ReMix: Final Fantasy VI 'Engineer Cid (factory)'

My brother DL'd the torrent for this site about a week ago, so I thought I'd meander around the tracks for a bit... then I stumbled on this gem.
Strange, but the only thing I can say right now is that it's far greater than the sum of it's parts! I just got done teaching a math class, so go figure :P
It's a shame that OC doesn't accept chiptune pieces anymore - we're probably missing out on quite a few gems like this!

- Gario on February 18, 2009

Anyone mixing two or more source melodies into the same track NEEDS to listen to this mix first. Seamlessness is what this mix is all about. Like a film like Battleship Potemkin, which will be forever studied for its flawless use of montage, this mix should inform all future transitions. mp has done a fantastic job in making it seem like Nobuo composed each tune with the hidden intention of them all fitting together like they do here. Get a real brass section to hammer this out and it would be utterly perfect.

- Marmiduke on January 8, 2009

yay-uh! :nicework:
artfully done

- uagrenadier on January 7, 2009

This feels to me like one of those long lost tracks that was never included on the OST, but was later uncovered by rom hackers and the like.
While the sample quality isn't going to win over anyone except those who played and loved the game, the arrangement is hot as in hot pockets. What that actually means, I have no idea, but the rhythm is sweet, and the mixing is really good.
When Terra's theme comes out from around the sides, it's a great effect, and I'm still trying to figure out how it even worked. It sounds like when it comes in, you push the soundfield even wider. Something i have to look into.
Anyways, if you don't mind in-game synths (and I don't think you'd be at OCR in the first place if you did), then pick this one up. Very creative and cool.

- OA on July 9, 2007

Absolutely love the mix you got here. It kinda reminds me of being at the circus...or maybe at a carnival. In any case, it makes me feel happy inside :lol:
Excellent work!

- Krythan on December 23, 2006

Its bangin' baby, keep on pluggin!

- Soapy on June 30, 2006

Can´t decide if I like the synth or not, it´s sounds like he took it from the game. Oh wait. He DID took it from the game.
I can agree with everyone else that this was a funny remix, with nice glide-ins with Terra theme. I always thought that Cid was boring in FF6, the one in FF4 was way cooler, but if Pollard want to make him cool, that´s how it is, cause he needed it.

Silvercloud wrote: Imagine Yuffie, Selphie, and Rikku, all leading a moogle procession.
- While on Prozac.

Thanks alot, that picture is gonna haunt me the rest of the week.
Nice work, mpdude.

- Bummerdude on October 8, 2005

This is awesome. It left me bobbing my head and marvelling at the seamless transitions. And it's hilarious hearing Cid's theme with the FFVI sounds. ^_^

- SamuraiFoochs #Reload on February 5, 2005

Silvercloud wrote: You actually have FUN listening to it.

My thoughts exactly. It's so good that I can only describe it in other people's words.

- Xerol Oplan on December 25, 2003

This is THE perkiest song ever.
The happiness quotient is beyond what mere words can desribe.
You actually have FUN listening to it.
Imagine Yuffie, Selphie, and Rikku, all leading a moogle procession.
- While on Prozac.
Its also a welcome, and upbeat mix of Devil's lab. The thing with that track is, I really havn't heard anyone really improve upon it like [i]Ailsean's Terra in Black[/i] for the [i]Terra[/i] them.
Be forewarned though, this song, is only HALF Devil's lab, even less, actually. He uses Terra, Hey Cid! (From FF4), Devils lab, and Save them!, and creates a memorable pick-me-up.
I myself broke into a grin listening to this song for the first time.
One of my favourites, though not really for frequent listenings, it spoils the originality...

- Silvercloud on July 9, 2003

This is a great mix of different songs with all of them kind of blending together. I especially like it when Terra's theme can be heard in the background of some of the shifts. Good job!

- The Protricity on June 25, 2003

I didn't like the theme when I very first heard it, then it grew on me. Then today I download the Chocobo Racing PSF at Zophar and it happens to have an arrangement of Hey Cid! or whatever. I'm automatically reminded of this and all the sudden I really like the melody. Maybe it's just at its peak right now because of nostalgia's sake, as I probably won't feel as "psyched" about it tomorrow.
Another thing I didn't like about it when I VERY FIRST heard it was the game sounding samples. Back then I thought those were bad or some crap and my mind was splashing against my ears at the time. Now it's all about hearing the really nice transitions and the great old school melodies. No one is joking when they emphasize on the transitions and how great they are. I can't think of anything bad to say about it, and you know what that means! It's time to play that game of "Do You Like the Genre/Style of this Mix or Not?" that everyone knows and loves.

- AnotherOneBitesTheDust on March 27, 2003

This is a very fun mix - it blends unrelated FF4 and FF6 songs together SEAMLESSLY, and has a good dose of cool drums and snazzy horns. I wouldn't call it mp's best mix, but this one's a pretty fun romp, and while it isn't very high in the tempo category, it's pretty energetic anyway. I'm not a big fan of the Devil's Lab tune, but I have to give some big applause to mp - superior and creative mixing skillz!

- mDuo13 on November 27, 2002

(originally posted Feb 03, 2002 6:28 pm)
[i]================================================
Engineer Cid {Factory Mix} (Final Fantasy VI)
================================================ [/i]
[b]by Matt Pollard. [/b][i]You may remember him from such remixes as Xenogears' "TransientSands~Dazil" and Tekken 2's "Irish Diva."[/i]
____________________________________________!
^Insert profane expression of fatigue above^
Maybe I'm trying too hard, but this review has been a bitch to write. I can only imagine what it was like to actually MAKE the song. This is my...fourth? Yeah, about my fourth attempt at actually writing the review for this mix. Every time I think I've got it locked, my brain cross-wires and comes up with some discrepancy that causes me to freak out, "Jerry Maguire style." So please, please, please, bear with me. And above all, download the song cuz it's worth nine slices.
I first heard "Engineer Cid (Factory Mix)" via a download from Mr. Pollard's webpage (it hadn't been posted as an Overclocked ReMix yet). I heard it and thought it sounded cool, but I didn't really pay it much mind. At the time I was drooling over an original composition of his (I think you know which one, Matt) and I more or less put thoughts of his Cid remix on the backburner. When I saw it posted I thought, "Hey, don't I have that?"
I'll tell you the truth. After downloading it 2 months ago, I haven't [i][b]REALLY[/i][/b] been focused enough to review it until now. I've "heard" it. But I never listened to it and dissected it until as recently as this week. So here goes...
[b][i]*WARNING* [u]The following contains a crapload of acronyms. Those with epilepsy or short attention spans might want to steer clear.[/u][/b][/i]
As I said, Matt gets nine slices on this one. He's created this song using a technique that's at it's best when it's not done a million times over, which is using soundfonts from the actual game or sampling the actual game music (similar in respects to [i]Tetris' "Tetris Ultimix", Mega Man II's "Ending Trance Reality,[/i] or [i]The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past's "The Goddess Appears (Trinity)"[/i]). Here, Matt uses Final Fantasy VI soundfonts to rearrange [i]"Save Them!," "Terra," "Devil's Lab,"[/i] from FFVI and [i]"Hey Cid!"[/i] from FFIV. That's why this is in the "borrowed" section. He "borrowed" the actual sounds from the game!
The first 7 seconds is the bass line from "Hey Cid!" (HC) coupled with a funky/jazzy cymbal loop and the pressing and banging sounds found at the very beginning of "Devil's Lab" (DL). Fair warning: excessive bobbing of the head to the cymbal loop may result in whiplash.
Matt fills in the other 7 layers of HC and keeps the percussion of DL going throughout the length of the 3 minute 49 second song, only pausing occasionally. At 0:40 he loses all but a single layer of the HC portion and keeps the horns going with an original piece. The cymbals and DL follow him throughout. You'd swear his original portion was really in the game. At 0:56 comes "Save Them!" (ST). With the first nine notes, you'll hear a lonely sounding violin (still accompanied by DL), afterwhich the horns and drums decide to pay a visit.
At 1:15, Matt's back with HC and DL again, but this time with a couple of backround horns popping up now and then to make sure you don't get bored. 1:39 sees our first usage of Terra, but it's only usage of the first five notes. Don't let the notion of five notes fool you. Those notes are backed up by 2 or 3 horns in addition to the horns you were already getting. Unable to control his own inevitable head bobbing and sensing the utter kickassédness of the remix he's creating, Matt Pollard goes into his second original piece with a FFVI bass guitar as his friend at 1:48. Sure. DL, the cymbal loop, the violin, and the HC horn are still playing, but you're not paying them any mind (at least I wasn't). It's the bass who owns your ears for the next 16 seconds, but the fact that all of the other components are still playing only makes the 16 seconds kick that much more ass. Matt adds his original piece from 0:40 to the fray and (at 2:20) takes you home to the bridge.
What's the bridge? Try a another 16 second bass line, this time with DL being the only additional element. Do not fret. Pollard pulls it off without a hitch. A couple of hungry drums pitch in towards the end and lead you back (@ 2:36) to where the song first started: DL, cymbal loop, and the HC bass line. What follows after 2:43 is a repeat of where the remix was at 1:15 (think of it as a saved state, for you emulation folk), eventually fading out at 3:49 to the tune of Terra, and the end of HC.
I swear I wish this was an SPC. I almost thought it was an converted spc! Hell, it even loops like an SPC! Matthew, Matthew, Matthew...you've done it again. Nine slices.
For those that have YET to listen to this ReMix, ignore everything I've written about it because I don't do it proper justice. Just remember...NINE SLICES!
Folks, these opinions are just that. I ain't a remixer. I'm a listener. But if you've been a regular visitor to the message boards since July 10th of 2001, you already know that. Please, listen to this more than once before you make your own opinions. Listen to it through decent speakers. And keep comin' back.
Kudos to Mr. Pollard.
Well done, sir. Well done.

- Antonio Pizza on June 10, 2002

Final Fantasy 6 'Engineer Cid (Factory Mix)'
Who would have thought you could combine completely unrelated melodies from FF4 and 6? Or that you could do it while restricting yourself to the FF6 soundset? Apparently, Matt Pollard thought he could, so he did. And in the process, he created what I consider to be the most creative Final Fantasy mix on this site. It's probably not everyone's cup of tea, but it sure as hell is mine.

- orkybash on June 3, 2002