OCR03136 - *YES* Zool 'Ninja-Godteri'

[Chimpazilla]

Hello!

I’ve long been tempted by the idea of contributing to the wonderful archive of OC-remixes,
so here’s my first submission.

I’ll make this short, as you probably get a lot of submissions per day.

Real name - Hallvard A. Ulsund
Website - www.farkaudio.no
ReMixer name - Fark
Userid - 53571

Name of game arranged:
Zool - (Ninja of the Nth Dimension)

Name of arrangement:
"Ninja-Godteri” (means “Ninja Candy” in Norwegian)

Additional info about the game:
From Wikipedia:
Zool also known as Zool: Ninja of the Nth Dimension is a video game originally produced for the Amiga by Gremlin Graphics in 1992.

Original Composer - Patrick Phelan

Links to original song:
http://www.exotica.org.uk/wiki/Zool

Own comments - It’s been about twenty years since I both visited the Nth dimension, and heard the original theme song.
I’ll never forget you, you beetle-ant-gremlin-candy nivja-thingy you <3


I hope that’s all you need. Just hit me back if there’s anything missing.

Regards.
Hallvard A. Ulsund
Norway

[Chimpazilla]

I'm finding plenty of source here, with really nice interpretation. I think this is a fun mix, very upbeat, nice soloing, mixed well. Fun little tune, works for me! It's almost too short, but doesn't outstay its welcome and wraps up to a nice conclusion.

YES

[Liontamer]

For a 2:41-long track, I needed at least 80.5 seconds of overt source usage to consider the VGM usage dominant in the arrangement:

:00-:20, :22.75-37, 43-51.75, 52.75-1:01.5, 1:06.75-1:07.75, 1:12.75-1:22, 1:43-1:52, 2:17.75-2:18.75 = 71 seconds

There was also a lot of subtle but extended use of a beat pattern from the original (1:09-1:19 of the source) in the background, e.g. 1:52-2:32, and that usage was enough to make it clear for me that the source material was dominant within the arrangement.

Arrangement-wise, this had good energy and a very personalized spin on the theme with the throwback chip-style instrumentation; interesting approach with the Commodore 64 vibe. When the track picked up at :22, the backing textures were a bit thin; this could have used a padding part or effect to fill things out, like the intro's ambiance. No big deal though; the dynamics of the piece were otherwise excellent. This interpretation was so much more upbeat and spirited than the grungier style of the original, so cheers on making this version stand out as your own. Always glad to have more much-needed Amiga representation on OCR!

YES

[Palpable]

It was pretty heavy on the vamping, but as Larry pointed out, it follows some of the structure of the original and definitely keeps a connection. Overall, great stuff. I like the bright, candy-coated synths; it felt like a juiced-up version of the original song. A lot smoother on the ears, and a lot more soloing to dazzle the listener. A pass!

 

YES

[Flexstyle]

I love this so much. Like Sir Palpable said, "candy-coated" is a great description. It's sweet, it's shiny, and I feel like it's going to take several licks--er, listens--to truly appreciate the detail. Love the personalization you've given the melodies, and honestly I love the choice of source as well, haha. 

 

YES

[Liontamer]

Just linking this information on the CU Amiga magazine coverdisk release of the game where the source is used, verifying that it's a piece of music composed for the game, even though it did not get used in the final commercial version:

http://amr.abime.net/issue_595

https://archive.org/stream/cuamiga-magazine-029/CUAmiga_029_Jul_1992#page/n21/mode/2up