ReMix: Alex Kidd in Miracle World 'NoOneCanDoItBetter'

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Alex Kidd in Miracle World

Where to begin? At the beginning. This ReMix has special significance to me personally, as this theme - the underwater music from the first level of the indefatigable Alex Kidd in Miracle World - was probably the first videogame music I listened to regularly outside of a game. I actually placed a cheap, Radio Shack tape recorder next to my Master System and recorded THIS SONG in particular so that I could listen to it in the car on the way to school, etc. This was like, age 7 or 8, mind you. So, if there's a single piece of video game music that I could trace the inspiration for my involvement with game music at large back to, this song would be it. It occurred to me that I should ReMix it recently when I considered that I wanted my next mix to be hip-hop. I've always felt Alex Kidd and hip-hop would go well together - the Kidd is just down with the street, that's all, and he needed some representin' in the genre. I attempted to fulfill this vision with my initial Alex Kidd ReMix, one that I was never really happy with. It never clicked like I wanted to - it ain't that bad, but Alex deserved better. I needed to revisit the material.

Now, what I came up with is a ReMix that is very much love-it or hate-it, the way I see it. If you're not with me at 1'55", you probably fall into the second category. I'm happy with it though - it doesn't sound much like my other ReMixes at all, and I exercised great restraint with it. This piece took longer to make than any of my other mixes, believe it or not. Why? I kept adding things on top - extra melodies, effects, more scratching, you name it. But every time I added something, I scrutinized it something fierce, and ended up removing it in favor of keeping things more roots R&B / hip-hop style, with a stripped down feel. It's essentially an electric piano (courtesy Emagic EVP73 VSTi), deep electric bass, a swirly Reaktor synth, and some loops and FX. Oh, and some cheeze synth brass from FM7 :) I do want to add that the title/sample refer to Alex Kidd himself, not me, just in case you were thinking I was getting into that competitive thang. Anyway, I truly love the source material to death in this case, and the simple fact that I could ReMix it in a fashion that I'd even be willing to listen to makes me happy. I suppose highlights would be the chromatic riff at 1'26" and the syncopation between all parts on the chorus. I feel I have closure with the Kidd after making this mix, and can move on, which is what I was shooting for. Hope you enjoy ^^

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
Upbeat and cheerful, I can totally relate to DJP's story of recording game music onto a tape. I specifically recorded NES and SNES music, but the end result was pretty much the same. My poor parents, being forced to listen to the same game music tapes over and over in the car :-(
Anyways, I generally dig the non-quantized feel to this, and the lofi drums are pretty hot, as well as the scratches. The vocal clips are middle of the road for me, and the sustained synth that comes in later on is a little too cheesy.
some of the soloing has a few strange note choices, like that chromatic run, but overall this is a fun mix. Nothing to completely wet my pants over, but i've been listening to it on loop for the last half and hour, and it put me in a good mood. :-)

- OA on April 23, 2008
I thought I would be the only one to really like this song when I came into this review thread. But it seems there are rabid fans of the original game. Myself, I've never played it :). But I like most of it quite a bit. Very different sounding, though perhaps too different sounding during the "climax" sections. I never really liked those, as they sound like something 5-year olds would hear while riding one of those circular-moving "rides" in front of huge retail stores. Well, I don't like this song as a whole TOO much, but can really hit the spot occasionally. A keeper.

- Audity on November 1, 2006
I'm not a fan of Hip-Hop, but this is excellent! This was the game I played most on my 1st console, and apart from the motorbike music, this was my favourite :D I especially love when it gets to 1:55 and really heats up!
I also like the little "Jan-Ken-Poh!" at the end ;) (paper scissors stone)
Very very nice!

- gothakane on May 18, 2006
This is a good remix, quite different from the original, but still manages to capture the theme of Alex Kidd. Aisde from the scratches this is perfect Alex Kidd elevator music.

- DarkWolf on November 15, 2005
I loved the mix. The other mix for Alex is not that good, it takes a while to identify the song, but this one is sweeeeet.
I used to play Alex the Kidd for hours - now I look back and it's oh such a silly game. Anyway, thanks for the song!!!
Trilliann

- Trilliann on March 10, 2005
Alex the Kidd in Miracle World was my first videogame, so this tune bowled me over with nostalgia when I first heard it. It was the only game I had for the Master System (except for a light gun game called Wanted, which I couldn't play as I had no light gun), and as I sucked at gaming back then, I never finished it. The furthest I got was the first helicopter stage.
On its own, this song is pretty damn funky, but it's the memories for me that make this one of my favourite remixes. About seven years after I got my Master System, I received a Nintendo 64 for Christmas and thus Nintendo from then on had my attention with their games, especially Rare's N64 classics, but I always look back at how my gaming life started with fondness.

- watkinzez on December 16, 2004
Wow, this is a great song. So laid back. Its the kinda song I can hum along too (even though I don't know how it goes)
This a very soothing remix, its quiet but fun at the same time

- jordex on September 21, 2004
Well this is the first video game i ever bought and yep soon as you dipped into the water, the tune was just so very relaxing and was one of the coolest pieces of music i have ever heard in a game. For me this remix was always going to be good as long as it kept that original piece in there. Love the way DJ P wraps the song up too 8)

- Bilbo_Baggage on February 16, 2004
Very nice piece that's fairly laid back throughout, and much better than his first go-round.
The only bad thing I can say about it is that the melody from 1:54-2:32 and 3:31-4:08 seems too loud to me, but that's probably just because of my headphones. It's almost certainly going on my regular listening list.

- Durinthal on December 15, 2003
Yeah, that's cool :D
~raven

- Hadyn on September 12, 2003
I like it, but I think DJP has a Fender Rhodes fetish. I'm pretty sure that all of his tracks feature it... Of course, I love the Rhodes too, so I can't dis him for it, I just thought it was a little odd.

- Jaxvon on September 11, 2003
I know this isn't the place to request a song, but the music to Alex Kidd reminds of Fantasy Zone for the Sega Master System. That game has rockin' tunes that a remix would do total justice for. So please oh please someone consider doing Fantasy Zone.

- jwhyrock on June 24, 2003
My appreciation for Alex Kidd is extremely high especually through this game, Alex Kidd in Miracle World. I have done some arrangements through MIDI (NoteWorthy Composer) such as the main level theme and the castle theme but I never finished them. I know that I must get to the castle theme again (scary!) because I am so good at dark and fast paced music (I'm not thinking of doing classical with it, foo'! although...). The music is Alex Kidd in Miracle World is perfect for arrangements and DJ Pretzel has done a good job.
I can say that some of the things that I have heard (not many) through DJ Pretzel allowed me to quickly turn the other way (downloaded through KaZaA) but through just this "remix" I have to commend him because it is just very kick-toosh. I agree with endblink that it would so fun to listen to it on a sunny day with the wind blowing in one's face but also in a convertable bumping the music. If I would bump any music in a car then THIS would be it because I have always been a big fan of classic video game music (Streets of Rage 1, 2 and 3, yo!). Thanks for such a great arrangement and a great site Mr. Pretzel... and make mine with EXTRA salt and butter!
`seraph / segamon <--that's me!
http://www.tonalbliss.com/ <--listen to MY music here!
http://www.abortionfacts.com/ <--find out the facts!

- SegaMon on June 23, 2003
I just got Alex Kidd on Ebay the other day. I can't help but agree on the underwater theme as being the perfect song to remix. The other night I had company over and was showing them the Kidd and I was singing along (or humming I guess since there are no vocals) to the underwater theme. I'm still playing it every night. I finally made it past the castle, but it gets hairy from there. I need to use more items I guess. It's annoying having to go to the system to hit the pause button. Couch laziness I guess. I digress. I remember all the joy I got out of this game as a kid. Out of so many hundreds of games I've played this one has always stuck in my memory. So when I started retro-gaming recently I picked this one up straight away on Ebay. The song is perfect. The reason is the song itself is what is catchy, the original song I mean. It would take away from the song itself if it were changed too much. This is perfection. I LOVE IT!!!

- jwhyrock on April 18, 2003
i dont remember the theme all that much since its been well over a decade since i last heard it, but i much enjoyed this track. good stuff.

- alchicken on January 27, 2003

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