ReMix: Kid Icarus 'IcarusOrchestrated'

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Kid Icarus

So many good first submissions lately, and memorable ones too. If you have even a passing interest in Kid Icarus or rock-solid instrumental arranging, you'll love this ReMix from ZhayTee aka Joseph Toscano. Josephy actually did the music for the popular racign game featuring the linux mascot Tux, Tux Racer. Pretty cool, eh? Check out his work at zhaymusic.com. This arrangement captures the spirit of Kid Icarus, which to me is one of optimistic adventure. Beginning with what sounds like a colonial march with snare and flute, things quickly get more complex with a timpani roll, full strings, etc., then more winds enter and do some quite cool chord patters. Then trumpets take over, yielding to flute with violin solo. Elements switch from solo to ensemble invisibly and the entire arrangement just feels very professional and well-planned. Plus, you gotta love that intro. All sounds are high quality enough to be exposed without raising any eyebrows. Very slick stuff - I'm a sucker for well-constructed orchestrations such as this, and the style worked immaculately with this particular theme. Highly recommended.

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
I loved this game as a kid but I hated that tinny intro music. This remix fixes those problems with sounds much closer to the actual instruments. Beautiful flute parts in this, although the deep strings sound a bit dull. When Brawl came out with some redone Kid Icarus music, I was subconsciously comparing their version of the title theme to this.
I only wish this was longer with some additional interpretations on the theme. The counterpoints are lovely. Any thoughts on doing more of the KI soundtrack, or expanding on this piece? I would love to hear this extended out to three or four minutes with variations.

- Lovely Peach on January 9, 2009
Very nice overtone. Kept well throughout and had some mood changes while still keeping to the same rhythm to refer to game's original song. Just too short but very well done in approach. Maybe good as a looped bit?

- Ryu2Wolf on January 6, 2009
Short and sweet, I love this theme, and for it's age works pretty well, though the snare gets a bit repetitive, and some of the samples are a bit lifeless, specifically the woodwinds and solo strings.
As a pretty creative upgrade, it definitely gets the job done. Nice additional counterpoint writing, and a little bit of expansion. The ending is overly abrupt, however, and i'd have preferred an additional section; maybe something more legato to balance out the super busy flute in the proceeding sections.
Looking back, I can see why this was a high point in the mix history, and I think this mix helped get the standards where they are today. It's held up decently, but not spectacularly.

- OA on March 3, 2008
This is absolutely awesome. I'm with Krendall here, this is pretty much how I'd imagine the main theme to sound if it was made with composed with more modern equipment.
I do wish it didn't end so quickly, though.

- Yoshi3gg on December 20, 2006
Once again, another one of my favorites.
For fun, I synchronized this MP3 with the actual game title and it was almost exactly the same together. It sounded funny with both the NES instruments and the orchestral ones, but I was amazed at how well they synched.

- Jasoco on June 23, 2004
interresting...now more Kid Icarus remixes r needed

- RimFrost the Tourianist on June 21, 2004
Just perfect. This is exactly how I expected the theme to sound in a non-MIDI format. Now do the rest of the soundtrack. :P

- Krendall on April 13, 2004
Yes, well, I don't exactly have an orchestra in my basement, so. . . this is as good as it's going to get. ;P
--JT

- ZhayTee on August 17, 2002
Oooh, I hate to come down on this, because it’s a beautiful arrangement, and it's something I would absolutely love to /play/, but somehow the fact that it's not live really sticks out at me. Maybe it's just because I play this sort of stuff all the time and no one else would notice anything wrong, so I don't want to discourage anyone from the download. but it's just screaming for live players. (or even a sheet music version)

- ellipsis on August 17, 2002
Nope. It's all-original. I sequenced everything myself and rendered it to audio for post-processing in Logic. The only tune it should sound similar to is the titlescreen song from Kid Icarus.
--JT

- ZhayTee on July 1, 2002
Well, this is by no means poo-pooing ZhayTee, but I'll be darned if this isn't a slight rearrangement of a really rather spectacular MIDI arrangement of the same tune that's been kicking around for quite some time. For reference,
homepage.mac.com/kabuki/share/kdikarus.mid
If it IS, he's definitely done more than just disable a few tracks, there was some artful rearranging and sample selection/modulation, but I'm mostly curious about the "man behind the curtain"... JT, was that the source material you used and just, say, dropped the samples into your sequencer of choice? It seems awfully similar. :?
I'm wondering because I've been fiddling in Reason with the SNES Castlevania IV tune and just discovered it was pretty awfully easy to import a MIDI file (especially one converted from the original .SPC file, or the .GYM file from Bloodlines for the Genesis, so it's the real notes/timing of the original) and then add your own instruments and go back & start tweaking. Heck, you can get an .SPC>.IT convertor and pull out the original SNES instruments, loops intact, with PlayerPRO. Just gauging the reaction here, 'cuz I don't want to have any mixes I do ripped to shreds just because I borrowed actual pattern data from an original as a basis before I started tweaking.
Anyway, just curious. Take care,
-- k a b u k i :o

- kabuki on June 26, 2002
lefty wrote: definitely a good arrangement, but not exactly my cup of tea... personally i could use a bit more rockin of a tune, but the programming here is definitely worthy of merit. well done!

I agree...quite personally, it sounds pretty close to all the other remixes I've heard of this particular tune.....I'd really enjoy hearing something a little bit more upbeat from this game....like say....the Medusa battle...:D

- skawttieboy on June 19, 2002
lefty wrote: definitely a good arrangement, but not exactly my cup of tea... personally i could use a bit more rockin of a tune, but the programming here is definitely worthy of merit. well done!

I agree...quite personally, it sounds pretty close to all the other remixes I've heard of this particular tune.....I'd really enjoy hearing something a little bit more upbeat from this game....like say....the Medusa battle...:D

- skawttieboy on June 19, 2002
definitely a good arrangement, but not exactly my cup of tea... personally i could use a bit more rockin of a tune, but the programming here is definitely worthy of merit. well done!

- lefty on June 18, 2002
Augh! Too short! I want more! More! MORE!
I really loved the opening notes to this song. Although, when there were two fifes playing at the same time, it seemed ever so slightly dischordant. Other than that, everything in this peice was very well put together!
Every once and a while, the sample used was obviously a sample to my ears... like the trumpets... and this jarred me a little, but it was only every once and a while, and I got used to it fast. Wonderful arrangment! Even the too obviously sampled parts! Those trumpets had some GREAT lines... and the bouncing up and down of the flute sounds just like some of the tortuous things my flute teacher has made me play on occasion... a real b**** to play, I assure you, but it sure does sound wonderful!
Now then... if only you extended this arrangement a little bit further! More could only make this better! The ending just kinda... ended. Suddenly. Jarringly. More! MORE! [b]MORE!!!![/b]

- Fieari on June 10, 2002

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