of the biggest video game franchises hailing out of Japan. Neat.

No indication whether Cloud will be participating, although I daresay Tifa would do well in some of the martial arts events.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[Sholos]

Think Cloud would fail substance testing, but Tifa and Yuffie would clean up.

[Berserk Mecha]

Does this mean that we get to hear the Final Fantasy victory fanfare when they hand out medals?

[TaRix]

Does this mean that we get to hear the Final Fantasy victory fanfare when they hand out medals?

No, for medal presentations, you'd get "Item Get" jingles and tunes. Bronze would be the Zelda "You got a thing" ditty, Silver would be one of the Dragon Quest ones, and Gold would be Metroid or Ys's "You have just ob-tained a-no-ther se-mi pre-cious thiiiiiiing" tune.

Or one of the Mario or Sonic ones, since they keep going to the Olympics.

[Berserk Mecha]

Here's a list of tunes in the medley from ANN.

One one hand, the idea of using JRPG tunes during the parade of nations tickles me. On the other hand, I'm bummed about the circumstances that led to this.

[Rynjin]

What circumstances?

[Berserk Mecha]

The article that I linked to has a link here referring to how the original composer, Keigo Oyamada, for the opening ceremony resigned after it was revealed that he did some horrific ****. The video game medley that played during the parade of nations was an impromptu addition, as no one wanted music composed by such a scumbag.

Here's an excerpt:

Soon after the announcement on Thursday, past interviews with Oyamada resurfaced and sparked anger on social media. The interviews were from the January 1994 issue of the Rockin'On Japan magazine, and the March 1995 issue of the Quick Japan magazine. In the interviews, Oyamada confessed to bullying classmates and disabled people in his youth.

According to the Tokyo Sports website, in one of the interviews Oyamada stated he wrapped up someone in a mattress, and also locked a disabled person inside a vaulting horse. The Nikkan Sports website additionally reported that in one of the interviews Oyamada stated the bullying and abuse also included having someone rolled up in string while naked and making them masturbate, and also forcing someone to eat feces. Nikkan Sports added that Oyamada said, "But I didn't do these things firsthand, I just offered up the ideas (laughs)."

Oyamada then issued an apology on Twitter on Friday, stating, "I feel deep regret and responsibility for not being a good friend and for being on the side causing hurt." He admitted in the apology that he bullied his classmates, adding, "It is true that I spoke without remorse about my heartless remarks and actions against classmates and people with disabilities in neighboring schools when I was a student."

Sorry, I guess I was under the impression that this is something that had made the rounds around the internet already and was common knowledge.

[Rynjin]

I don't really follow the Olympics. I genuinely wouldn't have known they were even happening without this thread TBH.

[McNum]

Think Cloud would fail substance testing, but Tifa and Yuffie would clean up.

Isn't Yuffie too young to be an Olympian? She's close to the cutoff, but I forget if she's 16 or not yet.

Tifa, though. She's not a sprinter and she doesn't know the forms for gymnastics, but I don't see high jump as anything but a walkover for her. Long jump and triple jump would be worth checking out for her, too. She is ridiculously good at jumps, after all. She might also want to try for the longer runs, 800m and above. Basically anything that requires stamina, jumping, and not needing to use any formal forms to compete.

Barret would have to be in the Paralympics, though. He lost a hand, and I'm not entirely sure if a gunarm is legal for any shooting-related sports. Might need a regulation air rifle for it.

[Sapphire Guard]

Yuffie is 16 during FF7.

Barret canonically knows how to box, but the machinegun hand probably disqualifies him. If they allow the boxing glove gun attachment, he's a strong contender, though.

Who would be the best contender for weightlifting?

[TaRix]

Yuffie is 16 during FF7.

Barret canonically knows how to box, but the machinegun hand probably disqualifies him. If they allow the boxing glove gun attachment, he's a strong contender, though.

Who would be the best contender for weightlifting?

Sephiroth. He chucks the Meteor. Of course, he might not pass a enhancement test.

[Brother Oni]

Isn't Yuffie too young to be an Olympian? She's close to the cutoff, but I forget if she's 16 or not yet.

Depends on the sport. Skateboarding and surfboarding have no age minimum, diving is 14 and all the others is 16.

Tifa, though. She's not a sprinter and she doesn't know the forms for gymnastics, but I don't see high jump as anything but a walkover for her. Long jump and triple jump would be worth checking out for her, too. She is ridiculously good at jumps, after all. She might also want to try for the longer runs, 800m and above. Basically anything that requires stamina, jumping, and not needing to use any formal forms to compete.

You know that kumite (karate points based sparring) is an event at this olympics? Tifa would clean up in the 61+kg category.

[McNum]

Depends on the sport. Skateboarding and surfboarding have no age minimum, diving is 14 and all the others is 16.

You know that kumite (karate points based sparring) is an event at this olympics? Tifa would clean up in the 61+kg category.

Yuffie on a skateboard. Yup, I could see that.

I knew Kumite was an event, but my question here is the same as for Tifa in the Gymnastics event. You have to do the correct moves, not just be good at some martial art, but this exact one, to win. And I don't think Tifa does Karate. I'm note sure what her exact style is, to be honest, but it's a fleetfooted one, maybe some kind of fantasy kickboxing or similar.

[Rynjin]

More to the point, Tifa learned proper martial arts, emphasis on the martial. Sport forms and rules are completely different than a fight where the only goal is "kill your opponent".

[Brother Oni]

Yuffie on a skateboard. Yup, I could see that.

I knew Kumite was an event, but my question here is the same as for Tifa in the Gymnastics event. You have to do the correct moves, not just be good at some martial art, but this exact one, to win. And I don't think Tifa does Karate. I'm note sure what her exact style is, to be honest, but it's a fleetfooted one, maybe some kind of fantasy kickboxing or similar.

I think you're confusing kumite (points based sparring) with kata (demonstration of karate techniques in a set pattern), but while Rynjin has a point, nearly all martial arts emphasise control to some degree (even full contact Muay Thai).