OCR01230 - Street Fighter II 'Ryu for Four Pianos'

[djpretzel]

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

[Synth]

I heard this on VGMIX and on the WIP fourms. I like it alot. But it does go to far at some points.

[Scrabble_Ship]

I like this. I have always love ryu's stage, nice to see it in piano.

[yoshi1001]

Every so often, it's nice to hear a song that's not synthesized, homogenized, and moderized. It would be neat to see the parts decomposed, however.

[Defend]

Yeah its good to hear something real. I enjoy this piece, but agree with the main vibe here.. I would have liked this to have been brought together a little tighter. I think I'm just wanting to hear distinct instruments working together in one song, you know, feeling each other, instead of different layers getting it right.

[RoeTaKa]

It's all about talent peeps! This is a very distinct and I love a good rocking piece of piano music. The flaws only make this better in some respect, for first takes it only says Reuben is a proffesional at heart. The tune wasn't exactly the best pick but this really does come up trumps and goes outstanding. Classy. I wish the end was a little more together but hey try this yourself. A* with a cherry and a banana...perhaps a mango too.

[chthonic]

The idea is very original, incredibly well performed, and recorded like a professional. It also has a lot more energy than many piano arrangements.

Definitley worth a listen.

-chth

[hitokirisabin]

I heard this mix on his site a couple of months ago! I never get tired of hearing this remix on the classic take on the Ansatsuken fighter himself, Ryu.

[Flare4War]

Well recorded etc. Altogether though, I'd be lieing if I didn't say it sounded Choppy.

It sounded choppy. Just the same, I like the idea.

Creative. :)

[bouncerboy15]

A very nice piece. I love the Ryu theme so this ReMix is very great. This one is recommended to all.

[texxsound]

UNFAIR!

8O Believe it or not I am... I was just working for the last week on a piano version of Ken's Stage!

Strange conincidence! Well now I'll look like a poser when I contribute it so I'll have to think of something different for Ken.

And really nice mix, though :)

[Icct Hedrix]

Good music, and a very original idea. Taking a theme that is often more breakdownish and turning it into an upbeat piano arrangement. Good execution also. Though it sounds a bit chopy, I doubt anything more could have been done with it as a piano arrangement. Great all around arrangement.

[SirLouie]

Ah, Ryu Stage - done to death, but always interesting. Here are my feelings on this ReMix.

0:00 - 0:42
Very pretty, but too much pedal. Each measure runs into the other.

0:42
Oooh! Life!

0:51 - 0:58
Whoa! Soul! I can finally see Ryu's inner turmoil beneath his cool and always calm exterior. The chaos ends with a deep breath at 0:58 and ..

0:59 - 1:44
The heart and soul of Ryu's theme. This is the part I can almost sing along to - and am glad for that. The section seems to evoke an image of ryu's standing stance, bouncing in time to the music, then jumping (1:00), punching (triplet fierce at 1:02), blocking (1:05), kicking (1:09) .. each change in background noise perfectly complements the theme. And Ryu's energy has never been higher.

1:45 - 2:00
Ryu's just landed a few punches now and is circling his opponent, sizing him up, and scaring the crap out of him at what he's going to do next. Ryu moves in ...

2:01
A SHO-RYU-KEN connects. Just a small one, because Ryu's not showing off.

2:01 - 2:09
As the dragon punch hits, the opponent falls to the ground in slow motion, complete with death wail. Excellent emotion on the piano for this section while keeping Ryu's theme triumphant.

2:09 - 2:40
Ryu looks once at his fallen opponent, then without a word walks away. "The fight is everything," and now that it's over, Ryu has nothing left but contemplation. The pedal problem returns during this section, but sounds a little better except around 2:37.

2:40 - 3:23
Ryu, somehow sensing a fight brewing on the other side of town, leaps into action to get there. With blinding speed, he runs through the town, stopping at nothing until he arrives. The song closes with him standing in an open doorway with his cross-armed winning pose, headband flapping in the breeze, and a steely close-up on his focused eyes.

Also for humor - 3:11, he runs over Mario on his way through the town. Can't you hear the little coins he knocks out of Mario's pocket? That's what I heard, anyway! :)

All in all, it is a very good, high energy arrangement. I felt the pedal during the slow parts was overused, but the faster parts made up for that. Also, the multitude of pianos, while full-sounding, did kind of muddle the sound together. It took a few listens in order to hear all the different parts. Excellent volume dynamics among all four parts, and good expansion on the theme.

Thanks, Reuben!

[maniacalsephiroth]

Ryu's theme..Remixes for it aren't few and far between, but this is one that I could actually feel emotion from. The opening was done well and had a majestic feel to it, and it just built up from there. I did think that near the end around 2:40, it sounded to me like it was a lil crammed together there, but still played out ok. Overall a really decent mix that conveys the sutble emotion in this song nicely, Good Work.

[Samurai Jin]

I liked this one, definite sucker for Piano Music, and Ryu has always been like my favorite SF character.. its really weird to hear this song in Piano, but this takes some major remixing talent.. GJ man, 8/10.

[Kakeru]

I love this song very much,
especially the powerful parts!
It would be great if you would also try the themes of the other fighters on Piano :)

Bye Kakeru

[MrNemo]

The beginning sounds like "Yanni does Ryu." Very cool, and very fun for the ears. I'm not used to hearing several takes of a live piano at once, so my mind seems to accept that it is one person performing one take, and this just adds to the effect. The 2:25ish breakdown was really touching. The schizophrenic ending was pretty cool too. Quality material, and a great recording of your piano.

[IC_Grave]

Hey this is some great work I really like this kinda thing...Even though it's not Industrial...yeah that's right, I'm a musician and I'm not closed minded to this sort of thing...anyway great job hope to hear a lot more....Hang tough

[Crono3of3time]

Whoo I love the piano quartet! It is a bit extreme at parts, but thats what makes this song interesting, it goes from the seeming norm of having one speed for the entire song, and sends the music speeds out in controlled "waves". Heh. this could even be thought of as Ryu's training, in that it follows a cycle of focused, and slower music preceding the "action" parts.

[mecca\]

Well bloody played - nice addition to the already impressive SF remix section, the change at 1:30, excuse my ignorance at what a piano quartet is, but i think I can hear four pianos at 1:30, the best part of the choon.

Keep up the good work!

[murphdog]

All I have to say is that the piano really affirms how good Ryu's theme is. I like the subtle intro where you can hear parts of his theme, and then WHAM it slams with a driving right handed theme. Very good job, as I am a piano whore. 8O

[Brim]

Wow...this song stunned me. I never get tired of this song, the sheer genius of it stuns me. I am normally not fond of most piano music, but this is the best, probably only upbeat piano-only song I have ever heard.

[Mini Mog]

8) I found this when I was downloading Piano Quartet Boss Battle Medley for the FF series and I'm happy I decided to grab this one too! It starts off quiet but then launches into a fast-paced tune that you'll want to listen to on repeat.

I have to hand it to you, Reu, you sure pick some great tracks for piano solos! I'm looking forward to more rearrangements from you in the future! :mrgreen:

[Bladewind]

I admit, I am a chun li person (I always find a way to work in her rapid kick move into play.) But I enjoy Ryu's song and I think this captures his personality perfectly. I haven't, unfortunatly been able to learn any of his moves (could sum 1 pm them to me) so I could learn his story. I don't wanna have to go through the game using normal punches and kicks to learn it so :roll:

[Lord Archimage Nykimbur]

Lovely take on Ryu's theme. This was probably the first remix that I experienced on this site.

[RPGWerewolf]

Simply Gorgeous!! I cold listen to it all day! This is a piece that should be performed at New York's Symphony Hall!!

[Thin Crust]

Oh, no. This is a tragety.

My right earpiece on my headphones shoots static and I had to take it off in order to listen to this song in full quality. This song is absolutely the most beteaful piano mix I have ever heard, and that includes kLuTz, who I still revere as incredible. This song does not overdue it at any parts, I have no idea why people say that.

[tonyyboi]

does anyone have any idea how to get the piano sheets for this? i'd kill to play this.

[Thin Crust]

does anyone have any idea how to get the piano sheets for this? i'd kill to play this.

It's four pianos at the same time. You can't play it unless you have 8 hands. You could email or PM Reuben Kee, he's on pretty often here and you can contact him at his site: reubenkee.com

[tonyyboi]

i know it's four pianos; it can be arranged for probably two - and i'd still want to try it out :) i absolutely love it.

[Flare4War]

An incredible piano adaption of Ryu's theme by Reuben Kee.


He will be missed.

[Thin Crust]

An incredible piano adaption of Ryu's them by Reuben Kee.


He will be missed.

What does that mean?

[Harmony]

What does that mean?

Sadly, Reuben Kee and four other men lost their lives in a boating accident this weekend.

http://www.ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=13286

His music lives on.

[Lucentas]

This is one of the most amazing piano pieces I've ever heard, both in terms of production and execution. And on the emotional side, the sheer power and dynamism. Reuben Kee was a master of his art.

[Marmiduke]

Fitting that my playlist would randomly select this mix so close to the anniversary of Reuben Kee's untimely passing. It allows me to rediscover just how great a body of work he left behind and this is a supreme example of his talent at mixing, at arranging and on piano.
Fantastic performances from all four tracks. Kee knew exactly where to insert the hills and the valleys in his musical landscape, and how to extract the most power out of them. With this one, you never forget the feeling you're in the hands of a master of his craft.
Some people have said the alternating tempos and stop/start dynamic made this offputting, I don't agree at all. This is a piano arrangement after all; those sorts of things are pretty commonplace in the field and I happen to think the technique sounds great.
A prized, bittersweet track that shows Reuben Kee at his most robust. I listened to this countless times through my teenage years, and even though I'll never be able to listen to it the same way again, I can't think of a better way of remembering a lost member of the community.

[OA]

What starts out pretty basic turns into some pretty crazy stuff quickly- a lot of nice additions to the theme in the form of countermelodies, and a pretty rhythmic chordal backing.

I remember checking this track out years ago, solely on the gimmick of 4 pianos, and though I'm not sure how this would sound live, the arrangement was cool enough to get me hooked.

Cool stuff, and a very creative.