OCR00903 - Last Blade 2 'Kizukaseru'

[djpretzel]

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

[DarkeSword]

I LOVE Last Blade 2! This mix is tight as all hell...O_O

The piano in the beginning just...gushes out...amazing...

Whoa...the momentum in this mix is astounding...lots of neat little water effects...

Jazziness is very nice. It's so laid back...makes me sway. Utterly beautiful. Samples are amazing.

Like I said...this mix simply flows so well; it's like water from a stream, just surging over me.

This is brilliant. Great work!

((oh, and DJP, Samurai Showdown 4 kicks Last Blade 2's ass :) ))

[Spiff]

Word to your freakin' mutha indeed.

This song has been on repeat for the last half hour or so, and it really hasn't gotten old. It's peaceful, yet it's not slow and has a nice beat and pace.

And holy crap is it pretty. That piano is the bomb.

If I were to fit this into a game or movie, it would totally be in any scene where the hero is chillin' in a forest or some such. And really, it would be one of the best pieces I'd have heard in a game or movie.

[Mustin]

Weg,

I would have prefered to send an eMail, but your address was not listed.

Excellent job on the piece. The track lived up to djp's hype (a rariety). I don't really have any complaints, which is rare for me (anyone who knows me will attest to this). I would have done some different things with the processing, but that's more personal preference than anything else.

What did you use to make this mix? If you'd prefer, eMail me to continue the conversation. Producer@OneUpStudios.com

Thanks for the tune - looking foward to more.

-m

[Joe Redifer]

I've never played the actual game, but I have some of the arranged music imported from Japan. Good stuff. And this ReMix is very good. A very nice break from all the techno ReMixes (and we definitely do need MORE breaks from that). I don't think I can say anything that hasn't been mentioned, except I'd like to see more remixers try the non-techno thing.

6 out of 5 stars.

[McVaffe]

oooh very nice... So relaxing and smoov. Hard to say something nice that hasn't been said before about this one at this point... just good stuff!!

Out of curiosity, was a Karma used for this remix? I don't know about the Karma's soundset but I know it can do some gorgeous arpeggio patterns. Curious if it was used since I don't know of any remixes that have used it and I'd like to hear some!!

Anyway very nice stuff and definitely look forward to more!!

-McV

[Unipulator]

Thanks so much for the positive feedback, I sincerely appreciate it.

For this track I used an old Korg X3 ... even though these patches are 10 years old, they seem to work appropriately for this kind of music. Don't throw away that obsolete gear!

Anyway, thanks again for the encouragement.

-ew

[Fygee]

*sniff*.....you've just made this grizzled old SNK fanatic/OCR fan a very happy man.

More I say! :D Give Mushashi or one of Koryuu's theme a go. :)

[Kaleb.G]

This is pure sweetness. This is a brilliant and professional piece right here. I love the samples, and the layering of instruments. At some points in this song, I could swear I was listening to a Hitoshi Sakimoto track. To put it quite frankly, you rock! 'Nuff said; this is awesome, and demands attention.

[GeckoYamori]

It's always nice to hear some more SNK material. Sadly, it was quite some time ago I played The Last Blade 2, and I don't recall hearing this tune. But it's good, and beautiful listening to, and that's all that matters.

[Seph K]

....Dude, this rocks -SO- much....you've made this SNK fan very happy...very happy indeed.

It flows so smoothly from one part to the next. VERY beautifully done. You've done this game justice. Please do more tracks from this game...the portside stage would be awesome ("Blood on the Blade" is the track name from the AST)

[RandomFerret]

Alright, I'm a first-time poster, long-time lurker. I've never really had anything to say until now.

First off, in case you don't recognise the original track, it's less than thrity seconds long, and loops during the character select sequence. (VGmusic has a midi of it) It's the only track from the game that was not included in the AST, because the arranger was, quite frankly, an unimaginative hack. I know that a few people will agree with me that the arrangements on the AST were formulaic and uninspired, and at times virtually indistinguishable from one another. Compare Swordsmen of the Moonlight, Blood on the Blade, and Outburst to see what I mean.

My favourite track in the game is Moonlight (which the AST did a fair job with, simply because they didn't change much), and I'd love to hear a good OC remix of that.

In short, hi, I'm RF and this mix is awesome. It really takes the piss out of the official soundtrack arrangement.

[*morningstar]

Wow...... Where to start... an incredible song. Even with the light piano and ambience that begins the track you can tell so much work was put into this. Every sample is perfect and the piece just flows beautifully. All the little background things, like the wind esque sound beneath the piano or the light thunder for the transition, really do make this track. The depth of sound just encompasses you but it's never overwhelming. There's a lot going on at once, but it's never distracting at all.

Even more impressive is that fact that this is a first time contribution. I was immidiately blown away by this track, and even more so when I remembered that this is a first time ReMix. This song shows a lot of promise, excellent work. I'll be waiting for more.

[endblink]

Uh-oh. I almost feel bad writing this... but it's good to have at least one nay-sayer here and there... I hope. ;)

I think the biggest complaint I have about this mix is... disappointment. The hype was REALLY built up for this one. And it just didn't deliver. Sorry.

I love mellow stuff. I'm a sucker for it. But I guess I was just caught off guard with "Word to your muther!" and a fighting game to suddenly get a mellow tune. Especially since the last fighter covered was djp's unbelievably good Tekken 2 (http://remix.overclocked.org/detailmix.php?mixid=OCR00884) ReMix.

For a first time submission, it's really tight. Well mixed, with a lot of wonderful sounds working nicely together. I especially liked the bells at around 3:20 and the "wavey synth" at 2:55... but I couldn't help but feel this mix lack anything "real" to it.

It felt like one LOOOOOONG intro which I was constantly expecting to build into something... big. Or at least bigger. Especially with this whole "metamorphosis" theme mentioned. There was also nothing here that REALLY blew me away and take notice. For a first time submission, it wasn't bad. But 'best first submission ever'? That's a little hard to say when such first submissions as Fuzz' "BombermanFuzz (http://remix.overclocked.org/detailmix.php?mixid=OCR00767)", Digimatic's "Simon's Town (http://remix.overclocked.org/detailmix.php?mixid=OCR00817)" or NoopZ' "KefkaGoesWest (http://remix.overclocked.org/detailmix.php?mixid=OCR00510)" show/showed such unbelievable variety, imagination and musical know-how.

Walking away from it, it's nice. And I'll definiely keep it, but I feel it needs pointing out that sometimes, overhyping can backfire. ;)

To Unipulator, nice work. ;) I'll be sure to keep my eye out for your next mix.

[Aureolius]

This is some great stuff. I'm loving it. It reminds me of the epic-like soundtrack of the Kenshin oav. It tells a story, and gives the listenner a true taste of the Last Blade world.

[ella guro]

Ok...let's see. I don't remember this one sticking out as spectactular or bad. I just didn't like it too much. So I'm going to listen very closely to see why it is I don't like it that much:

Hmm...after listening, I don't notice anything particulary bad. There's a real reverby piano, some nice panny sparkly synths playing descending notes. And then it goes in a sorta new agy section with a flutish lead and minimal that kind of turns me off. But that has to do with my extreme distaste for new age music - reverby pianos have always unnerved me because they just never sound right to my ears. Then the harp brings it into a new section with some blippy synths along with some warmish pads that eventually gains some church bells and another piercing synth playing overtop. The percussion is again minimal...and kind of unnerves me with its gated-ness.

So yes, I don't know what to think. On the one hand - pretty much everyone loves this one, including MUSTIN (of all people), and I sound like a hypocrite if I criticize it. On the other hand - I just can't find any reason to like this or anything to hold onto when I listen to this style. Every thing flows in and sounds lovely, but then quickly slides out of memory upon it's completion. It may be beautiful, but it seems as if it's simply designed to be relaxing and not be listened with ears wide open. In short - it's not something that's very catching in any regard. It's nice work - but still, for a mix to be this hyped...it left me feeling empty.

As for the very end - I love it. It's perfect. I just wish I felt the same way about the rest of the remix.

[Yusaku999]

I loved this song.

It is proof that not all remixes need to be high and fast beat.

One thing I would have liked, is that the normal volume be a bit higher. I'm too lazy to puth the button to raise the volume on my speakers.

Anyway, superb sound, and downloaded to my collection, so I can hear it again, and again, and again.

Worthy.
-J

[Simoom]

wow, why does this song make me think of Mischief Makers at about the 3:00 mark? Awesome song though, can see I'm gonna be listening to this one regularly.

[Supernerd42]

Very pretty. I've put it on loop all by itself, which is something I've only done to one other song before: Millicent's Dream by Kat Yidaki, who you should check out, by the way, at mp3 dot com, even though Kat doesn't do game remixes that I know of.

Anyways, that makes this mix special.

[sgx]

This is awesome work. Great attention to detail and subtlety. I can't say a whole lot that hasn't been said already, accept that I do partially agree with those who did write negative feedback (and props to Adhesive Boy and endblink who are able to go against the crowd and voice their opinion). I was left during the whole song waiting for a more "meaty" I guess, melody or instrument to pick up the melody. But I understand that this is a really chill piece, so it is quite forgiveable because it does the chill part so well. If you never improved and kept making songs of exactly this quality, I would still be happy with your work. Great job. yayay

[Xathien]

This is wonderful. The soothing, peaceful feeling that I haven't heard since Kirby's BubblyClouds ReMix. I'm no expert, but I have followed OC Remix for a while, and I registered on the forum just so I could post about this.
Last Blade 1 & 2 are my favorite games, and I'd like to see much more come out of this.

Thanks for your time and effort! It made my day to see 'Last Blade' on the home page.

[Rapyer2986]

You know, I was starting to think how SNK Games haven't been getting any attention and here comes this lovely arrangment. I was instantly in love the moment it started to play, and from that point I have to go and break out my Neo Geo and play LB and LB2. <sniff> I have forgotten...How Beautiful!! Sorry KOF, but for the moment I had to rekindle the love. Thanks for such a beautiful mix. My mother likes it, too!

[Kamikaze Noodle]

Man, the way this song flows and changes. It's a religious experience! I agree in a way with the nay-sayers. There's no real "melody" or hyper-speed breakbeats. I think it just takes a certain kind of ear to enjoy a song like this one. Oh man, I just can't seem to get enough of this remix.... so calm... and peaceful... -_- -zzzzzz

[DarkeSword]

My mother likes it, too!

Has anyone else ever noticed how this is such high praise?

"Yo man...dis shit is so tight yo' MAMMA would like it..."

Yay moms. ^_^

[Avien]

Holy freaking F, dude. this is really somewhat creepy as I just downloaded/absolutely fell in love with this game about a week ago (maybe not even that long) and now I'm just noticing this mix on the site. Hell I had never even heard of the games (lb1 and 2) until I saw them on a mame.dk top ten list and decided to try them. playing lb2 is pretty much all I've been doing all week.

Anyways, the remix. Beautiful. The piano intro pretty much just melts my butter right away. slowing down..... and then picking right up again around 1:15 I like it. Its kinda relaxing; I could fall asleep to this, but I mean that in a good way. the drums are very fitting. I will definately be keeping this one.

[seannyb]

dear lord(!), this remix gleams with quality. Great melodies, great sounds (nice usage of old hardware!), this music moves and flows... thoughtful and solid. pure up http://www.pouet.net/gfx/rulez.gif

[bouncerboy15]

This game kicked major ass. The game has great detail and effects that I've seen on a 2d game. This mix certainly brought back some good times I had playing with many people. Many good parts and such in this. I highly recommend this to anyone who played this game and enjoyed the music such as I.

[Corporal Eschebone]

Even though I've never played this, I had the great fortune of having this appear first on my playlist after shuffling it [and thus just now heard it all the way through for the first time], and I would just like to say that this is truly beautiful.

The intro piano sounds almost watery... Quite enough to wet anyone's pants to, ;) and the sounds that accompany it are just amazing. The climax is breathtaking, with the bells, violin and quiet bass... This is definately the kind of mix where you just stop whatever you're doing to look at your playlist thinking, "What is this? This is some of the best music I've heard! Whoever made this had better be rich within the next five years, or I am going to stab someone."


In short, excellent job. It's certainly one of my favorites.

[jordex]

I keep listening to this song from 2:52 (where the strings and later bells come in) to the end, that parts just so... beautiful.... I can't stop listening to it, but that parts too short and I feel I've heard it before somewhere....

[Kaede_X]

One of my favourite OC Remixes.
It's a shame most people have never heard the original version of this song.

[Wanderer]

My goodness. This is unbelievably good.

[Less Ashamed Of Self]

Pretty freaking delicious. One of those ones where you have to stop by and leave a comment. ;)

[supremespleen]

This is really awesome. Now I just need to find the OST.

[jordex]

Haha I wish I had the OST as well 'cause this song is just awessomee! I could listen to this for hours :wink:

[Mozutaka]

This is, without a doubt, my favorite game remix ever. With headphones on and eyes closed, this arrangement takes you on an unforgettable journey in sound. Though this piece is sweeping and dreamlike, it never gets repetitive nor does it drag on like other "relaxing" remixes. Kizukaseru is really quite the opposite, evolving and building on its ride towards a heavenly climax, where it leaves its passengers in an elevated state. The emotions it evokes don't diminish with repeated play, which is testament to its power and polish.

[Antignition]

I thought it was good until about 2:52, then I thought it was GREAT. Like some others have mentioned, it sounds like something i've heard before. Fantastic mix, im late reviewing it, so if anyone reading this still hasn't downloaded it, I'd strongly advise you do so.

[avaris]

Wow, sweet stuff. I'm sure a lot of people prob would never hear this since it's from a lesser known game, but damn. This is emotional, provactative, and the composition are oh so sweet and catchy.

Great synth design and soundscape, great arrangement fleshing out new ideas all the time, this is really something worth listening too. It's sad Unipulator has only had 2 remixes, but they are oh so sweet. Thanks for the music dude.

[fusedcore]

Thanks for the GREAT music!!! Really appreciate your help.

[Polo]

Everything floats thanks to plenty of reverb applied to atmospheric samples. It's like it's illustrating the weather: rolling clouds, light rain, and sun rays piercing through. Specifically, the bell+harp slowdown (0:42-1:06) is playful and pure, like drops of water or ripples in a pond. I also get a Secret of Mana vibe from the blippy, cross-panned synths at 2:32, the church bells (like in The Orphan of the Storm), and the drums at 3:32.

Kizukaseru isn't just heavenly, it IS the heavens. Graceful and serene.

[yosefu]

This is just amazing from start to finish. When it comes to the last 2 minutes this is when i found it to be really breathtaking with all thoses church bells coming in. Great job

[metalsnakejuice]

I really enjoyed this one a lot. It is really unique and I like that.

[OA]

Really excellent new-age work here, I can totally see why this is one of DJP's favorite mixes, and why a mix from a game that's this obscure has received so many positive comments. :-)

Very accomplished stuff. I'm a huge fan.

[tweek]

Our first mix from Unipulator. Amazing piano intro. Lots of verb, but not too much. Just the right amount to set the tone. The glockenspiel was a really nice addition that helped changed the dynamic. The crazy synth transition was sudden, but I really liked it. And OMG, that bass line; LOVE it! It's something straight out of Sidekicks, the old Chuck Norris film. Major nostalgia props there! This has a great mellow vibe to it. I feel my tension and stress falling away! The gated synth helps drive the big breakdown. Even tho the marcato stings that come in are high synthetic, they seem to fit into the soundscape really well. I love the church/orchestra bells. The heavier acoustic drums helped drive that section of mix even more. And somehow, he seamlessly transitions into another very soft part that ends the song wonderfully! It's like something that I would hear in Flower, but its slightly more aggressive. It creates a wonderful vibe all the way through. The awesomeness is in the details for sure. Very nice work!!

[Souliarc]

I love finding little gems like this that randomly come about through shuffle on my music player <3 <3 <3 Don't think I could have found a better fit to my night drive on the way home with snow everywhere and a starry sky. The beginning is absolutely encompassing with that sliding instrument (lap guitar, dulcimer?). I can always admire such a simple touch that's implemented so well; especially with that piano. The whole atmosphere is wonderful. That bass is exactly what I was waiting for! I dig the chimes towards the end. They bring about feelings of revelation for me.

You really know how to arrange your sections and make the transition from one to the next. Thank you for this.

[ella guro]

I used to not like this mix way back when and I really have no idea why. I've listened to it many times since then. It's so delicately arranged, and every choice that's made throughout is thoughtful and deliberate. That is very, very hard to do, and requires a lot of sensitivity and attention to detail. People could learn a lot about how to arrange something with genuine feeling and a sense of purpose (especially with a very limited set of sounds) by listening to this guy's two mixes.