OCR01121 - Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (GG) 'Reich Lake'

[djpretzel]

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

[abyss2k4]

think should of done Sonic 2 of Genesis..
Genesis is classic 16 bit system rocks..

8)

[lazermario]

I'll try to be a bit more intuitive than the last review poster. :P

Although Mario music is my strong suit, I've dabbled in Sonnic enough to like it. Also, along with Mario and Zelda, Sonic remixes are among the toppest in quality on the site. But enough of that.

To be objective, at 00:10 I was prematurely wondering if the mix was going anywhere. But at about 00:40 when the drums kick in, I got into it more. The mix has a nice steady rise and an equally pleasing decline at the end, with all instruments coming in on their cues. Is the mix repetative? Yes, a little? Is it monotonous? No, I don't think so. The patches are good enough, and their interface with eachother is implemented well enough, so that the mix, though not pulling much in the way of surprise and improvization, has a nice steady run.

Overall rating: 4/5

[Rexy]

Sounds odd to hear a Sega Master System Sonic 2 track here, but eh... the Reich style definitely fits within the piece, and the instruments chosen fill the atmosphere for the game level nicely, as well as keeping true to the original track for the most part. Dynamics have been recreated gracefully, allowing a lot of deep bassy sounds to come around and fill the spot beautifully.

And how did you manage to cram a 90-second track within five minutes? The melody (and instruments for it) have improvised a lot within the time, adding a lot of depth to the piece. It's these kind of things that manage to keep the listener listening to the piece. I'm probably picky about the fadeout at the end though, but eh... nevermind :P

If I can point out a few things that need improving, then I'm sure that we could have at least had a keychange somewhere - does seem a bit plain playing a G (minor) chord all the way through the piece. But that aside, we've got a handsome winner here.

Now, give us an Aquatic Ruin remix! :twisted: (j/k)

[Simoom]

oh dear god i love you mazedude. not only does all your previous music rock, but steve reich is one of my favorite composers. I really like the usage of mallets in this song, its very reminiscent of some of reich's works, particularly his piece "Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organs." Following the minimalist style, it involves a nice slow progression and build up. This is extremely well constructed, your creativity is quite amazing.

edit: oops, hadn't read the full write up before reviewing, apparently it was directly inspired by that piece, silly me.

[Pander]

I agree with lazermario, it does take almost a minute to really get into the swing of things, to the point where I almost like to skip to right around 1:00 exactly to get to the meat. My attention span is somewhat on the short side with music, heh, I can't handle pattern building.

But beyond my own faults, it's incredibly well constructed, I can absolutely imagine playing a Sonic game with this song. Hell, I get misty-eyed imagining an Sonic game where the entire soundtrack would match the quality of this this one song, no more of the current Sonic variety tried-and-typical-but-true synth rock that feels somewhat out of place compared to the old fashioned inventive synth of sonic 2 and 3. An entire soundtrack of this, Rayza's Lava Reef Zone, McVaffe's IceCapped and Bonus Retreat, and the last half of JAXX's Lightning Star...well, you get the idea. It's this sort of high quality tune-age still retaining the spirit of Sonic that impresses me the most about this mix, and what earns it 3/4 stars.

[LunaYoshi]

Wow... while I agree with the suggestion of a key change, this is really fun to listen to. :) It kind of reminds me of the music in American Beauty.

Hmmm... Reich, huh? Never heard of him, but shall investigate, since this style totally owns me...

[GeckoYamori]

When I heard it was Steve Reich inspired, I was expecting a minimalist track at 20 minutes or so.... And it wasn't. I'm kinda glad it wasn't, but at the same time, I'm not :P

Actually, this doesn't sound like Steve Reich at all to me. It's got a nice, funky groove and some smooth organs. Still a winner in my ears.

[DarkFrog]

This music reminds me of Plok for the SNES. (interesting music in the caves and forest)

-Austin Spafford

[DrumUltimA]

As an obsessive mallet percussionist, I'd like to say you are my idol.
And I could hear each one of the mallet instruments XD.

Get me sheet music I have a senior recital coming up =3

[Legendary Fox]

I was in a pretty rotten mood before I downloaded this song, but amazingly the catchy tune washed it all away...<3 the mallets... :D

[No_Style]

I've been waiting for a good Sonic Mix like this. :D I love it. I adore these type of build up mixes.

[Joseph Collins]

Well. . . This piece of music has successfully obliterated what little believe I had left, that I had some musical talent. I can sit on my arse and make S3Ms of Sonic the Hedgehog music, among other video game music, until the apocolypse hits. . .and none of them. . . At all. . . Would even begin to stratch this work of art. This, or a great deal of the mixes here at OverClocked ReMix. I may be the (self-proclaimed)King of All Video Game S3M Arrangements. . . . . .but it's nothing more than a tremendously painful moot point when compared to remixes like these. What I do is pointless. Scream Tracker III Modules are worthless in this day and age. Especially crappy ones like mine.

[bloodydust]

for years my dad was a cheap SOB and i never had a genesis until 1996. however, i had a gamegear, because it was cheap and a family friend gave it to my mother to buy a present for me.

game that came with it was sonic 2.

sonic 2 gamegear (aka master system) is easily the hardest game in the series.

which is why this song gives me fonder memories than i originally had.

[ps] oh, i dunno if anyone knew this but the theme from green hills zone in sonic 2 gg is the same as the opening theme of the megaCD version of sonic CD.

[Silvercloud]

[Just another post to add to the thread of pleased listeners.]

Awesome stuff, even though it's not of the ear-bleeding type. :D

[DarkFrog]

After listening to this song a few dozen more times, I'm quite willing to say it is one of my favorite songs to program to. :D

Excellent work, keep it up!

-Austin Spafford

[MaGi_TekK]

catchy but in the end, this is just a 20 second piece that keeps on going and going and going and going and going and going and going and it doesn't know where to stop. 2/10

[ESHbyESH]

I love Mazdude's music, and I've told him so.
I have to agree on this remix, though, that it is a bit too repetititititititititve for my own taste. There's no one revealing bridge moment which sweeps me away and makes the refrain worth the wait...and wait... and wait...
2 1/2 stars from me.

[GoldenYoshi]

For some reason....
The beginning of this tune sounds like some music Microsoft would use for one of their ads or tutorials or something.:D .

Even though I never got to play that stage (Stupid first boss), sounds good!! .....except that it does take a while to get into the swing of things, but still, cool.

[silversonic]

After all the Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy, and Megaman remixes, it's nice to see Sonic is finally seeing some attention. And hey, what's this? It's not yet another remix of IceCap Zone! Yay! Now, when I first saw the words "Sonic the Hedgehog 2", my mind went to the Sega Genesis. I quickly skimmed the review and assumed it was an Aquatic Ruin Zone ReMix. Well, I guess I need my eyes checked! Aqua Lake Zone from the Game Gear StH2... Why, may I ask? I mean, StH2 was probably the worst Sonic game for the Game Gear. And, if I had to pick the best music in that game, it would probably be Crystal Egg Zone, not Aqua Lake. But alas, beggars for Sonic-related ReMixes can't be choosy. Let me be forthright about this: it's too long. This song literally takes a full minute to get started. The entire song basically wades in the introduction of the Aqua Lake music and never ventures very far into the pool. I kept waiting for the song's "chorus" to really take over and it just never does. I admit, this is a welcome change from the constant techno ReMixes Sonic seems to be "priveleged" with, but next time someone's itchy to ReMix a GG Sonic BGM, how about Sunset Park Zone from Triple Trouble?

[Andrew]

The biggest buzzword for this arrangement for me would be the word, "Reich"! Steve Reich's work is some of the most extraordinary stuff in existence today. I noticed that many of you do not feel positive about the repetitive nature of this piece. It is my recommendation to you, then, to listen to some of Steve Reich's work! He is a minimalist (and probably the best one out there). Repetition is a very incredible property of music, yet is the most hated by some. Repetition is the key element of minimalism. If you think for any amount of time that this piece is repetitive in its minuscule five minutes of play, you will not survive ten seconds into Reich's music. His best piece, "Different Trains", uses the same train-emulating string riffs throughout the entire piece, which is 26:57. Different Trains is really awesome because of the factors around this repetition, specifically the strings' emulation of the voice clips taken from survivors of the holocaust. Try sitting through Steve Reich's "Come Out," which is composed of a two-second sound clip of an African American pastor saying "Come out to show them" that is layered over itself at different speeds until it becomes absolutely unintelligible in the thirteenth minute. I fail to see any problem with this remix. In all truth, it doesn't favour Reich's technique in its use of an actual melody. :)

[Zeality]

D, damn.

Ahahaha...

Masterpiece.

Excellent, perfect interpretation of the work. The Stuff of Legends, as VGMix would call it.

Whew. This baby's gonna be on several of my CD-Rs.

[Nine Ten Doh]

Damnit, just damnit. I've waited too long for something like this to come along. After I downloaded this, I was noticing that my toes were a-tappin'. I said to myself "Self, what is this blessed noise coming from our speakers?" I replied "Why, it's Mazedude, me! Ask us no more." Ahem, too much Golem. 8O Psychosis aside, I found that the second after I saw that Mazedude had remixed this tune, the download was 98% over with. However, I do believe that he outdid himself here. This should be a track to the next Sonic. Simple as that.

[Al Capwn]

Ow sounds a bit too sharp and jarring for me

[archlyn]

First and Formost. I love this. I'm gonna be listening to this for the next few days, at the very least. I like, muchly. Kudos to Mazedude! :)

Now. Is this or is this not Aqua Lake zone from Sonic 2 GG? (yes, I know, it was on the master system, but all I have is the gamegrear version.

I'm probably gonna plug up my HH now and indulge in some vintage Sonic

[Internet]

This piece is excellent. Top notch, easily on par with his other stuff, if not better. Though, snails was freaking great. I've only just started listening to OCR a few days ago, but I think Mazedude already stands as "favorite" material.

[Hadyn]

Wow. Something different, and very well done at that :)

[Simoom]

Andrew actually mentioned some of Steve Reich's more experimental works. You might also want to look at his more classical works, such as his more famous Music for 18 Musicians, Tehillim/Desert Music, "Music for Mallet Instruments, Organs, and Voices" (the piece that inspired this), and "Woods,Strings, and Keyboards". I'm sure some of you will find them repeatitive, but given the fact that this site is about videogame music (a medium that is built for constant looping) i don't think it should be too much of a stretch.

[Andrew]

Well, "Different Trains" isn't that out there. It was a great idea and it sounds great. It is quite awesome to many folks, including myself. :D

[Navi]

The mallets/precussion of this always reminds me of Thomas Newman's (in my opinon) excellent score for American Beauty. Very smooth, chill, very mazedude. Never heard the original, but lovin this.

[Jillian Aversa]

(maze)Dude! This is awesome. My percussionist friend here at Peabody just pointed out this remix to me. I'm a big fan of Steve Reich's work, and I can definitely hear where you drew your inspiration. Nice work! ^_^

[Liontamer]

Never posted in here either for some reason. Great stuff that brings a unique presence to the site. Not familiar with Reich, but anything that inspired this work is bound to be good. Great stuff, Chris, keep it coming!

[Pod]

I can't stress enough how happy I am to hear a remix from a Master System Sonic game! In my opinion several of the compositions from the SMS/GG games are way better than anything found in the MegaDrive/Genesis games.

But I digress. This piece certainly does the mood of the level from which the music originates justice. Super swell. Now, if only someone would give the Bridge Theme from Sonic the Hedgehog 1 on the SMS a go...

[Antipode]

I've been trying to make a little more of an effort to go back and drop a line at some of my old favorites - and this was DEFINITELY near the top of my list.
I have some memories associated with this mix (and with the source tune) which make it all the more special to me, but DAMN! Even after all this time, you have such a chill, atmospheric groove going in this song, with tons of background depth and awesome chime runs flowing over that main mallet loop.

Definitely gives me that underwater, spacey kind of vibe, but it's got the sweet groove pounding along with it which gives all that depth some context, some structure, and some pure, head-bobbing rhythm. Reich Lake is for sure near the very top of my favorite remixes.

[Sir_NutS]

This is actually one of my favorite Mazedude remixes. I agree this remix is not for everyone, but I totally get it.

Keeping a constant, short-measured melody going for the entirety of the duration of the song without making the listener bored or annoyed is no small feat and borderline genius. I don't think anyone else around here can get away with that and still achieve success.

Beyond that aspect, this song is actually very complex with what it does in terms of texture work and ambience. The constant melody actually works as a tension artifact in place of swirls and artificial build-ups or crashes. The instruments are both familiar and outwordly, but extremely interesting and entrancing. The arrangement is not quite as complex as what we've come to expect from Mazedude but it's the little details, and the constant morphing of the atmosphere that makes this song so unique and great.

One of my favorites from the site. I recommend it to everyone I know, regardless of whether they like videogame music or not.

[Dhsu]

For some reason whenever I tune into Rainwave there's a 50/50 chance this track is playing at that very moment. :P

Honestly this gives me a bit of a Kikuta vibe in places. Reich is usually not my bag, but I think the catchy percussion (both marimba and synth drums) keeps the repetition from becoming monotonous. And I've always admired Mazedude for paying tribute to games and composers most gamers wouldn't be familiar with, all while making it sound awesome. Great work, Chris!

[Marmiduke]

It's definately a change of pace for a Mazedude mix, and a good one at that. It's gentle but never slow, repetitive but never boring. Even if you don't find the melody and the stylistic direction particularly interesting (which I do), you can always focus on the expert choice of instruments and how truly awesome they sound. The mallet work is distinctive, memorable and most importantly, is used to its fullest potential. There is no constant changing of instruments here. It's all consistent, all the time. And I wouldn't change a thing.
It's refreshing to see Mazedude restrained here; though he is a notorious genre-hopper, this is one of his most accomplished sounding ventures away from the sound he is more synonymous with.

[Sir_Downunder]

Another surprisingly laid back track from the 'Dude.

I found this to be a rather enjoyable piece, very laid back and soothing. The combination of beat and percussion/mallet really helps to create a very lush, rich atmosphere along with the main synth and background choir.

Nice Work, 'Dude. :nicework:

[OA]

pretty cool concept to do an all-tuned percussion mix. Maybe I should try something like that sometime, I think it'd throw everyone off. ;-)

the addition of a choirish pad and some cool drum loops makes it more unique, and the repeating pattern gets pretty hypnotic.

Overall a good mix, and cool that Mazedude tried out a track that he enjoyed without playing the game itself. :-)