ReMix:Bonk's Adventure "Prehistoric Xmas" 3:16

By djpretzel

Arranging the music of one song...

"Level 1"

Primary Game: Bonk's Adventure (Hudson Soft , 1989, TG16), music by Tsukasa Masuko

Posted 1999-12-19, evaluated by djpretzel


From the Turbografx-16/PC-Engine came bonk, known as PCKid by his Japanese fans. This here techno-jungle flavored remake of the first stage theme from his first adventure has a bit of an xmas flair to it, and is dedicated to the recent comeback of MagicEngine, a superfragilistic tg-16 emu.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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BladedEdge
on 2023-12-10 20:57:10

I'm not hearing the xmas. What I hear is sort of a goofy kid's TV show tune, which I suppose is fitting for the source material? Maybe early 90's jpop vibes, like a fan remake of the Dual! theme I might randomly download off kazaa lite back in ye olden dayes.

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Polo
on 2016-05-18 01:37:44

The wah synth seems to enjoy a bit too much modulation - I can rarely predict its exact vowel sound until the 2nd half of every 4th measure (0:10-0:11, for instance). At least the layered percussion that follows amicably gives it some solid footing.

I often find myself bobbing my head from side to side when listening to the beat. It's certainly helped by the dynamism of 0:58's sugary whistling lead and 1:55's carefree roamer. I also like 2:20-2:27 - even though it's not a very impactful climax, it still elevates my spirit along with the notes being played.

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djpretzel
on 2015-04-01 12:29:46
Catchy for sure, but besides that I don't know how I feel about this. The wahwah and piercing instruments are a little grating, and I feel like the song runs out of things to say with a minute left in the song. This song does have groove potential, it's got a fun little beat (even if it repeats for entirely too long :v) , but it's a very flat song dynamically which is really too bad. Good try, friend from 16 years ago :)

Agreed on all points :) I'm just bummed it's been so long and no one else has submitted anything from the Bonk series... don't let this be the only one!

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Tables
on 2015-04-01 09:22:12

Catchy for sure, but besides that I don't know how I feel about this. The wahwah and piercing instruments are a little grating, and I feel like the song runs out of things to say with a minute left in the song. This song does have groove potential, it's got a fun little beat (even if it repeats for entirely too long :v) , but it's a very flat song dynamically which is really too bad. Good try, friend from 16 years ago :)

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BaconProcurement
on 2013-10-17 13:16:57

Prehistoric Xmas? Sounds more like it could be headlight fluid.

Anyway, when I first heard this mix, it made me go "wtf did I just listen to?" because the style is so out there that I can't make heads or tails of it. Is it electronica? A space opera? Techno? The build up to the 1 minute mark when the song really starts to groove is really enjoyable. At times, the song feels a bit slow at certain points as it lingers between melodies before finding it's groove again. My only gripe is the emptiness of the sound-scape that others have mentioned. Not sure where Xmas is involved in all this as it sounds more space-like than Xmas-y.

A trippy lighthearted remix indeed.

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Locke
on 2011-12-03 13:57:39

I love this, beginning to end. In my mind, it's kind of a similar track to DarkeSword's Party in the Snowland mix. (Not in that I get Christmas vibes, but in that I can sit here and enjoy listening to the background music)

I especially love the instrumentation choices. Really floats my boat. (Might even go so far as to say flies my airship)

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Brandon Strader
on 2011-12-03 03:32:06

Ouch! The high end! It is randomly stabbing me in the ear. If the bass came up a bit and that high end was tamed, this mix might sound pretty good. There are modern mixes popping out that don't have this much attention paid to the percussion. Cool to hear all of those notes used well. The somewhat theramin-esque lead is sweet. It would be great to hear djp revisit this someday and give it some modern drums and bass and a more spatial, less narrow stereo spectrum. Seriously, I love Bonk -- Bonk it some more!

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Ivan Hakštok
on 2011-12-02 07:49:58

The intro wah-wah effect gets tiresome very soon, and sometimes the sound it produces had really high frequencies compared to the rest of the arp.

Also, I don't find the bass and drum sounds very good, and the open hat is a bit too loud, it sometimes distracts me from the main melody.

I'm also not a big fan of the lead at 2:00, or better to say the effects on it.

Still, overall it's pretty catchy, nice job.

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Gario
on 2011-12-01 23:47:53

Interesting effect in the beginning. Much wah-wah for the win, in my opinion. The accompaniment would be better if it were thicker in the beginning, though - especially the bass. When everything kicks in later, though, it works out alright.

Spliced drums are quite nice. The hats are a little too far in the front, in my humble opinion, but that could just be an artifact from whatever drums you used. Then again, it's probably stupid to nitpick a song that's over a decade old. Whatever.

This track is considerably more dynamic than the Ninja track from earlier, which is great. The liberal use of portamento instruments is also pretty neat.

This is a pretty fun 'feel good' track. I can get down to this. Certainly earns eight rocks out of ten.

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Crulex
on 2011-09-15 10:32:18

Very nice. Sounds catchy and has a good melody to it. Not mind blowing my any means, but it still sounds great and has enough quirk to get the feeling across. Few minor issues, but pretty nice all in all.

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WillRock
on 2010-11-09 17:19:36

Well this is an uplifting mix. Seems somewhat empty soundscape wise, due to the missing mid frequencies like bahamut said. Really nice drums again tho, altho the hihat seems too exposed and sometimes gets a bit piercing in the highs. A pretty unusual mix, alot of interesting effects on the synths, gives the mix a sort of intentional queasiness to it. Another good one from DJP :)

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Tables
on 2010-07-01 14:36:13

Maybe it's just Christmas because it was posted a few days before Christmas? That's the only thing I can think of. If anything the synths remind me of space. Jesus in space?

Not so impressed with this one, like people have said it's kind of empty, and the drum samples are noticeably cheap tshh tshh. It gets a little bit better when it picks up around 1:07, but then it keeps riding on that note and refuses to change too much. Not terrible though, quite listenable. 7/10

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Bahamut
on 2009-10-04 18:42:32

What a quirky mix - I guess my biggest problem with this one is that it sounds pretty empty throughout, probably due to the distinct lack of midfrequency stuff. It's pretty lighthearted, but I'm not sure I'd associate this with any type of Christmas.

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halc
on 2008-12-15 01:48:10

i'm not too big on the individual synths but when you put them all together it makes for some nice textures. 2:30-3:00 is the strongest part of the song imo.

christmas, wat?

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DragonAvenger
on 2008-11-16 11:39:46

Upbeat, cute, but I do not detect Christmas. The name confuses me.

Every instrument distorts, and not in a bad way. Very interesting, and unique.

Nice work.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Bonk's Adventure (Hudson Soft , 1989, TG16)
Music by Tsukasa Masuko
Songs:
"Level 1"

Tags (5)


Genre:
Drum and bass
Mood:
Happy
Instrumentation:
Synth
Additional:
Time > 4/4 Time Signature
Time > Tempo: Fast

File Information


Name:
Bonk's_Adventure_Prehistoric_Xmas_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
3,998,599 bytes
MD5:
86b10eccccbc0933ae184e40a6bfcdf0
Bitrate:
160Kbps
Duration:
3:16

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