ReMix: Castlevania II: Simon's Quest 'DownTown'
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- Game: Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (Konami, 1988, NES)
- ReMixer(s): Vic Viper
- Composer(s): Kenichi Matsubara, S. Terashima
- Song(s): 'The Silence of the Daylight'
- Posted: 2002-06-18, evaluated by djpretzel
This is Tom Strickland aka Vic Viper's first submission, it's Castlevania 2, and it has upsides and downsides. I'm thinking the pros outweigh the cons, though, and overall I enjoyed the piece - it's quite funky at times, and it doesn't hurt that the source material is some of Club Kukeiha's best. Tom sticks with a fairly straightforward interpretation, though he does great things with the bassline - one of the better synth bass parts I've heard. The reverb struck me as odd; sounds almost like a gated reverb, which is rarely applied to an entire piece and usually reserved for a snare (see half the songs on Paul Simon's Graceland). Less a gated verb and probably just a plate or small room with a short tail, it creates sort of a gym hall ambience that struck me a little funny given the otherwise cool ambient storm effects in the intro. But foregoing that aspect, let's talk about the positives. In addition to the afforementioned funky synth bass, there are some nice acoustic drums that even go hip-hop at 1'51" in a nice little change. Though a chorused piano joins in later on, most elements are straight synth, and blend together well. Synths used for moving parts / ornamentation are especially nice, and I also dug the drum solo ending - quirky, and doesn't offer closure, but it's something different and it didn't strike me as off either (song basically enters this way, after the intro, anyway). As a first mix - heck, even a second or third - this shows a lot of promise. The bassline is definitely key, and forms a foundation that all other aspects build off. Would have liked to hear some different ideas on the reverb, and perhaps some toms on the drums for breaks / fills. Misgivings aside, this still comes recommended as it's a solid take on an amazing piece of music. VV's off to a good start.
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the The brief shift to piano (although a weak sample) was really welcome and adds probably the mix's only memorable moment for me. And that's not exactly a bold creative move either.
As a remake of a super-strong game tune, this is a guilty pleasure. It's an unapologetic run-through of the theme four or five times in succession with varied samples and a drum beat. Am I in love with this mix? No, I am not. Do I listen to it anyway? Yes, I certainly do.
- Marmiduke on September 7, 2009
What a fun night to have a Hoedown.
- Polo on June 13, 2009
The intro is kind of strange with the in-game music and the high-fi storm music, and then the pretty upbeat sounding synth throwdown. I don't really follow I don't think. It sets up a darker atmosphere, and then goes into dance funk mode for the rest of the song.
Samples are weak, but it's a fun track and worth a listen.
- OA on May 23, 2008
I'm not really a fan at all of mixes that deviate extremely from the original, ones that if you heard them on the radio you wouldn't even know they came from one of your favorite games, so this is right up my alley. In fact, I only registered so I could let Vic Viper know that I've literally been listening to this mp3 for years and consider it to be one of the finest versions of one of the best songs from my favorite game series. It seems sorely underappreciated here. Thanks man, and move your ass on making some more music! :D
- Taffin on August 30, 2005
- Ramenking on July 7, 2005
- VicViper on July 7, 2005
- Demko on February 3, 2005
- NecroscopeX on December 21, 2003
Overall, this was a great arrangement that could have stood to be in a better voice with better samples, but he was working with what he had. I would love to see this song get upgraded oneday, because it is a rockin beat with a great melody. I think it might be near the line of sounding too MIDIish, but i'm glad it got posted anyway.
Awesome attention to the drumline though, many a remixer could learn from the example.
- whiteknight on August 8, 2003
Anyway, this is well-arranged, but has very little variation. The choice of instruments could be better (I mean the lead was a simple midi square wave it sounds like). The general introduction was a bit long, but the drums sort of made up for it. Overall, as several other people said, this is more or less average. It has a few good points (like said drums), but those are negated by the bad points (little variation), bringing it to average.
- zircon on August 6, 2003
Anyway, as said before, the dark password music doesn't really fit with the happy techno that dominates the rest of the piece. I also don't like the bassline...something sounded a little off, and everything sounded a bit bleepy bloopy techno-y for me. Finally, as DJP says, the reverb is kind of weird, and imo the samples aren't great and there's not a whole lot of elaboration anywhere.
Still, despite all my gripes, I think it's good enough to warrant a listen to see if you like it. Some people do, but I don't get into this sort of thing...
- Adhesive_Boy on July 29, 2002
- Boolean on July 1, 2002
- ZergSpice on June 30, 2002
- skawttieboy on June 22, 2002
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