ReMix: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 'Grand Dreams (A Hero's Legacy)'

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This is our second ReMix from Starblaze since his initial, impressive debut with September's Xenogears piece. This is a longer, more developed, and definitely more reticent and understated arrangement that gets a little more dramatic towards its conclusion. Some interesting chord work, good samples including solo piano, competent mixing, and the timpani, brass, church bell and cymbals at the conclusion are all strong elements. Judges were divided, but this piece was initially submitted at an unnecessarily high bitrate, which accounted for at least some of the confusion and hence delay. Regardless of bitrate, some felt it was a little underdeveloped - particularly the ending - and perhaps too simple. I can see where it could have been extended maybe thirty seconds longer for one or two more ideas, but personally I hesitate to suggest that brevity is too much of a problem, as it's more often the opposite issue that comes up. As for simplicity - it's definitely a bit slow, but I thought some of the chord work and nesting was rather interesting and unexpected, so that was enough for me. In the end, this boiled down to my making the tiebreaking decision, and I think because of the interesting arrangement and above-average sound quality it's a good addition. I'd like to see Evan combine some of the excitement and energy of his first mix with the more developed ideas of his second and come up with a killer combination of both, but we'll have to wait and see. Good stuff.

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
http://reoganworks.blogspot.com/2009/09/song-of-week-reogan-style.html
http://reoganworks.blogspot.com/2011/05/song-of-week-39.html
This track saw separate writeups from two different authors on my blog, the first with a literary perspective, the second with a literal.

- OutSpoken on July 5, 2011
I really like this piece, it has a great cinematic feel to it. Well done.

- Lucentas on June 25, 2009
There were a few flashes of brilliance in this mix, but I felt the intro was a bit drawn out without a ton of direction. Was the intro seriously twice as long as the source section, or is it 2 themes from the game, and the first one not as recognizable?
Decent background music, but doesn't really engage me that much.

- OA on March 21, 2009
Gawwww, it's everything I'd hope for in Zelda. Really pulls you in. Nothing is wasted. Piano is a nice touch too.

- Ryu2Wolf on January 6, 2009
The final songs of a video game are generally its best. The ending theme has to be triumphant, celebratory even. You won! The world is at peace! Way to go, hero! This mix reflects those sentiments. I like to sit back and imagine a story accompanying this tune: as the song opens and the first few chords are coming through, it's as though Link had just landed the final blow. At 0:43, it feels like reflecting over the victory. I really like 1:08, and can’t help but imagining the sun rising over Hyrule right at that moment.

- eric22222 on May 10, 2008
I love it, the piano in this is amazing. Short, but I don't mind listening to it over and over.

- Blarnay on January 9, 2008
this is by far one of the most beautiful pieces ive heard on OC.

there's only oneflaw--it's waay to short. you should repeat the theme a second time and put a teensy part of a different theme in the background then softly drag it on to make it almost four minutes.

im not sure if that made sense ^^;

- GreyMage on November 16, 2007
This is a very moving peace. In particular it's not loud or it doesn't screw up the Zelda theme in any way, but rather glorify it.

- strudelman on June 20, 2005
This, to me, seems like the music that Nintendo would use at a convention like E3. Bring in the press, and sit them down in a dark room in front of a screen--cue the music, and shots of the backdrop, and a narrator telling us of the troubles that have beset this land (going on for two minutes--man, that's a lot of suffering) and then when the Zelda theme comes in, we get a pan in to our Hero--Link. And then get a lot of kickass footage of him pwning all.
Top marks.

- Graeme Shaw on August 19, 2004
this thing is absolutely beautiful. the long intro is SO well done it really doesnt bother that it has nothing to do with zelda... the music is awe-inspiring, and takes to the zelda theme in a very beautiful way. from there, the theme develops and gets really dramatic. the church bells or whatever those things are sound awesome, end the piece has a REAL heroic mood to it, paying homage to its name. the only problem, as someone pointed out, was that it doesnt climax into what could have been, and the ending is indeed something like "O_o dang, it ended there?"
if you developed the ending a little more, this one would be unbeatable. still, its pure greatness.
Cano
link would be proud, as this song pays absolute homage to the hero of time.

- Cano on October 10, 2003
If your link, then who the heck am I? 8O

- Legionnaire on August 17, 2003
Every time I listen to this, it's like someone's holding my head underwater and I'm hearing my own thoughts blazing by. It's a whole new experience, and an altogether pleasant one. Maybe that first example was a little...off-color, but if there's one thing I can say about this remix, it's that it takes me that much closer to believing that I am, in fact, Link, and it's about to get real dramatic in here. The *good* kind of dramatic.

- Ferret on April 26, 2003
well done starblaze! one qualm besides berevity: i dont recognize the song! and zelda 3 is like my favorite one of the series! forgive my ignorance, but could someone please tell me what song this remix covers besides the main theme?

- chumble spuzz on November 27, 2002
I very much enjoyed this one. The opening had a very Squaresoft feel with the slow strings and almost mornful winds that I really dig, and I like the way the piano leads into the Zelda theme.
On the other hand, I also feel that there's something missing. While the song rises slightly into the traditional Zelda theme, it never reaches a conclusive climax that I think would help it out immensely. Leave the understated opening of the theme, and the recap of it with the percussion, but instead of ending the song there, have the whole orchestra swell to life to give a more victorious and definitive finale. Leaving the song where it is now feels more like it gave up and went home instead of actually digging up a hero.
The opening to Link's Awakening on the Game Boy is a good example of a quiet song that kicks into the Zelda theme. It's a little too abrupt to apply for the nice, slow build of this song, but something to point at about where I think it should eventually end up.

- Kitsune on November 24, 2002
Reminds me of somthing AmIEvil or Dead Lovers Resort did/would have done, anywase, it's as beautiful, all and all, what I would expect from the title. :)

- Carbon Dog on November 15, 2002